bookbashuk Chapter 2136: Not annihilate, just drive away.
Chapter 2136: Not annihilate, just drive away.
"Rengui, please don't lie to me that you don't know military affairs. Is the Imperial Guard Battalion really as strong as you said?"
Li Shen asked seriously. Two thousand five hundred against five thousand, with almost no casualties, Xue Rengui's words still made him a little unconvinced.
"Your Majesty, if you use our secret weapon, I am sure that this will happen."
Xue Rengui said affirmatively.
"You mean using grenades?" The secret weapon is the grenade, the biggest secret of Prince Ji's Mansion.
"That's right." Xue Rengui nodded.
"What if we give you a hot air balloon?" Li Shen asked after stroking his chin and thinking for a while.
"If we use a hot air balloon to launch a sneak attack, it will be twice as effective with half the effort." Xue Rengui's expression was solemn.
"Alas, what a pity, I didn't bring many with me this time."
Hearing Xue Rengui's words, Li Shen sighed. He didn't bring many hot air balloons this time. He brought a few for escape, and the rest were left in Xizhou Prefecture.
"Your Majesty, in fact, the hot air balloon weapon can only be effective at certain times. It is too unstable and not so accurate. It needs to use the power of the wind.
However, it is very useful for sneak attacks and shocking enemies.
Cooperate with the guards to attack the enemy, disrupting their formation and making them feel terrified.
It will be easier for our guard battalion to launch an attack."
Over the years, Xue Rengui has been studying tactics and strategies with Li Jing, and has analyzed and improved some of the war concepts proposed by Li Shen.
Li Shen once mentioned to them the importance of air combat to war, but hot air balloons were too unstable and often had to use wind power to move.
The hand-cranked propeller that Li Shen installed on the hot air balloon can only be fine-tuned. If the propeller is used to move forward, the speed will be as slow as a turtle.
So Xue Rengui and Li Jing made some adjustments, defining the hot air balloon as a siege weapon, but not suitable for outdoor battlefields.
“Well, as long as it can work and reduce our casualties, we can attack them from the air.
Even if it doesn't move, we can use the hot air balloon as an extra-tall arrow tower.
Look down from high above and snipe at their generals.
Hey? This is a good idea. Each hot air balloon is equipped with several powerful crossbows, specifically designed to kill their generals and commanders.
Hahahaha, this is called modern warfare."
Li Shen followed Xue Rengui's train of thought and thought of the sniper.
Now that we have the commanding heights and a powerful crossbow, although the accuracy is not enough, we still have a great chance with the help of a telescope.
He just didn't believe that even if more than a dozen powerful crossbows were fired at the same time, they would not be able to hit the target at all. If that didn't work, he would equip two.
Thinking of this, Li Shen laughed out loud towards the sky. He was indeed the chosen one, as he could have come up with such a good idea.
Xue Rengui pondered for a moment and nodded:
"Your Majesty, this method is indeed feasible. The maximum load-bearing capacity of a hot air balloon is three people, but it cannot carry too many kerosene bombs and grenades.
But it is very suitable for archers equipped with sniping and killing enemy generals."
"Okay, write this down and include it in your training. Take advantage of the telescope and see how it works."
Li Shen immediately decided to use this as a training program, which can also be regarded as a new combat mode he developed.
The hot air balloon took off and was connected to the ground with a rope to prevent it from being blown away. The people on it carried out ground attacks and sniped the generals.
Or you can use a powerful crossbow to launch grenades and kerosene bombs, which can also be shot farther than from the ground.
"Yes, I've made note of it." Xue Rengui accepted the order.
"Okay, let's get down to business, Rengui, now that we have discovered the traces of the rebels, what do you think we should do.
Should we wipe them out now, or wait until all the rebels are found and then wipe them out one by one?
This king is actually afraid that after wiping out these two rebel groups, the other rebels will be frightened and run away."
Getting back to the topic, Li Shen expressed what was in his mind.
“Your Majesty, I think the sooner the better. Since Your Majesty wants to rescue the people here, you must establish your prestige as soon as possible.
In fact, even if we find out the movements of all the rebels, as long as we take action, the other rebels will still flee."
Xue Rengui also gave a different opinion. He believed that we should act quickly and not delay.
Li Shen thought about it and nodded:
“Well, what you said does make sense. I heard from Qu Zhiping that these two rebel groups are the largest, and the others are small-scale.
They are few in number and move quickly, and will run away as soon as they hear the wind.
Well, in that case, you go and prepare. We will set out tomorrow, bring all the equipment, and rush over to catch them off guard."
In the end, Li Shen adopted Xue Rengui's idea and decided to deal with the two rebel forces first.
"I obey your command." Xue Rengui bowed and prepared to leave.
"Wait." Li Shen called out.
"Any other instructions, Your Majesty?"
“I’ve thought about it and realized that we can’t just do it by ourselves. If they want to save their own people, they should also do their part.
Call Qu Zhiping over and let’s discuss countermeasures.
I actually have some other ideas."
Li Shen smiled and waved to Shi Tou, who immediately left the tent.
"What's your plan, Your Majesty?" Seeing Li Shen's smile, Xue Rengui knew that Prince Ji was planning something bad again.
This smile is so familiar.
"Come and take a look." Li Shen found a map from the desk and opened it.
When Xue Rengui came up, Li Shen pointed at the map and said:
“Rengui, we are roughly at this location, Tianshan is at this location, and I have an idea.
We don't need to wipe out the rebels, we just need to rescue the people they have kidnapped.
This king wants to drive them here."
Li Shen pointed at the map and looked up at Xue Rengui.
Xue Rengui took a look:
"Your Highness, do you want to drive the rebels to Beiting? But according to intelligence, there are also many Tiele tribal rebels near the border who are unwilling to submit to the Tang Dynasty.
If we drive them over there, will it increase their strength?"
The place Li Shen pointed to was a mountain range. They didn't know what mountain range it was, but they knew it was the intersection of the Western Regions and Tiele.
With this mountain as the dividing line, the east and northeast belong to Tiele, and the west is Anxi Protectorate.
The Tang Dynasty conquered Tiele and all the tribes surrendered, but there were always some people who did not know the current situation, and those who disobeyed were called rebels.
"Rengui, even if their strength increases, what does it matter? Now that I am here, if they become too powerful,
The people here might be the imperial court's 100,000 cavalry. Not to mention them, even making Tiele surrender again wouldn't be a problem.
When Qu Zhiping arrives, you can make the same arrangements, but don't let him know that we deliberately let the rebels escape.
I still have some use for these rebels."
Li Shen just had an idea that could help him untie the knot in his heart. If he could implement it well, he might be able to kill two birds with one stone.
(Suddenly, a spring breeze came overnight, and thousands of peach trees blossomed)