When Zhang Dongtao walked into Li Zicheng's barracks, his expression was calm, but Li Yan, who was following him, looked slightly pale and did not look so calm.

"Zhang Dongtao, Li Yan, you are here, take a seat."

Li Zicheng did not show any surprise. He looked at Luo Rucai, who was sitting on the right.

Five days have passed, and Zhang Dongtao still has not led the army to launch an attack on Kaifeng Fucheng. Li Zicheng only sent Zhang Guoxin, the general manager of the personal guard battalion, to make inquiries. This is not easy.

Zhang Dongtao did not sit down immediately, but clasped his fists and faced Li Zicheng and Luo Ru before speaking.

"King Chuang, General Luo, Kaifeng Fucheng is strong and tall. It is too difficult to capture it by force. If we lose too many brothers' lives, we still cannot capture Kaifeng Fucheng. I can't explain it to King Chuang and General Luo, so I

I thought of using the Hongyi Cannon. This cannon is very sharp and has excellent effects when used to attack cities..."

Li Zicheng was a little surprised and looked at Luo Rucai on the right again. He was no stranger to the Hongyi cannon. The rebel army had also captured the Hongyi cannon. Unfortunately, there were no shells and no sergeants who could skillfully operate the Hongyi cannon.

The Yi cannon was too bulky and difficult to transport, so it was eventually abandoned.

When the rebels attacked Fengfu City, they suffered losses from the Hongyi artillery. When a shell roared in, a blood pool appeared all around. That kind of formation was a heavy blow to the psychology of the soldiers who were attacking the city.

"Zhang Dongtao, what you said makes sense. The power of the Red Yi cannon is indeed good, but the rebels don't have the Red Yi cannon. Where can they find the Red Yi cannon to attack Kaifeng Fucheng in such a short time?"

The Ming court had very strict control over the Hongyi cannon, and the price of the Hongyi cannon was very high. The price of a Hongyi cannon was as high as ten thousand taels of silver. Even the commanders and commanders of the guards who were greedy for the salary of the sergeants did not dare to do so easily.

Selling Hongyi cannons, not to mention just owning Hongyi cannons is not enough, you also need to have enough cannonballs. If you rely entirely on purchasing, the price of each cannonball will be as high as two hundred taels of silver.

In the early years of Chongzhen's reign, Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Jiliao, guarded Ningyuan City and owned only five Hongyi cannons.

Of course, as time goes by, more and more red cannons have entered the army of the Ming Dynasty. Red cannons will also be placed on many important cities. For example, in Kaifeng Fucheng, there are four red cannons on the city wall.

Yi cannon.

"King Chuang, I know a few merchants who can provide us with red cannons and enough cannonballs, but the price is a bit expensive. A red cannon costs twelve thousand taels of silver, and one cannonball costs two hundred

Fifty taels of silver, if King Chuang agrees, I plan to buy four Hongyi cannons and two hundred rounds of cannonballs from them..."

Li Zicheng stood up and waved to Zhang Dongtao.

"Okay, being able to purchase the Red Yi cannon is a dream for our rebel army. Four Red Yi cannons cost 48,000 taels of silver, and two white cannon shells cost 50,000 taels of silver. In addition to other

The total expenses are one hundred thousand taels of silver, and we can still afford this money..."

Li Zicheng made the decision, so Zhang Dongtao didn't need to pay out of his own pocket. He could still get one hundred thousand taels of silver.

"Wait a minute, Deputy General Manager Li, where can you buy the Hongyi cannon? Do ordinary merchants have such ability?"

Luo Rucai, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke and stared at Zhang Dongtao.

Zhang Dongtao was not afraid at all and looked at Luo Ru before speaking.

"General Luo, I can't say this. All the merchants risked their heads to trade with our rebels. If this matter spreads, the whole family of those merchants who sold us Hongyi cannons will not even think about surviving.

..”

Li Zicheng nodded and turned to look at Luo Rucai.

"Brother Luo, Zhang Dongtao is right. If people are willing to sell us Hongyi cannons, don't worry about the origins of those merchants. I understand your worries. Maybe these Hongyi cannons come from the imperial army..."

Luo Rucai frowned and looked at Zhang Dongtao with sharp eyes.

Zhang Dongtao is naturally not afraid. He knows very well that Li Zicheng already has great opinions on Luo Rucai. The two only maintain a superficial relationship. Among the rebels, Luo Rucai's prestige is far inferior to that of Li Zicheng. There is no relationship between the two.

Conflicts will break out sooner or later, and Zhang Dongtao doesn't mind pushing in the middle.

"King Chuang, that's not what I meant. I just thought that the rebel army had been attacking Fengfu City for more than two months and lost a lot of brothers. Why did Deputy General Zhang not think of using the Hongyi Cannon for a long time, but he remembered it at this time..."

Zhang Dongtao's face turned red instantly, and he noticed Luo Rucai's intentions.

This is a naked estrangement by Luo Rucai to alienate the relationship between him and Li Zicheng. Perhaps Luo Rucai also sensed the danger, so he used this opportunity to make Li Zicheng suspect everyone under his command. Once Li Zicheng fell into this trap, among the rebels

You will lose support.

In particular, everyone knows the relationship between Zhang Dongtao and Li Zicheng.

"General Luo, what do you mean by this? Do you mean that I did not contribute to the rebel army's attack on Fengfu City? Do you suspect that I have ulterior motives? Do you suspect that I colluded with the government to purchase the Hongyi cannon? Then I have to ask you.

I thought of using the Hongyi cannon to attack Kaifeng Fucheng. What did you think of? If you think of a good way to capture Kaifeng Fucheng, you might as well come up with it and I will never doubt you..."

Zhang Dongtao's words were so direct that he almost named Luo Rucai's estrangement intention.

Luo Rucai's expression changed instantly. He stood up and patted the table hard.

"Deputy General Zhang, you are so brave. Do you dare to do the following..."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Li Zicheng coughed a few times and waved again.

"There is no need to argue. Our goal is to capture the city of Kaifeng. As for what tactics to use, that is another matter. Zhang Dongtao, you should be more careful when speaking in front of General Luo in the future. Brother Luo, Zhang Dongtao is my most trusted brother.

, I think you have to trust him completely..."

Li Zicheng ostensibly reprimanded Zhang Dongtao, but in fact he fully supported Zhang Dongtao.

Luo Rucai could naturally understand the meaning. He looked at Zhang Dongtao, snorted, and walked out of the barracks.

Seeing Luo Rucai walk out of the barracks, Li Zicheng's expression changed quickly.

"Zhang Dongtao, I will immediately instruct the accountant to spend one hundred thousand taels of silver to purchase the Hongyi cannon. As for General Luo, you don't need to pay attention. You must remember that you must purchase the Hongyi cannon and capture Kaifeng Fucheng as soon as possible."

Zhang Dongtao nodded, cupped his fists and spoke to Li Zicheng.

"King Chuang, don't worry, I will do my best."

At this time, Li Yan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"King Chuang, I'm a little worried about General Luo's attitude. If Deputy General Manager Zhang contacts merchants to purchase Hongyi cannons, and General Luo interferes, those merchants may not dare to sell Hongyi cannons to Deputy General Manager Zhang. These

During the days, Deputy General Manager Zhang was thinking very hard, always thinking about how to capture Kaifeng Fucheng. The rebel army had been attacking Kaifeng Fucheng for more than two months, but it did not have much effect. It was definitely not advisable to attack the city by force. Deputy General Manager Zhang told me about the Hongyi Cannon, and we wanted to

Although the shells of the Hongyi cannon cannot destroy the city wall, they can break the city gate. Once the city gate is shattered, it will be a huge shock to the defenders in the city. Moreover, before storming Kaifeng Fucheng, the Hongyi cannon

Attacking the Ming army soldiers on the city wall can also buy time for our rebel soldiers..."

Li Yan is complaining for Zhang Dongtao, and he is also showing merit for Zhang Dongtao.

Of course Li Zicheng understood the meaning. In fact, in his heart, he completely trusted Zhang Dongtao.

"Li Yan, you are right. Zhang Dongtao can think of using Hongyi cannons to attack the city. It is very good. I didn't expect this. Zhang Dongtao, don't worry. Just go and trade with the merchants. If Luo Rucai blocks it, I won't

You'll be polite, okay, Zhang Dongtao, I'm waiting for your good news."

Zhang Dongtao did not leave immediately and watched Li Zicheng speak again.

"King Chuang, after purchasing the Hongyi cannon, I will immediately launch an attack on Kaifeng Fucheng, but I have one more thing to ask for help from King Chuang."

"If you have any requests, just ask."

"King Chuang, I have observed the gates of Kaifeng City. The defense of the west gate is the weakest, so I plan to place the attack at the west gate and strive to break through in one fell swoop. The rest of the east gate, north gate and south gate must be left to King Chuang.

Yes, especially the south gate, which is where Hong Chengchou focused on guarding, but when we launched the general attack, King Chuang led the rebels and made a feint attack, which could attract the strength of the Ming army in the city, leaving them no time to worry about the west gate...

"

Li Zicheng's face showed a comfortable smile.

"Okay, very good, Zhang Dongtao, you have thought very carefully. There is no problem with this. You can go and attack Ximen with confidence."

"Then thank you, King Chuang. We will use the west gate as the direction of attack. This deployment requires absolute confidentiality. I thought that even General Luo would not be able to know..."

Li Zicheng smiled and nodded again, looking at Zhang Dongtao differently.

...

Back in the barracks, Li Yan had an excited look on his face.

"Deputy General Zhang, now we are relieved. We can purchase the Hongyi cannon. I really never thought of using the Hongyi cannon to attack the city. Four Hongyi cannons are firing at the west gate of Kaifeng Fucheng at the same time. The power will definitely not be high."

Normally, as long as we frighten the Ming army guarding the city wall, we can take advantage of the situation and launch a general attack. By that time, the Ming army will definitely not be able to hold on..."

"Li Yan, I want to thank you today. If you hadn't said those words in front of King Chuang, King Chuang wouldn't be so happy..."
Chapter completed!