A Journey Through the Worlds of Film and Television.

Chapter 127 Assassinating the Traitor

In his spare time, Lu Cheng would occasionally write a letter to Ding Baiying to find out about the situation in Kyoto City and express his concern.

After spending several months together in the capital, it would be impossible to say that Lu Cheng had no feelings for Ding Baiying.

But Lu Cheng had more things on his mind and was busy with his career. He didn't have much time to think about love between men and women. He just maintained a certain contact with Ding Baiying.

As for what Ding Baiying's attitude towards him was, Lu Cheng was not very clear. It was difficult to guess a woman's thoughts, and Lu Cheng did not have time to speculate.

Of course, Lu Cheng would occasionally tease the other party in a letter to see how the other party would react.

Most of Dante Baiying's letters were about the situation in Yanjing, and rarely involved personal feelings, except for a few words of concern occasionally.

Maybe it was because Ding Baiying was a child of the underworld and was not good at expressing her feelings. Or maybe she felt that she had expressed it, but Lu Cheng did not appreciate it. No one could say for sure about such things.

However, Lu Cheng has also started to build his own intelligence department. Coming from the future, Lu Cheng is more aware of the importance of intelligence information, which is a key factor affecting the success or failure of a war and major decisions.

It is called an intelligence department, but in fact it is just a makeshift team formed by selecting some smart soldiers and recruiting some clever young men from the local area.

The first task Lu Cheng assigned to these people was to find various skilled craftsmen, educated clerks, etc. near Liaoyang.

As for craftsmen, we mainly recruit blacksmiths, and also carpenters and masons. As for scholars, it would be even better if we could recruit some talented scholars.

After a period of hard work, they actually recruited some useful people, including seven or eight blacksmiths. They could finally make use of the iron that Lu Cheng had looted before, and at the same time, they could also reforge the unqualified weapons of his soldiers.

At the same time, some masons were recruited to help repair houses and fortresses.

As for carpenters, they can also make some simple wooden defensive equipment.

Not only that, there were also two scholars who had studied, seven or eight students, and some talents who had worked as housekeepers and accountants in wealthy families. With this group of people, the logistics team was finally complete, and Lu Cheng had more time.

One day, Lu Cheng took two blueprints he had drawn and came to the blacksmith shop built in the military camp. He called the most experienced master and asked, "Master Hu, do you think these two things are easy to make? How many can you make every day?"

"This shovel is easier. My Lord, you want to use this to dig the hole, right?"

"Yes, it should be made into a short handle so that it is easy to carry."

"No problem. The other one looks a little strange, but it shouldn't be difficult. I'll give it a try and make two finished products for you to see."

"Okay, how long will it take to see you?"

"If you need it urgently, I can make it for you tomorrow morning."

"Okay, as soon as possible."

"Yes, my lord."

If people in later generations see these two pictures, they will be able to recognize the names of the two objects at a glance: the engineer shovel and the Luoyang shovel.

This is also the equipment that Lu Cheng prepared specifically for digging traps and laying mines.

Afterwards, Lu Cheng went to another small workshop outside the military camp and watched the production of land mines.

In fact, land mines are very easy to make, and do not even require any industrial foundation. They can be made with just some gunpowder, pottery jars, ceramic fragments and the like.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our army's mine warfare made full use of all available weapons and produced clay pot mines and stone mines.

"Be careful when you do it, make sure it's safe, and don't have any open flames."

"Yes, my lord."

After inspecting the situation and confirming that the entire military camp was operating normally and he didn't need to worry too much, Lu Cheng could finally proceed with his next plan.

A few days later, Lu Cheng took Ding Xiu with him, and the two of them, riding four horses, quietly left the garrison. They temporarily handed over everything in the garrison to the centurions for management to maintain normal operation.

Leaving Liaoyang, crossing Fushun, and passing through Sarhu, Lu Cheng and his companions quietly penetrated deep into the heart of the Later Jin.

Before leaving, Lu Cheng deliberately emptied the supplies in the storage space, leaving only some food, water and equipment needed for this operation.

Of course, Lu Cheng would not take out the things in the cross-border backpack easily.

After entering winter, the weather in Liaodong became increasingly colder, and the slaves of the Later Jin Dynasty all hid themselves away and seldom went outside.

No one would have thought that two Ming people would be so bold as to quietly reach the heart of the Later Jin, Hetuala.

In the 1616th year of the Wanli reign, that is, in , Nurhaci proclaimed himself Khan in Hetuala and established the Later Jin Dynasty.

It was not until a few years later in 1625, after the Later Jin conquered Shenyang and Liaoyang, that it decided to move the capital to Shenyang and renamed it Shengjing City.

At this time, the Eight Banners troops within the Later Jin Dynasty were still distributed in the form of tribes, maintaining the habit of living by following water and grass.

But now it is winter, and these tribes have settled down and prepared to spend the cold winter.

After entering the territory of the Later Jin, Lu Cheng and Ding Xiu both changed into Later Jin-style clothing and put on leather hats to cover up their Han features.

For this operation, Lu Cheng even specially asked someone to learn some commonly used Jurchen words to facilitate the operation.

Since the Jurchen tribes were scattered and there were not many checkpoints, Lu Cheng and Ding Xiu had an almost unimpeded journey and soon approached Hetuala.

More than ten years ago, Nurhaci ordered the construction of a castle in Hetuala, and later built an outer city outside the castle. Nurhaci and his relatives lived in the inner city, while the outer city was home to the most elite Eight Banners descendants and some surrendered Han generals.

It was already evening when Lu Cheng and Ding Xiu arrived outside Hetuala. They did not enter the city, but hid in a forest outside the city. Lu Cheng observed the entire city from a distance through a telescope.

The city of Hetuala is not big, and its walls are not high, only less than two meters, even lower than the walls of Shenyang and Liaoyang.

Perhaps it was because it was winter, and this was the heartland of the Later Jin Dynasty. Except for the areas near the city gates where there were more guards on the city walls, there were not many guards in other places.

After observing the situation, Lu Cheng and Ding Xiu found a sheltered place and hid.

"Sir, do you really not want me to go with you?"

"No, although you are good at swordsmanship, you are not proficient in assassination. This time, I have to go in person, and you are responsible for supporting here. Keep the several explosive packs given to you. If you hear a loud explosion in the city before I come out tonight, run to the city gate and throw out the explosive packs to attract the enemy's attention. If you don't hear any explosions, you can just stay here and wait."

"Yes, my lord."

Soon, it was late at night, the north wind was howling, and the weather was freezing cold. The soldiers guarding the city wall hid in the city gate tower to keep warm, and some even fell asleep.

At this moment, Lu Cheng quietly came to an unguarded city wall, took out a set of grappling hooks, swung them gently a few times, and then let go. The iron hooks firmly grabbed the corner of the parapet.

I listened to the sounds around me, and apart from the howling north wind, no one seemed to have noticed what was happening here.

Lu Cheng pulled the rope and confirmed that the iron hook was relatively stable. Then he grabbed the rope and quickly climbed up. In a moment, he was on top of the city wall. Looking around, the nearest corner tower to this part of the city wall was dozens of steps away. No one would notice the situation here.

Afterwards, Lu Cheng put down the rope again and easily descended to the ground from the other side of the city wall. He shook the rope casually, causing the hook to fall from the city wall.

Lu Cheng quickly put the rope into the storage space and disappeared under the city wall.

It was already late at night and the entire city of Hetuala was silent. Apart from the occasional night patrol guard passing by, there was no one else on the streets.

Lu Cheng quickly approached the inner city along the street, moving quickly and stealthily towards a certain location.

When robbing the caravan, Lu Cheng specifically interrogated the manager of the caravan and learned about the general situation in Hetuala City. Although he was not clear about the specific distribution and defense situation of the entire city, he at least knew the location of Fan Wencheng and Li Yongfang's mansions.

One of these two men was the Han military advisor whom Nurhaci valued most, and the other was the first Ming army general in Liaodong to surrender to the Later Jin. Naturally, he was highly valued by Nurhaci and lived on the edge of the inner city.

Soon, Lu Cheng arrived at a large mansion with the words "Fan Mansion" written in Chinese and Manchu above the gate...