In Gaochang City, several qanat (ground water reservoirs of karez) were surrounded by people.
With soldiers maintaining order, city residents lined up to fetch water. Those who dared to jump in line were immediately dragged out and beaten.
The water was already turbid because the water in the open channels was gone, so we had to drill into the culverts to fetch water.
The water in the culvert has also bottomed out.
If you have to take it by force, you will definitely get water and mud.
Obviously, the Ming army blocked the upper reaches of the karez!
A large amount of soil was poured into the shafts exposed above the ground by the Ming army, seriously blocking the flow of the culverts.
Even the Ming army refused to drink the river water on the ground, and more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians drank water from the karez wells upstream.
There were two opinions about karez in the early days.
One is the technology passed from Shaanxi, and the other is the technology passed from Persia.
But later it was discovered through archaeological murals that this thing had already appeared in Xinjiang as early as the Xia and Shang Dynasties.
There were more than ten karez wells dug in Gaochang City and the surrounding countryside. They were abandoned after the Mongols destroyed Gaochang. After the founding of New China, these karez relics were dug out again, and their age was determined through scientific technology. It was found that they were built in the late Warring States Period.
to the Western Han Dynasty.
From time to time, cavalrymen would run back and forth in the city and shout: "Don't be afraid of lack of water, it's going to snow soon, you can drink snow water then!"
Such publicity is naturally to stabilize people's hearts. Who knows when it will snow this year.
There are thousands of people digging wells in various culverts.
The soil here is highly permeable, and melting water from mountain snow and precipitation become groundwater when it penetrates.
When groundwater resources are abundant, it is very possible to regain water sources by squatting in the culvert and continuing to dig downwards.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
In a karez culvert, gunfire suddenly rang out and echoed for a long time.
The Xiliao soldiers who were responsible for protecting the well diggers had their shields pierced by muskets at close range. The Xiliao archers who were standing behind bent their waists and tried to draw their bows to fight back, but were killed by several gunshots.
"The Ming army is coming!"
The civilians in Western Liao who were responsible for transporting soil were so frightened that they rushed back.
The karez culvert is about 1.7 meters high and 1.2 meters wide. There were too many people and it was too narrow, making it impossible to escape quickly. They trampled on each other in a hurry and died.
"Come up!"
The soldiers of the Ming army shouted in the Uighur language they had just learned to the peasants who were digging the shaft.
The farmer in the well shivered and climbed up along the rope.
Including other captured civilians, they were all forced by the Ming army to backfill with sand and block the newly dug shaft.
After the blockade, the Ming army quickly fled!
Because this is already an underground area within the city, if you slow down a little bit, you will be surrounded by enemies.
Under the continuous destruction of the Ming army, the defenders had to first seal the culverts inside and outside the city, and then continue digging underground inside the city.
Even if more than a dozen wells were successfully dug, considering the number of soldiers and civilians in the city, it would still be a drop in the bucket, not to mention the large number of war horses in need of drinking water.
"The water is out, the water is out!"
There is a Buddhist temple in the southwest of Gaochang outer city, and the monks cheered in unison.
This temple covers an area of ​​more than 10,000 square meters, and Master Xuanzang gave lectures here for more than a month.
The entire southwest and southeast areas of the outer city are densely packed with temples. In addition to Buddhist temples, there are also Nestorian temples. The relationship between the two religions is extremely harmonious, and believers have long intermarried with each other.
The Manichaean temple is located in the northwest of the inner city, and the Zoroastrian temple is located in the northeast.
There are many temples of other sects scattered throughout the inner and outer cities. Believers of all ethnic groups live together next to their temples, and the abbot has great community power and high community prestige.
"Da da da da!"
A group of cavalry rushed to the gate of the temple. The officer raised his knife and said to the monks: "Monks always draw water from wells and pour it into the nearest reservoir. When residents in the city draw water, the monks of this temple can take it first, and the rest is left to the army.
distribute!"
Faced with real swords and spears, the monks dared not speak out in anger.
The next day, another well was opened in the inner city, and residents even broke out in riots when they were grabbing water. Soldiers killed more than 20 people and suppressed the situation.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The daily shelling outside the city began again. Since there was no hope of demolishing the city wall, all light and heavy artillery were aimed at the defense facilities on the city wall.
Several towers, especially those with barbicans, have been mostly destroyed by cannonballs.
From time to time, artillery shells fell into the city, smashing holes in nearby houses and even smashing many statues of gods from major religions.
The soldiers and civilians in the city were frightened by the continuous bombardment.
Moreover, they did not dare to go out of the city to collect firewood. If they were not careful, they would be killed by the Ming army's cavalry. The firewood stored by the military was barely enough, but ordinary people could only tear down doors or furniture.
Finally someone can’t stand it anymore!
That evening, as the Ming army withdrew its troops and returned to camp, the defenders opened the city gates and allowed the people to go out to collect wood - mainly shrubs, hay and crop residues.
Many men and even monks rushed out without courage.
They were soon discovered by the Ming army's sentry cavalry, who blew their trumpets to summon more Ming army cavalry.
The Xiliao cavalry responsible for protecting the woodcutter immediately went up to fight the Ming army, but most of them shot a few arrows and fled towards Wengcheng.
As for the civilians who went out to collect firewood from the city, they gathered up anything they could light and ran away.
The Ming cavalry chased all the way to the outside of Wengcheng. Facing the rain of arrows, they could only stop and silently watched the soldiers and civilians of Xiliao enter Wengcheng.
However, a few Xiliao cavalry did not enter the city. They "ran into panic" and ran farther away. Then they knelt down and surrendered and asked to see the Ming army commander.
"Who is your master?" Li Yanxian asked.
The cavalry replied: "Our master's name is Zhuo Weng."
In fact, his master's name is Zhang Mei.
壣(wěng, meaning Tianming) is a common name of Han Zoroastrian Christians in the Tang Dynasty, and it has special religious significance.
Regimes change and ethnic groups change.
The descendants of the Han Zoroastrians in the Western Regions can no longer speak Chinese or write Chinese characters. But they still remember the pronunciation of their surnames, and they still like to be named "奣", but they have completely forgotten how to write their surnames and the character "壣".
The good-natured Chinese name Zhang Mei was actually called "Zhuo Weng" by his subordinates.
Li Yanxian was naturally confused about this and continued to ask: "Where is that Zhuo Weng from? Does he hold any position in the Western Liao Army? What religion does he believe in?"
A cavalryman replied: "Our master is the second largest nobleman in Yizhou. He serves as the deputy city lord of Yizhou and believes in the glorious Zoroastrianism."
When Nestorianism spread to the East, its teachings underwent great changes, as did Zoroastrianism.
Although the orthodox Zoroastrianism in Persia had several auxiliary gods, it was ultimately a monotheistic religion. However, when it spread to the East, it became polytheistic Zoroastrianism, which continued to absorb more gods along the way, even including Hindu gods.
If the Ming Dynasty ruled here for a long time, it would not be a bad idea for Confucius to become a Zoroastrian god.
Emperor Xiao Zhu was very happy to accept this kind of sect that kept pace with the times.
"How many soldiers does the captive have?" Li Yanxian asked.
The cavalryman who came to contact replied: "Many people were killed and injured, leaving only more than 300 cavalrymen and more than 2,000 infantrymen. The master led his troops to defend the Wucheng Gate in the northwest, and the Wengcheng there was also garrisoned by the master. Tomorrow
If the soldiers attack the city, the master can immediately switch sides."
Li Yanxian did not express his position, and after asking some questions about the military situation, he sent the cavalry away.
The generals expressed their opinions. Some felt that they could take the opportunity to attack the city, while others felt that the captor was pretending to surrender.
Before Li Yanxian could make a decision, a military telegraph officer suddenly came over and said: "More than forty miles to the west, scattered Xiliao cavalry was found. They may be reconnaissance cavalry sent by the Xiliao reinforcements."
The Ming army had temporarily set up an antenna in a fortress northwest of Gaochang City.
Although the antenna is not high and the scale is not large, troops with a radius of dozens of miles can quickly send messages to Li Yanxian as long as they carry a hand-operated transmitter.
"No need to think about it!"
Li Yanxian stood up and said: "First attack the reinforcements and then attack the city. With the morale of the defenders in the city, we can take down the city in one fell swoop as long as we destroy the reinforcements."
To be continued...