The army camped outside the ancient city of Shanshan. Ahai was too frightened to move and huddled inside the broken city wall.
Outside there are fifteen thousand men from the First Division of the Cavalry Corps, as well as a pirate regiment and a retainer regiment totaling more than seven thousand people.
How could he resist so many Ming troops? He only had 500 cavalry.
This dilapidated city is full of ruins and cannot be defended at all.
He could only put people into groups (ten people) according to a sign, ambush at the gap, and wait for opportunities to shoot arrows outside to prevent the Ming army from approaching the city wall.
He did not dare to retreat without Batur Hutaiji's order to retreat. He could only bite the bullet and stick to the ruins of the ancient city.
Fortunately, although the moat is dry and collapsed, it is still several meters deep. Although the city wall is full of large gaps, the lowest point is four or five meters higher than the outside. There are also commanding heights such as collapsed pagodas, which are conducive to long-range shooting with bows and arrows.
Although the Heshuote people are powerful, they do not have as many firearms as the Junggar people.
Batur Hutaiji ordered that every ten households of the Junggar people must save money to buy a matchlock gun and make a pair of armor every year. After three generations of accumulation, the strength of the Junggar people now far exceeds that of the Heshuote people.
The Hoshuote people only had a small number of matchlocks, and now Ahai's 500 men only had 100 muskets and only three camel cannons.
Ahai stood on the ruins of a collapsed pagoda, looking out.
In the distance are the Ming army's camps. There are tents in a row, and there are some steel vehicles emitting fireworks and water vapor. I don't know what they are.
It was incredible to him that he could move around on his own without the help of animal power.
The pirate group went to Bosten Lake along the way, regardless of what happened here. At present, they are just following the master as a guard force. The servant group mainly protects the master's family. The offensive matters are entirely the matter of the infantry division.
Yang Fan's Chinese army has set up camp, and more than a dozen steam trucks have surrounded the city. In the middle is his towed RV.
Inside the RV, Yang Fan was sitting cross-legged on the floor, with Tu Shanyue and Lin Yueru sitting on both sides.
They can participate in military operations because they have military duties. Mei Xiang and Chen Xi are watching from the opposite side.
"This is the entire map of the Western Region. You see, when we come out of Hami, there is only one way to go to the Junggar Basin on Tianshan North Road. That is to go west along here." The pencil in Yang Fan's hand followed the route on the map.
Row across to the west.
The first castle stronghold is the Shanshan ancient city ruins, then Turpan Basin, and then Dabancheng. After Dabancheng, it is the Urumqi area.
There is no city here now. Dihua City was built in the Qing Dynasty. But there have been many settlements here since ancient times.
This is the core area of the Heshuote tribe. The entire northern Xinjiang, from the north of the Tianshan Mountains to the south of the Altai Mountains, and from the west of Hami to the Ili River Valley, belongs to them. Yang Fan has decided to start a war against the Heshuote people in winter.
This place is no better than the grasslands, all are overland. Yang Fan's off-road steam trucks can travel through this wilderness. The engineers also brought in steam bulldozers and steam rollers. While opening the road, the army moved forward.
"Master, are you planning to conquer Tingzhou (Urumqi area) and then go to Jinshan City?" Xiao Niangpi asked.
"The Khalkha issue cannot be delayed any longer. The Jasak Tuhan tribe must be solved this winter. Send a report to An Sanxi and ask him to organize a cavalry army, transfer to camels, and set out in good weather in the near future to attack the Khalkha Great Lakes area.
Raid the winter camp of the Zasak Tuhan tribe and deal with them." Yang Fan said.
"Let's go west along the Silk Road first, drive out the Heshuote people from northern Xinjiang, and create conditions for encircling the four major divisions. When the situation here becomes clear, I will go to Jinshan City to take charge of the overall command." Yang Fan
said.
"Sir, this Shanshan City is so dilapidated. We can continue to set off tomorrow to Turpan." Lin Yueru said. She didn't think highly of this broken city. A few hundred people are nothing. It's not enough to fill the gap between teeth.
"Sir, Turpan is the Kingdom of Gaochang, right? It's so famous in history." Xiao Niangpi asked.
"Yes, but now they are all dilapidated, there is sand everywhere, and there is nothing interesting to see. After the Tang Dynasty, the climate became colder, and the ecological environment of the Western Regions seriously declined." Yang Fan said.
Yang Fan said: "Let Hou Shengwu attack and capture this place in two hours. We will go into the city to hunt for treasures. There are a lot of good things here."
"Master, what is there here?" Xiao Niangpi asked quickly.
"They are all ancient relics left over from past dynasties. They have everything."
Hou Shengwu was one of the earliest servants. He was in charge of the engineering battalion in his early years. Now the engineering battalion has long been turned into an engineering regiment. The regiment leader is Wang Er Mazi, a guy who is often scolded as Wang Er's madman. Hou Shengwu was transferred to the infantry corps and served as
Commander of the First Division.
After Hou Shengwu received the order, he immediately began to organize the attack.
"It's not difficult to break the ground. Let the regiment and the battalion go and get it for me in half an hour. If you can't get it down, the first battalion commander Furukawa will help me go home and take the baby." Hou Shengwu said.
The master gave him an hour, and he gave Furukawa half an hour.
Although Furukawa scolded his mother in his heart, time waited for no one, and orders from above must be carried out unconditionally.
"The entire battalion must assemble urgently. Attack immediately. Blow the trumpet."
Following Furukawa's order, the bugle sounded.
Yang Fan and his wife were sitting on the small platform on the roof of the RV, using binoculars to watch Furukawa's attack.
The first battalion, more than 500 people, immediately rushed towards the city wall in small groups.
A team of thirty-one people is divided into three groups.
The three people in front of each group, with their waists hunched over, were holding aluminum alloy shields in the shape of a cross in front. The seven people behind them stretched out their flintlock rifles from behind, also hunched over, and advanced quickly.
Hearing the sound of the military bugle, when the soldiers of the first battalion entered within a hundred meters, within the city wall, and on a high point in the city, the great archers of Heshuote immediately started shooting arrows.
Their archery skills were very accurate. They would hide behind various shelters and then suddenly emerge and shoot arrows in a whoosh.
However, the shields in front of the officers and soldiers of the first battalion were basically blocked. Some shots from high angles hit the soldiers behind, but they were also blocked by the stab-resistant uniforms. There was no penetration.
Zhao Qiang groaned. He was hit by an arrow in his left arm. Although it did not penetrate, it was very painful and probably bruised and bruised.
Fifty groups of ten people took turns covering each other and quickly approached the city wall.
Team leader Wu Qishan yelled: "The rifleman points to the gap in front, wait for the bastard to get out, and concentrate on hitting him."
The man's archery was very accurate, and he hit the target with two arrows in succession.
In addition to Zhao Qiang, Li Sanzhu also received an arrow in the thigh, staggering and almost falling.
Seeing that he had hit both arrows, Tulu was overjoyed. He suddenly ducked out from the battlement again and shot an arrow at the team leader Wu Qishan. He had already seen that this guy was an officer. This arrow was aimed at him.
The neck is gone.
As soon as he stepped out, seven flintlock rifles opened fire.
Bang bang bang!
At least three rifles hit him. The surrounding earthen walls were filled with dust from bullets.
Before the Vulture arrow could be fired, it was hit by a large-caliber lead bullet and flew backwards. He fell on the wall and rolled down.