In the early morning, while Yang Fan was still sleeping, he was awakened by the sound of explosions in the distance.
He had no intention of getting up. He worked hard last night and felt a little tired.
He tried hard for a while, but he really didn't want to get up.
Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru were on the left and right, each holding one of his legs, with their little heads resting on his shoulders. They were holding him like an octopus, sleeping soundly.
If he wanted to get up, he would definitely have to move them down, and he couldn't bear to wake them up.
Yang Fan is always fair in doing things, and a bowl of water must be balanced. He can't favor one thing over another and do things perfunctorily, otherwise the ladies will complain. Therefore, he slept a little late last night.
He knew that this explosion was caused by the vanguard troops blowing open the gate of the ancient city of Gaochang.
Engineers and soldiers are now becoming more and more capable and enjoy a special status in the Yang Mansion's military system.
These grown-up soldiers usually walk with their chins raised. Usually when soldiers are bleeding in battle, they smoke and fart in the back. If gambling had not been banned in the military camp, poker and mahjong would have been played.
However, when they are used, they will be very busy.
Gaochang Ancient City is located in today's Erbao Township, Gaochang District, Turpan City, about 40 kilometers west of Turpan City, with a total area of about 2.2 million square meters.
This scale is not small. Gaochang was considered a big country in the Western Regions at that time.
The ancient city ruins are surrounded by mountains and are low-lying. It has a mid-temperate continental climate with perennial drought and little rainfall.
It was the central town in the Turpan Basin from the Western Han Dynasty to the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1st century BC - 14th century AD). It went through the Western Han Dynasty Gaochangbi, Gaochang County, Gaochang Kingdom, Tang Dynasty Xizhou and Gaochang Uighur periods.
The time span of this ancient city is about 1,400 years.
The vanguard of the 1st Infantry Division, a battalion with one man and three horses, broke away from the main force at night and rushed towards the ancient city of Gaochang.
Because Elunqi went to Hami's northern road to block Yang Fan, the garrison of more than a thousand people in the ancient city never expected that an enemy would come out of the desert.
They were completely unprepared and very relaxed.
Battalion Commander Cheng Youxia squinted his eyes and stared for a long time. Several old pawns on the top of the city had been dozing off against the wooden pillars of the gatehouse. He used his pocket watch to watch for a long time and calculated that there was only a team of fifty people in a quarter of an hour.
Soldiers on the left and right were patrolling from the city wall with lanterns.
After the second group of soldiers inspected, Cheng Youxia didn't plan to wait any longer.
He was lying on the ground, hiding in the shadow behind a large rock.
He raised an arm and made a gesture.
Yang Fan's regular soldiers and horses have all received sign language training. After all, many times, it is inconvenient to make sounds.
When the people behind saw it, they immediately understood what the battalion commander meant.
Everyone squatted down, fixed the bayonet on the flintlock gun, and then loaded the bullet.
Waiting for the moment when the city gate opens, they will rush into the city like tigers descending from the mountain.
Flintlock guns cannot be loaded in advance because the bumpy march affects the performance of the gunpowder.
At this time, before the battle started, everyone half-crouched and loaded a round of lead bullets.
The five engineers held the explosive bag, crawled forward, turned sideways quickly, put their left forearm horizontally on the ground, and moved forward while holding the explosive bag in their right arm.
They usually train to crawl under a low barbed wire fence that is more than a foot high.
Sometimes, there is fire on top and mud below.
Now crawling on dry ground, the speed is very fast.
They were all well-trained. Soon they got into the intermittent trenches without water and hid themselves.
Team leader Huang Erdan climbed into the trench and looked up.
This ancient city is very damaged. Although it has obviously been repaired, the walls are cracked in many places. The battlements are also largely incomplete.
After all, although this ancient city has been repaired in the past dynasties, it is really too old.
Although the city wall is made of rammed earth, it is relatively intact because it does not rain here and there is no rain erosion.
But above the horse's face, it was all bare flat ground, not even the battlements.
In the first year of the Yuan Dynasty of the Western Han Dynasty (48 BC), in order to strengthen his control over the Western Regions, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty built fortresses, placed soldiers and civilians, and garrisoned fields in the area of today's Gaochang City. This was the initial construction of Gaochang City.
Because this place connects to Yiwu (today's Hami area) in the east, Cheshihouhou (today's Jimusar area) to the north, Yanqi and Qiuci (today's Kuqa area) to the west through Jiaohe, and Loulan (northwest bank of Lop Nur) in the south.
The land was vast, flat and fertile, and eventually formed Gaochangbi, an important military location for gathering troops and horses.
The moats were dug in the Han Dynasty. This city was built by the Han people. No wonder it looks so similar to the cities in the Central Plains.
Originally it was a wilderness. After the city was built in the Western Han Dynasty, it became the central city of the Han Dynasty's rule in the Western Regions.
During the Yuan Dynasty, this place was occupied by the Gaochang Uighurs. They were not good at building fortresses, and the damage was very serious during this period.
To make matters worse, in the twelfth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1275), Haidu and Duwa, the grandson of Chagatai Khan, colluded with each other to launch a rebellion against the Yuan Dynasty and sent 120,000 troops to launch a large-scale attack on Gaochang City.
The following year, after the rebels captured Gaochang City, they frantically destroyed the buildings in the city and set fire to the entire city. The Gaochang Uighur King was forced to flee Yongchang County, Gansu Province.
The Gaochang Uighur Kingdom, which lasted for more than 400 years, existed in name only, and the territory under its jurisdiction was merged into the Chagatai Khanate.
Gaochang City also experienced an unprecedented catastrophe during this war, and became a ruin. The current dilapidated scene of Gaochang City was formed. Since then, the city has been in the hands of the Mongols.
"After a while, I pulled the fuse, came out of the city gate hole, and ran to both ends along the city wall. Don't jump into the city trench. Remember. There are too many cracks in the foundation of this city gate. Be careful if it collapses and bury you inside." Huang
Erdan warned worriedly.
Casualties are an important indicator of merit assessment. As the team leader, he is responsible for the safety of ten brothers, so he must do his best.
The five people took advantage of the patrol to pass by and quickly got into the city gate.
The city gate is made of hardwood, but it is very old.
Even though it looks like it's still about a foot thick, it's all rotten. The door panel has gouges, and some of it falls off when you press it with your hands.
Looking at the remaining patterns on the door, it has a strong Uighur style. It should be a relic from the Uighur rule in Xizhou.
They placed three 40-pound explosive packets on the city gate. These explosive packets were made from a modern Syrian explosive recipe fried with chemical fertilizer and sugar. They were extremely powerful.
The explosives were bundled with cowhide and rope, and two inverted V-shaped wooden stick supports were inserted diagonally.
In this way, with support, the explosive package can be easily placed on the city gate and fixed.
Huang Erdan waved his hand, and the three engineers immediately lit the fuse. Then the five people quickly rushed out of the city gate and ran to both ends.
After they ran more than thirty meters against the city wall, they immediately covered their ears with their hands, opened their mouths wide, and squatted on the ground on their toes. This could prevent their internal organs from being shocked.
There was a loud bang, and the base of the city gate collapsed. Just as Huang Erdan expected, the entire base turned into rammed earth fragments and flew everywhere.
For a moment, smoke filled the air and dust rose into the sky, flying more than a hundred meters high.
It's too dry here, and there was already a lot of dust and floating soil. Now that it was blown up by high explosives, it suddenly filled a huge area.
Soldiers from a battalion immediately pulled up cloth towels to cover their mouths and noses. Then they picked up their rifles and rushed forward.