The soldiers of the Ming army lined up two rows of infantry on the periphery, and the guns, shields and spears were waiting for them. Tatars, Hami Mongols, civil officials, and camels were crowded in the middle, and people watched in horror at the enemy in the wind and sand.

The archers in the array were ready, standing behind and waiting. The Hami Mongols, who were few in number, also armed with them, took their bows and arrows and prepared to defend themselves against the enemy.

Behind the infantry, there were also some musketeers, busy loading, and some people passed the fire and lit the fire rope one after another. There was no enemy at all along the way, and the ordinary fire gun was empty, probably because the gunpowder was easy to be blown away by the wind. The sergeants moved quickly, but in a hurry, some of them had obvious trembling fingers.

A tile spur cavalry rushed over, and the Ming army generals had already shouted and ordered everyone to stabilize the line and not retreat.

However, when the Varspurs had rushed to a hundred paces, they stopped one after another. Many horsemen moved towards the flanks, but did not come close.

Seeing this, someone in the Ming army asked, "What do the Tile Thorns want to do?" If you don't attack at this time, isn't it a snub of the fighter? ”

The Tatars looked abrupt and said in Chinese: "There is no water here, and it cannot be defended." ”

At first, the people were threatened by the Tile Thorn cavalry, and they were all nervous, only concerned about the danger in front of them. At this time, after being reminded, many people realized the problem. Surrounded by yellow sand, where is the water? The worst thing is that everyone walked uphill for two days, and the desert is on high ground, and it is not easy to find water.

Sure enough, the Tile Thorns had no intention of attacking at all, and only watched from a short distance.

The Han Chinese and Mongols in the battle dug the ground together for water, and the people kept digging deep into the sand pits. There was little hope, but everyone was still waiting for a miracle. The two sides were deadlocked until the evening of the same day, and the Ming army still did not dig up a drop of water.

Food and water were still stored, but panic began to spread through the crowd that day.

Asari turned her head to look at a Han Chinese she didn't know, trying to understand his words. The Han said: "We walked for two days on this sandy land, and it was all uphill, whether it was forward or backward, the road was very long. If we had slowly moved the army out of the desert, we would have died of thirst and exhaustion. And if they change formations and move, they will be scattered by cavalry. ”

I saw that the Han man who spoke was wearing armor, a heart guard, and a cyan shoulder scarf, which looked like he should be a military leader.

Another voice said, "The Watts, just wait for us to be thirsty and tired before striking the deadly blow." ”

"Green Shoulder Scarf" said: "To the north of this place, except for a small oasis along the weak water river, it is full of desert and barren rocks, and the place where the Tile Thorn people operate is eight zhang away, at least a thousand miles away. It is impossible for the Varspurs to go on an expedition for a few of us Ming army and a hundred households, and they are coming at the Tatars. ”

The more she listened, the more wrong she became, and she had a vague feeling that these Han soldiers would abandon the Tatars and find a way to break through and escape. The Varspurs must have really come for the remnants of the Tatars, and as long as they captured the Tatars, most of them would not pursue the Han Chinese.

She turned her head to look at Dehuochi, but she couldn't see Dehuochi's attitude.

The chatter around them subsided, and as the sun went down, the light dimmed.

At this time, a general in a cloak came, and his voice said: "We have received a military order to escort the Tatars to Beiping." If you escape from the battle, you will not be killed, and military law will not tolerate it. ”

"Cyan

"The brethren do not want to die for the Tatars. ”

The general said: "The sergeant died for others. We are not Tatars, but saints and court. ”

Asari couldn't understand the general's words.

The civil official accompanying the army suddenly said, "As far as this official knows, this matter is the will of the Holy Lord. and the list of you shall be among the guards. To run away is to be a criminal, but to die in battle is not in vain. Think about the descendants of your family. ”

All the Han people in the vicinity were silent, and the dispute was over.

There was nothing to do all night, the Tile Spur Army did not attack at night, and the Ming army also maintained a military formation and took turns on duty. After dawn the next day, Asari found that the Han soldiers showed no signs of fleeing.

The general gave a military order for everyone to hand over the hydration bags and distribute them daily. He then ordered his men to maintain a circle and move slowly westward. People stopped after walking for a while and continued digging pits in search of water.

The Tile Thorn Brigade in the northeast, as well as the rangers moving around, followed as if watching a play, and still had no intention of attacking.

This went on for four or five days, and the water that the men were carrying was exhausted, and there was not a single drop of water to be found underground, and the people were ready to kill the camels. Moreover, the Han warriors were exhausted one by one, and their thirst and fatigue made them look weak.

Asari felt her lips in the black veil peel too, and despair hung over her. What she regrets the most is that she still can't save the child, she watches the son taken care of by the slave girl every day, but she can't take care of it herself.

She found Tsuhunchi and asked him in a whisper in Mongolian, "Why do the Varspurs know so much news?" ”

Detachment looked at Asari in confusion: "How do I know?" ”

Asari was silent for a moment, and then said, "It seems that everyone is going to die, why doesn't the prime minister let me die?" ”

Detachment Red asked rhetorically, "You doubt me?" I am the Prime Minister of Mongolia, do I have a reason to collude with the Varspurs? ”

Asari was speechless, she couldn't force her to get rid of the fire.

At that moment, Asari heard the commotion, and when she looked up, she saw some of the Tile Thorn cavalry suddenly rushing towards her. She froze in place, surprised, and thought that the Watters would wait another three or two days for the people to be thirsty and unresisted. After all, at this time, the Ming army has not completely lost its combat strength for the time being.

The surroundings were also noisy, and the crowd in the middle was turbulent and more crowded, and Asari didn't know that she was being pushed. On the contrary, those tired and thirsty Han soldiers still maintained their formation.

The infantry with guns and shields in front of them crouched down, and the musketeers raised their guns. A Ming army general drew his waist knife and shouted: "Ready!" ”

Soon, the sound of "bang, bang......" firecrackers rang out, and they were fired twice in turn, and the pungent and choking smoke filled the crowd. Then the firecrackers got busy again, and Asari saw them stabbing the firecrackers with long strips, looking very troublesome. She didn't know why the Han people didn't just use bows and arrows, and there were archers shooting arrows in the queue.

Screams were heard incessantly, and from time to time people fell to the ground with arrows, and unarmed Tatars gathered in the middle were killed and wounded.

At this moment, some Han Chinese people came running and began to drive the camels, they beat the camels violently with whips, and then made a way in the formation in front of them, and the herd of camels rushed out in panic

Go.

Sure enough, when the Mongols came again, they caught up with the running camels, and the Tile Spur cavalry had to disperse and slow down. The archers of the Ming army began to aim and shoot the cavalry, and the arrows fired by the opposite cavalry also "swished" overhead.

Asari's mind was in turmoil, and she found a military general who gave orders, and shouted in Chinese: "Give me arrows, bows and arrows." ”

The general turned his head to look at her, and took out his bow and a quiver and handed it to her.

Immediately she drew her bow and arrows, spotted one of the spur cavalrymen, and at the sound of the strings, the enemy soldier fell from his horse.

A moment later, there was a shout from the north, and the Varspurs rushed forward. However, the sand on the ground seemed to affect the cavalry's charge, and the speed of the Tile Thorns was not fast, and several cavalrymen were pulled off their horses and screamed at the sakura spears.

However, the cavalry of the tile spurs continued to follow one after another, and the cavalry continued to gallop closer, and the number of people wounded by arrows in the Ming army continued to increase, and the infantry showed signs of disarray. At this time, the camels in the circle, wounded by arrows, began to run wildly, and the crowd became even more chaotic. Asari only felt her ears "buzzing", and she could barely hear anything.

Several horsemen rushed into the circle, and the unarmed Tatars and some slaves panicked around as if they had exploded. A horse leaned over and cut down a Han man with a firecracker, and rode his horse through. Asari watched his movements, drew her bow and raised her hand, and fired an arrow right at the target. All I could hear was a scream from the Nava Thorn and then continued to scream in the crowd.

The Varspur army continued to break into the formation, and many of the Tatars Hami had already fled, but none of the escapees came to a good end. They were shot down by arrows, and corpses were strewn across the desert.

The sound of fire guns sounded sporadically in the chaotic army, and the sound of strings was endless.

Asari's arms don't have much strength anymore, she's collapsed a little from not drinking enough water these days, and it's very hard to draw her bow. She bent over to rest with an arrow, observing the rebels around her, and keeping an eye out for the slave girl holding the child not far away.

She heard the movement, and when she turned her head, she saw that a horse was approaching, and the horseman's sword had been swung into the air. Asari's heart suddenly went cold.

"Shhh The war horse suddenly chirped, and I saw a Han sergeant pounce on it, but the Han man underestimated and jumped not high, and hit the horse's back with a flutter. The sergeant's armor made a "clang" sound when it touched the stabbing knife. The hind hooves of the war horse couldn't dodge, and stepped on the Han man's body, and a miserable scream rang out.

When Asari came to her senses, the enemy rider had already run past her. She hurriedly ran to the Han sergeant and knelt on the sand, only to see the man on the ground with a bloody face and a mouth constantly vomiting blood.

She reached out to the Han man's armor, but she didn't know where his worst wound was. She asked in Chinese, "What's your name, your name?" ”

The sergeant looked at Asari blankly, wondering if he didn't understand or couldn't hear. He kept vomiting blood, then his eyes were fixed on the sky, and he didn't say anything.

A woman's screams were heard behind her, and Asari hurriedly grabbed her bow and quiver and stood up, looking around for the slave girl holding the child. It wasn't until she saw the child in the crowd that she breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked back at the sergeant lying not far away, and saw that he was bleeding and motionless, probably dead. Asari opened her parched lips and inhaled, her head dizzy, the chaos of screams and shouts on all sides made her feel like the earth was toppling.