In the previous battle for the city wall, although it didn't last a few hours, the Kushan Empire's side had a huge advantage in long-range attacks.

From beginning to end, the defenders at the head of the city were suppressed, and the casualties under the city were not large.

However, the burning of the ladder and the final death-defying charge still caused them huge casualties.

In particular, the Bactrian light infantry, which was weakly defended, suffered at least 4,000 casualties.

The hoplites of Minagara, and the armoured crossbowmen of Peshawar suffered very few losses because they were well protected.

The two squads covered each other's advances, and the distant city wall behind them was no longer visible, but they still did not encounter any Han troops.

Just when the Kushan people were secretly rejoicing, they suddenly heard the sound of bowstrings, and the light infantry subconsciously wanted to raise their big shields to protect their bodies.

But the speed of the bow and arrow was very close, and three light infantry with torches were struck one after another, two in the throat and the other in the chest.

The Peshawar crossbowmen quickly fired their bolts at the place where the bowstring sounded, and a muffled grunt came from the darkness.

At this moment, suddenly from the eaves overhead, from the corners on both sides, more than a dozen soldiers of the Han army and the Western Regions Alliance army rushed out, some with horizontal knives and some with spears.

They were attacking from behind, so it was that squad of crossbowmen who bore the brunt of the attack.

Kushan military system, a team of ten people.

In addition to crossbows, these crossbowmen were also equipped with double-edged knives, but the distance was so close that many of them had become ghosts under the knife or spear before they could pull out their double-edged knives.

How can the fighting skills and reflexes of the crossbowmen compare to the fighters of the Central Army?

The light infantry tried to turn around and help, but several more feathered arrows came from behind, hitting the unprotected back.

The fighting skills of the Han army were fully revealed, and these crossbowmen and wounded light infantry were far behind.

Within a few rounds, almost all twenty members of the two squads were put to the ground, and it was only then that the crossbowmen's squad leader remembered the whistle around his neck.

He blew a shrill whistle desperately, and it was loud and loud under the silent night sky.

This was also Soth's idea, as soon as the whistle sounded, the nearby Kushan army had to go over to support, giving full play to the numerical advantage of their own side.

Soon, there was a chaotic sound of footsteps in the distance, and a large group of soldiers was heard running over.

"Withdraw!" The squad leader of the Han army gave the order, and his men ran back into the darkness.

There were not many crossbow arrows, and many Han crossbowmen picked up the bows and arrows of the Western Regions coalition army again.

Anyway, the Western Regions coalition army suffered nearly 10,000 casualties, and the bows and arrows without the master were piled up into a hill.

It's just that their bows are all short-horned bows, not compound longbows that the Han army is accustomed to.

But it's a sneak attack, it's not far away, and it can still be used.

Gao Shun mixed his Han army and the Western Regions coalition army into hundreds of guerrilla groups, which were scattered to various streets and courtyards in the city.

They have also been stationed in this city for several months, and this kind of street fighting and night fighting has been practiced many times.

They knew all about the streets, secret passages, and secret passages of Xinwan City, and Gao Shun and Tai Shici had long been prepared for street fighting.

Today is the second day after the Fa Zheng has asked them to hold out for three days, and tomorrow at this time, they will be able to retreat.

Hearing the whistle, the nearly 100 Kushan infantrymen who arrived quickly saw the picture of corpses all over the ground, and torches that flickered on the ground.

Among these corpses, only two or three corpses belonged to the Han army and the Western Regions coalition army, and most of them were from Kushan.

Several Kushan infantrymen were still alive, but all wounded, and they recounted their experiences.

The officer who led the team ordered the wounded to be sent under the city walls, and the others, carrying torches, continued the search and advance.

The Han army just now was still hiding in the dark, observing these Kushan troops in the light.

There were seventy or eighty men, half of them light infantry and half of them crossbowmen, and they couldn't eat their own class.

While quietly hindering their legs, they sent people to contact other groups around them, let's eat them together, such a big piece of fat is a lot of military merit in the eyes of the soldiers of the Han Army and the Western Regions Alliance Army.

On this night, similar scenes play out in the city, with shrill whistles blaring one after another.

Either the Han army encircled and annihilated the Kushan army, or the Kushan army surrounded the Han army that failed in the sneak attack.

Unconsciously, most of the two divisions under Osidemoss had already entered the streets of Xinwan City.

Osidmos also had some good ideas, he ordered a bonfire to be built at the corner of the street that had been cleared, and sent a small team to guard the campfire.

Gradually, there are also dozens of bonfires illuminating Xinwan City.

Sot ordered the Kshatriya warriors from Gandhara and the archers from Modhara, to temporarily act as coolies, tearing down the courtyard walls and houses in the field of vision, and compressing the space for the Han army to move.

These methods of Sauter and Osidmos were still very targeted, piles of bonfires, which subsided the darkness, and the courtyards and houses with the walls and walls of the courtyard were demolished, which also made it impossible for the Han army to detour and hide.

By daylight, the infantry of the Kushan Empire, who had fought all night, had managed to occupy a third of the city.

However, this night also caused huge losses to the army of the Kushan Empire, after all, they were not familiar with night battles, let alone street battles.

How could anyone in the army of that era practice street fighting? The light infantry division of Osidmos had withdrawn from Xinwan City, with 15,000 men and 9,000 casualties, most of which had been reduced by half, and had lost its combat effectiveness.

Peshawar's armored crossbowmen also suffered about 4,000 casualties, but they still cleared the city of rat-like Han troops.

The hoplites from Minaggara and the archers from Modra were already engaged in street fighting.

According to Sauter's request, the nearly forty surviving trebuchets were successfully installed on the southern city wall after a busy night.

The trebuchet uses fifty catties of stone bullets, which can cover an area of 300 zhang.

Sixty ballistae were transported to the streets below the city walls and assembled.

These ballistas can also hit any target within 200 feet, and they are extremely powerful.

Xinwan Castle is a city built along a valley, with two walls and gates in the north and south, and towering cliffs in the east and west.

The depth of the castle is 7 to 800 zhang from north to south, and the width from east to west is about 500 zhang, and it is a rectangle.

With this move, Sauter easily controlled half of the streets of Xinwan City within his own strike range.

Within 300 zhang, as long as the traces of the Han army were found, the Kushan infantry would plant red flags on the roof, blow the whistle, and trebuchets would drop stone projectiles at the target area.

Even if it can't hit the Han army directly, it will bomb the buildings in that area into ruins.

And the ballistae that could be pushed were simply pushed to the front line of the battle by the Kushan infantry to directly support themselves.

(End of chapter)