The Great War is imminent!

The Tatars had already begun to march to the forward position of the Ming army outside the city of Tumubao, and Shen Xi arranged 2,000 soldiers and horses in the area of the outer fortifications of the trench, half of which were reinforcements who had just arrived at Tumubao yesterday. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Yun Liu and Xi'er went to the city, and at this time they stood behind Shen Xi, ready to obey the order to lead their troops out of the city and fight with the Tatars.

Xi'er is strong in martial arts, and Yunliu is much weaker than Wen, but he is also a little proficient in fists and feet, and he is not afraid to go into battle to kill the enemy.

"Lord Shen, will the Beikou soldiers and horses attack tonight?" Limited by her field of vision, Xi'er could only see the light of the fire in the distance, and did not understand the movement of the Tatar army, so she came up and asked.

Yun Liu glanced at Xi'er and asked her not to talk nonsense, but Xi'er was still obsessed and looked at Shen Xi curiously.

Shen Xi asked casually, "What's the matter, scared?" ”

"Don't be afraid!" Xi'er replied decisively.

"The Tatars gathered together, their ultimate goal is to take Juyong Pass and coerce the Beijing Division, and they must not be willing to delay too long in this small civil fort, so for today's battle, the Tatars pay attention to a quick victory."

"In the eyes of the Tatars, it is best to win tonight, and if they can't, they must take the civil fort tomorrow. Once we can hold out for two or three days, the focus of the Tatar attack will inevitably change, and we will attack Juyong Pass instead, maintaining the previous situation of only besieging the Tumu Fort and besieging the city for reinforcements......"

Shen Xi's analysis was reasonable and well-founded, but with Xi'er's mind, he couldn't understand it at all, for example, why the Tatars could only choose to give up after hitting a wall in the attack, but Yun Liu understood.

Yun Liu explained: "Lord Shen's meaning, now the weather is getting colder and colder, and it is becoming more and more difficult to use troops, and at the same time, the news of the loss of Zhangjiakou and Xuanfu must have reached the capital, and the imperial court will inevitably send troops and horses to reinforce Juyong Pass and Bauhinia Pass. Therefore, today and tomorrow and even the day after tomorrow are the most dangerous times for the civil fort, and if you can hold on, you can drag the war on! ”

That's true, it's not true. For the Tatars, time is indeed their greatest enemy, and they must take the Inner Great Wall checkpoint before the imperial court reacts, so that they can attack and retreat, and they can be placed in an invincible position. But for us, the battle of Tumubao could not be delayed for long. ”

Shen Xi continued, "Due to the previous successive seizures, as well as a large number of meat provided by dead livestock and horses, the grain and grass in the city are relatively abundant, but the lack of water is a big problem...... Our water reserves were already insufficient, and the problem of water supply became even more prominent after the reinforcements entered the city. ”

"Now there will be a problem with drinking water in the city within three days, which means that the city fortress can hold on for five days at most, unless God opens his eyes and there is a heavy rain or snow, otherwise the soldiers and horses in the city must choose to break through in order to have a chance of survival!"

Xi'er's mouth opened, she wanted to ask, can't you pinch it, don't you know if there will be rain and snow in the next few days?

But at this time, she learned a little smarter, and knew that it was better not to ask what she shouldn't ask, but her nerves were still big, and she didn't think about the consequences of the water supply being cut off at all, but Yunliu had a strong sense of crisis, and her face was full of worry.

"Woo, woo-"

The trumpets outside the city sounded again, and the Tatar attack was imminent.

It was a spear and shield encounter.

The Tatars were brave and skillful, and their attacks were extremely sharp.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were good at defense, especially the commander was Shen Xi, who had the ability to turn decay into magic, and in a short time built the civil fort into a steel fortress that could block the Tatar iron cavalry.

Who's hand is dead by the deer, and look at the present!

……

……

The Battle of Civil Fort finally kicked off.

Even the Ming court would not have thought that a small fortress, with no more than 8,000 weak soldiers, could play a role in such a large-scale war.

Although the news of the loss of Zhangjiakou and Xuanfu Town had been transmitted back to Beijing, and the Ming court also knew that the main direction of attack of the Tatars was Xuanfu Town, but from the very beginning, Tumubao was designated by the imperial court as a city that could be abandoned, and even Xie Qian's efforts failed to win a single soldier for Shen Xi.

As soon as the battle began, Zhang Yong, the supervising army, climbed up to the top of the city, he was hiding in his own room in the command post, trembling, but he didn't want to close his eyes and wait for death, so he simply went to the city to see how Shen Xi commanded the battle, and by the way, he could make some "guidance" on Shen Xi's battle arrangements.

To put it bluntly, Zhang Yong didn't want to put his fate in the hands of others, and if Shen Xi used too risky and aggressive tactics, he would resolutely oppose it.

Although it was far from the front-line battlefield, the loud roar of the horse's hooves of the Tatar cavalry as they galloped reached the fortress, so that every officer and soldier could hear it clearly.

Zhang Yong saw the bright fire in the distance, and knew that it was the torch held by the Tatars, so he couldn't help but say nervously: "Lord Shen, what are you waiting for?" The Tartars are coming! Send troops to meet ......"

Shen Xi glanced at Zhang Yong and said coldly: "The soldiers and horses under the command of this official have already been dispatched in place, and there is no need for Gonggong Zhang to remind him." ”

Zhang Yong was a little angry: "Lord Shen, I am kind, the city of Tumu Fort is broken, there must be no chickens and dogs, and Lord Shen himself will not die here?" ”

Zhang Yong's words caused Shen Xi's personal guards and the officers and soldiers stationed at the head of the city to look at each other angrily.

On the issue of dispatching troops, the officers and men of the three armies will only regard Shen Xi's orders as a golden rule, and some people will point fingers at Shen Xi, even if they are supervising the army, they will not give a good look. If it weren't for Zhang Yong's status as a prisoner, these soldiers would have gone up and pressed the old eunuch to the ground and beaten him.

The Tatar cavalry could not continue to advance when they had charged five miles from the city, and at this time the Ming army had already appeared in the wilderness with the tripping ropes, horse rejections, thistles, and traps laid out by the Ming army these days, and ordinary cattle or infantry needed to come forward to explore the way.

The Tatars had captured a large number of Ming prisoners before, and at this time they let the captives be in front of them to remove obstacles, but the Tatar cavalry still did not dismount, but drove their horses to follow behind, following step by step, shooting those who wanted to escape at any time.

In a bunker on the edge of the trench area outside the city, Hu Songyue detected the movements of the Tatars, and hurriedly sent someone back to the city to report, and about a quarter of an hour later, the news reached Shen Xi: "The Tartars have dismounted and are about to enter the perimeter of the fortifications." ”

When Zhang Yong heard the news, he hurriedly patted Shen Xi's shoulder: "Lord Shen, did you hear it?" The Tartar is hooked, fire the cannon quickly, is it a red pyrotechnic, or a blue one? Who's that, let it go...... Spread the word outside the city! ”

There can only be one commander in the war, Zhang Yong's words are tantamount to nonsense, the officers and soldiers standing around Shen Xi didn't pay attention to him at all, Zhang Yong arranged for a long time, and finally could only come back to ask Shen Xi for instructions.

Shen Xi didn't have the intention of ordering the cannon to fire immediately, Zhang Yong muttered beside him that made people upset, and frowned at the moment: "If Gonggong Zhang doesn't understand the officer's combat intentions and has to provide staff here, it's better to go back and rest for a while...... Come on, send Grandpa Zhang back! ”

Zhang Yong was furious: "Lord Shen, you are obviously holding chicken feathers as an arrow, I am a supervisor appointed by the imperial court, and I have the right to supervise your use of soldiers...... Let go of our family! ”

Even if Zhang Yong was angry, it was useless, and he was dragged down the city tower.

At this time, Shen Xi was still observing the situation of the Tatars outside the city, even if it was night, but because most of the Tatars held torches, the distance was not too far, so that Shen Xi had a certain understanding of the direction and general movements of the Tatars' attack, and could judge when it was most advantageous to counterattack.

Although the fortifications outside the city were built for about five miles, there were only a few scattered tunnels on the periphery of the trench area, as well as a small number of traps and caves.

The real fortifications, mainly the eight trenches two miles outside the Tumubao fortress, formed a tight defensive circle, and the counterattack of the Ming army was mainly carried out from this area.