Xiao Xuan has gained something in some aspects in the rectification of the Kazakh Khanate, so of course he will not risk his life. Tian Xiuying only learned later that it was just a means to justifiably have a showdown with the Astrakhan Dynasty.

By the time the news spread, more than 30,000 elite soldiers from five divisions had already surrounded the city of Samarkand and launched a fierce night assault on the city's defenses. In Xiao Xuan's expectations, as a large city with a population of hundreds of thousands, which is extremely rare outside the Central Plains, it should be a big nail. Even if the combat effectiveness of the volunteer troops at this time is not what it used to be, it should not be so easy to conquer such a big city. However, when the four divisions of the volunteer army launched a surprise attack on the city from four directions, the first round of feints alone completely suppressed the defenders on the city with bows and arrows and black powder grenades, which was something that had not been thought of before. The order from the feint to the general attack was thus hastily unfolded.

In fact, even the battalion and company officers in the volunteer army generally did not expect that it would be so easy to take Samarkand, a big city with Eastern and Western civilizations comparable to the north and south capitals. With just some very simple means, the officers and men of the four divisions stormed the walls from all directions. At first, it seemed to give people a fear of being unreal. It was as if the defenders of the city were luring the enemy deeper in a sense. Therefore, the officers and men who initially attacked the city also gathered as many battalions as possible to prepare for the counterattack of the defenders, and did not launch a decisive counterattack until the sky began to lighten, and took the whole city shortly after the sun rose.

In this easy siege and assault operation, only 15 of the four divisions carrying out the offensive mission were killed and more than 50 were killed or wounded. The defenders of the city, which numbered roughly 20,000 men, suffered only a few thousand losses, and when the situation was unfavorable, they either hid and waited to be captured and surrendered, or they were ready to surrender on the spot.

Even so, the elite troops of the three divisions that attacked the castle during the day were very cautious when attacking in the direction of Miyagi, as if there was some conspiracy hidden everywhere. The pedestrians and merchants who came and went on the bustling streets reacted fairly quickly, and when they heard the continuous sound of guns at dawn, they felt that something was wrong, and not many people dared to risk their lives to talk about the news. Only the few brave people who went out of the city and stood on the rooftops to watch finally noticed that there were many unfamiliar flags on the top of the city, as if they were completely occupied.

The defenders gathered in the walled city of Samarkand put up a fierce resistance. However, at this time, the volunteer troops were no longer what they used to be, and the high walls that were not the city walls were easily destroyed by the skilled demolition team with demolition tactics. After a short battle, the attacking team broke through the defenses near Miyagi and annihilated the defenders who had gathered around the palace with more than 30,000 men.

Most of these defenders also surrendered quickly when the strong enemy broke through the fortifications on the outskirts. The total number of people who chose to die in the battle was only four or five thousand, including many who were pursued and killed during the rout.

After breaking through the palace city of Samarkand and capturing many eunuchs and maids in the palace, the feeling of "this may be a trap" still lingers in the hearts of the officers and soldiers. So the army began to search and search the whole city. However, by the afternoon of the next day, there was only some sporadic resistance.

Hearing the news that the 60,000 troops stationed in Samarkand were easily defeated, Rao is Xiao Xuan had experienced many similar battles in his domestic operations, but he still seemed to feel a trace of "unreality"

Xiao Xuan finally chose a person to think carefully in the big tent: Could it be that the consolidation training and even ideological bonuses and selection of the volunteer troops over the past few years have made the army's combat effectiveness unprecedentedly improved, so the battle that should have been a vicious battle was suppressed so easily under the excellent performance of the strong own army?

However, when recalling the process of fighting with the Kazakhs, Xiao Xuan finally denied this view. There is no doubt that the 60,000 defenders stationed in Samarkand are still far behind the 60,000 main forces of Kazakhstan. What's more, the former also has the bonus of a barely decent royal city?

It was only not long before word came that more and more Samarkand troops were massing in the area of the Emir's summer palace outside the city. This seemed to make Xiao Xuan realize a little suddenly

Not all regimes are countries like the Central Plains with plenty of troops and millions of mercenaries. The entire Astrakhan dynasty had only a few hundred thousand available troops. If all these forces were used to defend the city, there would not be much mobile force to use for development and engagement. The presence of troops in such a prosperous city is undoubtedly a serious injury to the combat effectiveness of the army itself.

Perhaps it is for this reason that the rulers of the Timurid Khanate, like the Toei Japan, gave up their trust in the city walls to a certain extent, as was the case with the Timurid Khanate. Deploy the real core palace outside the city, along with the castle.

Before, Xiao Xuan felt that the troops stationed in those fortresses outside the city were not huge, and they were obviously not as attractive as Samarkand City, so the focus of the attack was on Samarkand City, but now it seems that the combat preparations for the real important places should also be carried out.

"What is the harvest of gunpowder and ammunition in Samarkand?" Xiao Xuan also asked the person in charge of military intelligence after inquiring about the heads of the divisions

"The figures reported by the divisions should be roughly true. Although the army of the Astrakhan Dynasty was dominated by cavalry and traditional cold weapons, more than 100,000 catties of gunpowder were captured in the city alone, and the quality did not seem to be too bad. Ammunition recasting is also in full swing in reserve... Is it still dominated by seven-pound bullets? ”

"Thirty pounds of heavy ammunition is the main one! In addition to this, heavy shotguns are the mainstay, and you can first test the effect of the thirty pounds of heavy bombs at the limit distance on the decent stone buildings in the city, if not, you can't increase it appropriately. It is also best to sort out the relevant tables and parameters through the test as soon as possible. . . ”

In this way, preparations for the attack on the fortified area of the castle began soon after the capture of Samarkand. The final result is of course a little condensed, and the test has proved that at least about 50 catties of lead bullets are needed to be projectile at a limit distance of about one mile within the effective accuracy range, so that there is a great chance that they can hit those stone targets

(End of chapter)