Cao Yuying said, "I won't go into the details of Dabancheng's victory", firstly, because of the limited time - the rain outside has begun to light - it is not allowed and does not need to be detailed; Second, his main purpose is to emphasize Guan Zhuofan's "strategizing and winning thousands of miles away", and he didn't want to use other words to thin out the impression of the relatives and nobles, so he lightly brought it over in one sentence, anyway, the details of the battle will be made public later.

However, although the words in the Military Aircraft Department are understated, the specific process of the Battle of Daban Castle is actually very much to say, and it can even be said to be very legendary.

Originally, on the rebel side, from Agubai to Bai Yanhu, they were all confident that they could hold the front line of Tuoxun and Turpan.

This confidence first comes from natural insurance.

Tuoxun in the west, Turpan in the east, each other's horns, they are not far from Urumqi in a straight line, in fact, it is not far, but the east-west Tianshan mountain range just lies between Urumqi and Tuoxun-Turpan, and the northern gateway of Tuoxun-Turpan, Dabancheng, is just choking the Tianshan Pass of Tuoxun-Turpan in the south of Urumqi.

If you want to capture Tuoxun-Turpan, you must first cross the Tianshan Mountains and capture the city of Daban, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In fact, Dabancheng is not only the northbound gateway to Tuoxun-Turpan - if you don't enter through this gate, you can't get to Tuoxun-Turpan, but at the same time, it is also the only way for northern Xinjiang to enter southern Xinjiang, unless you take a detour to Ili in the west - the problem is that at this time, Ili is not in the hands of the imperial court.

In addition to "mountain insurance". Daban Castle also has "water insurance".

There is a large patch of grass near Daban Castle. The terrain is low. After Agubai's "Datongha", the prime minister Aiyidel Huri, arrived at Rendaban City, inspected the surrounding terrain, and suddenly had a whim, sent a large team of men and horses, dug a trench, and introduced the water of the nearby lake into the swamp, forming a swamp with a width of dozens of zhang, from the north, west, and east directions. Surrounded most of Daban Castle.

For this "super moat", Ai Yidel Huri was very proud, thinking that a small group of men and horses may be able to pass, but it is impossible for a large group of people to pass, and the most important thing is that in any case, the cannon can't pass - the army of the imperial court, isn't it just by relying on foreign cannons that they can take advantage of us?

Also, if the officers and soldiers really want to "force the crossing". Regardless of whether it will be stuck in the swamp and unable to extricate itself, let's just say that this distance - it has not yet reached the middle of the swamp. It has entered the range of our army's guns, hmph, when the time comes, what "Xuan Army" is not "Xuan Army", isn't it just a bunch of targets?

This swamp is truly blessed by Allah for the great "Emir"!

Unless the officers and soldiers have the ability to drain the water in the swamp - this is almost impossible, even if the officers and soldiers do it, it will be a matter of the Year of the Monkey and the month of the horse, and besides, if it is really drained, it doesn't matter - we can release the water again!

Secondly, Agubai was on the front line of Dabancheng-Tuoxun-Turpan, gathering troops, and in fact, he took out all his old books.

Agubo has already realized that the imperial court's march into Xinjiang this time is really here, and it has made up its mind to restore the whole of Xinjiang, if it is not possible to take advantage of the natural dangers of the Tianshan Mountains to intercept the official army, the terrain of southern Xinjiang is relatively flat, and the officials and troops have broken in, and the equipment is excellent, and it is beyond their reach, this battle will not be easy to fight.

Therefore, no matter how much effort is made, no matter what, the official army must be blocked north of the Tianshan Mountains!

Most of the first support army sent by Agubai was wiped out in the Battle of Ancient Pastureland, but although the losses were not small, they did not hurt their muscles and bones, and his main force was still behind, endlessly.

The main reinforcements, divided into two groups, the first batch of 6,500 infantry and 3,500 cavalry, a total of 10,000 people, led by his close general Yunusjiang, set off first.

This Yunusjiang is the one who led 7,000 remnants of Kokand into Xinjiang and helped Agubai to defeat Yarkand, Hotan, and Kucha, and unify southern Xinjiang.

The number of the second batch of reinforcements doubled to 20,000 in total. This army of soldiers and horses was originally commanded by Agubai himself, but in Xinping, southern Xinjiang, the people's hearts were not attached, and after the imperial army entered Xinjiang, it was even more rumors, Agubai was afraid that after he left the Kashgar base camp, the backyard would catch fire, and after thinking about it, he finally decided that the second son Haigula and the "Datongha" Aiyidel Huri would lead the army, and he and his eldest son Berkhuri would sit in Kashgar and "command the opportunity".

Coupled with the defeat of the 3,000 remnants gathered by Bai Yanhu, the total strength of the rebels in Dabancheng-Tuoxun-Turpan reached 33,000, which is very strong.

In the battle of the ancient pastureland, although the rebels had 16,000 troops, it was not small, but half of them were properly surrendered, not only did they have no intention of fighting, but Bai Yanhu also had to draw out manpower to prevent this batch of surrenderers from turning against the water, and the so-called 16,000 troops actually had to be discounted.

These 33,000 people are different, most of them are Kashgar soldiers, not to mention the combat strength, at least, there will be no absurd situation in the battle of Hongmiaozi: as soon as the guns are fired, they turn around and run, collide with each other, and make a mess.

Aiyidel Huri, Yunusjiang, Haigula, and Bai Yanhu are divided in this way: Aiyidel Huri is stationed in Dabancheng; Khagura garrisoned Tuksun; Yunusjiang and Bai Yanhu, stationed in Turpan.

After such an arrangement, Agu Bai and below, including Bai Yanhu, all believed that the Tianshan defense line was fortified by danger, with strong troops, impregnable, and foolproof.

With this thought, there is no fear.

The news from Urumqi made the leaders of the rebels even more relieved.

It is said that Zhan Donglu, who "operated in the camps of the prime minister's battalions", said, "After the battle of Manas, the food and salary are not continued, the medicine is scarce, the soldiers are tired, and at the end of the strong crossbow, they can't wear Lu Min. ”

Hey, that sounds like a lot of sense.

Including the most cunning Bai Yanhu, they all believed Zhan Donglu's "statement" - no one thought that this remark was just a "slow enemy's strategy" by the official army.

As a result, the rebels were relieved to this extent: they did not send a single soldier. Guarding the Tien Shan Pass along the way.

Troops on the front line. All concentrated in Daban Castle; Outside Daban Castle. There wasn't even a fort.

Of course, this pattern is not unrelated to the swamp - how to set up a fortress on the swamp? If the fortress is set up further north, it is true that the swamp can be avoided, but how can the people of the fortress pass through the marshland. Contact Dabanjo? How did Daban Castle pass through the swamp to deliver the medicine to the fortress?

I don't know if this self-proclaimed smart swamp can stop the officers and soldiers, but before I saw the battle, I locked myself up first, but it was visible.

After making careful preparations, including a detailed survey of the terrain, topography, and landform along the way and around Daban Castle, Xuan Jun stepped and rode ahead. The Lao Xiang army was second, and the Xuan army artillery was last. The Western Expedition army set out from Urumqi, crossed the Tianshan Mountains, and went south over the danger.

If it is the middle of winter, the snow will cover the mountain, the ice will condense, and the shapes will be tricky, and it is almost insurmountable. However, it is the height of summer, if you march to the Gobi and the desert, take Wen Xiang paraphrased Guan Zhuofan's words, "The heat is also hot, and the thirst is thirsty", however, the road of the Tianshan Mountains is precisely the best time of the year.

And because the rebels did not divide their troops to guard the relevant passes, and did not even send out the horses, and the relevant roads had already been explored in advance, and the guides were ready, the army of the Western Expedition calmly crossed the towering and precipitous Tianshan Mountains.

The Western Expeditionary Army arrived at Chaiwobao, this place was originally the outpost of Daban City, however, the scouts of the official army had long found that there was not a single soldier of the rebels here, and the defense of Daban City itself, as in the past, did not have any special movements, proving that the rebels did not know that the Western Expeditionary Army had crossed the Tianshan Mountains and was about to come under their noses.

Now, the army of the Western Expedition is going to think of a way to cross the swamp that Aiydel Huri smugly thinks is a moat.

This swamp, in the eyes of the rebels, is insurmountable, and it is about the same as other feudal armies, however, what the rebels don't know is that the Xuan army they are facing is an authentic modern army armed with modern technology and equipment.

The width of the swamp was not uniform, some were wide and some were narrow, and when night fell, under the cover of darkness, the sappers of the Xuan army found several of the narrowest places and built a temporary bridge.

This temporary bridge is a real improvised bridge, not a pontoon bridge - there is no way to build a pontoon bridge in the swamp.

The temporary bridge built by the Xuan army engineers was a craft that was practiced under the guidance of Sherman's engineers in Atlanta, USA.

The name of the subject is very long-winded, it is called "laying a road surface in a muddy, puddle or even shallow pond that can be passed by troops, including artillery trucks": quickly measure and judge the depth of the water, drive wooden stakes of different lengths into the water, cut off the wooden stakes that are exposed to the water, and lay planks on top - in an emergency, a simple trimmed trunk will do, and if the target road is not wide, it will only take ten minutes for troops, including artillery, to pass.

The swamp is naturally more complicated and troublesome than the "muddy, puddle-filled and even shallow pond section", but this "swamp" in Dabancheng is an "artificial" swamp, and the underwater ground is relatively hard and the siltation is limited, and for the sappers of the Xuan army, it is just an "enlarged version" of "the muddy, puddle-rich and even shallow pond section", and there is no big deal.

The three temporary bridges were quickly built, and the Xuan army and the Lao Xiang army, together with the artillery, crossed this "moat" calmly and easily under the cover of night and under the noses of the rebels in Dabancheng.

From beginning to end, the rebels at the head of Daban Castle were ignorant.

Zhan Donglu said in the recital, "It's the beginning of the night, and the drum is fast." The thieves do not know, and they tend to reach the city, hoping to gather under the city with five drums, and set up and close the locks, and put an end to the thieves escaping", this plan has been perfectly realized.

As soon as the officers and soldiers crossed the swamp, they immediately dug trenches and built fortifications, and the officers and soldiers were in full swing, and the rebels at the head of the city, some people vaguely heard the "strange voice", but they could not imagine that the officers and soldiers of the brigade had already entered the city, so no one, including those who heard the "strange voice", got up to see what was going on.

When the day dawned, the rebels of Daban City were dumbfounded: several criss-crossing trenches surrounded most of Daban City, and in the trenches, human figures were faint and the cold light flickered.

Allah! Is I still dreaming, or am I ...... Really surrounded?!

How can it be? The officers and soldiers fell from the sky, or ...... Coming from the ground?

Whether it falls from the sky or comes from the ground, anyway - biting my tongue, ouch, it hurts! Not a dream!

The rebels shouted and shouted, guns and cannons were fired, and the city was filled with gunsmoke and chaos.

This round of firing did not cause any losses to the officers and soldiers, who all hid in the trenches, quietly waiting for the order to attack.

The order to attack was not given so quickly, and the officers and troops now had two things to do: first, patiently extend the trenches, deploy troops, and complete the encirclement of the entire Daban Castle; Second, build a fort – the terrain around Daban Castle is lower than the castle itself, and the fort must be high enough to get the best angle of fire.

Zhan Donglu ordered all armies to closely monitor the movements of the defending enemy to prevent the enemy from breaking through; At the same time, keep a close eye on the Tuoxun-Turpan direction and prepare to block the reinforcements of the rebels.

His judgment was very accurate. On the same day, Tuoxun's Haigula sent a horse team of 1,500 people to reinforce Daban City, the cavalry battalion of the Xuan army intercepted halfway, Tuoxun's reinforcements were defeated, leaving more than 200 corpses, and fled back to Tuoxun in embarrassment.

The official army "fell from the sky", the psychological impact on the rebels was too great, and after learning that the reinforcements were cut off, the defenders of Daban Castle had not yet officially met with the official army, so they lost the confidence to hold on.

This news was reported to the officers and soldiers by the Uyghurs who had escaped from the city, and Zhan Donglu immediately ordered that the armies "shine at night, and the light is as light as day", and at the same time keep a close watch.

The next day, the battery was built and the assault began.

The Krupp cannon of the Xuan army roared again and again, first destroying the rebel batteries in the city one by one, and then blowing up the walls of Daban City in several places.

Zhan Donglu was about to give the order for a general attack, and in Daban City, there was a sudden loud noise, followed by another sound, continuously, and for a time the landslide cracked, and the flames soared into the sky.

It turned out that a shell hit the rebels' ammunition depot, triggering a massive detonation.

At that time, the wind was strong, the fire spread rapidly, and the city was in chaos.

The official army took advantage of the situation to attack, and easily broke into the city, easily conquering the rebel self-considered "impregnable" Daban Castle.

In this battle, the total casualties of the officers and soldiers were only 116, and the results of the battle were: more than 3,500 enemies were killed, and the number of prisoners is as follows, including the "Datongha" of the "Hongfu Khanate" Aiyidel Kuri, and eight "Fat Seti" - 500 men.

The seizures were: more than 1,300 horses, more than 2,500 foreign guns, and a Napoleonic cannon.

Daban City was conquered, and the rebels lost the natural danger to prevent the official army from going south, and Tuoxun and Turpan could be laid down overnight.

*

(4,200 words in large chapter)

*(To be continued.) )