Xihui Town. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

A dull trumpet sounded outside the town. After a short period of hesitation, the Mongol soldiers who had already rushed to the walled wall finally abided by the military regulations and chose to retreat. When they walked away on a road of flesh and blood, they left behind a trail of bones and blades.

This offensive was the craziest and most fruitful of all the offensives in the past half a month. The mighty Mongol army almost crossed the city wall and rushed into Xihui Town, just now almost forced Lou Yong to detonate all the explosives and gunpowder canisters buried under the city wall, and died together with the Mongolian soldiers who rushed to the city.

"Mongol Tartars, retreated?" Sun Jun, who was covered in blood, limped over with a spear, on the front line of thousands of troops and horses, there was no so-called brigade commander and division commander, all the generals were filled in the front line with personal guards, no one knew how many heads and ten generals were killed in battle these days, and even the command was half changed, if it wasn't for the Mongols retreating quickly, I'm afraid Lou Yong could consider reappointing two brigade commanders.

Sugree's situation was not much better than Sun Jun's, if it weren't for the fact that he was accompanied by a few guards, Sun Jun wouldn't even believe that the guy standing in front of him who seemed to have been washed in blood was the real man who looked quite standard not long ago.

Grinning as much as he could, Su Gree looked at Sun Jun, who had also escaped death in front of him, and didn't know what to say. And Sun Jun looked at this guy's upper and lower teeth full of blood, and just shook his head. I'm afraid this guy even used his teeth just now.

The surrounding layers of corpses made it impossible to see the outline of the original city wall, and they did their best to attack the Mongols. Sun Jun didn't know how long this Xihui Town would be able to hold out if they continued to attack like this, and how long the entire Nanyang would be able to hold out.

But at least for now, the Mongols are withdrawing.

"General!" A sharp-eyed head was the first to shout, I don't know when, Lou Yong was rushing over under the escort of several personal guards. He seems to be in a better situation than Sun Jun and Su Gree, after all, as long as the entire Xihui Town can go into battle, everyone has gone to the front line, and even those caravans Ding Zhuang who helped the army transport heavy grain and grass have picked up the guys and gone to the front line, not to mention Lou Yong.

It's just that because Lou Yong has more guards around him, he won't fall into the danger of nine deaths.

"How?" Lou Yong's voice was hoarse, and he couldn't even hear what he was saying

Sun Jun stretched out his hand and pointed around, licking his equally chapped lips: "The Mongolian Tartars have been desperately killing for two hours, and they really almost broke through this Xihui Town." ”

Lou Yong chuckled: "Even if we break through Xihui Town, don't we still have Angkor City, don't we still have Annam and so many islands in the sea, this Mongolian Tartar wants to take Nanyang away from the hands of the Ming Dynasty, then there is no way." What's more, a group of horseback riders don't have a good time going to the grasslands and deserts, so they have to run into the rainforest to compete with us, and that's not asking for hardship. ”

Lou Yong's optimism made the surrounding generals smile on their faces. Before, they were worried about the next more fierce attack that the Mongols might launch at any time, and they were still apprehensive about the huge casualties and their own survival, but now that Lou Yong said that, the dark clouds hanging over their hearts suddenly dispersed a lot.

Yes, the nation of China and the country of Daming have never been conquered. If you want to take Nanyang, you must be prepared to attack every inch of land and be subjected to the most stubborn resistance of the Ming soldiers.

"The Mongolian Tartars broke three gaps in the city wall, and our fight with them is basically on these gaps, these Mongolian Tartars are very tough, and they are completely deadly when they fight, they should be the elite of the Mongolian Tartars." Sun Jun recalled the tragedy on the battlefield just now, and muttered, "This time the Ilkhanate is really going to kill us." ”

"But now they don't have a chance." Lou Yong smiled slightly, "Just when Xihui Town was about to be breached, Mingjin withdrew his troops, apparently the Mongol backyard caught fire. ”

Su Geli, Sun Jun and the others were stunned for a moment, and looked out of the city together, the Mongol camp was quiet, and the black flags hung down weakly, and they didn't know if there was anyone in the camp. Could it be that the Mongol Tatars really gave up the attack on Xihui Town?

"This ······ Do you mean? Sun Jun couldn't help but murmur, in Xihui Town and the Mongolian Tatars in the dark for so many days, Sun Jun even forgot why he was standing here, why he was fighting here, all the Ming soldiers saw the Mongols, all they thought about was to send these guys to hell, and they didn't even remember that they were here to fight for a chance for friendly troops thousands of miles away.

And now the Mongols are retreating, nine times out of ten, because the Ilkhanate has been completely disrupted by the Ming army, so even if the Ilkhanate army continues to attack the South Seas, it is meaningless.

Lou Yong was silent for a long time and nodded. The Mongols paid such a big price to break through Xihui Town, and there was only one possibility for such a hasty retreat.

After a while, Sugree and the others also came back to their senses and hugged each other tightly in surprise. These soldiers of the Ming army, who were killed in the sea of corpses and blood, stood on the corpses all over the ground, cheering and jumping to their heart's content, they never thought that they could leave this Xihui Town alive, and now all this has become a reality.

Lou Yong didn't say much, just silently looked at the Mongolian camp in the distance in the hot wind silently, and then his eyes fell back to the closer, the Ming and Mongolian soldiers overlapped together, they were undead enemies in life, but now they are like the closest friends, hugging each other tightly, only the blades in their hands and the hideous faces still show that this is the battlefield.

It is not the first time that Lou Yong has been on such a tragic battlefield, but seeing this scene in front of him still makes him feel an inexplicable heartache and helplessness, even if he is a general of the Dali army, there is no way for everyone to survive in this war, they must sacrifice, only sacrifice can be exchanged for the victory needed, in exchange for the Ming Dynasty's possession of the entire Nanyang, in exchange for the countless wealth of the Nanyang is still used by the Ming Dynasty······

All Lou Yong can do is make their sacrifices more valuable.

Blood flowed down the steps under his feet, Lou Yong exhaled softly, the Mongols withdrew, the battle was won, and according to the agreement between him and Ma Yan, the task he was responsible for had been completed. I just don't know what happened to the old general and General Zhang Gui.

"It's all safe and sound." Lou Yong barely showed a smile, and slowly sat on the high pile of corpses with a spear, "We are in Xihui Town, in this Nanyang, and we have shed too much blood. So many brethren have fallen, I hope you will not have too many casualties······"

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Basra City.

Meteor scouts continued to rush into the city, and the whole city of Basra was ready to fight. The sound of drills was constantly heard in the Ming army camp outside the city, and naval warships came and went on the harbor wharf and the river. A steady stream of merchant ships from the South Seas brought supplies to Basra, a port that was once part of the Maritime Silk Road.

The strength shown by the Ming Dynasty and the opposition in shipping is enough to look down on the world in this era.

It was also because of the constant arrival of merchant ships and warships from the sea that the army of the Ilkhanate was only massed in the important towns along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but they did not intend to attack the city of Basra, which they knew very well that there were not enough troops to take Basra. The Ming army, which was waiting for them to throw themselves into the net, was actually waiting for them to throw themselves into the net.

"Report, a cavalry team of 10,000 Mongol Tatars is coming from the east, four hundred miles away from the city!" A sentry storm into the city's council hall.

Zhang Gui, the commander of the Nanyang Fleet, who was discussing something in a low voice, and Zhang Quan, the commander of the First Army of the Jingjiang Army, glanced at each other, and Zhang Quan raised his eyebrows: "The Mongolian Tartars should not have a team of more than 10,000 people except for the direction of reporting, and now this team of 10,000 people suddenly rushed out, and it is from the east······"

"The main force of the Mongol Tatars who attacked the South Seas has returned to the division." Zhang Gui nodded, and immediately looked at the sentry detective, "Investigate again, be sure to find out how many people are behind you, and also find out where this 10,000-strong team is stationed in the end!" ”

"No!" The sentinel hurriedly answered, turning away.

Zhang Gui paced back and forth with concern: "From the northwest, the Mongolian Tatars have gathered more than 30,000 troops, more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and a large number of return artillery. Now that the enemy is coming from the east, the city of Basra is not easy to defend. ”

Zhang Quan smiled: "Even if Basra City is not well guarded, we can pat our butts and leave at any time, right?" This time the Mongol Tatars suffered a lot of losses, and when we retreated from the city of Karbala, we didn't leave anything for them, and the towns on both sides of the Tigris valley were also destroyed by your navy. This is enough to hurt the vitality of the Mongolian Tatars, and it is not surprising that they are anxious to settle accounts with us. ”

"That's true." Zhang Gui couldn't help but smile and nodded.

The Ilkhanate is located in the desert, and although it is a vast territory, the only areas that can be used for irrigation and cultivation are the fertile valleys of the two great rivers Euphrates and Tigris. The existence of these two river valleys is actually equivalent to the Maritime Silk Road and the Jiangnan River to the original Southern Song Dynasty, which is an absolutely rich land and economic lifeline, and there is absolutely no room for loss.

Although the naval fleet did not attack Baoda in the end, and only turned around and retreated after a large-scale burning and slaughter outside the city, the blow to the towns along the Tigris River was fierce and heavy, and it was not so easy for the Ilkhanate to restore the vitality along the Tigris River for a while, which was equivalent to cutting off a leg of the Ilkhanate.

The Lu division fought a beautiful "shut-off dog" in the city of Karbala, and the nearly 10,000 Mongol cavalry in the city—almost all of them Hui and the rest of the ethnic groups without the jurisdiction of centurions and commanders—chose to raise their hands and surrender after the four walls were occupied.

For these unexpected captives, the Ming army simply selected a group of strong men to carry the heavy labor, and the rest of the old and weak were released on the spot - the Ming army land divisions who were anxious to retreat before the arrival of the Mongol counterattack really did not have the energy to care about them, and after all, the Hui people were still the main ones here, and the Ming did not want to cause the Hui people to revolt because of the massacre.

Although four or five thousand people were released, it would not be a good thing if it could weaken the fighting spirit of the Hui people.

"After all, it is still difficult to really gain a foothold in the expedition of thousands of miles, and one day, we will fight from both land and sea at the same time to completely wipe out this Ilkhanate." Zhang Quan looked at the criss-crossing situation on the map with some sighs, after all, the Ming Dynasty relied on the materials transported by sea to support this lone army stationed in Basra.

At the same time, for an expansive empire like the Ilkhanate, it will never allow its economic lifeline to be under the guns of the Ming army, and they will definitely take back this Basra even if they pay more price.

Reaching out and patting Zhang Quan's shoulder, Zhang Gui said in a deep voice: "Brother, don't worry, even if we leave this time, we will definitely come back again next time." No one wants to stop us from washing our riding boots in the Persian Gulf. ”

"Qi Qi two generals, old general······ I'm afraid it won't work," a sweaty guard rushed into the chamber quickly, "The two generals had better take a look now!" ”

"What?!" Zhang Gui and Zhang Quan were stunned, and their faces showed surprise. Zhang Quan grabbed the guard's shirt: "How is it possible?!" Didn't you say it was getting better yesterday?! ”

Zhang Gui hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Quan: "Wanfeng (Zhang Quan's words), calm down!" None of us want to see any accident with the old general, but this is a fact after all, even if you don't want to face it, you have to face it, you can't let the old general do anything if you catch him, the top priority is to hurry up and take a look! If the old general knew that you were angry with a personal guard like this, I am afraid that he would also scold you! ”

Zhang Quan covered his face with trembling hands: "Old general······ The old general, he ······"

Zhang Gui sighed deeply.

If the greatest loss of the army in the previous battle of Karbala is probably the serious wound of the horse. The old general Rong Ma life, after all, is old, after all, there is no way to compare with young people in terms of physical strength and energy, all the way to the long distance is already unwell, but because of the urgency of the war and have to hold on, at that time in Karbala if he did not give the order in time to take the Ming army back, I am afraid that this Karbala will inevitably be a big defeat.

In addition, his personal guards had no way to protect all aspects during the melee at that time, resulting in Ma Yan being stabbed several times, with infected wounds and high fever, and he was hovering on the verge of life and death. Although Zhang Gui and Zhang Quan have found the best doctor, but after all, Ma Yan's physical condition is here, and after this big battle in the army, a lot of medicine has been consumed, and he can only deal with it hastily in Karbala before, and when he arrives in Basra, the old general's illness has passed the best treatment period.

It's just that the old general, who had been bedridden yesterday, was suddenly able to sit up and speak, which surprised Zhang Gui, Zhang Quan and the others, and they were also overjoyed, otherwise the two of them would not be so in the mood to discuss the next arrangement here.

Who would have thought that the situation would change again today, and whether it was Zhang Gui or Zhang Quan, they all had a faint premonition that this old general, who had fought with the Mongolian Tatars all his life, was probably about to come to the end of his life.

"Let's go." Zhang Gui said in a low voice.

Ma Yan lay quietly on the bed, several brigade commanders and commanders who arrived first lowered their heads and did not speak, and those Hui and Ming army physicians also talked in a low voice on one side, but everyone looked at the figure lying on the bed and shook their heads slightly.

"Old General!" Zhang Gui strode forward and raised his hand slightly so that those Ming army generals didn't need to salute.

And Ma Yan slowly opened his eyes, and his voice was low: "But Bochang (Zhang Guibiao) and Wanfeng are here?" ”

The old man's voice was calm and even a little dull, and his weakness was felt in every word. Zhang Quan subconsciously wiped the corners of his eyes, and at this moment he realized that the old general who was galloping in front of him was no longer the old general, but an old man who had run out of oil lamps.

"Wanfeng!" Ma Yan's voice sank, "What is there to shed horse pee!" ”

"General!" Zhang Quan hurriedly turned his head away, not daring to let Ma Yan see the tears that flowed from him.

For Zhang Quan, Ma Yan is the boss who appreciates and promotes him, and the elder who teaches and guides him. In the chaotic war in the late Song Dynasty, this old man covered Guangnan with his own strength, paid too many sacrifices, and as a result, he did not enjoy any peace and happiness, so he once again put on the battle, but he did not expect that this 10,000-mile expedition actually made Ma Yan come to the end of his life.