The sound of the drums echoed in the city of Dunhuang, and following the guidance of the drums, Tang Zhen took the plan and ran quickly to the north gate. All the artillery and flying thunder cannons www.biquge.info turned their muzzles, and the sky continued to cross arcs, and the explosions outside the city walls rose and fell one after another.

"Quick, keep up!" The head of the capital and the ten generals shouted loudly and rushed to the nearest uptown walk. Just now, a volley of the Mongolian Tartar's trebuchet hit the city gate tower on the city wall, causing the city gate tower to collapse completely, and even the surrounding soldiers were buried under the city gate tower. The surrounding soldiers were in chaos for a while, and they all stepped forward to help save people.

The Mongolian Tartars under the city were also greatly boosted, taking advantage of the best opportunity for the Ming army's crossbowmen to mess up, two bridge-erecting carts finally pushed to the edge of the trench that was already full of blood and corpses, and the centurion shouted to push the bridge-erecting cart down.

The trench, which was like a moat, could finally be crossed, and the Mongol soldiers ran over the bridge-building carts with a roar, and even the ladder carts were moving in this direction. A large number of Mongol soldiers had already rushed under the city walls, and the ladders were quickly erected, and the barbs at the top hung directly on the battlements of the city walls.

"Don't mess around, hold your ground, lift up the wood and the rolling stones and smash them down!" Tang Zhen rushed up quickly with a knife in his hand, while the soldiers behind him spread out in all directions, and the sassal wood and rolling stones placed on the city wall were lifted up and smashed down the ladder desperately.

Soon the screams of Mongolian Tartars could be heard from under the walls. And Tang Zhen rushed straight to the city wall, and grabbed a brigade commander who was commanding on the city wall just now: "Why can you let the Mongolian Tartars cross the trench, what are the crossbowmen under your command eating?!" ”

The brigade commander shuddered: "Supervisor・・・・・・ Supervisor, the city gate tower ・・・・・・"

"The city gate tower has collapsed, are your men frightened?!" Tang Zhen's voice was fierce, "Then if a certain battle is killed, Liang Xianggong and General Wang are killed in battle, are you going to raise your hands and surrender?" Those who are so scared that they pee their pants, don't stand on this wall, don't be embarrassed, and even more brothers will be killed in it! ”

The brigade commander wanted to say something, but Tang Zhen directly kicked him to the ground and pulled a commander casually: "From now on, you are the brigade commander of your brigade!" ”

The commander was stunned, and the brigade commander gritted his teeth, and instead of crying, he stepped forward and hugged Tang Zhen's thigh and begged for mercy. Tang Zhen glanced back at him, and said in a cold voice: "You are a veteran of the Shence Army, and you followed a certain way from Xiangyang Hutou Mountain to kill, but the merit is not worth it, you are now an ordinary soldier, go up to Lao Tzu, kill enough Mongolian Tartars and then come back, if you fight well, Lao Tzu can also consider reinstating your official, if you don't fight well, just let Lao Tzu stay below, don't think about turning over for the rest of your life!" ”

The brigade commander was so clever that he didn't want to get up and rush to the nearest rolling stone, pick it up and rush directly to the city wall. And Tang Zhen turned his head and glanced at the commander who was still stunned: "Do you want to be removed as well?" ”

The commander grabbed his sword and shouted, "Brothers, kill the Tartars!" ”

"Kill the Tartars!" Countless Ming soldiers and Ding Zhuang roared on the city wall, one by one a somewhat flustered figure finally stabilized, everyone's pace became more neat, one by one the spears came together to resist the ladder, and then in the slogan of leading the ten generals, the ladder and the two or three Mongolian soldiers hanging on the ladder were pushed out at the same time.

Several messy arrows swept past Tang Zhen, frightening the guards around Tang Zhen and hurriedly wanted to step forward. Tang Zhen waved his hand violently, and then picked up the Divine Arm Crossbow from the hand of the guard next to him and walked directly to the city wall. On the left side of the trench, more than a dozen Mongolian crossbowmen had taken up their positions, and in front of them were many Mongol corpses, and there were two dead spots on the enemy platform and the horse face, and it was difficult to guarantee that they could be shot.

Taking a light breath, Tang Zhen pulled the trigger.

The Mongolian centurion in the middle fell in response.

The surrounding city walls fell silent all of a sudden, and all eyes fell on Tang Zhen.

"Long live Daming!" Tang Zhen raised his arms fiercely!

"Long live Daming!" The entire city wall erupted in earth-shattering cheers, and the crossbowmen roared and pounced on the wall, and a dense rain of arrows swept across the front and back of the trench, and countless Mongol soldiers were shot by the arrows. The roar of artillery and thunder cannons, though belated, eventually descended on the Mongol Tartars, and the roaring sound of cannons and rumbling explosions covered the entire trench in front and back, billowing smoke and mud obscuring the sky.

In the wind, filled with the thick smell of blood and gunpowder, a low trumpet sound, the smoke and dust dissipated, the Mongol army had slowly retreated, and the entire outside of Dunhuang was the corpses left by the Mongols. Blood stained every inch of the land outside the city, and no one cared about how many corpses and blood were in that trench.

"Fortunately, it wasn't too hot today, otherwise a plague outbreak would have been dangerous." Liang Yanwu's arm was injured, and now he could only half-lift it and walked to Tang Zhen's side.

Tang Zhen put down the divine arm crossbow and was a little surprised: "Liang Xianggong, who are you?" ”

"No, the city gate tower collapsed just now and was hit by a pillar, but fortunately, it is also a great blessing, otherwise I am afraid that I will have to go to Zhongshan first to wait for you." Liang Yanwu said with a smile, his eyes fell on his side, "At that time, the guards were going down to a certain frame alive and dead, who would have thought that there was almost a big mess in this city, but fortunately you arrived in time." ”

Tang Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, Liang Yanwu was the governor of Daming River West Province after all, if something happened to him, it would be a serious blow to morale, and now to put it mildly, Liang Xianggong was injured and commanded the battle in front, but it could greatly boost morale.

The generals are in front, and the soldiers naturally have no reason to retreat behind.

Thinking of the fact that he decisively and directly removed a brigade commander just now, Tang Zhen also shook his head a little helplessly, he believed that Wang Jin or Liang Yanwu would not hesitate to do so at that time. If the north gate, where the Mongol Tatars attacked the most, was breached, it would not be a brigade commander who would be sacrificed, and I am afraid that the entire Shence army would have to be accounted for in this Dunhuang city.

Military law has always been the strictest and most impersonal criminal law throughout the ages, but if military law is not strict, who will obey the general's orders and do their best to kill the enemy?

"Fortunately, the damage is not very large." Tang Zhen slowly walked to the battlements and looked at the countless horizontal corpses under the city, "The price paid by the Mongolian Tatars is not small, if you still take this attack tomorrow, I am afraid there is no way to make the Shence army hurt your muscles and bones." ”

"It's just our wishful thinking," Liang Yanwu said with a frown, "It's only afternoon, and the sun hasn't set yet, and the Mongol Tartars have already withdrawn their troops, which means that they are only planning to test the strength of Dunhuang City's defense today, so as to find more ways to deal with it when they attack tomorrow." So tomorrow is going to be a tough battle. ”

"The city has sufficient reserves of grain, grass and water, and the city defense is so strengthened in advance, so it is far from easy for the Mongol Tatars to conquer Dunhuang City." Tang Zhen replied in a deep voice, "What I'm worried about now is not Dunhuang City and the Shence Army, but our reinforcements." ”

Liang Yanwu stretched out his hand and pressed it on the battlements, just on the top of the battlements, I don't know if it was the blood shed by the Mongols or the Ming soldiers, which had been soaked into the city wall, silently recounting the fierceness of the fierce battle just now, and looking at the east side with Tang Zhen's gaze, Liang Yanwu suddenly understood: "You mean that the Mongolian Tatars surrounded Dunhuang City, and even attacked so fiercely, more to attract our reinforcements?" ”

After a pause, Liang Yanwu was still a little surprised and suspicious: "But the trick of encircling Wei to save Zhao is too easy to see through, not to mention that the Mongolian Tatars really have such good teeth and can swallow us and the Tianxiong Army in one bite?" ”

"They don't have to hide anything." Tang Zhen sighed softly, "Dunhuang is lonely between Hexi and the Western Regions, which is not only a throat artery connecting the Western Regions, but also an excellent pedal to enter Hexi and then enter the Central Plains, so the Mongolian Tartars are very aware of the importance of Dunhuang to them, and they are even more aware of the importance of Dunhuang to the Ming Dynasty, so they are bound to win Dunhuang, and they know that the Ming Dynasty will definitely not die without help." Therefore, even if the Tianxiong Army knew that there was a very high possibility of an ambush ahead, there was a chance that they would send troops to rescue. There is even a fear that in the short term, it may no longer be just Hexi and Dunhuang that will break out in war. ”

Liang Yanwu frowned: "Your Majesty will take this opportunity to go on a northern expedition?" ”

"After several months of border clashes in the autumn and winter of last year, the Ming Dynasty no longer has enough energy for the Northern Expedition, Kublai Khan saw this, so he would rather pay more sacrifices and try his best to provoke the attention of the Ming Dynasty in all directions, and even forced the Ming Dynasty to dispatch one or two main armies, so that the Ming army continued to suffer losses, and the grain, grass and military salaries were always beyond their means." Tang Zhen looked at the bloody battlefield under the bleak sun, "Although this may cause a large loss of soldiers and food for Kublai Khan, it can guarantee the maintenance of the current territory." As long as his current territory remained, he would still be able to command the support of most of the Mongol generals and even the Han Chinese. ”

Although Liang Yanwu was born as a small official, his vision pattern was a little smaller, but he also served as the chief staff member from Ye Yingwu's side for a considerable period of time, so he didn't need Tang Zhen to say more, he vaguely understood: "Are you saying that the sea will not watch Kublai Khan attack Dunhuang?" ”

Tang Zhen nodded: "The praying mantis catches the cicada, the yellow finch is behind, everyone wants to be the yellow finch instead of the praying mantis." Although the Haidu Department is nominally headed by Haidu Khan, in fact, they are composed of several large and small khanates that originally supported Ali Buge, thus contradicting Kublai Khan, and investing a lot of troops in Kublai Khan's southern expedition but always returning to the south with opinions, in the final analysis, this is not a dynasty similar to the Ming Dynasty, but a loose tribal union, but because of Haidu's outstanding ability, he can suppress the rest of the tribes, and the rest of the tribes also need a suitable person to coordinate the overall situation and unify the command. So they hit it off with Haidu, making Haidu Khan and their leader, but that doesn't mean ・・・・・・"

With a gasp, Liang Yanwu said urgently: "It doesn't mean that the sea can do whatever he wants, when the various khanates below have opinions, he still has to listen to them!" ”

Tang Zhen snorted: "Haidu may be able to understand the truth of the cold lips and teeth, but it doesn't mean that the elders of the Khanate below him can see it as clearly. Now Kublai Khan is concentrating all his efforts on attacking Dunhuang, and there is a good chance that these people will instigate Haidu to attack Kublai Khan's rear route. ”

A smile appeared on Liang Yanwu's face. For Haidu, Jin Yiwei once sent very detailed information. It can be said that the reason why Haidu has been able to come to this day is not because of how much Haidu hates Kublai Khan's policies, but because it is indeed beneficial to his own interests to stand up and call on the rest of the khanates to replace Kublai Khan at this time. But Haidu was definitely not the kind of person who was interested in profit, and he could certainly see what disastrous consequences would be brought about by attacking Kublai Khan's back at this time.

Once Kublai Khan's ministry collapsed, under the Ming Dynasty's troops, how could the Haidu department survive alone.

It's just that although Haidu understands this truth, it doesn't mean that he can really do it, because he still has a group of guys who really pursue profits, and the main purpose of those large and small khanates and tribes to join the coalition army is to be able to gnaw on Kublai Khan's biggest piece of fat.

No matter how much Haidu insists on holding his troops, when his coalition army has fallen apart, he will lose the ability to control this coalition army, and Kublai Khan's rear will inevitably be attacked by Haidu's army.

Therefore, for the current Dunhuang, in fact, what is most needed is not the reinforcements of the Tianxiong army, but the disputes and contradictions in the Haidu department, and finally attack Kublai Khan's subordinates, even if Kublai Khan was prepared before, it is impossible to really defeat the coalition army that far exceeds his own number. In the face of absolute strength and threat, Kublai Khan also had to choose to abandon Dunhuang and keep his way out.

"So the Mongol Tatars will intensify their siege in the past two days?" Liang Yanwu suddenly realized something, and a smile on his face was more ugly than crying.

Tang Zhen nodded lightly: "In this upcoming storm, if the Shence Army can support it until that time, it is natural that the Mongolian Tatars will retreat without a fight. But if it can't be supported at that time, I'm afraid Daming will have to face the worst outcome. ”

Liang Yanwu didn't speak, he knew very well what the worst outcome was. The main army of the Ming Dynasty in the Western Regions - the Shence Army was annihilated, Dunhuang fell, and the Tianxiong Army would also be hit hard, and Kublai Khan took Dunhuang, an important town that re-entered Hexi and even deterred Guanzhong, so that the Ming Dynasty had to send troops to Hexi with all its might, so as to prevent the recurrence of the tragedy of Duanping into Luo, so that the main energy of the Ming Dynasty was also contained in the northwest, and the initiative of the war situation also fell into the hands of Kublai Khan, and the Haidu Department was further decomposed because of the contradictions, Kublai Khan was naturally able to clean them up completely at any time.

"Kublai Khan had a good calculation." Tang Zhen said softly, "It's just that I want him to know that Dunhuang is not so easy to capture, and the Shence army is not so easy to conquer." If you want to start this abacus, it's not a matter of effort, and you have to hurt Lao Tzu here! ”

Liang Yanwu is Huo Ran turned around: "Pass the order, let the six doors and the commander of the Jinyi Guard ・・・・・・ quickly"

"There is no need for Liang Xianggong's orders, the six doors and the Jinyi guard understand that the situation here is urgent, so the old man personally came to visit Liang Xianggong, and coordinated all the forces of the six doors and the Jinyi guard in Hexi," an old man walked up the uptown trail.

Liang Yanwu and Tang Zhen were both stunned, and immediately greeted them.

They all knew very well that Hexi and Dunhuang were definitely not trivial matters, but they didn't expect that even this old man had come in person.

Yang Feng is the founder of the Six Doors and Jinyiwei, a well-deserved founder of the country, and the father-in-law of His Majesty the Ming Emperor, with high morality. With the stabilization of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Feng has actually not appeared on the front line of the operation of the Six Gates and Jinyi Guards for a long time, and his coming to Dunhuang has been able to show how important Dunhuang is in the hearts of the imperial court.

"The old man came here yesterday morning, and he finally didn't miss a big deal." There was a hint of a smile on the corner of Yang Feng's mouth, "Because many matters of the Six Gates and Jinyiwei in Hexi need to be rearranged and decided by the old man, so I didn't have time to meet with the two of them in time, so the two of them won't be surprised, right?" (To be continued.) )