At noon in September, on the grassland thirty miles northwest of Madao Shibao, on the grassland next to the Gobi Desert, there are patches of puddles of sparse green grass.

The Tartar cavalry, who had stayed up all night, except for the rangers who were on guard all around, took off their improvised armor covered with mud and water, and burrowed into the cowhide tent naked, and although they had hard weapons under their heads, the whole camp was already snoring.

The two thousand-man teams supported by the Lanelt tribe, as well as a thousand-man team urgently summoned by Taurunwa, had already arrived here last night, although they did not encircle and annihilate the enemy who harassed the grain road, but now the troops in Taurw's hands, plus Lanelt's cavalry, there were nearly 10,000 people.

Whether it is the cavalry coming from afar, or the Tartar soldiers who retreated to the big camp, they all need to rest today, which is also the reason why Tawolfwa retreated more than 30 miles, there is not even water on the Gobi Desert, and a water source here is the only choice for camping.

Even the few dozen slaves left in the corner of the camp stood by the ox carts and fences, found a cleaner place, collapsed and slept.

On a tall grassy slope, in a cow tent, the angry Tawolf was staring back and forth, unkindly at Ranelte; Of course, his henchman Wo Hauge also sat on the felt carpet in frustration, full of confusion.

In the early hours of the morning, the flowering shells on the top of the stone fort were like rain, which startled Tawolf and Lanelt, especially when the cannon was fired, without the usual roar, which surprised the two of them.

Fortunately, the power of the flowering bullet is not too great, as long as it is not within a dozen steps, it will basically not be injured, which also makes those panicked commanders directly panic.

Artillery, this is a huge force that is terrifying on the grassland, and even Jinong has a very serious control of artillery, otherwise he would not have returned to Yinshan with artillery as soon as possible after ending the conflict with the Waspur tribe.

This is not the most important thing, in the dull explosion sound on the stone castle, a long tongue of fire directly cut off the Tartar soldiers who rushed up like a tide, and the terrifying rain of bullets hit the Tartar soldiers no matter how strong they were, they couldn't rush through the open space in front of the Coptis tree, this kind of big killing weapon made Ta Wolf Wa also frightened.

Fortunately, the people on the stone fort didn't seem to want to fight with the tower wolf, and the tongue of fire spat out less than half a cup of tea before it was silent, and the Tartar soldiers attacking under the stone fort were also beaten to the point that they had no intention of overcoming the plunder.

If Ta Wolf Wa knew that Qin Shi's machine gun was broken, maybe he wouldn't have such a headache. But if they attacked the stone fort again during the day, perhaps the corpses that fell under the machine guns might be doubled.

Assuming hypothetically, now Ta Wolf Tile is sitting on the kang bare-chested, and he has no idea for a while.

If he wants to take down that stone fort, I am afraid that the unknown firearm will cause his thousand-man team to suffer heavy casualties, and if he wants to retreat, then the face on his face will be completely lost.

I don't know how many times this is, at both ends of this small canyon, he has suffered a net loss, cheap but not a few drops, how can the arrogant captain bow his head.

Bailong Lake, the fence on the south side of the canyon, and the stone fort in the valley are all thorns in his eyes, and now there is a fortress on the edge of the grassland, and he has just taken over this large area of grassland, and he was wedged with a hard thorn, and no one wants to simply pinch it out and throw it away.

But the situation is stronger than people, if he Ta Wolf Wa is ruthless here, and the three thousand people under his command are too damaged, Jinong will not be able to deal with it, and the tribe where the commander of the thousand is located will also complain.

"Dang Chang," said Ta Wolf Wa, who threw the wooden bowl into the red lacquered wooden plate and tilted his head to look at Ranelte, "Ranelt, you say, what should we do next?" ”

"Oh, this," Lanelte paused with his hand holding the wooden bowl, a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, but his face was solemn, "Why don't you wait for the army to rest and attack in the afternoon?" ”

"Attack? Is it your thousand-man team, or is it your official's? Tawolfwa snorted coldly in his nose, "It's sunny now,"

"From last night to this morning, the official folded nearly five hundred people, not counting those slaves, you Lanelte beat the side drum, or how about replacing it with your main attack and giving you half of it?"

At Tawolfwa's suggestion, Ranelte didn't have an interface, drank the milk wine in the bowl, smashed his mouth a few times, and shook his head suspiciously, "Mingren's firearms, when did they become so sharp?" If they use it in large quantities, we won't be able to survive,"

In the midst of the thorny deliberations between Tawolfwa and Lanelt, Wohaug, who was sitting at the bottom of the head, suddenly flashed a bright light in his mind, "Mingren? No, the stone fort has a tribal flag on it,"

Thinking about the valley reported by the spies, there was also the same black flag on the stone castle inside, and suddenly, Wohauge's eyes lit up, and he turned his face to look at Captain Wan, and his expression became excited.

As his old boss for many years, Tawolfa knew that this kid had an idea again as soon as he saw the appearance of Wo Hauge, although he didn't know if it was a good plan, but he had no other way now.

Bringing wood from afar to make trebuchets, or asking Jinon to support the artillery, Tawolfwa didn't know how long it would take, but the daily consumption of this army was not a small amount, and he could not afford to wait.

If the food and grass are worry-free, he may be able to endure the stone fort, not for a month or two, and he can gnaw it down with the tactics of a sea of people; What he was worried about was that in that stone fort, if there were no imaginary large number of firearms, then this transaction would definitely be a loss, and perhaps the position of captain he had just sat on would be picked up by the angry Jinong.

As an instinctive Tartar general who moved in the steppe, Tawolfwa had a subconscious taboo about siege warfare, not only him, but also other Tartar and tile thorn generals, and they were not willing to consume men and horses at will to play with their lives to get to the city, and use their weaknesses to carry the advantages of the Ming people.

"Wohauge, there are no outsiders here, just say it," Ta Wolf frowned, and said unhappily, this henchman who has followed him for many years, his brain is still alive, and he is even more unambiguous in fighting, but he is a little indecisive, and his suspicious and suspicious eyes have sunk into it.

At this moment, a personal guard outside the big tent hurriedly came in, knelt on the ground and reported, "Report to the captain Wanfu, just now our team of rangers, patrolling not far from the south canyon, encountered a mine of the Ming people, killing and wounding more than a dozen people,"

"Smack," Ta Wolf slapped on the table, his eyes widened angrily, "I deceive people too much, I don't dare to fight openly and clearly, and I will try my best to play crumbs, and see that this official doesn't smash your stone castle to a pulp,"

The knives retreated to the Eagle Talon Fort, and on the way they unleashed the thunderbolt that had been hidden earlier, but they were not willing to accept the arrogance of the Tartars who followed them, and they set up a minefield, and coincidentally let the Tartars' rangers step on them.

"My lord, slow down," Wo Haoge saw that Ta Wolf Wa was about to get angry again, and hurriedly got up and bowed down, "After the subordinates finish their thoughts, if the adults want to attack the city, the subordinates should be the vanguard,"

Seeing that Tawolf Wa sat back on the soft couch with a sigh, Wo Haoge waved his hand and let the guard go out, and then glanced at Lanelt, who was silent next to him, "My lord, if the person in the stone castle is a Ming person, we must capture it whatever we say, and we can't let the Ming people's forces set foot on the grassland, this is what Lord Jinong has told many times,"

"However, if that stone fort is headed by our tribe on the grassland, hehe," Wohaurge smiled and arched his hand, "Congratulations, my lord, there is an extra wolf on the grassland, don't you also need a wolf?"

Seeing Tawolfwa's puzzled eyes, Wohauser sighed slightly in his heart, and the Ranelte next to him seemed to understand a little, but his own tribal leader still hadn't recalled, it was really, hey.

"Since they are all tribes on the grassland, to put it bluntly, it is just friction between neighbors, and there is no dispute with the Ming Dynasty, so the adults can recruit them and let them be used by me,"

"Even if they don't want to belong, they can trade their firearms, after a long time, the stone castle is not a piece of meat in the hands of adults, I just want to eat it and pick a good opportunity,"

Wohauge's words not only made Lanelt's eyes light up, but even Ta Wolf Wa blinked a few times, and suddenly understood the meaning of the period.

"Good, good, good," said three good words in a row, and a slight smile appeared on Tawolfwa's black and red face, took the silver wine jug on the table, poured himself a bowl of milk wine, and couldn't help laughing after two mouthfuls.

Lanelte got up with a smile, held the silver bowl in one hand, walked to Wohaug with a flask, poured a bowl of wine, handed it to Wohaug, and filled his own wine bowl, "Yes, you have a good idea,"

The commander drank with an iron bowl or a wooden bowl, and the captain was entitled to a silver bowl, and Ranelt's hand flattered Wohaorg, and his face was full of joy; However, the overjoyed Tawolf Tile didn't seem to care too much.

After a few bowls of wine, the three of them agreed on their minds, and soon, a scribe was brought in from outside the big tent, this was a Ming man who was snatched by Wohauge in his early years, and he could write and read.

"Send a letter to that stone fort and tell them that if it is a tribe on the grassland, let their leaders come to the official tent tomorrow, and if they are Ming people, then the official will send troops to attack the city tomorrow morning, and the city will be broken and slaughtered,"

After the tawloon with a stiff face said what he meant, he handed over the matter of how to deliver the letter to Wohaug, and went back to the account to rest, where there was a maid to vent the fire.

Eagle Claw Fort, Huang Hanxiang and a group of craftsmen, is at the exit of the dark fort, the water inside the drain to the outside, although the stone fort has a drainage ditch, but the heavy rain let the drainage communicate in the depression, the rain has been poured back into the dark fort, can only use human hands to scoop water.

In the military building on the second floor, Daozi and Sun Xiaoming explained in detail to the hundred households about the attack on the Tartar grain road and how to get out of trouble, Xiao Ye was surprised that the Tartars could quickly set traps.

Fortunately, only one guard was damaged, and if the knife accidentally killed them in the depths of the grassland, Xiao Ye probably wouldn't have much expectation for this Eagle Claw Fort.

"Okay, you two go down to rest, this tartar won't give up, we have to be careful of their sneak attack," Xiao Ye, who rubbed his brows, waved his hand to let the two of them out, leaning on the felt carpet next to the kang, secretly groping.

In the morning, there was a letter post from Madao Stone Fort, one is that there are a few more caravans at the Madao checkpoint, and there are not many goods brought, but there are a lot of guards escorted, and after the transaction with Wang Dali, not only did not leave, but camped outside the checkpoint.

This news made Xiao Ye have to be vigilant, and directly ordered Wang Ziliang, on the one hand, to closely contact Zhang Zichang to find out the identity of the caravan, and on the other hand, let Zuo Shi send additional manpower to strengthen the defense of the checkpoint, and jump thunder although he received it from Wang Gui.

Another letter whistle was passed by Xin Weilin, he suggested that Xiao Ye borrow his identity as a hundred households of the Aishan Thorn tribe to deal with the Tartars, now is not the time to fight and grab territory, there are not enough troops, and even the capital to establish a foothold in the grassland is cold.

Xiao Ye knew in his heart that the backer of his confrontation with the Tartars was this stone fort, don't expect to have foreign aid, Yu Shan and Du Ding can keep the Galen tribe and Bailong Lake, at least in terms of minerals and meat, there is still a certain amount of leeway, but the increase in troops is beyond the power of Eagle Claw Fort.

"Circling? The Tartar is used to being cheap, and now that it has been opened, how to deal with it, you can't let this official send someone to sue for peace, no, absolutely not," Xiao Ye took out the short/gun on his waist, took a coarse cloth and slowly wiped it, and the bullets that withdrew from the chamber of the gun were also wiped clean one by one.

The ammunition in his hand now is not enough to confront the Tartars for a long time, but the short arrows of the continuous crossbow have been stored a lot, and tens of thousands of sharp short arrows can at least leave thousands of Tartar soldiers; Therefore, Xiao Ye did not despair about the Tartar siege.

It's a big deal, take people back to the Madao Stone Fort, before leaving, this stone fort will not be left for the Tartars as a military camp even if it is blown up.

When building the Eagle Claw Fort, Xiao Ye had already explained to Wang Dali, and left some gaps in the load-bearing beams throughout the stone fort, which was a means of evacuation as a last resort.

After lunch, Wang Meng personally sent a letter, which was shot by the Tartar soldiers on the stone fort with long arrows, and Liu Shuihe, who was guarding the fort wall, did not let people kill the Tartar from a distance, so he received this arrow letter.

After reading this letter from the Tartars, Xiao Ye couldn't help but be furious, the tone of the wild Tartars is not small, and he still wants to attack the city and slaughter people, then try it, see if your scimitar is sharp, or the master's fire/gun is sharp.

However, thinking about Xin Weilin's suggestion again, Xiao Ye could only suppress the anger in his heart and summoned a few centurions in the stone castle to discuss how to deal with it.

After Liu Shuihe, Qin Shi, and Zuo Shi heard Wang Meng read this letter, they immediately jumped up and scolded, and began to instigate hundreds of households to prepare for the enemy, only Huang Hanxiang and Wang Meng, the two of them drank herbal tea and said nothing.

Xiao Ye waved his hand, let the three restless guys sit down, raised his eyes to look at Huang Hanxiang, and then at Wang Meng, "Come, let's discuss, since the Tartars have a letter, it means that they don't want to have a hard time with us, so how to talk,"

The last two words, to talk, have already expressed Xiao Ye's thoughts, not that he is afraid to fight against Tartars, but his current manpower, a few less can not be revealed, and there is no way to add up to a lot.

Seeing that the hundred households had made up their minds, several people in the military house closed their mouths, and even Wang Meng, who Xiao Ye valued very much, didn't know what to do, this kind of affairs that needed to be negotiated, no one had any experience, and if something went wrong, it would be a disaster for Eagle Claw Fort.

Xiao Ye shook his head helplessly, if it weren't for Xin Xiucai's inconvenience in walking, he would have the heart to send someone to pick him up. There was no one around him who had the plight of a strategist, and he knew it firsthand.

When the weather is clear, the guards can easily use fire/guns, but the three-eyed fire system and artillery in the hands of the Tartars are not vegetarians, at least in terms of range, they are not inferior to the side guarding the fort, not to mention the number of people's families.

Seeing that no one was silent, Xiao Ye could only take one step at a time, looked at the sketchy map on the small table, and thought for a while, "Go, call Aman in, it's time for him to come out this time,"

As the leader of a family guard selected from the Galen tribe, although Xiao Ye did not have any extra primary potions for him, Xiao Ye did not think that Ah Man could easily betray him, and his family was still in Yu Shan's hands.

After calling Aman, Xiao Ye explained his bottom line, arranged for him to prepare, go out immediately, and go out to contact and negotiate with the Tatar leader.

This trip is very risky, but since Ah Man has taken refuge in Xiao Ye's side, he will naturally not refuse military affairs, and Ah Man, who has already experienced the power of Xiao Ye's firearms, will not think that the brigade of wild Tartars on the opposite side can destroy this stone fort in one fell swoop.

What's more, Xiao Ye's reward has already allowed his family to enjoy benefits that he couldn't have imagined before, compared to going to the mainland to threshk grass with his head, Ah Man is reluctant to get a piece of silver just received.

"Don't worry, your subordinates know what to say," Ah Man, who was familiar with the negotiation path of the grassland, covered his chest and bowed. As a former warrior of the Galen tribe, he will earn the benefits that he deserves for the hundred households.

Even if he didn't know how to negotiate, Xiao Ye knew that negotiation needed confidence, and negotiations without a waist pole were succumbing to being crushed, so before Ah Man left, he asked the knife to give Ah Man a box of good things.

Before the next time the earth-shaking thunder was transported from the Madao Stone Castle, there were only two boxes left, and half of them were taken from Liu Shuihe's hand by the knife.

The knife was very thoughtful, and as a result, Ah Manke suffered.

Thirty heavy earth-shattering thunders, seven for each of the three guards, and Ah Man used nine of them himself, tied them with cloth tapes and trapped around his waist, as long as the fire rope was tied together, a human bomb would be formed.

The knife that was busy until the night, looking at his own craftsmanship in front of him, patted Ah Man's shoulder with great satisfaction, "Well, it's okay, remember, this thing is a real guy, it's okay to scare those people, don't get excited and pull the fire rope, it's too late for you to take it off,"

"That, the cloth strap on your back, tie it under your armpit and tie a slipknot, you can take it off quickly, and you won't need a few strokes of three slipknots," thought about it, and the knife still reminded.

A Man, whose face was white, carefully checked the iron cap of each earth-shaking thunder, and kept muttering in his heart, the reward of this trip is not small, but I have to come back and enjoy it.

This damn guy, where did he come up with this trick, Ah Man, who was secretly scolding, thanked the knife with a sincere face, and returned to the military house with this cloth armor.

If he knew how Lei Zhengtang died, he would not have hastily accepted the knife's proposal.

Early the next morning, Aman took three guards, unloaded the other weapons, and rode to the Tartar camp with only a scimitar each. Although it was already summer, the cold wind in the early morning made the four people in leather robes quickly cold and their hands and feet numb.