The sun gradually sank in the west at a speed that slowed to the extreme, and everyone on the top of Shiguantun Mountain breathed a sigh of relief; Today's attack of the Tartars, with the sound of long trumpets, did not continue.

On this day, the Tartar soldiers did not know where to find planks, made into simple shields, carried up the hill in the front row, followed by the Tartar archers and fire commanders, followed by the advance, although from time to time someone was knocked over by the projectiles on the stone fort, or gradually approached the gable one hundred and fifty paces, and then suddenly got up to throw and shoot.

On more than thirty thick shields, sawdust splashed, blocking the shot of the projectile, although the Tartar soldiers were not badly damaged, but the wolf's tooth arrows behind and a large piece of iron also caused casualties to the sergeants on the stone fort.

"Ah", one of Kuroko's sergeants, after continuously shooting projectiles, forgot to cover his body, was hit in the eye by an iron gun, splashed out of the back of the head, and died on the spot.

The other sergeants were injured, but it was Liao Liao who was killed, which also made Xiao Ye, who was full of gunsmoke, stabilize his mind a little.

If it weren't for the earth-shattering thunder smashing down, and the burst of revolver fire/gun, maybe they would have had to fight the Tartar in close quarters just now, and the result was not what he wanted to see.

"The medical guards came up and carried the wounded brothers and the dead down," Xiao Ye, who was a little tired behind the female wall, took a few sips of water bags and commanded; The little sixth son, who was guarding him on the side, hurriedly got up, bent down and ran to the bottom of the steps of the Yongdao, and beckoned to the medical guards and craftsmen waiting below.

After eating some dry food casually, Xiao Ye held the fire/gun, and asked the herald to send orders to a hundred households, and when it was dark, he immediately arranged for someone to send the arms over, and he couldn't say how many times he had to fight with the Tartars at night.

During the day, the Tartars attacked frequently, often retreating at the touch of a button, so that the projectiles and earth-shattering thunder on the stone fort were consumed too quickly.

In the big tent at the bottom of the mountain, the wolf and Lanelte sat side by side on the felt carpet, grasping the fat mutton bones in front of them, tearing them with big mouths, and the centurions on both sides, one by one, were also greasy with their hands, eating the cooked mutton on the plate.

Picking up the thick wooden bowl, he drank the rich milk wine, and threw the wine bowl on the plate, burping for a long time; As soon as he stopped, the dozen centurions suddenly stopped, looking at their patriarch with burning eyes.

Only Ranelte, who was on the side, was still gnawing on the bones unhurriedly, and drank a small sip of milk wine from time to time.

"Allah is above, his mother, you can be regarded as finding this group of Ming troops, this time you must trample them all to death under the hooves of the horse," the wolf with a greasy beard on his chin, clutching the scimitar across his knees, the cold gilded scabbard, so that he could not feel the slightest coolness in the hot summer, and was still covered with sweat.

"Yes, Elder Qianfu, according to the confessions of the captured captives, the Ming army in this Shiguan Tun went to the steppe several times a month, and I heard that it was to escort goods to the caravans of the Persians," said a centurion who sat down.

"The fire/guns in their hands are sold by the Persians, and other precious goods, which have passed through our steppe, and should have been ours," cried the other centurion, "therefore, they are thieves, and thieves must be trampled to death by horses in leather bags,"

"Yes, all of them are trampled to death," the centurions, laughing loudly, the knives used to cut flesh and debone in their hands, kept gesturing, piercing on the wooden plates, imagining how to torture the Ming thieves on the mountain.

Only the centurion's den Hauge, who was sitting on the side of the Collapse Wolf, wrinkled his brows, glanced at these stupid reckless men with cold eyes, and saw that everyone had laughed enough, so he bowed slightly to the Collapse Wolf and said leisurely, "Master Qianfu, today our rangers went to the south, along the road leading to the Gravel Fort, to the Xilong River, but the trees that were not long planted on both sides of the road there, the Ming people actually pulled out and transported them away,"

"There are poisonous weeds all around this stone pass, I don't know if you have noticed, only that kind of small trees are planted on both sides of the avenue, and poisonous weeds will not grow on the avenue,"

"And this kind of tree, the captives called Coptis chinensis, and they planted a lot of it in the workshop where they burned down, which can stop the growth of poisonous weeds,"

"From the night before yesterday to now, more than 20 people under the commander and the lower officials have been put down by the stinger and have slept for two hours before waking up,"

"Yesterday, the warriors who attacked the mountain, and still a few people have not been found, perhaps, they have died in the poisonous weeds," Wohaug's words made a centurion opposite him, nodding his head again and again, that is, several of his Tartar soldiers were missing.

"So, what the Ming army on the mountain relies on is this poisonous weed," to Wohauge's words, the wolf's face changed, and even Ranelte stopped eating and wiped his hands vigorously with a cloth towel.

"Then burn the mountain with fire, mixed with brimstone, and burn the mountain," said the clever centurion, with a grin.

"I've tried, even if the poisonous weed is lit with saltpeter grease, it won't burn much of a piece, maybe it will be better in the winter," Wohaurg pouted disdainfully and continued.

"The route up the mountain in other places, it is estimated that everyone has sent people to test it, the poisonous weeds are layered on top of each other, even if they are laid with wooden planks, they will sink down, and the warriors who are tightly wrapped will be sent to death," As the henchman of the collapsed wolf, Haoge naturally thinks more than others and sees the problem more deeply.

What he was worried about was that the Ming army on this mountain had an unclear connection with the group of Ming people in Bailonghu, and if that was the case, the retreat behind them would be a bit troublesome.

But Wo Haoge thought about it, but still didn't say it, now that the army has surrounded Shishan, and the words that hit his morale will make the commander unhappy when he says it, so it's better to wait for an opportunity to say it in private.

Compared with Ranelt and the other centurions, although the mind of the Collapse Wolf is much more gloomy, it is obviously the same as everyone else, and does not look at the poisonous weeds around him.

"What the Ming army relies on is nothing more than fire/guns, and the projectile hits the wooden board and can be seen deeply," Wohaorge took a sip of mare's milk wine and continued, "But a small stone mountain, they don't have many sergeants, and the projectile can't be beaten or finished, and we continue to consume their projectiles these days, as well as the damn earth-shattering thunder, until they run out,"

"Competing for the number of warriors, they are far from being opponents,"

"At that time, the Han people on the stone mountain will be exhausted, and the rest will not be the slaves under our scimitars, and the Han people who dare to offend us will not be forgiven," Wo Haoge's words immediately made the atmosphere in the tent warm, and everyone nodded in agreement with his idea.

Especially the collapsed wolf, the scheming words of his subordinates made his face glow, and the tone of his voice also rose a little, "I said Ranelt, your centurions can't watch the excitement from the side, otherwise the seizure on the stone mountain will not be your share,"

"Well, I'll arrange it tomorrow," perhaps it was Wohauge's words, which dispelled Lanelte's concerns, and the commander who put down the wine glass in his hand finally made up his mind, "Not only here, but also the road leading to the Gravel Castle, but also send rangers to keep an eye on it, and it would be better to find a Han village to get some food for women,"

"Hahahaha," a rude laugh rang out in the big tent.

At night, in a row of cowhide tents tied up along the foot of the stone mountain, the snoring sound sounded one after another, and in the large clearing near the canyon of the Shiguan ruins, behind several tall tents, the war horses of the Tartar cavalry gathered together, bowing their heads and eating the fresh green grass.

From time to time, the slaves took fodder from the carts and added it to the war horses, and they were even more angry with the vines and grasses that spread all over the surrounding mountains.

Without the threat of being beaten down from the mountain, and without the tiger eyes of the Ming army from the direction of the gravel fort, the Tartars under the mountain were very stable; Of course, with the lessons of several failed night raids, they did not bother to go to the mountains in the dark to be bombed.

In the quarry stone fort, the sergeant covered in gunpowder smoke still stood on the castle wall, holding fire/gun in his hand, not daring to be careless at all.

In the Shibao military house, Xiao Yezheng and Xiao Liuzi and several flag officers were holding a large ceramic bowl and eating hot dumplings.

The pack horses in the stone castle behind, and even some war horses, due to the lack of forage, will be killed most of them tonight, where the meat filling in the dumplings comes from, Xiao Ye knows it.

Sent together with the dumplings, it was the last batch of projectiles and earth-shattering thunder in the arsenal of the hundred households, and Uncle Kun, who had a revolver fire/gun in his waist, was carrying an iron spoon, standing beside Xiao Ye, adding a spoonful of dumpling soup to everyone from time to time.

Two boxes of 500 rear-loading gun pellets, 300 short-fire/gun pellets, 70 earth-shattering thunderbolts, and a dozen or so military crossbows that were scavenged and cleaned, were the only ammunition he had left.

In the military house, Xiao Ye, who was sitting on the edge of the kang, although his heart twitched, he couldn't see any fluctuating expression on his face at all.

He knew that he was now the focus of everyone in the hundred households, if he was anxious and panicked, the morale of the army on the mountain would immediately be chaotic, and Mei'er, Lina, and Hanjuan, who were too late to be sent away, would have a fateful fate.

Although Yang Tianshou and Wang Dali never showed up, and even Wang Ziliang was nowhere to be seen, Xiao Ye knew that as long as they were in the stone fort behind, the soldiers would be able to obey any orders.

The discipline and obedience that Junhu inherited from the bloodline are what Xiao Ye values the most, and it is also the main reason why he can sit here safely.

The wounded were taken away, and at present the sergeants in the stone fort of B, plus the young craftsmen, and the hunters recruited by Jiming Village, there were no more than eighty people in total, and they would have to rely on them to resist the attack of the Tartars in the days after tomorrow.

According to Xiao Ye's order, only those sergeants, craftsmen, and hunters can eat if they have eaten, and their flag officers can eat, Xiao Ye, who is holding a soup bowl, glanced at the rest of the Datong shop next to him, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After eating and drinking, Xiao Ye asked the others to hurry up and rest, and he took Xiao Liuzi and a personal guard to go out to the castle wall.

Zuo Shi took five guards to the Stone Fort of the Mill of Jiazi, with the cooperation of Wang Ziliang's heralds, and the support of Wang Dali's older craftsmen, it would not be a problem to manage those military households; The stone castle there, the only thing to pay attention to is the two craftsmen hired by the Tian family.

After checking the guards on the fort wall, Xiao Ye walked to the female wall, raised his eyes to look at the faint waning moon in the sky, and said in a low voice, "Little Liuzi, how is it going to be in the back mountain?" ”

"Lord Baihu, the stone wall is full of rattan grass, and the layers are very difficult, and the two guards go down, and they are all pulled up with ropes, and they can't settle down," Xiao Liuzi, who had two fires/guns crossed in the belt on his chest, loosened the gun belt on his shoulder.

"Two days ago, one went down and fell down, but today it can be regarded as two, they are wearing double protective clothing, their heads, faces, hands and feet are tightly wrapped, and they are using a sickle to open the way underneath, the speed is too slow,"

Since the first day of the Tartar occupation at the foot of the mountain, Xiao Ye instinctively pondered a way out, and the sergeant sent out took four long days to finally have good news.

"Later, you will send an order to Wang Ziliang, let him cooperate as much as possible, and open up the retreat of the back mountain at any cost, if the Tartars start to be ruthless, there will be our only way to live," reluctantly touching the solid female wall, Xiao Ye said in a deep voice.

Only now did he realize that this stone mountain was an out-and-out place of death, and once the Tartars or the enemy surrounded the foot of the mountain at any cost, the people on the mountain basically had no way to run.

It's okay to hold on for a short time, but if it takes a long time, food and ammunition are a fatal shortcoming, and his vague worries before are suddenly in front of him.

What especially chilled him was that four days had passed in the Gravel Fort, and now not a single figure of the Ming army could be seen, so wouldn't the lives of more than 200 people in Shiguantun be given up like this?

"Smack," slapped the stone wall, Xiao Ye cursed in his heart, turned around and strode towards the road; He tasted the taste of being abandoned.

Early the next morning, the Tartar soldiers under the mountain started to attack again and again, but the sergeants on the stone fort also learned well, as long as it was not a real attack, the fire/gun projectiles would no longer be fired at will, and the earth-shaking thunder did not have the order of a hundred households, and the flag officer could not use it easily.

On the sixth day of the siege of the mountain, the Tartar soldiers, who saw that the projectiles on the mountain seemed to be exhausted, riveted their spirits, and more than 100 three-eyed fires pressed the formation, and hit the mountain wall twice, but they were beaten to the ground by the projectiles like a torrential rain.

The white flag was raised, the Tartar slaves pulled the wounded as usual, and the stone fort was silent.

On the seventh day, the Tartars under the mountain did not know where to recruit the wood, pulled a team of craftsmen and slaves, made five trebuchets, and threw large stones into the mountain continuously.

"Peng, Peng, Peng", more than 30 catties of irregular stones, roaring, smashed on the outer wall of the stone fort, leaving shallow marks, and a few stones fell into the stone fort, smashing a huge hole in the roof of the military house.

The yellow plaster is so hard that even if the big stones keep hitting, it can't help the stone fort for half a minute, although several sergeants in the military house were bruised, but the momentum of the sergeants is suddenly rising, and they are no longer afraid of the trebuchet of the Tartars.

A hidden soldier cave in the inner wall of the stone castle has become a resting place for everyone to appreciate the falling rocks.

"Didi, Didi," in the sharp suona sound, a group of sergeants rushed out of the Tibetan soldier cave with guns, climbed the fort wall and began to bombard the attacking Tartar soldiers again; In the continuous fighting, the sergeants matured psychologically quickly, and their hands with guns became more and more stable.

On the eighth day, the guns/guns in the hands of the sergeants were replaced by crossbows and captured horn bows, and the use of projectiles was restricted for all but a few powerful guards.

The appearance of short arrows and wolf's tooth arrows made the collapsed wolf and Lanelt under the mountain suddenly refresh, and even Wo Haoge, who was full of gloomy face, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the afternoon, after the trebuchet had thrown out hundreds of stones, the two full-strength hundreds, who were eagerly waiting, pushed the wooden shield under the cover of the Three-Eyed Fire Command, and began another round of attacks with shouts; The Tartars, who were sporadically killed by shotguns, were trampled under the feet of their companions without hesitation.

"Boom, boom," the three-eyed fire swept out large pieces of stones and iron pellets, and the sergeants who forced the stone fort to catch bows and shoot arrows did not dare to show their heads behind the female wall; Seeing this, the overjoyed Tartars quickened their pace and threw themselves on the low gable.

When the three-eyed fire bombardment passed, there were already dozens of sturdy Tartar soldiers, throwing away the wooden shields in their hands, fitting over the wall, and screaming and rushing towards the stone fort.

This was the first time that the Tartars had rushed through the gables, and the stone fort at their fingertips was right in front of them.

The Tartar soldiers who poured over the gables like a tide, and the arrows scattered on the stone fort, some of them were already moving away from the stone pillars that stood in the way.

When the Tartars in their fifties crowded in front of the triangular stone pillar, seven or eight earth-shattering thunderbolts with sparks were suddenly thrown from the stone fort, and they smashed into the pile of people with a crackle, "Boom, boom,"

The Tartar soldiers, whose limbs were splashing, realized that they might have been overshadowed by the Ming army, and they were retreating from behind, and before they pushed away their companions behind them, they saw more black spots falling from the top of their heads again.

"Boom, boom, boom," the earth-shattering thunder that rained down shattered the courage of the Tartars in an instant, and the Tartars, who had suffered heavy casualties, quickly withdrew from the gable; There were also those who were stunned by the explosion, and threw down their knives and bows and ran in the direction of the tun gate.

Five or six Tartar soldiers who ran in the wrong direction, Xiao Ye didn't care, there were already sergeants arranged in the place where they had to pass, and it was estimated that they could catch a few alive. Sure enough, in the direction of the hundred households behind him, there was the sound of Peng Peng's fire/gunshot, and faint cheers rang out.

But now, what makes Xiao Ye depressed is that he still doesn't know whose tribe the Tartars under the mountain are, just entangled themselves like kraft candy, and the black triangular banner under the mountain looks too familiar.

The tartars, who had been beaten with a stick, did not send any more decent troops for a whole day, but three more trebuchets were added to the mountain, and from time to time stones the size of bull's heads were thrown against the walls of the stone fort, and the sound was endless.