Xu Xingxia hurriedly came to the fort gate of Weizhen Fort, which was already in full swing. The strong men of Weizhen Fort and the soldiers of the white-clothed army all squatted behind the battlements, vigilantly watching the movement outside. Whether it was an ordinary strong man or a soldier of the white-clothed army, his face was very bad, obviously frightened.

This made Xu Xingxia feel quite bad. Under such high-intensity training as himself, the performance of the white-clothed sergeant is still so unbearable, which shows that the number of incoming Tartars is quite a lot. If I guessed correctly, today, it should be the biggest challenge I have encountered since I crossed over.

Sure enough, when he went up to the castle gate, he found out what had happened. Looking out from the castle tower, a large number of Tartars occupied the field outside. The outfits of the Tartars are basically dark black. Looking at it from a distance, it was black and pressing, as if it was an ant. It was as if it was a black tide, wanting to engulf Fort Weizhen in an instant. In the middle of black, there are flags of several colors. The banner fluttered in the wind, making the entire team of Tartars look even more imposing.

The sound of horses' hooves constantly shook the earth, like rolling spring thunder. On the head of the castle of Weizhenbao, there was a constant stream of dust falling down. Standing on the top of the castle tower, I can clearly feel the trembling under my feet. The military households in Weizhen Fort could also feel this strong vibration. Some of the horses were neighing uneasily, and there were other different animals shouting, and it was a mess.

There were many Tartars, more horses, and even more cattle and sheep. Generally speaking, when a large army of Tartars is dispatched, each person will be equipped with at least two or three war horses, which will be used in rotation. This was the custom of the Mongol expeditions, and the Tatars also preserved. Some of the Tatar tribes, when they set out on the expedition, each even carried more than five war horses. Of course, with the strength of the Helkin tribe, it is not possible to do such a luxury.

The cattle and sheep were used as food. Seeing these cattle and sheep, Xu Xingxia felt that the pressure on his shoulders was even greater. If the Tartars did not carry these cattle and sheep, it means that they came with the purpose of plundering, taking grain on the spot, and leaving after robbing, and not staying long. As long as Fort Weizhen survives a certain amount of time, it will be safe.

However, if the Tartars carried cattle and sheep, it meant that the Tartars were ready to fight for a long time. Their purpose is not simply to plunder, but to really conquer the city. Thinking of the time when the Mongolian iron cavalry swept all the way to the Danube, invincible, no city and no city, Xu Xingxia did feel a little numb.

Fortunately, Xu Xingxia took a closer look and did not find that the Tatars were carrying large siege weapons. The legendary famous return cannon was not seen. General artillery, it seems, there is no such thing. This made Xu Xingxia's heart a little more stable. It seems that the Tatars, although they came with great momentum and spread all over the mountains, were not very well prepared in terms of basic siege weapons. The Tatars are still a little arrogant.

However, for a small fortress like Fort Weizhen, the ladder is sufficient. The use of return cannons and cannons is a pure waste! A simple siege weapon like a ladder can be made slowly after arriving at Weizhen Fort. From this point of view, the Tatar plan cannot be said to be wrong.

[Author's note: According to research, the return cannon is actually a trebuchet, not a cannon in the real sense. 】

Mao 13 came to Xu Xingxia's side and said with a grim expression: "A full Tartar thousand-person team!" A total of more than a thousand Tartars! ”

I could hear that there was a slight tremor in his tone. It's good that Mao Thirteen has also mixed in the team of horse thieves, and it is indeed not easy to scare him into trembling in his voice. There is no way, more than a thousand Tartars, rolling south, he has never seen it before. It is estimated that in Ningxia Town, the next generation has not seen it. There should be no more than ten young people who can calmly face the scene in front of them.

The last time the Tartars went south on a large scale was more than ten years ago in the 31st year of Wanli. At that time, the Tartars sent two or three thousand men. As a result, a total of more than a dozen castles were destroyed in Ningxia Town, and tens of thousands of people were slaughtered. Thirteen years later, thousands of Tartars went south again, and it was not only he Mao Thirteen who were afraid of being frightened. In the entire town of Ningxia, I don't know how many people were frightened.

Xu Xingxia couldn't calmly accept the situation in front of him. A thousand-man team of Tartars. If you fight in the field, you can overturn the 5,000 Ming army. Even, if you do it a little better, even tens of thousands of Ming troops can overturn. In front of a Tartar thousand-man team, even Pingyu City, it may not be able to guarantee safety.

What is even more disturbing is that the Tartars did not attack immediately after coming to the outside of the fort, but set up camp in style. Obviously, the Tartars went south this time with the purpose of attacking fortifications. They were determined to take Fort Weizhen. Attacking fortifications was not originally the specialty of the Tartars. In order to avoid suffering heavy losses, the Tartars also tried to avoid attacking the fortified battles. However, once the Tartars have made up their minds to attack the fortifications, it is still possible to do this.

To deal with a thousand-man team of Tartars, the Ming army in Ningxia Town had to concentrate at least 10,000 people before they dared to dispatch. For the sake of safety, it is even possible to gather more than 20,000 people before they will be dispatched en masse. It is simply impossible to gather such a large number of troops, without half a month. For the efficiency of the ordinary Ming army, Xu Xingxia did not dare to give too high expectations. In other words, the Tartars have at least half a month to slowly launch an attack on Fort Weizhen.

How many attacks can the Tartars launch in half a month? No one can calculate. The old military households in Weizhen Fort knew that thirteen years ago, the Tartars marched south, and there were only two or three thousand people, but in just five or six days, they conquered more than a dozen castles in a row. Ordinary castles can be captured in one day. If it's a little tougher, it's two days at most. It seems that there is no castle that can hold back the Tartars for three days. Of course, relatively strong cities such as Pingyu City and Ningxia City are exceptions.

In fact, relatively strong cities such as Ningxia City and Pingyu City are not necessarily impossible for the Tartars to capture, but the price that needs to be paid for attacking the fortifications is something that the Tartars cannot afford, so they will avoid taking action against these fortified cities. Besides, if you take down Ningxia City, the situation will be serious. In case the court is angry and there is another great expedition, the Tatars will not be able to do it, and they will have to suffer a great loss of vitality. With the surname of Emperor Wanli, if he really wants to provoke him, his old man is still very unafraid.

"Damn, this time it's out of the way!" Gao Meng said fiercely. Obviously, in the face of the pressure of the army, the Tartars are a little nervous even if they are as fierce as Gao Meng. The Tartars camped outside Fort Willtown, apparently confronting Fort Willtown for a long time. This has never happened in the past ten years, and it cannot but make people nervous.

As for the other Weizhenbao military households, in fact, there is nothing to think about, basically they are all blank-minded and walking dead. The purpose of the Tartars is clear, that is, to completely destroy the fort of Weizhen. The purpose of the military households is also very clear, that is, to protect Fort Weizhen. Even if you fight to the last man, you can't let the Tartars kill you.

Surrender is impossible. Regardless of whether it is Han Jian or not, who wants to fall into the hands of the Tartars and live a life that is worse than death? The Han Chinese, who had been plundered by the Tartars, occasionally fled back from the north. Judging from the information they brought back, it is a hundred times happier to die in battle than to be alive. It's better to die than to live, this sentence is absolutely not applicable in Ningxia Town.

Fortunately, Fort Wytown was well prepared. Fort Weizhen had enough food, enough weapons and equipment, relatively enough defenders, and some secret weapons. If there are no such preparations, I am afraid that Weizhen Fort is indeed in a catastrophe. Of course, the most important thing is that they also have a backbone, a hundred households with archery perverts.

"What's the panic? Calm down! ”

Xu Xingxia's voice echoed in the city.

"We have food, we have equipment, we have personnel, what are we afraid of?"

Xu Xingxia hated that iron could not become steel. In fact, his heart was also uneasy. However, for the sake of the needs of the war, he had to remove all the uneasiness in his heart. Even if everyone in the entire Fort of Willtown was in a panic, he couldn't panic. After all, it is a person who has "died" once, and this psychological quality is still there.

"Everyone, take your place and get ready for battle! Think of your family! Are you willing to let your family fall under the butcher's knife of the Tartar? Are you willing to let your wives and daughters be ravaged by the Tartars? Xu Xingxia continued to shout coldly.

He kept moving through the crowd, cheering on his men and dispelling their fears as much as possible. Seeing the overly nervous military household, Xu Xingxia went up and patted him on the shoulder fiercely, waking him up from his almost convulsive state. If a pat on the shoulder doesn't work, kick it hard.

Those military households who were kicked did not feel that there was anything wrong. It's a battle too! In the state of battle, it was Xu Xingxia who carried a knife and directly gave them a knife, which was in line with military law. Fear the former, slash! This is the clearest military regulation. Many officers like to carry a horse whip in battle, whipping soldiers back and forth. Xu Xingxia came over to give them a kick, which was already considered merciful.

Mao 13 and Chi Hu and other officers carried horsewhips and supervised the soldiers back and forth. At that time, the army had very few similar concepts about defending the homeland and defending the country, glorifying the ancestors, and making meritorious contributions. More than seventy percent of the soldiers joined the army purely to make ends meet. One can imagine how high their consciousness can be. When you do ideological work with them, you are simply playing the harp to the cow. Xu Xingxia felt that he couldn't do it.

"Xu Xingxia, how many people are here from the Tartars?"

Suddenly, Zhu Zhizhi's voice came from behind.

(To be continued)