The brigade of military horses from the erection of the Kuzhang River on the pontoon bridge surging, set foot on the south of the Kuzhang River land, the climate on both sides of the Kuzhang River is dry, this period of time and a long time without rain, the military horses stepped on, is the sky full of smoke and dust.

On the south bank of the Kuzhang River, the soldiers and horses that have crossed the river are divided into two parts. Some of them were the troops acting as cover, the horizontal formation of musketeers in front, the phalanx of pikemen in the rear, and many cannons were also pushed to the front line, and the muzzles of the black holes were all pointed forward. Unlike when they were on the north bank of the Kuzhang River, the Ming army deployed three defensive lines facing the south, west and east on the south bank of the Kuzhang River, and the wide river became a hollow phalanx.

The other part of the soldiers who crossed the river, all carrying shovels, crossed the river and began to dig trenches under the organization of the officers.

There were also truckloads of construction timber, which were pulled across the Kuzhang River by horses. The timber was not cut from the nearby barren mountains, but from the burned villages on the north bank of the Kuzhang River. A lot of wood still has traces of smoke and fire!

According to Zhu Sijiu's plan, these timbers were used to build a bridgehead on the south bank of the Kuzhang River. With the cover of this bridgehead to retreat, the brigade of the Western Expeditionary Army could march southward with confidence. A castle was built on the plain north of Tongtian Pass to block the way out of Timur's department.

Liu Dou is the elder brother of Liu Sheng, who was a great lawyer in Jiangdu and was currently preparing to go to Beimingzhou to develop. He is now a second lieutenant platoon commander in Guo Kan's musket regiment, and he is also an officer. The musket regiment of the Silver Armor Division to which he belonged had also crossed the Kuzhang River at this time, and it was nine hundred steps south of the bank of the Kuzhang River and was facing south.

"The whole of the first row, the gun is under the shoulder. Examine! Liu Dou and Liu Daguan pressed the handle of the horizontal knife with their hands and gave orders loudly. 39 musketeers under his command. Immediately remove the musket from the shoulder and begin the routine inspection.

"Done!" The soldiers, who had completed the inspection, shouted loudly.

"Check the fire rope and fire fold!" Liu Dou then ordered. His soldiers were not using Heavenly Dao seven-year flintlock muskets. It's the old Tiandao two-year-old arquebus smoothbore gun. This rifle was to use a fire arquebus, and the fire rope could not be lit all day long, so the musketeer had to be equipped with a fire fold. Every time you go into battle, you have to check the fire rope and fire fold. In the event of an enemy, light the arquebus first, and then reload the ammunition.

"Checked!"

Hearing his subordinates shouting "inspection completed" one by one, Liu Dou sighed softly. There was nothing wrong, in the end, they were all veterans who had been soldiers for a few years, and there should be no mistakes in some small things. Now it's a wait, if the Mongols don't come. But there is one less chance to make meritorious contributions.

In the few years that Guo Kan's subordinates were soldiers, Liu Dou can be regarded as a transfer of thousands of miles. Qingtang, Wusizang, the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, the banks of the Ili River, all the way to the south bank of the Kuzhang River. Participated in no less than thirty battles, large and small! It's really a veteran who has seen blood. His platoon commander is really not easy to come by.

But if you want to go further, it is extremely difficult. Guo Kan's silver armor division now has a total of 18,000 people (only 14,000 people arrived at the Kuzhang River battlefield), of which there are less than 1,000 officers, most of whom are Guo Kan's old brothers. A small number of them are the disciples of King Zhu Dajun. It's all characters with backgrounds. How many positions can be left for newcomers like Liu Dou with no background?

However, Liu Dou's fame and fame have not been extinguished. Because for a small officer like him, there is still a great opportunity in the future: Guo Kan to seal the country! Guo Kan is now the king of the county, and he is older than Zhu Sijiu. It is a matter of time before the country is sealed, and most of it can be fulfilled in this battle of the Western Expedition.

At that time, Guo Kan and Guo Taiwei will be the king of a country. Naturally, these followers were the founding heroes! How can you turn several officials in a row, right? Maybe there's a knighthood!

Thinking of being promoted to a knighthood, Liu Dou's heart suddenly became hot. Looking south, there seemed to be sparks flashing in their eyes, like beasts waiting for their prey to be delivered.

……

"Bring a hammer and a wicker shield!"

"Don't take the bow with you. Bring only a horse bow and twenty arrows, not armor-piercing arrows. That thing didn't work. ”

Almost at the same moment, on the south bank of the Kuzhang River. In the camp of the busy brother Timur to the east of Tongtian Pass, it is the scene of a large army about to go out. The Mongols, dressed in dirty leather robes, or some kind of Mongolized steppe barbarians, got out of their tents one after another, took the corresponding weapons on the orders of the officers, and ran towards the fence where the horses were raised.

Ma Mai'er, a warrior who grew up in the Kipchak steppe, also galloped out of his tent at this moment. This stout man who looked like a brown bear was a Kipchak. In the military and political system of the Golden Horde Khans, they belonged to the second class, only a little higher than the Rus, who were attached to the Mongols. In the army of the busy brother Timur, there are not many authentic Mongols, most of them are officers of the hundred households and thousands of households, and at the most they are also cowardly Xue Xue who has a status equal to that of a hundred households. And the Kipchaks were the main force in the charge - cannon fodder!

However, Mamile was quite satisfied with his current situation, he was a captain of ten, and he had five Kipchaks, two Bulgars, two Khorezmians, and he happened to be a ten-man team.

Although he is a small officer, he is still much better than the ordinary Kipchaks, Bulgars, and Khorezmians in the army. After following his busy brother Timur to the two rivers, Mamar's life took another step. He made his home in the city of Kufelt in the Fergana Basin, and married a local girl who was only 16 years old, and now his wife is pregnant with a child.

But just as the good days were just beginning, the powerful Ming Empire in the east sent an invading army!

How did Mamile, who grew up in the steppes and served in the army of the Golden Horde for a long time, not know the reason for the ruin of the country? Once the Ming Empire becomes the master of the Fergana Basin, then Tamamaier will lose everything. Even wives and children will become slaves of others!

"Bring only a shield, armor, a bow, a hammer, and twenty arrows, and two horses for each man!"

A Mongolian centurion, Ma Mai'er's boss Tuhuan had already stepped to the fence first, repeatedly explaining the orders from above.

"Master Dehuan. Is that really all there is? Do you want to bring a spear? Maybe there will be a chance to rush into battle. ”

Ma Maier asked a little unwillingly. His kung fu on horseback is first-class, and he is not only good at riding and shooting. Better use of spears and sabers. Now spears and sabers are not allowed to be carried, only hard-headed hammers are allowed. How is this going to be played?

"With a spear? Are you going to use a horse pistol to fight the spear formation of the Ming infantry? How long is a carbine? How long are the spears of other infantrymen? Aren't you sending you to death? ”

The old man who reprimanded Ma Mai'er was just a young man in his early twenties, and he knew that he had Rus blood by looking at his appearance, and he didn't know which Mongolian lord and Rus's concubine were born of a cross breed.

But his words still have some truth, the most terrifying thing about the Ming army here in Central Asia is not muskets and artillery, but the steel armor spear array of the Ming army! Everyone is in steel armor, invulnerable to knives and arrows, and there is a spear in his hand, forming a gun formation to rush to kill is like a rapid movement to the steel jungle! There is no one who stands in the way that is not tragic. Moreover, the Ming Army's Western Expeditionary Army often fired guns for a while before charging with spears. Disrupt the opponent's formation first, and then put on the spear, the Mongols could not resist at all.

When Ma Mai'er came out of the fence with two war horses, Master Tuhuan was already distributing military rations. Four naan cakes per person plus a large chunk of juicy mutton, and no wine, of course. Timur, a busy brother, is a Celestial Sect, and although he also drinks in private, he still has to do the work of saving face.

"It's two meals, don't eat them all at once!" Dehuan shouted loudly. "This time it's a night fight. Two loaves of bread were eaten on the road, and the mutton and the other two were eaten before the battle. God is great! God willing! ”

Fighting at night? Ma Maier looked up at the sky. It's still morning. It seems that we will have to walk a lot to get to the battlefield today. At night, it is time for these thieves to know that they are powerful.

Thinking of this, Ma Maier tightly grasped the hammer in his hand.

……

"Wan Sheng! Wansheng! Victory ......"

When Zhu Sijiu rode his horse through the pontoon bridge and arrived at the south bank of the Kuzhang River. The three armies burst into cheers. As a general of the unified army, his prestige is undoubtedly very high. The soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army followed him, and they were not only invincible. Conquer everything, and every gram is a city. can be plundered, and the looted property is based on the military rank. The size of the military merits is fairly divided. After arriving on the banks of the Ili River, he gave them all wives and settled down. How can such a coach be unpopular?

Hearing this cheer, Zhu Sijiu's mood was also extremely good. Sweeping 100,000 male soldiers across the Western Regions and opening up thousands of miles, this is what the big man did!

If you can build a big country in the Western Regions and open up a foundation, it will be even more exciting. It's just that Chen Dexing may be a little sorry for this matter, after all, he didn't discuss with him, so he pulled the Western Army out to fight for territory.

However, if this battle can sweep away the busy brother Timur and Abha, it will cut off Kublai Khan's right-hand man, and the western territory of the Ming Dynasty will be much more stable. With such a great achievement, how can you not make a big feud in the west?

Moreover, the western part of the Ming Dynasty did need a stronger feudal state to resist the Mongols and the Celestial Cultists.

As the commander of the Ming Dynasty's Western Expeditionary Army, how could he, Zhu Sijiu, not know that the Ming Dynasty's westward expansion was about to run out. The Ming Empire had too many rich and vast colonies waiting to be explored, and compared to there, the Western Regions was just a bitter cold land. There are no ordinary Han Chinese immigrants willing to come.

Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to establish rule west of Tianshan Province, the only way was to practice feudalism. As long as the 100,000 troops who came out with him this time were divided into Persia and Lianghe, the Ming Dynasty's sphere of influence could be expanded all the way to the Mediterranean. It won't be long before you can even hit Europa and completely wipe out Kublai Khan and his Great Mongols!

However, the Army General Staff, the War Department, and even the Sage himself did not seem to be willing to have a powerful feudal state in the west. Kublai Khan, who occupied Europa, did not seem to have the determination to completely exterminate it. They all seem to have forgotten how the Mongols had killed the Chinese people in the past......

This hatred can only be washed away with the blood of Kublai Khan!

It seems that the great cause of sweeping away the West and exterminating Kublai Khan, the thief, can only be accomplished by yourself!

As soon as Zhu Sijiu thought of this, the blood on his body was boiling, as if he had seen the scene of drinking the Masena River and settling in the city of Paris.

Riding a horse through the pontoon bridge, Zhu Sijiu arrived at the preset battlefield on the south bank. The Ming officers and soldiers who had crossed the river earlier had already dug a circular trench and were now piling up the breastwork. Instead of rammed earth, sacks of earth were filled with mud and built into fortifications that could be shot from a kneeling position.

Between the circular trench and the breastwork, a high platform was being built out of wood. Under the high platform, several white tents have been set up, and a handsome flag with the character "Zhu" and a military flag of the sun and moon are fluttering in the wind in front of the tent. This is where Zhu Sijiu's headquarters is located.

"Greetings to the General General!"

Guo Kan, Xiao Da, Chen Chu and Hai Dawei were already waiting in front of the tent with several brigade commanders and regiment commanders. Seeing Zhu Sijiu arriving surrounded by doormen and guards, they all bowed down at the same time.

Zhu Sijiu turned over from the horse very vigorously, glanced at the generals, and nodded as a return salute. Then he called Hai Dawei to him and asked in a low voice, "Do the cavalry have anything to report?" ”

Hai Dawei was born as a wild Jurchen Tartar in Liaodong, but now he is already a Han and has been named an earl. Together with Yang Axi, he was known as the two major cavalry generals of the Ming Army. The three cavalry divisions in the Western Expeditionary Army were all under his control. In addition, this Hai Dawei is also Zhu Sijiu's henchman.

"Marshal, as soon as the cavalry crossed the river, they encountered the Mongol horse rangers. Two of them were killed, and three were captured alive. After torture, it was learned that the Mongols sent a number of scouts to patrol along the Kuzhang River. ”

"That's good!" Zhu Sijiu grinned, "They are looking for a place for us to cross the river, and they want to attack it halfway!" By the way, how many people have crossed the river now? ”

Guo Kan replied: "In the early 25,000s, five musket regiments, two infantry brigades, one cavalry division, and 48 cannons from two artillery regiments have also crossed the river." By night there was also an infantry brigade, a musket regiment and an artillery regiment crossing the river. ”

"Well," Zhu Sijiu looked down and pointed to the musketeers who were on guard, "tell them to rest on the spot." The Mongols did not come so quickly, their firepower was too weak, and they would definitely fight at night. Tonight, it's time for us to hit Timur, a busy brother! ”

"That's it! As long as they dare to come, this is their burial place! ”

The generals of the Ming army around them also laughed and agreed.

They are all sure of tonight's decisive battle! (To be continued.) )