Chapter 402: Life and Death
On the chariot, bullets shrouded Timur's battle array like a dense net, and rows of soldiers who were not afraid of death fell in pools of blood, they didn't even know what shot them, how did they die?
Suleiman, who rushed to the front, narrowly escaped, the bullet pierced through his arm, he fell from his horse, and at the last moment, he held the ground with his injured arm to prevent his neck from being broken.
He was a good rider of Mongol descent, grew up on horseback, and in the most critical moments, it was his best comrades who used their huge bodies to block bullets for him.
Seeing that the war horse was hit and fell, Suleiman avoided the heavy body of the horse and hid behind the horse, he looked at the grass-green behemoth, passing in front of him, he also clearly saw the behemoth, the black muzzle towards them, a particle bullet shot out from it, the speed was as fast as lightning, dazzling, and there was no way to avoid it.
What kind of weapon is this?
This was no ordinary siege vehicle, realizing this, Suleiman's heart was filled with fear, he knew that no matter how much manpower and material resources Timur invested, how many troops he invested, this battle with Ma Heima's mercenaries could not be won.
Their only hope is to buy these mercenaries with money and make them turn against each other or retreat.
The purpose of the Doyan Sanwei was not to destroy Shahru's army, their purpose was to make money, to loot, to treasure gold and silver.
Suleiman was able to escape, and when the mercenaries drove into the city, he managed to grab a war horse, and the surviving guards escorted him and fled in the direction of the west.
At this time, he could only be glad that he did not have a big support, and when he saw that the Ming mercenaries were coming quickly, he hurriedly asked people to enter the city to inform the Great Khan to go west, otherwise, once Herat fell, all of them would have no way back.
"Let's go!" Even if it hurt so much that he wanted to remove his arm, Suleiman did not slow down at all, behind him, there was a thousand miles of Timurid warriors, the former warriors in front of the Ming mercenaries, they didn't even know what the weapon used by the other party was, almost a photo has been dead, and on his side, he didn't even touch the other party's hair.
How is this battle going to be fought?
The bosses are all dead, can they not escape?
When they escaped from the battlefield and saw the commander in front of them, they were hesitating to rush forward and kill the commander.
Timur's army continued the tradition left by Genghis Khan, no matter how ferocious the enemy was, he was more ferocious than the other party, and there was only one end for deserters, that is, "death".
"Withdraw!" Suleiman shouted.
This is undoubtedly an amnesty for the deserters, and everyone is relieved, since they are deserters, no one wants to be charged with killing the commander, and they will be hunted down by the empire in the future, and their lives will not be stable.
At this time, if you can escape justifiably and maintain your current life, no one wants to make trouble.
Suleiman quickly pulled up a team.
Although they lost a lot of people, fortunately, they knew the times, and compared to the confrontation between the two armies, there were not too many dead and wounded, and Suleiman and this group of people quickly caught up with Shahru.
The moment he saw Shahru's team, he could no longer hold it and rolled off his horse, and his guards grabbed him and carried him to Shahru.
Shaharu saw Suleiman, who was injured like this, and he didn't say anything for a long time.
"Great Khan, the last general is incompetent, he has not been able to resist the attack of the Ming mercenaries, Herat is lost, please surrender the Great Khan!" Suleiman closed his eyes.
He still remembered the Haikou he boasted about in the main hall, but at this time, he was deeply slapped in the face.
These, at the moment of life and death, are nothing.
Shaharu looked in the direction of the east and asked in a deep voice, "What is the strength of the Ming mercenaries?"
Shaharu did not flee alone, he fled with his courtiers and nobles, and there were many people around him, all of whom looked at Suleiman with anxious eyes at this time, waiting for his answer.
"Great Khan, the weapons used by the mercenaries of the Ming Dynasty are unprecedented
There are weapons, weapons that we have never heard of and never seen, and they can shoot at long distances, their artillery...... It's unstoppable!"
Shaharu didn't ask any more, he had already learned the Ming firearms, and he was also worried that the Ming army would catch up, so he slapped the horse's butt and gave an order, "Let's go!"
Shaharu stopped at Yin Sfahan, where he learned that the Ming army had not caught up, but had sacked the city on the day the city was breached.
Fortunately, the mercenaries of the Ming Dynasty did not lose their humanity and did not slaughter the city, they stayed in the city for ten days, except for taking away all the valuable gold and silver treasures of the palace and the rich families in the city, they did not hurt people for no reason.
The common people in the city even resumed their normal life when the Ming mercenaries were still in the city, and it was not until Ma Heima's 50,000 army entered the city that the city began to be disordered.
The army did not bring much food, and when they entered the city, they first ransacked the palace, and then the rich men, seeing that they had nothing to rob, began to burn and plunder in the city.
When Shaharu heard the news from Herat, his heart was wrenched.
Since Ma Heima raised 20 million taels of silver and gave it to the Ming mercenaries at one time, he obviously did not have the financial resources to feed so many troops, and most of this year's taxes had already been received by Shaharu, so Ma Heima naturally could only attack the common people.
Herat was originally a magnificent city, with a population of nearly one million, and merchants from the south to the north gathered like clouds, which can be regarded as one of the largest cities in the world today, except for the Yingtianfu and Shuntianfu of the Ming Dynasty.
But at this time, there was an endless stream of people fleeing, some to the east, some to the west, but anyone who could escape from the city was an ancestor who accumulated virtue.
But no one counted this account on the heads of the Ming mercenaries, after all, the Ming mercenaries were stationed in the city for ten days, and they were all rich people, while Ma Heima's army, Timur's army, was the people.
The wheels of the car from Herat to Tacheng were sunk deep into the road, and when the first car arrived in Tacheng, the last car had almost left Herat.
Many of the people transporting these vehicles were ordinary people in the city of Herat, and they were requisitioned by the mercenaries of the Ming Dynasty.
The people escorting these vehicles were naturally Ming mercenaries.
"Compared to my Da Ming's way, is this called a road?" The person of Duoyan Sanwei couldn't help but complain.
It was raining, and the road was muddy, although I was not afraid of someone coming to rob it, but this living crime was not less.
Seeing the ordinary people who helped transport them frozen like quails in the rain, wearing rainproof military uniforms and down jackets, they all felt so cold.
"Bear with me, it'll be nice when you're there!" Another soldier set up the tent and comforted the robe.
"Put up tents and let the people go in and hide from the rain, what the fuck is this road, is this the road? I haven't seen such a road for many years."
One of the flags kicked the mud on the ground, wiped the general's boot on the grass on the side of the road, stomped his foot, and only took a step before the mud came up again.
"Boss, they're all hiding in tents, who's watching these goods outside?"
"Looking out of the tent, I want to see who dares to snatch things from under my Da Ming's hands, so that Lao Tzu can see for a long time!" Zongqi scolded with a smile, "Big guy, listen, the orders from above, the goods are delivered safely, and the harvest on the road is our own, do you say, should we look forward to those who are not long-sighted?"
"If that's the case, boss, why don't I take a few people and grab it all the way?" We're in Tower City!"
"you! Don't think about that, the above will arrange, and our task is to deliver the goods safely." Zongqi tapped on the car with the butt of his gun, "Oh, this time I went back, I don't know if I can come out?"
"I don't want to come out, at least I've passed this year's New Year. Hehe, if you wear a pair of shoes in Daming, and your feet are not stained with dust, this is good, and your whole body will be like a mud dog."
Follow the old ones who were transported
The people were placed in tents, which were protected from the rain and spacious inside, and they huddled together and dried their clothes with their own body heat.
He took out the dry food that had been soaked in the rain from his body and swallowed it with difficulty one bite at a time.
The Ming mercenaries got together, and they were also eating dry food.
In this kind of weather, there is no way to cook, but their dry food is all kinds of dried meat, and they also have good hearts, and they will give a little to these people to let them taste it.
This road is extremely difficult, and when halfway through, there are off-road vehicles over the mountains and mountains, and supplies are sent from the rear of the Ming Dynasty, this time, these people also followed to eat white rice, and sweet potatoes and meat pieces were added to the rice, so that these ordinary people felt the treatment they had never had.
Finally arrived at Tacheng, although there was only a mountain range between him and Timur, Tacheng let these people see a different world.
From the moment the simple transport truck was pushed up to the tower city, their footsteps stepped on a smooth, solid, and clean asphalt road, the road was black, even if the rain washed on it, it would not make a short stop, let alone soak in the mud.
These ordinary people felt the relief of the Ming mercenaries, and many of them showed a relaxed smile on their faces, one can imagine how disgusted they were with life in Timur before.
Even if the battle left them unharmed, even if they went and reaped tens of millions of riches, they did not seem satisfied.
This is a new life, a superior life that Timur people cannot feel even if they are in it, and a life that can only be enjoyed by bringing pride in their bones as a Ming person.