The Emperor's grandson, Harry Sultan, as the vanguard commander of this expeditionary army, rode his bloody horse, his eyes were like torches, staring at the strange fortress of Hamiwei in front of him.

This fortress, no, it should be the fortress group of the entire Northwest Corridor, was carefully designed by Jiang Xinghuo and the masters of the Ministry of Engineering, and then fine-tuned it in combination with the local terrain and other conditions during the specific construction process.

And the strange fortress in front of him was different from any castle that Harry Sultan had seen before, unlike the Georgian and Armenian fortresses with high curtain walls with round or triangular teeth, and unlike the marble fortress with cylindrical towers that the Ottoman Turks learned from Byzantium, this fortress was made of a strange kind of earth, with sharp edges and corners, like a huge and abrupt rock rising on the Gobi, and the walls of the fortress were densely filled with perforations, like cold eyes, Keep an eye on the enemies outside.

It was this irregular prismatic fortress like a dehydrated starfish that had tormented his army for more than twenty days.

The army led by Harry Sultan had been besieging the fortress for so long, but the fortress was still standing, and the boulders smashed by their trebuchets smashed down on the walls of the fortress, leaving only shallow traces, and the arrows fired by the archers could not penetrate the walls of the fortress, at best the iron arrows came out of a spark.

Although Harry Sultan's face did not change much, his heart was full of anxiety and helplessness, he knew that this fortress was a stumbling block for them, and if they did not take it, they would not be able to continue their expedition, he looked at the fortress, his eyes flashed with anger and unwillingness.

But after looking at the map in his hand, after beating Hamiwei, there are more than ten fortresses waiting for him such as Shazhou Wei, Suzhou Wei, Shanganwei, Yongchang Wei, Xining Wei, Liangzhou Wei and so on.

Thinking of this, Hari Sultan inevitably had a somewhat mental breakdown.

The collapse of adults is often in an instant, and Harry Sultan resisted the urge to slash his lieutenant to vent his anger and continued to direct the siege, his gaze as sharp as that of a falcon, staring closely at the majestic fortress in front of him.

The setting sun shone like blood, reflecting Harry Sultan's troops, his personal guards still moving, these heavily armored warriors on majestic horses, like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, their eyes glittering with a desire to conquer.

However, it is not yet time for them to play, and they must first find out the weaknesses of the fortress.

The walls of the fortress are not very tall, but they are exceptionally strong, like an impenetrable barrier, standing between heaven and earth, on the city wall, the Ming army is waiting for them, their eyes are firm and resolute, as if they are ready to die with the enemy.

After the troops in front had basically lost all their casualties, with the command of Hari Sultan, the drums of the attack shook the sky, and thousands of soldiers rushed to the fortress like a tide, their steps were heavy and powerful, and the earth trembled, and the arrows of Timur's army rained down from the sky like locusts, and the dense arrows drew an arc of death in the air.

Harry Sultan's troops stormed the walls of the fortress like a rag, and the auxiliaries climbed the gentle slope of sandbags and dead bodies, and then continued to throw down the sandbags they were holding to build up the siege positions, and if they were not killed, they could return to their starting line and continue to repeat the work with new sandbags.

Compared with the sand that can be obtained in large quantities in the Gobi Desert not far away, human life is much more precious in this cruel battlefield.

At the same time, the ladder cart was also erected, and the sword and shield bearers holding round shields full of grassland style cowhide round shields flocked to the city, but no matter how they waved their weapons and how they screamed, their figures seemed extremely brave in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The walls of the fortress are like an unshakable mountain, standing tall despite the storms and rains.

The battle entered a white-hot phase, and the soldiers on both sides were caught in a frenzied fight, blood stained the walls red, flowing down the walls of the bastion and soaking the earth, and the smell of death filled the air.

Harry Sultan's eyes were always fixed on the walls of the fortress, and he knew that only by breaking through this line of defense could he achieve ultimate victory.

However, it is obviously not enough to rely on ladder trucks alone.

Now Harry Sultan can only hope that the front of the fortress will be filled directly with sandbags and human lives, and that he will be able to consume the shells of the Ming artillery.

However, the Ming army defending the fortress showed amazing tenacity and courage, and they built an impregnable defensive line, allowing Hari Sultan's forces to return again and again.

Night was approaching, and the battle showed no end in sight, but Harry Sultan's besieging forces were exhausted.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, Harry Sultan ordered the withdrawal of his troops, except for the cavalry that was cruising outside the fortress to prevent the Ming army from coming out of the city and destroying the sandbags and gentle slopes below.

He rode his war horse and slowly left the fortress that left him helpless, his back looking so lonely and helpless in the light of the setting sun with only a touch of red left.

He looked at the gray concrete fragments that his men had picked out under his hands, and laughed at himself that they hadn't found nothing today, because they had already dug up the front part of the fort under the cover of siege engines.

It's a pity that in the face of these hard steels, even the sharpest Damascus scimitar is helpless, buried in concrete, even a sledgehammer can't bend much.

These bastions in front of him have become a nightmare for the vast majority of the soldiers in Harry Sultan's army.

To the north of Hamiwei are two mountain ranges, with rivers and lakes in the middle, and Hamiwei itself is built on an artery with an independent water source, which can be described as a single man, and the natural terrain conditions are extremely superior.

Hamiwei is very difficult to gnaw, but Harry Sultan will definitely not be able to lead his army to bypass, because here is the main road, he bypassed, what will happen to the supply troops behind? There was no large number of troops to escort it, and the Ming army attacked one accurately.

And bypassing Hamiwei, there are so many guards in the Northwest Corridor, can he bypass them all? How do you resupply them all around? At this time, there was no airdrop, and those who had nothing to eat could only drink the local specialty Northwest Wind was hungry.

In addition to these current problems, there is another important problem that bothers him.

Harry Sultan sat in his tent, the lights flickering, stretching his shadow long and casting it on the rough curtain like a trapped beast struggling.

He looked at the letter in his hand, his eyes deep and heavy, as if carrying endless worries.

Because what was written on this letter weighed on his heart like a boulder, and he was almost out of breath - Grandpa Timur Khan was sick.

This news was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Hari Sultan.

Timur the Great Khan was his spiritual pillar and the soul of the entire expeditionary army, and now the Khan's physical condition is worrying, which is not only a blow to Harry personally, but also to the entire army.

This expedition was promoted by Timur on his own, and if the news of the Great Khan's ill health spread, then the vanguard army must have no intention of attacking the city.

Harry Sultan felt a sense of powerlessness, as if he saw his grandfather in the distance, his heart was full of guilt and self-blame, as a grandson, he failed to fulfill his filial piety by the side of the Great Khan; As a striker, he failed to capture the fortress in front of him and open the way for the army.

At this time, the black pearl who had paid tribute from the Mamluk dynasty lifted the curtain of his tent and looked at him worriedly: "Your Highness, are you okay?" ”

Harry Sultan lost his former tenderness to her, subconsciously covered the secret letter with his hand, and then frowned impatiently: "You go out first, I want to be quiet by myself." ”

Black Pearl was very obedient, put down the tray of food in his hand and walked out quietly.

He closed his eyes and clenched his hands into fists, as if searching for some strength.

Hari Sultan sat in the quiet of his tent, his worries surging like a tidal wave, and his mind wandered between two fears: first, he feared that if his grandfather's condition did not improve, his brother Khalil would secretly seek the throne of the Great Khan while he was fighting on the front line; Second, he was worried that if his grandfather's condition improved, and he saw that the attack on Hamiwei had made no progress, he would blame him for his poor siege of the city, and in a fit of rage, he would revoke his position as a vanguard.

Harry Sultan closed his eyes, and the image of Haril's sly face and his grandfather's stern eyes came to mind, and the two images intertwined, which made his heart even heavier, and he knew that whatever happened would be a huge blow to him.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm his emotions, in fact, Hari Sultan knew very well that the most important thing now was to remain calm and not be swayed by these worries, and he soon began to think about how to protect himself in this political and military crisis.

Hari Sultan had 35,000 vanguard troops in his hands, plus the servant army of Beshbali and the nearby Mongols, Urguls and other tribes, there were nearly 50,000 people, although he fought for more than 20 days in Hamiwei, but because he deliberately drove the servant army and auxiliaries to attack the city, and because Hamiwei's fortress could not deploy too many troops, the elite of the Timurid Khanate under his command did not lose much, and the most elite cavalry troops were almost unscathed.

Therefore, no matter what the situation is, Harry Sultan is confident that he has no problem protecting himself, and the worst outcome is nothing more than two, his grandfather died and he pulled the flag to rebel, or his grandfather did not die and he was removed from his post and went back to wait for a new mission.

In this case, the most important thing now is to strengthen the contact with the rear and ensure that he can be the first to be ready, the main force of the expeditionary army has just set off from the Syr Darya, and it is still two thousand miles away from him, even if the news is obtained at the first time, it will be ten days younger.

In any case, he had to keep track of the Great Khan's illness and the dynamics within the Chinese army, and Hari Sultan decided to send his most trusted messenger back to the Chinese army with his own handwritten letter, conveying his intentions and concerns to his henchmen in the Chinese army, and asking them to pay close attention to the situation as the situation evolved.

At the same time, Harry Sultan must also do something on the front line, so that if his grandfather's condition improves, he can also have an explanation, he thought about it, and decided to gather the generals to continue to discuss and formulate a siege strategy, and adopt a more flexible and changeable offensive method, in order to be able to break through this stubborn fortress as soon as possible.

When Harry Sultan opened his eyes again, his eyes had become firm and bright, and he stood up and walked out of the tent, the night sky outside was full of stars, as if to point him in the direction.

——————

"Five-star misconduct, bloody disaster."

Fu An looked at the sky with some worry, because the journey was long, and the stars were often needed to help calibrate the approximate position, so Fu An also learned some astrological signs, but the recent astrological signs were not good signs.

Fu An, as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, was detained in the country of Timurid Khan for many years, and every day seemed to wander alone in the dark, longing for the moment when he saw the light of day again.

And today, Fu An waited for a turnaround.

Timur's illness became more and more serious, the high fever never went away, and the steppe witch doctor, the Western European bloodletting doctor, and the Egyptian priest could think of all the methods they could think of, but it was still useless.

The emperor's grandson, Haril, appeared in front of Fu An's cell, had his guards help him disguise himself as a Mongol, and was carried out of the camp.

If Timur's condition improves, Khalil also has a way to say that all this is Fu An's own escape by taking advantage of the chaos.

When night fell and the camp of the expeditionary force of the Timurid Khanate fell into a dead silence, Fu An's heart was full of excitement and anticipation.

Under the leadership of Haril's personal guards, he quietly left the camp, bypassed many checkpoints with a fake identity token, and ran towards the east, that is, the direction of Daming.

Fu An's heartbeat was as fast and powerful as a drumbeat, and every stroke seemed to tell the ecstasy and anticipation in his heart.

He hid his old official robe in his baggage, tied it with a rope to his stomach, did not dare to slack off in the slightest, and rode closely to follow Haril's personal guard.

From Timur's expeditionary army to Shazhouwei, a distance of 2,500 miles, Fu An walked day and night, walking for almost a month, and the time when Fu An arrived in Shazhouwei was about the same as the time when the messenger sent by Hari Sultan arrived at the Chinese army.

"Who?"

The border generals of the Ming army asked loudly, while Khalil's personal guards tightly protected Fu An, and the swords and guns in their hands flashed with cold light.

Fu An replied loudly: "I am Fu An in the matter of Likedu, and the envoy Timurid Khanate in the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu has been detained until now!" ”

The night breeze at the border was cold, with the desolation and solemnity of the Gobi, Fu An stood in front of the fortress of the Ming Dynasty, and changed into his shabby but clean official robe, his official robe hunted in the wind, but could not hide the firmness and eagerness in his eyes.

"Fu An?"

The generals of the Ming army maintained a high degree of vigilance, and only allowed Fu An to come up in a basket by himself, so as not to be deceived by others, after all, the vanguard army of the Timurid Khanate attacked Hamiwei for so long, who knows if it will be because they can't beat Hamiwei, turn around and come to Shazhouwei to deceive their trust, and then deceive the city gate.

This general knows very well that these fortresses of their guards in the northwest corridor are all chess pieces used to consume the sharp spirit of the Timurid expeditionary army, and the mobile forces led by Song Sheng who can fight in the field will not be easily mobilized, and he is afraid that even if it is not a fraudulent city, this may also be a strategy of the Timurid Khanate, the purpose is to lure the snake out of the hole and lure out the small mobile forces of the Ming army in Gansu Town to annihilate them, so that without the deterrence of mobile forces, the forward army of the Timurid Khanate can act as it pleases even if it can't gnaw the fortress.

Fu An took a deep breath and said to the border army general with a stern face: "I have confidential information, and I must report it to Xining Hou Song Sheng in person. ”

The general of the border army looked at Fu An, a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, he saw clearly the group of strangely dressed and dusty people under the city, and it was inevitable that there were some doubts in his heart.

After all, at this sensitive moment, the slightest negligence can lead to irreparable consequences.

He asked in a deep voice, "What evidence do you have to prove your identity and what you said?" ”

Fu An had already prepared, he took out his voucher from his arms and handed it to the border general.

The general of the border army took the voucher, carefully studied it for a moment, and then looked up at Fu An's calm expression, and the doubts in his heart were slightly lightened, but he knew very well that this matter was very important, and he could not easily make a judgment based on the voucher alone.

"What's the matter with these aliens?"

"They escorted me to escape, and the nobles of the Timurid Khanate wanted to use my mouth to talk to the Marquis of Xining about something."

The general of the border army waved his hand and ordered his subordinates to temporarily place Fu An and his party in the barracks and strictly guarded them, and at the same time sent someone to inform Song Sheng, the chief military officer of Gansu, that Song Sheng must personally confirm the identity of the envoy and whether the information he carried was true before he could make the next decision.

Fu An was led into a simple barracks in Shazhou Wei, although the environment was difficult, but his heart was full of hope, he had taken the first step back to the Ming Dynasty, as long as he could see Xining Hou Song Sheng, he would have the opportunity to submit those confidential information to contribute to this national war related to the safety of the Ming Dynasty.

Soon, Fu An was taken alone to see Song Sheng.

After going through many hardships and dangers, the moment he finally saw Song Sheng in Suzhou Wei, Fu An's mood was like a surging river and sea, difficult to calm down, he looked at the majestic and calm general in front of him, and an indescribable excitement and emotion surged in his heart.

Song Sheng is a native of Fengyang, Zhu Yuanzhang's hometown, Huaixi Xungui with a very positive foot, in his early years with his father and brother defected to the Red Turban Army, participated in the anti-Yuan uprising, and accumulated contributions to the Marshal of Tianning Wing, Chief Military Officer and other positions, after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, successively served as General Wude, General Huaiyuan, General Longhu, and traveled to Fujian, Jiangxi, Datong, Shaanxi and other places, but these places failed to keep him, and the deepest bond with him is Gansu.

Song Sheng went out of Gansu in the twelfth year of Hongwu to resist the invasion of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and Beishu Bali, and once accompanied the general Lanyu on an expedition to Handong, so that the Ming Dynasty's military might spread far and wide to the Western Regions.

In the twenty-ninth year of Hongwu, he briefly went south to quell the rebellion of Zhumiao in Guangxi, and when he reached the thirty-first year of Hongwu, he also followed Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and went out of a fortress once, and the relationship between the two sides was quite good, after Zhu Yunwen, Emperor Jianwen, ascended the throne, it was about Zhu Yunwen who did not dare to use him to lead troops to fight Zhu Di, so he was sent to Gansu.

After the end of the Battle of Jingyan, Song Sheng entered the Hajj and was renamed by Zhu Di as the Governor of the Left Capital of the Later Military Governor's Office, and then re-entrenched himself in Gansu with General Pingqiang, and gave him the title of Tui Cheng Auxiliary Yun Xuanzhong to serve the military ministers, and named the Marquis of Xining, and even married his two daughters to Song Sheng's two sons, and his grace can be seen.

Song Sheng also did not live up to Zhu Di's trust, after learning that Timur's expeditionary army was very likely to attack the Ming Dynasty, in the past two years, he conscientiously built fortifications, hoarded materials, reorganized the army, and allocated the few resources in Gansu Town in an orderly manner, so that each guard could perform its own duties, and gave each guard tireless to do ideological work, telling them to firmly defend their city fortress, as long as they firmly hold the sharp spirit of Timur's expeditionary army, and the supply is greatly consumed, the emperor will bring the main field corps of the Ming Dynasty to relieve the siege. When the center blooms, there will definitely be a way to defeat the Timurid Khanate.

Song Sheng's face was resolute, his eyes were deep, and he stared at Fu An tightly, as if he could penetrate all disguises, and his body exuded an aura of non-anger and self-authority, which made Fu An involuntarily feel awe.

But at the same time, he also keenly saw a trace of gentleness and concern in Song Sheng's eyes, which made him feel more cordial and comforting.

"Fu Du gave the matter, I remember you."

Song Sheng, who is already a veteran of Cangtou, said: "In February of the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu, the experience of the Shaanxi Xingdu Command Envoy Division, the Second Division was used to deal with Gansu military affairs, and in August, Emperor Taizu Gao ordered me to act as the Governor of the Right Army Governor's Mansion and I acted as the Commander of the Shaanxi Xingdu, and it was not until the twenty-ninth year of Hongwu that I went south to Guangxi to seek peace with Han Guan to pacify the Miao Rebellion. It's my sin. ”

Song Sheng still remembers himself!

And the next words of the other party moved Fu An even more.

"Ben Hou, as the chief soldier of Gansu Town, welcomes my return to Su Wu."

Fu An felt that his years of hard work and hard work had finally paid off at this moment.

He not only successfully escaped from the captivity of the Timurid Khanate, but also brought important information back to the Ming Dynasty, contributing his own strength to the safety of the Ming Dynasty.

However, unlike Fu An, the moment Song Sheng saw Fu An, his mood was also complicated and deep.

First of all, he felt an indescribable surprise, as the chief military officer of Gansu and the general of Pingqiang, he actually vaguely understood the situation that Fu An had been detained by the Timurid Khanate for many years as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty through various news channels, and he had sent people to inquire about Fu An's news many times, but he had failed to get accurate information, so when Fu An suddenly appeared in front of him, he felt very surprised and happy.

Secondly, Song Sheng was full of expectations for Fu An's return, Song Sheng knew very well that Fu An had been detained in the Timurid Khanate for so many years, and he must have a lot of important intelligence and information that the Ming did not know and could not get, and these intelligence and information were of great value to the Ming Dynasty's current decision-making, and may even affect the entire strategy, so Song Sheng could not wait to learn about this information from Fu An's mouth.

However, in anticipation, Song Sheng also felt a trace of vigilance mixed with worry.

A general in a position like Song Sheng is cautious no matter what he does, and for any information, he will instinctively question it first and then believe it.

Song Sheng knew that Fu An could successfully escape from the Timurid Khanate and return to the Ming Dynasty, and he must have experienced countless hardships and difficulties, but this also meant that during the long period of imprisonment, Fu An was also likely to be rebelled by the Timurid Khanate.

Is there such a coincidence in this world?

Therefore, Song Sheng must be careful and cautious in handling the information brought back by Fu An, so as not to bring unnecessary losses to the overall strategy of the Ming Dynasty.

Fu An stood in front of Song Sheng, although his mood was excited, his tone was unusually stable, he knew that what he was going to say next could be said to be very important.

He took a deep breath, and then picked out the cause and effect to listen to Song Sheng.

"General Song, this information is of great significance to the safety of the Ming Dynasty, please pay attention to it, and if it is feasible, send someone to report it to the imperial court with me."

Fu An's words are concise and powerful, and every word reveals his loyalty to Daming and dedication to his mission.

After Song Sheng listened to Fu An's report, a solemn look appeared on his face, and his eyes looked back and forth on Fu An, as if he was re-examining the tribulation of the Ming envoy.

After a long while, Song Sheng slowly spoke, his voice low and powerful: "Fu Du has worked hard all the way in the matter, and the information you brought back is extremely valuable." ”

Song Sheng's words were full of admiration for Fu An, who knew that Fu An was able to stick to his mission in a foreign land, not be affected by the coercion, temptation, and various tortures of the Timurid Khanate, and finally returned to the Ming Dynasty after many hardships, which required great courage and perseverance.

And if the information brought back by Fu An is true, it is of great strategic significance to the Ming Dynasty.

He stood up, walked up to Fu An, patted him on the shoulder, and continued: "Fu Du gave the matter, the information you brought back about Timur's expedition plan is extremely important to Da Ming. I won't hide it from you, Your Majesty attaches great importance to this matter, and has personally led an army of more than 100,000 people back from the north and stationed in Guanzhong to deal with the threat of war in the Timurid Khanate. ”

In fact, after Zhu Di ended his northern expedition, he had already taken Tongguan as the center and concentrated his main force in the border area of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan, which was the geographical center of the Ming Dynasty, and it was appropriate to deal with the expedition of the Timurid Khanate or any other situation.

At the same time, grain from Sichuan, Hubei, and other places has also been transported in place to ensure the supply of materials in wartime.

"Now that the situation is urgent, and every moment may change, I will send someone to escort you to Xi'an at once, personally report your information to Your Majesty, and report in detail everything you have learned in the Timurid Khanate."

Song Sheng's words were full of trust in Fu An, as a person who had directly traveled to the Timurid Khanate, the information and insights he had were of irreplaceable value to the Ming Dynasty, so he hoped that Fu An could report these valuable information to Zhu Di as soon as possible to provide strong support for the Ming Dynasty's strategic decision-making.

But Song Sheng was not unreserved, after he let Fu An rest for a while, he wrote a secret fold, in which Song Sheng stated his concerns, sent his own soldiers to hurry up, and sent the secret fold to the emperor first.

And just as Fu An continued to travel to Xi'an, Harry Sultan also received news from the Chinese army.

Timur the Great Khan had recovered from his fever and was well armed, and was still fifteen hundred miles away from Hamiwei, and was very angry that Harry Sultan was besieging Hamiwei, and ordered that the strange fortress of Hamiwei must be taken at all costs before the army arrived.

(End of chapter)