In front of the West City Gate, on the artillery position on the south side of the enemy, artillery shells, military canned food boxes, and empty wine bottles were scattered all over the ground, and it was a mess. Due to the continuous and non-stop firing for a long time, the enemy gunners were already sweating profusely and exhausted, and the gunners who had just been replaced were also exhausted and their legs were weak.

Two British artillery commanders sat on shell boxes, each clutching a half-drunk bottle of Scotch whisky, as if complaining about something...... After a cannon rang out, the two of them lifted the wine bottle together and took a big sip, but before they could swallow the wine, they felt a cold wind coming from the back of their necks......

On the artillery positions on the north side of the enemy, the exhausted gunners were operating the artillery shirtless...... After the cannon sounded, multiple gunners were instantly shot in the chest and back by a wave of arrows at the same time; Another rain of arrows, and several more gunners were shot down...... The other enemy artillery hadn't reacted yet, what had happened? I saw that a group of Chinese men with large knives had rushed to the front......

The sound of enemy artillery suddenly stopped. After a while, the artillery positions of the enemy in the north and south were full of fire, and a series of violent explosions were heard.

The gates of the West Gate suddenly opened, and the drawbridge of the moat quickly fell. Battle and Meng He led the cavalry team to rush out like a whirlwind, roaring and killing directly to the center of the enemy's infantry position......

The fierce onslaught of the cavalry at night caused the infantry in the center of the enemy to panic and flee for their lives...... After the four night raiding teams converged, they took the opportunity to quickly retreat.

Seeing that the four teams that attacked the enemy at night returned to the city safely, and the casualties were not large, Zhong Yun's heart blossomed!

In the military tent, Suo Gang drank water while introducing the results of the battle just now: "These guys didn't take us seriously at all, let alone expect us to attack boldly." Their artillerymen thought that they could sit back and relax by hiding behind the infantry, and they did not even put the guard posts around them. After a while, he killed half of the foreign devils, and those who ran away were all scared to death...... Tie Feng and Yuanshun blew up 6 guns in the south, and 5 on my side, which was equivalent to destroying half of their artillery equipment at the West City Gate. Now I can breathe a sigh of relief......"

Shi Yuanshun, the leader of the artillery team, was still a little worried, and said: "Although we have destroyed their artillery positions now, we can take a breath for the time being; But I think they have much more artillery than just the position, and they recover very quickly......"

Zhong Yun said excitedly: "No matter what! We were the first to breathe a bad breath, not only destroying half of the artillery on their position, but also half of their gunners, and replenishing the gunners did not come out of nowhere. With less artillery in the enemy's army, we will be able to hold out until reinforcements arrive. ”

Zhao Tiefeng said: "It's not time yet, and after an hour, if the enemy has not launched an artillery bombardment, then their general attack time will be postponed, which is equivalent to us fighting for at least a day's buffer time." But I wonder if reinforcements will arrive in time? ……”

Before Zhao Tiefeng's words fell, the shouting of the horse came from outside the military tent. Zhong Yun was a little miserable when he heard the sound of Tanma, and he was shocked! Immediately shouted:

"Let the pony come in and talk!"

Tanma hurriedly entered the military tent and reported to Zhong Yun the news that everyone did not want to hear: General Wen's brigade that came from Urumqi to reinforce was ambushed by the enemy's Third Army Corps in the Yushugou Pass, and the whole army was annihilated, and General Wen was martyred!

The generals were shocked! I didn't expect that what the enemy said when he came to persuade him to surrender would be the truth. It's a thunderbolt! The last glimmer of hope for survival was dashed......

Zhong Yun thought for a moment and asked Tanma, "How much do you know about the situation there of Lord Yanqi Chengtu?" ”

Tanma replied: "The enemy's Third Army Corps left more than 1,000 men and horses to surround Yanqi City, and the main force was all pressed to set up an ambush at the Yushugou Pass. It is estimated that now, the main force of the Third Army has completed the ambush operation and is on its way back to Yanqi City......"

Zhong Yun ordered Tanma to continue to listen to the news and report it in time. The horse responded, and hurried away from the tent and across the horse.

As soon as the horse left, another person came to the military tent not far from in a panic, and before the person could reach the door of the military tent, he directly called Battle's name. Meng He was surprised! Hurry up and get ahead......

After the enemy artillery position was attacked, Aguba became angry and angry, and immediately ordered Hygura to immediately send all the artillery of his 1st Army to the artillery position in front of the West City Gate to take place, and continue the shelling, and the general attack time remained unchanged.

After an hour of silence in the main position of the enemy artillery, the indiscriminate and intensive shelling of the residential areas of the city began, and the surviving civilians in the city were once again slaughtered by the enemy artillery, and almost all the houses in the city were in ruins......

In the military tent, Zhong Yun and everyone were still thinking hard about how to break the enemy. However, everyone knows in their hearts that without reinforcements, it is impossible to keep the city of Korla.

Suo Gang said: "The number of artillery pieces of these guys is really quite a lot, and it only took more than an hour to make their artillery positions look like that, and now they start again." This shows that the time of the enemy's general attack has not changed, and it is likely to be tomorrow dawn. ”

Battle stepped forward and said to Zhong Yun, "General Zhong! The Khan King entered Beijing to meet the emperor and had not yet returned. King Khan's wife, Jinhua Hatun, has sent someone to inform me to convey to General Zhong: The enemy army is outnumbered, and the city of Korla is in no danger to defend...... Now that it has been confirmed that the reinforcements brought by General Wen were ambushed and all of them were martyred, it is no longer possible to ensure that the city is not lost. Where there is life, there is hope! Can you consider Jinhua Hatton's proposal to break through and transfer ......"

Zhong Yun felt a burst of heartfelt gratitude in his heart, and said solemnly: "Captain Battle, in the future, you must thank Jinhua Hatdun and the Turgot tribe for their help on my behalf...... But I am the commander of the city, and I must persevere until the last moment and live and die with the city! Then he groaned for a while, and said the biggest concern in his heart with a frown, "However, what I am most worried about is that the soldiers' families are still in the city......

Suo Gang also expected that the city would be difficult to protect, and walked in front of Zhong Yun after careful consideration. He boldly proposed:

"Lord Zhong! Battle was right, since there were no reinforcements, there was no hope of keeping the city of Korla. Instead of sitting back and waiting to be a turtle with a shrunken head, it is better to go out of the city again and fight to the death......"

Zhong Yun looked at Suo Gang and asked, "What do you mean?" ……”

"I observed that the enemy forces were very loose in front of the side gate in the north of the city. I propose: I will lead my soldiers out of the West Gate tonight and raid their infantry positions. If there is a chance, give him one more time in their artillery positions. Another group of men and horses went out of the east gate at the same time and fought to the death with the enemy......" Suo Gang said, looking at Zhao Tiefeng and Battle, "We attacked from the two main city gates to attract the attention of the enemy, and Tie Feng and Battle led the cavalry team to escort the soldiers' families and Lord Zhong to secretly move out of the city from the north gate...... In this way, it not only retains the hope of survival of the soldiers' families and Lord Zhong, but also tries to protect the people in the city from being directly slaughtered by enemy artillery fire......"

All the generals have long been determined to fight to the death with the enemy, and they all nodded in approval!

Zhong Yun glanced at the group of city guards who lived and died with him, and his heart was mixed. He pondered for a moment, and felt that this was also the last way to venture to survive; But it's absolutely not okay to move with the team on your own. He made up his mind and calmly ordered:

"The generals will obey!"

"In!" The generals responded sonorously.

"Zhao Tiefeng, deputy commander of the garrison barracks!"

"In!" Zhao Tiefeng responded loudly.

"You and Captain Battle will lead some of the men and horses and the Turghut cavalry tonight to escort the soldiers' families and prepare to secretly move out of the city from the north gate."

"Yes!"

"Suo Gang, the orthodox leader of the garrison barracks!"

"In!" Suo Gang replied loudly.

"Now start to prepare, tonight, you and I will each lead a team of men and horses to attack from the east gate and the west gate at the same time. Fight to the death! Cover the transfer of family members out of the city. ”

Suo Gang's heart was overjoyed, showing a long-lost smile, and he responded firmly: "Yes!" But he was a little puzzled, "Then you, Lord Zhong?" ……”

"Artillery team leader Shi Yuansheng!"

"In!" Shi Yuansheng replied loudly.

"Your artillery team demarcates the enemy's infantry position, and when the assault men and horses at the west gate are assembled, fire artillery at the enemy's forward infantry position, and shoot all the shells, leaving no shot!"

"Yes! Leave no shot! Shi Yuansheng answered the order.

The general order was issued, and the generals were excited. Zhong Yun looked around at this group of brothers who were in trouble again, and his heart was extremely sad. He explained to Shi Yuansheng and said:

"It's up to you to inform the fathers and villagers in the city who are still transporting ammunition and supplies to the castle towers. The city is about to be destroyed, and the operation is immediately stopped, thanks to their hard work. They informed all the living villagers in the city to take advantage of possible opportunities and methods to seize the time to flee for their lives, and the mouth of the waterway under the south wall and the small gap washed out by the flood under the north wall can be selected, and they also pay attention to the movement of the enemy troops at the north gate to judge whether they can pass. I, Zhong, am sorry for them, if there is an afterlife, I will repay them as cattle and horses! Please take care! ……”

In the middle of the night, the city of Korla was littered with the ruins of burning houses. There are still enemy shells attacking and exploding, throwing the remaining bricks and tiles into the air again and again, showing one after another skyrocketing fire!

Zhao Tiefeng and Battle led the Territorial Erhut cavalry team to escort the soldiers' families and quietly came to the north gate, waiting for the opportunity to prepare to leave the city......

Shi Yuansheng, on the tower of the West City Gate, suddenly began to fire artillery to bombard the forward positions of the enemy infantry.

Inside the West City Gate, Zhong Yun and a team of men and horses have been assembled. Each of them had a bowl of wine in his hand, and the torches of the sergeants lit up the night sky.

Zhong Yun also held a bowl of wine in his hand, and made a final confession to the officers and soldiers defending the city impassionedly, which would also be everyone's last farewell moment.

"Soldiers! The last moment to serve the country has arrived! We have defended the dignity of the country and the nation, and we are the heroes of the country and the men who stand up to the sky! It is the supreme glory of the husband to serve the field and sacrifice his life for the country, and the horse leather shroud to achieve righteousness! …… The mountains and rivers die before they are settled, and the army will sacrifice the loyal souls in the future! Come! Drink it down! ”

Everyone drank the wine from the bowl together......

Zhong Yun wiped the wine beads from the corners of his mouth with his hand, and ordered loudly: "Open the city gate!" Put down the drawbridge! ”

He turned and mounted his horse, raised his command knife, and ordered loudly: "Soldiers! Wine strengthens heroes, and artillery fire follows me...... The gates of heaven are open! Kill me! ......" urged the horses to lead the soldiers to rush out of the West City Gate with a shout......

Inside the east city gate, Suo Gang also led everyone to pick up the Zhuangxing wine, and the closed city gate was opened. The sound of the cannons of their own artillery team was already heard from the west gate.

Suo Gang shouted to everyone: "Brothers! We will not be prisoners of the invaders! Now it's time to rush out, cut off their heads, and throw them into the Peacock River to feed the king! Twenty years later, we are still a bunch of heroes and a bunch of brothers! Wear yourself on the battlefield and kill thieves! Listen! It's our cannons marching for us! Come! …… Dry this bowl of wine! ”

Suo Gang, who has studied Peking Opera on a whim, threw away the wine bowl after drinking, opened his posture, tore his throat, and sang with a straight face with angry eyes:

"In the year of Ding Mao, Cisse unfortunately rose into the wolf's smoke, and came the Kokand thief and the British Kou, and the charm danced without shame! Master, I'm going to kill him today! It's called that, the clown who jumps off the beam and scatters his dreams and breaks his dreams! The brothers are drunk and lying on the battlefield, loyal and righteous - a thousand autumns! Wow yes yes! …… Kill! ……”

Suddenly the sound of killing shook the sky! Suo Gang took the lead, and the soldiers followed closely and rushed out of the east gate together......

In the jungle outside the gate on the north side of Korla City, the enemy ambushed a cavalry brigade composed of two cavalry squadrons, with more than 200 horses. Their mission was clear: to guard against and prevent the small groups of enemies in the city from breaking through and escaping from here.

When they heard the rumbling of cannons and the sound of killing at the two main city gates in the east and west, they did not dare to slack off, and kept staring at the north gate to prevent the plan of "diverting the tiger from the mountain".

But after observing it for a while, there was no movement here. However, the movement of the two main city gates in the east and west is getting louder and louder, and the sound of cannons and guns is constantly ringing, and the sound of killing is shocking!

The two enemy leaders studied and judged it, and felt that the Chinese defenders, supported by artillery fire, had successfully attacked at night, and there was an unbearable situation in which their own troops engaged in the battle in the middle of the night could not resist the imminent rout. In particular, the artillery position at the West Gate has just been attacked by the Chinese defenders, is it now going to repeat the old tricks? They finally judged that the defenders in the city might be trying to break through the two main gates of the east and west, and it was possible that the defenders who broke through used the artillery fire coverage and the impact of the cavalry to suppress their own infantry that were sleepy in the second half of the night, and were about to break out of the encirclement. If this is the case, their mobile cavalry did not reinforce in time and delayed the fighters, which was to be done by military law.

The two enemy leaders finally couldn't hold it anymore and immediately divided into two teams to rush to the east and west main gates......

The north door opened quietly. Zhao Tiefeng and Battle led the cavalry team to guard the families of the soldiers, and began to leave the city quickly at night.

Due to the extremely fierce battle between the two main city gates, which attracted and restrained the attention of all enemy troops, the transfer out of the city at the north gate in the early stage was very smooth. A cavalry team of more than 200 horses escorted dozens of women and children and quickly moved to the depths of the jungle on the north side of the city.

But just as the group had all left the city and moved into the jungle, the mount of the last cavalry suddenly stepped on the dangling stones, which slipped and fell into the ditch with a loud noise. The two children were frightened and cried.

The rear of the enemy cavalry, which was galloping to the east city gate, suddenly noticed that there was movement behind them, and immediately stopped advancing and turned back to watch; After hesitating for a while, he realized that the situation was not right, so he turned his horse's head and chased after him......

Outside the West City Gate, Zhong Yun led the soldiers to rush and kill in the enemy formation!

Although the enemy was prepared, another surprise attack at night was unexpected, and the artillery bombardment was sudden; Moreover, my defenders came out desperately with the belief that they would die, and they were extremely brave! Therefore, the enemy infantry team on duty could not withstand this fierce impact at all, and many enemy troops became ghosts under the sword! But after all, there are tens of thousands of enemy troops, and they kill one batch after another......

Our garrison is gradually losing its ranks...... When the team charged the enemy again, Zhong Yun and his soldiers were densely covered by the enemy's direct-aim artillery fire, and all of them died heroically!

Outside the East City Gate, Suo Gang led his team to repeatedly charge and kill seven or eight rounds in the enemy formation.

The enemy was killed, and less than half of our defenders remained.

When the soldiers again swung their swords and charged, the enemy concentrated hundreds of rifles and suddenly opened fire...... Suo Gang was shot several times, and thick blood spurted out of his mouth...... But there seemed to be words still in his mouth:

"Brothers...... Drunk on the battlefield...... Loyalty and Righteousness ......"