[Chapter 203] For the first time in life, I feel like a dilemma

(0203)

【Today's fourth update is delivered!】

Xu Xingxia's actions were very cold and cruel, giving people a very bloody feeling, but after careful analysis, it was very reasonable. Since we judged that the other party was a spy, we must not be lenient and must be killed immediately to avoid causing more serious chaos. In fact, even if we kill a few by chance, it is nothing. Compared with more than three thousand hostages, a little bit of murder is simply negligible.

In fact, according to the handling methods of most defenders, guns and cannons must be fired to block the hostages. If there are sporadic Tatar cavalry mixed with hostages, this is even more so. In that case, not to mention accidentally hurting a few people, even if all the hostages are slaughtered, it is normal. During the war, life is like grass, and no one will care about the lives of these hostages. If you want to not be killed, you'd better not be a hostage.

Chen Denglong and others were greatly relieved. There were so many spies among these hostages, which was simply hateful. I don’t know what those people thought, but they were willing to work hard for the Tartars. It really deserved it! Most military households hated spies, especially children. There is no way to study how this mentality came about. In short, everyone can only applaud those spies.

Lin Hainiu said hesitantly: "Sir, the rest...

Xu Xingxia said with a serious expression: "The Tatar cavalry is eyeing the rear. If we open the fort gate, the Tatar cavalry will definitely come up desperately. With our current ability, we cannot stop the Tatar cavalry from advancing. Therefore, the fort gate must not be opened."

Chen Denglong and others said, "Sir, please make arrangements!"

Xu Xingxia thought for a while and said slowly: "Find some ropes and baskets, put them down from the top of the city, and pull the hostages up one by one. I guess the Tartars won't rush up to kill people directly. We have time, so there is no need to worry."

Lin Hainiu immediately said: "Okay!"

He immediately called dozens of Junyu to prepare tools such as ropes and bamboo baskets. These tools are common to ordinary families and are naturally not difficult to find. Even if they are temporarily made, it does not take too long. Soon, the bamboo baskets were put down from the castle and pulled the hostages one by one. The first ones were naturally lighter. Those with heavier bodies were arranged at the back.

The wall of Weizhen Fort is only three meters high, which has its own benefits. The people on the city wall worked together, and even Yuan Chonghuan was involved in it. The speed of evacuating hostages was not very slow. There were muskets from the white-clothed army on the city wall, and behind the city wall, there were also catapults to cover the Tatar cavalry in the distance, but there were no movements.

After the hostages pulled to the top of the city were convinced that they had escaped danger, they all hugged their heads and cried. For them, the experience of the past few days was simply a nightmare. Now, the nightmare has finally passed, and they cannot help crying with joy. Xu Xingxia arranged a few people to learn about the situation from the hostages. Soon, he learned that these hostages were indeed military households in nearby Zhenshuobao. The one who captured them was indeed the Tartars led by Mo Rigen.

Compared with Weizhen Fort, the population of Zhenshuo Fort is even greater. Weizhen Fort has only three hundred households, and the total population is estimated to be 3,000. Zhenshuo Fort has a complete thousand households, and the total population is nearly seven or eight thousand. Pinglu City has a considerable number of people, which has been scattered to Weizhen Fort. If it is simply compared with Zhenshuo Fort, it is probably not as good as that of Zhenshuo Fort.

The Thousand Houses in Zhenshuobao are the Houthous Houses of the Zuotunwei of Ningxia. The ten garrisons and fifty thousand houses in Ningxia Town are Treasures. As the name suggests, they are specialized in farming and farming. Generally, the garrisons are three parts military and seven parts military farming. However, the garrisons are one part military and nine parts military farming. In fact, most of the garrisons are ten parts military farming and not even a part military farming. This time they were captured by the Tartars, which was also expected.

After Mo Rigen captured Zhenshuo Fort, he naturally would not show mercy. A considerable number of people in Zhenshuo Fort were killed, and a considerable number were robbed. Of course, those who were killed were worthless, and those who were robbed were valuable, such as young men and young women. Xu Xingxia's true identity was also revealed by the military households in Zhenshuo Fort.

After evacuating Zhenshuo Fort, Mo Rigen also ordered the fire of Weizhen Fort. If there was no accident, Zhenshuo Fort now should be a ruin. Where the Tartars passed, no grass was born, and it was definitely not a false reputation. Unfortunately, because the distance was a bit far, the black smoke produced by Zhenshuo Fort was not seen in Weizhen Fort. Otherwise, it would have been judged that Mo Rigen had attacked Zhenshuo Fort.

Speaking of which, this Zhenshuo Fort is also tragic. Almost every time the Tartars go south, it will suffer disaster. In the 22nd year of Wanli, the Tartars headed south and Zhenshuo Fort was captured. In the 31st year of Wanli, the Tatar cavalry went south and Zhenshuo Fort was captured again. Now, thirteen years later, Zhenshuo Fort was captured again. It is inaccurate to describe it as blessings and disasters do not go single. If the military households in Zhenshuo Fort want to survive, they must find a way to immigrate.

Seeing that more and more hostages were pulled up, Xu Xingxia said to Yuan Chonghuan: "Mr. Yuan, I don't have any staff here to take care of these hostages. You should be responsible for settling them."

Yuan Chonghuan was actually a little unhappy. He actually had no feelings for these hostages. He even despised them a little, thinking that they were afraid of death and had no blood in resistance. Why don’t you fight the Tartars? It’s so sad to catch them for free and casually. Even if they fight with the Tartars and die under the knife of the Tartars, it’s better than being so miserable now! However, facing Xu Xingxia’s strength, he dared not say no. After he hesitating for a moment, he said reluctantly: “Okay!”

After kicking Yuan Chonghuan away, Xu Xingxia continued to monitor the movements of the Tartars on the city. Without hostages, the Tartars probably would not launch an attack for the time being. However, how long can the Tartars' silence last? His people have to eat, and war horses have to eat grass. The Tartars cannot hold on for too long for the capture of a Zhenshuobao. In the final analysis, the Tartars still have to launch an attack as soon as possible. Quick battles and decisiveness are the nature of the nomadic peoples.

"Mo Rigen! Come on!"

Xu Xingxia took a light breath and clenched his fists hard.

...

"Damn Huza!"

"What a cunning!"

Mo Rigen watched the game from behind, frowning.

Originally, he did have a plan. As long as the gate of Weizhen Fort was opened, the elite cavalry around him would pounce on him like lightning, and with lightning speed, he could control the city gate before the defenders reacted. As long as the gate was controlled, the next battle would be simple. However, he did not expect that Xu Xingxia would be so desperate. He would rather spend a lot of time than use a bamboo basket to pull the hostages one by one.

This damn Xu Xingxia is so cunning that she looks like an old devil. No wonder she is nicknamed Xu Lao Demon. I really don’t know how his brain is, how could he be so cunning? Before seeing Xu Xingxia with his own eyes, he still couldn’t believe that the other party was actually a young man under 20 years old. Every time he thought of this, his idea of ​​seeing Xu Xingxia in person was extremely strong. By the way, since his debut, Mo Rigen has not been so young.

Seeing the hostages being pulled up to the top of the city, Mo Rigen knew that his first plan had gone bankrupt again. There was no doubt that while saving the hostages, Xu Xingxia must have arranged strict defense. The power of the Sun and Moon Gun made Mo Rigen quite afraid. The explosive pack that was shot just now also made Mo Rigen feel deeply stressed.

Yes, he could drive the troops to go up and kill all the refugees. He could also order the troops to attack Weizhen Fort at all costs. The problem is that when massacre these refugees, the defenders' catapults will definitely throw explosives. The defenders' sun and moon guns will also fire. In front of the defenders' cannons and muskets, it is really impossible to estimate how many people his subordinates will lose. No matter how many people the Tatars die themselves, it seems that it is not worth it.

For a moment, Mo Rigen was a little confused. The problem was very troublesome now. He wanted to kill Xu Xingxia. He wanted to tear him apart and eat it raw. However, if he wanted to kill Xu Xingxia, he would have to pay a greater price. Originally, it would be no big deal to pay a little. But what was so bad was that he could not measure how much he would have to pay. If there was another loss of one thousand people, even if he could kill Xu Xingxia, it would be more than worth the loss.

This time he went south, he brought not many troops, only five thousand people. The original plan was to adopt a long-distance raid tactic and seize Ningxia City in one fell swoop, even if he achieved his goal. As a result, due to Xu Xingxia's obstruction, the original long-distance raid turned into a normal sweep, completely distorted. To be honest, if you can't take Ningxia Town, Mo Rigen's trip south this time would definitely be a loss.

If you don't attack, you can only retreat quickly. When the Tatar cavalry went south, the food they carried was only enough to reach Ningxia Town. After entering Ningxia Town, they had to collect grain on the spot to maintain the needs of the troops. However, now all parts of Ningxia Town have stored food and grass, and the walls have been cleared. Even if you break a few small castles, you cannot plunder too much food and grass. Moreover, attacking the castles will have to bear some losses.

It should be noted that the consumption of war horses is much greater than that of humans. War horses just eat grass, but do not have combat effectiveness. They must have enough beans mixed in the materials to maintain their physical strength. This cannot be found in the wild. In other words, the Tatars could not last long in Ningxia Town. Only by attacking the tough can they find enough forage. However, attacking the tough will result in death and paying a price.

It's so entangled! It's so entangled!

For the first time in life, Mo Rigen felt in a dilemma.

...
Chapter completed!