"Xingxingxia is lost?" Hami guard Tuo Buhua almost fainted when he heard the news.

Xingxing Gorge is the gateway to the Western Regions. Without Xingxing Gorge, his Hami would be exposed to the elite Liao army of the Ming Dynasty. He had participated in a series of wars against the Ming Dynasty with the team. He knew deeply that he had 13,000 troops and faced

The main division of the Liao army, armed to the teeth, is just a pile of moving meat.

The fierce firepower, tenacious fighting spirit and extremely high military quality of the Liao army put Tuobuhua under tremendous mental pressure. Galdan withdrew to the Western Regions, and Tuobuhua was relieved that he would not fight the Han people.

That's good, Zhungeer's current situation cannot continue.

The Ming Dynasty is not the Ming Dynasty it was twenty years ago, and the Han people are not as easy to bully as they were twenty years ago.

As for the Ming army's attack on the Western Regions, Tuobuhua basically didn't think much about it.

How many times have the Han armies not attacked the Western Regions? Five hundred years? One thousand years? It seems to be more than thirteen hundred years ago!

Tuo Buhua was extremely surprised that the Han army, which had not attacked the Western Regions for more than 1,300 years, suddenly attacked Xingxing Gorge, the gateway to the Western Regions.

"No! Xingxing Gorge is still in our hands, but Xingxing Town has been lost!" The cavalryman who escaped back knelt on the ground looking panicked.

"Xingxing Gorge is not lost! Xingxing Town is lost! How did the Ming army come here? Flying here?" Tuo Buhua held his fingers on the handle of the knife twice, but finally held back. He just ran back from the front line and chopped him down.

When I saw the situation in front of me, I was really blind.

"They just flew over, that kind of airship, the big one!"

"Airship...!" Tuobuhua was speechless. He knew that airships would wander around in the sky all day long, and when they saw the tents of the Mongolian army, they would drop powerful bombs.

"Before dawn, there was the sound of airships. Airships appear very frequently these days, so everyone didn't pay much attention. Lord Nuomin only sent the cavalry to check!

Unexpectedly, there was a Han army on the edge of Xingxing Town. These people's marksmanship was very accurate. The dozen or so horses that went out were shot down as soon as they left the town, and none of them came back. Lord Nuomin thought it was just a small group of Ming troops, but there was no such thing.

I thought it was actually a large Ming army.

Lord Nuomin had no choice but to use rockets to bombard them.

Just when everyone thought they were dead, the Ming army started shelling, and it was dawn. We also saw clearly that the Han people had come down from those airships, and they not only had soldiers but also cannons.

While the rocket launcher was being reloaded, it was blown up by a bomb dropped by the airship. Master Nuomin led the remaining brothers to break out desperately, but...! But none of them ran away. His subordinates got into the mountains and were not destroyed.

The Ming army captured him."

After listening to the account of this guy who ran back, Tuobuhua felt cold. Taking Xingxing Town would mean cutting off the retreat route of the Xingxing Gorge defenders. The Ming army had airships for supplies, but Mongolia did not have airships.

What's the use of such strong fortifications? Without supplies, the Ming army can surround the Xingxing Gorge defenders to death. The logistics supplies of Xingxing Gorge are all stored in Xingxing Town at the back. Meat is supplied every ten days, and food is supplied every ten days.

Supplies are provided once a month. If the Ming army does nothing, they will besiege Xingxingxia for a month.

The carefully arranged and very solid fortifications in Xingxing Gorge are just decorations. People are starving to death, who the hell is going to guard them!

This is not like fighting in the plains. At least there are war horses to kill and you can last for a few days. When you are guarding fortifications in the mountains, there are no damn war horses.

"Are you sure Xingxingxia is still in our hands?" Tuobuhua asked gloomily.

"It must be in our hands. When we fought, there wasn't a single gunshot in Xingxing Gorge."

As long as Xingxing Gorge is still in hand, Tuobuhua knows. The longer the Ming army is allowed to occupy Xingxing Town, the harder it will be to take down Xingxing Town. The Liao soldiers have always been fierce in artillery. If they are allowed to build fortifications again, the Mongols will

Ability, there is no way to take back Star Town.

Now we need to make a quick decision: should we watch the five thousand defenders in Xingxing Gorge be trapped alive? Or should we lead the Hami defenders out in full force and take advantage of the Ming army's unstable foothold and the opportunity to build fortifications?

Defeat the Ming army on the opposite side.

The Mongolian army in Xingxing Gorge was cut off, but the Ming army airborne in Xingxing Town also had no way of retreat. If the Ming army could be defeated, it would definitely be a good annihilation battle.

Moreover, if you stay in Hami and watch the defenders of Xingxing Gorge being trapped to death, Hami will not be able to defend it without the natural moat of Xingxing Gorge. Tuobuhua knows this very well, and fighting for defense is no match for the Ming army.

Should I take the risk or stay in Hami and wait to die...!

He picked up a bowl of kumiss, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.

Damn it! If you lose Hami and return to the Ili Valley, you will die. Why don't you risk your damn life and fight for your life. If you can kill the Ming army that invaded Xingxing Town, it will definitely be a great achievement.

Bet! It’s rare to take a gamble in life, so Tuo Buhua decided to take the gamble.

One thought of heaven and one thought of hell!

"Assemble the whole army! Take back Xingxing Town for me!" He threw the silver bowl in his hand to the ground and Tuobuhua yelled.

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Nie Dahu looked at the terrain in front of him and cursed in his heart.

Xingxing Gorge is so dangerous, but after passing Xingxing Gorge, there are flat plains on both sides of Xingxing Town. Nie Dahu's regiment not only has to face the attack from Hami, but also needs to be prepared for the defenders in Xingxing Gorge to suddenly rush out!

Before coming, the commander had warned him. After transporting his regiment, the airship would have other tasks. He would need to face the Mongols alone for two days!

"Can you hold on! Don't show off!" Li Xiao's words still echoed in Nie Dahu's ears.

"Commander, please rest assured, the division and the regiment are not made of mud." Nie Dahu thought that the commander was insulting him.

"Okay! No matter what method you use, you must hold the Mongols in Xingxing Town for two days. After two days, the troops leaving Jiayuguan can begin to attack Xingxing Gorge. In addition...!"

Airships continued to transport troops over, and also delivered a lot of ammunition to a regiment.

"Dig! Dig deeper. If you don't want to die, dig it for me. Hami can reach Xingxing Gorge in one day, and we only have one day. Be tired now, and you will survive tomorrow." Nie Dahu

Constantly inspecting the soldiers who were digging fortifications.

Another airship flew over and dropped the steel plates and thick sleepers without landing. The huge hull turned around and flew towards Jiayuguan again. Time was limited, and every minute that could be saved was a minute.

The good news is that there is a moon tonight. Although it is not a full moon, with the help of the moonlight, the airship can carry out transportation overnight. By tomorrow morning, he will not be able to get any supplies for two days.

The soldiers worked hard to dig trenches, and all the excavated soil was transported to a distant place and piled up. The Mongols could not be allowed to see where there were fortifications! Fortunately, the Mongols did not have airships, and the Xingxing Town was covered with plains for more than 20 miles in the direction of Hami.

Mountain. If the Mongols wanted to see the Ming army's position, they could only use their lives to explore it.

The trenches are only more than one meter deep, and soldiers can squat in them. But the bunkers are dug five meters deep, and are very strong with sleepers and steel plates. There is such a bunker every ten meters, and a bunker can be accommodated in it.

Infantry squad. Fortunately, there is no water in the drought in the northwest. If we were in the south of the Yangtze River, we could dig a well five meters deep.

The top cover is filled with steel bars and the highest grade cement. It is estimated that the cement will dry out by dawn tomorrow. Although it is unlikely to dry out completely, it is still harder than the dirt floor.

In the middle of the cement, a layer of ceramic plates was laid. It is said that ceramic plates can effectively resist heavy rocket launchers, but no one has tried it. But since the commander-in-chief said so, no one in the Liao army had any objections.

The Liao army worshiped Li Xiao from top to bottom. From every ordinary soldier to the most senior division commanders.

Nie Dahai knew that the Liao soldiers' biggest casualties over the years had come from rocket launchers. Especially heavy rocket launchers, which were simply a nightmare for infantry. Infantry could only rely on bunkers to deal with such a scale of bombardment.

It's a pity that he only has one day, otherwise he will definitely make the bunkers impregnable. At the same time, he also knows that as long as these bunkers can withstand two rounds of heavy rocket launchers, it will be fine.

The Mongols came all the way, and they didn't have trains. In any case, it was impossible to bring a large number of heavy rocket artillery shells. Compared with rocket launchers, Nie Dahai preferred the newly issued regiment-affiliated artillery.

Each battalion has twelve 105mm howitzers, while the regimental artillery battalion has twenty-four 120mm howitzers.

This is the real nightmare for infantrymen!

It is impossible to hit a target with a rocket launcher. If you want to hit a target, you must rely on your character and luck. To put it bluntly, it all depends on your luck!

In the past, the Liao army suffered heavy losses because it had no experience in dealing with rocket launchers. Now, the entire Liao army, especially the elite 1st Division, has already developed experience in dealing with rocket launchers.

The artillery is all dispersed, and it is absolutely impossible for a single rocket salvo to destroy an artillery company. All soldiers hide in the fortifications and wait until the heavy rocket bombardment is over before coming out to fight. Anyway, the Mongols have poor logistics and cannot be like the Liao army.

Carry large quantities of artillery shells.

In addition to the powerful artillery, Nie Dahai was most satisfied with the new weapon Maxim heavy machine gun. In fact, with this thing, Nie Dahai could hold his position. One Maxim can equal the firepower output of a whole company.

There is no need to put too much in front, as long as twelve Maxim heavy machine guns are placed there. With the artillery, the Mongolian charge of more than a thousand people can be solved in one go, and the Mongolians don't even have a chance to be stunned. Instant kill! It's absolutely an instant kill!

Moreover, under Li Xiao's teaching, the heavy machine gun shooters learned to raise the muzzle one inch upward. In this way, the bullet will fall on the charging enemy in a parabola. At this time, it is useless even if you lie on the ground. Because the bullet does not come from

It was shot from the front, but fell from the sky.

There are no fortifications on the flat land, so the Mongols will die if they continue to engage in cavalry charges.

The day passed quickly, and when the moon came out, the soldiers were still digging fortifications with shovels in their hands. According to Nie Dahai's standards, the bunker must be dug five meters deep. Even the howitzer was pushed into the pit. Anyway, the bunker must be dug five meters deep.

They are all direct-fire artillery, and there is not much difference between them in the pit and outside.

Every ten or twenty meters, there is a bunker that can accommodate ten people. As soon as the soldiers see the smoke from the rocket launchers, they must immediately get into the bunker. Those who can't get in can only hide in the cat's ears.

Cat-ear holes were dug on the side of the trench and supported by steel plates. Whether they survived or not depended on luck.

Rockets are usually launched from very far away, and including the flight time, the soldiers have more than ten seconds to take advantage of them.

Ten seconds! The real speed of life and death!

Throughout the night, everyone was carefully building fortifications. During this period, the defenders in Xingxing Gorge once launched a tentative attack. They were bombarded back by 105mm howitzers as soon as they rushed out of the canyon.

Since then, the Mongolian defenders in Xingxing Gorge have been very honest throughout the night, and there have been no more sneak attacks.

When the sky dimmed again, Nie Dahai had to order the soldiers to rest for a while. Now the whole group was exhausted, and many soldiers fell asleep while eating pancakes. Such high-intensity physical labor, even if they were strong,

Even the awesome guy can't stand it.

Nie Dahai felt sorry for his soldiers, but there was nothing he could do about it. If the fortifications were not repaired well, people would die tomorrow, and a lot of people would die. Many of them were veterans who had been with Nie Dahu for almost ten years.

There was a hail of bullets and bullets, and he didn't want these people to die in this desolate Western Region.

The morning sun is rising, and the rising sun renders the earth golden. The wind blows through the withered yellow grass, and the hay is blown by the wind to make a "sand" and "sand" sound.

"Damn it!" Nie Dahai looked at the grassland that stretched from the front to the end of the sky, and slapped his forehead desperately. The reason why Xingxing Town became the gateway to the Western Regions is not only because it is a transportation thoroughfare, but it is also an oasis. The so-called silk

A road is actually a trade route composed of oases of various sizes one after another.

Wherever there is an oasis, there is naturally a grassland. The oasis in Xingxing Town is quite large, stretching for more than 20 miles.

The sky is clear and the fields are vast, and the grass is blown by the wind and cattle and sheep appear low.

These hay can even hide cattle and sheep, and hiding people is not a problem.

"Come here, set fire to all this grass. Clear the shooting area!" Nie Dahai yelled at his guard platoon. He didn't care if Xingxing Town would become a desert after losing these hay.

The soldiers had been working all night, and he really couldn't bear to call those soldiers again.

The spring grass had some moisture, which made it a bit uneasy. It took a long time for the guards to light the fire before the fire was lit. The smoke from the moist hay covered the sky and the sun. Fortunately, the guards lined up very well.

He knew how to light a fire, and after calculating the wind direction, he lit the fire against the wind. Not a trace of the billowing smoke reached the Liao army's position.
Chapter completed!