The attack of the Black Khan's army continued until sunset, when it finally stopped. Of the more than three people in Pan Jiecha's army, 65 were killed and more than 200 were wounded, and few of them were intact at all. Even himself, his arm and back were injured in three places.

Not long after the Black Khan army began its offensive, the Song army began to send reserve troops into the army to replenish the manpower of the army with heavy casualties. Watching the Black Khan's army retreat, Pan Jie looked at his army, where a third of the people had changed to new faces.

As soon as the sun set, the Song army hung countless oil lamps around the military formation, and the various departments surrounded the first half of the Black Khan troops.

In Du Zhongxiao's tent, Zhang Qi and Zhang Sheng took the deputy general and several important generals in the army and sat down. Touching his somewhat numb legs, Zhang Qi said: "Straight lady thief, I stood for a long time today, although I didn't go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, I was too tired to do it." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "This afternoon, it should be the fiercest attack of the Black Khan Army, what are your casualties?" ”

Zhang Qi said: "The troops in the middle were hit the hardest, and after the sun set, a rough count showed that more than 800 people were killed and more than 1,500 were wounded. This fight, good fellow, the Black Khan people seem to be crazy. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I think the enemy generals have already seen that we have surrounded the first half of the station, and we can't escape, so we will naturally counterattack." Tonight, all armies on the front must be prepared to attack. Tomorrow at dawn, the attack will be launched immediately, so that they will no longer have the strength to attack the troops in the center. ”

Zhang Qi promised.

Du Zhongxiao said: "Although there were casualties today, it was a very successful tactic to separate the front and rear of the enemy army and divide and encircle it. Our current army is different from before, it is surrounded and it is really impossible to escape. This area is flat, and Iric is surrounded by tens of thousands of people, and there is no way to display his great ability. Tomorrow replenish enough reserves to fill the army in the middle, so that although they are killed or wounded, their combat strength will not be reduced. ”

Fu Bi said: "Today's battle, seeing it on the watchtower, is really terrifying. The marshal said that because it was inserted into the enemy's army, the power of the artillery could not be brought into play. Take advantage of this evening, transport the artillery to the positions, and tomorrow will not be the case. ”

The people will make a promise together. Today's battle is fierce, and the artillery has not been able to reach the troops in the middle, resulting in their lack of firepower, relying on the muskets in their hands to fight the enemy. The power of the musket cannot completely suppress the enemy, and it must be assisted by artillery. Tomorrow the artillery will arrive at the gun position, and the situation will naturally be different. Today, the enemy's dense military formation cannot be put out.

Cold weapon warfare often relies on dense military formations, and the soldiers are not afraid of death, and constantly impact to crush the enemy. Once the dense military formation was broken up by the other party, the power naturally dropped greatly, and it was no longer the opponent of the Song army.

After a while, the wine came, and the people drank and talked about the war today.

Tan Chong said: "I saw on the watchtower that the Black Khan Army was like crazy, constantly mobilizing military formations, charging intensively to the middle, and my heart really rose to my throat. Several times I thought that I should send out an army and attack the enemy for a while to relieve the middle trouble. ”

Zhang Qi said: "It's useless. If you attack today, you must attack the castle first, and the enemy can support it. Today's formation is adjusted, and tomorrow the enemy in the castle can be trapped to death in one fell swoop, and the other armies can be attacked with all their might. There is no way to fight this battle today, and if you want to capture Illik, you have to go through this big battle. Although there were many casualties, they finally blocked the enemy's attack. This army is reliable. ”

And they all said yes. After the whole training, from Du Zhongxiao to the generals below, this army felt inferior to the previous army. Now it seems that no matter what the strength is compared with the previous battalion and field army, at least in the face of a strong enemy, it can withstand it.

For Song Jun, such strength is enough. As long as the enemy can't be crushed, with the national strength of the Song Dynasty, as many troops can be pulled out, what are you afraid of? Black Khan is a big country in the Western Regions, and he can mobilize nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses at once, but compared to the Song Dynasty, it is nothing. This time when he entered the Western Regions, it was only the soldiers and horses of Du Zhongxiao who came all the way to the river, and Yang Wenguang's 50,000 troops did not move.

This entry into the Western Regions was not an action planned by the Song Dynasty for a long time, but just Du Zhongxiao's intention and the imperial court's consent. The Song army is far from going all out, and it is already a catastrophe for the black sweat, and the two sides cannot be compared. In the past, the enemy who entered the Western Regions was distance, not these local forces. Even if the Central Plains Dynasty was at its peak, spanning thousands of miles, how many people could be here?

After drinking a glass of wine, Du Zhongxiao said: "Early tomorrow morning, Tan Chong's front will attack immediately. Use the most artillery fire, in the shortest time, to inflict the most damage on the enemy. Today has been a day of fighting, and the Black Khan army has not yet tasted the power of artillery fire. Now that they are surrounded, there is no room to retreat back, and the artillery is up, and when there is no escape, they don't use it to their heart's content! ”

Tan Chong forked his hand: "Rest assured, the last general has ordered his subordinates, and tomorrow's army will immediately push forward, and the artillery will be dragged to the position." The gunners are ready tonight, waiting for tomorrow. This time, I want to let Illik know that our army will not be as useless as his Black Khan army! ”

Zhang Qi said: "Today was attacked by the Black Khan Army for a day, and all the generals were holding their breath in their hearts, you have to earn some gas tomorrow." ”

There will be a big battle tomorrow, and everyone did not drink for a long time, discussed today's war, arranged tomorrow's tasks, and then dispersed.

Bidding farewell to everyone, Du Zhongxiao said to Fu Bi: "If Ilik is captured tomorrow and the main force of the Black Khan Army is eliminated, there should be no war in the Western Regions." The army has been out for a long time, which is not a good thing for the river meandering road. After the war, Zhao Zi should be allowed to return to Hequ Road, and Zhang Qijun should stay in the Western Regions. ”

Fu Bi said: "It stands to reason that if we occupy such a large place in the Western Regions, the imperial court should increase our army." It's just that the whole army is still in training, and the imperial court is not strong enough, so it is estimated that no troops will be sent. Zhang Yu's army had to take care of Gaochang and Beiting, and to go to Shule or even Khotan in the south, the place was too big. I'm afraid that the army can only be sprinkled like pepper noodles, which is extremely bad. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "That's what I said, this place in the Western Regions is too large, even if the population is not large, the indigenous people are extremely important. After driving out the Black Khan, I didn't want to send troops to Khotan in the south, so I handed it over to the local natives, and took Yu Chi Saburo back to re-establish the country. Zhang Yu's army was stationed in Yizhou, Gaochang, Beiting, and Yangji Bali, and Yanqi, Qiuci, and Shule in the south. ”

Fu Bi smiled bitterly: "Even so, his entire army is spread over thousands of miles, and one general can't manage it at all." The following generals must be given greater authority. This is inconsistent with our thinking on army building, but there is no way to do it. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's not like that. After occupying the cities, it is necessary to ask the imperial court to send officials over as soon as possible, and the civil affairs to the governor. The local scribes still had to use the Sogdians in the early days. The Sogdians had a very deep relationship with the Han people in the Western Regions, and when outsiders came, they were oppressed together, and the relationship was still passable. The local garrisons are only the helpers of the governors, and the power of the generals should not be too great. ”

Fu Bi said: "Doing this, aren't you afraid that the generals will have different intentions?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "Deputy envoy, in this situation, who dares to go against the imperial court?" As long as the court is politically clear, let the local generals have a place to confide, and don't be bullied so hard that there is nowhere to confide, there should be no hindrance. Let Zhang Qi be the head of the army, which is exactly what it means. ”

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