Lei Hu came to Xu Canhuai and asked with concern, "Xu Wenwen, are you okay?" ”

Xu Canhuai shook his head and said a little ashamedly: "It's okay." [Reading Network] is that the bullets are basically finished. ”

Lei Hu beckoned, and asked Xu Canhuai to hand Xu Canhuai three spare submachine gun magazines for self-defense. Xu Canhuai didn't have a magazine, they did. As a professional combat unit, of course they will not consume bullets indiscriminately like Xu Canhuai.

In the battle just now, Xu Canhuai was basically a blind toss. The bullets he fired did not kill even a single Sipahi cavalryman. All the Sipahi cavalry were killed by the Thunder Tigers. When it comes to dealing with the Sipahi cavalry, they can be described as professional veterans.

In fact, the squad of the Thunder Tiger, carried enough large quantities of ammunition. Five camels can carry more than a thousand catties of supplies, most of which are ammunition. If you save on it, it can last for more than half a month. In order to reduce the burden of camels, the war horses left behind by the Sipaxi cavalry were naturally requisitioned by Lei Hu and others.

There is still some distance from Aleppo, and Lei Hu and the others have to continue on their way. They must rush to Aleppo as soon as possible to join the main force. In front of them, a large force of the Leopard cavalry, had already entered Aleppo. In this kind of place where there is no village in front and no store in the back, it is not safe after all. He waved his hand and shouted in a deep voice, "Let's go!" ”

…… Five days later, Xu Canhuai and others finally approached Aleppo.

When obvious green finally appeared in his sight, Xu Canhuai couldn't help but breathe a deep sigh of relief. The spicy one next door finally saw the green. He also thought that in this ghost place of West Asia, there was no chance to see green at all. After seeing the green after such a long time, Xu Canhuai actually felt that his eyes seemed to be a little uncomfortable.

If it was a big tree, Xu Canhuai would definitely run up and hug it affectionately. It's a pity that all those greens are sparse and sparse grass. They all grew out of the Gobi Desert, and the tallest was only one finger high. Most of the weeds are actually lying on the surface of the sand. The surface of all weeds is covered with a thick layer of dust.

In the entire Central Asian region, the most uncomfortable is probably the desert and the Gobi Desert. No water, no vegetation, no greenery, no life. As far as the eye can see, there is only an endless dead silence. Looking around, there is only one color: off-white. Gray-white desert, gray-white Gobi desert, gray-white sandstorms. Here, no life is felt. And any foreign life, after arriving here, seems to die quickly.

Fortunately, according to intelligence information, Damascus is a beautiful city, where two rivers meet, which is quite a bit of a plugged Jiangnan flavor. There's a lot of clear water, there's a lot of vegetation, there's a lot of green, there's a lot of life. In Damascus, there is no desert in sight, no Gobi desert in sight. Life, in Damascus, is definitely alive and well.

The vast number of officers and men of the white-clothed army are ready to take a good bath after entering Damascus. When it comes to fighting in Central Asia, what the officers and men of the White Army are most looking forward to is probably taking a bath. The dust here is indeed too terrible, there is no way to hide, there is no way to avoid it. At the end of the day, I was covered in gray and dust. However, the water here is more expensive than oil, and ordinary people cannot afford to consume it.

Even if the White Army set up a base camp in Baghdad and hoarded as much water as possible. However, not every officer and soldier can take a bath as he pleases. The White Coats must strictly control the consumption of clean water.

"There are also bathhouses in Aleppo!"

Suddenly, there was great news.

The expressions of Lei Hu, Xu Canhuai and the others immediately cheered up.

When they were in Baghdad, they didn't have the opportunity to take a bath. Along the way, the wind and sand blew, and they were already disgraced. To say that it is not uncomfortable is absolutely false. Even the inside of their nostrils was full of congealed sand. Especially Xu Canhuai, when he encountered such an uncomfortable thing for the first time on the battlefield, he almost had to retreat.

Sure enough, Lei Hu and the others soon received orders from above and entered Aleppo to rest and wait. This order is equivalent to giving them plenty of time to soak in the bathhouse. If they wish, they can rub all the skin off their bodies.

Whether others have such thoughts, Xu Canhuai doesn't know. However, he himself definitely had such thoughts. He was really going to rub off all his skin. He felt that his skin had turned into sand. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as soap in the army for the time being.

"Let's go!"

"Go take a bath!"

Lei Hu couldn't wait to go.

Xu Canhuai and the others hurriedly followed behind and walked quickly into Aleppo.

…… Before the arrival of the Panthers, the Mastiffs had already occupied Aleppo. The inhabitants of the city were expelled and handed over to the servants. How they will be dealt with, there is naturally a set of standard procedures, and the white army basically does not need to ask. Those servant troops, all of them are very active. The streets of Aleppo are full of soldiers of the White Army.

The arrangement of Mao 13 and Gao Jie is indeed a bit weird. The commanders of the two battalions that appeared in Aleppo were none other than Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, but they belonged to two different units. Li Zicheng belonged to the Leopard Cavalry, and Zhang Xianzhong belonged to the Mastiff Cavalry.

Although Li Zicheng's speed was also very fast, he came non-stop along the way, but in the end, he still fell behind Zhang Xianzhong. Zhang Xianzhong's troops marched very fast, taking control of Aleppo before the arrival of the Leopard cavalry.

"Lao Zhang, you do this every time, it's too much!" Li Zicheng said stupidly.

"We are mastiff cavalry, but we are born Scuds!" Zhang Xianzhong said triumphantly.

Li Zicheng had no choice but to laugh helplessly for a while, admitting defeat. Zhang Xianzhong's ability to grab credit is really incomparable to others. The mastiff cavalry army up and down, starting from Gao Jie, are all desperate Saburo who don't want to die. Their marching speed is indeed about the same as that of Scuds.

However, as Zhang Xianzhong's subordinate, he is indeed tired enough. It would be strange to march in the desert Gobi Desert without getting tired. No matter how powerful the mastiff cavalry is, it cannot ignore the harsh climate of the desert Gobi Desert. I guess someone must be exhausted. Li Zicheng was not so harsh on his subordinates, and he was relieved when he thought about it.

According to the arrangement above, the task of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong is to hold Aleppo and let the follow-up troops of the White Army be stationed one after another. In the assault on Damascus, Aleppo will serve as a bridgehead for the offensive. And a large number of military supplies from Baghdad will also be assembled in warehouses in Aleppo. Among them, including a large number of howitzers.

At the same time, if the White Army Navy is going well, it will also send warships to the sea near Aleppo to get in touch with the White Army Army. It is possible that part of the Marine Corps, which follows the actions of the White Coats Navy, will go directly ashore to participate in the battle. If the progress of the White Coats Navy is not going well, the two sides will meet in Damascus.

As for Istanbul, it will definitely not attack until the White Army Navy enters the Mediterranean Sea and can cut off Istanbul's retreat. Otherwise, Istanbul can get reinforcements from the sea, or escape by sea, and the strategic plan of the White Army will basically fail.

...... "Xu Wenwen, the bathhouse is here!" Lei Hu beckoned to Xu Canhuai.

After Xu Canhuai entered Aleppo, he felt that everything was new, and everything he had never seen before, so he couldn't help but stop and admire everywhere. Unconsciously, he had fallen behind Lei Hu and the others.

For everything in Aleppo, Lei Hu and others don't care. It is no wonder that Lei Hu and the others have been fighting since the Yarkand Khanate, and they have been fighting non-stop all the way. Along the way, what kind of town hasn't been seen? A town like Aleppo really doesn't have much to look forward to in their eyes. Maybe Damascus is about the same.

"Oh, here we are!" Xu Canhuai agreed and ran over.

"Be careful! Stoop! Come on! Seeing that Xu Canhuai was frizzy and didn't know how to hide at all, Lei Hu and the others couldn't help but get anxious. Someone couldn't help but scream loudly. There were also people who couldn't help but run out to pull Xu Canhuai.

Veterans are like this, and it is really unwise to see the recruits hurrying and exposing themselves to the guns of the enemy. is like Xu Canhuai, if it was in a fierce battle, his actions would have made him die without a place to be buried.

In fact, there are still remnants of religious fanatics in the city. They hide in tunnels, in basements, or in unknown spaces, quietly spying on the movements of the white-clothed army. If given the chance, they will suddenly appear and launch a surprise attack. If Xu Canhuai is left alone, there is a chance that he will be killed by them.

Fortunately, the white-clothed army is also fully prepared. All the commanding heights in the city of Aleppo are guarded by snipers of the White Army. Their mission is to shoot any religious fanatic from a distance. They find any dangerous enemy, and they shoot them from a distance. And in Thunder Tiger's squad, there are also more than ten sharpshooters. As long as the enemy is spotted by them, they will definitely not escape their bullets.

Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong also strictly restrained the actions of the troops, prohibiting any officers and men from acting alone. All military operations must be conducted in at least squads. Any officer or soldier who violates the regulations will be severely punished by military law. Facts have proved that after the city is broken, if the discipline of the troops is not strictly restrained, it is very likely that the troops will get out of control. The lessons of Huangchao's entry into Chang'an in the past years, Xu Xingxia still remembers it vividly. He didn't want to repeat the mistakes of the past.

What Xu Xingxia needed was not a force that couldn't help but burn and loot everywhere after breaking the city. It is true that after the city is broken, the necessary burning, killing and looting are inevitable. However, the matter of burning, killing and looting can be left to the servant army to do. The white army itself must not do it. At all times, only iron discipline can forge an iron army. Not being arrogant in victory and not being discouraged in defeat is the most basic requirement for a strong army.

Under the guidance of Lei Hu and others, Xu Canhuai came to the outside of a large bathhouse. The bathhouses of Aleppo are very famous. The largest bathhouse can accommodate thousands of people to bathe together. In addition, legend has it that in the past, men and women could bathe together. Of course, it was not possible later. Since the rise of the Green Religion, many rules have changed. Not to mention that men and women bathe together, all women in West Asia are not allowed to let outsiders see their faces.

The huge bathrooms have been controlled by the white army, so there is no need to worry about safety. Inside the bathhouse, there were also people from other brother units bathing. Outside the bathhouse, there is a special gendarme on duty, who is responsible for registering identities and keeping weapons. After all the formalities were completed, Lei Hu and the others hurriedly entered the bathhouse. As soon as the generals took off their clothes, they jumped into the pool.

There were no women in the bathhouse, all men. Naturally, everyone stripped themselves naked and naked. Some of the more obscene guys look specifically between other people's legs. Some people despise it, some people are shy about it, and some people are big-faced, spreading their legs and deliberately showing off.

It's also funny, and the shyest person is Xu Canhuai. Lei Hu and the others all jumped into the warm water, and he was still hesitating on the edge of the pool. He was still wearing a military uniform. After hesitating for a long time, he never took off his military clothes. Honestly, he's grown so big that he hasn't stripped naked in front of so many people.

Lei Hu beckoned and shouted, "Xu Wenwen, come down!" Don't be like a! ”

Xu Canhuai's face turned slightly red, he mustered up his courage, took off his military uniform, and jumped off with his eyes closed.

Sure enough, as soon as the body was soaked in warm water, I felt a myriad of comforts, spraying out from the three thousand pores, so comfortable that I didn't even want to move a finger. Compared to the outside world and the inside of the bathhouse, it is simply the difference between hell and heaven. At that moment, Xu Canhuai felt that even if someone put a knife on his neck, he was reluctant to leave the bathhouse. He leaned against the edge of the bath, his eyes closed, not wanting to move.

Most of the white-clothed officers and soldiers who entered the bathhouse reacted similarly to Xu Canhuai after entering the water. On the one hand, they are enjoying the comfort of the hot water, and on the other hand, they are waiting for the dust on their bodies to be dissolved, and then they rub each other's baths. The dust on many people's bodies has completely condensed. It is estimated that if you do not soak for dozens of minutes, it will not be able to dissolve at all.

Some of the soldiers who came earlier, the dust on their bodies had already dissolved, and they began to rub their backs in twos and threes. It is estimated that the dust on some people's bodies is really a little thick, and the person who helped him rub his back couldn't help but mutter, and then everyone laughed.

"Lao Guo, how is your situation there?" Suddenly, someone next to me asked.

Xu Canhuai casually turned his head to look at it and found that it was a group of people talking beside him. They had already bathed each other and were enjoying the hot water. They are all in their thirties, and they should be relatively senior officers. Sure enough, I later learned that that Lao Guo turned out to be the squadron leader. Several people around him are also squadron leaders.

Lao Guo's unit was the second battalion of the Mastiff Cavalry, which was deployed north of Aleppo and was the first to encounter the enemy troops who came to Istanbul for reinforcements. Before Xu Canhuai's arrival, the battle had been going on for about four days. Today happens to be a truce. There is no doubt that from the very beginning, the battle entered a white-hot state.

Due to transportation difficulties, heavy guns with a caliber of 155 mm, as well as howitzers with a caliber of 105 mm, have not yet reached the front line. Lao Guo's second battalion of the Mastiff Cavalry could only rely on 75mm howitzers and 60mm mortars to fight. They numbered just over 5,000 men, but they were confronted with more than 100,000 Ottoman Turkish reinforcements.

On the first day, the Ottoman Turkish Empire, right in front of the positions of the White Army, left more than 20,000 corpses. Most of them are fanatics who have lost their minds. Either way, they are the most suitable and cheap cannon fodder. In every battle, the top brass of the Ottoman Turkish Empire used them to come up and consume the ammunition of the white army. On the side of the white-clothed army, dozens of people were also killed, and more than 100 others were wounded.

Because of the strong support of the Europeans, the Ottoman [***] team that set out from Istanbul was generally equipped with large-caliber smoothbore guns, and the firing range was generally more than five kilometers. On the front line, at a distance of five kilometers, it is already possible to inflict a certain amount of damage on the white-clothed army. The casualties of the White Coats were caused by these cannons.

"Da Da Da!"

"Bang bang bang!"

was chatting, and suddenly, there was a loud gunfire outside.

"There is a situation!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Lei Hu and the others were excited, and hurriedly jumped up, didn't care about getting dressed, and ran out naked. The other white-clothed officers and soldiers also hurriedly reacted, followed behind Lei Hu, and hurriedly rushed out of the bathhouse. Xu Canhuai also hurriedly jumped up and ran out with them. In a hurry, he didn't care about getting dressed, and rushed out naked.

The weapons of Lei Hu and the others are all outside the bathroom. As soon as they rushed out, they retrieved their weapons. After they held their weapons tightly in their hands, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Weapons are the most trustworthy at all times. Weapons are the second life of soldiers, and they will never forget them at any time.

But when they took up arms, nothing happened. It was quiet all around, only the gendarmes went around asking about the situation. Later, Lei Hu and others learned that the gunshots turned out to be a group of recruits, who didn't know what happy things they encountered, and shot at the sky indiscriminately. As a result, the military judge came and took them all away. It is conceivable that this group of recruits will have to be confined for at least three days.

"I'll take a shower, will it be easy for me?"

Lei Hu and the others muttered and returned to the bathhouse.

Unexpectedly, after soaking for a while, there was another fierce gunshot.

This time, even Xu Canhuai couldn't help but curse: "Damn, who is shooting indiscriminately?" ”

Scolding and scolding, I still had to hurry up, run outside with my clothes, and get my weapon back. If you don't have a weapon in hand, you're always unsure!

(To be continued)