In all fairness, Mo Yuegen was absolutely unwilling to fight with Xu Xingxia in Gulang City. [Reading Network] is not good! Here, it was originally the territory of Gansu Town, and almost all around it were barren mountains and mountains, and there was no oil and water. Most importantly, Gulang City is not a separate fortress, it is connected to the watershed. Even if Gulang City is taken down, behind Gulang City, there are still many fortresses such as watersheds, which need to be conquered one after another.

This kind of battle is definitely not what Mo Yuegen wants to see, and it is also what all nomads are not willing to see. The nomads were not good at fortifying fortifications, and even with the help of the rebels in Gansu Town, they were still not good at fortifications. If you continue to fight all the way like this, no matter how many rebels there are in Gansu Town, they will be consumed. The morale of the rebels is already low, and if they are driven to be cannon fodder, their morale will be even lower. No one knows when they will collapse. Once they're completely broken, you're going to kill them all, and it's no avail.

"King Khan...... Are we really going to attack Gulang City? Berrion whispered.

As the most willing general under Mo Yuegen, Berrien is sometimes called a military advisor. Every now and then, Berrien is able to come up with some good advice. Mo Yuegen does value him more. On some crucial occasions, he was the only one who could speak. In this short sentence, he expressed the thoughts of many Tatar high-ranking people present - do we really need to attack Gulang City? Is it really impossible to avoid this tough battle?

In general, the vast majority of Tatars were reluctant to attack cities. It's not that they don't have the courage to attack the city, but they generally feel that the siege is not cost-effective, and the losses are too great. For example, in the Gulang City in front of him, there is the existence of Xu Xingxia, and there are at least 5,000 white-clothed troops, and it is definitely not an easy thing for the Tatars to take it down. If Xu Xingxia was so easy to deal with, he wouldn't have survived now.

Defending the city was originally the specialty of the Central Plains army, and the white-clothed army had powerful muskets to help, which was even more powerful! Even if you have the assistance of artillery, even if you have the assistance of the Ming army in Gansu Town, it is absolutely impossible not to hurt your muscles and bones. With the tenacity of the white-clothed army, even if the city gate is opened with artillery, the white-clothed army will not retreat. They will definitely use the buildings in the city, or the ruins, to continue to resist stubbornly.

Just think about it, the Tatars feel a headache. These battles are the least good at them. Once you get into it, God knows what the consequences will be. What the Tatars are good at is mounted archery, which is a large-scale maneuver, and once the ability to mount and shoot is limited, a large-range maneuver is restricted, that is, to use their own shortcomings to provoke the enemy's strengths. Street fighting, the Tatars simply do not understand. If you are unfortunate enough to fall into a street fight, it is no different from suicide!

The most optimistic estimate is that to destroy Xu Xingxia and his 5,000 white-clothed army, the Tatars would have to pay at least 5,000 men. This is the price of pure Tatars, not counting the rebels in Gansu Town. You don't expect the rebels in Gansu Town to have the guts to fight directly with the white-clothed army, they are rebels, they are a team without bones. They are just fighting on the side, shouting and cheering, making cannons, cleaning up logistics and so on. It doesn't matter how many people they die. Even if it were all consumed, no one would feel heartache.

This is still the most optimistic estimate, based on the casualties of both sides, on a one-to-one basis. But can the Tatars really do it one by one? Many of the Tatar top brass were deeply skeptical. The white-clothed army occupies the advantage of the walls of Gulang City, and has powerful muskets, no matter who rushes head-on, there is only a dead end. In such a situation, it is really reluctant to want one for the other. Even if all the rebels were driven out and the ammunition of the white-coated army was consumed, it would not be possible to do this.

In fact, the Tatars had to carefully monitor the movements of these rebels. If the situation is not good, no one can rule out the possibility that these rebels will disperse in a hurry, or fall to the white-clothed army, or even fight back. For Xu Xingxia, there is no need to lure these people down. It would be nice to forgive the sins of the vast majority of them. No matter what country's army is, there are only a small number of people who are willing to be traitors, and the vast majority of people are unwilling to bear such a notoriety. If there is a chance to wash away the shame, they will surely seize it.

"What do you recommend?" Mo Yuegen frowned and said slowly. Now he has gradually calmed down. This time it was really calm. Bakhloch is dead, and no matter how angry he is, it will not help. What he has to do now is to make the most correct judgment with the most sober and calm mind. As it stands, the Tatars still have the upper hand. But if he continues to make mistakes, there is no way to turn the situation back.

"King Khan, if we forcibly attack the city, we will pay a great price!" Bergen said bluntly. This is the voice of all Tatar high-ranking people, and he is not afraid to say it in public. The lives of the Tatars are very precious. They are not afraid of death, but they must die worthily. If it is because of a small Gulang City, it is really not worth it to take the surname of thousands, or even tens of thousands of Tatar warriors, in their opinion. Even if Xu Xingxia is in Gulang City. Even everyone present was eager to cut Xu Xingxia with a thousand knives and eat him alive.

If it was the Tatars' usual battle, at the cost of five thousand men, a lot of benefits could already be gained. Whether it's population, wealth, or chassis, it's all impressive. In fact, Mo Yuegen fought in the east and west, and fought in the south and north, and the consumption of troops was not as many as 5,000 in a few years. In every battle, the Tatars always gained more than they paid. For example, in this attack on Gansu Town, all the casualties were only more than 100 people. Otherwise, Mo Yuegen would not have been able to change from a grassroots Tatar to a tyrant with sixty or seventy thousand elites.

However, the battle in Gulang City is clearly a loss-making business! From Gulang City to the east, there are large and small passes along the way, watersheds, Anyuan Station Fort, Zhenqiang Fort, Zhuanglang City or something, all of which are pure fortresses. In these places, there must be garrisons of the white-clothed army. If the Tatars want to continue eastward, they must take all these places. One can imagine how much the Tatars had to pay to clear the way forward.

According to the calculation of the loss of 5,000 people in one place, the Tatars will lose more than half of their forces just to break these fortresses! What else can the remaining remnants of the defeated army do? Can you still go deep into Ningxia Town? Don't even think about it! If he really attacked all the way like this, Mo Yuegen's little capital is estimated to be completely lost. Perhaps, this kind of battle is what Xu Xingxia wants to see the most. What a comfortable thing to do with ease!

There is also a hidden meaning that Bergen did not say directly. That is, even if they break through Gulang City, they may not be able to kill Xu Xingxia. Because, behind Gulang City, is the watershed. When the situation is not good, as long as Xu Xingxia runs up the watershed, the Tatars can only stare dryly. With the dangerous terrain of the watershed, the white-clothed army only needs to arrange a few hundred musketeers to completely seal off the road.

If Xu Xingxia is not killed, it is useless for the Tatars to destroy more white-clothed troops! As long as Xu Xingxia is alive, he will organize more white-clothed troops. The Tatars, on the other hand, did not have such organizational skills as his. To put it mildly, the white-clothed army fell by a thousand, and the back could stand up by 10,000. If the Tatars fall by a thousand, it would be nice to be able to stand up a hundred in the back. It's not a one-size-fits-all affair at all.

"If we don't attack the city, what will we do?" Mo Yugen asked slowly.

The surrounding Tatar high-level, you look at me, I look at yours, want to say something, but it's hard to say. Everyone, including Berrien, silently bowed their heads. Mo Yuegen's question is not easy to answer! Gulang City, just blocked in the Tatar path, this is really terrible! If Gulang City is not taken, the Tatars will be trapped in the town of Gansu and will not be able to go anywhere else. To be precise, you can't go to Ningxia Town, or enter the Guanzhong area. But these places were the original goals of the Tatars.

Go somewhere else, of course. You can go west, enter Hamiwei, or even go all the way west, into the territory of the Yarkand kingdom. The combat effectiveness of their army is definitely much weaker than that of the white-clothed army, and the Tatars can easily deal with them. But would you like to go to these places and drink the northwest wind? Instead of going to these places to hunt, it is better to stay in Mobei. The income from one hunt is not enough to consume the army!

Of course, you can head northeast and bypass Gulang City. However, are you willing to work hard through the Tengger Desert to attack Ningxia Town? If the sneak attack is successful, if the sneak attack fails, then it can only be suffocated alive in the Tengger Desert. From the front, the plan was clearly put on hold. The white-clothed army guarded the area of Helan Mountain like an iron bucket, and the water could not be drained. If they go, they will really suffocate in the desert.

Of course, you can also choose to go south, over the mountains and into the territory of the Tumut tribe. However, it is all a wasteland, poorer than the kingdom of Yarkand, where do you go and what do you do? Maybe after you go, even the leather clothes on your body will be snatched away by those Tumut tribesmen, who are poorer than you! Besides, Qilian Mountain is so easy to climb? After the 50,000 troops crossed the Qilian Mountains, it is estimated that they have combat effectiveness, less than 10,000. War horses or something, naturally there is no need to ask. It is impossible for a war horse to cross the Qilian Mountains.

What a curse! Before the war, who would have thought that the white-clothed army would actually occupy Gulang City in advance? At that time, the Tatars, including Mo Yuegen, were very optimistic that Xu Xingxia's biggest move was to fight with the Tatars in the southwest of Ningxia Town, and it was impossible for him to leave Ningxia Town. He didn't have that guts. As a result, their predictions were all wrong, and Xu Xingxia not only came out, but also grabbed the Tatars by the throat first.

The result of being stuck in the throat by the white-clothed army is that you can't move forward or retreat. Go ahead, you have to pay a heavy price. Stand back, everything you've done so far has been in vain. Finally, I went south, but the cost couldn't make up for it. When I go back, I'm embarrassed to see people! Especially a character like Mo Yuegen, if it spreads, I am afraid that he will be ridiculed by countless people. In other words, over the years, there are definitely a lot of people who want to see Mo Yuegen's jokes.

"Is there any news of Bachlu?" Seeing the subordinates around him, there was no reaction, and Mo Yuegen only smiled slightly bitterly. In fact, he also hopes that someone can give him effective advice to help him get out of the current dilemma. However, I didn't expect that all the people were dumbfounded. He had no choice but to stagger the topic in the hope of finding some inspiration.

Although it is estimated that Bachlu is already very lucky, the chance of survival is almost less than zero. However, Mo Yuegen still has a trace of fantasy. Perhaps, Bakhloch was only defeated and not killed. Why such fantasies? Because, if Bakhlu were still alive, he would be able to get out of his current predicament. As long as Bakhlu is still operating behind Gulang City, after taking Gulang City, he has hope of continuing to move forward.

However, he received no answer. There is no answer, there is no news. There is no news, that is, the fate of Bachloch may really not be saved. Not only is Zhuanglang City gone, but it is estimated that Xining City is also gone. Xu Xingxia would definitely not only attack Zhuanglang City and abandon Xining City. The Tatars in Zhuanglang City can't escape, let alone those in Xining City, they must be wiped out. Roughly calculated, he has lost seven thousand men so far. Such a loss is not insignificant!

It's been so long, and not even a single Tatar has a chance to escape, it's amazing! Rao is anger is abnormal, and Mo Yuegen also has to admire, Xu Xingxia's hand is indeed beautiful. If he was replaced by Mo Yuegen, he might not be able to do it so beautifully, and make dumplings for the enemy. To do this, you have to have a very detailed plan and very capable subordinates. As the saying goes, tigers also have a time to snooze. Xu Xingxia quietly struck a blow when he Mo Yuegen was taking a nap a little and was a little inattentive, leaving him in a passive state.

However, if Xu Xingxia thought that he could make the Tatars retreat by relying on this hand, his idea was too naïve. He Mo said that he fought in the east and west, and fought in the south and the north for decades, what kind of scene has he not seen? Such a dilemma has been encountered many times before. Faced with such a situation, he knows very well how to choose. Gulang City, no matter what, must be taken down! When the two armies meet, the brave wins!

"Cheer up! We are the bravest warriors of the Tatars! No one is our opponent! We are the eagles of the steppe, we are the wolves of the steppe! Isn't Gulang City just a small city? What's the big deal? Flatten it! Kill everyone inside! Mo Yuegen lifted his spirits, raised his tone, and shouted loudly. In order to show his majesty, he snorted and pulled out the golden saber.

All the Tatar high-ranking people around them suddenly became awe-inspiring.

The golden saber is unsheathed, this is a signal to fight to the death, there is no need to think about it!

"Zarik, order the troops to camp on the spot! Bergen! Prepare for the siege with your troops! Let Liu Fengxi and Li Guozhen fully cooperate with you! All the Ming troops must go to the front! If they don't work together, I'll give you the right idea to cut off their heads at once! Mo Yuegen brandished the golden saber and shouted without hesitation.

"Order!" Bergen agreed angrily and turned away.

Soon, a large army of Tatars was preparing to camp about five miles west of Gulang City. This distance is just outside the range of the Franc machine artillery, and even if Gulang City uses artillery bombardment and fires solid shells, it will not be able to directly hit the Tatar military camp. And at such a distance, the Tatar cavalry can be killed with just one charge.

At the same time, part of the Tatar cavalry, waving scimitars, drove out a large number of Ming rebels, dragged out the cannons and prepared to attack the city. Behind the artillery, there are a large number of siege weapons such as ladders, rushing carts, arrow towers, and battering rams, each of which has hundreds of them. Obviously, these were all prepared by the rebels in Gansu Town.

When it comes to the preparation of siege weapons, the Ming army is indeed unmatched. However, if the Ming army was in charge of itself, most likely there would not be so many siege weapons, and laziness was inevitable. But under the watchful eye of the Tartars, they actively worked hard, and they were angry and strong, and they drummed up such siege weapons. What a bunch of cheap embryos!

"Cannon!"

"A lot of cannons!"

"We don't seem to have a cannon, what should we do?"

The Tartar cannon appeared, and in Gulang City, people's hearts fluctuated slightly.

I have to say that even a small-caliber Franc machine gun has a huge impact on the defenders of Gulang City. There are no cannons in Gulang City! At that time, the people generally had a fear of artillery. The same is true of the general non-commissioned officers of the army. It is not surprising that ordinary soldiers of the white-clothed army have such fear. No matter how powerful the moon gun is, it can't be as powerful as the artillery! The two can't be said the same thing at all!

Some of the soldiers in white knew that they had artillery. In Giethoorn Canyon, the whites captured a lot of artillery. However, the white-clothed army's own artillery has not been transported for the time being, in other words, before the artillery brought by its own, it can only be bombed. Of course, this is not a good feeling for the defenders. The feeling of being beaten passively is always bad.

"The Vulture Cavalry look for an opportunity to shoot and prevent the enemy from firing shotguns!" Xu Xingxia said quietly.

Franc machine gun, which can fire two types of shells. One is a solid bullet with a long range, about three or four miles. If the angle is right and the gunner is very skilled, he can even fire five miles away. One is a shotgun, which is less than a mile, about three or four hundred meters. A skilled gunner who can fire up to 500 meters away.

Generally speaking, as long as the artillery does not fire shotguns, the casualties to personnel are not very large. The number of solid bullets fired is too small, and it is still very difficult to hit the target directly. Of course, solid bullets can also cause damage to the human body. Mainly splash damage. In addition, the damage to city buildings caused by solid bullets will be relatively large. If there were hundreds of artillery pieces that continued to bombard the walls of Gulang City, it would not be impossible to collapse the walls.

It's just that the white-clothed army only needs to hold out for about ten days. There are more than ten days of effort, and Gao Yigong should be able to drag the artillery to Gulang City. When the time comes, the artillery of the white-clothed army, taking advantage of the height of the head of Gulang City, will definitely be able to expel the rebels' artillery.

…… Under the surveillance of the Tatar cavalry, Liu Fengxi and Li Guozhen, with hundreds of rebel gunners, pushed hundreds of Francophone guns to the front. What they meant, of course, was to fire shotguns directly. Shotguns are so powerful! The shrapnel spread out in mid-air and rained down like drops. It would be great if there was one of them that happened to fall on Xu Xingxia's body. You don't need more, just one.

"Bang bang bang!"

On the head of Gulang City, there was a sudden sound of fierce gunfire.

In the beginning, neither the Tartars nor the rebels cared. They are still more than a hundred zhang away from Gulang City, and it is impossible for the muskets of the white-clothed army to hit such a distance. This is the range of artillery! However, they soon found out that something was wrong. Because, from time to time, there are Mini bullets flying and hitting them directly. Later, the shooting of the white-clothed army became more and more violent, and the number of Tartars or rebels who fell after being shot became more and more numerous.

The maximum range of the moon gun is almost 900 meters. The effective firing range is almost more than five hundred meters. This means that the musketeers of the White Army shoot at the head of Gulang City, and it is entirely possible that the Mini bullets will fly to the rebel gunners. Of course, after such a long flight distance, the hit rate is already very low. However, there are also a lot of musketeers in white! Thousands of people are shooting continuously at the same time, and the number of Mini bullets is still relatively dense. In this way, there will be a lot of fallen Tartars and rebels.

Seeing that there were more and more people falling, Liu Fengxi and Li Guozhen did not dare to continue to step forward. If you continue to step forward, maybe the two of them will be killed as well. They ordered the artillery positions to be built on the spot. Naturally, the gunners couldn't ask for it, so they hurriedly stopped, unloaded the guns from the cars, and prepared to open fire.

Xu Xingxia raised the clairvoyant mirror and measured it visually, the distance between the cannon and Gulang City was about four hundred meters. With the maximum range of the shotgun, it can barely reach the walls of Gulang City. It's still a bit dangerous at such a distance. If the cannon fires shotguns, the defenders of Gulang City will have to suffer heavy casualties. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to press the enemy's artillery to the back.

(To be continued)