Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1061 1056 [Wu Dalang's First Battle with Soy Sauce]

The warhorse that Wu Juyuan received was captured by the Ming army in Yizhou last year. It came from the grassland cavalry on the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains.

To be honest, it is much more majestic than the one he has at home.

"There is a river and a camp ahead. Let's rest there!" shouted the leading officer.

This was a grain transport team composed of Han immigrants, responsible for transporting some grain and fodder from Yanqi to the front line. In addition to the immigrants transporting grain, there were also 500 soldiers protecting them along the way.

As the temporary battalion commander, Wu Juyuan naturally did not have to carry the food and fodder himself.

He was in charge of the immigrants in his camp and had to deal with all kinds of trivial matters. Sometimes when he didn't know how to deal with something, he would ask the lieutenant in charge of escorting grain for advice.

The geographical environment of the Western Regions found Wu Juyuan quite strange.

They passed through a desert area. Where there was an oasis, there was one. The river in front of them also came from nowhere, as if it suddenly appeared in the desert.

The camp by the river should have been left behind by the main force. It has now become a food and grass transfer point, and some soldiers are still guarding the camp.

After settling his own battalion of immigrants and handing over all the supplies, Wu Juyuan went to get close to the lieutenant.

"General Hu..."

"I have told you many times not to call me General. My military position and rank do not qualify me."

"Hey, it's only a matter of time."

Wu Juyuan was very capable. Not only did he complete the task with quality and quantity, but he also took every opportunity to flatter the grain escort officer.

This young lieutenant named Hu Zun was very comfortable with Wu Juyuan's flattery, so he occasionally passed on some experience in marching and fighting.

Hu Zun sat down cross-legged, and Wu Juyuan immediately went behind him to rub his shoulders and beat his back.

Hu Zun felt comfortable after the massage. He closed his eyes slightly and asked, "Do you know how the team retreats when they are attacked by the enemy?"

Wu Juyuan said: "Choose one or two elite troops to cover the rear, and the rest of the troops will slowly retreat."

Hu Zun shook his head and said, "It's easier said than done to retreat slowly. Even if you are a truly elite force, retreating in front of the enemy can easily turn into a rout. At this time, you need to use the method of pulling out the troops."

"What is the method of drawing teams?" Wu Juyuan asked hurriedly.

Hu Zun said, "We will select every other team. For the team that receives the order to retreat, the captain will personally lead the team to face the enemy, and the deputy captain will lead the entire team to retreat. When this team retreats to the designated position, they will immediately reorganize their formation and be ready to defend against the enemy and cover friendly forces at any time. The teams that are not selected will form a formation and be on guard on the spot. When the friendly forces retreat to the designated position, they will be led to retreat by the captain and deputy captain."

Wu Juyuan understood immediately: "It means that the teams should cross-cover each other and retreat to ensure that there are soldiers to defend against the enemy at all times."

"You are very smart," Hu Zun nodded in approval. "I will only teach you these today. Take your time to digest them. I will teach you other things tomorrow."

Wu Juyuan did not want to argue any further and instead gave Colonel Hu a massage even more attentively.

After eating, he took out paper and pen from his bag, took water and ground ink, and carefully recorded the "Team Drawing Method".

The grain transport team continued to move along the edge of the desert and arrived at the front battlefield the next day.

Ming cavalry could be seen all along the way. It was said that enemy cavalry occasionally came around to attack the grain transport teams, and several cavalry battles had already broken out nearby.

Wu Juyuan was incorporated into the civilian camp and stationed in a camp.

Outside the city of Qiuci, the enemy had built fortifications and established two circles of camps around the city.

I remember that Qiuci City had stronger anti-artillery capabilities than Gaochang City!
The city here is smaller, the walls are shorter, and the moat is less than 8 meters wide. However, the walls are very thick!
The thickness of the wall foundation generally exceeds 15 meters, and even reaches 22 meters in some places.

I don’t know which architect designed it, but the City of Kucha is very strange. The moat is narrow and shallow, and the city walls are short and thick - the "short" here only refers to the city compared to Gaochang City. It is actually very tall in the Western Regions.

Never underestimate the city-building ability of the Uighurs. Their ancestors even built cities in the northern desert, and the earliest city-building craftsmen all came from Luoyang.

"Tomorrow, you will help fill the trenches and follow military orders!"

Wu Juyuan was very excited when he received the order, but the immigrants under his command were quite scared. Although they received weapons and leather armor, they had never really fought in a war.

Perhaps because he was too excited, Wu Juyuan actually suffered from insomnia that night.

We woke up the next day, gathered in line, and followed the troops slowly advancing.

The regular army stopped a few hundred steps away from the enemy camp, but the civilians like Wu Juyuan actually took action - digging sand and putting it in sacks or red willow baskets.

"Boom boom boom!"

The artillery was pushed out to fire in unison, and some soldiers were responsible for protecting the gunners.

Wu Juyuan was digging the sand. Hearing the sound of artillery fire in front of him, he couldn't help but look up, but he couldn't see clearly at all.

Soon, a messenger came over on horseback: "The first to the tenth teams of civilians, follow the army and fight immediately!"

The auxiliary soldiers pushed the light chariots forward, and all the weapons on the chariots were removed. The removed artillery was firing at the position. Not only were the fenders of the chariots erected high, but also long poles were erected to hang curtains, which also served as a shield against arrows.

The first ten teams of laborers hid behind the chariots, carrying bags of sand and red willow baskets on their backs and moving forward slowly.

There are also a large number of long-range and short-range combat troops hiding behind the chariots, guarding against the enemy rushing out of the camp, while also looking for opportunities to rush through the camp.

Wu Juyuan wanted to observe the battlefield, but his view was blocked by the army and he had no idea what the fighting was like in front of him.

"The eleventh to twentieth teams of civilians move forward and wait for orders to go into battle!"

Another herald came.

Wu Juyuan was a little anxious. Why wasn’t it his turn yet?
I don't know how long it took, but more than a dozen batches of laborers were transferred away, and it was finally his turn at noon.

Wu Juyuan, along with many civilians, followed the officer who led them, only to find that the enemy's first camp had been breached.

The enemies were determined to hold their ground and not leave any passage for the troops to come out. Some civilians who had been sent out before were digging the barriers and opening up passages, otherwise the chariots and artillery could not pass easily.

The first trench had already been filled up to a width of several miles.

Behind the first barrier, there were corpses of enemy soldiers everywhere. Many of them were killed by wounds from behind and were quite far away from the barrier. They must have been killed by the Ming army while fleeing.

"vomit!"

A civilian nearby suddenly vomited.

However, there was an unlucky guy among the enemy troops whose head was blown up by a shell. Two-thirds of his head was gone, and the remaining one-third was hanging on his neck. His death was not only miserable but also disgusting. The corpse made the civilians vomit.

Wu Juyuan turned his head and glanced at the corpse. Although he felt disgusted, he was more excited.

This guy is a born fighter!
"Follow up, follow up, the artillery has been deployed, and the front is about to advance. Hide behind the tanks, be careful of stray arrows!"

The laborers all carried sandbags and red willow baskets on their backs and moved forward in a crouching position. Some who were too afraid of death even half-squatted and dragged the sandbags.

There was another burst of gunfire ahead.

Wu Juyuan carried the sandbag and moved forward for a while. He could not see any enemies at all. All he could see were his own regular troops, auxiliary troops and chariots.

The chariot shield completely blocked his view, and the wide curtain hung on the long pole rustled in the strong wind. Waves of arrows rained down, most of which were blocked by the shield and curtain, and occasionally a few flew in through the gaps in the curtain.

"call out!"

A stray arrow flew in front of Wu Juyuan and pierced into the sand bag on his shoulder.

If it was half a foot off, the arrow would have hit Wu Juyuan in the face.

"I'm lucky!" Wu Juyuan muttered.

Soon, the number of arrows shot became fewer and fewer, and the enemy was suppressed by the Ming army's long-range firepower.

An officer shouted to them: "Hurry up and pass between the chariots and throw the sandbags into the trench!" Wu Juyuan immediately rushed forward with the sandbags. When passing by the chariots, he saw flintlock soldiers and archers firing at the opposite side through the shooting holes.

"So impressive!"

Wu Juyuan actually had the heart to admire, he couldn't wait to become one of the soldiers.

After rushing past the chariot, there was a trench ahead.

Wu Juyuan threw the sandbag into the trench and immediately turned around and ran back.

But one of the laborers was so frightened that he fell to the ground, and most of the sand in the red willow basket spilled.

Wu Juyuan went over to get the red willow basket, turned around again and ran towards the trench, pouring the remaining sand and soil in the basket into the trench.

Perhaps because he realized there was no danger, Wu Juyuan even had the leisure to look at the enemy's position.

Behind the opposite wall, there were several collapsed temporary buildings, probably enemy arrow towers or something like that, all of which had been destroyed by artillery fire.

Occasionally, enemy troops would appear, but as soon as their heads emerged from the wall, they would be shot at by muskets and crossbows.

Wu Juyuan retreated to the rear of the chariot and was ordered to return by the officers.

On the way back, they encountered another group of civilians carrying soil. Those civilians had no shelter, but they were not shot at by the enemy, and the enemy's position was silenced.

The sacks have been used up and only the red willow baskets are left.

Wu Juyuan received a backpack, quickly dug up sand and filled it with soil, and then went to the battlefield again to fill the trenches.

After going back and forth several times, the trench was finally filled.

He and other civilians were ordered to retreat, and countless soldiers advanced to the sound of war drums.

There was a sound of fighting in the distance, but Wu Juyuan couldn't see clearly.

As the Ming army flag was firmly planted on the barrier, Wu Juyuan realized that the second barrier had been taken.

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

Wu Juyuan blurted out and stood among the civilians, raising his arms and shouting.

The frightened civilians nearby couldn't help but shout along with him, and then more and more civilians cheered and shouted.

The Ming army's positions moved forward as a whole.

Wu Juyuan and his men were also sent out to flatten more barriers and consolidate the uneven trenches, because siege equipment would need to pass through later.

"Boom boom boom!"

The sound of cannons rang out again, this time bombarding the fortifications of Kucha City.

City walls, battle tents, arrow towers... were torn down one after another by artillery shells, and a large number of gaps appeared on the parapet.

Under such circumstances, no matter how tall and strong the city walls are, the city's defensive power is almost halved, and the defenders only have the advantage of being high above.

Siege weapons were pushed to the foot of the city one after another. They were made by the first craftsmen who followed the army to fight when Wu Juyuan was transporting grain to the rear.

Two consecutive fortifications outside the city were breached, and the Ming army was about to advance to the city, and the fortifications on the city were also destroyed. At such an urgent moment, perhaps realizing that they would definitely fail if they defended to the death, the city gate with the urn suddenly opened, and many enemy soldiers shouted the slogan of holy war and rushed out.

Those holy soldiers had no time to form a team, and under the guidance of the noble generals, they charged straight towards the siege equipment of the Ming army.

What greeted them were bullets and arrows!

This time Wu Juyuan saw it clearly, and he and the civilians cooperated. Just as they flattened a section of the barrier and had not yet withdrawn, the defenders in the city rushed out of the city wall.

The enemies were still dozens of steps away from the siege equipment when they were shot and arrowed and fell down one after another.

As if brainwashed and not afraid of death, the survivors continued to rush forward. But another round of musket fire finally woke them up, and they turned around and fled, shouting in fear. Only a few were able to escape back to the city.

"Woooooooo~~~~"

Just as the siege equipment was getting closer, a horn sounded suddenly from the northwest.

The Ming army surrounded the area on three sides but one was missing. That was the missing side.

The soldiers of Kucha continued to defend the city, but some Dongkara nobles were afraid of death.

This was not the territory of the Dongkala Kingdom, they were just here to help. Seeing that the Ming army might break through the city, an Dongkala noble was the first to abandon the city and flee, and took several other nobles with him.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves came from the southwest of Wu Juyuan. It was the Ming army cavalry that set out to chase the enemy's fleeing soldiers.

"Took it."

Wu Juyuan sat down on the remaining barrier and looked at the city under attack with a smile.

With his limited knowledge of military affairs, he also understood the consequences of deserters appearing in the defending army.

Inside the royal city.

"Your Majesty, several armies of the Black Khanate have fled. They have no intention of fighting to the death here!"

"understood."

The King of Kucha, Kuiyu, sighed.

He is already old and has been frail and sickly in recent years. I'm afraid he won't live long.

After thinking for a while, he said to the chief prime minister, Bayibuhua, "Let the whole army surrender."

Bayibuhua said, "Your Majesty, the two armies are already fighting, how can we stop? If we order surrender now, the enemy will surely take the opportunity to attack the city, and I am afraid that even the generals of the Ming Dynasty will not be able to stop them. We should first send an envoy to leave the city from the northwest where there is no siege. Perhaps the envoy can be taken to see the commander of the Ming army."

"Then send an envoy out of the city." Kuma Yu sat there with no desire to live.

In fact, he had no desire to resist. If he had been in power, he would have surrendered from the very beginning.

But he couldn't even command the nine prime ministers, some of whom were controlled by the Eastern Kara Kingdom, and some by the Western Liao. In addition, most of the clergy in the country were loyal to the Eastern Kara Kingdom and didn't take Ku Yu seriously at all.

Love so much.

The city was becoming more and more chaotic. One after another, the Dongkara nobles abandoned their infantry and fled the city, not caring at all that those infantry were brought by them to launch the holy war.

These guys can do nothing but exploit the people.

The huge Eastern Karakhanid Khanate was unable to quell the rebellion, and was unexpectedly taken advantage of by Yelu Dashi to annex it, leaving only a small piece of land for them as a vassal state.

Now they are deceiving the people into engaging in jihad, and many people come with hoes and sticks. But when the real fighting starts, they abandon the people engaging in jihad and run away.

The Kucha envoy sent by Kuma Yu was captured by the Ming cavalry not long after he left the city.

"We are here to communicate the surrender!"

The translator brought by the messenger shouted.

More than a dozen cavalrymen surrounded them, looked at each other, and raised their bows and arrows.

Isn't it nonsense to surrender at this time?

Suddenly, another city gate on the west opened, and countless soldiers rushed out.

Those were the jihadist civilians who came from Kashgar. They had already thrown away their dung forks, hoes, and sticks, broke through the soldiers guarding the city gates, and fled towards their hometowns.

(End of this chapter)