Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 649: Technology Gap

After listening to Liang Sanhu's words, Lin Shiqi narrowed his eyes slightly. As the saying goes, the words may be rough but the truth is there. Sengge wanted to rely on Turpan to drag down the logistics of the Qian army, but if Turpan can be quickly captured, then no matter how good Sengge's strategy is, it will be useless.

In the end, everything will depend on the outcome of the war. After discussing with the generals, Lin Shiqi adopted Liang Sanhu's suggestion, which was to quickly capture Turpan, send the army into the Western Regions, and completely control the Yarkand area.

After the discussion, Lin Shiqi asked Babaksu to write a letter to persuade the defenders in Turpan to surrender, and at the same time build artillery positions outside the city.

After nightfall, a letter of surrender written by Babaksu himself was delivered to the city. In the letter, Babaksu was very generous, saying that after surrendering to him, their lives and property would be safe and their future would be bright.

He also said that after he restored his country, he could choose any position in the country, whether it was in charge of military and political affairs, or in charge of a region. In short, Babaksu would agree to any conditions for the power that was not in his hands now.

However, after reading the letter, Turpan garrison commander Muhala sneered and ignored Qian Chao and Babaksu's pleas for surrender.

It can be said that the final negotiations before the war had failed. On the fourth day after the artillery arrived in Turpan, the Qian army's first large-scale siege began.

Because the expedition to the Western Regions was a long journey and the roads were not like the current cement roads of the Qian Dynasty, it was extremely inconvenient to transport heavy artillery, which also led to the fact that most of the artillery carried by the Qian army was relatively light.

However, the lack of power could be made up for by quantity. More than seventy cannons were deployed in the southern city of Turpan. While waiting for the supplies, Lin Shiqi ordered the civilians to build many siege ladders and protective equipment.

In the ninth year of Zhaowu, on the twentieth day of the first lunar month, it was sunny.

Lin Shiqi stopped outside the camp and used a telescope to observe the defense of Turpan City. While watching, he asked Babaksu who was beside him, "Hasn't there been a reply from the city yet?"

Babaksu replied somewhat dejectedly: "The city's garrison commander has not responded. I have looked up some information and heard that the garrison commander's name is Muhalla and he is Apak Khoja's confidant. So, Marshal, he will not surrender."

Lin Shiqi nodded. This news was not unexpected to him. Turpan was the gateway to the Western Regions, and it was reasonable for Apak Khoja to send his trusted men to guard it.

After a detailed discussion with Babaksu, Lin Shiqi knew that Turpan was the most fortified city in the Western Regions. The capital city of Shache might be larger, but in terms of solidity, Turpan might be even better.

However, the northwest is barren and sparsely populated. Although Babaksu said that Turpan was a rare strong city in the world, in Lin Shiqi's opinion, this city could only be compared with some ordinary cities in the Central Plains and could not be considered a truly strong city at all.

In Lin Shiqi's eyes, Turpan's city defense was really unremarkable. It was just a little tall, and the outside was not made of blue bricks and stones, but just earthen walls. There were no piers on the wall, just a bare wall. As long as the soldiers rushed to the base of the wall, it would be a blind spot in the defenders' vision.

Outside the city, there was only a three-meter-wide trench, or rather a deep trench, because there was no water in the trench.

Such a city is certainly more than enough to defend against the looting of nomadic cavalry, but it is not enough to resist the Central Plains army that is good at siege for a long time.

Babaksu has been staying in Yarkand. If his country had not been destroyed, he would never have gone to the Central Plains in his life. Until now, the farthest Babaksu has been is Xi'an. Neither Babaksu nor other people in Yarkand have ever fought with the Central Plains army. They have forgotten how terrifying the Central Plains army, which is good at siege, is.

Seeing that the army was ready, Lin Shiqi looked up at the sky. It was cloudless and the breeze was gentle. Lin Shiqi took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "What a nice day!"

Then he ordered in a deep voice: "Attack the city!"

As the messengers passed on the Marshal's orders layer by layer, the rumbling sound of drums and the sound of trumpets at a lower level began to sound.

The Qian army's cannons had already been prepared, and the gunners received orders and quickly began loading.

"fire!"

Along with the roar of the artillery officers, the rumbling sound of artillery firing rang out at the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains. Then, white smoke rose from the Qian army artillery position outside the city wall, and more than seventy artillery shells soared into the sky, forming an arc in the air.

Muhalla, who was watching the battle on the city wall, only felt a tremor under his feet, and then bursts of white light exploded on the walls of Turpan and on the top of the city walls. From time to time, the defenders of Yarkand were blown away by the explosion of the shrapnel.

Before Muhalla could react, he was thrown to the ground by the guards beside him. The guards hurriedly said, "General, it's the enemy's cannonballs!"

Muhara was a little more experienced and he knew that it must be a cannon, but he had never seen a cannon that could explode. The cannon bought from the Russians on the city wall could only fire solid bullets.

For a moment, Muhara was stunned by the occasional explosions around him. He saw thick smoke billowing from the top of the city. Many soldiers were panicked because they had never seen shrapnel bombs, and they ran around in panic, which made the defense line on the top of the city even more chaotic.

Muhalla had just stood up when a shrapnel bomb exploded not far away. Fortunately, the guards were quick-witted and knocked Muhalla to the ground again.

Muhara pushed away the guard who was pressing on him, only to see that his back was covered in blood. It was obvious that he was dying. Muhara shook his head, looked at the devastated city wall, listened to the wailing of the wounded soldiers, and his mind went blank for a moment.

Liang Sanhu was at the front of the battle, already wearing heavy armor. He watched the shells explode on the top of the city wall one after another, frowning and saying, "It's been so long, haven't the artillery finished firing yet? I'm still waiting to be the first to climb the mountain again!"

At this time, the deputy general beside him lowered his voice and said, "General, you are already the general, with a heavy responsibility, why do you still brave the arrows and stones in person?"

Hearing this, Liang Sanhu's eyes widened and he said, "Why, is it impossible? I chopped my way to the position of commander in chief one by one, first to ascend! I have been the first to ascend twice. Who in the whole court is better than me? What does Qian Biao have? He can only brag. He has never been the first to ascend once. Why should he be the Duke of the State and I am the Marquis!"

Hearing the complaints of his commander, the deputy general quickly waved his hands and whispered, "Hey, commander, please don't say that. If someone hears it and reports you, it will be bad!"

Liang Sanhu was not afraid at all. He stiffened his neck and said firmly, "What are you afraid of? I dare to say it and I dare to admit it. I won't take back what I said!"

While Liang Sanhu was still complaining, military orders came again from the rear.

"The commander-in-chief has given the order to attack the city!"