Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 677: The Fall of the Yarkand Khanate (Part )

The roar of artillery never stopped for a whole day. After such a long time, Abdu got used to the sound. Finally, it was night. Abdu thought he could give the tired soldiers a night's rest.

But Abdu did not expect that even when it was dark, the Qian army still did not stop the bombardment. Under the continuous bombardment, the morale of the people in the city had fallen to the lowest point. Apak Khoja was restless in the palace, and his heart was filled with despair.

By late night, Apak Khoja could no longer endure this situation of waiting to die, so he rushed to the city wall with a team of guards.

When Apak Khoja and a team of guards hurried to the city wall, they saw Abdu squatting at the foot of the wall in the dim flickering light of torches.

In the firelight, Abdu's helmet was gone, his face was covered with stains of dust and sweat, and his hair was messy.

Abdu heard footsteps and slowly raised his head. Seeing that it was Apak Khoja, he was too lazy to even stand up.

The defenders under the city wall stood up one after another and saluted Apakh Khoja. Amid the shouts of "Great Khan...", they seemed so powerless. Apakh Khoja could already hear a hint of dejection in the soldiers' voices.

Apak Khoja saw this and dismissed his guards and defenders. He walked to Abdu and squatted down. Then he whispered, "General Abdu, the Qian army's firearms are powerful. Shache City may be difficult to defend. Do you have any good ideas?"

Abdu glanced at Apak Hezhuo and said unhappily, "No!"

After hearing this, Apak Khoja looked around inconspicuously, then lowered his voice and said, "If the city is breached, both you and I will die. It is better to surrender and save our lives."

Abdu was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Great Khan Sengge asked me to garrison Shache. If Shache surrenders without a fight, how can I face Great Khan Sengge!"

Apak Khoja almost choked after hearing this. Sengge had fled, and the Dzungar Khanate was in name only. If you, Abdu, want to die, then go ahead and die. But why do you have to drag yourself to death with you?

But at this time, Abdu had the military power in his hands. Apak Khoja could only suppress his anger, squeeze out an ugly smile on his face, and whispered: "General Abdu, the Great Khan Sengge is now missing. The Junggar Khanate is doomed. This is an indisputable fact. Shache City is in danger. You and I have seen the power of the Qian army's firearms. Continuing to resist is just like hitting a rock with an egg."

Apak Khoja paused for a moment, and seeing that Abdu did not object, he spoke more earnestly, saying, "General, think about it. You are loyal to the Great Khan Sengge, and you and I know it. But now that the Great Khan is gone and the Khanate has been disbanded, what can you get for this loyalty? Is it worth sacrificing our lives?"

After hearing what Apak Khoja said, Abdu was a little hesitant. As the saying goes, even ants try to survive, let alone humans. If possible, Abdu naturally would not want to throw away his life in vain. However, he could not get over the psychological defense of being asked to betray Great Khan Sengge.

Seeing that Abdu was silent, Apak and Zhuo wanted to persuade him again, but this time Abdu stopped him. Abdu said in a deep voice: "You don't have to say anything else, let me think about it!"

Apak Khoja listened to the occasional artillery fire and could feel the shaking of the city walls while squatting under the city. He was very anxious, but as soon as he opened his mouth and said the word "General", he was glared at by Abdu.

Apak Hezhuo had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue, and before leaving, he whispered to Abdu: "General, you better hurry up!"

When Apak Khoja returned to the palace, he felt relieved. Although he had lost the throne, fortunately his life should be safe. Besides, the position of Yarkand Khan was not comfortable to sit on. It was just a puppet position, and it would be gone if it was gone.

Apak Khoja, feeling carefree, lay on his bed, listening to the rumbling sound of cannons outside the city, and fell asleep. Meanwhile, Abdu, who was still at the foot of the city wall, was struggling in his mind as to whether he should surrender.

However, just over an hour later, when it was just getting light, after continuous bombardment, the walls of Shache, which were not very strong to begin with, could no longer bear the heavy weight and were blown down by the artillery of the Qian army at the bombardment point in the south of the city.

As huge smoke and dust rose into the sky, a huge gap was revealed. Upon seeing this, the scouts of the Qian army cheered and ran back to the camp, and reported the news of the collapse of Shache City to the commander-in-chief.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Shiqi urgently ordered the entire army to prepare. Just as the Qian army was forming a large battle array, the already shaky walls of Shache collapsed in two places.

Seeing that the time had come, Lin Shiqi waved his hand and gave the order for a general attack.

The soldiers of the Qian army rushed towards the breach like tigers descending from the mountains, shouting. At this time, Abdu was already in a state of panic. Seeing that the city had collapsed in several places, and the defenders were in a panic, many of them fled secretly. Abdu gritted his teeth and shouted, "Surrender! Surrender!"

After hearing Abdu's words, many Yarkand soldiers dropped their weapons and squatted on the ground, while some soldiers opened the city gates to make it easier for the Qian army to come in. After all, the city wall had collapsed, was in a mess, and was difficult to climb.

When the Qian army saw the city gate was wide open, they initially suspected a trick, but when they saw so many Yarkand soldiers kneeling around the city gate, some brave Qian army soldiers rushed into the city with swords in hand. They saw Yarkand soldiers kneeling everywhere in the city, and weapons were randomly thrown on the ground.

As more and more Qian army soldiers poured into the city, Shache City was completely controlled by the Qian army. Lin Shiqi laughed and said, "We have conquered the enemy's capital without losing a single soldier or general."

Chu Zhangyin nodded and said, "After this battle, there will be no more rivals in the Western Regions. The Dzungar Khanate has been destroyed, and the Yarkand Khanate has also been destroyed. Marshal, you can write a report of victory now!"

"Okay, Lao Chu, write a memorial immediately. I want to report the victory to the emperor! The Western Region has been conquered, and the army will return soon!"

When Abdu and Apak Khoja were brought before Lin Shiqi, both of them looked grim. They thought they would be treated kindly, but they did not expect to be tied up and brought before the commander-in-chief of the Qian army.

Lin Shiqi looked at the two of them and said coldly, "Your Majesty once said that those who surrender only after the enemy's forces are exhausted and the city is broken will not be pardoned!"

After the interpreter translated Lin Shiqi's words, the faces of the two men changed. At this time, Apak Khoja hurriedly shouted: "I am the Great Khan of Yarkand, I cannot die here!"

After hearing this, Lin Shiqi frowned. Although the Yarkand Khanate had been destroyed, this man was still the ruler of a country after all. If he really needed to be dealt with, he really couldn't do it by himself. Thinking of this, Lin Shiqi nodded and said, "Take this man away, and wait for me to ask for your permission before making a decision."

Looking at Apak Khoja who survived the disaster, Abdu looked dejected. Lin Shiqi looked down at him and said coldly: "Behead him and hang his head on the city wall of Shache!"

(It’s almost the end, I’m going to start a new book O(n_n)O)