The sky in the dark night was like someone splashing a bucket of ink on it. He couldn't see his fingers. After checking the status of his duties from the city wall, Shen Jin returned to the center of the fortress - the Commander's Palace. This was a small building. The residents here are not fixed. Sometimes it is the city guard, sometimes it is myself as the commander of the First Guard Division, and sometimes it is Wang Fengshan, his colleague as the commander of the Second Guard Division. The commander of the 3rd Garrison Division, which has the shortest time in the army, has never had the opportunity to stay here, because the garrisons of the two divisions are retained at the same time, and there is no chance for them to take their turns.
The night duty situation is relatively satisfactory. It seems that the Kaman people will not launch an attack tonight. It is pitch dark outside the customs, and the Kaman people also need to rest. The high-density attacks for several consecutive days did make Shen Jin feel a little tired. The enemy fully demonstrated the power of their siege equipment, especially the powerful attack power of the mobile catapult and the nine-bow bed crossbow vehicle. Shen Jin really grew up. After some insight, the Kamans successfully improved the accuracy of mobile attack weapons, greatly improving the hit rate of these two types of weapons, and also caused great damage to their own side. Although their own side was also well prepared, However, the power of the enemy's improved weapons was obviously underestimated. Over the past few days, the number of deaths and loss of combat effectiveness caused by these two types of weapons alone was as high as 6,000, while the casualties caused by actual hand-to-hand combat were only more than 3,000. This can't help but give him a headache as the commander-in-chief.
It can be said that the intensity of the Kaman people's attack this time was far beyond Shen Jin's expectations. After many bloody tests, Shen Jin has long been accustomed to the Kaman people's attacks. If there were no Kaman people's attacks, then Shen Jin would have That's abnormal. But this attack seems a bit unusual. In addition to attacking from the north and south, what is surprising is that even the rarely seen Royal Guards of Kaman also joined the battle sequence, and in the past few days of the attack The quantity and quality of the various siege equipment used by the Likamen were also unprecedented, which could not but arouse Shen Jin's attention.
The combat effectiveness and fighting spirit shown by the Kaman soldiers also made Shen Jin a little worried. Judging from the numbers of the enemy's attacking troops, it was the Kaman Royal Guards Regiment located in Guannan. Needless to say, its combat effectiveness was natural. The other force is also the main force of the Kamans - the Seventh Corps. The one in the north is the Kamans Third Corps, known as the "Iron Cone". Its attack power is also at the forefront of the Kamans' main force groups. After several days of fighting, although the natural defense capabilities of the fortress caused huge losses to the Kaman people, the losses on the defensive side were not small, far exceeding Shen Jin's estimate before the war.
Of course, this does not affect the overall defense capabilities of the fortress. As the first pass in the world, Jiayuguan has already established a complete set of emergency defense plans. Among the 80,000 civilians in the fortress, there are about 20,000 able-bodied men. They all come from the interior of the empire. Their long-term frontier life has shaped their fierce character and style. The fortress conducts routine reserve training for them almost every year. Although An army has not actually been formed, but with just one order, an armed force with strong combat effectiveness can be formed immediately. There are sufficient weapons and supplies in the fortress. As long as it is fully equipped, a brand new team can be put at Shen Jin's disposal. . As long as they rely on the fortress's excellent defenses, they can still exert great power.
Returning to the command house and making a cup of strong tea, although it seemed that the Kaman people would not launch an attack tonight, Shen Jin still had trouble sleeping, especially because he could not see through the conspiracy behind the other party. Even though he had the strongest and most complete The defense system is still difficult to sleep easily. A careful inspection of the front and back gates made him feel a little relieved. The strict duty system and the reserve teams of one regiment each were deployed at the gates of the front and rear gates. With such a strict deployment, Shen Jin also I dare not boast that it is foolproof, at least it can be considered impregnable.
Laying out the map on the case, Shen Jin carefully inspected the situation near the fortress. Another Kaman army had approached Taixuanfu City, but he was not too worried. The experienced city guard should have To deal with it, all he has to do is hold on to the Jiayuguan Pass and not fall, which is the first thing he has done. As for the rest, he can't control it. The fatigue of the past few days was hard to resist even with strong tea. I rubbed my eyes heavily and walked out of Manwai. Everything was so peaceful. Who could have predicted that there was a huge conspiracy hidden behind this calmness
The mouths of all war horses were covered with special muzzles to prevent them from making noise, and their four hooves were wrapped in thick cotton cloth. Even soldiers were made an exception and were required to put a stone in their mouths to prevent accidents. Exposed, everything was done silently, 10,000 elite infantry and 10,000 elite cavalry moved quietly to a hidden place one kilometer away in front of the pass, and beyond that was the enemy *** As far as the light can reach.
Claudia, like other ordinary soldiers, lay patiently on the damp grass. The sultry weather predicted that there would be another heavy rain soon. Even if she applied a lot of mosquito repellent, she still could not stop the mosquito attack. But the soldiers were like a group of already solidified stone statues, lurking there quietly.
"Sir, there's still a moment until the third watch."
"Well," Claudia took a deep breath, then stood up, trying her best to calm down, "Order the first and second thousand infantry teams to advance quickly, and the other five thousand-man teams will follow in five minutes. The cavalry awaits the signal.”
Waves of waves suddenly surged on the grass, starting from small to large, and quickly rushed towards the distant city wall. The First and Second Thousand Troops are the elite of Claudia's Royal Guards. Their combat effectiveness is unparalleled in the entire Kaman Army. In the early siege battles, Claudia also continued Not using it, just preparing for this day. Good steel is used on the blade, and victory or defeat depends on it.
Sig walked back and forth in front of the city gate anxiously. He kept rubbing his hands to cover up his uneasiness. More than ten years of hard work depended on just one night. Is success or failure already predetermined?
The soldiers on duty secretly looked at the deputy division commander who was a little different from his usual calm and composed image with some doubts. Perhaps the bloody battles in the past few days made deputy division commander Sigur too excited. After boarding the city tower, Sig used his eyesight well, but could not see further. He looked at the time, gritted his teeth, and made a gesture with his close friends, and the suspension bridge erected on the city gate creaked. At the same time, the closed heavy iron door slowly opened a large crack under the hard push of more than a dozen soldiers. All this seemed so sudden that other soldiers on duty around them did not even react. .
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, an officer who looked like a captain ran up and saluted and asked: "Sir, do you have any business opening the city gate at this time?"
"Oh, by the command of the commander-in-chief, reinforcements will arrive quietly tonight, and I am ordered to welcome them into the city." On the surface, he looked casual, but there was a thud in Sigur's heart.
Although he did not receive any information in this regard, the duty of a soldier is to obey orders, and he is also the second-largest person in his division. The officer just scratched his head and returned to his post without interfering. Siger's clenched hands were covered with sweat. He didn't dare to do anything else. He just pretended to be impatient and waited for the visitor.
Fortunately, this torture did not last long, and a neat sound of footsteps quickly extended towards the city gate from far away. Although the soldiers on the city wall who were notified by the officers were very strange, they only looked at the somewhat strange team below the city with swords, guns, bows and arrows. However, they did not expect that this team would become the king of hell who ended his mission.
Claudia, who was mixed in with the infantry, stepped into the city gate and saw the man standing by the city gate with a calm expression. At that moment, the other party's keen eyes also noticed him, and he held his hands tightly. They held each other together, and the soldiers swarming in had already followed the order and began to take over the defense of the city gate.
The soldiers who had been sticking to their posts finally felt something strange. Why did this friendly force take over the defense of the city gate as soon as it arrived? What was even more strange was that they seemed to be all white, and almost no yellow people were seen among them. They were all as silent as dumb.
But all this did not last long. When a soldier accidentally discovered that the clothes inside the friendly army were actually gold-yellow military uniforms, all this was answered.
"They are Kaman people!!!" The panicked and shrill voice suddenly cut through the silent night sky. The originally amiable friendly troops suddenly turned into vicious butchers. The unprepared Taixuan garrison soldiers were unable to resist the prepared attack. Kaman soldiers, the entire city gate quickly turned into a slaughterhouse. When the reserve team guarding the side woke up, the Kaman army had firmly controlled the city gate that was related to the survival of the fortress.
As the signal was sent, when the thunderous cavalry hooves rolled in, the battle for the city gate also entered a crazy fight. The Taixuan garrison that had the advantage in the early stage was followed by Kaman's follow-up troops who rushed into the city. The advantage behind the gate was quickly lost, but they did not dare to take a step back. Fighting would lead to death, and retreating would lead to death. The reserve team of a regiment with the idea of coexisting with the enemy quickly disappeared among the continuous influx of cards. Amidst the torrent of Caman soldiers, when the main force of Taixuan arrived after learning the news, they were greeted by the overwhelming force of Caman's armored cavalry.
As the iron halberds of the armored soldiers danced wildly, waves of blood rolled up, the sleepy and unprepared infantry phalanx was unable to resist these natural infantry nemesis. The wide avenue in the fortress became the best way to show the power of Kaman's iron cavalry. In a good place, the soldiers fell one after another under the surging iron hooves, and the Kaman infantry who followed quickly participated in the sweep of the streets and houses in the fortress. The stunned garrison troops could no longer It was impossible to organize an effective resistance, and the waves of Kaman soldiers pouring into the fortress completely rendered the fortress defenses useless, and the entire city gate was completely controlled by the Kaman people.
Shen Jin looked at the blazing fire in despair, and the deafening shouts of killing spread throughout the city. Although the soldiers fought bloody and hard, the garrison that had lost the opportunity and had a certain gap in quantity and combat effectiveness was no longer able to make another move. Effective resistance, but worthless resistance may bring unimaginable disaster to everyone in the fortress. Perhaps the Kamans are trying to find an excuse to bloodbath the fortress in revenge for the losses their troops have suffered in the past few days.
Shen Jin closed his eyes in pain. After getting the promise from the Carman side's commander, Marquis Claudia, to ensure the safety of the surrendered troops and the residents in the fortress, Shen Jin handed over the command of the troops to his deputy commander. He must have He confessed that he did not want his wife, concubines, and children to become the playthings of the nobles, so committing suicide became his only choice.