The weather has started to get cooler. It will snow on the grassland in another half month.
The Mongols attacked the city even more frantically, although during this period, they had paid a heavy price.
In the past three months, they have suffered more than 20,000 casualties.
This is not counting the fifteen thousand ** soldiers that An Sanxi took the initiative to attack at the beginning. and a captured population of 70,000 to 80,000 people.
An Sanxi is beginning to feel some pressure now.
In order to preserve the strength of counterattack, he tried not to use cavalry to guard the city wall. The city mainly relied on infantry regiments and militia for defense.
Over the past three months, the losses have been considerable. The consumption of gunpowder is particularly high, and the flintlock gun cannot fire without gunpowder.
Fortunately, the waterway was reopened after being cut off for three months.
Miss Chen Xi's ship delivered a hundred boxes of grenades, which played an important role at the critical moment.
Several times the Mongols rushed up to the city wall and were blown down by grenades.
Although Chen Xi's ship has returned, subsequent steamships will continue to deliver supplies that are in short supply in Duolun City.
An Sanxi was confident of guarding the city, but he was worried that the losses would be too great.
The militiamen in the city are the main labor force of every family. He is the backbone of the family.
Too many casualties will affect next year's production. The orphans and widowed mothers who will be left behind will also be a huge financial burden.
However, An Sanxi could only hold on bravely. The war had reached this point and the Mongolians were going crazy. He knew the Mongols very well.
Once the city is broken, they will definitely massacre it.
After the Mongols found that they could not attack the Bastille Castle, they simply gave up the east side and mobilized all their troops to besiege the city.
They understood that it was impossible to drive these Han people away from the grassland unless they took the stone castle of the Bastille. They don't think about that anymore.
Their losses were too great. The population on the grassland was originally small. They wanted to gather a hundred thousand people to defeat them, but now they lost their teeth.
Now they have more than 60,000 people left.
Although the city collapsed in many places, it was still standing thanks to quick repairs with sandbags and barbed wire. It looked like it was crumbling, and it seemed that if we put more effort, the city would be broken. But it just doesn't fall.
All they want now is to rush in and steal the food so that they can survive the winter.
This winter is going to be a harsh one.
After three consecutive years of severe drought, autumn is supposed to be the fattest time for cattle and sheep, but the grass has turned yellow and there is no way to catch fat.
Weak cattle and sheep cannot survive the long winter.
When the heavy snow falls, the grassland is covered with heavy snow, and the sky and the earth are completely white.
Their hooves, due to lack of physical strength, cannot dig through the snow to find grass roots to eat. If you don't have enough food to eat, and you don't have enough fat to store energy, you will starve to death.
Instead of waiting until they are thin and dead, it is better to kill them now while they have some fat.
It could be killed, but because the Mongols did not have enough salt and spices, it could not be kept for long. We can only eat it now, but when winter comes, we still won’t have enough food to survive.
Now we can only make up our mind to open the city of Duolun.
There was enough food for them to survive three winters. Captured Han slaves could also supplement population losses.
"My Iceberg Beauty Wife"
They are like a group of gamblers who have lost all their money and only want to make a profit.
In the evening, it was already dark, and the Si family were all sitting on the fire kang chatting about home affairs.
Si Beigou, the old man and the head of the family, is sitting at the east end.
He is more frugal and does not allow lights to be lit. After all, lamp oil is not cheap.
He often taught his children and grandchildren not to forget their roots just because they had enough to eat for a few days. Being diligent and thrifty is the foundation for family prosperity.
After the family finished dinner, they sat in the dark and chatted quietly about home affairs.
In the darkness, the flame of Sibeigou's pipe pot flickered brightly and dimly.
"Dad, I wonder how the third child is doing in the city. There have been a lot of casualties in the past two days, and the Tatars are attacking the city like crazy." The boss said to the old man.
The third child is the strongest member of the family and has been guarding the city these days. I came back three days ago. My head was wrapped in gauze and was injured by the dense cobblestones thrown by the Mongolian trebuchets. But it wasn't serious, so I didn't go to the hospital and stayed on the wall.
"Hmph! How can they not be crazy? It's going to snow now. I heard that in the winter in the north, steel can freeze to crack. Even when you pee, it freezes into icicles before it hits the ground. They are in the wilderness. Those in the countryside won't freeze to death." Sibeigou coughed and said in a hoarse voice.
Tobacco is a rare thing, and this year was the first time it was planted in the city. A total of one thousand acres of flue-cured tobacco was planted. After the autumn harvest, the finest tobacco leaves are transported back to Xincheng Cigarette Factory. The middle and lower-grade ones are sold in the market as dry tobacco.
Flue-cured tobacco is a popular thing now. The old man also likes to take a few puffs when he has nothing to do. The three sons looked at it with envy.
But this thing is not cheap, and only the old man himself can smoke. He didn't let his three prodigal sons smoke too.
I'm almost seventy, so I can still enjoy a bite.
All of them are young and young. They don’t think about working to make money, but always think about enjoying themselves.
"Yesterday, Sun Datou, the man next door, was seriously injured. One of his eyes was shot by the Mongols and he went to the hospital. I don't know how the third child is doing. Alas!" Sibeigou's wife Huo Shi was worried about her old son. , couldn’t help but ramble.
Si Beigou's old eyes widened and he said: "What are you afraid of? Life and death are determined by fate and wealth. You should fall into a well, not into a river. There are no cowards in our Si family. If the third child dies, the old man will take over. We just passed. When we have a good life, these dog Tatars come looking for trouble. If we don't conquer them, we will not have a good life. If they don't let us get better, we will fight with them."
"Yes, grandpa, let's fight with them. Tomorrow I will take my slingshot and go to the city to find my third uncle." Si Xiaosong said.
"Brother, I'll go with you too. I'll bring my mace. Let's go together and kill the enemy side by side with Third Uncle." Si Xiaobai also said.
He had a big jujube stick, which he bought in the store. It was a wooden stick in the shape of a baseball bat. After Si Xiaobai bought it, he directly asked a blacksmith to drive many large steel nails into it and made it into a mace for self-defense. In the future, if you encounter wild wolves or something like that when you go out of the city, you can also fight for them.
Before they finished speaking, the two brothers were hit on the head by their grandfather with a pipe and a pot.
"You two bastards, we are the only two descendants in our family. Your third uncle hasn't married yet. You two have no sons and you dare to go into battle. Are you trying to destroy our family? If you dare to go, I will interrupt you." leg."
Si Xiaosong and Si Xiaobai shrank their necks and did not dare to speak. However, the two of them were still a little anxious in their hearts. The two of them had always wanted to see what the battlefield looked like.
"Dad, I heard that Mr. An has sent someone to ask for help. Now that the Luanhe River water transportation has been restored, reinforcements are expected to arrive soon." The second child said.
At this time, Hou Er, who was doing the watch, heard the roar of a broken gong.
"Young and old men, Mr. An has ordered that all strong men bring their own armor and weapons and assemble according to the community. Meet at the central square of the city. There is a major military operation tonight."
After saying that, there was a burst of gong sound.
Everyone in the room looked at each other and knew that the city was starting to organize a counterattack again. This kind of counterattack is a must for everyone as long as they are adults.
The city cannot be defended to death. Every once in a while, An Sanxi found that the Mongols were exhausted. They would raid the Mongols at night and fight back.
It has been half a month since the last night raid. This is another night attack.
According to Yang Fan's regulations, every household must have a strong man to shoulder military obligations.
But other men, over the age of sixteen and under sixty, also have to join the militia. Organize teams by community. Led by the community production team leader.
These people are paid to send troops. The main benefit is that the remuneration for participating can be offset against debts.
If you have no debt, you can receive banknotes or physical supplies.
