After Xu Zhanbiao captured Xingxingxia, three thousand cavalry divided into three groups and began to pounce on the Hami area of Xinjiang!
The northern route went straight to Chencheng to harass the area east of Yiwu, the middle route went towards Tianshengdun and Geziyandun Station areas and approached the Hami Post Road, while the southern route detoured back to the Shaquanzi and Kushuitang areas to look for fighter planes to cooperate with the middle route to attack the flanks of the enemy's main force.
Xu Zhanbiao sent a total of more than 2,000 people for the night battle in Xingxing Gorge, and there were 4,000 fresh troops behind him. The 3,000 cavalrymen he ordered now were all elite members of his direct lineage who had fought with him for many years.
And over the years, they have become accustomed to the fighting style of the bitter cold land in the northwest. They appear and disappear in the desert like a group of desert bandits who follow the wind.
Before dawn in the early morning, the area west of Xingxing Gorge was in complete chaos. The small towns living next to the wells were suddenly awakened by the thunderous sound of horse hooves. The herdsmen wearing tattered sheepskins rubbed their eyes and looked stupid when they came out. .
"Qing army! The Qing army is coming... Xingxing Gorge has been lost..."
"I said I heard thunder last night, but you still don't believe it... It wasn't thunder at all, it was a war. How could Xingxingxia be lost in just one night!"
Dang, dang, dang... the alarm bell rang, but before it rang twice, gunshots were heard, and the rebel was shot in the back and fell into a pool of blood.
Shashaquan is the first small town with a permanent population west of Xingxingxia. It surrounds a desert spring and guards the ancient silk post road.
Since this place is very close to Xingxing Gorge, there are not many soldiers to handle it. The rebels left a total of more than thirty gangsters, but these gangsters forced all the men in the town to become so-called soldiers.
But that's just more than 200 soldiers!
The attacking Shu army wore sand-proof scarves on their faces and had a look of disdain in their eyes. If those fifteen- or sixteen-year-old kids holding pitchforks were considered soldiers, then this battle would be boring. .
"Kneel down...get down...all the common people get down..." the translator shouted in Uighur.
Before the children could react, Spencer, who fired seven rounds, had already opened fire, bang bang bang... the bullets flew past the children's heads, and the ruthless gangster left behind in Agub was hit in the chest with blood and arrows flying!
Spencer...the famous gun of the American Civil War. This thing has been eliminated by the Chinese, but it is still very sophisticated as a cavalry gun.
Short range and poor accuracy are shortcomings, but the most important thing is high reliability and seven consecutive shots. The continuous shot attribute is simply a magical skill for the cavalry!
Those front-loaded rebels were no match for this group of murderous gods. In the morning light, the dark cavalry was seen pouring in like a tide, circling the small town of Shaziquan.
If the whole scene were replaced with costumes and backgrounds, it could be viewed as a western movie. The cowboy holding a Spencer is hunting rabbits to knock down any rebels who dare to resist!
In fact, it is very easy to distinguish between rebel gangsters and real common people. Just look at the weapons. Anyone who can hold a musket, no matter how old it is, is considered the main force of Agub.
The remaining ones holding machetes and bows and arrows should be screened. As for those holding pitchforks and sticks with eyes full of fear and trembling legs, don't kill them. They are all helpless people.
"Surrender without killing... everyone lies down... Xingxingxia has been lost, and it is now the territory of the Qing Dynasty..."
"Whoever dares to resist killing without mercy...get down..."
Under the angry rebuke of the translator, more and more people were forced to lie down on the sand. The last few bandits who resisted were also shot and wounded. The leader of the team sneered and said, "Drag him to death..."
The noose was tied around the ankles of the rebel gangsters, and the healthy horses dragged the injured rebels back and forth in circles on the Gobi Desert!
At first, the gangsters were still yelling and cursing, but after a while there was no movement. The sand sucked up all the blood, and even rubbed bones together!
Such cruel methods made the people of Shaziquan Town tremble with fear, and they buried their heads in the sand and prayed non-stop.
The sixteen-year-old boy who was the first to surrender lay prostrate on the sand. Suddenly a pair of khaki leather boots appeared in his sight, followed by a strong aroma that stimulated his nose.
"Look how hungry you are? How many days have you not eaten meat? Take it... Beef is not the big meat that Han people eat, it is not poisonous..."
The open can of beef was placed in front of the child's mouth. The temptation of food made him forget his fear, and his eyes turned blue!
The translator of the Shu army shouted in the crowd, "We only kill the culprits. The people who are forced to surrender will not be implicated as long as they surrender..."
"Look at what kind of life you are living. Do you still have food? How are you going to spend this winter? Are you going to let your children starve to death?"
"I'll give you two ways... One is to quickly take your wealth and cross the Xingxing Gorge. There is a camp for you in Anxi Prefecture. If you go there, at least you can work and earn enough to eat!"
"If you don't want to leave here, we will also give you food...but you have to think about it, this food is not enough for you to survive the winter, and it is not enough for the rebels to grab!"
"It's your choice whether you want to live or die!"
Hungry people have no choice. All the real people in Shaziquan chose to flee. They migrated east of Xingxing Gorge!
The child who had been fed beef walked up to the Qing army leader and said, "I know the number of defenders in front... I also know there is a path to go around... I will take you there!"
"Hmm! Do you speak Chinese?" Zuo Ling was stunned.
"Yes, I am the child of Jungar herdsmen... I was captured by them. When I was a child, my family was in business for Han caravans and I provided them with accommodation..."
"So I know a little Chinese..."
"Good boy! Not bad, not bad... tell me about it!"
"General... In front of the Changsheng Dun is the Changsheng Dun! Behind the Changsheng Dun is the post station lattice smoke pier... Those are all piers built by the Han people a long time ago..."
"There are not many defenders, and there are only forty or fifty people at Changsheng Dun... If you really want to fight these people, you will risk your life!"
"I suggest...I suggest shooting it down...lighting a beacon!"
God knows how much grievance this child has suffered, but tears were streaming down his face, "The uncle of the Han caravan said... Our pier was called the Beacon Tower in the distant past!"
"It's a message to the Emperor of the Central Plains! If you light the beacon tower, people in the entire Western Region will know that the Han people are fighting back! Others don't know, but I know that us Mongolians in the north will definitely fight with them!"
Zuo Ling stretched out his hand and squeezed the child's shoulder, "Good boy... you have the guts... Since you bleed the blood of a Mongolian man, then follow me and serve as a soldier!"
"Give him a horse...I will accept him as a soldier! Let's go and fight to the Changsheng Dun!"
Beacon tower! During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was already a facility for the Central Plains dynasty to convey military information, and the beacon fire in the Western Regions originated from the Han Dynasty!
When the forces of the Central Plains first set foot in the Western Regions, what followed was the establishment of a beacon fire alarm system!
For thousands of years, the beacon fires in the Western Regions have become a long-standing historical memory of the Han people. The rise of beacon fires in the Western Regions shows that the war is still burning, and that there are still the last batch of desperate good men who have not died or surrendered!
The Chinese people are not afraid of the flames of war being ignited. What they are afraid of is that the flames of war will be extinguished forever. What they are afraid of is that the land of the Western Regions will be lost forever!
A thousand fine cavalry braved the freezing northwest, led by local herdsmen, and headed towards Changsheng Dun. Everyone had only one thought.
"Light the beacon! Send a smoke signal to the Hexi Corridor and call the police to Guandong and the Central Plains!"
"The start of the war means that the Western Region is still resisting...the country left by our ancestors has not been lost!"
