…
“Let it go~~”
Bang bang bang bang bang bang——
Hu Qing gave an order, and ten popular cannons exploded.
The integrated body of thirteen gun barrels, when the gunpowder is ignited, blooms with flaming blue light like Gatling, and pours towards the opposite army.
In an instant, a large number of enemy troops fell to the ground amid wailing sounds, and blood mist and yellow sand spread in the wind, as if the door to hell had been opened, bloody and terrifying.
The shoulder blade of a Dashi soldier was hit by a musket ball, and instantly turned into blood and mud. The severe spraining pain made him scream loudly, as if he regretted coming to this world.
Another gluttonous soldier's head was blown open in half by the projectile, and the broken brain tissue was scattered on the ground, making it as horrifying as a doomsday zombie.
There was also a Dashi soldier whose legs were pierced by the impact of the shotgun. Looking at the deformed and twisted legs and the bright red blood soaking through the armor like a fountain, he slumped helplessly on the ground, his hands soothing in front of the broken leg. Let out a shrill cry.
The impact brought by the wind cannon shells completely subverted their cognition, and the huge lethality finally turned the hot blood in their bodies to ice.
Fear spread like poisonous weeds in the minds of the survivors, and their progress came to an abrupt halt. No one was willing to break into the death zone.
"Flash cap gun!"
While you are sick, I will kill you!
Hu Qing showed no sympathy and decisively ordered the fire cannon to be fired.
boom--
There was a chorus, and hundreds of mini bullets came out of the gun, mercilessly reaping the lives of the remaining food soldiers.
"Run!"
Finally, the big food soldier, whose nerves were stretched to the limit, finally felt fear. As one person in the crowd shouted, everything collapsed in an instant.
They turned around and struggled to climb over the corpses of their companions, hoping to avoid those deadly weapons as soon as possible.
Suman closed his eyes in pain, knowing that he had failed again this time.
After fighting for so many years, scenes like this are rare in this life.
Seeing the horrified expressions on the faces of the soldiers retreating in embarrassment, he knew that the next offensive had to be slowed down.
The courage of these large soldiers has been wiped out by the firearms of the Han army, and the huge casualty ratio makes them dare not launch new offensives at will.
Abbas looked at the scene in front of him, his face so gloomy that he almost shed tears.
Unexpectedly, the first encounter with the Han army would be so difficult. Just judging from the comparison of casualties, the Dashi army was simply miserable.
"Is this the only way?" Abbas's deep eyes showed a trace of strong unwillingness, "My dynasty is destined to never set foot in the land in the east for the rest of its life?"
Not long after, Suman came to Abbas in despair and sighed helplessly: "Dear Caliph, we have suffered another failure."
Abbas closed his eyes and asked: "General Suman, tell me, how long will it take to conquer Talos?"
Suman took off his helmet and whispered: "In this attack, we lost at least 7,000 brave warriors. The Han army's firearms were so sharp that even warriors wearing two layers of armor could not resist them.
According to today's situation, if Talos is to be conquered, at least 50,000 soldiers will need to be sacrificed. "
Abbas remained silent. If he had to pay such a heavy price to deal with a mere abandoned city-state, then if he entered the Western Regions, he would face tens of thousands of Han troops. His territory could really expand to the east. A mysterious land?
When the dynasty was first established, there were still a lot of government affairs in the country that needed to be handled personally, and conflicts between the nobles also needed to be mediated by themselves. If they were not resolved quickly, the Abbasid dynasty would most likely fall into turmoil.
For a moment, the idea of withdrawing troops flashed through Abbas' mind.
But if we retreat in this way, how will we meet the expectations of the people?
At the beginning, he had set his sights on spreading the gospel of Lord Mu to the Western Regions. As the king of a country, how could he break his promise like this?
"General Suman, can we continue the attack tomorrow?" Abbas asked tentatively.
Suman shook his head: "The warriors have been frightened by the Han army's firearms, and I am afraid they will not be able to continue the offensive against Talas in a short time."
Abbas thought for a moment and suddenly asked: "General Suman, do you think it's okay to withdraw our troops now?"
Suman was startled, seeing a cunning look in Abbas's eyes, and immediately understood his intention.
Someone had to be responsible for the failure of this eastern expedition. As the caliph, Abbas represented the spokesman of the Lord in the world and could never admit the failure of the war.
Then you can only become the scapegoat for the failure of this war.
If Suman ordered the withdrawal of troops, he would have to die to apologize when faced with the accusations from Dashi after returning home.
Even if you don't die, your power and property will be deprived of it and you will become a civilian, which is no different from death.
But if the fight continues, even if a bloody road to the Western Region can be built with corpses, the casualties will be heavy. Even if he wins in the end, he will also be punished for his poor command.
No matter what choice you make, you will always be a victim of power.
But Suleman is not a lamb to be slaughtered. After all, how can a human being who has lived for decades be at the mercy of Abbas?
So, he replied: "Dear Caliph, you are the commander of Dashi and the guide of Lord Muhammad in the world. Everything is subject to your decision."
When Abbas heard this, a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes, obviously he was upset that his plan had failed.
"I understand. You go to appease the soldiers first and rest for a few days. When the morale of the soldiers recovers, it won't be too late to attack Talos."
"yes!"
After Suman left, Abbas began to think about a strategy on how to capture Talas.
At this moment, a man came to report: "Caliph, there is an envoy from the Parthian Kingdom coming to visit you."
"Parthia?"
Abbas frowned.
"welcome."
…
"嗗~~~"
In Talas City, a fire gunner covered his fire gun with a piece of soaked cloth.
The moment the wet cloth covered the blunderbuss, white smoke immediately appeared, and the water stains on the blunderbuss tube dried quickly.
After a long time, the sizzling sound died down, and the soldier picked up the blunderbuss and touched the barrel. It was still hot, but it was no longer as hot as before.
After a day of fighting, the Han soldiers stood at their posts and ate dry food in front of the enemy corpses.
Fortunately, now that winter is approaching, the decomposition rate of corpses has slowed down a lot, so there is no need to worry about the outbreak of the plague for the time being.
However, these bodies must be disposed of eventually.
Geng Gong and Hu Qing sat on the stone pier aside and began to calculate the casualties and distribute the remaining supplies.
According to statistics, seventeen soldiers were killed and twelve wounded in this battle, all casualties caused in close combat.
The supplies are surplus, and the food they carry is enough to last for a month. If it doesn't work, they can still kill horses to satisfy their hunger. There is no need to worry about food problems for the time being.
It's just that there is only enough water for less than three days. Such an intense offensive and defensive battle consumes a huge amount of physical energy, and water is urgently needed to replenish it.
The baggage team has dug about five meters underground along the land, but has not yet found a water source.
Suddenly, both of them started to have troubles...
