The dim lights swayed slightly, shining on the faces of everyone in the handsome tent. The uncertain light seemed to reflect their complicated and ups and downs mood.
There were not many people in the spacious tent. Liu Min originally planned to convene a military meeting with all the commanders of more than a thousand people in the army, but Kang Baoyi dissuaded him. In his words, at this time, it was time for the middle and lower-level generals to appease the soldiers. Heart, in case of unexpected events, it is not advisable to leave your post without permission.
Of course, the more important thing is that the siege is blocked. Meetings involving military aircraft decision-making and the future of the army are inconvenient for middle- and lower-level officers to participate. They still need to be kept secret until a clear conclusion is drawn.
Liu Min agreed with this statement. Therefore, only a few senior generals in front of the Kucha formation participated in this military meeting.
"Qiuci City has been blocked for more than ten days. Today, the bloody battle failed. The losses in the siege have been reported and you have witnessed it with your own eyes. For the current plan, how can we break the situation?" The dull atmosphere was finally broken by Liu Min, Looking around, he asked slowly.
At this time, Liu Min had already restrained his raging anger and the negative emotions in his head, and had calmed down. Although his tone was still solemn, it also made the senior generals of the Western Expedition present inexplicably relax. tone.
"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking so bluntly!" Murong Jiye, the trench envoy, immediately said: "Our army has blown up the entire city of Kucha. Although we suffered heavy losses in today's battle, the defenders are still weak. If we can resolutely If you implement it, you may not be able to overcome the barriers and seize the city!"
Murong Jiye was young and vigorous, and could barely be considered a relative of the emperor, so he dared to express his views boldly. However, such remarks seemed too bold, and there was a faint accusation of today's slightly conservative withdrawal of troops.
Liu Min also frowned slightly. After all, it was his decision to return to the camp after returning the gold. Looking at Murong Jiye, Liu Min said: "The casualties are too great. We have tens of thousands of troops on an expedition. It is extremely difficult to replace every soldier. If we are one The losses in Qiuci were too great, so how will we fight future battles?"
Hearing this, Murong Jiye immediately said: "Your Highness, if we retreat today, we will have to pay a high price in the future to be able to capture the city! Today's retreat will give the defenders a chance to breathe. Today's worries The casualties will be equally inevitable in the future!
Thousands of people were already killed and injured, so what’s the point of thousands more? Under the Dunbing City, the longer the time, the more dangerous it becomes. Not to mention the Black Khan cavalry wandering outside. If domestic reinforcements arrive one after another, how will they be able to resist the enemy? I'm afraid what we were thinking about at that time was not how to defeat the city, but how to safely withdraw our troops! "
Although Murong Jiye's words were somewhat theoretical, they still made some sense. However, such an attitude did not give the King of Wei face.
Yang Yanzhao stood by, glanced at Liu Min, and said: "General Murong, don't get excited, the situation is far from this!"
Murong Jiye was completely stubborn. At this time, he also looked at Liu Min. Seeing his expressionless expression, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He hesitated for a moment and then said: "Your Highness, I am just discussing the matter. If there is any problem, I hope you will forgive me for the collision!"
Hearing this, Liu Min shook his head and said softly: "The purpose of convening the military meeting tonight is to discuss the gains and losses of the previous war. We need to speak freely and without reservation. Although your words are not pleasant to listen to, they also pointed out some problems! "
After a pause, Liu Min continued: "Perhaps I was hesitant and conservative. Perhaps I can take Qiuci today regardless of casualties. However, if I try my best today and still can't do it, the blow to the morale of the army will not be It’s all we can bear!”
Liu Min's idea was very simple. The first was to cherish the casualties of the soldiers, and the second was that if he retired today and rested for two days, there would be ways to stimulate recovery. If he tried his best and still couldn't do it, it might make people lose confidence. The consequences are dire.
However, it has to be said that Murong Jiye's words made Liu Min wake up and reflect on whether he was too weak. If he was firmer, Qiuci might not be able to defeat him.
The considerations of these two people have their own reasons, but they are based on different angles. Murong Jiye is just a general. What he is thinking about is how to capture Qiuci. It doesn't hurt to pay more.
Liu Min is the commander-in-chief. In addition to attacking the city and defeating the enemy, he also needs to consider the safety of the entire army. In addition to the current enemy, he also needs to consider future reinforcements and the entire strategy of destroying the country.
After hearing Liu Min's response, Murong Jiye breathed a sigh of relief and at the same time cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness is magnanimous!"
"Yuan Xian, you are personally responsible for supervising and commanding the siege. What do you think?" However, after some stimulation from Murong Jiye, Liu Min became calmer and more composed.
After hearing the question, Yang Yanzhao thought for a while and replied: "Your Highness, the Kucha defenders are holding fast. Firstly, they are not afraid of death and resist our attack with huge casualties; secondly, they are waiting for reinforcements, whether they are domestic reinforcements or Riders outside the city can give them the confidence to persevere; the third is Kucha city defense, which is also their biggest reliance!"
"The general believes that if you want to break the city, you should consider these three aspects. First, the Black Khan defenders did not hesitate to take casualties and sacrificed their lives for lives. Although they are fierce, they will not last long. General Murong said that they are the weakest of the powerful, and there is a certain reason. reason.
The last general inquired with the siege officer and learned that the defenders resisting on the city today had a large number of civilians with weapons and no armor. It can be seen that under the fierce attack of our army, their defensive forces were insufficient and could not support the heavy heavy losses. The casualties had to be consumed by civilians.
Secondly, Sun Tzu said that we should besiege the city ten times. Our army besieged the city with three times the number of people. Although it trapped the enemy, it did not completely isolate the enemy of Qiuci. The Black Khan's cavalry attacked from outside the city and never stopped. Therefore, the enemy's supporting troops should mainly focus on obstruction and delay, but it is time for the cavalry to attack with all their strength, and we can no longer let the Black Khan's rangers affect our army's attack on the city.
As for the third one, today's results prove that the gunpowder method of destroying a city is effective. The enemy can defend a section of the city and resist it for a while at great sacrifice, but it is absolutely impossible to defend everywhere! There is still a lot of gunpowder in the army, which can be used intensively to completely destroy the city walls. Without the support of the strong city, no matter how unafraid they are of death, it will only increase the number of beheadings of the soldiers! "
"Deputy Commander Yang is indeed the hero of the generals!" After Yang Yanzhao finished speaking, Kang Baoyi, who was sitting upright next to him, couldn't help but stroke his beard and praised: "These three points can be said to hit the point!"
Seeing Kang Baoyi speak, Liu Min agreed and couldn't help but ask: "What is General Kang's opinion?"
Upon hearing the question, Kang Baoyi responded with his hands raised: "Your Highness, the general also believes that if the current offensive can be maintained, the Qiuci defenders will not be able to defend for a long time. With the strength of our soldiers, it is a bit unbearable, let alone the trapped enemy city? However, His Highness’s concerns are also justified. The problem of casualties must be resolved. Our western expedition is not just for the city of Kucha. In future wars, the counterattack of the Black Khans must also be considered in advance!”
"Your Highness, the Black Khans can use civilians to defend the city. Why don't we use those servants and auxiliaries to attack the city?" Wang Shenjun, the formation commander, made a suggestion.
Moreover, this suggestion has been recognized by many people. Cherishing the soldiers of the Han family was out of sympathy and love for the soldiers, but the servants and Uighurs who accompanied the army totaled more than 16,000 people. The lives of these people were worthless, so using them to make up for the casualties would not cause any psychological burden.
Seeing that everyone agreed, Liu Min thought about it for a while and made a final decision: "First, we will allocate 3,000 people from those strong Uighur men in Anxi and distribute weapons. General Wang will organize training and prepare to attack the city!"
Seeing that Liu Min had given him such a task, Wang Shenjun immediately beamed with joy. Although his rank was not low, as a formation commander, he was doing auxiliary work in specific battles. Now, Liu Min gave himself a chance to make a contribution, and he immediately agreed.
As the military discussion deepened, the atmosphere gradually relaxed, and the generals of the Western Expedition also had a clearer positioning arrangement for the future of the Kucha War.
There is no doubt that capturing Kucha City is still a difficulty that must be overcome and is a top priority!
"Your Highness, the Ministry of War has allocated a batch of artillery to support the Western Expedition!" At this time, the camp food envoy reported the matter to Deming: "It is said that this is a newly developed gunpowder weapon developed by the Tokyo Arms Factory. It is more powerful than rockets and explodes It is extremely powerful and can defeat enemies from eighty feet away! It may be used to attack cities, and may have miraculous effects!"
"Oh?" Liu Min's eyes lit up: "I heard something. How many of them have arrived at the camp?"
Xiang Deming said: "There are only thirty of them. The intention of the Ministry of War is to use them on the battlefield of the Western Expedition for testing. The general received news that the artillery and the officers and soldiers operating it have arrived in Gaochang and have arranged for their transfer to the camp. However, this thing is bulky. , it will take some time to transport it to the camp. In addition, please march to the camp and send troops to support it, so as not to be taken advantage of by the Black Khan cavalry!"
"This matter will be arranged by General Kang!" Liu Min couldn't help but be a little disappointed. It's hard to save the fire from afar. However, it is always a good thing, and there are orders from the Ministry of War, so he should pay more attention to it.
After all, Kang Baoyi, the governor of the city, was used to suppress the battle, and he did not win any battles during the siege. At this time, although he was assigned a task of escorting and picking up the troops, he was quite satisfied. As for the battle against Kucha, those young men were there, so he could quench his thirst a little by dealing with those Black Khan cavalry.
"Take a rest for three days, recuperate your energy, make adequate preparations, and attack Kucha again!" Finally, Liu Min ended the military discussion with an extremely resolute attitude.
