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 paid a heavy price.
In the past three months, they have suffered more than 20,000 casualties.
This does not include the 15,000 Japanese soldiers killed by An Sanxi in the beginning, and the 70,000 to 80,000 people captured.
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 walls. The city mainly relied on infantry regiments and militia to defend the city.
Over the past three months, the losses were considerable. The consumption of gunpowder was particularly high, and the flintlock gun could not 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, only to be 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.
He was confident of guarding the city of Ansanxi, but he was worried that the losses would be too great.
The militiamen in the city are the strong labor force of every family. They are the backbone of the family.
Too many casualties will affect next year's production. The orphans and widows who will be left on the ground by then 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 if they could not take the stone castle of the Bastille, they would not be able to drive these Han people away from the grasslands. They no longer thought about that.
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 after quick repairs with sandbags and barbed wire. It looked shaky, and it seemed that if we applied more force, the city would be broken. But it did not fall.
All they want now is to rush in and steal the food so that they can survive the winter.
This winter will 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 it snows heavily, the grassland will be covered with heavy snow, and the sky and the earth will become completely white.
Their hooves, due to lack of physical strength, cannot dig through the snow to find grass roots to eat. If they don't have enough food to eat, and they don't have enough fat to store energy, they 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 can be killed, but because the Mongols don't have enough salt and spices, it can't be kept for too long. It can only be eaten now. In winter, there will still be insufficient food, and it will still be difficult to survive.
Now we can only make a determined effort to open the city of Duolun.
There was enough food for them to survive three winters. The captured Han slaves could also supplement the population losses.
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.
The old man, Si Beigou, the head of the family, is sitting at the east end.
He is more frugal and does not allow lamps to be lit. After all, lamp oil is not cheap.
He often taught his children and grandchildren that they should not 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. He came back three days ago and his head was wrapped in gauze. He was injured by the dense cobblestones thrown by the Mongolian trebuchet. But it was not serious, so he did not go to the hospital.
Still holding on to the city 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 and crack. 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. This is the first planting in the city this year, with a total of one thousand acres of flue-cured tobacco planted. After the harvest in autumn, the top-quality tobacco leaves are transported back to the Xincheng Cigarette Factory. The middle- and lower-grade tobacco leaves are sold as dry tobacco in the market.
Flue-cured cigarettes are a popular thing nowadays. The old man also likes to take a few sips. The three sons watched with envy.
But this thing is not cheap. Only the old man can smoke. He doesn'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, they always think about enjoying themselves.
"Yesterday, Sun Datou next door was seriously injured. One of his eyes was blinded by a Mongolian shot. 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 glared and said: "What are you afraid of? Wealth and wealth are determined by life and death. We should fall into a well and not into a river. There are no bad guys in our Si family. If the third child dies, the old man will take over. We just passed by
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 a store. It was a wooden stick in the shape of a baseball bat. After Si Xiaobai bought it, he directly went to the blacksmith to hammer many large steel nails into it to make it into a mace.
Come to defend yourself. If you encounter wild wolves or something like that when you go out of the city, you can also fight them.
Before they could finish 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 young men 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 make our family lose the heirs? 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, they were still a little anxious in their hearts. They had always wanted to see what the battlefield was like.
"Dad, I heard that Mr. An has sent someone to ask for help. Now that the Luanhe River water transport has been restored, reinforcements are expected to arrive soon," said the second child.
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 will be a major military operation tonight."
After saying this, there was a burst of gong sound.
Everyone in the room looked at each other and knew that this was another counterattack organized in the city. This kind of counterattack would require everyone to go as long as they were adults.
The city cannot be defended to death. Every once in a while, An Sanxi found that the Mongols were exhausted. He would raid the Mongols at night and launch a counterattack.
It has been half a month since the last night raid. This is another night raid.
According to Yang Fan's regulations, every household must have a strong man to shoulder military obligations.
But other men, aged over 16 and under 60, must also join the militia. The teams are organized according to the community and are led by the community production captain.
These people are paid to send troops, and 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.
