In Gaochang City, several qanat (ground water reservoirs of karez) were surrounded by people.
With soldiers maintaining order, city residents lined up to fetch water. Those who dared to jump in line were immediately dragged out and beaten.
The water was already turbid because the water in the open channels was gone, so we had to drill into the culverts to fetch water.
The water in the culvert has also bottomed out.
If you have to take it by force, you will definitely get water and mud.
Obviously, the Ming army blocked the upper reaches of the karez!
A large amount of soil was poured into the shafts exposed above the ground by the Ming army, seriously blocking the flow of the culverts.
Even the Ming army refused to drink the river water on the ground, and more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians drank water from the karez wells upstream.
There were two opinions about karez in the early days.
One is the technology passed from Shaanxi, and the other is the technology passed from Persia.
But later it was discovered through archaeological murals that this thing had already appeared in Xinjiang as early as the Xia and Shang Dynasties.
There were more than ten karez wells dug in Gaochang City and the surrounding countryside. They were abandoned after the Mongols destroyed Gaochang. After the founding of New China, these karez relics were dug out again, and their age was determined through scientific technology. It was found that they were built in the late Warring States Period.
to the Western Han Dynasty.
From time to time, cavalrymen would run back and forth in the city and shout: "Don't be afraid of lack of water, it's going to snow soon, you can drink snow water then!"
Such publicity is naturally to stabilize people's hearts. Who knows when it will snow this year.
There are thousands of people digging wells in various culverts.
The soil here is highly permeable, and melting water from mountain snow and precipitation become groundwater when it penetrates.
When groundwater resources are abundant, it is very possible to regain water sources by squatting in the culvert and continuing to dig downwards.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
In a karez culvert, gunfire suddenly rang out and echoed for a long time.
The Xiliao soldiers who were responsible for protecting the well diggers had their shields pierced by muskets at close range. The Xiliao archers who were standing behind bent their waists and tried to draw their bows to fight back, but were killed by several gunshots.
"The Ming army is coming!"
The civilians in Western Liao who were responsible for transporting soil were so frightened that they rushed back.
The karez culvert is about 1.7 meters high and 1.2 meters wide. There were too many people and it was too narrow, making it impossible to escape quickly. They trampled on each other in a hurry and died.
"Come up!"
The soldiers of the Ming army shouted in the Uighur language they had just learned to the peasants who were digging the shaft.
The farmer in the well shivered and climbed up along the rope.
Including other captured civilians, they were all forced by the Ming army to backfill with sand and block the newly dug shaft.
After the blockade, the Ming army quickly fled!
Because this is already an underground area within the city, if you slow down a little bit, you will be surrounded by enemies.
Under the continuous destruction of the Ming army, the defenders had to first seal the culverts inside and outside the city, and then continue digging underground inside the city.
Even if more than a dozen wells were successfully dug, considering the number of soldiers and civilians in the city, it would still be a drop in the bucket, not to mention the large number of war horses in need of drinking water.
"The water is out, the water is out!"
There is a Buddhist temple in the southwest of Gaochang outer city, and the monks cheered in unison.
This temple covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters, and Master Xuanzang gave lectures here for more than a month.
The entire southwest and southeast areas of the outer city are densely packed with temples. In addition to Buddhist temples, there are also Nestorian temples. The relationship between the two religions is extremely harmonious, and believers have long intermarried with each other.
The Manichaean temple is located in the northwest of the inner city, and the Zoroastrian temple is located in the northeast.
There are many temples of other sects scattered throughout the inner and outer cities. Believers of all ethnic groups live together next to their temples, and the abbot has great community power and high community prestige.
"Da da da da!"
A group of cavalry rushed to the gate of the temple. The officer raised his knife and said to the monks: "Monks always draw water from wells and pour it into the nearest reservoir. When residents in the city draw water, the monks of this temple can take it first, and the rest is left to the army.
distribute!"
Faced with real swords and spears, the monks dared not speak out in anger.
The next day, another well was opened in the inner city, and residents even broke out in riots when they were grabbing water. Soldiers killed more than 20 people and suppressed the situation.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The daily shelling outside the city began again. Since there was no hope of demolishing the city wall, all light and heavy artillery were aimed at the defense facilities on the city wall.
Several towers, especially those with barbicans, have been mostly destroyed by cannonballs.
From time to time, artillery shells fell into the city, smashing holes in nearby houses and even smashing many statues of gods from major religions.
The soldiers and civilians in the city were frightened by the continuous bombardment.
Moreover, they did not dare to go out of the city to collect firewood. If they were not careful, they would be killed by the Ming army's cavalry. The firewood stored by the military was barely enough, but ordinary people could only tear down doors or furniture.
Finally someone can’t stand it anymore!
That evening, as the Ming army withdrew its troops and returned to camp, the defenders opened the city gates and allowed the people to go out to collect wood - mainly shrubs, hay and crop residues.
Many men and even monks rushed out without courage.
They were soon discovered by the Ming army's sentry cavalry, who blew their trumpets to summon more Ming army cavalry.
The Xiliao cavalry responsible for protecting the woodcutter immediately went up to fight the Ming army, but most of them shot a few arrows and fled towards Wengcheng.
As for the civilians who went out to collect firewood from the city, they gathered up anything they could light and ran away.
The Ming cavalry chased all the way to the outside of Wengcheng. Facing the rain of arrows, they could only stop and silently watched the soldiers and civilians of Xiliao enter Wengcheng.
However, a few Xiliao cavalry did not enter the city. They "ran into panic" and ran farther away. Then they knelt down and surrendered and asked to see the Ming army commander.
"Who is your master?" Li Yanxian asked.
The cavalry replied: "Our master's name is Zhuo Weng."
In fact, his master's name is Zhang Mei.
壣(wěng, meaning Tianming) is a common name of Han Zoroastrian Christians in the Tang Dynasty, and it has special religious significance.
Regimes change and ethnic groups change.
The descendants of the Han Zoroastrians in the Western Regions can no longer speak Chinese or write Chinese characters. But they still remember the pronunciation of their surnames, and they still like to be named "奣", but they have completely forgotten how to write their surnames and the character "壣".
The good-natured Chinese name Zhang Mei was actually called "Zhuo Weng" by his subordinates.
Li Yanxian was naturally confused about this and continued to ask: "Where is that Zhuo Weng from? Does he hold any position in the Western Liao Army? What religion does he believe in?"
A cavalryman replied: "Our master is the second largest nobleman in Yizhou. He serves as the deputy city lord of Yizhou and believes in the glorious Zoroastrianism."
When Nestorianism spread to the East, its teachings underwent great changes, as did Zoroastrianism.
Although the orthodox Zoroastrianism in Persia had several auxiliary gods, it was ultimately a monotheistic religion. However, when it spread to the East, it became polytheistic Zoroastrianism, which continued to absorb more gods along the way, even including Hindu gods.
If the Ming Dynasty ruled here for a long time, it would not be a bad idea for Confucius to become a Zoroastrian god.
Emperor Xiao Zhu was very happy to accept this kind of sect that kept pace with the times.
"How many soldiers does the captive have?" Li Yanxian asked.
The cavalryman who came to contact replied: "Many people were killed and injured, leaving only more than 300 cavalrymen and more than 2,000 infantrymen. The master led his troops to defend the Wucheng Gate in the northwest, and the Wengcheng there was also garrisoned by the master. Tomorrow
If the soldiers attack the city, the master can immediately switch sides."
Li Yanxian did not express his position, and after asking some questions about the military situation, he sent the cavalry away.
The generals expressed their opinions. Some felt that they could take the opportunity to attack the city, while others felt that the captor was pretending to surrender.
Before Li Yanxian could make a decision, a military telegraph officer suddenly came over and said: "More than forty miles to the west, scattered Xiliao cavalry was found. They may be reconnaissance cavalry sent by the Xiliao reinforcements."
The Ming army had temporarily set up an antenna in a fortress northwest of Gaochang City.
Although the antenna is not high and the scale is not large, troops with a radius of dozens of miles can quickly send messages to Li Yanxian as long as they carry a hand-operated transmitter.
"No need to think about it!"
Li Yanxian stood up and said: "First attack the reinforcements and then attack the city. With the morale of the defenders in the city, we can take down the city in one fell swoop as long as we destroy the reinforcements."
Li Yanxian asked Chen Ziyi to lead thousands of cavalrymen to set out overnight, carrying only three days' worth of food and grass, and rush west along the southern foot of the Flame Mountain, bypassing the Gobi Desert to the rear of the Xiliao reinforcements.
He then asked his deputy commander Zhong Yanchong, who had arrived two days ago, to set out overnight with the main force under his command and move to the camp twenty miles southwest of Gaochang City. Although there are no above-ground rivers, it is the area with the most karez and the largest number of karez in Gaochang City.
The essence of the surrounding farming areas.
The remaining camps were drawn up and troops were gathered at Li Yanxian's main camp.
The Western Liao reinforcements marched in a hurry, but slowed down after being two hundred miles away from Gaochang City. First, they were afraid of a sudden attack by the Ming army, and second, they shortened their daily marching time to restore their physical strength.
“Didi di di di!”
The telegraph operator came to report: "General Chen Ziyi called: Our troops are at the far west of the desert. I don't know if the enemy's main force has passed. The drinking water we brought can last for two days. According to the guide, we can replenish water from west to south."
Li Yanxian said to the telegraph operator: "Let him continue to lurk in the desert and wait for my orders!"
Where is Chen Ziyi at this time?
If you continue to the west, you can go to Grape Valley to eat grapes.
Another day later, more and more cavalry from the Western Liao reinforcements were arriving. Although it was not yet clear where the main force was camping, Li Yanxian was basically certain that the enemy troops were nearby.
Another day later, Xiao Orila took the initiative to show up with reinforcements, probably because he was eager to rescue Gaochang City, and went straight to the rich water source area where Zhong Yanchong was located.
Li Yanxian ordered the telegraph operator: "Call Chen Ziyi, he can take action."
Chen Ziyi, led by his guide, rushed along the southern foot of the Flame Mountain toward Grape Valley.
There are no enemy troops here, not even a few young men and women, only a few old, weak, women and children.
The local villagers were forcibly recruited as civilian husbands by the reinforcements, and are now in Xiao Weili's camp.
He went south along the river and galloped for more than ten miles until he found a large camp.
That is the main camp of Xiao Weili's reinforcements, and it is also the most suitable place to camp nearby - urban Turpan!
Xiao Orila had already led his troops to attack Zhong Yanchong, and there were only a few thousand soldiers and a large number of civilians left in the camp.
Before Chen Ziyi even approached, the camp was already filled with smoke.
When they got closer, they found that the barriers here were so tight that the cavalry had to dismount to fight. However, Xiao Weili was delayed for two days and asked the civilians along the road to dig trenches and build barriers to consolidate his main camp. Apparently, he had already
Prevent the enemy from sneak attack.
"The whole army retreated two miles, dismounted and rested for a while."
Chen Ziyi gave an order, and thousands of cavalry retreated, leaving only a small number of cavalry on guard.
The rest ran to the river to fetch water, filled the withered water bags, and then fed the horses water, salt and bean cakes.
After the soldiers and horses had rested, they mounted again.
Instead of attacking the enemy camp, which is empty of troops but has deep trenches and high fortifications, it is blocked between the enemy's main force and the enemy's camp.
The current situation is that Xiao Weili is surrounded by Zhong Yan Chong's troops on the front, Li Yanxian's main force on the northeast side, and Chen Ziyi's cavalry behind him. He is surrounded on three sides!
Of course, if the defenders in Gaochang City break out, it can also be regarded as the Xiliao outflanking the Ming army from both front and rear.
