In Tumu Fort, there was a mess of war.

This fortress between Xuanfu and Juyong Pass once remembered the shame of the Ming Dynasty, but at this time it became the last barrier used by Chenxi to resist the Tatars.

"Sir, the first batch of fast horses sent back to the capital have been set off for more than ten days. Why should I reply at this time, right? But now there is no news, so I won't be robbed by the Tartars halfway, right?"

Chen Xi had to deal with many things every day. In addition to eating, drinking, defecating and urinating the entire army, he had to be alert to the Tatars launching siege battles at all times, and at the same time he tried every means to increase the defense of the city and increase the cost of saving his life. However, the generals under his command could not make him worry. The three generals Hu Songyue, Liu Xu and Zhu Lie clamored in his ears every day, so that he could not get a moment of leisure.

At this time, Chen Xi was harassed by Liu Xu and others in the lobby of the command post in the west of the city. The reason why Liu Xu and others could stay in Tumu Fort with peace of mind was because Chen Xi said that the current military information had been passed on to the capital. He only needed the capital to send troops to aid the four thousand Tatars cavalry and capture the military achievements of the important enemy general Huo Ling.

Chen Xi did think so before, because Chen Xi really couldn't think of the reason why the court did not send reinforcements.

However, in the past few days, Chen Xi accepted a post envoy who was chased by Tatars and entered Tumu Fort to hide, so that he knew that Liu Daxia was using troops on three sides. Everyone was thinking that the main force of Tatars was in Ningxia Town, Chen Xi knew that the court was full of doubts about him now, and it was hard to say whether his instinct could be submitted to the emperor.

Chen Xi was full of thought that Xie Qian could help him in this matter, but now he has no confidence because Xie Qian is a moderate courtier who cares about the past and lacks keen judgment of the current situation and courage in his actions.

Putting down the desk at hand, Chen Xi looked up at the lobby and looked at him... In addition to the three generals, there were also several commanders, all of whom Chen Xi relied on now. If these people were not supported, Chen Xi would no longer have to consider how to defend, and he would join the ranks of deserters first.

Chenxi Road: "I have arranged before to build trenches and other defensive fortifications in the city, so can I follow my order?"

Liu Xu was originally asking Chen Xi about reinforcements, but Chen Xi suddenly turned the topic to the fortifications and was a little puzzled. Liu Xu replied: "Sir, I don't understand. Shouldn't these fortifications be built outside the city? What does it mean to dig so many gullies in the city? Are you guarding against soldiers in the city to escape?"

Hu Songyue quickly agreed: "Yes, sir, although the soldiers are not very willing to fight, they are always thinking about their wives, children, and young people in their families. How dare they escape easily? You can't always guard against your soldiers like you are guarding against thieves!"

Zhu Lie said: "Sir, I am a rough man and don't understand any great principles, but I agree with Lao Hu and Lao Liu's words. You can't help but give the soldiers an explanation!"

For a moment, the Qianfu of Chenxi seemed to have become a public enemy of the entire army. The general manager Zhang Yong rushed out and shouted loudly: "Oh, what are you all thinking about? Can't you see that the Tatars will come to kill at any time? If the Tartars fight, if the city walls cannot be defended, they must be fighting in the city. After these trenches are repaired, the Tatar cavalry will lose their place to use their skills. Isn't that good?"

Hu Songyue said, "Eunuch Zhang is very clear about the battle situation!" There was a bit of sarcasm in his words. Although Zhang Yong was not angry, he did not scold him directly, but his face was full of displeasure.

Chen Xi didn't speak and was quarreling in the lobby. It was not that Chen Xi didn't want to establish prestige in front of these generals, but he felt it was unnecessary.

The group of generals and schools in front of them are simply cowards and soft men. Now they can achieve some results because they are forced to go to a dead end. If they are allowed to go out of the city and fight to the death with the Tatars, they will escape completely as soon as the war begins.

Although Chen Xi said that the construction of fortifications in the city was not to deal with his own people, he actually had the intention to prevent soldiers from becoming deserters, such as a trench surrounding the city, four meters wide and three meters deep. He only needed to guard a few main passages, and officers and soldiers could not escape from the city walls that leaked air everywhere.

Tumu Fort is an abandoned city block, not the kind of city block with a complete defense system.

To take a step back, even if the Tumu Fort has complete defense measures, such as Zhangjiakou Fort or Xuanfu, it may not be able to block the Tatars' cavalry.

Tumu Fort is just a small town with a radius of several miles. To exaggerately, you can smell the stinky smell in the west of the city and the east of the city. In such a small place, if there is no solid defense system as a backing, the prospects will be worrying.

The Tumu Fort walls were already full of holes, but even if the walls were complete, the Tatars had experience in attacking the border city blocks of Daming. The low walls of Tumu Fort could not add too much help to defense, so he was preparing to shift the focus of the defense from the walls to the fortifications inside and outside the city blocks. This was a bold attempt.

Chen Xi shouted loudly: "I am now in Tumu Fortress, advancing and retreating with the soldiers. The reinforcements of the court are in sight, and some necessary fortifications are built in the city. In this way, we can hold on for a long time when the Tatars come, isn't it supposed to?"

"But, sir..."

Hu Songyue opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was stopped by Chen Xi.

Chenxidao: "Even if General Hu has any objection, he has to wait until the fortifications are built before talking. Starting tomorrow, not only will the fortifications be built in the city, but the fortifications must also be gradually built outside the city wall. In addition to leaving a road where two carriages can be parallel, trenches of the same width and depth as those in the city must be excavated in the rest of the places."

"In one or two days, our army will inevitably have a war with the Tatars. If we don't want to be buried here, let the soldiers work harder!"

...

...

Defensive fortifications were built in Tumu Fortress, and in the Tatar barracks outside the city, fortifications were also being built. The difference is that the purpose of the Tatars to build fortifications was to prevent the soldiers and horses from escaping in the city.

The Tatars dug many trenches and traps five or six miles away from Tumu Fort, and set up mechanisms such as sinking horse pits and tripping horse ropes.

These traps can prevent the Ming army and horses from escaping in the city, but they also cause some trouble to the Tatars, that is, the Tatar cavalry would also have trouble if they wanted to successfully kill the city.

The Tatars were not in a hurry to attack. They knew clearly that Chen Xi was very good at controlling the Folang cannons and understood that the troops led by Chen Xi were not easy to deal with.

The Tatars' idea was to trap Chenxi tightly in Tumu Fort, unable to rush to Xuanfu and Zhangjiakou Fort, nor could they retreat to Juyong Pass.

When the Tatars' subsequent troops came, the number of people was disparate, and it was difficult to fly.

"Zhao Envoy, the Ming army has artillery, and we have it, and it was the artillery used by the Ming army to bombard us before. The Ming army had only sixty or seventy artillery pieces in Tumu Fort, but we had hundreds of them and brought a large number of shells. It doesn't matter that we will lose to them."

Five miles west of Tumu Fort City, the Tatars not only dig traps in front of the newly established tents, but also build high platforms with sand and soil. On each of these temporary platforms, there are one to three Folang machine cannons.

These Folang cannons were recaptured by the Tatars from the Ming border troops. Although the court sent special personnel to help the border troops train gunners, most of the Border Army generals were nobles or hereditary officers. They were arrogant and did not like to go deep into the grassroots to study. They did not understand the performance of Folang cannons. Usually, after the gunners were trained, they turned to other tasks, which made the power of Folang cannons unable to be reflected to the greatest extent. In a few years, Folang cannons gradually became useless in various cities.

After the Tatars captured the city, these Flang cannons became the trophy of the Tatars.

The Tatars were completely opposite to the Ming border troops. They regarded artillery as sacred. After all, Chen Xi used the Folang cannon to let them taste the taste of failure.

Unfortunately, the Tatars were even more qualified when using this advanced firearm. They didn't know how to shoot the corpses at all, and they didn't know how to load the ruler. They simply set up the cannons and fired at once according to the instructions of the Ming army prisoners. As a result, the target was often far from the point of blasting, and they could not play a decisive role.

In addition, most of the Folang cannons in the border guards in the Ming Dynasty have been cast for one or two years. Because the gunner was transferred for other purposes, the cannons naturally were not maintained, which made the degree of rust in the barrel very high. In addition, the gunners do not know much about the amount of shells and gunpowder, which makes the Folang cannon's chance of blowing the chamber is very high.

The Tatars were so happy to get this thing at first, but when they found that it was not as powerful as it was, and it was inconvenient to carry it, and they kept blowing up the chamber and hurting their own people, it gradually became a decoration for the army.

As the army supervisor of Tatar Yisimayin's army, Awulu took the initiative to volunteer to be a lobbyist at Tumu Fort. After entering the city for investigation, she did not dare to enter the city again out of fear of Chen Xi, so as not to be taken hostage by Chen Xi.

"There are many artillery, but are there so many people who can fire it?"

After seeing the Daming artillery used in siege battles, A Wulu felt that it was dull and did not think that this artillery could cause much damage.

"If I go back to Zhao, there are many gunners who are entering the east this time, all of which are guided by the Ming army captives. At that time, we gather all the artillery and bombard them in the direction of the city. The morale of the other party will definitely decline greatly. Seeing that our troops are so strong, the Ming army in Tumu Fort can only huddle in the city obediently and dare not move. As for those sporadic Ming army deserters, we must ignore them at all!"

"How could it be ignored?"

Awuli shouted loudly: "Have you ever thought about what if the Ming Dynasty governor Chen Xi was mixed with the deserter and left? This person is the life-and-death enemy of my grassland, so you must get rid of it quickly!"

"I order that from today on, it is strictly forbidden to let the deserters in the city leave, and to block all contact between Tumu Fort and the outside world. If the Ming reinforcements arrive and we cannot conquer Xuanfu immediately, the war will undergo many changes, and be cautious and cautious!"

"Yes, Zhao Envoy!"

The Tatar general said respectfully.

"Transfer troops. Tonight I will go to the city again to negotiate with the governor of the Ming Dynasty Yansui to discuss the matter of exchanging prisoners. If I can't come back, you will lead troops to destroy the city and report to the Khan at the head of Chenxi. No mistakes must be made!" A Wulu said.

A group of Tatar generals bowed down and obeyed: "Yes!"

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ps: First update!

I didn’t finish this chapter until almost 1 a.m. I’m going to send you an update! Although it’s a little late, I believe everyone has seen the efforts of the emperor. Why not vote for a wave of monthly votes to support it?
Chapter completed!