"Uncle, that coward Hussein didn't follow."

"Huh? Weren't you chasing me very closely last night? Why didn't you come even if you said you couldn't come? I've prepared a whole table of dishes. Wouldn't it be rude if this guy didn't come up?"

On October 10, 1647, about 200 kilometers west of Charzhu City on the Amu Darya River, on a large oasis deep in the Karakum Desert, Li Zicheng's troops of about 65,000 people were intensively building fortifications.

, prepare to face the siege of Hussein's cluster.

After Khujand separated from Sun Chuanting's main force, he and Zhang Xianzhong wandered outside for more than a month and successfully fished out Hussein's main force from Samarkand.

In more than a month, he and Zhang Xianzhong had not thought about the idea of ​​fighting the main battle and annihilating the Hussein cluster in the field. But for the first time on the east bank of the Amu Darya, Braha and the Hussein cluster

After the large-scale battle, the two people quickly put out this idea: the Ottomans' combat power is actually not weak, and their fighting will is not bad. The Uzbeks and Turkmen cavalry are also quite strong. The most annoying thing is that the cavalry led by the two men

In order to ensure the speed of the detachment, not to mention heavy artillery such as 105/150, there are only a few 75 artillery in the team. When the combat power of both sides is about the same and the number of people is about the same, the Ming army, which has no heavy equipment at all, really needs to show off its vehicles.

If a horseman engages in a battle with the enemy in the wild, it will most likely result in a huge defeat.

So the two of us made a plan: go west, let the enemy follow us, and drag the enemy's artillery unit behind.

As Li and Zhang, who only received short-term training at the Royal Military Academy for more than half a year, and mainly learned personal military skills and guerrilla warfare, their current ability to lead large corps in combat was due to their slow learning in the Americas for more than ten years.

They figured it out slowly. So after these two guys broke away from Sun Chuanting's control, they fought with almost no rules. They only thought of where they were going.

After running westward for a long time, the two of them summed up: They have run so far, and the Karakum Desert is right in front of us. Let's go into the desert. Then cut off the supply line of the Hussein Group.

Let them die of thirst in the desert!

After having this idea, Li and Zhang selected some people from the local residents who had been harassed along the way, and asked these people to serve as guides. They sent a small team into the Karakum Desert in advance.

Although Karakum is a large desert with an area of ​​350,000 square kilometers, it is bounded by the Amu Darya River to the west and north, and the Persian Plateau (with snow-capped mountains) to the east and south. Therefore, there are actually many oases in this desert. Li Zicheng

His nephew Li Guo chose an oasis called Hakim among these oases: this oasis is 260 kilometers away from the Amu Darya River and nearly 200 kilometers away from other nearest oases. As long as the Ming army can hold this oasis

Oasis and Hussein Cluster's logistical supplies will soon have a big problem.

On this oasis, there were more than 2,000 Turkmens living there. After Li Guo led a battalion of soldiers here, he drove all the 2,000 Turkmens away: Although the water source here is abundant, it still needs to support six people.

It is also very difficult to have an army of 70,000, and it is good to reduce the burden a little bit. Of course, these aborigines cannot go east, they can only go west to find the nearest oasis, hoping that the people there can rescue them. As for whether they can go there,

Well, Li Guo didn't bother to take care of it.

In the Battle of Charzhu on October 1, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong faced Hussein's group that had no heavy artillery support, but still deliberately defeated it after several hours of fierce fighting. Taking advantage of the huge battlefield and the cavalry gouging each other, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were defeated.

The changes in the battlefield position after passing through caused Li Zicheng's infantry team and Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry team to separate naturally without leaving any trace.

After that, Li Zicheng carried Hussein and retreated step by step to the Hakim Oasis, successfully leading Hussein deep into the desert. Li Guo had already established simple fortifications in the Hakim Oasis, waiting for Hou

Sain's army came to besiege.

However, seeing that the final step of the plan is about to take place, you actually didn’t come?

Speaking of which, as the general who led the army that won the victory in Jerusalem with Richelieu, how could Hussein not know the trick of "showing the enemy weakness and luring the enemy deeper"? Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "the authorities are confused". On the northern front, Sun Chuanting

With the main force of the army already launching a siege on Samarkand, he really wanted to completely annihilate Li and Zhang's detachment.

Both large-scale battles were victorious, and countless small-scale battles were mostly victorious. Now, the enemy was forced into the desert and could no longer conduct mobile operations. Without taking any risks at this time, go deep into the desert and completely annihilate them.

Are you still waiting for the enemy to come back and kick your ass after you withdraw your troops?

However, a telegram from Wallenstein soon calmed him down.

In this telegram, in addition to repeated warnings, Wallenstein emphasized one point: fighting in the desert, water sources are crucial. If the enemy gets the oasis first, you will not be able to capture it for a while, and the transportation team behind will be unable to capture it.

If you are killed by the enemy's cavalry, your army will completely collapse.

After reading Wallenstein's telegram, Hussein broke into a cold sweat on the spot: Only then did he remember that in the Battle of Charzhu on October 1st, the Chinese cavalry fled in the opposite direction to their infantry!

After receiving the telegram on the 9th, Hussein thought about it repeatedly, especially after the scouts from the front came back and reported that the Chinese were really entrenched in an oasis and building fortifications. Hussein completely accepted Wallenstein's opinion: to pursue the enemy infantry.

Let’s put the matter aside for now and stabilize our logistics before talking about it.

It's a pity that he figured it out, but the Uzbeks and Turkmen under his command gave up: along the way, they saw too much. After being raided by the Chinese, they lost all their food and a large number of livestock, and were forced to become homeless.

compatriots. The reason why these soldiers have fought so bravely in the past month or so is largely because they were stimulated by the tragic situation of their own compatriots.

Now, seeing that those devils from the east have been driven into the desert by us, and their destruction is right in front of us, why don't you stop when you say we should?

Not only the Uzbeks and Turkmens refused to do it, but also some of the Ottomans led by Hussein himself: the enemy has been defeated many times, and now entrenched in an oasis, it is completely impossible to maneuver. As long as we can quickly

Wouldn't it be a complete victory if we captured this oasis? If the entire army retreats at this time, wouldn't all the previous efforts be wasted?

As for whether we can win this oasis? Hey! Since we drove out from Samarkand in early September, we have fought so many battles in more than a month. When have the Chinese ever won? As long as they cannot escape on their own, our Ottomans

Warriors, we captured that oasis with one charge.

Then Hussein's group was noisy in the desert for most of the day. Throughout October 10, the army, still as high as 130,000, neither advanced nor retreated, and wasted nearly a whole day in the desert.

On the evening of the 10th, Hussein, who was forced to make a compromise, set the tone: to continue the attack on the Chinese infantry team. However, the Uzbek and Turkmen cavalry had to return eastward to ensure the safety of their own logistics team.

On the 11th, after taking inventory of the army's supplies, especially after learning that there was still five days' worth of clean water for the army, Hussein was helpless and began to lead more than 90,000 Ottoman infantry to attack Hakim, which Li Zicheng defended with more than 60,000 people.

oasis.

At the beginning of the attack, the generals of the Ottoman armies clearly felt that the Chinese on the opposite side had a strong fighting will and fierce firepower, and they would not be able to attack them for a while.

But it doesn't matter, the trapped beast still fights. When the enemy is at a critical moment of life and death, how can he not fight to the death? It's okay, just retreat for now, take a rest and then attack.

On the afternoon of the 11th, the Ottomans organized a large-scale attack again, but they still could not get in. At night, Li Zicheng, who was in the encirclement, organized elites to launch a night attack on them!

What, what's going on? Why did the Chinese's fighting power suddenly become so fierce?

"Hahaha, in the past, I wanted to show weakness to the enemy and lure you all the way to the west. I and Lao Zhang always held back, fearing that you would be frightened and not follow me. Alas, they have been defeated so many times.

It’s not easy to finally be able to fight with all our strength.”

Compared to the gloomy Ottoman military camp, Li Zicheng, who was in the Hakim Oasis at this time, was in a very happy mood: Hey, that's right. I spent more than a month and ruthlessly paid the loss of more than 20,000 people.

, I have just prepared this table of dishes for you. You must eat some of it to show respect for me as a cook.

After taking a small sip of water, Li Zicheng let the small sip stay in his mouth for a long time, fully moistening his mouth before swallowing it. Then he said: "Is it okay for the soldiers to drink water now?"

"Uncle, there is no problem. Although this oasis only supported more than 2,000 Turkmens in the past, it also supported tens of thousands of cattle and sheep. These animals are the major drinkers of water. Now we have not only driven out all these Turkmens

After leaving, after the army settled here, we also killed all the cattle and sheep. Therefore, there is no problem for more than 65,000 people to drink water. My nephew just went to the munitions office to see, and the munitions officer gave

My nephew promises that every soldier can have five glasses of water every day, which is about one kilogram."

"That's not bad." After listening to Li Guo's report, Li Zicheng picked up the water glass again, took a big sip, and then let out a breath: "It seems that there is no problem with drinking water. How about our defense?"

?”

"Uncle." Speaking of this, Li Guo obviously became more energetic: "The Ottoman soldiers are good at fighting, brave enough, and their individual combat capabilities are not bad, but their tactics are relatively rigid. Now both sides have no artillery. These

The infantry attack of this guy is still based on the previous pattern of artillery bombardment and infantry charge. Although it can barely be regarded as a skirmisher line, compared with our squad-based charging unit, their troop density is too high, and they are completely a group of living targets.

In short, after a day of fighting today, according to statistics from all parties, we killed at least more than 3,000 people on the other side, not counting the wounded who were dragged back. Our losses were less than 600. Uncle, those firepower points you chose are too poisonous.

Yes, we just got stuck on the enemy's advance route."

"Humph, I had a hard life in the Andes Mountains. I often had to contend with the enemy's superior force without artillery. I am the best at this kind of defense. Where are our ammunition?"

"No problem, we were traveling all the way. Except for the horses of Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry, all the animals, including horses, oxen, and camels, were used to carry ammunition. All the food was harvested and eaten...according to the intensity of today's battle

Look, we have enough ammunition for ten days."

"Very good." After listening to Li Guo's report, Li Zicheng completely relaxed. He did not take off his clothes and fell directly on the camp bed: "If you have nothing else to do, you can go down and rest first. I personally led the way last night.

The army is attacking at night. I am sleepy now, so I need to catch up on my sleep."

Li Zicheng was relaxed here. But not far away, in Hussein's camp, the atmosphere was not so good.

"I told you to retreat a long time ago, but you didn't listen. Are you okay now? We fought for a day and lost so many soldiers. What's the result? Now, we only have four days' worth of water left in our troops. Four days! We

It is more than 200 kilometers away from the Amu Darya River, and the Uzbeks and Turkmens took away almost all the livestock. In four days, we could not reach the Amu Darya River on our own feet! If you can't get there tomorrow

Once this oasis is conquered, no one will need to drink water!"

"Your Excellency." The Ottoman generals who initially shouted that the enemy was nothing more than this, and that we must defeat them in one fell swoop, were no longer as arrogant as they were yesterday. After looking at each other, the most junior division commander opened his mouth and said: "
Chapter completed!