Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 652: Night Battle Snoring

The Qian army was unstoppable and took over the southern city in just one day. However, as the sky got darker, the frontline officers sent reports one after another, saying: "It is dark now, and it is difficult for the soldiers to distinguish between the enemy and us. If we continue to attack, we may suffer too many casualties."

Then Lin Shiqi looked at the sky which had completely darkened, nodded and said, "Pass on my order to temporarily suspend the attack and hold the South City position."

As soon as the messenger left, Lin Shiqi seemed to have just thought of something and gave another order: "Send the firearms soldiers up, use the shields as a wall to protect the firearms soldiers, and let the firearms soldiers continue to fire to consolidate the position."

"Yes, handsome!"

As Lin Shiqi's order was issued, the Qian army temporarily stopped the attack, and the Turpan defenders, who were somewhat confused by the Qian army's fierce attack, temporarily stabilized their position.

While the Turpan defenders had not yet recovered from their shock, the Qian army was rotating and no conflict broke out between the two sides. For a moment, the battlefield, which had been filled with deafening sounds of fighting, fell into an eerie calm. However, soldiers on both sides knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

Although the Yarkand soldiers and the Qian army were better equipped with armor and weapons, and their firearms were even more inferior to those of the Turpan defenders, it seemed as if there was a generation gap.

However, when attacking the city, they were still subject to the limitations of the times, and the defenders of Turpan were not without the ability to resist.

On the 20th day of the first lunar month, the Qian army captured the wall of the southern city in just one day. Although they had not yet completely entered the city, as long as the defenders of Turpan City could not recapture it at night, the fall of Turpan City would be a foregone conclusion at dawn.

At this moment, Muhara's face looked particularly gloomy under the light of the torches beside him. If he could not recapture the South City tonight, he would die in Turpan City. As for escaping from Turpan City, that was not an option for him.

If he, Muhalla, held Turpan for a month and inflicted heavy casualties on the Qian army, and then the Qian army forcibly captured Turpan at the cost of countless lives, then he, Muhalla, would still have something to say to Apakh Khoja when he returned to Shache.

But the situation now is that after only one day, Turpan City is already crumbling. Can he run away? If he runs back and says that the Qian army is too strong and he has tried his best, will Apak Khoja believe him?

Although Muhalla was not a smart man, he was not a fool either. He knew that if Turpan City was lost so quickly, he must die in the city. Otherwise, he would also die if he escaped back, and his family would inevitably be implicated.

Muhala stared at several generals fiercely and said in a bad tone: "Your families are all in Shache. You must not run away. The only way now is to retake the South City. Otherwise, when the sky gets light and Turpan falls, I will take your heads off before my head falls to the ground!"

After hearing this, everyone felt a chill in their hearts, but under Muhara's gaze, they all nodded.

Then Muhala gave the order: "Pass on my order, the battle will not stop all night, even if it costs a pile of lives, we must drive the Qian army out of the South City!!!"

In the city of Turpan shrouded in darkness, the defenders of Yarkand were all somewhat uneasy. The news that the southern city wall had been captured had already spread among the army.

Generally speaking, once a city wall is breached, it also means the fall of the city is a foregone conclusion. Only a very small number of armies can continue to fight the besieging troops in street fighting.

As Muhalla's order was passed down layer by layer, the Turpan defenders, although filled with fear, had no choice but to bite the bullet and launch wave after wave of charges towards the Qian army on the southern city wall.

But while the defenders were in the preparation stage, the Qian army on the south city had completed the change of guard. On both sides of the city wall, the Qian army used dense shield formations to defend against the Yarkand people's bows and arrows and sporadic musket fire.

Behind the shield formation were the firearms soldiers of the Qian army. Due to the narrow terrain, the firearms soldiers could not be arranged in several rows to form continuous firepower, so they could only be fired by the soldiers in the front row, and then the soldiers in the rear would reload and pass them to the soldiers in the front row.

The time came to the hour of Xu. The moon of the first month was bright and round. However, under the soft moonlight, the scene in Turpan city was very different from the gentle moonlight. All that could be seen was brutal killing and blood rising to the sky.

On the city walls and outside the city, beacon fires lit up the night, gunpowder smoke filled the sky, and the sounds of shouting and killing shook the earth. On and below the city walls, corpses were piled up and blood was flowing everywhere.

Under the strict order of Muhalla, the Turpan defenders waved their weapons and shouted as they rushed towards the wall occupied by the Qian army. The defenders launched attacks from several places at the same time from both sides of the wall and from the stone steps leading to the city wall.

Under the cover of night, they tried to use their numerical advantage to drive the Qian army off the city wall, but the Qian army was well prepared and ready for battle. Fire guns were handed to them, and the soldiers who fired did not even aim, but pulled the trigger towards the darkness ahead.

The light of muskets and the sound of war drums urged the soldiers of both sides to die on the battlefield. In a blink of an eye, countless men lay dead.

When the Yarkand soldiers approached, amid the sounds of the Qian army's muskets, there were also fire bombs thrown from the formation from time to time. Amid the deafening roar, countless Yarkand soldiers fell down one after another, and their screams resounded through the night sky.

In the dark night, the miserable screams of their companions terrified the surviving soldiers. Some defenders could not stand this horrible scene. Some of them dropped their weapons and fled the battlefield under the cover of darkness, hiding in the streets and alleys.

Although there were cowards, there were brave men among the defenders. Some Yarkand soldiers did not retreat. They stepped on the corpses of their companions and continued to charge forward. Some soldiers managed to escape the attacks of muskets and hand-fired bullets, rushed to the front of the Qian army, and vigorously chopped their shields with their scimitars, making a dull sound.

Muhara stood in the back and watched his soldiers rush forward, but the South City occupied by the Qian army was still as solid as a rock, with no signs of being driven out of the city.

Muhalla was extremely anxious. He kept waving the scimitar in his hand and shouted loudly: "Charge! We must take back the South City!"

As time went by, the brave soldiers were exhausted, the offensive of the defenders gradually weakened, and many people began to hesitate and retreat. Seeing this, Muhalla was furious. He personally stepped forward and killed several soldiers who tried to retreat, shouting: "Whoever dares to retreat will be killed without mercy!"