Chen Xi personally led people to build defensive fortifications.

Before the main force of the Tatars arrived, he had to operate the Tumu Fort into an indestructible steel defense line, rather than a paper-paste fortress piled on sand, breaking it in a blink of an eye, and then closing his eyes to death.

In order to make the Tumu Fort an ideal state, Chen Xi mobilized everyone under his command. He drew out some 2,000 people who knew literacy or had contact with cannons and muskets. As mobile troops, there were another 500 civilians with certain skills to manufacture and repair weapons and equipment, and at the same time realized some of the ideas in Chen Xi's mind.

The remaining 4,000 officers and soldiers and 2,000 civilians were divided into four squads, each responsible for civil engineering operations in one direction.

Chen Xi knew that the key to building fortifications was to destroy the mobility of the Tatar cavalry and give full play to the firepower advantages of the cannons and muskets at hand.

Therefore, with the Tumu Fort as the center, eight trenches will be built in front and back. Each trenches are four meters deep and three meters wide, with low front and high back. There is about 200 meters of flat ground between the trenches and the trenches.

All trenches are connected by tunnels. These trenches and tunnels become extremely narrow at the turn, allowing only two people to go in parallel. During wartime, you only need to send a team of fire commanders at these bends, so that one man can be as close as thousands of men.

The road connected to the outside of the city has become a winding "Z"-shaped route. In this way, when the enemy charges, except jumping into the trenches, the rest can only take a detour. When detours, the cannons at the top of the city and the musket soldiers ambushing the tunnels on both wings can give the Tatar soldiers the greatest damage.

The Tumu Fort, which was regarded as a despicable person, wiped out the Hokage tribe in the first battle, and won the second battle with an absolute advantage, which allowed the Ming army in the Tumu Fort to see the hope of survival again. Now they no longer want to get much credit for their battle with the Tatars, but just want to return to the pass alive and leave their lives to go back to see their wives and children.

To this goal, the officers and soldiers who built fortifications outside the city worked in full swing.

The daylight in winter is very short, and there are about six to seven hours in total. In the morning, we start working just dawn. We wait until the sky is almost completely dark before we retreat to the city to rest. In the middle, we just have a rest while eating and then continue working, so we are very efficient. The first line of defense was built in just two days. After that, according to Chenxi's plan, we will give priority to the construction of the trench outside and the traffic trench connecting the two trenches.

Among the 200 artillery pieces in Tumu Fortress, half of them were on the top of the city, while the rest used the piles of earth accumulated when digging trenches to build a turret to deter the enemy.

Since a large number of artillery shells and musket bullets were moved back from the Tatar camp, as well as more than 100,000 kilograms of gunpowder, there is no need to worry about the consumption of ammunition in the short term. In addition to maintaining the Folang cannon under the guidance of Shen Xi, each gunner and deputy gunner also have a chance to practice live ammunition every day.

Whenever the cannons on the top of the city bombard the target designated by Chenxi in the distance, the rumbling cannons would scare the Tatar cavalry who were observing from afar and flee far away, fearing that they would become victims.

In addition, the 1,500 musketeers who were trained in a concentrated manner also had the opportunity to shoot targets in actual combat every day.

Among these musketeers, nine hundred were equipped with the latest Folang Ji muskets, and the other six hundred were equipped with the old double-eyed muskets. The musketeers were divided into five teams, each with 300 people. They were lined up in three rows when the military formation went out to fight, and three-stage shooting was carried out. When fighting defensive wars, they hid in the trenches and fired across the fire, and they must ensure that the firepower was covered throughout the entire process.

Now Tumu Fort no longer has any worries about deserters, because with the South Gate blocked, there was no escape route around the city gate. When the Tatars caught the deserters of the Ming Dynasty, they basically killed one by one.

The Tatars did not want to use psychological warfare to attack the morale of the defenders. However, Chen Xi used "Mare" to beat the Tatars to break their hearts and see their robes blowing into powder by their side, and their bodies remained unforgettable. The pain was unforgettable. Now seeing the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty was like seeing their life and death enemies, and they were unwilling to let go.

After the Tatars killed the prisoners, they hung their heads on the flagpole to show off their power, which basically cut off the idea of ​​escaping. Moreover, the news of the upcoming arrival of imperial reinforcements is circulating in the army. Don’t be a deserter with the credit you have received, and there is no way to run away. After being caught, they are dead on both sides. The soldiers finally gave up and could only obey orders.

"Sir, the main force of the Tartars is coming, and it may be useless to continue to practice with such a blind eye!"

On the afternoon of the ninth day of the 10th lunar month, Chen Xi was studying the terrain around Tumu Fort in front of the map. Hu Songyue came to complain again, "The soldiers went to repair it every day, and it had been repaired for several days in a row, but they dug two trenches inside and outside. The trenches outside were just in the prototype, and they were nowhere near the final eight."

"Sir, if you continue digging like this, the Tartar soldiers rushed in before we can finish the repair!"

Chen Xi raised his head and stared at him and asked, "Who rushes? Just rely on these Tatars outside? Let me tell you, before the Tatar Central Army arrived, these people would never go beyond the line. We still have time to improve our defense."

Hu Songyue asked nervously: "Then Lord Shen, how long can we hold on to these things when we repair them? Three or five days, or ten or half a month?"

Chen Xi knew that these people were just testing his words, one was trying to test when reinforcements could arrive, and the other was testing how long the war would last.

"It is inevitable that we can defend it for three to five days. As long as the Tatars do not launch an attack day and night, we can hold on for a longer time!" Chenxi Road.

Hu Songyue was shocked: "Sir, don't joke. This Tumu Fort is just an abandoned city. It has not been repaired in recent years. It is difficult to rely on the ravines outside the city, let alone three or five days. If the Tartars have another 30,000 or 50,000 people... Lord Shen, I think it would be more appropriate to break through immediately. At this time, the Tartars are afraid of us. We will fight and retreat, and we may not be able to return to Juyongguan safely."

Chen Xi really wanted to curse and get rid of your mother's big head ghost.

In the past two days, soldiers and horses came one after another in the Tatar camp outside Tumu Fort, and the number of 6,000 or 7,000 was restored. In addition, they could ask for help from Xuanfu at any time. At that time, they might face tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, or all cavalry. The real army in the city was only 6,000. If they wanted to break through in this situation, it was not much different from killing them.

Chen Xi shouted sternly: "I will issue a military order now: Those who retreat easily will be killed! Now I cannot give you more guarantees. You just need to understand that if you want to save your life, you must continue to build defensive fortifications for me honestly."

Hu Songyue looked embarrassed, but when he saw Chen Xi's firm attitude, he could only leave the commander's lobby unhappily. He also knew that Chen Xi could turn decay into magic. Since Chen Xi was unwilling to say it, there was no way to force it. Now he could only pray that these trenches and Shen Xi's measures would work at critical moments.

...

...

The loss of Zhangjiakou Fort means that the northern border of the Ming Dynasty was opened, which was more dangerous than the loss of Yulin Weicheng. Juyongguan and Zijing Pass, the front line of the Neiguan Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, were under the direct threat of the Tatar iron hoof. The northern Tatar soldiers and horses could continuously enter the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the northern defense line was tight.

Under such circumstances, Liu Daxia still led his troops in Ningxia Town, "recovering lost land" and was still unaware of the dangers facing Xuanfu.

The battle of Xuanfu started after heavy rain stopped on the morning of the seventh day of the 10th month.

In this battle, the Tatars invested more than 80,000 troops, and the siege equipment was fully equipped. The artillery was connected to the sky inside and outside the city. Not only did there be new Bolang cannons in the city, but there were also Tatars. The two sides hit each other, and the Tatar soldiers used the siege towers and collision cars to attack the Xuanfu city walls and city gates.

In the afternoon of that day, there were signs of loss in the north gate of Xuanfu, but it was difficult for the defenders in the city to guard it.

Taking advantage of the sprint of war after nightfall, the city sent troops to the outside of the city to send a report of help. Unfortunately, the city gate was surrounded by Tatar soldiers and even the city gates around Xuanfu were haunted by Tatars, and there were no reinforcements to help.

The war report for help was intercepted by the Tatars in the middle of the journey, and the Xuanfu was isolated and helpless.

The intelligence networks in the three sides and various parts of Xuanda were lagging behind. Because Tatar Rangers controlled east-west traffic, the military newspapers could not be transmitted in time. Xuanfu did not know the situation of Datong and Taiyuan towns, Datong and Taiyuan did not know the situation of Xuanfu.

It was during this kind of news that Xuanfu experienced Tatar soldiers attacking all night.

Yi Sima's attack on Xuanfu wasted by regaining the time he had been wasted by division of troops from Tumu Fort.

When Xuanfu encountered a fierce attack, Datong Town and Taiyuan Town were still peaceful and peaceful. The battle reports of safety were sent back to the capital through Zijing Pass. At this moment, the Daming intelligence network seemed to be completely ineffective.

Even if the news of Xuanfu Town had not been heard back to the capital for half a month, it did not arouse enough vigilance... The key is that everyone does not believe that the Tatars would attack the Ming Dynasty from Xuanfu Town. This is a kind of trust in the major barriers of Xuanfu Town, and also in the trust in the three-sided governor Liu Daxia.

No one believed that the Tatars had the ability to cut off the Ming Dynasty's intelligence network and let the Ming Dynasty fall if it was completely blind.

But this is happening and it is irreversible. Even though the court received news and took action at this time, it could not relieve the near thirst. Only Shenxi's tribe, which could rush to the Xuanfu, was also surrounded by troops sent by the Tatars.

Shen Xi had no other ideas at this time and was determined to defend.

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ps: The second update!
Chapter completed!