Daqin Engineering Corps

Shen Bing was surprised because the Huns always plundered and would not occupy and garrison a certain city, but now they occupied two cities uncharacteristically. Could it be that the Huns wanted to fight an offensive and defensive war with the Qin army?

However, this does not seem to be surprising, because the Xiongnu in Wuyuan had once occupied the city and defended it. Now not only have they not learned the lesson, they seem to want to try.

Spreading out the map and looking at it, Shen Bing understood what was going on.

The two countries of Gushi and Loulan are the gateways to the countries of the Western Regions, and the north and the south separate Shazhou from the Western Regions.

More importantly, from Shazhou to Gushi and Loulan are [-] miles and [-] miles respectively.

And these thousand miles and fifteen hundred miles are either deserts or uninhabited Gobi...

To attack the two countries, the Qin army must first pass through this no-man's land.

As I said before, this no-man's land is extremely dangerous even for the local Shazhou people. When they go to do business, they have to build caves and Buddha statues to pray for blessings, and they often never return once they go.

So how did the Qin army attack these two countries?

Even if they rushed to the cities of these two countries, they would have to fight against the army of the Xiongnu who were waiting for work.

What's more serious is that the Huns' army will definitely guard the water source. How will the Qin army fight the Huns without water?

Shen Bing was right, this was what the Huns thought.

To be exact, it was Mao Dun Shanyu's idea.

Mao Dun Shanyu was very angry when he learned that the Qin army had captured Shazhou. He once wanted to rush to the west to command the battle himself.

But he was also worried that this would be Qin Jun's plan to attack the west, so he was transferred to this side and attacked from the wolf's mouth.

In addition, after understanding the details of the battle, I knew that this was not a mistake in the command of King Youxian.

Because even if Maodun fought this battle, I'm afraid that the Qin army would surprise Shazhou with surprise troops.

So how to prevent the Qin army from advancing westward?

After much deliberation, Mao Dun thought that if he still followed the old tactics of the Xiongnu, that is, waited for the Qin army to attack on the grassland, he would only lose the Western Regions.

Once the Western Regions are lost, the Huns will be passively attacked by the Qin army on both sides.

Therefore, after analyzing the situation, Mao Dun believed that the only way to take the initiative to occupy Gushi and Loulan was to defend against danger.

4 zero nine puzzles

It is easy for the Xiongnu to take down Gushi and Loulan.

Because Gushi and Loulan were almost the vassal states of the Huns before this, especially Gushi...

The Gushi is located in the northeast of the Western Regions, and every time the Xiongnu entered and exited the Western Regions, they had to pass through the Gushi and plundered it.

After a few times, Gushi Wang realized that this was not going to work, and if the Huns robbed Gushi a few more times, he would probably fall apart.

So King Gushi made peace with the Xiongnu on the condition that he would pay tribute to the Huns every year, and provide them with accommodation, food and water when the Xiongnu army passed by.

Mao Dun felt that the conditions were good. The Xiongnu army not only got a forward base but also got the livestock they wanted, so why not do it?

So the aunt became a vassal of the Huns, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he was working for the tiger.

Loulan is similar. Although it did not make peace with the Xiongnu, every time when the Xiongnu army came to the city, they drove out thousands of livestock, just like paying protection fees.

The Xiongnu saw that there were only more than 1000 households in Loulan with a population of more than 1, and it would not be beneficial to kill them all at once, so they left after getting the livestock, as if forming a tacit understanding.

But now and then.

Mao Dun knew that the strength of Gu Shi and Lou Lan would never be able to stop the Qin army... Gu Shi only had five thousand troops, and Lou Lan only had three thousand troops.

Mao Dun had an idea that the Xiongnu could assist Gushi and Loulan to garrison.

But Mouton also knew that this was not realistic.

He knew that Gushi and Lou Lan had to surrender because they were afraid of the Huns' looting. If the Qin army came to the city... It would be good if the two countries didn't stab the Huns from behind, and expect them to resist the Qin army?

So Mao Dun continued to do nothing, and ordered Xunyun to occupy Gushi and Loulan first in the name of discussing and uniting against the Qin Dynasty.

Then the Xiongnu divided their troops into Gushi and Loulan with [-] and [-] troops.

Gushi and Loulan both have earthen cities...these were built by the two countries to defend against the Huns.

Who would have thought that these earthen cities not only failed to function but were used by the Huns.

Then Xun Xun ordered the two places to continue to improve and strengthen the Tucheng with aunts and Loulan people as hard labor, and then stationed the remaining [-] cavalry troops in the north of Shazhou.

The smoker's idea is this:

Once the Qin army attacked Gushi or Loulan, his [-] cavalry went south into the desert to attack the Qin army's supplies.

At that time, the Qin army will not get water on the road, and they will not get water when they rush to Gushi and Loulan. Let's see how he can attack the city? !

Shen Bing admitted that he had miscalculated.

He didn't take into account the desert area lacking water for more than a thousand miles in the middle. In this special terrain, water is the most important thing for both the enemy and us to compete for.

Therefore, as soon as Shen Bing takes Shazhou, he should immediately send troops to Gushi or Loulan. As long as he takes down a country, he can get a stronghold thousands of miles away, so there will be no worries about water shortages.

Now they are passive because they were preempted by the Huns.

Wang Ben went on to say:

"General, my subordinates have asked the Yuezhi people, and they said that Gushi and Loulan both have Tucheng."

"This city is about thirteen feet high and more than twenty feet thick. It might not be difficult to conquer!"

The Qin army was good at attacking cities, one Qin foot was 23 centimeters, and the seven or eight-meter-high city walls in the Central Plains were 33 feet at every turn.

Therefore, the thirteen-foot-high walls of Loulan and Gushi can only be regarded as low walls, and they are just pediatrics to Qin Jun.

What Wang Ben meant was that even if the Qin army lacked water, it would be no problem for tens of thousands of troops to attack such a city wall.

But Shen Bing shook his head and said:

"Even though the city wall is only about ten feet long, it's not unusual."

"Lieutenant, you know that going to Gushi is a barren land, how will we cut down wood and make siege equipment?"

Wang Ben was stunned when he said this.

The lack of wood is a big problem. At that time, let alone trebuchets, there will be no ladders for siege.

Is it necessary to cut good wood from Shazhou and transport it to Gushi or Loulan?

This is obviously not realistic.

Because an army used a lot of wood to attack the city. It traveled more than a thousand miles, not to mention that the Qin army had to carry food, arrows, and water. The volume and weight of this wood made it difficult to transport it on the desert.

And on the way, they will definitely be harassed and attacked by the Huns.

In addition, there is another problem, that is, where to find the stones used for trebuchets to make stone bombs in this vast desert!

It's impossible to transport the stone bombs together!

In fact, what is even more terrifying is not only these...

Shen Bing added another sentence:

"What's more, the Huns still have the 'Thunderbolt Fireball' in their hands."

"I believe the Huns will definitely use the 'Thunderbolt Fireball' to defend the city!"

Of course.

At this time, the Xiongnu purchased a large number of raw materials for making "Thunderbolt Fireball" on the border of the Central Plains for production, and there must have been a lot of them at this time.

In fact, these raw materials can be said to have been sold by Shen Bing to the Xiongnu.

However, although Shen Bing could control, that is to say, cut off its source urgently, there was no need to cut off it in this battle.

Because the Xiongnu didn't need many "thunderbolt fireballs" to blow up the Qin army under the city.

Of course Wang Ben knew the power of the "Thunderbolt Fireball", so he became anxious immediately:

"General, this...how should this be done?"

"This aunt and Loulan are two cities, so I can only stay in Shazhou."

"Although Shazhou is rich in water and grass, we are here to sit and watch the Xiongnu devour the Western Regions, powerless..."

Li Yan, who had been silent by the side, interjected:

"General, if we cannot attack Gushi and Loulan, can we attack the main force of the Huns?"

"If the Xiongnu divide their troops to garrison the Western Regions, the main force will definitely have insufficient troops."

"And our army has more than [-] people, plus Yuezhi's [-] people, it is enough to fight the Xiongnu!"

Shen Bing shook his head slightly.

If it is only from the comparison of military strength, it is true.

The Qin army had [-] infantry and more than [-] cavalry, and the Yueshi cavalry added up to [-].

The total strength of the Xiongnu was no more than [-].

Usually, only half of the Xiongnu's troops in the Qin army can defeat them, not to mention that the ratio of troops at this time is one to one!

But Shen Bing knows that war is not just based on the comparison of troops.

The main force of the Qin army is actually the nearly [-] infantry plus the Shenwu army.

In addition, the Pu Lei Army is considered to be quite strong, but the recent expansion has rapidly increased from 5000 to more than [-]. At this time, the training has not yet been completed, let alone marching and fighting under the flag.

As for the [-] Yuezhi Army...

As long as the power of the nobility is not uprooted, and the soldiers do not get rid of their status as slaves and have the power to be promoted by military merit, Shen Bing dare not have hope in them.

On the other hand, the Xiongnu cavalry is a division of tigers and wolves who have experienced many battles.

And if they attack its main force, it means that they are likely to be taken deep into the grassland...

How will the Qin army, which is a mixed army of infantry and cavalry, fight?

Was it infantry like cavalry or were the two separate?

So Shen Bing thought that it would be a matter of time to attack the Huns, but not now.

4 Chapter [-] Artillery

The discussion between Shen Bing and Wang Ben and Li Yan was inconclusive, but Shen Bing already had an idea in his mind.

Shen Bing's method of analyzing problems is very simple, that is to eliminate the impossible first, and then find a targeted solution to the remaining possible ones.

The situation we are facing at this time is that it is impossible to attack the main force of the Xiongnu. After eliminating them, there is only siege.

It is also impossible to use the old tactics of directly attacking the city wall.

As I said before, although the walls of Loulan and Gushi are much shorter earthen walls, the Qin army could not obtain wood from the desert and thus could not manufacture siege equipment on a large scale.

Coupled with the bows and arrows, scimitars and "thunderbolt fireballs" in the hands of the Huns... it is even more difficult to attack this earth wall.

A common method is to dig tunnels and destroy city walls.

This method may work in the Central Plains, but in the desert area... the tunnel will bury itself before digging far.

After thinking about it, Shen Bing believed that only by adjusting the artillery can he win the battle.

Although the artillery is also heavy and has to carry shells at the same time, it is fundamentally different from the trebuchet.

The quality of wood required for a trebuchet may not be lighter than that of a cannon, and the hit rate is low and the destructive power is much smaller, so a lot of stone bullets and wood are needed to break the city wall.

Artillery is different.

Although the accuracy of the artillery is also not high, but because the trajectory of the artillery is relatively straight, targeting the city wall in front of you can increase the hit rate exponentially...

If the ballistic trajectory is straight, you only need to consider the vertical height of the shell. If the vertical height does not exceed the range of the city wall, it can hit the target no matter how large the scattering area is or how poor the accuracy is. This is also one of the advantages of modern cannons over howitzers.

The second is the destructive power of artillery.

The combination of the two advantages determines that if you use artillery to attack, you only need to carry much less artillery and shells to blow down the city wall.

Thinking of Shen Bing, he no longer hesitated, and immediately went to the Yuezhi royal court to meet Qiu Jiujiu.

At this time, Qiujiu was discussing with Xiu Mixihou about organizing trade and forming a caravan... Only Xidunxihou led the remnant soldiers to the west, and the other four Xihouhous all surrendered to the Qin army and became Qiujiuqiu. assistant.