Daqin Engineering Corps

One of the iron bullets rolled and jumped near Er Siwei.

Seeing this, Er Siwei breathed a sigh of relief, because things turned out as he thought, iron bullets were not very lethal when used in combat.

For example, the batch of iron bullets fired only hit more than a dozen soldiers.

However, Er Siwei soon realized that something was wrong.

Because the iron bullet is not spherical but cylindrical, and it is still emitting green smoke...

When Er Siwei was wondering, he only heard a series of loud bangs, and the shells that were thrown in exploded one after another.

For a moment, smoke and dust billowed and shrapnel flew across.

Before Er Siwei understood what was going on, he was shocked by the shock wave and fell to the ground, with a "buzzing" sound in his ears.

He struggled to get up from the ground and saw that the Xiongnu soldiers who were originally lined up in neat formation had been blown up into a mess.

Er Siwei struggled to get up and stabilize the formation.

Eswei could only do this, because he knew that the Huns in the city had no other way out except resistance.

however……

Before the Xiongnu soldiers recovered, dozens of shells came in after a burst of cannon fire.

The Xiongnu soldiers could no longer suppress the fear in their hearts, and retreated like a tide after shouting, no matter how much Eswei shouted, it was of no avail.

It was not until this time that the Qin army began to attack.

Qin Jun didn't even charge, but stepped forward slowly and steadily, forming a neat formation.

Because they knew that there was no need to charge at this time, and the Xiongnu would undoubtedly be defeated. They were not going to fight, but to reap their lives.

As for the captives...

There was no need for the Qin army to accept the Huns' captives, especially in the Western Regions where they were unfamiliar and had no prisons.

Soon, when the Qin army entered through the gap, the city gate opened from the inside.

Two thousand infantry of the Qin Army rushed in, and immediately there was a scream of killing and screams in Loulan City.

Fierce battles were also launched in several other directions at the same time.

To be exact, it was not a fierce battle but a massacre.

Because the Huns were frightened by the power of the artillery, they mounted their horses desperately hoping to break through from other directions... They dare not break out from the front, because there are artillery that scare them.

The most Xiongnu broke out in the west, because that was the opposite direction of the artillery.

But as I said before, the gates of the cities have already been blocked by the Qin army.

So a batch of crossbow arrows flew over and shot down the Xiongnu in pieces.

Occasionally, a few Huns broke through the rain of arrows and rushed out of the city. What awaited them was rows of refusal carbine guns and horse traps.

Chapter 423 King Loulan

In the end, the Qin army captured Loulan at the cost of more than [-] casualties, but the Huns stationed in Loulan were completely wiped out.

Almost all the casualties of the Qin army were caused by the attack on the remnants of the Huns... Hundreds of remnants of the Huns stood on a beacon tower in the northwest corner to resist stubbornly.

According to the news from the captives, the Xiongnu Chief Wan and his personal guards are stationed there.

Part of the reason why he was able to hold on until now is that he knew that the Qin people hated the Huns and usually did not keep prisoners.

So instead of being humiliated and killed, it is better to fight to the end. They still let off smoke on the beacon tower, hoping that the troops outside the city will rescue them.

But at this time, it was too late to set off the wolf smoke, and the Qin army had already invaded Loulan, so there was no need to worry about replenishing water.Moreover, there are obstacles and traps everywhere outside the city, making it difficult for cavalry to play a role.

Shen Bing didn't waste time, and of course he wouldn't waste shells for these hundreds of remnants. These shells had to be transported from Shazhou thousands of miles away.

Shen Bing just ordered someone to push over the trebuchet dropped by the Huns, and then the stone bombs exploded... The next step was to harvest heads from the rubble.

Er Siwei, the head of the Wanfu, was crushed by the gravel in the beacon tower and could not move. He was dragged out by the Qin army and thrown in front of Shen Bing, bloody and wounded all over his body.

He glanced at Shen Bing, and laughed:

"I don't know who it is, but it turned out that General Beidi came to attack Loulan himself, and I didn't die wronged!"

After listening to Ji's translation, Shen Bing asked suspiciously:

"You recognize me?"

Er Siwei nodded towards Shen Bing and said:

"The battle of Wuyuan was fortunate to have a relationship with the general."

"I admire General Beidi's strategy and wisdom very much. If I am lucky enough to meet you in the next life, I will definitely worship General Beidi as my teacher!"

This style of painting changed so quickly that Shen Bing couldn't adapt to it for a while... Shouldn't he usually curse a few times happily, and then Shen Bing simply ordered him to be beheaded?Who would have thought to say such a thing.

In the end, Er Siwei said:

"General, don't be embarrassed, I, Er Siwei, said that it is a disaster to the Central Plains, and it is not a pity to die!"

"The general will give me a good time!"

Shen Bing nodded, and asked his guards to drag Er Siwei down and chop him up.

At the same time, Shen Bing also felt that there seemed to be some problems with Qin Jun's way of killing the Huns.

Because this has inspired the Xiongnu to resist to the death, and a battle must be a life-and-death struggle. This is definitely not good for the overall strategy, and it should be changed in the future.

The biggest benefit of the Qin army in this battle is the availability of water.

Although the water source is just a small lake in the center of Loulan City, this is the process of the water source from scratch.

Most of the Loulan soldiers and civilians were driven away by the Huns, leaving only a few hundred young and strong as coolies and the royal family of King Loulan as hostages.

The reason why the Xiongnu did this was mainly because Loulan City was too small and had limited living space.

In fact, not to mention the living space, so many Loulan people crowded in the city during the war was also in the way.

On the other hand, it was the Xiongnu who were worried that the people of Loulan would revolt when the Qin army came to attack, and they would be unable to control the situation at that time.

Qin Jun found these people in Loulan Palace.

It is said that the palace is actually a few earthen houses, which are full of royal relatives and nobles whose hands and feet are bound.

They were obviously not sure whether Qin Jun was an enemy or a friend, so when the Loulan King, who was dressed in a colorful gown and a white wide hat, stood in front of Shen Bing, he was still shivering, and even needed the support of his personal guards to prevent him from falling.

Shen Bing asked Loulan King to sit down in front of the case very politely, and then said:

"Please don't worry, Your Majesty, we don't have any intention of taking Loulan as our own when we pass by."

"Your Majesty, you can call the people back to the city. Our army will be stationed outside the city, and we can just ask for some water and food."

The shocked King Loulan hurriedly cupped his hands and replied:

"The general is serious."

"Your army expelled the Xiongnu, this city should also belong to your army."

"Don't talk about asking for water and food, even stationed in the city is a matter of course!"

Shen Bing waved his hands with a smile and said:

"Your Majesty is joking. I, Daqin, are different from the bandits of the Xiongnu who killed people and looted goods."

"If you say why our army came here, it's actually just doing business with the countries of the Western Regions..."

Speaking of which, Shen Bing raised his head towards the personal guard beside him, and the personal guard knowingly brought out a high-quality silk and satin and respectfully presented it to King Loulan.

King Loulan took some out to look carefully, then stroked carefully for a while, then looked at Shen Bing with surprised eyes, and said:

"General, what is this cloth made of? It's so delicate and soft!"

Shen Bing replied:

"This is made of silk, and only the Central Plains can produce it."

"The business that Shen Bing said is to exchange silk, horses, camels or other things with countries in the Western Regions."

"I don't know what the king wants?"

It seems inappropriate for Shen Bingfei to talk about business, especially at this time.

But in fact, Shen Bing's move was just right.

The reason why King Loulan was afraid, vigilant and scrupled was because he was not sure about Qin Jun's intentions.

There are no purely good people in this world, and there will be no pies in the sky.

Qin Jun took such a big risk to help Loulan repel the Xiongnu from a long distance, how could he have nothing to do?

So no matter what Shen Bing said, it would not work.

Only Shen Bing told him clearly... We are here to do business, and the target is not just Loulan, but the 36 countries in the Western Regions.

Then King Loulan thought:

If Qin Jun came to do business, it meant that they had to make long-term plans. In the future, they would need to pass through Loulan and also need spices, furs and other products, so it was unnecessary and impossible to destroy Loulan.

The reason is simple. If Loulan is destroyed, who will be able to produce spices for them in the future?

This is actually a bit like the relationship between Loulan and the Huns before:

Loulan gave some livestock to the Xiongnu every year, and the Xiongnu did not destroy Loulan.

Because destroying Loulan means killing chickens and taking eggs, it will not be possible to get a batch of livestock every year in the future.

Obviously, doing business with Daqin is much better, because at least bartering is still not free like the Xiongnu.

Thinking about it this way, King Loulan let go of half of his hanging heart, and immediately responded:

"It's so good, the king will definitely contact the countries in the Western Regions and recommend it to them..."

Shen Bing said:

"Silk and satin, this thing is called silk and satin!"

King Loulan praised:

"Silk and satin, good name."

At this time, Shen Bing changed the subject and said:

"There is something Shen Bing has to remind the king."

"After a few days of rest, our army will go north to Gushi to conquer the Xiongnu."

"And the Huns still have a large number of stragglers wandering in the wild, and it is said that there are [-] reinforcements on the way. Your Majesty must organize the city defense as soon as possible!"

"otherwise……"

King Loulan's expression changed when he heard the words, and he said nervously:

"General, it's a long way to go to Gushi, why don't your troops stay for a few more days?"

Shen Bing thought secretly.

Just kidding, this Loulan is the springboard for Qin Jun to enter the Western Regions, how could he let go so easily? !

Chapter 424 It's Easy to Ask God

The name Loulan is beautiful, but this country has never been an easy host to deal with.

I don’t know how many times in history Loulan has repeatedly followed the Central Plains and the Xiongnu for a while, and whatever, in order to show his loyalty to the Huns, he even intercepted and killed the envoys of the Central Plains several times...

That's why there is a poem in the Central Plains, "The yellow sand wears the golden armor in a hundred battles, and if you don't break Loulan, you will never return it."

However, in Shen Bing's view, this matter was quite normal.

There are only more than [-] people in Loulan, and the military strength is no more than [-]... At this time, some of them were occupied by the Huns, some were killed and some were driven away. I am afraid that it would be difficult to recall [-] soldiers.

Such a small country is sandwiched between the two great powers of the Central Plains and the Xiongnu. If it hadn't been a grass on both sides, it would have been wiped out long ago.

Therefore, the Central Plains always hated Loulan for treachery and ignoring martial ethics, but in fact this was just the helplessness of a small country.

What Shen Bing has to do is to make Loulan fall to the Central Plains conditionally and for a long time... The Western Region is actually divided into two by the Tianshan Mountains running from east to west. The upper part is the Junggar Basin and the lower part is the Tarim Basin.