Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 781 Prepare a Great Dinner to Welcome Guests
"Uncle, that coward Hussein didn't catch up with us."
"Eh? You were chasing me very closely last night. Why don't you come? I've prepared a table full of food. If this guy doesn't come, wouldn't it be rude?"
On October 10, 1647, about 200 kilometers west of the city of Chalju on the Amu Darya River, in a large oasis deep in the Karakum Desert, Li Zicheng's troops of about 65,000 people were intensively building fortifications in preparation for the siege of Hussein's army.
After separating from the main corps of Kujan and Sun Chuanting, he and Zhang Xianzhong wandered around the outer lines for more than a month and successfully lured out Hussein's main force in Samarkand.
In the past month, he and Zhang Xianzhong had also thought about fighting a major battle and annihilating Hussein's group in a field battle. However, after the first large-scale battle between Blaha and Hussein's group on the east bank of the Amu Darya River, the two quickly extinguished this idea: the Ottomans' combat power was actually not weak, and their fighting will was not bad. The cavalry of the Uzbeks and Turkmens was also quite strong. The most annoying thing was that in order to ensure the speed, the detachment led by the two had few heavy artillery such as 105/150, let alone 75 guns. When the combat power and number of both sides were similar, the Ming army, which had no heavy equipment at all, would most likely suffer a great defeat if it really had to fight the enemy in the field with its chariots and horses.
So the two of them decided to go west and let the enemy follow us, and then drag the enemy's artillery unit behind.
For Li and Zhang, who had 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 troops was something they had slowly figured out over the past decade in America. So after these two guys broke away from Sun Chuanting's control, they had almost no rules when they started fighting, and they would only think of what to do when they were at the point of attack.
After running westward for a long distance, the two men decided: We have come so far, and the Karakum Desert is right in front of us, so why not go into the desert and cut off the supply line of Hussein's group, and let them die of thirst in the desert!
After coming up with this idea, Li and Zhang selected some local residents who they had enlisted along the way and asked them to serve as guides. They then 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 bordered 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 quite a few oases in this desert. Li Zicheng's nephew Li Guo picked an oasis called Hakim among these oases: this oasis is 260 kilometers away from the Amu Darya River and nearly 200 kilometers away from the nearest oasis. As long as the Ming army can hold this oasis, the logistics and supply of Hussein's group will immediately be in big trouble.
There were originally more than 2,000 Turkmens alive in this oasis. 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 is still difficult to support 60,000 to 70,000 troops, and any burden reduction is a plus. Of course, these natives cannot go east, so they can only go west to find the nearest oasis, hoping that the people there can help them. As for whether they can get there, Li Guo is too lazy to care.
In the Battle of Chalju on October 1, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong faced the Hussein group, which had no heavy artillery support, but still deliberately lost after several hours of fierce fighting. Taking advantage of the large battlefield area and the change in the battlefield position after the cavalry penetrated each other, Li Zicheng's infantry and Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry were separated naturally without a trace.
Afterwards, Li Zicheng led Hussein to retreat step by step to Hakim Oasis, successfully leading Hussein to the depths of the desert. Li Guo had already built simple fortifications in Hakim Oasis, waiting for Hussein's army to come and besiege.
But, when the plan is about to enter the final step, you are not coming?
As a general who won the great victory of Jerusalem with Richelieu, how could Hussein not know the routine of "showing weakness to the enemy and luring the enemy deep into the city"? Unfortunately, as the saying goes, "the authorities are the most confused." When Sun Chuanting's main corps on the northern front had already launched a siege on Samarkand, he really wanted to completely annihilate Li and Zhang's detachments.
We have won two large-scale battles, and have also won numerous small-scale battles. Now, the enemy has been forced into the desert and can no longer maneuver. Why not take a risk and go deep into the desert to completely annihilate them? Are we still waiting for the enemy to come back and kick our asses after we withdraw?
However, a telegram from Wallenstein quickly calmed him down.
In this telegram, Wallenstein not only repeatedly warned, but also emphasized one point: water is crucial in desert warfare. If the enemy gets the oasis first, you will not be able to capture it in a short time, and the transport team behind will be killed by the enemy's cavalry. Then, your army will completely collapse.
After reading Wallenstein's telegram, Hussein broke out in a cold sweat: Only then did he remember that in the Battle of Chalju on October 1, the Chinese cavalry fled in the opposite direction of their own infantry!
After receiving the telegram on the 9th, Hussein thought about it again and again, especially after the scouts in front came back and reported that the Chinese were indeed entrenched in an oasis and building fortifications. Hussein completely accepted Wallenstein's advice: put aside the pursuit of the enemy infantry and stabilize their logistics first.
Unfortunately, he figured it out, but the Uzbeks and Turkmen under his command refused to accept it: along the way, they saw too many compatriots who lost all their food and a large number of livestock after being plundered by the Chinese and were forced to flee. The reason why these soldiers fought so bravely in the past month or so was largely because they were stimulated by the plight of their compatriots.
Now, seeing that those demons from the East have been driven into the desert and are about to be destroyed, can you just stop if I say so?
Not only the Uzbeks and Turkmens , but also some of the Ottomans led by Hussein himself, were unwilling to do so: the enemy had been defeated many times and was now entrenched in an oasis, completely unable to maneuver. If we could quickly capture this oasis, wouldn't we have won a complete victory? If the whole army retreated at this time, wouldn't all the previous efforts be wasted?
As for whether we can capture this oasis ? Hey! Since we set out from Samarkand in early September, we have fought so many battles in more than a month. When has the Chinese ever won? As long as they cannot maneuver and escape, our Ottoman warriors can capture the oasis with a single charge.
Then Hussein's group made a lot of noise in the desert for most of the day. Throughout October 10, the army, which was still as large as 130,000, neither advanced nor retreated, and wasted almost a whole day in the desert.
On the evening of the 10th, Hussein, who was forced to compromise, set the tone: continue to attack the Chinese infantry, but the Uzbek and Turkmen cavalry must return east to ensure the safety of their own logistics teams.
On the 11th, after counting the supplies and especially learning that the army still had enough water for five days, Hussein, who was helpless, began to lead more than 90,000 Ottoman infantry to attack the Hakim Oasis, which was defended by Li Zicheng with more than 60,000 men.
At the beginning of the attack, the generals of the Ottoman armies clearly felt that the Chinese had a strong fighting will and fierce firepower, and they would not be able to break in for a while.
But it doesn't matter, a trapped beast will still fight. How can the enemy not fight to the death when it is at the critical moment of life and death? It's okay, retreat for now, take a rest and then attack again.
On the afternoon of the 11th, the Ottomans organized another large-scale attack, but still failed to break in. At night, Li Zicheng, who was in the encirclement, organized his elite troops to launch a night attack on them!
What's going on? Why did the Chinese suddenly become so powerful?
“Hahaha, in the past we had to show weakness to lure you all the way west. Lao Zhang and I were holding back, for fear that we would scare you and stop you from following us. Well, after so many fake defeats, we can finally fight with all our strength. It’s not easy.”
Compared to the gloomy Ottoman camp, Li Zicheng in Hakim Oasis was in a very happy mood at this time: Well, that's right, it took me more than a month and suffered the loss of more than 20,000 people to prepare this table of food for you, you have to eat some to show respect to me as a cook.
Li Zicheng took a sip of water and let it 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, no problem. Although this oasis only supported more than 2,000 Turkmen in the past, it also supported tens of thousands of cattle and sheep, which are the major consumers of water. Now we have not only driven away all these Turkmen, but also killed all these cattle and sheep after the army entered this place. Therefore, there is no problem for more than 65,000 people to drink water. I just went to the quartermaster's office to check, and the quartermaster assured me that every soldier can guarantee five cups of water every day, about one kilogram."
"That's not bad." After listening to Li Guo's report, Li Zicheng picked up the water cup again, took a big sip, and then let out a long sigh: "It seems that drinking water is no problem, what about our defense?"
"Uncle." Speaking of this, Li Guo was obviously more excited. "The Ottoman soldiers are good at fighting. They are brave enough and their individual combat power is also OK, but their tactics are rather rigid. Now both sides have no artillery, and their infantry attacks are still based on the old mode of artillery bombardment followed by infantry charge. Although it can barely be considered a skirmish line, compared with our squad-based charge unit, their troop density is too high, and they are completely a group of sitting ducks. In short, after a day of fighting today, according to statistics from all parties, we killed at least more than 3,000 of the enemy, not counting the wounded who were pulled back. Our losses are less than 600. Uncle, those firepower points you chose are too poisonous. They just got stuck on the enemy's route of advance."
"Humph, I had a hard life in the Andes. I often had to fight against the enemy's superior forces without artillery. I am the best at this kind of defense. Where are our ammunition?"
"No problem. Along the way, all the animal power, except for the war horses of Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry, horses, cattle, and camels, were used to carry ammunition. All the food was eaten immediately after it was harvested... According to the intensity of today's battle, our ammunition will be enough for ten days."
"Very good." After listening to Li Guo's report, Li Zicheng was completely relaxed. He didn't even take off his clothes and fell directly on the camp bed: "If there is nothing else, go down and rest first. I personally led the army to attack at night last night. I am sleepy now, so I will catch up on some sleep first."
Li Zicheng was relieved. But not far away, in Hussein's camp, the atmosphere was not so good.
"I told you guys to retreat a long time ago, but you didn't listen. Now what? After a day of fighting and losing so many soldiers, what's the result? Now, our troops only have four days' worth of water left. Four days! We are more than 200 kilometers away from the Amu Darya River, and the Uzbeks and Turkmens have taken away almost all the livestock. In four days, we can't even reach the Amu Darya River on foot! If you can't take this oasis tomorrow, then none of you will have any water!"
"Sir." The Ottoman generals who had initially shouted that the enemy was nothing and that we would surely defeat them in one fell swoop were now completely less arrogant than they were yesterday. After looking at each other, the least experienced division commander asked, "What about those Turkmen and Uzbeks returning eastward? They should be able to escort our logistics supply team to provide us with supplies, right? What about the small team we sent out yesterday to look for another oasis? There was no response from them?"
