Tumeng: I am a national advisor in the Golden Family

"Tomorrow we will launch a general attack on Samarkand, attacking from the four city gates simultaneously. We will first use heavy artillery to blast open the four city gates, then the musketeers will rush into the city to seize favorable terrain, and then the cavalry will follow." Zhang Dingguan began to formulate a detailed battle plan.

"Brother! Let me be responsible for attacking the eastern city gate!" Zhang Dingjin said.

"Okay! Fifth brother, you better be careful!"

"Brother! The one you should be careful of is Kublai Khan!"

"Hahaha! Big brother wants you to be careful not to let Kublai Khan run away. After we break the city tomorrow, Kublai Khan will definitely take the lead in escaping. If we let him run away by then, father will blame me, and I can't take it. So you have to be careful, father will deal with you." Zhang Dingxia patted his brother's shoulder and said.

"Hahaha! You're right. We can't let Kublai Khan get away tomorrow." Everyone present spoke together at once.

"Your Highness! I, Guo, will attack the south gate." Guo Kan said.

"General Guo is meticulous and good at fighting. I am very confident that the south gate will be handed over to you. Tomorrow you will lead our army to attack the south gate." Zhang Dingguan nodded and said.

He was aware of Guo Kan's abilities, especially his father, who had told him privately that Guo Kan was a man of great military talent, one of the best in the entire Daqian Empire, and that he must be used in this Western Expedition.

"Your Highness, don't worry. I will never let you down in this battle. If Kublai Khan dares to retreat from the south gate, I will capture him alive." Guo Kan said.

Several years have passed since he joined the Guanzhong King's army. Now that His Majesty has been crowned, he has also changed from the commander-in-chief of the Guanzhong Army to the military commander of the Daqian Empire.

As the saying goes, a real man should carry a three-foot sword and accomplish unparalleled feats! This time on the Western Expedition, he also had his own ambitions, and he must accomplish unparalleled military exploits and shock the world.

"Good Anda! Leave the north gate to me! Let me attack it." Quedebuhua said.

As the descendant of the famous general Cha Tohua, he naturally could not fall behind his father. This time, the father and son participated in the Western Expedition together, and he must prove himself to his father.

"Hahaha! Good Anda, you want to attack the north gate, then I will help you." Zhang Dingguan nodded and agreed to the other party's request.

"Anda, don't worry. If Kublai Khan dares to run away from me, I will not let him go. I will capture him alive." Quedebuhua said.

"Well! Then I will personally attack the east front gate. Generals, soldiers, tomorrow is the day we will capture Samarkand. No matter what the cost, we must break the city tomorrow and capture Kublai Khan alive." Zhang Dingguan raised the sword in his hand high and spoke.

"Conquer Samarkand! Capture Kublai Khan alive!"

"Conquer Samar Khan and capture Kublai Khan alive!"

All the generals roared in anger.

"Okay! Generals, please go back and rest quickly! Tomorrow, before dawn, tell the firemen to start cooking. Kill sheep and cattle for me so that all the soldiers can have a meal of meat to boost the morale of the army." Zhang Dingguan said.

"promise!"

That night, after the combat meeting, all the generals returned to their rooms to rest.

Zhang Dingguan sat in his own coach's tent, looking at the night sky and sighed.

Kublai Khan! Tomorrow is the day the city will be conquered. Tomorrow is your last day. I married the daughter of Tolui's family, so I am considered the son-in-law of Tolui's family.

But the other princes of Tolui's family survived, only you, Kublai Khan and Mongke, wanted to rebel. If that's the case, then you can't blame me.

The emperor wants you to be a burden to the family and become an idle prince, but there is someone in your family who is not at ease and wants to get involved in the position of the Great Khan of Mongolia.

This Western Expedition will be your last battle, and you have nowhere to escape!

There was nothing to say all night, and it was early the next morning.

The cooks of the Western Expedition Army began to get busy preparing meals for the soldiers before dawn.

Large numbers of cattle and sheep were dragged into the slaughterhouse, slaughtered, then roasted or boiled and distributed to the soldiers.

The whole military camp was filled with the aroma of meat. On the distant city wall of Samarkand, some Mongolian soldiers and some local soldiers were constantly swallowing their saliva and pursing their lips!

"What a delicious smell of cooking meat! I really want to eat a piece of fat lamb."

"And there's the aroma of beef! It smells so good!"

"Why should we protect this city? What does this war have to do with us?"

"How come it has nothing to do with us? This is our home after all!" said a local soldier.

"What does it have to do with us if Mongols fight Mongols?"

"Although most of the Western Expedition troops were Mongolians, there were still quite a few Han Chinese."

"I just want to farm honestly and raise sheep and cattle."

"I heard that if we surrender voluntarily, the Western Expedition Army will not harm us, but will let us go home. Many of the troops have already been sent home." A local soldier said.

Hearing this, all the soldiers on the city walls fell silent. It was indeed true that many of the surrendered troops did not receive any bad treatment.

At most, they acted as laborers and helped the other side carry some items. Even after Khazamarkand was besieged, some people were released.

"Brothers, I expect the enemy to launch a fierce attack today. You see, the enemy is eating meat, and war is all about eating meat.

We need to boost the morale of the soldiers. If we eat meat, we have to fight. So today will definitely be a tough battle."

This is common sense. Every time before a decisive battle, soldiers are allowed to eat some meat to boost morale.

"Every now and then, when the enemy attacks us, we throw our weapons on the ground and kneel down. It is said that this way we can survive!"

"I've also heard that when these armies come, they'll shout 'Kneel down and you won't die, kneel down and throw away your weapons and you won't die.'" (This is only in Chinese and there seems to be no foreign language for this, so let's just use this description.)
“I don’t want to go to hell after I die. We can’t work for Kublai Khan. There is no other way now, but once the enemy enters the city, we will immediately throw away our weapons.

Then kneel down and surrender, so that we can save our lives, go home to our families, and go to heaven after we die.”

"Okay! Let's do this!"

A large group of local soldiers have made up their minds to rebel against the aerial weapons attack yesterday. The aerial attack beyond the imagination of this era has given them unprecedented morale and confidence.

Now the local soldiers have completely lost any sense of combat, they are only thinking about one thing.

I only ask for one thing, and that is that the war ends soon so I don't have to fight and go home to farm, and when I have nothing to do, I can herd sheep and cattle.

Kublai Khan, who had not slept all night and was busy arranging things, was told by his officers that the enemy was cooking and had prepared a large amount of meat for the soldiers.

"Not good! They are about to launch a decisive battle. They plan to capture our city today." At this moment, Kublai Khan's face was extremely ashen.

Improving the food quality of the soldiers is a signal for a decisive battle. The smell of meat can even drift into the city, and the signal is self-evident.

But they were not ready yet. According to their estimation, they would resist the attack of the Western Expedition Army during the day, release the local troops in the afternoon, let the Mongolian army break through, and then they would start to escape.

But if the army outside launched a general attack during the day, then the situation would be different. Whether they could escape under the cover of night would be another question!
"Kublai Khan! What do you think we should do now? Or should we leave early?" asked a general.

"No! If we arrive early, we will only lose the city and the entire army will be captured. We must delay until night, only then can we escape." A general said.

Even if you want to retreat, you have to choose the best time and the best opportunity. Night is the best time to escape, as the soldiers' vision is not very good at that time.

And more importantly, the Western Expedition Army has been here for more than a month, and the flying artifacts are always deployed during the day.

It is almost unheard of that this kind of thing can fly into the sky at night. Although it is a flying artifact and can also carry people, it still has certain limitations. Night is what this kind of flying weapon fears the most. If they escape during the day, the enemy only needs to raise this thing into the sky, then they can always follow them, and then point the way for the cavalry, and then they will be unable to fly even if they have wings.

"We can disguise ourselves. We will never dress like ordinary soldiers, and they won't be sure that Kublai Khan is in the team."

"Yes, we can also find some soldiers, let them wear Kublai Khan's armor, and then pretend to be Kublai Khan to escape and attract the enemy's firepower." A Mongolian general said.

"This is also a solution. You should immediately find a captain who is similar in size to me, and then have him wear my armor and lead his own team of a thousand men. Then we can prepare to break out." Kublai Khan nodded in agreement. This was indeed a good idea.

If someone tries to blend in and put on his own armor, Zhang Yong's army on the Western Expedition will surely chase after him, and then he will have the chance to escape.

"Kublai Khan, don't worry, I will find the most loyal subordinate, let him wear your armor, and then pretend to be you." The general of Kublai Khanate who had just spoken said while kneeling on the ground.

"Well! If we want to escape successfully, we have to hold on until at least this afternoon. Order all soldiers not to relax at all and make sure to guard the city gates for us." Kublai Khan said.

Whether they can escape depends on whether the city gates can be defended. As long as they can hold it until the afternoon, they can drive the civilians and local troops out of the city and let them attract firepower.

About an hour later, when the sun was already high in the sky, Zhang Yong's army began to move westward.

Woo! Woo! Woo!
Dozens of soldiers carried out huge trumpets and blew them.

Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!
Hundreds of soldiers began to beat the war drums, and the deafening sound of the war drums resounded throughout the entire city of Samarkand!

"Soldiers, do you see that city?"

"See!" the soldiers answered loudly.

"Do you know what that is?" Zhang Dingguan looked at his soldiers and asked loudly.

Isn't that the city of Samarkand?
"General! That is the city of Samarkand. We will capture Samarkand today." said a soldier with a loud voice.

"No! That is a name that will be passed down through the ages! That is an achievement that will never be forgotten!
That is countless wealth and glory, that is the eternal hymn that will be sung by future generations!
Just think about it, a hundred years later, a thousand years later.

Future generations will record this story and our great expedition to the West!
Take it, take this city! It belongs to us, it belongs to you, let future generations sing praises of our victory today! "

Today's battle is the end of Kublai Khan and the beginning of this Western Expedition.

"Eternal wisdom! Eternal wisdom!"

"What are you talking about? After we take over the city, follow me and charge into the city. Anyone holding a weapon and wearing armor is your enemy. Unless they throw down their weapons and kneel on the ground, no one will be spared."

"No one wearing armor or holding a weapon will be spared."

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"I will not spare any of those who dare to attack us. There is only one way for people in this city to survive, and that is to kneel on the ground."

"Roar! Roar!"

After morale reached its peak, Zhang Dingguan ordered a general attack by the entire army.

A full 100,000-strong army began to attack the city of Samarkand with very heavy artillery, and under the cover of shield soldiers, began to approach the city gate of Samarkand.

The Mongolian soldiers on the city wall began to command the local troops to throw down boulders and logs and pour boiling oil, but this still could not stop the army's westward expedition.

The Western Expedition troops withstood the attack and pushed several heavy artillery pieces to the front of the city gate, then loaded them with shells and lit the fuses.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With earth-shaking roars, just a few shots were fired and the enemy's city gate was blown to pieces.

Even some of the wall was blown off, and a large number of local soldiers, driven by Mongolian soldiers, came to the city gate, intending to make a final resistance.

"The musketeers, move forward and kill! Leave no one alive."

Hundreds of musketeers, under the cover of sword and shield soldiers, raised their weapons and aimed at the local army.

boom!boom!boom!boom!boom!
After a burst of gunfire, hundreds of local soldiers fell in a pool of blood. Their bodies seemed to have suddenly exploded, like blood-red flowers blooming in the sky.

"What the hell is this? A devil! A devil!"

"Devil! Devil!" The local soldiers began to panic. They completely ignored the Mongolian soldiers' chasing and sabers behind them and ran back desperately.

"Don't retreat! Don't retreat!"

But such shouting was useless, because the second round of volleys came again, and there was another round of gunfire!
The power of the musket was fully demonstrated, and the hearts of the soldiers defending the city completely collapsed. Even some Mongolian soldiers began to throw away their sabers and flee.

"The commander-in-chief said that this time, only one kind of person can survive. Only one kind of person in this city can survive, and that is the person kneeling."

"Let them put down their weapons and kneel on the ground!"

"Kill! Accomplish this unparalleled feat and let future generations sing about our battle today!"

"Kill!"

A large number of soldiers poured in from the city gates, just like they did when they conquered the cities of the Southern Song Dynasty. After the musketeers captured four city gates, the outcome of the battle was decided and any resistance was futile.

After the army entered the city, all the fleeing enemies or the resisting enemies all had the same fate: they were either hacked to death by the Mongolian cavalry that rushed into the city, or they fell under the guns of the musketeers.

One of the local soldiers was so frightened that he dropped his weapon on the ground and knelt down. The Mongolian soldiers who were about to kill him were about to kill him.

He immediately stopped what he was doing, then pounced on another fleeing companion and chopped off his head without mercy.

"Everyone, everyone, throw away your weapons, throw away your weapons, kneel on the ground and you will not die." A sharp-eyed local began to shout loudly.

Hearing this, the local troops looked at each other, quickly threw all their weapons on the ground, and then knelt in front of the Western Expedition Army.

After they knelt down, they were no longer massacred. The Western Expedition Army looked at them, let them go, and rode away on horseback.

The whole city was filled with shouts and cries of killing. The Western Expedition Army had completely captured the city, and resistance was futile.

"Kublai Khan, it's too late. Come with me now. I will take you out of the city. The weapons of the Western Expedition Army are too powerful. We, we can't escape at all." A loyal subordinate ran into the palace in a panic, grabbed Kublai Khan's hand and said.

"It's only noon now. The dust broke at noon. Haha, I thought I could hold on until the afternoon!" Kublai Khan's voice was extremely desolate and his eyes were full of despair.

"Kublai Khan, Khan, please don't do this. Let's hurry up and run. They have just entered the city."

"Yeah! Let's go."

Kublai Khan nodded, took a team of only a hundred people, and disguised themselves.

Then he quietly ran out of his castle, mounted his horse and planned to escape in the chaos.

The cavalry of the Western Expedition Army had blocked the city gates at this time.

This time, as long as they are alive, they are not allowed to leave the four city gates, and anyone who dares to approach the four city gates will be killed without mercy!

Kublai Khan had a vague feeling that his final moment was approaching. (End of this chapter)