The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 117 Citywide Preparations for War
The roaring continued from 1:00 PM to 08:00 PM.

The destructive power of cannons was also something that horse archers could not withstand.

In less than four hours, more than 10,000 enemy soldiers were killed.

Such a victory should have been a cause for celebration.

We've returned to the same old problems we encountered before the Clean Army campaign.

The Bei state had never solved the problem of cooling its firearms.

Not only were the muskets prone to exploding.

The cannon heats up even faster during firing.

Moreover, the explosive power of a cannon barrel bursting is much greater than that of a musket.

Not only were the gunners killed, but even the pillboxes and gun emplacements were blown away.

The Kashgar Khanate cavalry took the opportunity to begin climbing the wall.

Meanwhile, the cavalry outside the city gates also retaliated against the defenders with bows and arrows and arquebuses.

The two sides fought until midnight.

The Kashgar Khanate cavalry, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, finally crossed the first line of defense.

Fight for holy war.

Cavalrymen with religious beliefs are not afraid of bloodshed or death.

In close combat, cannons are ineffective.

The muskets and bows and arrows in the barbican's arrow tower came in handy.

As one group of Kashgar Khanate cavalryman fell, another group arrived.

More than a thousand defenders fought a bloody battle all night, taking advantage of the fortifications.

After leaving behind more than 20,000 enemy corpses, they were all killed in action.

At dawn.

The mighty Peace Pass has been breached!
Looking at the mountains of corpses of the cavalry, even the supreme commander of the Kashgar Khanate felt a chill.

They were well-prepared, and their attack was sudden.

At the very first pass on the west side of Bei State, 30,000 cavalrymen were lost!

However, the holy war has already begun.

They cannot back down!

He could only grit his teeth and lead the remaining 50,000 cavalrymen eastward rapidly along the Hexi Corridor.

Although there was a city every hundred miles along the way, the battles after taking Heping Pass were relatively easier.

The morale of the Kashgar Khanate cavalry grew higher and higher with each battle.
On the third day that the exile procession, escorting the officials, stayed in Jinzhou to explore business opportunities.

The smoke from the beacon tower reached Jinzhou Pass.

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

"Report! Heping Pass has fallen! Heping Pass has fallen!"

"Tens of thousands of Kashgar Khanate cavalry are heading towards Jinzhou Pass and are expected to arrive in five days."

"."

Upon receiving the urgent report, the garrison commander of Jinzhou Pass first ordered the bugle call to sound, and then quickly issued a series of instructions.

"Immediately arrest all the Western Region barbarians within the Three Passes City and interrogate them rigorously!"

"Order: Close the east and west central gates immediately!"

"Order the garrison to reinforce the city walls and repair the watchtowers!"

"Another order."

Several instructions were given at once.

Just moments ago, Jinzhou Pass was bustling and lively, but now the streets and alleys are deserted.

The guards from the garrison next to the post station almost all came out and quickly got to work.

Meanwhile, the city's residents and military families spontaneously began preparing military rations.

The tense atmosphere made the travelers at the post station, who were experiencing war up close for the first time, tremble with fear.

Less than half an hour.

The gates of Dongxi Zhongguan were tightly shut.

The garrison commander ordered that no one inside the pass be allowed to leave, under penalty of death.
At this moment, all the escorting officials were filled with remorse. They had risked their lives at Jinzhou Pass just to earn that small profit from the goods they were carrying.

Compared to the refugees, the power of the Hu cavalry was self-evident.

He could see the unease among the people inside the post station.

The postmaster calmly reassured everyone, saying:

"Don't panic, everyone! We have over six thousand soldiers guarding Jinzhou Pass! The 'impregnable city and fortified moat' mentioned in the Book of Han refers to our Jinzhou Pass!"

That one sentence calmed some people down considerably.

The post station was also bustling with activity at this time.

They needed to quickly send news of the fall of Heping Pass and the imminent arrival of enemy troops at Jinzhou Pass to the relevant authorities.
Zuo Wenkang secretly spent a lot of money to inquire with the stablemen, wanting to know if there were any secret passages within the three passes of Jinzhou City for the people to take refuge.

The groom's answer was naturally no.

He also expressed great confidence in the fortifications of the Three Passes City, believing that there was no need to build secret passages within the city.

Zuo Wenkang was speechless.

He likes to plan for the worst in everything.

With a major battle looming, the escorting officials cannot be relied upon.

These people might have to go to the battlefield then.

The men of the Zuo clan were not skilled enough to protect the elderly, women, and children.

What worries him most is that his wonderful wife is already nine months pregnant.

According to the pregnancy knowledge passed down to him by his biological father in his previous life, the child is now fully developed in his belly and could be born at any time.

He was afraid that his wife would hurt the baby if she tried to protect the family.

They were also afraid that giving birth in such an environment would be dangerous.

No matter how powerful one is, childbirth is still a perilous journey.

I simply can't imagine it.
Gan Minglan: Then you have no idea how powerful our wood-type superpower with healing abilities is!

The two were exchanging opinions on the current situation.

She is very optimistic:
"I heard someone say that if the Hu people besiege the city, all of them will be soldiers! All the military households, their families, and the common people inside the pass will join the fight. They swear to live and die with Jinzhou Pass!"

These words stirred a surge of excitement in Zuo Wenkang.

The two men truly felt the difference between the military families in these strategically important cities and ordinary people.

When there's a battle, the whole family goes into battle!
The kind of person who doesn't even leave themselves a way out!
Zuo Wenkang also praised the fortifications of Jinzhou Pass:
"I noticed it when we first entered the pass. Saying it was impregnable is a bit of an exaggeration, but with the city gates tightly closed and no one coming out, it should be fine to hold out for a month or two!"

"Isn't it said that Jinzhou Pass is only 800 li away from the border city? And it's not just one pass fighting; reinforcements can come from the east at any time."

"Indeed, with the beacon fires being passed around, the border town should have already received the news."

"."

Fatty listened intently to his parents talking for a long time.

She kept her lips tightly pressed together and didn't utter a sound.

He held the wooden stick in his hand and never put it down.

Seeing that the little guy looked like he was about to fight at any moment, Gan Minglan hugged him tightly:
"Don't be afraid, little one. We don't need a four-year-old to fight the barbarians! The guards at the pass are very capable. When the barbarians arrive at the pass, they will fire cannons and arrows in a flurry!"
Even if your uncles accidentally let the barbarians into the pass, your mother will protect you.

Fatty didn't know how strong the guards were; he just stared at his mother's protruding belly, looking at it again and again.

Finally, the little one sighed like an adult: "Oh, Yuanyuan is still in Mommy's tummy!"

In his heart, his own mother, who slaughtered pigs and wolves, was the most powerful and trustworthy person!

One mother is more capable than dozens of officials and uncles.

If the barbarians come, his mother should go and beat them up.

But Mother's belly is so big now.

Fighting could easily hurt my younger sister.

and so.

The little one made another wish: "Yuanyuan, I wish you could crawl out quickly before the bad guys come."

The child's innocent wish startled Mrs. Luo, who quickly made her beloved grandson spit out the words three times.

He clasped his hands together, looked up at the sky, and murmured for a long time.

(End of this chapter)