Kinshun
Followed Up His Victory By A Rapid March On Urumtsi.
That town surrendered
without a blow, and many hundred fugitives were cut down by the unsparing
Manchu cavalry, which pursued them along the road to Manas, their last
place of shelter.
As soon as the necessary measures had been taken for the
military protection of Urumtsi, the Chinese army proceeded against Manas.
Their activity, which was facilitated by the favorable season of the year,
was also increased by the rumored approach of Yakoob Beg with a large army
to the assistance of the Tungani. At Manas the survivors of the Tungan
movement proper had collected for final resistance, and all that
desperation could suggest for holding the place had been done. Kinshun
appeared before Manas on September 2. On the 7th his batteries were
completed, and he began a heavy fire upon the northeast angle of the wall.
A breach of fourteen feet having been made, the order to assault was
given, but the stormers were repulsed with the loss of 100 killed. The
operations of the siege were renewed with great spirit on both sides.
Several assaults were subsequently delivered; but although the Chinese
always gained some advantage at the beginning they never succeeded in
retaining it. In one of these later attacks they admitted a loss of 200
killed alone. The imperial army enjoyed the undisputed superiority in
artillery, and the gaps in its ranks were more than filled by the constant
flow of re-enforcements from the rear.
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