On May 19, 699 in the Gregorian calendar of the mainland, Situ Tai issued an order. In view of the Yunzhong City Governor's disobedience to the orders of the Yanyun County Governor and his intention to rebel, he ordered the first, second, third, and third troops of the Second Army of the Empire. Five or four divisions were divided into two groups and fully entered Yunzhong to take over the Yunzhong regime. At the same time, the Duodun Kingdom Biao Guards Corps also followed suit and advanced westward along the Yanshan Mansion, officially joining the Tanghe Empire Civil War. In some cases, With the support of the conservative nobles loyal to Situ Tai, a private army formed by some large landed nobles also announced that they would join Situ Tai's side, setting off a rebellion in Yunzhong, killing officials dispatched by the city guard and gentry supporting the Western Xinjiang side, and the situation in Yunzhong suddenly deteriorated. . Situ Tai issued a statement in the imperial capital that in view of the unstable situation in the north, he would form the Imperial Fifteenth Army Corps from the Independent First Division of the Northern Military Region and the First and Second Division of the Eastern Military Region to assume the defense tasks within his jurisdiction. The Twelfth Army Corps, which had already begun to assume the important task, under the leadership of Army Commander Liu Ping, fully seized the east line from Cangzhou and Zhongzhou, and the Central Plains War was imminent.
It should be said that Kamapov's early reminders and preparations played a very important role. Before realizing that the situation in Yunzhong was getting worse, Kamapov, who had always been calm, accepted the advice of Yue Shan, the commander of the Second Division. , transferred some grassroots officers from various divisions under his command, and seconded some graduating trainees from the Northwest Military Academy to enrich the Yunzhong Garrison Division.
Although it is just a garrison division, the transferred officers and trainees are promoted to the first level almost as soon as they take office. This is almost unimaginable in the Western Xinjiang Army, which has always emphasized military merit. In addition, Kamapov also asked all officers They said in public that as soon as the Central Plains War begins, the Western Xinjiang Army will inevitably expand, and as long as the Yunzhong Garrison Division performs well, it will be the first choice for expansion. The words of this army commander who rarely expresses his stance easily in public immediately inspired The enthusiasm of the officers was high. Think about the possibility that Yunzhong will be the first battlefield where a war breaks out. This opportunity is undoubtedly a rare opportunity for officers and soldiers who are eager for military glory. Therefore, although the number of soldiers in the Yunzhong Garrison Division has not yet reached full strength, There are five regiments, but the officers of the four regiments that have been formed are without exception served by old men from the Western Xinjiang Army. This has greatly helped improve the combat effectiveness of the entire garrison division and carry out training.
Almost as soon as he received the news from the patrol, Ma Liancheng sent a signal to the Fifth Army of the Western Xinjiang Army, which was already waiting in the Yunzhong border area, that the war had broken out. He was too late and unwilling to verify it. the authenticity of this information. As a captain of the Fifth Army, Ma Liancheng is already a senior officer in the Fifth Army. Although he is from the Snow Mountain Sect, he is not a guard who is good at martial arts. Instead, he is outstanding for his tactical training. And famous. However, he was one of the first batch of veterans when the Guards Division was established. From small captain to squadron captain and then to deputy captain, the cruel and bloody battle between Tengri Grass and the Luobei people still haunts him in his dreams from time to time. appear in. It was precisely because of his outstanding performance in that battle that although the division commander Song Tianxiong was dismissed, it did not affect the team's promotion. From a deputy commander of the Guards Division (the first division of the Fifth Army) The captain suddenly jumped to the deputy captain of the first division, and then to the captain of the third regiment of the second division. It can be said that he has a prosperous official career, and the regiment commander also took a fancy to his sophistication, carefulness and resourcefulness, so this time he was pushed to the position of commander of the Yunzhong Garrison Division.
Although it was only a guard division and still incomplete, Ma Liancheng knew that there were still many people competing for this position in the entire Fifth Army. Even the deputy division commander within the army also took a fancy to this guard unit that was at the core of the front line, but the army commander finally pushed himself to this position against all opinions. If the Military Justice Department of Western Xinjiang had not been known for being harsh and harsh, Ma Liancheng believed that some people would have suspected that he had some personal relationship with the regiment commander. However, Ma Liancheng had a clear conscience. He also used his performance in the past month to express his doubts to those who doubted his ability. Proved myself.
A garrison unit with a scattered style and lack of training was reorganized into a large-scale garrison division. Ma Liancheng only spent a month. Of course, the combat effectiveness could not be substantially improved in such a short period of time, but the military regulations and ethics were completely new. It turned out that half of the more than 4,000 soldiers were dismissed, and a large number of militia groups with certain combat experience were recruited from the few civil militia groups that dared to rise up and resist when the Puer people invaded and then disbanded. Although it only lasted for just one month, The training took a long time, but even Xie Yingjie, the commander of the Third Division, who was always critical of others, was convinced of its effects when he accompanied Kamapov on a secret inspection of the unit.
The war room, which was modeled after a regular division, was full of people. A large-scale schematic map of Yunzhong's geographical terrain occupied the entire west wall. Even Maliancheng was praised by Kamapov as "sophisticated and calm." But at this time, he couldn't help but sweat like rain. The intelligence reports from the scouts on all fronts and the military intelligence had been sent up, and they were quickly sent to the headquarters of the legion that had already set off to march eastward. Ma Liancheng's heart sank.
The scale of the enemy who launched the attack was much larger than what he had imagined or even what the legion had originally imagined. In addition to the four main divisions of the Empire's Second Legion, there was also the Piao Guard Corps of the Doton Kingdom. More than 160,000 troops were attacking from three directions. Yunzhong Fucheng pressed forward, almost suffocating Ma Liancheng.
If he hadn't made extensive preparations for the terrain within Yunzhong Mansion, Ma Liancheng would no longer be confident that he could still be sitting here. He would have ordered the entire city to evacuate the somewhat dilapidated Yunzhong Mansion City.
From the map, we can see how unfavorable the location of Yunzhong Fucheng is for Western Xinjiang. The entire area of Yunzhong Mansion is an irregular oval, but the location of Yunzhong Mansion City is far away from the central position that a city should be in according to common sense. It is only 110 miles away from Peiping, and 110 miles away from the southwest. The Qinghe border is 230 miles away, and the Yulin border in the northwest is even more 260 miles away.
This was originally nothing, but perhaps His Highness the King of Qin was unwilling to provoke the opponent or because the tight situation on the Western Front made Xijiang want to delay the start of the war on the Eastern Front as much as possible, so the Fifth Army received an order not to join the Imperial Army. Entering Yunzhong before entering Yunzhong, in other words, the Western Xinjiang military can only enter after the Imperial Army launches an attack on Yunzhong first. This should be a quite failed design in terms of tactics. The proverb of military strategists who control others by attacking later will never fail. If you think about this situation, if the enemy cannot move, I will not move. If the enemy moves, I will move first. This is a beautiful idea. Ma Liancheng believes that at least in the current situation, this is the case. However, political needs can sometimes only be compensated for by sacrificing tactical advantages. Although Ma Liancheng also knows that there are densely populated northern spies in Yunzhong Mansion at all times. Everyone is watching here, hoping to find some basis for action. Even the Yunzhong Garrison Division had to put on uniforms that were completely different from those of the Western Xinjiang Army. Such an affectation seemed to Ma Liancheng to be purely redundant, but it had to be carried out. However, this did not affect the flexible mind of Ma Liancheng from other aspects of planning. preparation.
The black arrows on the map felt like they were stuck in Ma Liancheng's heart. The enemy was coming very fiercely. Although he had deployed many ugly-looking means to deal with it, how effective could it be and whether he could survive until reinforcements arrived? Ma Liancheng had no idea. One thing was certain. If the enemy troops completed the encirclement before the reinforcements arrived, the only outcome for this city with an inadequate defense system would be its fall, and he would have no choice but to devote himself to his life. Although Ma Liancheng himself was not willing, But the legion commander has placed himself in this position. If he really takes that step, he will have no choice but to sacrifice his life.
"Has the northern route been completely destroyed?" His eyes followed the various lines and circles of different colors on the map. Ma Liancheng's forehead was already covered with beads of sweat. His red eyes and slightly twisted cheeks showed that He doesn't look like an officer commanding a battle, but more like a gambler with red eyes after losing.
"Division commander, we have destroyed the dual roads in the Qilin Mountain area. If the Duodun people want to go there, they have to go around Sanyuanliangzi. Moreover, we have also sent people to set fire along the Sanyuanliangzi area to divert their attention. According to According to the intelligence, the Doton people's baggage is relatively large. It will take at least one more day to detour Sanyuanliangzi. I estimate that they will use engineers to force the way, but even so, it will delay at least half a day. I am not worried about the northern line, although The Doton people have an inside line to lead the way, but after all, they are not familiar with the terrain here, and the advancement speed cannot be much faster even if they want to, but the central and southern fronts are more dangerous." The person who answered Ma Liancheng was the chief of staff, who was personally selected by Ma Liancheng Captain, a deputy commander who had been trained by the Northwest Military Academy, was also promoted to the chief of staff of the division under his strong recommendation.
"Well, although the enemy force on the northern front is the strongest, it is not what we need to consider most now. That is what the legion commander will worry about after they arrive. Our first task is to completely hand over this city to the hands of the legion commander. If If we fail to do this, thousands of people in our division will be derelict in their duties, and you and I will have no choice but to go to court-martial. The most dangerous thing now is the center line, where the distance is the shortest, and the enemy launches the attack the fastest. Now it depends on where we are. Will it work now?" When he said this, Ma Liancheng couldn't help but clench his palms that were soaked with sweat.