It is not that Jiang Han did not expect that Yusuf might adopt the tactic of attacking from the east and attack the west to launch a surprise attack on Longquanfu City. However, the huge difference in military strength and the fact that the rangers were tightly entangled by the light cavalry of the city guard made it difficult for them to attack the city outside Longquanfu City. The layout is obviously a bit disjointed. It is also impossible for him to evenly distribute the troops in his hands. If the four city walls are evenly distributed, each side can only be allocated two regiments, and the south gate with a relatively low wall is likely to become the focus of the enemy's attack. If the enemy If we really put all our strength into launching an offensive, I'm afraid that the defense line formed by the two regiments will collapse soon. Therefore, he can only selectively arrange deployment and increase the strength of the reserve team.
It should be said that Jiang Han's arrangement at the west gate was quite foresighted. At least a guard unit was not strong in combat effectiveness, but they were still capable of operating conventional defensive weapons such as catapults and ballistae. Of course, Face-to-face fighting can only rely on the regiment of the Fourth Division.
After the enemy surrounded Longquanfu City, they used very strict strangulation and capture methods to spy on the scouts, which made it difficult for the scouts to detect the enemy's movements. It was later proved that Yusuf's purpose was to do this. This method should be used to achieve the intention of launching a surprise attack.
The two main divisions that launched the attack at the west gate were the 1st and 2nd Division of the City Guards. They came very quickly. While the 2nd Regiment of the 4th Division on the city wall was still hurriedly arranging the defense system, the city guard Two divisions of the Guard Corps had already swooped in. Of course, if you want to achieve the purpose of raiding, you can only carry some lighter siege equipment, and ladders seem to be the only option.
It should be said that although the Longquan Prefecture's security regiment lacked experience in allowing them to participate in face-to-face combat, they were still quite skilled in operating defensive weapons such as catapults and ballistae. After all, in addition to suppressing the daily social security within their jurisdiction, the other main responsibility of the police force is to defend the city. Therefore, operating the catapults and ballistas erected on the top of the city can be regarded as their most basic skills.
The lethality of basic defensive weapons such as catapults and ballistas will be greatly limited for the well-prepared siege troops, but for the city guards who want to achieve the purpose of sneak attacks, they are undoubtedly painfully. The overwhelming crossbow bolts and stone rain poured down, and the simple ladder severely limited their climbing speed. In addition, a regiment of the 4th Division, which was fully committed to defensive operations, fought desperately. The 1st and 2nd Division of the City Guards Corps This raid did not achieve the desired results.
Although the battle for the city head is quite fierce, the simple siege weapon such as the ladder, which is lightweight but has gradually fallen behind the times, is obviously not suitable for the increasingly fierce battle for the city wall. The climbing speed of each ladder is far inferior to that of large siege equipment such as city rams. Moreover, this relatively primitive ladder is not the same as the improved movable ladder that is now commonly used. The improved type The ladders already have pulleys and movable hooks, which can easily fix the ladders on the crenellations of the city wall. However, the city guards obviously did not enjoy this equipment that has been gradually promoted and used. The original ladders were easily defended. The soldiers pushed them down, and the casualties caused by this greatly exceeded the losses caused by the actual fighting on the top of the city wall.
However, even if the Second Regiment of the Fourth Division and the Guard Regiment fought back desperately, it was still difficult to withstand the attack launched by the city guards several times their size. However, they were lucky that Zhao, the commander of the Fourth Division, Shang Wu personally led a regiment reserve team and the division's direct brigade to arrive in time. The addition of more than five thousand fresh troops changed the situation of the battle and saved the entire Longquan Mansion.
When Zhao Shangwu arrived, at least more than a thousand soldiers from the Second Division of the City Guards Corps had climbed up the city wall. Although the bodies of no less than 7,000 soldiers fell under the city wall, they still climbed tenaciously. After reaching the city wall, their good luck ended there. Zhao Shangwu led the reserve team to arrive in time to end this upcoming victory. More than 5,000 fresh troops suddenly destroyed the victory that the Second Division of the City Guards was about to win. More than 1,000 soldiers fell on the west gate wall of Longquan Mansion. At this point, the City Guards' sneak attack operation came to an end. , as if they had exhausted their last passion, they could no longer organize a decent offensive.
The ensuing battle seemed too dull. The City Guards' feint attack at the south gate turned into a real attack. However, facing the resistance of nearly a division, it was difficult for them to make a breakthrough. The annihilation of the third division had an unprecedented impact on Yusuf's plan. At first, everything was going according to Yusuf's arrangement. Unfortunately, he did not expect that the killing of the opponent's rangers destroyed the entire situation. If the third division The regiment was able to fully invest in the Ximen Offensive, and Yusuf believed that he could completely capture Longquan in this battle. But this is just an idea. No one can predict how the situation will actually turn out at that time.
At this time, the City Guards and the Third Army were in a real dilemma. Yusuf found that he had made a huge mistake, that is, he believed in the Third Army too much, so that he lost everything with one mistake. He now had to face a difficult choice: should he continue to waste time under the city of Longquan Mansion or should he make a new decision? The performance of the Third Army was really poor. The attacks at the east gate and the north gate were completely defeated in less than three hours, even if the supervising team killed them all in one go. More than a dozen deserters still couldn't force these guys to muster up the courage to launch an attack. If it weren't for the Western Xinjiang defenders in the city, they might have considered lack of strength and didn't take the opportunity to fight out of the city. I'm afraid that the entire Third Army would be cancelled. It wouldn't be new. thing.
It is obvious that no valuable results can be achieved by staying under Longquan City any longer. The defense system of Longquan Mansion is very sound. Although the number of troops in the city is not large, think about it. Although I have two legions in my hands in name, I have a third legion. The defeat of the division, coupled with the trash-like Third Army Corps, obviously made it a luxury to hope to capture Longquan.
Maybe it’s time to consider the possibility of cooperating with Ma Yuanwang. If he can cooperate with the other party to win Jinzhong, maybe he can also give an explanation to the emperor. At this time, if he has any grudges in his heart, he can only put them aside, otherwise he will We can only send our troops north to join the Twelfth Army of the Empire to launch an attack on Qinghe, but this is not a good idea. In addition to the rangers of the Western Xinjiang people, the only heavy cavalry division in Western Xinjiang is also active there. If he wanted to capture Qinghe, which had stronger defense facilities than Longquan, even with the Empire's Twelfth Army as the main force, Yusuf still had no hope. The Battle of Longquan made Yusuf full of distrust towards other armies of the Empire, especially It was those newly built and reorganized armies. Although the Twelve Army Corps was led by Liu Ping, known as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the North, they still encountered an ambush in Qinghe. This situation made Yusuf's sense of loss even more severe.
Ma Yuanqiang didn't know whether he should be happy or sad about the defeat of the City Guards in Longquan Mansion. Fortunately, the defeat of the City Guards in Longquan actually announced that all the empire's hopes could only be pinned on the northern war situation. The battle on the front line has begun, and it seems that the Imperial Guards no longer need to risk attacking Jinzhong. If the Northern Army can successfully capture Yunzhong Mansion, and then go all the way south of Yunzhong to capture Qinghe, then the war situation may turn around. Once Yunzhong The war has entered a tug-of-war and a war of attrition, and there is almost no suspense about the situation in the empire. The north, which has been consumed by this indefinite war, can no longer support such huge consumption. Ma Yuanxiang does not know that Xijiang How could they sustain such a huge war? They were even fighting Situ Biao in the Five Lakes. There were still three legions on the peninsula who were fighting endlessly with the Machi Khans. I don’t know how Western Xinjiang could sustain such a huge consumption. Ma Qihan I still can't figure it out.
But damn Yusuf, perhaps in order to recover the impact of Longquan's defeat, actually proposed that the Imperial Guards work together to attack Jinzhong from the northeast and capture Jinzhong. This was really a stinker for Ma Yuanlao. It was a bad idea. The poor performance of the Third Army in Longquan proved how poor the quality of these legions established in the late empire was. The Eighth and Ninth Legions were still nominally defending the Western Xinjiang Army in the Wuhu area in the southern part of Zhongzhou, but Ma Yuan I often doubted whether they could withstand the attack of a division of the Western Xinjiang Army. It turned out that the plan of these fools in the Empire Central Committee to hope that the Imperial Guards and the Eighth Army would jointly attack Jinzhong was shelved. Situ Yushuang and others probably also saw these new The legion is unreliable, but Yusuf, a pig, actually made such an ignorant suggestion. This is exactly what these guys in the central empire want. After reorganization, the city guard seems to be able to make up four divisions, plus the imperial guards. The four divisions of the army, and even Situ Tai expressed his willingness to put his last trump card, the First Division of the First Army, into battle. It seems that it is not impossible to capture Jinzhong, but the capital city seems to have suddenly changed. It is too empty. Except for an independent division of His Royal Highness the King of Xiang, there seems to be no other regular armed forces. The situation in the Wuhu area of His Highness the King of Xiang is already quite dangerous. Will the changes in the situation in the Wuhu area affect this division? What about changes in the regiment
Ma Yuanwang fell into deep thought. The situation seemed to have little choice. Maybe he had no choice.