The situation in Qinghe Prefecture seemed to have suddenly become a little delicate. The troops in the prefecture were mobilized frequently. The 3rd Heavy Cavalry Division, which had been stationed outside the city, quietly moved south, while the 6th Ranger Regiment also seemed to have restrained itself. The two divisions of the Twelfth Army in the south of Qinghe could finally breathe a sigh of relief. They had never expected any big victory, and they were quite satisfied to be able to maintain this relatively calm situation.
Yueshan's Second Division also quietly sneaked south. The Fifth Division, which had been serving as an auxiliary force, took over the defense of the original Second Division. The security forces of Qinghe Prefecture were also strengthened again, and they would assume the responsibility of the original Second Division. The mission of the Fifth Division. Of course, there are no big changes in Qinghe Prefecture on the surface, but I believe that it won't be long before the surrounding forces will notice this anomaly.
The changes in the situation in the south of Qinghe Prefecture did not attract much attention from the two divisions of the Twelfth Army. In their view, as long as they could firmly hold the Asakusa Valley entrance, it would be difficult for the Western Xinjiang Army to take advantage of either cavalry or infantry. What's more, they have already discovered the strength of Xijiang in Qinghe. There are only two infantry divisions, one heavy cavalry division, and a ranger regiment that has been fighting them endlessly. If these forces are all concentrated, theoretically, It is possible to annihilate the two divisions entrenched at the mouth of Asakusa Valley, but when the Western Xinjiang Army comes to Qinghefu City and needs to defend it, it is impossible to devote all its strength. Secondly, it has a very favorable geographical advantage of protecting wings on both sides, even if it faces an enemy that exceeds its own. The Western Xinjiang Army can also deal with it calmly. The long and narrow corridor greatly restricts the Western Xinjiang Army's cavalry advantage. If they want to force a breakthrough, they will only have to pay a heavy price and gain nothing. Therefore, the two divisions seemed to be relatively relaxed. Of course, they still maintained a fairly smooth communication channel with the main force on the center line in the northeast to ensure that orders and news from the summit could be delivered to them as soon as possible.
However, it was a little too late when they got the news from Shangfeng. The Third Heavy Cavalry Division of the Third Army of Western Xinjiang had already appeared on the grasslands outside the Asakusa Valley in the south of Qinghe River, and the Ranger raids were once again frequent. This made the two divisions of the Twelfth Army very nervous. Could it be that Xijiang would use heavy cavalry and rangers to break through at all costs
Although I didn't believe that Xijiang would be so weak-minded or arrogant and risky, the Twelve Legions, who had been frightened by the elusiveness of the Xijiang Army, were still quite nervous. Yes, to forcefully break through such a narrow front will definitely cost a lot. Even heavy cavalry cannot take such risks with such losses, especially since such risks are likely to get no reward. As for the rangers, It's even more impossible. This kind of terrain is simply designed to destroy the Rangers. You only need to use the camp fences and trenches to withstand the charge. Long-range weapons and crossbows will turn this place into a cemetery. But what does the presence of heavy cavalry mean here? It's impossible for the people of Xijiang to be so bored that they put heavy cavalry here for training, right? Unless they could force themselves out of the Asakusa Valley. Or seize control of the Asakusa Valley entrance.
The doubts of the officers of the 3rd and 5th divisions of the 12th Army were finally answered a few days later. After learning that a large number of civilians in Western Xinjiang had cut off the flow of the Masi River and started to build dikes to raise the lowlands at the mouth of the Masi River, the officers of the two divisions of the 12th Army were heartbroken. The people in Western Xinjiang were simply too vicious. How dare you even implement such an incredible plan? We must know that filling up the lowlands beside the river and cutting off the south mouth of the Masi River will turn a large area south of Qinghe River into a water town. Of course, the Asakusa Valley will also be annihilated all of a sudden. What will happen? Although the two divisions of the Twelfth Army were unable to gain a foothold, the losses to the south of Qinghe, which was still under the jurisdiction of Western Xinjiang, were undoubtedly huge.
The Western Xinjiang people's large-scale mountain excavation and earth filling at the mouth of the Masi River almost plunged the third and fifth divisions of the Twelfth Army into despair. Although this poisonous plan was large in amount, it was not unachievable. Especially now that it is early autumn, the water from the upper reaches is constantly flowing into the Masi River. Once the Masi River is really broken during the flood season, the rolling river water will be enough to engulf the entire Asakusa Valley. The two of them will Even if the division cannot all feed the fish and has to go up the mountain, once it goes up the mountain, the Western Xinjiang Army will definitely take advantage of the situation and advance. If the valley is controlled by the Western Xinjiang Army and there is no logistical support, I am afraid that within a week, the soldiers of the two divisions will have no choice but to become savages.
But is it too late to retreat now? Looking at the eyeing rangers and armored cavalry outside the valley, they were almost certain that as soon as their camp moved, these guys would pounce on them. If they wanted to compete with these wild and tough cavalry in the plains, the officers of the two divisions Never had I been so delusional. so what should I do now
Seeing that day by day passed, the damming project at the mouth of the Masi River was proceeding quite smoothly, and the lowland filling project was also in full swing. The two divisions knew that if they did not make a decision, they would be thrown into the Asakusa Valley. , maybe taking an adventure is also necessary.
The unusual behavior of the Northern Army stationed at the entrance of Asakusa Valley was quickly discovered by Cui Wenxiu, who had been observing the enemy's movements. The Twelfth Legion did not withdraw immediately, but they were obviously making some preparations. The defense on the front line was still very tight. Do they really plan to hold on here? The scouts soon brought back shocking news. It turned out that the Twelve Legions were preparing to retreat while also actively taking countermeasures. They continued to dig hundreds of meters of criss-crossing trenches in the camp. Moreover, the Northern Army also used the excavated soil to build embankments, preparing to use this method to resist the flood impact of the Western Xinjiang Army and fight to the death.
The resolute attitude of the two divisions of the Twelfth Army was somewhat unexpected by Cui Wenxiu, but it was also within his expectation. He never thought that the enemy would surrender so easily. Many people did not shed tears without seeing the coffin. They will not admit failure easily until the last step.
When all the attention of the Twelfth Army was drawn to the cavalry in front of them, the Second Division of the Third Army led by Yue Shan, and the Fourth Division that was withdrawn from Longquan after the city guards had given up their plan to capture Longquan and went south, Also appeared in front of the two divisions of the Twelfth Army that were working hard. The defenders of the Twelfth Army, which occupied the geographical advantages on both sides, were quickly offset by the large number of long-range weapons brought by the Western Xinjiang Army, and the two infantry The addition of the division to the war brought an even heavier psychological blow to the two divisions of the Twelfth Army. Cui Wenxiu did not respond passively to these new situations. The two divisions entered the third level without any pause. With the cooperation of the Mounted Cavalry Division, they launched an attack on the Northern Army who had not yet fully completed their vast project.
Continuous labor is undoubtedly a huge torture for the Northern Army's mental and physical strength. When the two infantry divisions of the Western Xinjiang Army cooperate with the heavy cavalry to advance step by step, and use the advantage of long-range weapons to suppress the geographical advantages of both sides, , this war seemed to not have much suspense. It only lasted for one day. That night, the Northern Army, which had been exhausted by continuous work for days and nights, was broken through the defense line by the Western Xinjiang Army. This was once again It proves that cavalry can give full play to their impact and breakthrough power when the geographical conditions are suitable, but when the geographical conditions are complex, they have to rely on infantry to achieve the final victory.
When the defense line was breached, the Northern Army could no longer hold on. Facing the overwhelming advantage of the Western Xinjiang Army, the Northern Army who fought on their own quickly put down their weapons after struggling for a while. In fact, when the two infantry divisions appeared in front of the battle, the Northern Army realized that failure was inevitable. The reason why they relied on Asakusa Taniguchi was that they believed that it was impossible for Western Xinjiang to draw infantry to join this conflict that looked more like a conventional conflict. Unexpectedly, the Western Xinjiang Army was so adventurous and bold. Not only did it draw the Second Division of Qinghe Prefecture to the south, but it even took the risk of drawing the Fourth Division of Longquan Prefecture. You must know that the City Guards had just left Longquan and headed south. , this kind of almost crazy adventure is probably only Cui Wenxiu can do.
This battle in the south of Qinghe took so much energy to achieve a complete victory. Even Cui Wenxiu himself had to admit after the war that this battle was not really a record worth boasting about. Even in his long military career later, he still I'm ashamed to mention it. After all, he used nearly 100,000 troops but only annihilated two enemy divisions that were not considered top-notch. He also mobilized a large number of civilian manpower to build momentum. This is indeed true for his glorious war history. It can only be regarded as unsatisfactory.
However, this battle was won when the Twelfth Army was already frightened, and it was considered valuable. Especially the battle in the south of Qinghe completely eliminated the threat of the Northern Army to Longquan and Qinghe, whether it was the Northern Army or the Empire. In fact, the Central Army was no longer able to pose a threat to this hinterland of the northern war situation. After the Twelfth Army lost two divisions in this battle, it can actually be basically eliminated from the entire army organization in the Northern Army's battle sequence. The performance of the Twelve Legions, which only had two remaining divisions, in this battle could only be described in two words, that was mediocre, and to be more rude it would be terrible.
However, Li Wufeng fully affirmed the victory of this battle. After this battle, the Northern Army no longer had many maneuverable troops in the hinterland of the north. Xijiang could even switch to a strategic counterattack here without these two divisions. With the regiment's containment and the Longquan and Qinghe lines, more than 70,000 cavalry and infantry could be mobilized at once, and the Northern Army, which had already retreated to Cangzhou, only had four divisions with low morale. The dawn of a strategic counterattack It seems that traces of it are beginning to appear on the land of Western Xinjiang.