The Fielding man who was walking on the city wall inspecting the defense layout seemed to have lost weight, and his eyes were a little black, but what troubled him was not the menacing Kaman army. The intelligence had already reflected that there were about seven invading enemies. Thousands of people, the coach turned out to be Duke Miley, known as the two pillars of Kaman, who had been stolen and replaced, but all this was still not enough to make him full of sorrow.
What worries him is Jiayuguan, which still seems to be as indestructible as an iron tower. There must be a huge conspiracy hidden behind the enemy's crazy and desperate attack. Fielding is sure of this, but what kind of conspiracy is it? But he knew nothing and had no clue. No matter how much he speculated from various angles, there was still no result that really satisfied him.
It was hard for him to deal with the plans of the Fourth Division of the Northwest Army, which was rapidly advancing towards his territory. He knew very well the appetite of Li Wufeng, the director of military and political discipline in the northwest, although it seemed that both sides were still at peace in the past few years. However, he knew that the nominal boss in the west was always thinking about how to truly bring Taixuan Palace into his hands, and all of his subordinates were loyal implementers of his policies. Although Li Wufeng was still Not answered by Northwest, but even so. Will they sincerely help him? Or do you want to take the opportunity to take over the rule of Taixuan Palace in one fell swoop
Asking them to wait outside the city, I am afraid that I cannot make such a decision. At least in name, the Northwest Military and Government Jiedu Palace is still my direct superior, not to mention that they are ordered to come to reinforce me to ensure the stability of Taixuan Palace. But if they were allowed into the city, what would happen after the Camans retreated? Fielding doesn't want to think about this and doesn't dare to think about it. This is an almost unavoidable question. What should he do? Looking at the endless fertile fields under the city wall, Fielding was filled with sorrow.
After receiving the letter from the speeding signal soldier, Maili's expression changed slightly, "It came so fast."
"Sir, has there been any change?" the deputy general who was following closely asked quickly.
"Humph, Li Wufeng has finally sent out troops. His Fourth Division of the Northwest Army has officially crossed the border and entered Taixuan Mansion." A trace of worry flashed across Maili's ruddy face, "Ling Tianfang has also brought three main troops with him. The divisions are pressing eastward from Qingyang, it seems they don’t want our plan to be implemented smoothly."
"But the intelligence said that Li Wufeng had just left Zhongzhou City." The deputy general was a little surprised.
"Don't underestimate Li Wufeng's gang. They are not weak, and Ling Tianfang is not a good person. It seems that our plan may not be able to fully achieve the goal." A sneer flashed across the corner of Maili's lips, "We can't be friends. , it feels good to be an enemy.”
The lieutenant looked at the Duke who was staring ahead with a confused look on his face, not knowing what his two sentences meant.
Ignoring the deputy general's expression, Duke Mailley decisively issued an order: "Order the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd thousand troops to speed up the progress immediately. They must seize the high ground to the north of Taixuanfu City before the enemy's reinforcements. Be careful to keep a distance from the enemy." , don’t have casual contact.”
The messenger next to him accurately repeated an order before speeding away.
"Your Excellency, why do we take advantage of our cavalry to attack the enemy's reinforcements first? The Taixuan Mansion army does not dare to leave the city now. We can use this opportunity to weaken the enemy's spirit first." The deputy general was puzzled. Looking at the coach in front of him, although he respected Maili very much, he couldn't help but ask.
"The situation has changed. I estimate that the enemy's garrison division in Guide will soon go to Taixuan. Although that troop is a garrison division in name, it is composed of Gaoyue barbarians. It is designed specifically to target cavalry. Moreover, they have been trained for a long time, and those two generals are not weak either. Our cavalry may not have an advantage if we encounter them."
Obviously, he has already studied the various ministries under Li Wufeng's command. Even the garrison troops are well aware of it. Not fighting an uncertain battle is a military principle that Maili believes in. Moreover, he has a more important reason that he has not explained. It is believed to be the main purpose of this battle. The target is Jiayuguan. As long as Jiayuguan is captured, more than half of the mission is completed. As for Taixuanfu City, it is good to be able to easily capture it, but if the price is too high, Maili would rather give up. After all, if you master Jiayuguan, you can easily go south at will. , whether this Taixuan Mansion is controlled by Li Wufeng or others from the Tanghe Empire, it is a burden. It needs to be stationed with heavy troops to defend against the Kaman army that may swoop down at any time.
In the long run, Maili hopes to let Li Wufeng take control, so that he can contain at least three of Li Wufeng's elite divisions. This will be a huge burden for Li Wufeng, who is not strong in military strength. This greatly reduced Li Wufeng's ability to intervene in the upcoming Kansai Taiping Rebellion, which was also a good result for his side.
Claudia stood on a small piece of high ground in front of the pass as calm as a mountain, her cold eyes staring ahead without any expression. The war had entered a white-hot state. There were 120,000 troops in the two corps, except for the specially reserved Royal Guards. Except for the legion's two 10,000-strong troops that have not yet gone into battle, the other ten 10,000-strong troops have already taken their turn.
Now launching the offensive is the 30,000-strong Royal Guards Corps, which is also a trump card in Claudia's hand. First of all, long-range strike weapons were used to provide early cover. Along with waves of arrows and boulders, followed closely by waves of golden soldiers rushing towards the city wall one after another, scattering into skirmishers. The soldiers of the team finally approached the city wall under the cover of the huge shield (Note 1). After several of the heavy siege vehicles were destroyed by the giant trebuchets on the city wall, the remaining ones were finally pushed to the city wall. forward.
Facing these huge and heavy guys, the soldiers on the defensive side were well prepared. Although they were hit by dense boulders and arrows, the soldiers had to get out of the defensive fortifications and risk their lives. Barrels after barrels of good tung oil were poured on these behemoths, followed by rockets pouring out. Soldiers fell from time to time, but when one fell, another one immediately caught up, otherwise once these giants All the siege engines were successfully set up, and the danger of the city being breached was quite high.
Although special fire prevention preparations were made, some of the siege vehicles soon burst into flames with the help of extremely flammable tung oil, but this was enough time. Climbing the towering steps of the siege vehicle to the city wall, hundreds of soldiers swarmed up shouting slogans. In an instant, countless golden figures flashed on the city wall. But Claudia knew that it was not that simple. He couldn't help but raise his body slightly.
Then wave after wave of enemy soldiers appeared at the top of the city, and suddenly the top of the city wall turned into a bloody Shura field again. The soldiers who fell into madness all knew that this was a life-or-death battle. They had no other thoughts but the figures of the opposing soldiers. Machetes, spears, giant axes, halberds, and various weapons collided with each other, leaving broken limbs and broken bodies. Blood and flesh were gone. It has become the most worthless thing in the world. The shouts, calls, screams, and roars all play a vivid and cruel march of struggle.
Seeing the golden figure on the top of the city gradually decreasing until it disappeared, Claudia sighed softly and waved her hand to signal the messengers to withdraw their troops. Soon, the "woo woo" horn sounded in front of the formation, and the order was received. The Royal Guards also followed the order and stopped fighting. They quickly merged with the advancing shield and retreated in an orderly manner. Seeing this scene in front of him, even Viscount Dominici, who had always been quite proud of the combat effectiveness of his 7th Corps, had to nod his head and lament to himself, even though his 7th Corps was not inferior to this Royal Guards Corps in terms of combat effectiveness and fighting will. , but in terms of discipline and style, he had to admit that his subordinates were half as good.
"Lord Marquis, if we continue to fight like this, we may have no chance of winning. The location of Jiayuguan is really not conducive to us. Although almost all siege equipment has been used in the past few days, our soldiers have also tried their best. But the effect doesn't seem to be good. The enemy still retains at least 70% of their combat effectiveness, and they can also temporarily recruit young adults in the fortress. I'm worried..." Viscount Dominici looked worried. This has already happened. This was the third time he had spoken to his coach, Marquis Claudia. Although he opposed such an attack regardless of sacrifice and with no hope, as a soldier, he still resolutely obeyed the coach's orders. After a few days, his seventh The loss of the corps has exceeded 40%.
Claudia can understand Dominic's thoughts. The Viscount has always been known to love his soldiers as his own son, so his prestige in the Seventh Corps is also quite high. The soldiers are happy to serve. He did not reveal this to the Viscount the first two times. The key point of the plan, but now he can tell the other party, because the arrow book submitted by the soldiers just now has determined that the outcome of this battle will be revealed tonight.
Confused but enlightened, Viscount Dominici flipped over and read the letter handed to him by the coach several times. There was only one short sentence in it, "Three updates tonight." He still couldn't fully understand it. He looked a little excited. He looked at Claudia with his eyes: "Mr. Marquis, are you saying that we have an internal agent tonight?!"
Claudia's stern face also showed a flush of excitement, and he nodded, "Yes, the city will be broken tonight! Your Excellency, Viscount, please go and make arrangements immediately for the 10,000 and 20,000 men of the 7th Corps to take action. Reserve team, you are responsible for leading the team. Tonight I will personally lead my first and second ten thousand troops to attack. The victory or defeat depends on this!"
"My lord, ``````"
"No need to say more, I have made up my mind." He waved his hand to interrupt the viscount's words. Claudia took a deep breath and calmed her mind. "The glory of the empire is tonight. I hope the blood of our soldiers will not be lost." White flow.”
There was silence in the big tent for a while, only the fiery red candlelight danced tirelessly, reflecting the vicissitudes of the two figures in front of the case.
Note 1: Shield, a siege equipment, is generally made of huge wood, five meters high and six meters wide. It has pulleys underneath, is covered with cowhide, has brackets inside and a secret door. It can be operated by six people and is used to cover infantry attacks.