The weather in the Eastern Continent suddenly became a little abnormal in March. After the Spring Festival, it seemed that God was a bit stingy with the rain. There was still not much rain until the end of February, but this did not attract many people's attention. After all, March and early April are the most important seasons. This month or so is the season that needs the most rain. Judging from the performance after entering March, it does not seem to be good. There is no sign of rain. Until mid-March, there was still not much rain. What is even more serious is that this drought does not seem to be limited to a certain region or area, but occurs throughout the Eastern Continent, from Marston Heath in the north to the Great Ocean in the south. Along the coast, from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the foothills of the Great Hengduan Mountains in the west, it has affected almost the entire Eastern Continent.
At this time, it seems that people have remembered that since the end of last year, the rain has become a little scarce, and this year, the rainy days are even fewer, but until this time, no one will believe that this is a disaster that has lasted for two years. At the beginning of the year, many people thought that the harvest would be reduced in the spring season, and their hopes could only be placed on the spring season in the second half of the year. Grain prices had already declined after experiencing a surge in grain purchases from the northwest in early March. However, the abnormal weather in March made grain merchants worry about a poor harvest in early spring. Grain prices rose slightly until March. In the middle of the month, there was still no rain, so food prices began to rise. From this time on, food prices never fell again until two years later.
Beginning on March 15, 698 in the continental Gregorian calendar, the small-scale conflicts in the war on the Crescent Peninsula finally evolved into a large-scale offensive. The 150,000-strong army from the Dodon Kingdom finally began to attack Jeolla after two days of rest. The battle of the valley fortress, and the Japanese army that has been constantly improving and strengthening the fortress has also increased from 50,000 to 100,000. Although a large number of soldiers have just been upgraded from reserve soldiers to full soldiers, their fanatical and persistent beliefs have given these soldiers Incomparable courage, even in the face of the superior Dodon soldiers.
Although the Jeolla Valley Fortress is located in a narrow throat area, it was built in a hurry in about twenty days. The city walls are low and a large number of stones with different rules and soil filled with cloth bags are used for support. There is neither a moat nor sufficient long-range defense weapons. It is more like a temporary end-of-life station made of rough earth bags and stones than a fortress.
The courage of the Doton people when they faced the invasion of their territory by foreign enemies and the huge threat it brought was also worthy of appreciation. An army of 150,000 took turns to launch a fierce charge on the valley fortress, and the Japanese seemed to be dissatisfied with this tragic battle. Well prepared, the two sides engaged in an extremely brutal strangulation battle in this temporarily built building that could barely be called a fortress over the past twenty days. This brutal battle lasted for a full month. The two sides entered the battle. The number of soldiers was unprecedented, and the casualties caused were also unprecedented, so that the Dodon people had to redeploy troops from the interior of the country, and Tachihara Yamakawa had to issue a recruitment order again and declare a state of emergency throughout the territory. Continue to recruit reserve soldiers to join the Crescent Peninsula battlefield, and use the superior navy to attack the Doton people's rear.
In this strangled battle that lasted for more than a month, the number of casualties from both sides' attacks reached a horrifying number of more than 200,000. For this temporary fortress, the two sides fought repeatedly, and the positions changed hands more than seven times, and the number of deaths on both sides was Even more than 120,000, the Doton people exceeded 70,000, and the Japanese also paid the price of more than 50,000 lives, so that this war was called the "Meat Grinder War" in later history.
Both sides that suffered heavy casualties had to stop and lick their wounds when the blood was gone. The Japanese, who received a lot of logistical support from the Tanghe Navy, also successfully held on to the fortress, which made the Doton Kingdom's efforts in vain. At this time, as the drought throughout the Eastern Continent also seriously affected the Dodon Kingdom, the Dodon Kingdom, which did not have much strategic grain reserves, had to stop the war, and the two sides re-entered a strange and long-term stage of confrontation.
At the same time, the competition for Donghai County's sphere of influence has also entered a fierce stage. Without the fetters and threats of the Duodun people, Situ Tai's army began to show its power and launched counterattacks everywhere. The Second Legion finally showed its style as the main ace of the empire under Cangzhou City. Several consecutive bloody battles under Cangzhou City made the Kaman Royal Guards also feel that the Imperial Army was not what they imagined. Simple, he had to restrain his offensive. The First Army even made repeated counterattacks under the walls of Peiping City, repelling the incoming Poole army several times, causing considerable losses to the Poole people, forcing the Poole coach to consider whether his side wanted to swallow it all in one go. Does Peking have a bit of an appetite
Situ Tai, who had deployed several mobile divisions, finally couldn't bear it any longer. With the support of the internal forces in Pengcheng Mansion, he sent troops to Pengcheng, with the potential to swallow up the entire East China Sea in one breath. However, Situ Yuan's 10th Army performed really well. Disappointingly, after only holding on for two days, the defense line collapsed. Pengcheng changed its flag in an instant and sent off Situ Yuan's troops. The Pengcheng gentry was already beating gongs and drums to welcome Situ Tai's army into the city.
On the same day that he stepped into Pengcheng Prefecture, Situ Tai also announced the establishment of the 12th Army Corps of the Empire. Based on the two backbone independent divisions of the Northern Military Region and the security forces of the four prefectures in the five prefectures of Donghai County except Jinling Prefecture, the twelfth regiment of the empire was officially established. Twelve legions, and just a week ago, Situ Biao had announced the formation of the eleventh legion of the empire after capturing Wen Ning Mansion. Situ Tai's pace of expansion once again made Situ Lang and Situ Yuan feel threatened by the most powerful brother from the north. However, the Imperial Guard Corps and the Third and Fourth Corps that Situ Lang relied on had to be stationed on the periphery of the imperial capital. The defense line was prepared for the Kaman attack, which forced Situ Lang and Situ Yuan to turn their begging eyes to the west. Li Wufeng still did not make any move in the west. Apart from wandering around the six prefectures of Kansai, he seemed to have completely forgotten what he had done in the past. Especially at this time, Li Wufeng submitted a report on the establishment of the Western Xinjiang Protectorate, which made Situ Lang and Situ Yuan even more furious.
"Brother Seven, look, what is this bastard doing? He resisted our request and allowed him to attack Qinghe. He said that the Kaman people were very energetic and it was not suitable to attack. Now, what kind of Western Xinjiang capital should we set up? Protecting the Mansion is simply putting the cart before the horse and not paying attention to the empire at all." Situ Lang, who was dressed in yellow robes, walked up and down the hall impatiently. The ministers had dispersed, leaving only Chu King Situ Yuan standing alone with His Highness.
"Your Majesty, you and I both know who Li Wufeng is. It's not surprising that he did this. This guy's methods are indeed brilliant. First he forced the third brother to withdraw from Hanzhong and Jincheng without spending a single soldier. Now he wants to It seems that his appetite for establishing a Western Xinjiang Protectorate will only grow bigger and bigger." Situ Yuan said with a sullen face. The failure of the situation in the East China Sea made him feel very depressed, especially the performance of his 10th Legion could only To describe it as terrible, Jinling was also on the verge of collapse, and the entire Donghai County might fall into the hands of his elder brother. He was anxious and helpless about this. If he wanted to hope that he and Li Wufeng would attack Qinghe to reduce the pressure on the imperial capital, it would be better to spend more money. He was focused on how to improve the combat effectiveness of the Tenth Army, but he had never believed in Li Wufeng.
"Don't mention him. It's disappointing to mention him. Big Brother is aggressive in the East China Sea. What are you going to do, Seventh Brother? If you don't respond, I'm afraid the situation in Jinling will be in danger. Even if the Seventh Army doesn't go through a few tough battles, I'm worried He may not be the opponent of his eldest brother's army." Situ Lang cast his eyes on his cold-faced brother's face. If the East China Sea is lost, the imperial capital will become an isolated island surrounded on three sides, the Kaman people to the north and the Taiping rebels to the west. To the east is the eldest brother's power, and the situation in the empire will become more and more critical. His position, which he has just occupied, seems to be shaky again.
"Well, but what can we do now? We can only defend Jinling and wait for the opportunity to take back Pengcheng." Situ Yuan's tone was full of uncertainty, and it was obvious that even he himself was not very sure, "How about His Majesty lets the Eighth and Ninth Legions We are also training our troops to see if we can open up the passage to the east."
Speaking of the Eighth and Ninth Legions, Situ Lang couldn't help but sigh. Although the two legions have been successfully formed, these two legions are purely new armies. Compared with the rebuilt Third and Fourth Legions, even he, a layman in military affairs, , he could also see the gap between the two. Fortunately, some officers and veterans were transferred from the 3rd and 4th legions to strengthen the 8th and 9th legions. There seemed to be a slight improvement, but Situ Lang inspected the two legions. In the end, I didn't have much confidence. Maybe I could make do with the Taiping Army. If I really wanted to fight against the Kaman and Big Brother's first and second legions, I would definitely lose. This was what Situ Lang said deep in his heart.
Seeing that Situ Lang was speechless and shook his head, Situ Yuan was helpless. He also had no hope for the Eighth and Ninth Legions. The army was established in a short time and was not tempered. It was made hastily. It is difficult to expect them to perform well. The main hall A depressing silence fell within.
"Your Majesty, if we are really in trouble, do you think we can borrow troops from the Kingdom of Milan?" After hesitating for a long time, Situ Yuan finally asked tentatively.
"Milan?" Situ Lang felt bitter in his heart. The majestic Tanghe Empire actually went to borrow troops from foreign countries. How to explain to the people when this news spread, and also to deal with his brother who was originally the same father. This feeling is really uncomfortable.