Qu Bo did not expect that the Taiping Army on the opposite side would come so quickly and fiercely. Although he also received information from the Intelligence Agency and the Military Intelligence Bureau about the secret mobilization of the main forces of the Taiping Army in Hejian Prefecture and Heishan Prefecture, at the same time, the intelligence The department also reported that the Kaman people were making massive adjustments in Qinghe Prefecture. This seemed to have given the northwest a message that the Kaman people seemed to be taking action against the Taiping people again. The Taiping people's military deployment was just to deal with the Kaman military forces. A pre-arrangement of the attack, coupled with the fact that the Taiping Cult had uprooted the influence of the landlords and gentry in Heshuo, especially in the two prefectures of Longquan and Heishan, made the intelligence obtained by the northwest intelligence department more accurate and detailed. Some flaws. In the northwest, almost no one believed that the Taiping people would shake hands with the Kaman people and make peace with them in such a short period of time. Even Situ Jun half-hiddenly joined the front. Man, this anti-Lee front seems to be taking shape.
Looking at the banners of the Taiping Army covering the sky and the dense forest of spears under the Qinghe Prefecture, Qu Bo felt deeply worried. He was not worried about himself and Tianshui Prefecture. Although Tianshui Prefecture's city defense facilities were average, Qu Bo was He was full of confidence in the unparalleled First Army of the Northwest. Although the enemy troops under the city could tell from their numbers and posture that the Taiping Army had concentrated at least 120,000 troops, Qu Bo believed that his First Army would A division plus a garrison unit in the city can sustain it for at least a few days, and a few days will be enough to get a reply from the superiors.
There is always a conclusion to be drawn as to whether to defend or withdraw. Defend and hold on for four to five days. There is probably no big problem. However, facing an enemy force five times more than your own, even if the opponent's combat effectiveness is far inferior to yours, under the instigation of religious fanaticism, Sometimes the power that explodes cannot be calculated based on common sense, and the losses caused are immeasurable. If we withdraw, the bridgehead that extends from the northwest into the Heshuo area will be lost that day, and it may even threaten Jincheng Mansion in the south. However, If you want to face an enemy several times your own as a division, even if you have Tianshui Fucheng as a support, it will be difficult to contend for a long time. It depends on how powerful the rangers reinforced from Xikang can exert.
Qu Bo was more worried about Pinglu Mansion in the north. The Taiping Army dared to mobilize more than 100,000 troops to invade Tianshui. This showed that the Taiping Army was not worried that the Kaman people in the northwest would invade Montenegro, while the central part of the empire was still in the east. There are hundreds of thousands of troops guarding the dangerous pass. The target of Kaman's army that has gathered in Qinghe Prefecture is likely to be Pinglu Prefecture, which has just been pacified. The coach of the Kaman people is not a mediocre person. Judging from his early actions, almost every step is based on planning before taking action. His moves are directed at the key points. Except for the failed sneak attack in the northern part of Pinglu and being defeated by the northwest army, in Beiyuan Several big moves have been a complete success. This time, Jianfeng was pointing, I'm afraid, he came with the intention of winning, and Pinglu also had three main divisions stationed in the northwest with 20,000 rangers. I'm afraid this life-and-death battle was inevitable.
This offensive of the Taiping Army can be said to have been prepared for a long time and is as fierce as a tide. The eighteen thousand (cavalry) team has exceeded half of the entire Heshuo Taiping Army. It is obvious that they want to swallow the entire Tianshui. The vanguard force mobilized 60,000 troops to attack in turns. Although the ladders and elevated vehicles seemed a bit backward and rudimentary compared to the various advanced siege weapons of the Machikhans on the southern front, the 60,000 people gathered together to exert their full force. The effect cannot be reflected by the equipment alone. The Taiping people were also clearly aware of their weaknesses in attacking cities and forts, so they selected 15,000 archers with superior arm strength and equipped them with Knoxes produced in Kaman (the name of Kaman, famous for its excellent production). The longbow (famous for long-distance longbows) uses the long-distance shooting range of the longbow to make up for the disadvantage in height. Although it is not as accurate as the ordinary shortbow, the astonishing lethality exerted by the formation of a phalanx of 15,000 archers is also The First Division, which was caught off guard, suffered a big loss.
Qu Bo stood behind the battlements with some annoyance and watched the waves of attacks launched by the Taiping people below the city. The enemy had a considerable advantage in the archers, and dense rain of arrows fell on the top of the city like raindrops. Although the soldiers They all used battlements and shields to protect themselves tightly, but when the offensive under the city was launched at the same time, the soldiers had to brave the rain of arrows and raise their swords and guns to prepare for the arrival of a new round of charge. In this way, it was often difficult to fully protect themselves. From time to time, arrows came in from the gaps, and the soldiers let out painful howls. Like floods overflowing the embankment, the Taiping soldiers who braved the attack with lime bottles and lime bags immediately fought with the Northwest Army soldiers who met them in the city. There was a fierce battle over the head.
Although the combat effectiveness of the Taiping Army soldiers cannot be compared with that of the First Division, their ferocity and fearlessness in face-to-face hand-to-hand combat still caused a lot of trouble to the First Division, and they often stabbed or chopped down the opponent. However, the opponent will give a fatal blow before it is too late, and many Taiping soldiers even hold the idea of die together, ignoring the weapons piercing their bodies, allowing themselves to suffer death while also giving the opponent a fatal blow. This Many Northwest Army soldiers who did not expect this situation paid a heavy price. Of course, the soldiers of the first division of the battle formation quickly adapted to the opponent's tactics and quickly adjusted their tactics. Often several people formed a small combat combination in the Sancai formation or the Yuanyang formation to strangle the surrounded Taiping soldiers.
Sancai Formation and Yuanyang Formation use the cooperation of several soldiers' swords, shields, spears and spears to form small combat entities. The formations are flexible and move quickly, which not only avoids the casualties caused by the enemy's desperate efforts, but also can give full play to various attacks. The weapon's kill advantage is most suitable for dealing with Taiping soldiers who have little combat experience and rely solely on their blood and courage to charge. After a few rounds, the walls of the city have been piled with the corpses of Taiping soldiers, and the red blood has soaked through the entire city. Cracks in the city wall bricks. Sweat and blood intertwined at this moment, and everyone's sweat seemed to turn into a dazzling red. Sprinting, slashing, blocking, slaughtering, killing, beheading, all kinds of actions and behaviors became the most realistic hand-to-hand combat on the city wall. ’s interpretation, both the Taiping soldiers and the soldiers of the First Division had no other ideas at this time, only the simplest and most instinctive idea was left, to kill the opponent and save themselves.
Several consecutive waves of crazy offensives were successfully contained by the First Division. The commander-in-chief of the Taiping Army also became extremely cunning and cruel. He often took advantage of the wall-climbing soldiers who had just climbed up the city wall to fight with the soldiers of the Northwest Army. Soon after, he ordered the archers under the city to rain down arrows. Covering, which not only killed a large number of his own soldiers, but also caused great harm to the soldiers of the Northwest Army. Fortunately, the commander-in-chief of the Taiping Army was also worried that this would damage morale. He did not dare to use this trick more often, so the bloody battle on the first day continued. In a stalemate. However, Qu Bo was already a little worried. The Taiping Army was too desperate. They rushed in desperately regardless of any casualties and relied purely on human sea tactics to consume their own troops. If this continues, it would be difficult for the First Division to hold on to the expected limit. Five days, being able to persist for three days is already a rare performance.
Just as the Taiping Army was going all out to charge without unifying Heshuo, the Kaman army also began to quietly move westward. When the Royal Guards Corps, which had been wandering around the edge of Cangzhou Prefecture, quietly sneaked into Qinghe Prefecture to take over the defense of several regiments under Nick's command in Cangzhou, four regiments of nearly 300,000 troops attacked two combined hooks, one left and one They attacked Pinglu Mansion from the right.
Such a ferocious offensive by the Kaman people surprised Shanzhu, Long Ziyi and Mao Jin who were stationed in Pinglu Mansion. They had already had suspicions when they received the secret gathering of the Qinghe Kaman army, but they could not be sure that the Kaman people Whether they want to raid Montenegro or move westward, especially when the Taiping people are also making large-scale military adjustments. However, the sudden movement of the four Kaman corps to divide their forces and march westward broke their illusions. If the four corps were allowed to successfully form an encirclement, with the existing fortifications of Pinglu Mansion, it would be difficult to hold on until reinforcements arrived, so the three of them Come up with a response plan in the shortest possible time.
The Third Heavy Cavalry Division led by Mao Jin fully demonstrated his strong style as the first heavy cavalry division in the northwest. Facing the overwhelming advantage of Kaman's army, he led more than 20,000 cavalry to buck the trend and compete with Cong Ping. Kaman's 3rd and 5th Corps swooped in from Lu Nanyi and launched a heroic encounter. This was the Battle of the Straits, which was called the "Battle of the Blood River" by later generations.
When the two light cavalry regiments of the Kaman 3rd and 5th Corps marched westward along the Yangtze River with their whips and horses galloping all the way, the Kaman people obviously underestimated the determination and fighting spirit of the Northwest Army to dare to fight against the trend. Unexpectedly, when the two torrents of cavalry, one light and one heavy, advanced relatively less than ten miles, the scouts on both sides had time to transmit the information of the enemy's incoming attack to the generals of both sides. However, at this time, the distance of only ten miles had already made the two sides With no choice, face-to-face charge became the only option.
The Kamans' light cavalry obviously suffered a small loss in this wave of collisions. Although they knew the power of the enemy's heavy armored cavalry, they could not let them down in terms of momentum and honor or in order to buy time for the follow-up troops. The narrow valley of the river bank also made it difficult for more than 40,000 cavalry to complete the dislocation in a short period of time.
Machete versus spear, light leather armor versus heavy armor, this short fight actually didn't last long. When the two torrents with huge acceleration collided, they created countless vortexes of blood. At the same time, each moves along its own track. The third heavy cavalry division led by Mao Jin was like a giant axe, splitting the 20,000 Kaman light cavalry in half. While breaking through the cavalry, they inevitably collided with countless sparks and the overwhelming sound of horse hooves. The river's crisp or dull crashing sounds and earth-shattering shouts made everyone immediately deaf at this moment, and the river beach was immediately filled with blood mist for several miles.