The First Division of North Luzon led by Shanzhu is an infantry division composed of pure Gaoyue warriors, and its combat effectiveness is undoubted; while the Fifth Division of the Northwest Army led by Long Zizi is a main force of the Northwest Army of the Wufeng Master Army. The veterans of the division are basically Guide rebels who have been trained in long-term battles with the Guide bandits. After years of battlefield training, they have become a well-deserved elite unit of the Northwest Army. In order to meet this heavy blow to the Kaman defenders, During the city battle, they even moved the old, weak, women and children in Pinglufu City a few days in advance, and temporarily recruited two regiments of reserve soldiers and a regiment of guard troops to form a reserve team, so that the defenders in Pinglufu City That's 55,000 people.
The defense facilities of Pinglu City have also been reinforced as never before. Almost all available defensive weapons have been carried to the top of the city. In order to prevent the Kaman people from attacking with fire, the two of them removed the wooden walls within a hundred meters of the city wall. All buildings were demolished to prevent chaos caused by fire, and the wooden watchtowers on the city wall were also demolished.
Piles of stone bullets and rolled logs were piled up to form a hill, jars and barrels of sealed tung oil were covered tightly with fireproof tape, carts of lime bottles, lime bags, and lime cans were arranged neatly, and boxes of crossbow arrows and ordinary arrows were They were placed densely along the city wall, and dozens of bags of sand and soil used to extinguish fires were piled every few dozen meters. The catapults and ballistas had long been wiped clean. In order to strengthen their emergency capabilities, Long Zizi and Shanzhu also conducted two consecutive emergency combat drills after the Kamans broke through the city defenses and climbed up the wall before the arrival of the Kamans to obtain actual combat effects. . For this battle, the two of them were determined to have a good fight with the Kaman people, known as the invincible iron army, and let their blood defend the honor and dignity of the Northwest Army.
The Kaman people, who also knew the cruelty of this battle, did not dare to underestimate it. The combat power of the Northwest Army in the Tanghe Empire had far exceeded that of the armies of other vassal towns, and even surpassed any other arm except the first and second legions. Although the army has an absolute advantage in terms of numbers, the opponent is defending the fortified city and is well prepared. There are also two cavalry units that have broken out of the cage and wandered behind them, especially the 30,000 rangers, who come and go like the wind. Their maneuverability far exceeds that of our own light cavalry. A little carelessness will lead to catastrophe, and it cannot be ignored at all. On the one hand, they have to attack the city with all their strength, and on the other hand, they have to guard against sneak attacks from the rear. This battle is really difficult and dangerous.
However, the Kaman people's full preparation still allowed the Kaman people to have the last laugh. From the composition and deployment of troops to the preparation of various siege equipment including giant catapults, overpasses, phosphorus crossbows, oil bag fire bombs, siege towers, etc., from pre-war mobilization to incentive mechanisms, from formation formation From the distribution of troops to the preparation of logistics materials, from intelligence support to rebellion planning behind enemy lines, everything is carefully planned and prepared. This was a strangulation of human lives that Kaman commander Nick called a shocking battle. In his later autobiography, he called these seven days "a painful history of hell." One month after the war, he still often thought that he He was still commanding the battle, immersed in a scenario where he could face crises anytime and anywhere. The intense battle process caused him, who had experienced hundreds of battles, to suffer from insomnia for a month.
The Pinglu offensive and defensive battle officially kicked off on July 31, lasting for seven days, and officially ended on August 6. It was also known as the "Seven-Day Battle". Both sides invested 250,000 troops until the end of the battle. The number of casualties on both sides reached 120,000. Among them, the Kaman people on the attacking side paid a price of more than 70,000 people, while the two northwest army divisions and three regiments of reserves defending the city had less than 11,000 people left when they broke out of the city.
The entire Pinglu city wall was almost shattered by the continuous catapult attacks. Although there was help from the residents of the city, the damage caused by the powerful power of the Kaman people's giant catapults could not be made up for by manpower alone. In the last two days, all sides were damaged. The city wall could no longer shoulder the responsibility of defense. The Northwest Army almost used manpower to block the Kaman soldiers swarming into the city. The casualties caused to the Northwest Army in the last two days alone were as high as 28,000.
During this period, tens of thousands of northwest cavalry wandering behind Kaman's army also continuously carried out surprise attacks and sneak attacks on Kaman's army. However, the good military quality of the Kaman people prevented the northwest army's sneak attacks from having much effect. They stayed on the spot. Defense, and timely organization of counterattacks, so the sneak attack had no substantial impact on the main force of Kaman's siege attack.
When Shanzhu and Long Zizi had already made up their mind to sacrifice their lives for charity, one hundred thousand cavalry who returned from India finally arrived at the critical moment and immediately entered the battle. After breaking through the outer defensive line, they tore apart the Kaman people in one fell swoop. In the encirclement of the Western camp. After seven days of hard fighting, the Kaman people were obviously a little tired, and their morale was not as strong as when they first entered the battle. The input of 100,000 new troops made it impossible for the Kaman people to organize an effective counterattack for a while, and the western encirclement was immediately torn open. , a team of 30,000 people was dispersed by 100,000 rangers, and the northwest army in the city who got the news also took advantage of the situation to break out. After joining the nomadic cavalry, they were finally able to retreat into Anyuan under the cover of the rangers.
On August 6, Kaman's army finally entered the east gate of Pinglu, which was on the verge of collapse, at dusk amidst the thick smell of blood and rotting corpses. They were greeted by deathly silence and desolation.
On the surface, it seems that the acquisition of Pinglu has further increased the power of the Kaman people in the Northern Plains. However, because they did not obtain the Pingyao granary as originally expected, there is not much food left in Pinglu City. Before the encirclement, a large number of old, weak, women, children, gentry and merchants had already moved the city's valuable properties and all production and living materials to Huashui Valley in the south and Anyuan in the east. The Kaman people essentially only got an empty city, and spent more than 70,000 elite troops. The soldiers only got an empty and dilapidated city, which was unacceptable to the Kaman people. However, the 100,000 nomadic cavalry transferred back from the mainland by the Northwest Army had already rushed back, and according to intelligence, the Lulong Guard Division had also entered Anyuan. Together with the Nanjieluoke Second Division that had been stationed in Anyuan City to defend Anyuan City, and with more than 100,000 cavalry, the Kaman people had lost the opportunity and courage to advance westward.
When the Kaman people were engaged in a desperate struggle with the Pinglu Northwest Army, on August 2, 698 in the mainland calendar, two divisions of the Fifth Army and an independent division of the Southern Military Region suddenly moved westward from Huanggang Prefecture, 8 On March 4, the three divisions arrived at the foot of Jincheng Mansion. After some negotiations, the three divisions entered Jincheng peacefully in the name of helping Jincheng resist the possible threat from the Tianshui Taiping Army in the north.
After the Fifth Army Corps entered Jincheng, the two granaries directly under Guanxi County on the outskirts of Jincheng were immediately announced to be temporarily taken over. The 200,000 tons of grain stored in the granaries were immediately transported to Jincheng Jinjiang Wharf, leading from Jincheng to A large number of transport ships in Huanggang rushed to transport goods overnight. This behavior, which was close to robbery, aroused strong indignation among officials and gentry people inside and outside Jincheng Prefecture. Thousands of people spontaneously gathered to protest against Jin King Situ Jun's robbery of disaster relief reserves that belonged to the people of Kansai. The situation was once out of control, causing large-scale riots. The situation was finally brought under control under the strong pressure of the Fifth Army Corps. However, almost none of the 200,000 tons of grain was transported to Huanggang.
When he got the news, Wu Feng was already on his way to Tianshui.
The signing of the "Li-Lin Secret Treaty" announced the formation of the three-river co-management situation. The Machihans controlled Huayang and Yushan in the east, and strangled the key point in the central part - Loushanguan. The Lin family still occupied the central Jiangchuan. and Qindu Prefecture, and although Anshun is still under the jurisdiction of the Lin family in name, without Li Wufeng's approval, the Lin family may not be able to mobilize even a single soldier from the Anshun Prefecture. Twenty thousand Baiyin barbarian soldiers also advanced to the junction of Tiannan and Sanjiang as a reserve force to prevent major changes in the Sanjiang war. Wufeng, Liang Chongxin, Mulige and Wenner agreed that as long as the battle situation on the southern front was stabilized, the northern front The war is much deeper than the strategic depth, and even losing one or two places does not matter to the overall situation.
In view of the deteriorating situation in the north, Wu Feng decided to leave Liang Chongxin and the others in charge of the southern front, and personally went to Hanzhong and Longdong Tianshui to inspect the front line. Situ Jun's military deployment in Huanggang was not hidden from the eyes and ears of the intelligence department, but Wufeng no longer had more mobile troops to deal with it at this time. The only hope was that Situ Jun would not be too greedy. The Kansai area is empty of troops. Except for the 2nd Division of North Luzon in Hanzhong and the 2nd Division of Northwest Army in Lujiang, there is no regular soldier. If Situ Jun really wants to suddenly get a big appetite, Advancing towards Hanzhong will really cause a lot of trouble for ourselves.
The war in Beiyuan has become more intense, and it is estimated that there will be a fierce battle in Pinglu. Although the Taiping Army in Tianshui has temporarily contained their offensive, if they continue to maintain the current offensive, I am afraid that even if the First Division of the Northwest Army No matter how powerful he is, it is difficult to resist an enemy several times his own. From a accustomed perspective, the rangers can only play a role in harassing and blocking. Whether they can play a role in determining the situation of the battle, Wu Feng does not have much confidence. It depends on that. It depends on how strong the Taiping army is.
The weather was hot, and the unsatisfactory war in the north made Wu Feng even more irritable. The ice-cold watermelon placed in the cool bucket in the carriage did not bring much good mood to Wu Feng. The window screens floating in the wind floated from time to time, which could Seeing the lush green outside the window, this is Tiannan's third-crop rice that has been planted and is just waiting to be harvested.
The beauty next to him seemed to have noticed Wu Feng's bad mood, and deliberately wanted to adjust the atmosphere. While gently shaking the fan, he dipped a wet wipe in the bucket in the car and wiped Wu Feng's hardened cheeks.