With the start of the battle at Wangjiataizi, a frenzy of raids broke out in the entire northern Kaman-controlled area. On October 15, 698 in the Continental Calendar, on the second day after the battle at Wangjiataizi, a cavalry regiment of the Western Xinjiang Army raided two thousand-man regiments of Kaman infantry in the west of Qinghe Prefecture, wiping out more than 1,600 infantrymen in one fell swoop. Only about 300 people managed to escape with the help of terrain cover, and more than 200 carts of food collected were burned to the ground. On the same day, a regiment of Xijiang cavalry in the east of Yulin Prefecture once again attacked two thousand-man teams of Kaman infantry responsible for collecting and escorting grain and grass. The two thousand infantry refused to retreat. Finally, with the help of the Kaman cavalry who arrived, The attack was successful, but nearly a thousand casualties were incurred.
On October 17, the Second Division of the Western Xinjiang Army's Southern Jerok Army attacked a temporary food storage point of the Kaman people in the central and southern region of Northern Jerok. The Kaman people stationed 15,000 people here, and later After receiving reinforcements of 5,000 men, the two sides fought fiercely locally. Although the Second Army failed to achieve its goal of burning down the other side's grain hoards, it successfully surrounded and annihilated four thousand-man teams and wiped out more than 4,000 Kaman troops. On October 20, the First Division of the Nanjerok Army and the Imperial Dispatch Division jointly attacked in the southern Jiama area with two Kaman troops of ten thousand people and five thousand Kaman heavy equipment that came to escort and transport the collected food. The cavalry clashed, and the two sides fought fiercely for a day. Both sides paid a heavy price. The Nanjieluok Front successfully destroyed the Kaman people's attempt to transport the grain and grass collected from the south of Jiama back to Jiama City at the cost of up to 12,000 casualties. In order to save this food, the Kaman people also suffered more than 5,000 casualties. The same thing happened in Pinglu. On October 19, the First Division of the Third Army attacked the eastern part of Pinglu, defeated a Kaman team of ten thousand people responsible for transporting grain and grass, and annihilated more than 3,000 enemy troops.
These battles were only a few influential battles that set off a frenzy of attacks in the entire northern theater, and countless smaller-scale battles occurred almost every day. According to Bo Jinchen's order, the entire Nanjie Locke Corps would separate the cavalry. They were separated and organized into several attack teams, but the simple organizational structure was not disrupted. They all entered the northern region. The commander directly contacted the local intelligence organization personnel. The commander of the attack team decided on his own whether to launch an attack. If enemy troops were found If the situation is strong, you can choose to request reinforcements or give up the attack. Everything will be determined based on the actual situation.
Since field commanders have the flexibility to deal with the situation on the spot, most of these countless raids ended with the victory of the Western Xinjiang Army. The Kaman people lacked a solid grassroots political foundation in the northern region and were unable to obtain accurate intelligence. Information, every time a larger amount of food is collected and escorted, the army has to be mobilized for escort. This situation is particularly prominent in Yulin, Qinghe and Pinglu, and this provides a large number of fighters for the attack team. A series of defeats gave the Kaman people a deep taste of being stretched thin. The number of troops sent was sufficient, but it was a waste of people and money, and the Western Xinjiang Army did not come at all. If it was a little weaker, it would immediately attract the siege of the Western Xinjiang Army. This smell is really annoying, and the cavalry that comes and goes without a trace is even more at home in this northern plain. Although Kaman's side also sent light cavalry as an encirclement and suppression team, the effect was very little. The quality of the Western Xinjiang light cavalry was already low. The Kaman side is superior to the Kaman side, and the Kaman people lack an effective intelligence network. Fighting in the great plains of the north cannot achieve any results without extremely solid intelligence information as the backing.
With a "bang" sound, the tea cup on the table jumped an inch high, and the water splashed from the water glass fell on the table. Even a few documents were splashed wet. The two rows of solemn officers under the desk were silent and stood tall. The rosy face of the white-haired general behind the desk was distorted by anger: "What the hell is Nick doing?! Doesn't he dare to send out the second batch of food after being attacked once? Doesn't he know that Jiayuguan and Are there still 70,000 soldiers in Beijerok still waiting for food to be cooked?!"
All the generals under his command lowered their heads. It had been a long time since they had seen Marshal Mailley, who had always been kind and calm, get so angry, and he directly pointed the finger at another giant in the imperial army - Marshal Nick. Nick and Maili were vaguely the two leaders of the imperial side, and the generals in the military system were naturally divided into two factions. However, their good personal relationship meant that the two factions never had any conflicts due to war. Contradiction, during the decades of Northern and Southern Expeditions, although the two major factions of the army were distinct, they were surprisingly united in foreign wars. It can be said that such a tone of open questioning has never happened before.
How could Maili not be anxious? Originally, the entire Jiayuguan and Beijerok garrison only had one corps, the 7th Corps. The 30,000 men at Jiayuguan Pass were guarded by Dominic, while the remaining 40,000 troops needed to guard the entire Beijerok area, and all of this was In order to concentrate the troops on the southern expedition. But now the Southern Expedition has come to a standstill. In terms of results, it can be regarded as a highlight worth showing off. The occupation of Qinghe and Pinglu is equivalent to opening a big hole in the chests of the Tanghe people, and Heishan and Longquan have directly stabbed their daggers into the Tanghe people. On the flanks of the River Empire, and to the east is the Yunzhong controlled by the Puer people. With the coordination of the two, as long as there is enough time, they can completely shake up the vast northern area of the Tang River Empire and slowly devour this fertile land.
But all these wonderful prospects have been changed by this sudden severe drought. Food supplies have been completely stopped within the empire. A small part is raised by Beijerok himself, and most of the rest can only be provided by the southern expedition led by Nick. The front army was responsible for providing the troops. With a corps having to bear such a long front, especially when the troops gathered in Nanjieluoke reached a record of more than 200,000 people, even Mailly, who had experienced hundreds of battles and was able to move freely, felt the pressure on his shoulders. Apart from the 30,000 people at Jiayuguan Pass, 40,000 people have to defend the Fanlin and Jiama areas, especially the occupied areas that have not yet been fully naturalized. Once Nanjie Locke attacks with all its strength, With 40,000 people in hand, it is impossible to take care of both places, and Maili knew this very well.
But this is not what Maili is most worried about. What worries Maili the most is the food problem. The food shipped to Fanlin was actually ambushed outside Yulin City. A thousand carts of food were reduced to ashes. This made Maili extremely angry. But this It was under Nick's jurisdiction, so he couldn't ask too much. He could only urge the other party to restart the delivery of food as soon as possible. The food in the army has been exhausted, and the Xijiang Army is extremely active in the southern Jiama and Fanlin areas. Maili, who was already severely under-strength, did not dare to take risks anymore, especially since the two food requisitions were frantically blocked by the Xijiang Army. , This gave Maili a headache, but he had no choice. He no longer dared to send a large army to transport food and grass. Once intercepted by the Western Xinjiang Army, a fierce battle regardless of losses would be enough to exhaust the weight in his hands. There is no capital left to fight with the Western Xinjiang Army. But food is indispensable. Jiayuguan has come twice to report that the food has been exhausted. If the food is not sent again, I am afraid that without the Tanghe people attacking, Jiayuguan itself will declare that it is undefended.
Under this situation, Maili had to send the only remaining grain in his army to Jiayuguan. But now his army had no grain at all. He had to forcibly collect it in Jiama and Fanlin. The people in the two cities were hostile. Emotions are high. In Maili's own words, this is drinking poison to quench thirst. The little bit of public support that was finally built was suddenly destroyed. The damage is easy to make up for, and the ability to win back these people is very limited. I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to support. But until now, there has been no movement in the food transportation for the Eastern and Southern Expeditions, and this batch of food collected at the cost of losing popular support can only last for ten days. How can this not make Maili anxious and angry.
"Marshal, maybe Marshal Nick is thinking about how to transport the second batch of food safely. Now the Tanghe people are very rampant and have gone deep into the inland to carry out harassment and attacks. The Western Xinjiang Army has been supplemented by nomadic cavalry, and its strength has been greatly enhanced. To be honest, , our light cavalry may no longer have the upper hand in terms of combat effectiveness." Seeing that all the generals and staff were cowering and not daring to speak, the middle-aged armored officer who was first on the right licked his lips to gain courage. Strike up a conversation.
"Hmph, he stopped eating because he was choking. Could it be that he stopped transporting food for fear of being ambushed by the enemy? Has he considered our situation? Without food, how can we feed the soldiers? He is a well-fed man and does not know how hungry a man is." Maili snorted coldly. With a cry, he tilted his head slightly, "Humph, Ferdinand, you seem to be quite self-aware when you speak. It's not that our light cavalry cannot have the upper hand now, but it is that it is already at an absolute disadvantage, both in terms of horse power and the quality of the soldiers. , in terms of light cavalry, we have already fallen behind Li Wufeng’s army.”
Maili took a few deep breaths. Perhaps he noticed that he had lost his composure in front of his subordinates. Maili picked up the tea cup and took a big sip of tea. He managed to calm down. He hadn't felt out of control like this for a long time. . The Prime Minister has made it clear that due to the domestic food shortage, it is unlikely that he will be able to supply the Seventh Corps and the Southern Expeditionary Army with a grain of food until the end of the year. Mailli can also feel the Prime Minister's heavy mood from the letter. There is no other way besides sighing. Unless he is allowed to follow Nick's example in looting and plundering in Beijerok, even with the support of the Southern Expeditionary Army, I am afraid that Beijerok will not be able to sustain the harvest until next summer.