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Text Chapter 90 The clouds of war are gathering

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    The clouds of war are getting thicker and thicker as time goes by. The border between western Sichuan and the areas controlled by the Qing court has already been covered with war clouds.  At the junction of Sichuan and Hubei, hundreds of thousands of people from both sides faced off.  Shaanxi to the north and Yunnan and Guizhou to the south are equally uneasy.  Western Sichuan and the Qing court are both accumulating strength.  A large number of soldiers and various combat supplies were quickly sent to the front line.

    Compared with western Sichuan, the Qing court's military advantage is undoubtedly much greater.  On the Hubei front line, the Governor of Huguang Zhang Zhidong personally came to the front line to command.  Hubei's 100,000 new troops and Zhili's 100,000 new troops are already in place, with an additional 200,000 Green Camp troops as supplements.  However, even so, Zhang Zhidong was not sure at all.  Prior to this, there was only one Second Division in western Sichuan defending the border, plus a Seventh Brigade stationed in Bazhong. The two troops added up to only more than 20,000 people, which forced his Hubei New Army to not dare to go west.  step.

    "My lord, all the five towns of the Zhili New Army are here and are at your disposal!" A soldier in his thirties, wearing a new army uniform, reported to Zhang Zhidong.  He was Xu Shichang, the commander of the first town of Zhili New Army.  The Zhili New Army was adapted from Li Hongzhang's Huai Army. It was later joined by young men from Zhili, Shandong and other places. It was equipped with Western weapons and trained by Western instructors.  Each town includes four auxiliaries, plus artillery, baggage troops, engineers, guards, etc., totaling 20,000 people.

    "Xu Tongzhi has worked hard all the way. At present, all five towns of our Hubei New Army have entered the front line to guard against the attack of the Western Sichuan Army. The 200,000 green battalions from the eastern provinces have also been deployed on the second line of defense. Zhili  I will use the five towns of the New Army as reserves. Once the front line fails to withstand the attack of the Western Sichuan Army, it will be up to you!" Zhang Zhidong said.

    "Everything is arranged by the adults!" Xu Shichang didn't say much.  Zhang Zhidong was now named the General of the Central Army, and all Qing troops in the Central Army obeyed his command.

    Opposite to Hubei, the Western Sichuan Army in Chongqing has also all entered the defense line.  The Second Division and the Seventh Brigade have already made preparations, and the newly formed four divisions, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh, have all arrived at the front line and are ready to launch an attack at any time.  In addition, the two destroyers and ten gunboats of Chongqing's inland river fleet have also completed combat preparations.  When necessary, they will provide artillery support to the Western Sichuan Army, and even go directly down the river to attack Wuhan.  Of course, this all depends on how the commander arranges it.

    General Xiong, Chief of Staff of the Western Sichuan Army, established his headquarters in Wanxian County to command various ministries nearby.  At this moment, the Western Sichuan Army has gathered more than 120,000 troops in Chongqing.  Although there were 400,000 Qing troops on the opposite side and 200,000 new troops known as the strongest elite, they were still not noticed by Xiong Wu.  In his eyes, the Western Sichuan Army and the New Army of the Qing Army were not on the same level at all.  A brigade of the Western Sichuan Army has the strength to defeat a town of the Qing New Army.  Calculated this way, the Western Sichuan Army still occupies a decisive advantage.

    However, the order to attack has not yet been sent, and all departments of the Western Sichuan Army are still waiting for the final order.

    Not only the Eastern Front, but also the Southern and Northern Fronts, the Western Sichuan Army and the Qing Army also entered a state of confrontation.  The atmosphere is very tense, and it only takes one spark to completely detonate, causing a war to break out.  However, for now, both sides seem to be somewhat restrained.  Although the Qing court had begun to implement the plan to annihilate western Sichuan, it had not actually issued an order to attack.

    In Tianshui, Gansu Province, the first cavalry corps and the second cavalry corps of the Western Sichuan Army that have completed their reorganization have gathered here.  They are also making final preparations.  Compared with the Western Sichuan Army in the other two directions, their battle is undoubtedly more difficult.  After all, both the eastern and southern fronts can receive logistical support from Western Sichuan.  Their logistics are very fragile. To supply them in Western Sichuan, they need to cross the plateau and walk two to three thousand miles. This means that although the two cavalry armies have been re-equipped, they do not have much ammunition reserves.

    "Young Marshal, Chief of Staff. The attack order from the General Staff Headquarters has been sent, ordering us to launch an attack on Xi'an on June 18, the day after tomorrow. The General Staff Headquarters requires us to send at least two brigades of troops south to attack Hanzhong.  Then cooperate with the First Brigade and the newly formed Third Division from Guangyuan to capture Hanzhong and open up our logistics supply line." Wu Huiyao handed the order to Wang Yuze.

    Wang Yuze finished reading the command and then handed it over to Cai Yun.

    "There should be no problem! Although the Qing army has concentrated 200,000 troops in Shaanxi, there are almost no real threats to us. Whether it is Shaanxi Green Camp or Shanxi Green Camp, although they have more troops, they are simply vulnerable. Even if it is  The 50,000 Mongolian cavalry led by Prince Boyannamohu of Horqin, but those cavalry who are only equipped with sabers and don't even have a cannon, will they be our opponents?" Wang Yuze looked very relaxed.  Although the Qing court had strong military strength, it was indeed unable to compare with Western Sichuan in terms of weapons, equipment and training.  Many green camps still use old-fashioned shotguns, and it's pitiful that they don't have enough to worry about.  And as calming downThe Mongolian cavalry, which played an important role in the Pingtian Kingdom Uprising, could only use bows and arrows and sabers.  Only the 300,000 troops of the Zhili New Army, the Hubei New Army and the Imperial Guard New Army were equipped with Western-style weapons and had a certain degree of combat effectiveness.

    "Order the brigade-level and above officers from the two cavalry corps to come to a meeting and issue combat orders!" Cai Yun said to Wu Huiyao.

    "Yes, Chief of Staff!" Wu Huiyao turned around and informed the generals at all levels.

    "What? Uncle Cai, are you still worried? Although the Qing army on the opposite side has many people, they are definitely not our opponents!" Wang Yuze said.

    "Young Marshal, I have no doubt about this. But I don't know whether this time it will be the same as it was more than ten years ago, and the success will fall short again." Cai Yun said, his eyes were a little lonely.  As a soldier, the last thing you want to see is that the victory that is so easy to win slips away in vain.

    Wang Yuze didn¡¯t say much, he also knew about it.  More than ten years ago, in the battle between Western Sichuan and the Qing Dynasty, Western Sichuan had achieved a decisive victory.  The Western Sichuan Army even prepared to attack Beijing. However, the intervention of the foreign powers and the force of force forced Western Sichuan to give up these easy victories and instead went into hibernation.  It was at that time that the Qing court began to train the new army.

    "Uncle Cai, although I don't know if the attitude of the great powers this time will be any different from that of more than ten years ago. However, today's Western Sichuan Army is no longer the Western Sichuan Army more than ten years ago. Even if the great powers intervene, we can still  Fully guarantee our interests. Unless they are really willing to send a large number of armies to China for the Qing court. In that case, with the strength of Western Sichuan, they will at least be prepared to sacrifice millions of people." A gleam flashed in Wang Yuze's eyes.  With the current industrial strength of western Sichuan, it is not difficult to arm millions of troops.  And can the great powers sacrifice millions of land troops for the sake of the Qing Dynasty?  This is almost impossible.  Take the "sun never sets" empire, Britain, for example. Although their navy is the best in the world, now that western Sichuan is not close to the sea, their navy is completely useless.  And their army is no match for the Western Sichuan Army.

    "Yu Ze, I feel reassured by your words. As a soldier, the most painful thing is to see things like the Sino-French War where soldiers signed a treaty that humiliated the country even though they clearly won the battle!" Cai Yunpai  He patted Wang Yuze on the shoulder.

    "Uncle Cai, I promise you, nothing like this will ever happen. Even if we can't completely wipe out the Qing Dynasty this time, we will definitely be able to gain great benefits. We will never let the interests of Western Sichuan be affected.  No damage." Wang Yuze assured.

    Soon, under the chairmanship of Cai Yun, the First Cavalry Army and the Second Cavalry Army held a military meeting.  Among them, Liu Zhiye, commander of the First Cavalry Army, led the troops directly under the army and the 4th and 12th brigades to attack Hanzhong southward. He cooperated with the 1st Brigade and the newly formed 3rd Division to capture Hanzhong and open up the supply line.  The 15th and 16th Brigades of the First Cavalry Army cooperated with the Second Cavalry Army to attack Baoji and marched eastward, preparing for a decisive battle with the Qing army in Xi'an.

    After the meeting, the First Cavalry Corps and the Second Cavalry Corps immediately took action, rolling towards the east with horse hooves.

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