Observing the situation in front of him, Li Wen couldn't help but admit that the Zhennan Army wasn't just good at Daming.
The Southern Town Army's cold weapons weren't inferior to their firearms in close combat, and their equipment was excellent as well. There were large shields and spears, as well as bright and shiny machetes. In close combat, they could even suppress the border army from a higher vantage point.
When the border army charged up the hill, they were already an arrow at the end of its flight. Meanwhile, when the Southern Battlefront Army was defending, they were at ease waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out and seize the initiative. Not to mention that the snipers would occasionally fire a shot and kill one or two brave border army soldiers. This made the border army a bit fearful, not daring to go all out and fight for fear that they would be killed.
After yesterday's battle, the military doctor had said that it was very difficult to save the soldiers who were shot in the arms and legs. This was because the bullets couldn't be taken out, and the blood wouldn't stop. Just the blood loss was enough to kill a person. Moreover, lead had lead poison, and gunpowder had fire poison. Firearms were originally poisonous weapons. If one was hit, it would be very difficult to survive.
Therefore, the losses on the battlefield weren't the most frightening. The most frightening thing was the large number of wounded soldiers dying after the battle. It was impossible to save them, and this would lead to a serious morale problem.
Some people were deeply worried about this, and Li Wen realized that instead of being deeply worried, it was better to use the victory to cover up this point.
As a result, he became more and more unyielding in his demands for the army to fight bravely. They wanted to break through the defensive line on the hill and advance to Liuba. They wanted to destroy the rebel army and reach Hanzhong.
Under his call, the border soldiers charged wave after wave towards the hill. Under the continuous attacks of the cannons and muskets, and under the stabbing of the spears and machetes, they fell in droves to the ground, unable to stand up again.
Fresh blood dyed the barren mountain red. No one knew when this blood-red color would disappear.
Li Wen didn't care about this. His many years of military experience had made his heart as hard as iron. He was more concerned about success and failure, the results, and not the process.
The thousand soldiers charged out one by one, and the hills were taken over one by one. The Zhennan Army's cannons continued to fire until they overheated, and the muskets continued to fire until the enemy was completely close. The large shield formation held on until all the enemies in front of them were killed. The two sides fought fiercely.
This fierce battle lasted for two days. On the morning of the 24th of November, four hills were occupied by Li Wen. The Zhennan Army retreated from the hill area and entered the second defensive line. The battle entered the second phase.
Despite the fierce battle and the victory, for Li Wen, this wasn't something to be happy about. This was because the price he had paid had far exceeded his expectations. He could only suppress his anger and force himself not to give up and relax. Finally, he broke through the hill area.
More than two thousand people died, and even more were injured. More were injured. Under the Zhennan Army's advantage of the battlefield.
They couldn't use their cavalry to fight against the Zhennan Army. They couldn't display their strengths, and it was difficult for them to even display their advantage in numbers. If it weren't for the continuous battles, it was likely that they wouldn't have been able to take those hills.
Moreover, these hills were taken by the Zhennan Army when they retreated. Not a single one was forcibly taken by the defending army. This gave Li Wen a bad feeling.
It had to be said that the high-intensity battles over the past few days had exhausted the army's stamina and energy. Looking at the defensive line that the Zhennan Army had built behind the hills, they felt a chill in their hearts. In the cold wind, they felt as if the world's malice was pouring down on them.
Li Wen could also see the exhaustion of the army. Without any other choice, he could only order the army to station in the hill area. The attacking troops returned to rest, and the previously rested part of the army continued to attack.
Li Wen couldn't let the offensive stop. Once it stopped, it wouldn't be easy to start again.
The weather became colder, but the flames of war became more intense.
Deng Zilong and the generals were eating hot pot in Liuba City. They weren't worried about the situation at all. They were confident because the scouts had traveled a long way and still couldn't find Li Ruzhang's troops on Baoxie Road. They should have reached Liuba by now. In the short term, they only needed to face Li Wen's troops.
And the defensive line they had prepared was enough to leave a deep and indelible impression on Li Wen's troops.
On the same day, in Nanzheng, Ma Wei, who had stayed behind to guard the city, received the two commanders of the three thousand white soldiers who had come from afar to help in the battle, Ma Qiancheng and his wife, Qin Liangyu.
In the end, the two of them had chosen to bet on Xiao Ruxun. After finishing the ideological work for their families, they arrived in Hanzhong with their well-trained elite white soldiers to help in the battle. They officially joined the Xiao Ruxun Army and bet on their own futures. Ma Wei was very welcoming of this.
Before the two of them fought with him, Ma Wei could already see their attitude. Moreover, their attitude was more inclined towards Xiao Ruxun's side. Seeing the sharp edge of the Zhennan Army, they already had a benchmark in their hearts, and now they were just putting it into action.
"General Ma and Madam Ma are highly principled and have worked hard for General Xiao. After the end of Fengtian's crusade against the rebels and His Majesty is restored to the throne, General Xiao will definitely report the military merits of the two of you.
Ma Wei smiled and held Ma Qiancheng's hand to show his welcome.
Ma Qiancheng was much more modest, saying that he was intimidated by the authority of the Sichuan Governor and had to bring troops to stop it. He hoped that General Xiao would not mind and so on. Ma Wei smiled and said that General Xiao would not mind at all. As long as they were partners in the Heavenly Crusade, General Xiao would definitely accept them, so the two of them did not have to worry at all.
After some small talk, Ma Wei expressed his welcome, and Ma Qiancheng expressed his willingness to rely on him. After that, they entered the formal negotiation stage.
In other words, what did the white soldiers need to do to be officially included in the Zhennan Army's system? What kind of proof of allegiance did the white soldiers need to submit in order to be truly recognized and get rid of the dilemma of being in a dilemma?
Of course, Ma Wei understood the needs of these two. If he did not arrange tasks for them now, it would be doubting their performance. Arranging important people for them was the beginning of trust and acceptance, so Ma Wei decided to give them two very important tasks.
"Come, General Ma and Mrs. Ma, please look here."
Ma Wei pointed out the estimated route of Li Wen and Du Tong's troops on the map to Ma Qiancheng and Qin Liangyu.
"These two routes are the marching routes of Li Wen and Du Tong's troops according to our intelligence. At this moment, our army is also fortifying Liuba and Lueyang, and the final plan is to gradually retreat. General Liu Gu's troops will withdraw to Yangping Pass to focus on defense, and General Deng Zilong's troops will retreat to Hutou Pass, Jitou Pass, and even Bao County to focus on defense.
The purpose of this is to lengthen Li Wen's transportation supply line, making his grain supply line weak and vulnerable. Li Wen's troops are already short of food because of our army's capture of Sichuan. Naturally, Shen Yicheng's side also has no food to support, so he hurriedly mobilized the army to attack for food.
And now, we need an elite army that is good at fighting in the mountains to penetrate deep into the enemy's rear, to attack and destroy their grain supply line, so that their frontline will run out of food and the frontline will be uneasy. Then, our army can directly rush out of the Qinling Mountains and into Guanzhong! "
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