In the 1st Division of the Northern Luzon led by Shanzhu, a pure Gaoyue soldiers formed an infantry division, and its combat effectiveness was beyond doubt; while the 5th Division of the Northwest Legion led by Long Zixing was a main division of the Northwest Legion of Wufeng's Army. The veterans were all the Guide Rebel Army, which had been trained for a long time with the Guide Rebellion Bandits. After years of battlefield tempering, they have become the well-deserved elite troops of the Northwest Army. In order to welcome this battle to defend the Kamans, the two even moved the elderly, weak women and children in Pinglu Mansion a few days in advance, and temporarily recruited two registrars and one registrar troops to form a reserve force, so that the defenders in Pinglu Mansion reached 55,000.

The defense facilities of Pinglu Mansion City were also reinforced unprecedentedly, and almost all defensive weapons that could be used were lifted to the top of the city. In order to prevent the fire attack of the Kamans, the two of them demolished all the wooden buildings within a hundred meters of the city wall to prevent the fire from causing chaos, and the wooden watchtowers on the city wall were also demolished.

Piles of stone bullets and rolling wood were piled up to form a hill, one can and one bucket of buckets of sealed tung oil was covered tightly with fireproof tape, one carriage of lime bottles, lime bags, and lime cans were arranged neatly, and boxes of crossbow arrows and ordinary arrows were placed densely along the city wall, and dozens of bags of sand used for extinguishing fires were piled up every few dozen meters. The catapults and crossbows had been wiped transparently. In order to strengthen emergency response capabilities, Long Zixing and Shanzhu also conducted two emergency practical exercises after the Kaman broke through the city defense and came to the wall before the Kamans arrived, in order to achieve practical results. For this battle, the two were also determined to fight with the Kamans, who are known as the invincible iron army, and let the blood defend the honor and dignity of the Northwest Army.

The Kamans, who also knew the cruelty of this battle, dared not look down on them. The combat power of the Northwest Army has far exceeded the armies of other vassal states in the Tanghe Empire, and even surpassed any other army except the First and Second Corps. Although they have an absolute advantage in number, the other side defended the city and was well prepared. There are also two cavalry units that rushed out of the cage and wandered behind them, especially the 30,000 rangers, who came and went as wind, and their mobility was far beyond their own light cavalry. If they were not careful, they would cause a disaster, which would be impossible to be careless. On the one hand, they had to attack the city with all their strength, and on the other hand, they had to be prepared for sneak attacks from the rear. This battle was really difficult and dangerous.

However, the Kamans' full preparation still made the Kamans laugh to the end. From the composition and deployment of troops to the preparation of various types of siege equipment such as giant catapults, overpasses, phosphorus fire crossbows, oil sack fire bombs, siege towers, etc., from pre-war mobilization to incentive mechanisms, from the distribution of troops to the preparation of logistics supplies, from intelligence support to the planning of rebellion behind enemy lines, all of which were carefully planned and prepared. This was a life strangulation that was called by Kaman Commander Nick. In his later biography, he called these seven days "a painful history of hell torture." One month after the war, he still often thought that he was still commanding the battle, immersed in the scene where he could face crisis anytime and anywhere. The tense battle process made him, who had been through many battles, insomnia for a month.

The Pinglu offensive and defensive battle officially kicked off on July 31, lasting for a full seven days, and officially ended on August 6, also known as the "Seven-Day Battle". Both sides invested 250,000 troops. Until the end of this battle, the number of casualties on both sides reached 120,000. Among them, the Kamans on the siege side paid the price of more than 70,000, and the two Northwest Military Divisions guarding the city and the three regiments of the regiments left less than 11,000 when they broke out of the city.

The entire Pinglu city wall was almost broken by continuous catapult attacks. Although it was helped by the residents of the city, the damage caused by the powerful power of the Camanian giant catapult car could not be compensated by manpower alone. In the last two days, the broken city walls on all sides could no longer assume the responsibility of defense. The Northwest Army almost used manpower to force the Kaman soldiers who were swarming over the city. The casualties caused to the Northwest Army reached 28,000 in the last two days.

During this period, tens of thousands of Northwest cavalry wandering behind the Kaman army also carried out attacks and sneak attacks on the Kaman army. However, the good military literacy of the Kaman people made the sneak attacks of the Northwest Army fail to have much effect. They defended on the spot and organized counterattacks in a timely manner, so the sneak attack did not have a substantial impact on the main force of Kaman who was attacking the siege.

When Shanzhu and Long Zizhe had already decided to sacrifice themselves, the 100,000 cavalry who returned from Indian and German finally arrived at the critical moment and immediately entered the battle. After breaking through the outer defensive line, they tore open the encirclement of the Kamans in the Western camp in one fell swoop. The Kamans, who had been struggling for seven days, were obviously a little tired, and their morale was not as strong as when they just entered the battle. The investment of the 100,000 new forces made the Kamans unable to organize an effective counterattack for a while. The western encirclement was immediately torn apart, and three 10,000 teams were dispersed by the 100,000 Rangers. The Northwest Army in the city, who received the news, also took advantage of the situation to break out. After merging with the nomadic cavalry, they finally retreated into Anyuan under the cover of the Rangers.

On August 6, the Kaman army finally stepped into the east gate of Pinglu, which was on the verge of collapse in the twilight, in the thick smell of blood and stench of rotten corpses, to welcome them with a dead silence and desolation.

On the surface, Pinglu's acquisition further increased the power of the Kaman people in Beiyuan. However, because they did not obtain the originally expected Pingyao granary, there was not much food left in Pinglu City. Before the Kaman people encircled Pinglu, a large number of elderly, weak, women, children, gentry and merchants had already transferred the precious property and all production and living materials in the city to Huashuiyu in the south and Anyuan in the east. The Kaman people actually only obtained an empty city, paid more than 70,000 elite soldiers, and only obtained an empty and dilapidated city, which was unacceptable to the Kaman people, but the 100,000 nomadic cavalry transferred back from the Central Continent had already rushed back. According to the information, the Lulong Security Division had also entered Anyuan and jointly defended Anyuan City with the 2nd Division of the Nanteluoke, which had been stationed in Anyuan City. With more than 100,000 cavalrymen, the Kaman people had lost the opportunity and courage to advance westward.

When the Kamans were fighting desperately with the Northwest Army of Pinglu, on August 2, 698, the Fifth Army and an independent division in the southern military region suddenly went west from Huanggang Prefecture. On August 4, three divisions arrived at the foot of Jincheng Prefecture. After some negotiation, the three divisions peacefully entered Jincheng in the name of helping Jincheng resist the threat from the Tianshui Taiping Army in the north.

After the Fifth Army entered Jincheng, two directly affiliated granaries of Guanxi County on the outskirts of Jincheng were immediately announced to be temporarily taken over. The 200,000 dan of grain stored in the granary were immediately transported to Jinjiang Wharf in Jincheng. A large number of transport ships leading from Jincheng to Huanggang were transported overnight. This almost looting behavior aroused strong indignation from officials and gentry inside and outside Jincheng Mansion. Thousands of people gathered spontaneously to protest against Jin King Situ Jun looting disaster relief reserves that originally belonged to the people of Guanxi. The situation was once out of control and triggered large-scale riots. Later, under the strong suppression of the Fifth Army, the situation was considered to be controlled, but almost a single grain of grain was left was transported to Huanggang.

When I got the news, Wufeng was already on his way to Tianshui.

The signing of the "Li Lin Secret Agreement" announced the formation of the situation of the joint management of the Sanjiang River. The Maqi Khan controlled the Huayang and Yushan prefectures in the east, and strangled the key area in the central region - Loushan Pass. The Lin family still occupied the central Jiangchuan and Qindu prefectures. Although Anshun was still under the jurisdiction of the Lin family in name, it was not possible to mobilize Li Wufeng's approval. The Lin family could not even mobilize the soldiers and soldiers of Anshun Prefecture. The 20,000 barbarian soldiers also advanced to the border area between Tiannan and Sanjiang as a reserve to prevent major changes in the Sanjiang war. Wufeng, Liang Chongxin, Mulige and Wenna agreed that as long as the situation on the southern front was stabilized, the northern front war was much greater than the strategic depth, and even if one or two places were lost, it was not related to the overall situation.

In view of the deterioration of the situation in the north, Wufeng was determined to leave Liang Chongxin and the other two to be responsible for the war on the southern front, and he personally rushed to Hanzhong and Tianshui, Longdong, to inspect. Situ Jun's military mobilization in Huanggang did not hide the eyes and ears of the intelligence department, but Wufeng had no more mobile troops to deal with it at this time. The only hope was that Situ Jun should not be too greedy. The military strength in the Guanxi area was empty, except for the Second Northern Luzon Division left by Hanzhong and the Second Northwest Legion in Lujiang, there was no regular army. If Situ Jun really wanted to suddenly have a big appetite and advance towards Hanzhong, it would really cause great trouble for himself.

The Beiyuan war 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 been curbed, if they continue to maintain the existing offensive, I am afraid that no matter how strong the First Division of the Northwest Legion is, it will be difficult for a few times its enemies. From a conventional perspective, the Rangers can only play a harassing and blocking role. Whether they can play a role in determining the situation of the battle situation is, Wufeng doesn't have much of a clear mind. It depends on how strong the combat power of the Taiping Army is.

The weather was hot, and the unsuccessful war in the north made Wufeng feel even more irritable. The iced watermelon placed in the cold bucket in the carriage did not bring Wufeng much good mood. The window screen floating in the wind floated from time to time, and you could see a piece of green outside the window. This is the three-season rice in Tiannan, and you have just waited for the harvest.
Chapter completed!