January of the 696th year of the Mainland calendar was a month full of mysterious changes, especially in the empire Guanxi County, which was surging wars. The wars were everywhere. Several forces fought desperately on this fertile land for their respective goals and interests. The boiling shouts of killing were enough to shock the entire Eastern Continent.

On January 15, 696, the Imperial Military Affairs Deputy Minister Pike, who was responsible for supervising the war in the Kansai War Zone, considering that the empire had achieved a major victory in the Qinghe Battle in the north, he also hoped to achieve a victory in the Kansai area to make an explanation to the central government of the Empire. He ordered the three divisions of the Fourth Legion gathered in Longdong Prefecture to launch a full-scale attack on Longdong Prefecture, which was blocking the throat of the empire's westward passage with the support of a division of the Third Legion transferred from Heshuo County.

The new Wu Xiangbo of Taiping Sect, Bo Jinchen, keenly noticed this situation in advance. After careful analysis and confirming that the Northwest Army stationed at Queqiao Pass had no intention of advancing eastward or going south, Bo Jinchen made an almost risky decision, drawing all the 30,000 troops stationed in Xikang Prefecture to Longdong, leaving only less than 5,000 troops stationed in Xikang Prefecture to be responsible for the defense affairs of the entire Xikang Prefecture. The 30,000 troops traveled day and night, detoured from Xikang into the northern part of Hanzhong, and secretly entered the mountainous areas in northern Hanzhong for rest.

Since January 14, 695, the four main army divisions of the Empire, with the cooperation of the Tianshui Security Division, which was subsequently reinforced, launched wild attacks on Longdong Prefecture City for seven consecutive days. Duke Wuda, commander-in-chief of the Western Military Region of the Empire, and Marquis Miao Feng, commander of the Fourth Legion, personally took the battle to supervise the battle. In front of the military police supervision team holding a shiny law enforcement knife, officers and soldiers at all levels of the four divisions did not dare to neglect and took turns to fight, launching wave after wave of charge towards the nail stuck in the empire's contact with the northwest.

Looking at the bloody battlefield in front of him, Wu Da and Miao Feng, who had been through the battle formation for a long time, were also shocked. No matter how fierce the charge of the imperial soldiers was, whenever the attacking party stormed up the city wall, they would always be blocked by the Taiping soldiers who were fighting over. They were full of hope, sighed regret and shook their heads again and again. The crazy aura of Taiping soldiers made Wu Da and Miao Feng, who were standing at the forefront of the battle formation, couldn't help but be frightened. They fought for their lives and exchanged their lives for their lives. Not any soldier in any unit could do this, and almost all soldiers could hold this belief, which was even more extraordinary that the ordinary army could do. However, the army in front of him seemed to have done this.

The Taiping Army, who was commanding and defending on the city wall, seemed not as indestructible as Wu and Miao imagined. Even though Bo Jinchen had prepared a lot of defense in advance, he not only strengthened and raised the city wall, but also rebuilt the four gates, and even the moat was widened and deeper. In order to strengthen the defense capabilities, he also prepared quite sufficient rolling wood, rocks, bows and crossbows, and large stone catapults that were quite precious in the Taiping Army. He even specially equipped a small number of honeycomb crossbow trucks introduced from Kaman (Note 1), which greatly enhanced the defense capabilities of Longdong Fucheng.

When he learned that the Imperial Army was about to launch an attack on Longdong Prefecture City, in order to prevent chaos and rebellion in the city, the defenders conducted strict and even harsh searches and inspections in the city in advance, and threw many unstable elements into prison first to prevent future troubles.

However, even Bo Jinchen, who was confident in Longdong's defense ability, did not expect that the empire's victory in the north would have such a great stimulation to Pique, who was responsible for supervising the battle against Guanxi, that he not only mobilized five divisions, but also four of them were the main army divisions of the empire, and he also personally took charge of the main force's rear, allowing a military commander and a legion commander to personally supervise the battle.

Under the strong pressure of the senior generals, the combat effectiveness of the main division of the Imperial Army was fully squeezed out. The four divisions' charges made the Taiping Army, which were already fully prepared, still as if they were on a crumbling high wall, and repeatedly attacked for seven consecutive days. The soldiers who could not see the edge at first glance, the dense city rushing cars as dense as ants, the moving ladder arranged like trees, the arrow towers that exceeded the city wall, the powerful stone throwing machine and the crossbow chariot were enough to crush any resistance into powder, but they still survived. Although the remaining 50,000 defense soldiers were less than 20,000, they survived.

"Old Miao, these Taiping Army are really desperate. It's been seven days, seven days, we have paid such a great price but have not been able to tear a hole yet. No wonder these guys can set off such a big storm in such a short time." While observing the progress of the siege, Wu Da sighed, but he also knew that it would be a matter of time before the capture of this city. The situation in the past two days has been much better than the previous few days. It is obvious that the enemy's resistance has been greatly weakened. Perhaps in two days, he can stand on the towering city wall and look down at the vast land of Longdong. Wu Da has been immersed in the fantasy of victory.

"Yes, but based on the current situation, the enemy can no longer organize much effective resistance. It is probably the end of the force. According to the subordinates' opinions, the war here should be resolved within two to three days and completely take down Longdong City!" Miao Feng said much more. After all, he had three main divisions participating in the battle here, and he had a good understanding of the combat effectiveness of his troops.

"Well, for me, this is a matter of time sooner or later. But I didn't expect that these guys were so desperate, and we would pay such a great price." Wu Da was also quite sad. Seeing the corpses carried down by the logistics soldiers, he felt even more angry. After all, they were all subordinate troops of his military region.

"After taking down Longdong City, I will deal with these stubborn guys!" Looking at the still-fire war on the city wall, Miao Feng showed a ferocious face and gritted his teeth. In order to conquer this strong city, the three divisions under his command suffered a lot. There were no less than dozens of soldiers and officers who fell under the sword of the military police supervising team. The battle situation can be imagined. His other two divisions were dragged into the battlefield of the Jeroke, which was also seriously damaged. The Fourth Legion can be said to have suffered many disasters over the past year, and it was a heavy loss over the years, so it was no wonder that he was on fire.

Just as the front line shouted and killed the sky, a fast horse ran towards the place where the two coaches were as if they had entered a no-man, which attracted the attention of the guards. However, after quickly clarifying the other party's identity, they all let them go.

Before the visitor could approach, Wu Da and Miao Feng felt something was wrong with the other party's panic. They were already pounding in their hearts. They looked at each other and exchanged uneasy glances. They didn't know what kind of bad news they would hear.

"Sir, something is wrong!" The fast horse rushed to the front, and the soldiers above were already dismounted and crawled on the ground.

Wu Da and Miao Feng both felt a slight silence in their hearts and complained secretly. Wu Da calmed down and said coldly: "Come on the way quickly."

"Two lords, in the early morning of this day, Huatian Town was attacked by the enemy. The direct corps and Tianshui Security Division, which were stationed, were attacked by the enemy's main force, and the entire army was defeated!" The people came as if they were ashamed and covered in blood. It was obvious that they rushed out after a life-and-death struggle.

"Ah?!" Even though Wu Da and Miao Feng were prepared for a long time, they still didn't expect that such nightmare news would be like a news. They stood up almost at the same time and asked, "Where is Lord Pique?"

"Pick Pique's whereabouts are unknown. The entire army is now defeated and cannot be organized at all. "" Seeing the faces of the two coaches, the person coming no longer dared to continue talking.

What is the defeat? It is clear that the entire army has been wiped out. Wu Da and Miao Feng's faces have become paler than the soldiers who reported the news, and their bodies are trembling slightly. What should we do? The whereabouts of the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, who was responsible for supervising the war, were unknown during the battle? What does this mean? Thinking of the cold eyes of the imperial emperor, a wave of chill surged from the hearts of the two and kept seeping into their hearts. Beads of sweat as big as beans in the forehead were uncontrollably gurgling.

On the evening of January 20, 696, the mainland calendar, 30,000 Taiping Army, who had been resting for several days in the mountainous areas of Hanzhong for several days, came out of the mountain overnight and entered Longdong. Because the army adopted various protective measures on the way from Xikang to Hanzhong, and after entering the Hanzhong boundary, they entered the mountainous areas, the empire's intelligence forces in Guanxi did not accurately obtain information. When everyone's attention was on whether the Taiping Army stationed in Hanzhong Prefecture City would reinforce Longdong, no one noticed that such a wolf-tiger army would be hidden in the mountainous areas of northern Hanzhong.

In the early morning of January 21, the 30,000 Taiping Army, without any preparation, launched an attack on the rear command of the Huatian Town Empire's westward advance cluster stationed in eastern Longdong. Although nearly 30,000 troops were protected, the combat effectiveness of the Tianshui Security Division was enough to humiliate any imperial soldier. Within less than an hour of resistance, the entire division was defeated. The direct unit of the Fourth Legion, which had only one regiment, had continued to fight. Although the losses were huge, it finally successfully broke out.

On January 22, the Empire's westward cluster was attacked by the rear command after paying a huge price, but after the rear was attacked, the logistics supply line was cut off. Facing the enemy's attacks, they were forced to give up attacking Longdong Prefecture City and turn to counterattack Huatian Town. On that day, without any resistance, the imperial army occupied Huatian Town. The Taiping Army had previously evacuated Huatian. Although they occupied Huatian Town, what worries Wuda and Miao Feng the most was that the whereabouts of Pike, the Imperial Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, were still not identified, and the imperial army lost the best opportunity to capture Longdong Prefecture City. However, the Taiping Army in Longdong got a rare opportunity to breathe, laying the foundation for ensuring that Longdong Prefecture City is not lost.

The entire Taiping Army was immersed in celebration. For them, this was undoubtedly a special injection of a special injection to the morale of the people who suffered from the failure of the Qinghe Battle in the North.
Chapter completed!