Chapter 66: Head-on Confrontation (Please Collect)

  Ma Haiyan has already made up his mind, so Zhou He can no longer persuade him. However, he still feels a hint of unease, as if this matter is completely like a trap set by the Chuanxi Army.

  "Order the troops to speed up, and arrive at Maqu by dawn tomorrow!" Ma Haiyan gave the order. The Qingma Army's speed immediately picked up. Originally, in order to wait for the Hezhou Ma Family Army and Ning Ma Army who had fallen behind them for a day, they intentionally slowed down their pace. Now, the entire army suddenly took off. The 16 battalions of the Qingma Army, with more than 16,000 soldiers, looked like a black river flowing rapidly southward from high above.

  At the same time, Ma Haiyan also sent someone to inform the Mazhuang Ma family army and Ning Ma army, asking them to speed up their march towards Maxian.

  Wang Yuezhe and Cai Yun merged with the troops of the 10th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army in the afternoon. Zhao Bowei and Zhasi Duoji led four regiments of the 10th Brigade to Dongqiegou early, but unlike Niugougou where they ambushed the Qing army, the canyon here was very narrow with steep cliffs on both sides, making it impossible to lay an ambush on either side of the canyon. Therefore, Zhao Bowei and Zhasi Duoji had no choice but to station their troops on the east side of the canyon.

  "Chief of Staff, Young Marshal, the terrain here is not as good as that of Niubigou. We want to ambush Qing's army again, but it won't be easy!" Zhao Bowei said with some worry. Now he only had 4 regiments in his hand, but he had to deal with more than 16,000 people from the Qing army, a difference of four times!

  "Chief of Staff, Young Marshal! If we block the eastern side of the valley with heavy troops, we should be able to use our firepower advantage to trap the Qinghai Army inside. In that case, the Qinghai Army will not be able to come through here to rescue Ma Quan!" suggested Zhasi Duoji, Deputy Commander of the 10th Brigade.

  Cai Yun waved his hand and said, "If we want to stop the Qing Ma army from reinforcing, there is no need to make such a big circle. If we want to take down Ma Xuan, we can go all out and take it down before the Qing Ma army and other Ma family armies arrive. We have made so much effort just to annihilate Ma Haiyan's troops. At least we must heavily damage them!"

  "That's right! Although we are outnumbered and at a disadvantage, our equipment and weapons are far more advanced than those of the Qing army. If both sides engage in a head-on confrontation, we may not necessarily lose!" Wang Zuo also said.

  "This, Chief of Staff, Young Marshal. Really want to use our few men and the Green Horse Army to clash head-on?" Zhao Bogeng seemed to be confirming.

  "What? Don't you have confidence? Or are you afraid?" Cai Yun said with a smile.

  "How is that possible? Chief of Staff, don't look down on people, when have I, Zhao Bowen, ever been afraid?" Zhao Bowen immediately shouted loudly.

  "That's right! Prepare to resist the attack of the Green Horse Army! Concentrate all 82-type infantry guns from the four battalions, and deploy mortars and heavy machine guns on the front line. Build a simple defensive line and prepare to meet the attack of the Green Horse Army!" Cai Yun said.

  "Yes, Chief of Staff!" Zhao Bowei and Zhasi Duoji immediately went to make arrangements.

  The 10th Cavalry Regiment, each battalion had two 82mm infantry guns and two 60mm mortars. In addition to the firepower of each company and platoon, the four battalions had a total of eight 82mm infantry guns, forty 60mm mortars, forty-eight 37mm mortars, and eighty heavy machine guns. Such terrifying firepower was enough to withstand the impact of cavalry charges. In the era of cold weapons, cavalry was the most powerful force, but in the face of hot weapons, especially the continuous firepower of heavy machine guns, the role of cavalry was greatly discounted.

  The Western Sichuan Army chose to deploy on the east side of the Dongqiao Gorge, three kilometers away from Dongqiao Gorge. The terrain was surrounded by high mountains on both sides, with a two-kilometer-wide open area in between. The Western Sichuan Army prepared to engage in a frontal battle with the Qinghai-Tibet Army here.

  The main firepower was deployed in front, with heavy machine guns and mortars also placed on both flanks to ensure that the enemy could not bypass the flanks and attack from behind. The defensive line in front was only one kilometer long, while the two flanks were each 500 meters long.

  The deployment of troops was also concentrated on the front line, with two regiments deployed in front of the enemy, one regiment as a reserve team, and one regiment on each flank. Half of the mortars and heavy machine guns were also deployed on the front line, ensuring that there was a heavy machine gun every 25 meters, forming a dense firepower.

  The Western Sichuan Army's deployment aimed to concentrate its forces and firepower to defeat the enemy in a frontal battle, while also preventing the enemy from bypassing the flanks and attacking from behind.

  The artillery positions in the back, mainly 8 pieces of Type 82 infantry support guns, will provide favorable support for the fighting in front. Mortars are also evenly distributed along the front line, providing favorable firepower support for the infantry in front.

  It wasn't until dusk that the Sichuan Army's defense line was established, waiting for the Qing Ma Army to arrive. At the same time, they also sent out a large number of scouts in front to grasp the movements of the Sichuan Army at any time and avoid being ambushed.

  That night, the soldiers of the Western Sichuan Army rested after dinner, except for the sentries. Everyone was conserving their energy, and everyone knew that they would face a bloody battle tomorrow.

  At the same time, the Qinghai Army was also approaching Dongjiao Gorge. That night, their campsite was only thirty kilometers away from Dongjiao Gorge. In order to maintain sufficient physical strength for the upcoming battle, they did not rush through the night. This is also where the Qinghai Army was criticized later on. If Ma Haiyan had ordered the entire army to continue advancing, they would have encountered the Sichuan Army at night. At that time, in the chaos of the night battle, the Sichuan Army's strong firepower advantage could not be fully utilized. The Qinghai Army could easily defeat the Sichuan Army with its absolute numerical superiority, and even determine the final victory. However, unfortunately, the Qinghai Army was too cautious this time and missed the last opportunity.

  The next day, April 12th, at 6:00 am, the soldiers of the Tenth Brigade of the Kansai Army had already gotten up. After breakfast, all the soldiers entered their positions, checked their weapons and waited for the arrival of the Qing Ma Army.

  Wang Yuezhe also got up early, but he didn't sleep well last night. As soon as he thought that today he would use 4,000 people to fight against the Qing Ma army of 16,000 people, his heart was very excited and tense. Although he had great confidence in the Sichuan Army, until the result was announced, he couldn't rest assured.

  While waiting for the arrival of Qinghai Army, received a battle report sent by the 11th Brigade. After a day of fierce fighting, the 11th Brigade still failed to capture Maqu City. Of course, this has a lot to do with the strategy of the Sichuan-Xikang Army. Only if Maqu City is still in the hands of Qinghai Army will Ma Haiyan hurry to rescue it quickly. Once Maqu City falls, Ma Haiyan would have no need to rush here alone.

  "Commander, just ahead is the Dongqiang Gorge. Once we cross the Dongqiang Gorge, we'll soon arrive at Maqu!" Zhou He said, pointing to the large mountain in front of them.

  "Hmm! Send someone to scout ahead first, lest we fall into the ambush of the Chuanxi Army!" Ma Haiyan was still somewhat cautious on the march.

  Gu Hongyun immediately dispatched a cavalry team to scout the Dongqiangou. In less than half an hour, the cavalry returned to report that there were no Sichuan troops ambushing in the canyon. However, outside the canyon, they found a large number of Sichuan troops waiting in formation.

  "Hum! How many of those Sichuan troops are there?" Ma Haiyan asked.

  "Your Excellency, judging from their numbers, they are less than five thousand men!" The cavalry scout replied.

  "Five thousand men? It seems that the Western Sichuan Army wants to block us here and buy time for them to take down Maqin!" Ma Haiyan said.

  "Admiral, General Kawachi's army is underestimating us too much! Even if they have strong firepower, it's too arrogant to think that 5,000 people can stop us!" Gu Hongyun spoke up.

  "What about the situation in Maqin? Is it still under Lu Haoran's control?" Ma Haiyan did not make an immediate decision, but instead asked about the situation in Maqin City.

  "Admiral, I received the latest news this morning. Although yesterday's battle was extremely fierce, the defenders of Majin City suffered heavy losses. However, Majin City is still under our control. But the defenders of Majin City have reached their last gasp and it's estimated that they won't be able to hold on today!" Zhou He said.

  "Alright! Since that's the case, let's have a head-on showdown with the Kansai army right here!" Ma Haiyan said boldly.

  PS: The second update is here! The collection has not increased much, and the shameless little fish asks for collection again. In addition, a group 297276506 has been created, where everyone can share their thoughts or opinions on this book and discuss with Little Fish! Thank you to all book friends for your support!