Chapter 53: Ma Qin Deploys Troops

  Taking down Yushu City is equivalent to thoroughly kicking open the door of Qinghai, and the entire province of Qinghai has been exposed to the blade of the Sichuan Army. Moreover, the consecutive battles of Nangqian and Yushu have caused the Qinghai Army to lose nearly a quarter of its troops, while the Sichuan Army has gained an additional 11th Brigade, causing the balance of power between the two sides to change again. The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable for the Qinghai Army.

  After capturing Yushu, the 10th Brigade of the Kham Tibetan Army only stayed in Yushu for one night and continued to march north the next day. The northern Maqin will become the next attack target of the Kham Tibetan Army. As for the 11th Brigade, it suffered significant damage in this battle, and after incorporating two or three thousand surrendered Qing soldiers, its combat effectiveness was greatly reduced. Therefore, after discussion between Wang Ruzi and Cai Yun, they decided to let them rest here for two days. The 10th Brigade accelerated its northward advance, as speed is crucial in war. According to the intelligence received, it was already known that the Qing soldiers in Yushu had sent people back to Maqin and Xining to report the news. If the Qing soldiers were allowed to prepare, it would greatly increase the difficulty for the Kham Tibetan Army to defeat them.

  However, the main force marched from Yushu to Maqin, at least three to four days were needed. Especially the 10th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army carried a large amount of luggage, which required a lot of time. It was already very good to arrive in Maqin ten days ago and launch an attack.

  Yushu is 600 kilometers away from Maqu, and Xining is even farther, at 800 kilometers. The soldier sent by Gu Hongtao to deliver the message arrived in Maqu on April 5th in the afternoon, with one man and two horses, and one horse died of exhaustion along the way. As for Xining, it wasn't until April 6th that they received the news.

  Yushu was surrounded by the Sichuan troops, and the news that it would fall at any moment spread to Maqu. Some people advocated for an immediate rescue of Yushu, as once Yushu fell, Maqu would be next. However, others suggested defending Maqu, as everyone knew how powerful the Sichuan army was, and Yushu would not last until the reinforcements from Maqu arrived. By then, even the reinforcements sent by Maqu might be affected. It's better to defend Maqu and wait for the commander's orders, whether to fight or retreat, depending on the commander's decision.

  The Qinghai Army stationed in Maqin had a total of ten battalions, namely the 5th, 7th, 9th, 15th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 31st, 33rd and 36th Battalions. With over 10,000 troops, Maqin was also an important defensive position against the Sichuan Army, but they were facing not the 10th Brigade of the Sichuan Army, but rather defending against the 4th Brigade of the Sichuan Army together with the Mazhu Horse Army.

  Mashang City is slightly larger than Yushu City, with city walls over three meters high and one meter thick, not as low as the city walls of Yushu City. The defensive strength here is much stronger than that of Yushu City. In Mashang, in addition to the 10,000 Qingma Army, there are nearly 50,000 ordinary civilians. Mashang City is also one of the largest cities in Qinghai. The entire Qingma Army in Mashang is led by Lu Haoran, the commander of the Fifth Regiment. Lu Haoran is also an important assistant who followed Ma Haiyan to start his army and has a high reputation in the Qingma Army, otherwise he would not have been appointed by Ma Haiyan to command the elite of the 10,000-strong Qingma Army.

  The central part of the city of Maqin is the General's Mansion of Lu Haoran. It is also where Lu Haoran usually works, but today, the battalion commanders of the Qingma Army stationed in Maqin have all gathered here. They are currently arguing loudly in the main hall about whether to send reinforcements to Yushu.

  "General, Yushu can't hold on for much longer. If we hesitate again, it's very likely that Yushu will really fall. When the time comes and Yushu falls, thousands of our brothers will die in battle, and we will inevitably be accused of being unable to provide relief!" A man in his forties with red eyes said this. He was the commander of the 7th Regiment of the Qingma Army, named Gu Hongqiang, and he was a cousin of Gu Hongyun, the commander of the 1st Regiment, and Gu Hongtao, the commander of the 6th Regiment. Now that Gu Hongtao was in trouble, he certainly couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

  "Yes, General! Hurry up and dispatch troops! With the ferocity of the Sichuan Western Army, the defending army in Yushu will definitely not be able to hold on for much longer!" Another middle-aged man also chimed in. He was Lyu Yuanqing, the commander of the 9th Regiment of the Qingma Army, and a person with high prestige within the Qingma Army. He had a good personal relationship with Gu Hongqiang, so at this time he naturally came to help out.

  "General, we can't save! Who knows if this is the Sichuan Army's plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain? If our main force advances and leaves Maqu, the Fourth Brigade of the Sichuan Army will attack. What can we use to resist the Sichuan Army's offensive?" Immediately, someone came out to refute him, he was Wei Yuan, the commander of the 15th Regiment of the Qingma Army, who usually didn't get along with Gu Hongqiang and wouldn't let go of this opportunity.

  "Bastard, Wei Yuan, you dare to settle personal scores at this time? I'll kill you!" Gu Hongqiang was furious, and with a swish of his sword, he was about to chop down on Wei Yuan. Lü Yuqing, who was beside him, hastily pulled him back.

  "Come on! Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Wei Yuan also showed no weakness, drawing his horse knife to provoke him.

  "Bang!" Suddenly, Lu Haoran slammed his hand heavily on the table and shouted loudly: "What do you want to do? Are you going to draw your swords here and rebel?"

  At this moment, Gu Hongqiang and Wei Yuan both fell silent.

  "General, the garrison at Yushu is in danger, we can't just sit back and do nothing?" After a few seconds of silence, Gu Hongqiang spoke again, looking at Lu Haoran with pleading eyes. If troops were to be sent out, it had to be with Lu Haoran's approval.

  "Hmph! Isn't it just your own cousin in Yushu? Otherwise, why would you be so anxious?" Wei Yuan said disdainfully. Although he lowered his voice, the entire hall still heard his words.

  "Ah!" Gu Hongqiang glared at Wei Yuan, wanting to teach him a lesson, but he was afraid of provoking Lu Haoran and causing him to refuse to send troops to Yushu, which would be a loss.

  Lu Haoran also hesitated, and he was very clear about Gu Hongqiang's intention to rescue his younger brother. There was no doubt that Yushu could not withstand the attack of the Chuanxi army, and sending troops to rescue him would result in heavy losses. However, if he didn't send reinforcements, Gu Hongqiang would definitely hate him for it, and might even frame him for the fall of Yushu. Lu Haoran was not afraid of Gu Hongqiang alone, but he couldn't forget that Gu Hongqiang's older brother, Gu Hongyun, was the commander of the first battalion of the Qingma army, and Ma Haiyan's most trusted confidant. If this led to Gu Hongyun secretly plotting against him, Lu Haoran estimated that he would be hard-pressed to resist.

  Lu Haoran thought for a moment and finally came up with a perfect solution.

  "Gentlemen, Yushu must be rescued, but at the same time, Maxian must also be defended. I think it's like this: with the 7th Regiment, 9th Regiment, 19th Regiment, 33rd Regiment and 35th Regiment forming a relief army to rescue Yushu, the remaining troops will continue to defend Maxian and wait for the commander-in-chief's orders!" Lu Haoran said.

  "General, the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army is too powerful. With fewer men, we're basically useless! We can only take advantage of our numerical superiority and engage in a field battle with the Western Sichuan Army to have any chance of winning!" Gu Hongqiang said again. Apparently, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the number of reinforcements.

  "Rescuing Yushu is important, but defending Maxi is just as important! Letting you take away half of the troops is already giving face!" The commander of the 15th battalion, Wei Yuan, said indifferently.

  Gu Hongqiang glared at Wei Yuan, but didn't say much. However, he had already made up his mind that after getting through this ordeal, he would definitely make Wei Yuan pay.

  "Alright! Take the 31st battalion with you as well. After all, Maqin also needs to be defended!" Lu Haoran said finally.

  "Alright then!" Gu Hongqiang said finally.

  That afternoon, Ma Qian's reinforcements set out for Yushu. Gu Hongqiang didn't want to wait a single moment longer, heaven knows if Yushu could hold on that long! The six battalions of the Green Horse Army rushed towards Yushu at high speed.

  In the mountain forest less than two miles away from Maqin, a white carrier pigeon took off quickly after Maqin's reinforcements departed and flew southward.

  PS: The first update is here!