The clouds of war have accumulated thicker and thicker with the passage of time, and the border between western Sichuan and the Qing court's control area has long been covered with war clouds. At the junction of Sichuan and Hubei, hundreds of thousands of horses on both sides confronted each other. Shaanxi in the north and Yungui in the south are also uneasy. Both the western Sichuan and the Qing court are accumulating strength. A large number of soldiers and various combat materials were quickly sent to the front line.

Compared with western Sichuan, the Qing court's military superiority was undoubtedly much greater. On the Hubei front, Zhang Zhidong, the governor of Huguang, came to the front line to command. The 100,000 new troops in Hubei and the 100,000 new troops in Zhili are already in place, and there are 200,000 green battalions as supplements. However, even so, Zhang Zhidong did not have the slightest certainty. Prior to this, there was only a second division defending the border in western Sichuan, plus a seventh brigade stationed in Bazhong, and the two units combined were only more than 20,000 people, which forced his Hubei New Army not to dare to take a step west.

"My lord, all the five towns of the Zhili New Army have now arrived, and we are waiting for your dispatch to be dispatched!" A soldier in his thirties, wearing a new army uniform, reported to Jang Zhidong. He is Xu Shichang, the commander of the first town of the Zhili New Army. The Zhili New Army was adapted from Li Hongzhang's Huai Army, and later joined the young and strong in Zhili, Shandong and other places, equipped with Western-style weapons, and hired Western instructors to train them. Each town consisted of four associations, plus artillery, baggage troops, engineers, guards, etc., for a total of 20,000 men.

"Xu Tongzhi has worked hard all the way. At present, all five towns of our Hubei New Army have entered the front line to guard against the attack of the Western Sichuan Army. The 200,000 green battalions from the eastern provinces have also been deployed on the second line of defense. The five towns of the Naoli New Army, I will use them as reserves. Once the front line fails to resist the attack of the Western Sichuan Army, it will be up to you at that time! Zhang Zhidong said.

"All the qiē are arranged by adults!" Xu Shichang didn't say much. Zhang Zhidong is now named the general of the Middle Route Army, and all the Qing troops in the Middle Route are under his command.

On the opposite side of Hubei, the western Sichuan army on the Chongqing side has also entered the defense line. The 2nd Division and the 7th Brigade were already ready, and the newly formed 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th Divisions had all arrived at the front and were ready to attack at any time. In addition, two destroyers and ten gunboats of the river fleet in Chongqing were also ready for battle. When necessary, they will provide artillery support for the western Sichuan army, and even attack Wuhan directly down the river. Of course, this depends on the commander's arrangement.

Xiong Wu, chief of staff of the Western Sichuan Army, set up his headquarters in Wanxian County and commanded various departments nearby. At this moment, the Western Sichuan Army had concentrated more than 120,000 troops in Chongqing. Although there were 400,000 Qing troops on the opposite side, and 200,000 new troops, which were known as the strongest and most elite, they were still not in the eyes of Xiong Wu. In his eyes, the Western Sichuan Army and the New Army of the Qing Army were not of the same rank at all. A brigade of the Western Sichuan Army has the strength to defeat a town of the Qing Army's New Army. In this way, the western Sichuan army still occupies a decisive advantage.

It's just that the order to attack has not yet come, and all units of the Western Sichuan Army are still waiting for the final order.

Not only the eastern front, but also the southern and northern fronts, the western Sichuan army and the Qing army also entered a state of confrontation. The atmosphere is very tense, and it only takes one spark to completely detonate and make a big war break out. It's just that, for now, both sides seem to have some restraint. Although the Qing court had already begun to implement the plan to exterminate western Sichuan, it did not really issue an order to attack.

In Tianshui, Gansu, the First Cavalry Corps and the Second Cavalry Corps of the Western Sichuan Army, which had completed the reorganization, had already gathered here. They are also making final preparations. Compared with the other two directions of the Western Sichuan Army, their operations were undoubtedly more difficult. After all, whether it is the eastern or southern front, they can get logistical support from western Sichuan. And their logistics are very fragile, and if they want to supply them, they need to cross the plateau and walk two or three thousand miles, which makes these two cavalry armies not have much ammunition reserves although they have been reloaded.

"Young Marshal, Chief of Staff. The order to attack from the General Staff Headquarters has arrived, ordering us to launch an attack on Xi'an on 18 June, that is, the day after tomorrow. The General Staff Headquarters asked us to send at least two brigades of troops to attack Hanzhong in the south, and then cooperate with the 1st Brigade and the newly formed 3rd Division from Guangyuan to take Hanzhong and open up our logistics supply line. Wu Huiyao handed the order to Wang Yuze.

Wang Yuze finished the command and then handed it over to Cai Yun.

"There shouldn't be any problem! Although the Qing army concentrated 200,000 troops in Shaanxi, there were almost no real threats to us. Whether it is the Shaanxi Green Battalion or the Shanxi Green Battalion, although there are many troops, they are not vulnerable at all. Even if the 50,000 Mongol cavalry led by the Prince of Horqin, Boyan Nemohu, but those cavalry who are only armed with sabers and do not even have a single cannon, will they be our opponents? Wang Yuze looked very relaxed. Although the Qing court had a strong army, it was indeed unable to compare with western Sichuan in terms of weaponry and training. Many of the Green Battalions still use old-fashioned shotguns, and they are pitiful. As a Mongolian cavalry that played an important role in quelling the Taiping Rebellion, it was a cold weapon that could only use bows, arrows and sabers. Only the 300,000 troops of the Zhili New Army, the Hubei New Army and the Janissary New Army were equipped with Western-style weapons and had a certain combat effectiveness.

"Order the officers of the brigade level and above of the two cavalry corps to come to the meeting and give the battle order!" Cai Yun said to Wu Huiyao.

"Yes, Chief of Staff!" Wu Huiyao turned around and informed the generals at all levels to go.

"What? Uncle Cai, are you still worried? Although the Qing army on the opposite side is numerous, it is definitely not our opponent's! Wang Yuze said.

"Young marshal, I have no doubt about that. It's just that I don't know if this time will fall short again as it did more than ten years ago. Cai Yun said, his eyes a little lonely. As a soldier, the last thing you want is to have a low-hanging victory slip away.

Wang Yuze didn't say anything, he also knew about it. More than ten years ago, in the battle between Sichuan West and the Qing court, Sichuan West had already won a decisive victory. The western Sichuan army was even ready to attack Beijing, but the intervention of the great powers and the forced force made the western Sichuan have to give up this low-hanging fruit victory and go into hibernation. It was at that time that the Qing court began to train the new army.

"Uncle Cai, although I don't know if the attitude of the great powers this time will be any different from that of more than ten years ago. However, today's Western Sichuan Army is no longer the Western Sichuan Army of more than ten years ago. Even if the great powers interfere, we can fully guarantee our interests. Unless they are really willing to send a large number of troops to China for the sake of the Qing court. In that case, with the strength of western Sichuan, they are at least ready to sacrifice millions of people. A gleam flashed in Wang Yuze's eyes. With the current industrial strength of western Sichuan, it is not difficult to arm an army of millions. And could the Great Powers sacrifice millions of land forces for the sake of the Manchus? It's almost impossible. Take the "sun never sets" empire Britain as an example, although their navy is the first in the world, but now the west of Sichuan is not close to the sea, and their navy is useless at all. And their army is not an opponent of the Western Sichuan Army at all.

"Yu Ze, I'm relieved by your words. As a soldier, the most painful thing is that the soldiers won the Sino-French War, but signed a treaty that humiliated the country! Cai Yun patted Wang Yuze on the shoulder.

"Uncle Cai, I promise you, there will never be such a thing. This time, even if we can't completely exterminate the Qing court, we will definitely be able to achieve great benefits. It will definitely not hurt the interests of western Sichuan. Wang Yuze assured.

Soon, under the chairmanship of Cai Yun, the 1st Cavalry Army and the 2nd Cavalry Army held a military conference. Among them, Liu Zhiye, commander of the First Cavalry Army, led the troops directly under the army and the Fourth Brigade and the Twelfth Brigade to attack Hanzhong in the south, and cooperated with the First Brigade and the newly formed Third Division to take Hanzhong and open up supply lines. The 15th and 16th Brigades of the First Cavalry Army cooperated with the Second Cavalry Army to attack Baoji and marched eastward to prepare for a decisive battle with the Qing army in Xi'an.

After the meeting, the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Corps immediately moved into action, and the horses' hooves rolled eastward.