On 21 June, the Western Sichuan Army launched an attack on Xi'an. First of all, it is still the artillery performance, but this time, the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army is no longer invincible. The 05-mm light howitzers and 75-mm field guns on the city wall of Xi'an brought great losses to the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army. On the contrary, the artillery of the Qing army was hidden behind a thick turret, and it was not easy for the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army to destroy the opponent's artillery.

Although the Western Sichuan Army had a very large numerical advantage in artillery, at the end of the morning, the artillery of the Western Sichuan Army lost more than 10 cannons, and the Qing Army also lost more than 10 cannons, but all of them were 75-mm field guns, and 05-mm light howitzers did not lose at all. The shells of the Western Sichuan Army were all blocked by thick turrets.

The Type 2 infantry guns used by the Western Sichuan Army had an effective firing range of only 2.5 kilometers. And the 05-mm light howitzer of the Qing army has an effective firing range of more than four kilometers. Therefore, the artillery positions of the Western Sichuan Army were completely within the range of the Qing army's artillery bombardment.

The attack was frustrated, and Cai Yun hurriedly ordered the artillery to retreat. Artillery is very valuable, especially after the large-scale expansion of the western Sichuan Army, this kind of technical arms is extremely scarce, and it is difficult to replenish after losses.

"Chief of Staff, what to do? Xi'an's sturdiness is far beyond our imagination! It's not so easy to take Xi'an! Wang Yuze frowned. During this period of time, the western Sichuan army has been fighting smoothly, and this is the first time it has encountered trouble.

"Stop the attack for now! The preparation of the Qing army in Xi'an is very charged, and it is impossible for us to achieve an overwhelming superiority in firepower! Cai Yun's face was not very good. Xi'an is the provincial capital of Shaanxi and the most important city in Shaanxi, and only by taking Xi'an can we ensure that the whole of Shaanxi is under the control of western Sichuan. Therefore, the Western Sichuan Army must take Xi'an, and it must do its best to take Xi'an.

Soon, the Western Sichuan Army withdrew from the battlefield. In this attack, the western Sichuan army lost a full twelve cannons, and the artillery also lost dozens of people, which made Wang Yuze feel distressed.

"General, we have repelled the attack of the Western Sichuan Army. The artillery of the Western Sichuan Army suffered heavy losses under our counterattack. However, we also suffered a lot of losses, and more than a dozen cannons were destroyed by the Western Sichuan Army! Shaanxi Governor Zhu Shijun reported to Zhu Hongzhang.

"Lost more than a dozen cannons? Is it big or small? Zhu Hongzhang was shocked. In his early years, he participated in the war to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and resist the Anglo-French forces, and knew the power of artillery. At the beginning, the British and French coalition forces relied on the power of foreign guns and cannons to defeat hundreds of thousands of Qing troops at the cost of only more than 400 people. Therefore, Zhu Hongzhang also attaches great importance to artillery. Xi'an just ordered a cannon, if it was blown up, then there would be no need to fight the rest of the battle.

"General, the losses are small. All the 05-mm cannons were in the turret, safe and sound, and not a single one was lost. If we had known, we should have built more turrets on the walls! Zhu Shijun said with a happy face. Defending Xi'an is a great achievement! The future promotion and fortune are just around the corner!

"That's good! Ordered people to quietly draw artillery from the other three city walls to strengthen the defense of the West City, and must not give the Western Sichuan Army a chance to blow up the city wall! Zhu Hongzhang said sternly. Hearing that all the 05mm light howitzers were all right, Zhu Hongzhang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, General!" Zhu Shijun immediately received the order and went down to make arrangements.

In the afternoon, the western Sichuan army launched another attack. This time, artillery cover was used, and the sappers quickly broke through, laying explosives in preparation for blowing up the walls. However, the Qing army also fought very tenaciously, braving the artillery fire of the Western Sichuan Army and firing at the sappers of the Western Sichuan Army on the city wall. Although this caused heavy losses to the Qing army, the sappers of the western Sichuan army also suffered considerable losses and could not get close to the city walls under the heavy fire of the Qing army. At the same time, the losses of the artillery, in order to cover the sappers, were not small.

In the end, the Western Sichuan Army had to stop the attack again. Of course, if the Western Sichuan Army keeps on the offensive, it is also very likely to break through Xi'an, but the Western Sichuan Army will inevitably pay an unbearable price.

Wang Yuze and Cai Yun were not the kind of people who poured their own merits with the lives and blood of their soldiers, so in order to avoid causing more casualties, they suspended the attack before there was no good way.

While the main forces of the cavalry army were fighting hard in Xi'an, the battles in other directions had already made great progress. The main force of the First Cavalry Army, which went south, under the leadership of army commander Liu Zhiye, cooperated with the 1st Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army and the newly formed 3rd Division of the Sichuan Army, which went north from Guangyuan, to attack Hanzhong. Hanzhong had only 30,000 defenders and lacked heavy weapons. After being besieged by more than 40,000 western Sichuan troops, the city was broken after only half a day of resistance. Subsequently, the Qing army generals guarding Hanzhong surrendered, and the entire Hanzhong fell into the hands of the Western Sichuan Army. After taking Hanzhong, the Western Sichuan Army was again divided into two parts. The 1st Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army and the newly formed 3rd Division attacked Ankang, preparing to flank the Qing army in Hubei from the northwest to support the frontal battlefield on the Eastern Front. The main force of the First Cavalry Army made a detour to attack Tongguan and closed the eastern passage of Shaanxi, forming a complete encirclement of the Qing army in Shaanxi.

On the Eastern Front, the Western Sichuan Army won the opening victory with lightning speed, causing heavy losses to the Qing army. Subsequently, on 19 June, the Western Sichuan Army launched a fierce attack on the second line of defense of the Qing army. The Qing army concentrated 400,000 troops on the battlefield on the eastern front, including 200,000 well-equipped new troops, while the total strength of the western Sichuan army was only more than 100,000, the gap was very large, but even so, the attack of the western Sichuan army made it difficult for the Qing army to resist. Even if they were able to hold the line, the losses were huge, and the entire defense line felt crumbling. Moreover, the Western Sichuan Army is ready to start throwing in reinforcements, and the Qing Army will face even greater pressure at that time. After Wang Xiao's consent, the instructor stationed in Chengdu and the new Ninth Division have been mobilized. Perhaps the combat effectiveness of the new Ninth Division is limited, but the instructor is definitely the most powerful combat force of the Western Sichuan Army. Each of the instructors is carefully selected from veterans who have served for more than three years, and in other units, at least they are the best candidates for squad leaders, and their combat qualities are the strongest. Generally speaking, the instructors are the main force stationed in Chengdu, and they will only be sent to the battlefield in times of emergency. Obviously, the Western Sichuan Army sent the instructor to the Eastern Front, obviously intending to completely break through the Eastern Front.

On the battlefield of the southern front, the Qing army's appearance was even more unbearable. Wang Wenshao, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, was completely ignorant of military affairs, and the governors of Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Guangzhou were also the ones who had wine bags and rice bags, so that the Qing army on the southern front, which had an empty army of 200,000 troops, was completely unable to resist the attack of the western Sichuan army. The 1st Division and the 6th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army, which went south from Panzhihua, won a great victory in Yongren, Yunnan, annihilating more than 30,000 enemies in one fell swoop and approaching Kunming from the north. The 2nd Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army and the newly formed 8th Division from Luzhou to the south broke the Qing army in Zunyi, Guizhou, annihilating tens of thousands of enemies, and the main force of the Qing army in Guizhou was completely wiped out. It can be said that among the three battlefields, the southern front is undoubtedly the best developed, and the western Sichuan army has already laid the foundation for victory, and if this continues, the western Sichuan army will be able to completely occupy Guizhou and Yunnan provinces in half a month at most. As for breaking into Guangxi, there is no chance of this. The French have always regarded Liangguang as their sphere of influence, and if the Western Sichuan Army wants to get involved in Guangxi, it will inevitably clash with the French. Although Kawanishi was not afraid of France, if the two sides were to fight each other, Kawanishi's overseas trade in Europe would be severely affected. You know, France is the main sales place for all kinds of luxury goods produced in western Sichuan. As a last resort, Western Sichuan does not want to be an enemy of the great powers.

The development of the war situation was also known to the Manchus. When he knew that the Qing army had been defeated in various battlefields, losing hundreds of thousands of people, and even Horqin's personal guard Boyan Nemohu had been killed in battle, Emperor Guangxu was even more furious, and scolded a group of people from the military department and the military aircraft department and the front-line generals for misleading the country and making the war so erosive.