The sun was shining brightly, and the mountain road between Zizhou and Huangming County was filled with people.
There were medical teams and logistics teams moving forward, civilians and the wounded who had been sent over from the battlefield in Huangming County, and communication teams running back and forth … All kinds of figures filled the winding road. The sounds of orders, crying, and shouting merged into one.
"Everyone, move to the right! Right! Right! Fellow townsman, this is the right, make way … "
The red armbands in charge of directing the traffic shouted from the middle of the road, barely maintaining the smooth flow of the entire road.
In the process of going back and forth, the soldiers who had been through all kinds of training didn't feel too much pressure commanding them. The most difficult to command were naturally the civilians who had been evacuated from the battlefield in Huangming County. They had just experienced the most terrifying scene in their lives. Many of them were covered in blood, or perhaps they had experienced the impact of the death of their family members. Some of them walked forward in a daze, unable to hear anything. Occasionally, someone would stumble to meet the opposite team. After being touched, they would fall to the ground and cry.
The red armbands in charge of directing the flow of the civilians had to instruct people to help them back to the team.
In a few cases, these people who had lost their minds would even argue loudly with the people around them. At that time, some coercive measures could only be taken. Although it was inhumane, it was naturally necessary at the moment.
Since all kinds of contingency plans had been made in advance, even though there were all kinds of conflicts, there was not a single major delay that would cause a delay.
After all, the road from Huangming County to Zizhou was relatively easy to travel on. The Jurchen's journey from Jiange to Huangming County was naturally more troublesome. Among the various contingency plans made by the Huaxia military's General Staff, their side, which had fewer people, still had an advantage in terms of traffic.
The tents that were responsible for taking in the civilians stretched out on the open land near the middle of the road.
The civilians of the Wu dynasty who had survived the battlefield in Huangming County were first monitored and quarantined. During this process, the Huaxia military arranged for a large number of propagandists to hold meetings and preach to them so that they could identify those who might be Jurchen spies. After this screening, they would be sent to the settlement in the rear.
Among the hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder, as long as the Jurchen generals had the slightest bit of intelligence, there would be spies among them. Most of these spies were members of the Han army who had surrendered to the Jurchen. Their attitudes were vague and it was difficult for them to choose. If the Huaxia army had the upper hand, they would even be willing to join this side. However, with the rewards offered by the Jurchen Zhenren and the changes in the external situation, these people would be time bombs that could jump out at any time.
In any case, the lives of the Han army were worthless. If they sent a random soldier to the other side, the enemy would have a headache.
If I were a bad guy, I would definitely do this. Although I have always been a good person, Ning Yi was quite experienced in this kind of thing.
There was a tall watchtower on the mountain on the road. and Ning Yi and the patrol team climbed all the way. up. Ning Yi and the watchtower. Yi and Yi and and Ning and Ning Yi team. Although Yi and was and, but he and he was, and he and County, and County, Jurand was on and. He and. and and and and and.
There was a watchtower on the mountain peak next to the main road. Ning Yi and the patrol team climbed all the way up. Looking forward from the mountain, they could vaguely see the end of the sea of trees in Huangming County. There were still smoke rising from the depths of the mountain. The fire was still spreading. Xu Shaoyuan, who was in the secretariat, repeated yesterday's battle situation.
"In order to rescue the Wulitan team, Jurchen launched three large-scale attacks and ordered the cannons to be fired at the civilians. This messed up the situation on the battlefield. The Jurchen Zhenren approached the walls of Huangming County again under this wave of attack. They climbed the walls and fought, causing some damage … Division Commander Pang reported that on the twenty-fifth day, our army only suffered a hundred casualties. Most of them were caused by the boulders and bombs they threw.
"The Jurchen army's casualties were estimated to be more than five thousand. After Yu Xian's unit suffered three rounds of cannons, there was a large-scale retreat. The Jurchen Zhenren's military law team also killed some of them. In addition, Jurchen Zhenren ordered the cannons to fire at the civilians …"
"One to fifty!" Hearing this number, Ning Xi could not hide her excitement. Ning Yi smiled. "Most of the casualties were from Yu Xian's Han army."
Chief of Staff Li Yi nodded. "Wulitan is the Jurchen elite. Jurchen Zhenren ordered him to attack the city in one go. But Pang Liu 'an has many old soldiers under him. They won't be able to gain any advantage by climbing the city walls. Seeing this, Jurchen Zhenren immediately ordered the Han army and the other auxiliary troops to launch a saturated attack. Then, they will fire at the civilians on the battlefield to mess up the situation. Firstly, it will allow the Wulitan elite troops to retreat. Secondly, he wants to test the destructive power of the cannons on the city walls. "
Li Yi paused and looked at Ning Xi. "This revealed a key idea. Ning Xi, can you see it?"
Ning Xi frowned and thought for a moment. "They, they … can accept such a loss?"
"… This means that they did not underestimate us." Ning Yi sighed and patted the child's shoulder. "The Jurchen Zhenren have been fighting for twenty to thirty years. In their hearts, they should feel that they are the strongest army in the world. With such a mentality, they will not accept high losses. Using Wulitan as the vanguard for the first wave of attack is a reflection of this mentality. If everything was normal, Wulitan's troops would have stood on the city walls. On twenty-five days, Huang Ming County should have been breached. "
"But such a situation did not occur. Jurchen Zhenren immediately ordered the Han cannon fodder to charge forward. Then, they launched three waves of attacks, pushing the battlefield to saturation. Then, they did not use the main elites and retreated after paying a huge price … This means that in the eyes of the Jurchen army's higher-ups like Jurchen Zhenren, they think that it is necessary to use such losses to test the limits of the Chinese army. This' necessary 'proves that they did not underestimate us in this war. In fact, they think highly of us, which is why they launched this southwest war. "
Ning Xi nodded. Li Yi said, "Zong Han and Xi Yin think that the rise of the Jurchen Zhenren has reached its peak and there are already problems of internal corruption. The Chinese army is still rising among the Han people. If this situation continues, the Jurchen Country will be in danger of being destroyed. Thus, they view the southwest war as the most crucial battle for the Jurchen's survival. From the first day of fighting in Huang Ming, we can see that they can accept a quick victory, but they can also accept the disparity in power between the two sides. They need to slowly grind it out. This is the most troublesome. "
Ning Yi looked at the refugee camp on the road below. "How many civilian casualties?"
"The Second Division's statistics are rough numbers. The number of civilians that were driven to the front every day was about 15,000 to 18,000. In the end, we saved …" Xu Shaoyuan looked at the statistics and looked down. "… more than 3,600 people. More than 700 of them were injured. "
The team beside the watchtower was silent for a moment. Ning Yi then laughed. "Speaking of which, when the General Staff Department was discussing the plan, Chen Tian helped the Jurchen Zhenren come up with a very dirty strategy. He thinks that when the Jurchen Zhenren attacks the southwest, the world will belong to them. They can stuff the surrendered Han troops into the refugees as cannon fodder. We have no choice but to accept them, and it will be very troublesome to filter them out."
"In view of this, Chen Tian said that the Jurchen Zhenren can consider driving millions or even millions of civilians from Xiang Lake and Sichuan. They can confiscate their homes and take away food and everything else. Then they can drive one million, two million, or even three million people from the Sword Garret to our side. They can be used as cannon fodder or directly delivered. The Jurchen Zhenren only needs to consider opening a path, and we won't be able to digest them at all. In less than a year, we will all be dead … "
The refugee camp at the foot of the hill looked miserable, but this was just the beginning. Ning Yi talked about Chen Tian to liven up the atmosphere. There was a hint of emotion in his smile. Li Yi also showed a complicated smile. Ning Xi frowned and thought for a moment. "If that is really the case, then what should we do … but Zhou Junwu just rolled up the bead curtain by the Yangtze River …"
"We can't fight here. As long as the Jurchen Zhenren can defend the Sword Garret and the mountain passes of the Taurus Path, the millions of civilians won't be able to return."
"Then … is there any way to deal with it?"
"It is difficult to deal with an open plan." Ning Yi laughed. "When Chen Tian said this, everyone was a little stunned. The possibility of this is very small because the development is unpredictable. The Jurchen Zhenren can mobilize hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops at any time. There is no need for them to fight such a cowardly war. But if they are really so cowardly that they fight and send people in at the same time, no one will be able to cry. The possibility of collapse is very high … That is why the General Staff Department said that Chen Tian is full of evil tricks and is a match made in heaven with Qu Zhengyan … "
Ning Yi looked down at the refugee camp. After saying this joke, his gaze gradually became serious.
"We can't be optimistic. Huang Ming County has a 1: 50 ratio. It is said to be a saturated attack, but in fact, the Jurchen Zhenren's attack is not saturated at all. With the elites on the battlefield, the catapults and the cannons, the casualty ratio will be greatly reduced. Ba Licu is an old general of the Jurchen Zhenren. Since he is mentally prepared, he will soon find the critical point of Huang Ming County's defense. Over at Yu Yu Creek, Xie Lili is not moving because he is waiting for Ba Licu to make his move. That will be the real test for us. "
Ning Yi looked at the battle report and reached out to tap on it. He smiled bitterly and passed it to Li Yi. "Sigh, look. There is still debt to be paid. Before the battle, I repeatedly told you to use the cannonballs sparingly. Pang Liu 'an and Li Dong squandered for a day and bombarded more than 5,000 people with cannons. They are so high … After thinking about it, they sent a report to us about the problem of not having enough cannonballs. "
In the Huaxia Army, purely combat matters were handled by the General Staff Department and the various army leaders. Although Ning Yi was in charge of the overall situation and occasionally analyzed, he did not directly interfere much. But the logistics, production, collection, and deployment of all kinds of supplies were still in Ning Yi's hands. Previously, when he analyzed the situation of Huang Ming County, Ning Yi spoke of it seriously, but in fact, he was not worried much. Now that he was being asked for money, Ning Yi's shoulders slumped and he was so angry that he laughed.
"I've already taken out several years of savings, and I've been working day and night to rush the project. How am I supposed to give them more … Xu Shaoyuan, go back and write a letter to scold them. A plan is a plan, there's nothing more." He clapped his hands. "Alright, I knew it. This battle has been going on for three months and we are all going to starve."
In front of them, the mountains were dense and the road was winding. When Ning Yi talked about this on the mountain, he still had a smile on his face. At the side, Ning Xi frowned and did the math. When she reached a quiet place, she found her father and asked, "Father, is there really not enough?" Ning Yi looked at his son who was slowly growing up and found it funny, "Let's go, I will take you to do the math."
In the afternoon, the father and son returned to the command center and took out their abacus to do the math. Pang Liuan used the cannons for a day and started to request for more supplies. Actually, it was not just this army that wanted more things.
In the pre-war mission, the resources of the various armies had been split. The production for the next few months had also been split. Ning Yi only had a small amount left but each army wanted to use all sorts of methods to get what they wanted from Ning Yi. In the past, this was what made Ning Yi sigh and slap the table the most.
The matter of fighting with the Female Zhenrens was like an old landlord getting his property divided by his son. He felt like he would not be left with anything for the rest of his life. Occasionally, he would laugh at the reports from the various armies, finding joy in his pain.
Of course, no one had any selfish motives on this matter. In fact, this kind of competition was necessary. All Ning Yi could do was to send out letters from time to time to scold the teachers at the front, saying that they were wastrels, and then go to the back to urge the workers to work overtime, and urge the publicity department to constantly encourage everyone to take initiative. He would mock himself. His true colors as a black-hearted capitalist were displayed to the limit.
Even so, the lack of supplies was still huge. In the early years, to maintain the operations of the three counties, they basically sold everything that could be sold. The bulk of the trade was the cannons. Ning Yi only had grenades in his hands. After taking down the Chengdu plains, they had more money and started to prepare for war. However, they didn't have a lot of supplies. After all, this battle was fought too early.
The father and son spent half the afternoon in the room doing the math. When they left, there were already promotions and celebrations for Huang Ming County's one for fifty victory. The propaganda team went over while beating drums and gongs. Ning Xi's expression was like a dumb son of a landlord who suddenly realized that his family was an empty shell. His expression was guilty and awkward.
"It's all about money … productivity." Ning Yi sighed and patted his son's shoulder. "There's a new factory in Chengdu. I'm planning to let you learn about it. Management will be the most important thing in the future."
"… I-I'm not going." Ning Xi reacted. "Dad, you're lying to me again."
"I'm telling the truth." Ning Yi's gaze was sincere and calm. "But you have your own ideas. That's good too. Stay in Zizhou for now."
Ning Yi's expression didn't reveal any flaws. On the 26th, Huang Ming County experienced another round of battle. Pang Liu 'an reduced the frequency of the cannons and the casualties on the battlefield were reduced. Even without the cannons, Huang Ming County's forces were still as strong as steel. This was just the beginning of the battle. Ba Li Su sent the results of the attack and some of the conclusions to every leader of the Jurchen army.
The fire caused by the battle between the scouts in the mountains was spreading more and more widely. For the subsidiary troops who had entered the mountains for the bounty, the one-to-six exchange was an unbearable threat. Even though the leadership of the Jurchen people had given the order not to set fire easily, who would care about the order at the moment of life and death when they were attacked? Whether it was to fish in troubled waters or to turn around and flee, setting fire was always the first choice.
The Huaxia scouts chose to maintain the battle line and not move. Some of the elite Jurchen scouts slowly started to adapt to the Huaxia army's fighting style. Occasionally, when they charged forward and occupied a key position, they were blocked by their own people's fire. When they returned, they cursed endlessly. Some of them never returned.
Everyone understood that the initial test and stalemate wouldn't last long. Once the test was over, what awaited the Huaxia army would be a large-scale, high-intensity, repeated charge and switch. The cannons from both sides would fire at each other. Even if one side attacked while the other attacked, the Jurchen wouldn't be at an absolute disadvantage. Most importantly, they could afford the manpower and material resources.
On the night of the 26th, after finishing his business, Ning Yi took out a letter and wrote to his family in the rear. He wrote this to Su Tan'er:
I found that after the children grew up, they weren't as cute as they were when they were young. Tell Wenwen, Ning Ke, Ning Shuang, and Ning Shuang that Dad likes them the most. Their older brothers aren't likable.
Well, Ning He is still young, so he's as cute as they are.
…
Not long after, Su Tan'er also wrote a letter to me:
Yesterday, I received Xi 'er's letter. She said that you always want to trick him into going to the rear. It's really an old habit. He wants to be a straightforward young man and shouldn't learn from you in this aspect.
I'm happy that he's made his own judgment. Of course, I scolded him in the letter.
Don't be angry with him anymore.
…
— I'll be angry with him!
— Happy my ass!
Ning Yi's face darkened with anger when he heard his wife's letter.
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