Southwest.
Time returned to the fifth day of the first lunar month. It was noisy outside Zizhou City. Around seven in the morning, the wounded soldiers from the frontline began to enter the city.
The snow was hurriedly shoveled away, and the ground was covered in mud. The bumpy road extended into the mountains in the distance, following the figures of the people. The commander wearing the red armband let the seriously wounded soldiers carried by ox carts or stretchers pass first, while the lightly wounded soldiers waited by the roadside.
The lightly wounded soldiers with bandages on their heads or bodies stood by the roadside, their eyes still looking in the direction of the northeast. Not many people spoke, and the atmosphere was anxious. Some of the wounded soldiers even removed their bandages, but they were stopped by the medics.
"My injuries have healed, I don't need to go to the city."
The wounded soldiers spoke one word at a time, and the medics couldn't persuade them for a while. The commander came over and gave them a death order. "Go to the city first. Those who have healed, regroup and then receive orders! You don't even listen to military orders? "
In the Huaxia army, military orders were like mountains, and it was a rule that never cared about feelings. The wounded soldiers could only obey orders. However, some people gathered around. "Do the higher-ups have a solution? What about Huangming County? "
The commander said, "The cavalry of the 1st Division has already gone to help. The 4th Division is also there. What's wrong, don't you trust your own people? "
"Why can't we take back our 2nd Division's position … I shouldn't have stayed in the casualty camp …"
Some people were angry, and some were annoyed — these were the wounded soldiers who had been evacuated from the battlefield by the 2nd Division. In fact, after more than two months of fierce battles, there were almost no soldiers on the battlefield who were not injured. Those who could enter the casualty camp were all seriously wounded, and it took a long time for them to recover.
They were also considered veterans. For this battle with the Jin Kingdom, the Huaxia army had been working for political and public opinion for several years, and everyone was in a state of holding their breath. In the past two months, Huangming County was like a nail nailed to the front of the Female Daoists. The Female Daoist generals who dared to rush up the city wall, no matter how famous they were in the past, were beaten to death on the city wall.
This was a battle of luck with the Female Enlightened Master who had destroyed the entire world. Being able to beat the Female Enlightened Master to this extent, all the soldiers felt a great sense of pride. Even though the soldiers were riddled with injuries and it was difficult for them to defend the city walls day after day, everyone had an inextinguishable spirit in their hearts. They firmly believed that the hardships they felt would be reflected back to the enemy ten times or even ten times over. The Hua Xia army had never been afraid of holding on until one side collapsed.
Their heroism had a solid foundation in reality. Over the past two months, Yu Shui Creek and Huang Ming County had been attacked at the same time. However, the defensive line at Huang Ming County had the best performance. When the results of the battle at Yu Shui Creek reached Huang Ming on December 19th, the soldiers of the Second Division were still holding their breaths. In fact, besides celebrating, the commanders and soldiers in the army were also trying to boost their morale. They wanted to achieve better results than Yu Shui Creek at some point in time.
Who knew that on the fourth day of the New Year, the line of defense that collapsed belonged to their side. The wounded soldiers in the rear barracks were stunned for a moment. When they realized that a large part of the reason for the collapse of the front line was the lack of manpower, some of the young wounded soldiers were so angry that they cried on the spot.
From the night of the third day to the morning of the fourth day, the battle for Huang Ming County was indescribable. Pang Liu 'an, who blamed himself the most, led the cadre group to charge at the top of the city wall six or seven times in a row. When he was forcibly pulled down, he was covered in blood. He only withdrew from Huang Ming County after receiving the order to retreat from the rear.
On the fifth day of the New Year, the battle at the front line had been handed over to Han Jing of the First Division and Qu Zhengyan of the Fourth Division.
Pang Liu 'an, the commander of the Second Division, and Guo Chen, the chief of staff, who had withdrawn from the front line, had not yet returned to Zizhou. The first batch to enter the city were the wounded soldiers of the Second Division. For the time being, they did not notice the strange situation in Zizhou City. In fact, when they entered the city, Ning Yi was standing on the top of the city wall, looking at the road ahead. Many people from the General Staff Department temporarily went up the city wall.
Zizhou City was currently in an extremely empty state. The First Division, who was supposed to be mobile reinforcements, had now been pushed forward to Huang Ming to cover the retreat of the Second Division. Qu Zhengyan led a small group of elites in the complicated terrain of the mountains, looking for an opportunity to stab the Female Zhenren. On Yu Shuixi's side, the Fifth Division was still in control of the situation for the time being. Many new soldiers were even sent to Yu Shuixi, but Ning Yi did not let his guard down. On the fourth day of the New Year, Commander He Zhicheng rushed to Yu Shuixi with more than 5,000 soldiers in the city.
The entire city of Zizhou City was under martial law, ready for war at any time.
Zong Han had already appeared in Yu Shuixi. It would be too naive to expect them to be satisfied after eating Huang Ming County. The Female Zhenren was a wolf who had experienced hundreds of battles. She was the best at taking risks and grasping opportunities. As long as Yu Shuixi showed the slightest flaw, the Female Zhenren would definitely pounce on them and bite their necks, refusing to let go.
The order to convene a meeting had already been issued. The staff of the General Staff Division gradually gathered at the city gate tower. There were not many people, so they gathered very quickly. When Peng Yueyun came over to report to Ning Yi, he saw Ning Yi looking into the distance and humming something in a low voice. Mister Ning's expression was solemn, but his voice sounded extremely indifferent.
"… Dear Mom and Dad … How are you? I'm already very handsome … Mm mm mm mm … "
"… Everyone's here."
"Mm."
Ning Yi turned around, put his hands in his pockets, and walked toward the city gate tower. When he entered the city gate tower, a few tables were put together. There were more than ten people from the General Staff Division, including the Chief of Staff Li Yi. Ning Yi greeted everyone and then sat down. His expression did not look good.
"I'll host the meeting. I know that everyone is busy today, so there's only one topic for this urgent meeting … or even a few will do. As everyone knows, the people of the 2nd Division are retreating. Pang Liu 'an, Guo Chen, and the others will probably arrive this afternoon. As for the main reason for our defeat in Huangming County, I want to hear your thoughts on how we should handle this internally … "
Everyone present was either the head of the General Staff Division in charge of practical affairs or the staff members in key positions. When the situation in Huangming County became critical, everyone had already understood the situation. After Ning Yi finished speaking, everyone spoke one after another. Some talked about Ba Li Su's military skills, some talked about the mistakes of the staff officers at the frontline, Pang Liu 'an, and the others. Some talked about the lack of military strength. When it was Peng Yueyun's turn, he mentioned the rebellion of the surrendered Han soldiers at Yu Shui Creek.
"… As for Yu Shui Creek, the situation of the battle on the 20th of December was initially decided. At that time, considering the problem of the captives, we did some work. However, the number of captives was too high. On one hand, we had to treat our own wounded soldiers, and on the other hand, we had to consolidate the defensive line at Yu Shui Creek. Therefore, the captives were not completely dispersed. Starting from the 24th, there was a rebellion at our rear. At that time, our military strength was even more strained. On the second day of the new year, a rebellion actually broke out at Yu Shui Creek. Furthermore, it broke out at the same time that Zong Han arrived at Yu Shui Creek. There must be a big problem in this … "
"… I'm thinking that Wanyan Xiyin, who didn't arrive at the frontline, wasn't completely unprepared for the problem of the Han army. When he realized that these troops weren't very trustworthy, what could he do? On the surface, we can see that he made the rewards and punishments clear and acted impartially to win the loyalty of the Han army. However, in private, I think that it's very likely that he had already chosen the most 'trustworthy' Han army and made preparations in private … "
"… For example, he instructed the small portion of the Han army in advance not to resist when the frontline suffered a huge defeat and to surrender to us. That way, they would at least have a chance to strike. Let's see, on the 20th of the new year, Yu Shui Creek suffered a crushing defeat. Following that, there was a rebellion at our rear. On the 28th, Zong Han gathered his subordinates and told them to treat the Han army well. On the 30th of the new year, there was a rebellion at Yu Shui Creek. Furthermore, Zong Han had already arrived at the frontline … "
Peng Yueyun continued, "… They were fighting for time. Once the 20,000 Han soldiers who surrendered were completely absorbed by us, Zong Han Xiyin's arrangements would be for naught. However, after our victory at Yu Shui Creek, all of these arrangements broke out … Our victory at Yu Shui Creek caused some of the traitors who were still watching from the sidelines to lose their cool and take advantage of the end of the new year to take the risk. We had to watch over the 20,000 captives, which was already very tense to begin with. When Yu Shui Creek launched a surprise attack at the frontline and caused a rebellion at the rear, our military strength was stretched to the limit. As a result, we decided to launch our strongest attack at Huang Ming County. This is actually the result of the Wanyan Xiyin's comprehensive arrangements … "
Throughout the entire meeting, Ning Yi's gaze was solemn. He clasped his hands on the table and did not look over. When Peng Yueyun spoke up to this point, his gaze shifted. Beside him, Li Yi nodded and said, "Little Peng's analysis is very good. Then, do you think there's a problem with Division Commander Pang and Chief of Staff Guo's commands?"
Peng Yueyun was silent for a moment before he replied, "The battle at Huang Ming County was a fleeting opportunity. I … personally feel that the Second Division has already done their best. It's not the fault of the battle. However … victory and defeat are always determined by the outcome of the battle …"
At this point, he seemed rather conflicted. Ning Yi knocked on the table and looked over with a gentle expression, "Say what needs to be said."
"I think that there should be a certain degree of punishment, but it shouldn't be too severe …"
Ning Yi nodded and then allowed the others to speak. When everyone had finished speaking, Ning Yi finally nodded and tapped his fingers on the table.
"I'll cut to the chase. Over the past decade or so, our Huaxia army has experienced many life-and-death battles. From Dong Zhiyuan to Little Canghe in the past three years, it can be said that we've been through hundreds of battles. However, this is the first time that we've fought such a large-scale battle with the Jurchens. "
He waved his hand and said, "The three years at Little Canghe don't count. Even though the battles at Little Canghe were fierce, the intensity and degree of formality couldn't be compared to this one. The so-called million soldiers of the Central Plains couldn't even compare to the 30,000 soldiers of the Jurchens. At that time, we led our troops through the mountains and fought while taking in the troops that could surrender. The most important thing was to take advantage of loopholes and preserve our lives …" "The Jurchens are different.
In the past 30 years, they've also been through hundreds of formal battles. A large-scale mobilization to the extent of destroying a country is a common occurrence for them. To be honest, after 30 years of training, the Jurchens' generals, such as Zong Han, Xi Yin, and Ba Lisu, are much stronger than us in terms of comprehensive abilities. We only surpassed them in terms of training and organization. We used the General Staff Department to counter the wisdom and intuition of these generals that they've cultivated for over 30 years. We used the quality of our soldiers to suppress their wildness. However, when it comes to military strategy, they are famous generals that have been ranked for thousands of years. On our side, we haven't been through enough training. "
"But we've actually become proud."
Ning Yi patted the table and said, "In the past two months, we've indeed fought with high morale. I also feel very excited. Ever since the battle of Yu Yu Creek, this excitement has reached its peak. Not only you guys, but I've also neglected it. In the past, when encountering such a victorious battle, I'm used to calming down. This time, I feel that since it's the New Year, I won't say anything unpleasant and let you guys be happy for a few more days. Reality has proven that this is my problem, and also everyone's problem. Daddy Jurchens has taught us a lesson. "
He paused for a moment before continuing, "All these years, of the big battles we have fought, the one with the largest scale was the Little Canghe. Back then, in the Little Canghe, for three years, we saw people we were familiar with fall day after day. Pang Liu 'an was in charge of the frontline defense many times. Everyone said that he was good at defense, but we've talked many times. Seeing the comrades around him fall in waves after waves of attacks was very unbearable. He guarded Huang Ming County for more than two months, and the number of soldiers under him kept decreasing … "
"As for Ba Li Su, he didn't play any fancy tricks during the two months of frontal attacks. He also quietly stared at Pang Liu 'an for two months. Whether it was through analysis or intuition, he had grasped Division Commander Pang's weakness. This is very impressive. Division Commander Pang needs to reflect on himself, and we also need to reflect on our fixed thinking and psychological weaknesses. "
"There's another point that's very interesting. Pang Liu 'an's Second Division is currently the division with the most artillery soldiers under our command. Huang Ming County has arranged two lines of defense for him. Although the first line of defense has been riddled with holes since the New Year, at least the second line is still standing. We've always thought that Huang Ming County is the place with the greatest defensive advantage, but in the end, it became the enemy's first breakthrough. What does this show? In the current situation, we shouldn't blindly believe in our equipment. The most important thing is still our people! "
As Ning Yi spoke up to this point, his gaze became more and more serious. He looked at the recorder at the side and asked, "Have you recorded everything down?" After getting an affirmative answer, he nodded his head.
"Alright, we'll use this defeat as an opportunity. From the commander down, all the officers must conduct a comprehensive review and reflect on themselves." He took out a few pieces of paper from his pocket and said, "This is my personal review, including the minutes of this meeting. Copy it and send it to all the departments, from the lowest to the platoon level. Organize a meeting, read it out, discuss it … I want this review to be clear to everyone from the top to the bottom. This is what you'll have to implement next. Are you clear? "
At this moment, everyone naturally understood and stood up to receive the order.
At this moment, the ground outside the city was still covered in snow. Under the gloomy sky, light rain gradually fell. The rain and snow mixed together, and the weather was shockingly cold. For the next half a month, the battle situation at the frontlines of Zizhou was like a pot of porridge with ice and fire intertwined. Ice rain, hot blood, flesh and blood, life and death … everything was mixed together in a messy manner. Both sides were trying their best to gain the upper hand at the next point of balance. Even the 7th Division, which had been maintaining its deterrent force, was moved because of this.
Until the 20th year, the balance between the offensive and defensive battles at Huang Ming County and Yu Shui Creek had never been formed again. Ning Yi did not defend Zizhou to the death. More dangerous mobile battles, battles for control, and intertwined killing rapidly unfolded in the new year …
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