Hearing Shi Chun's words, the faces of the generals around him darkened.
Yang Qiang exhaled slowly. "Where does your battalion belong to? Where are they? How many are there? Is the main force nearby? "
"I belong to the left vanguard of our main force. They are to the west of us. They have a legion of 30,000 people. The main force you're talking about is Cuckoo's central army, right? She's not here. She's in the yellow mountain area. "
Shi Chun's eyes were full of sincerity as he answered without hesitation.
"Why did you come here? Why did your logistics battalion move forward? "Yang Qiang asked again.
"I'm an independent logistics battalion. As the saying goes, before the troops and horses move, the provisions move first. Okay, let's stop here. Theoretically speaking, it's time for me to take the poison. I'm the last one to die. I'm going to the central sand table."
After Shi Chun finished speaking, he walked away, leaving behind a group of generals staring at each other.
"He said he's an independent logistics battalion and belongs to the left vanguard. Their vanguard has 30,000 people. If we continue to move forward, we'll meet them soon. What should we do?"
Li Zhi, whose entire second regiment had been destroyed, said worriedly.
He meant that they only had one brigade, and it was already so difficult to defeat a logistics battalion. How could they fight against the enemy's main force?
"Why did you believe what he said? Logistics battalion? Do you think his battalion looks like a logistics battalion? The logistics camp had brought bows and arrows, broadswords, and shovels to dig holes to come here first? Where are the provisions? "
Yang Qiang didn't believe him at all.
"But … the logistics battalion of Yizhou had already rushed to the front," Kong Lu, whose troops had also been destroyed, said softly.
"This is not Yizhou, and the soldiers are not the elites of the few forces. We don't have advanced weapons either. Send this news to the vanguard. Tell them to rest here and wait for the vanguard's orders."
Yang Qiang was in a bad mood. He had thought that they had encountered a powerful general and had a lot of defenders. However, after a fight, the artillery battalion had used up all their cannonballs.
Ah, I've suffered a huge loss. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have attacked. It turned out that using cannons to bombard a mountain was not very useful in a situation where the enemy had trenches and underground shelters. Guns would not work if they were too close to the enemy. Pistols were still passable, but using a long spear with a reload of bullets would not show any advantage. Even if they were equipped with a bayonet, they would not be able to fight against the enemy's broadswords and spears.
At this time, Yang Qiang was dejected as he pondered. He concluded that even if he lost, he still had to provide useful information for his troops. At the very least, he had to send back information about the trenches.
Shi Chun didn't care what the other party thought. His mission was complete. As he walked towards the center of the sand table, he recalled the battle that had just ended, thinking about what he could have done better.
When he entered the center of the sand table, he was greeted by Li Longji's applause.
"Come, come, Little Shi, come and sit down. You fought well. With a battalion of soldiers, you defended the high ground and calculated every step of the way. You fought until the enemy had 1,700 soldiers and exhausted their ammunition. Tell me, how did you fight?"
During this period of time, Li Longji did not sleep much. He always closed his eyes for a while, then got up and continued to watch the sand table. When the battle was over, he would wait for Shi Chun to come and look at the sand table.
Shi Chun did not dare to be presumptuous. He clearly knew that the Emperor had been watching the sand table and should know how to fight, but he still sat on half of the stool and said:
"The enemy thought that their weapons were more advanced, so they underestimated the enemy. They should not have sent troops to attack bit by bit and played with the tactic of adding fuel to the enemy. Instead, they should have covered the sand table with artillery and directly launched a general attack from all directions. This way, their losses would have been smaller than mine.
Moreover, at the beginning, the artillery should not have stopped after a single push. Instead, it should have formed a hindrance for our command and support, so that our troops at the front could not retreat, and our troops at the back could not rush up.
Also, we clearly knew that they were fighting with cold weapons, so we should have prepared in advance. Also, when their troops rushed up, there was no command at the back. I reckon that they will learn to be smarter next time. "
"Good, good, good, well said. They thought too simply of you. It's Cuckoo's fault. Usually, when she teaches them, she doesn't mention trenches. Instead, it's more about the theory of battle and not much about the actual situation."
Li Longji did not care whether what Shi Chun said was true or not, but since the other party had won, it was worthy of praise. Thus, he pushed the blame to Wang Juan.
"They haven't learned for long and haven't come into contact with the real battle. Young lady, you first talk about the theory, and when they've learned enough, you will have us fight on the sand table. At the same time, you will point out the analysis and judgment of the various situations."
Shi Chun spoke up for Wang Juan.
In truth, Wang Juan had mentioned trenches and various bunkers, but she did not mention that after the trenches were blown up, they should immediately carry out civil engineering work.
Wang Juan felt that the Great Tang's army would not encounter too much trouble if they bullied others, so she did not emphasize that the artillery plows would be used once, and they would have to see the situation and judge if they needed to fight again.
If they really fought, there were still troops in the air to help, responsible for reconnaissance and throwing down explosives.
If they were too detailed, it would easily limit the creativity of the generals, making them lose their own uniqueness.
The commander of the vanguard, Zhang Shougui, also received the report. This time, the report was very detailed. After reading the report, Zhang Shougui pondered for a moment before saying,
"Send an order to the first brigade. Tell them not to slack off and be prepared to face the enemy's attack at any time. No matter how thick the fog is, the scouts have to explore the entire area as quickly as possible. I don't want to hear another report of them being careless and causing more losses to our army."
Soon, Yang Qiang received the order from the vanguard. After reading it, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He slapped his thigh and said, "That's right! That Shi Chun intentionally let us capture him so that we can keep thinking about whether there is a left vanguard with thirty thousand men, so that we can judge whether he is really from the logistics camp.
In truth, he can be from the logistics camp, but he can also not be an independent camp. We only want to take down 535 Highland, but the surrounding area is all mountains. Men, pass on my order. "
"Reporting." Yang Qiang reacted and shouted at the messenger. Without waiting for him to give the order, the messenger reported first.
"Our Highland 535 Highland has suffered a fierce counterattack from an enemy camp. They are charging at us from the other side of the relatively steep mountain. Our army only has one group resting on the highland."
"Continue to attack, continue to attack. Aim and fire. Don't be afraid. Their weapons are not good enough. Kong Lu, Li Gui, take the rest of your troops and go up from this side to reinforce 535 Highland.
Our third regiment, third regiment, Zhang Fan, take your third regiment and surround them from behind. Don't let a single one escape. "
After giving the order, Yang Qiang sneered, "This time, you are the ones attacking the stronghold. Let's see how you will charge up. Do you think you can bring a trench with you? A camp, I'll eat it. "
"Order the scouts to continue expanding the search area. The enemy is not a camp, but a regiment. Find their regiment headquarters. I want revenge."
Yang Qiang's judgment was very fast this time. He guessed that the enemy could not have too many people. Otherwise, they would not have just watched as a camp was eaten. They were planning to exhaust the enemy's troops and at the same time use a camp to exhaust their own artillery.
"Reporting, there is thick smoke to the west of our army's provisions unit. It is being blown by the wind and is spreading. The provisions unit is requesting support." The messenger ran over to report again.
Yang Qiang slapped his forehead. He felt a headache coming on. He had made a mistake. When they encountered the enemy, they did not set up camp first. Instead, they relied on their superior weapons to directly attack the enemy. In the end, the enemy used a camp to delay them while the rest of the troops were looking for opportunities.
"Send my guards over. No, I will personally lead them. Think of a way to wet their clothes and block the smoke. Shoot at the smoke. Don't care if there are people inside."
Yang Qiang was worried that if he sent his guards away, the enemy would rush out and attack his main tent. He could only follow. This way, the referees would not judge that he was unable to defend and would be captured alive.
The messenger took the model and moved it slowly on the sand table. Yang Qiang watched. When they moved to a place with smoke, he would get more specific information.
At this time, another messenger ran in. "Reporting! When our provisions unit was firing at the west side of the smoke, the enemy probably had a camp of soldiers with wet cloth wrapped around their heads. They rushed up from the ground. When our troops turned around to attack, the enemy did not retreat. I think they have already started a hand-to-hand battle. "
"Ah! Wang Juan! Zhang Xiaobao! I hate you all. You must have given special treatment to your own troops. Otherwise, how could they be so strong? "
Yang Qiang roared, cursing with all his might. Only now did he understand why the enemy had sent a battalion to counterattack the 535 Highland with no regard for their lives. They wanted to draw away his strength, and even if they had to sacrifice another battalion, they would still be able to take down his army provisions.
"Looks like the enemy is really a logistics unit. Otherwise, the counterattacking camp would have been wiped out. Similarly, this camp would not be able to return alive. It was not easy to gain the advantage in numbers, but it was all lost again."
A brigade deputy general next to him said to Yang Qiang.
Yang Qiang nodded. "Indeed. When one's own personal guards are sent out, their firepower will be much higher. Coupled with the troops guarding the provisions, they will be able to take down the attacking camp. As for the other camp attacking the 535 Highland, they will not have a good time either.
Daring to fight like this and willing to fight like this, the enemy is definitely not their main force. They want to take down my brigade. But I am puzzled. Why do they cooperate so well? "
"Because they are together almost every day. After many years, who likes to command and how to command, they already know each other." The deputy general guessed.
"Fight, fight, I also threw caution to the wind. Did they think that my brigade would be finished if they burned the provisions?" Yang Qiang said unconvinced.
The battle continued. This time, Yang Qiang's weapon was at a disadvantage. It played its role, and the referee gave him a lot of slant in his judgement.
However, the 535 Highland was determined to be taken back by the enemy. This was because the soldiers guarding the highland were very tired. Although they killed many enemies, the enemy rushed up and cut them down.
Furthermore, the survivors jumped into the trenches again and waited for the enemy to rush up from all directions. Then, they jumped out and fought hand-to-hand.
While Yang Qiang was commanding his men to attack the camp that had ambushed the provisions troops, he didn't forget to pass down orders to the other troops. "Don't rush up and fight with the bayonets. Throw all your throwing weapons into the trenches. I'll let them hide."
The battle continued for another day. The camp that Yang Qiang was in charge of sniping retreated with less than 200 people, leaving behind more than 500 corpses. The troops on the highland were completely annihilated. Yang Qiang only paid the price of less than 300 people.
300 people killed more than 1200 people, but Yang Qiang was not happy at all. The total loss of both sides was about 2000 against 2000.
However, his side had run out of ammunition, thrown away most of the throwing weapons, burned the provisions, and killed most of the transport animals.
"This is too unfair. How did the ammunition I carry get blown up? Do they know how to use hand grenades? " Yang Qiang was the most upset about this. It was impossible for everyone to carry ammunition at all times, especially hand grenades.
However, after six hours of fighting, it was determined that his ammunition had been completely destroyed and he had exploded.
The messenger hesitated for a moment and finally said, "I know what happened. They didn't use the hand grenades to make a sound. They used hammers to smash them. When one of them made a sound, the others all went off. The natives only knew that our weapons were powerful, so they wanted to destroy them. The referees' judgment was reasonable."
"What's reasonable? I don't believe that the enemy's commander doesn't know what the hand grenades are. Why didn't he let people smash the bullets? I want to see what are the chances of causing an explosion if the bullets make a sound. "
Yang Qiang snorted angrily and said.
"This, we've smashed it. The enemy's commander said to smash everything, including our backup guns," the messenger said.
Yang Qiang was so angry that he laughed. "Fine, you guys are ruthless. You clearly know what the hand grenades are, but you still went one round and blew up my ammunition. Even the referees couldn't say anything. Admirable, truly admirable."
Everyone fell silent because this was very normal. If they said that they pulled the grenades or snatched the grenades and used them, that would be strange. They were natives, after all, and they were natives who were very good at fighting. They were natives who could fight on par with them and not be at a disadvantage at all. This was an eye-opener. They had never heard of such a thing before.
Yang Qiang looked at the sand table again. "Don't let a single one of them go. Find the enemy's headquarters and capture them alive. I want to see who it is this time. Do I know them?"
"Reporting, we found three pillars of smoke rising from Highland 7222 ahead, followed by two more." A messenger came in and reported to Yang Qiang.
"Orders, gather the troops and charge down. I don't believe that they still have a battalion guarding up there. We'll retreat after the battle. It's too dangerous here."
Yang Qiang did a quick calculation and gave the order.
"Reporting, we found four pillars of smoke about five kilometers southeast of our army."
"Reporting, we found three pillars of smoke about five kilometers west of our army."
"Reporting! About 15 li or 18 li to the east of our army, there is a very thick pillar of smoke. "
"Reporting! Two pillars of smoke rose from Highland 7222 again. "
Before Yang Qiang's troops finished gathering, four messengers came in one after another and reported to him.
Yang Qiang was shocked and said in a panic, "Quick, quick, gather. Gather as fast as you can. Don't rest. I know what's going on. The smoke from Highland 5355 at the beginning was a message to the surroundings. We've been fighting for three days, and they've already surrounded us.
Run, no, we can't run. Find me a mountain. The rest of our army will go up and defend. No, don't go up. Find a place with water and order the troops not to fire and waste bullets. "
Yang Qiang found a scout and finally found a place that was not too far away and could temporarily not fight with the enemy. There was a water source here. There was a small pool that kept the water flowing out of the spring.
However, it was in a depression, and there were mountains on both sides.
"Orders, five hundred people on both sides of the mountain and guard it. As for the rest, one thousand people will set up a temporary camp. As for the other one thousand people, those who are injured will recuperate first. Those who are not injured will be responsible for guarding."
Yang Qiang finally gave an order that he thought was smart. He did not rush up the mountain to defend.
Li Longji, who was at the center of the sand table, nodded. "Not bad. He knows to find a place with water. If he really rushed up the mountain, I'll remove him from his position right now."
Empress Wang laughed softly. "He must know how Ma Su died. Fuyang is full of small mountains. What's the use of him guarding them?"
Yang Qiang still didn't know that his decision had allowed him to avoid a calamity. Standing in front of the sand table, he was constantly wiping his cold sweat. Although he knew that everything was fake, he still couldn't help but feel nervous. It was mainly because of the constant reports from the messengers that made him feel like he was in command on a real battlefield.
"Send a message to the vanguard. Our army has lost all of its provisions and gunpowder. We are surrounded in the mountains of Fuyang. We don't know how many soldiers the enemy has, nor do we know which division they belong to. Our army can only hold on for five days. After five days, if there are no reinforcements, our army will break out of the encirclement. If we fail to break out, the vanguard's first brigade will fight to the last man. Brigade Commander Yang Qiang will die for the country."
Yang Qiang's tone was resolute. He understood that even if he was in a real battlefield, if he couldn't break out of the encirclement, or if there were too few people who could break out of the encirclement, he wouldn't have the face to live.
After receiving the report, Zhang Shougui frowned. He carefully looked at the sand table and compared it to the map. After standing for a while, he ordered, "Send a reply. The first brigade will rest for half a day and break out immediately. Head north and enter the forest fire area. It has already rained. If we rush in, we might have a chance of survival. If we wait for reinforcements, we will definitely die."
Zhang Shougui's order was passed down, but Yang Qiang didn't receive it. This was because the scout in charge of hiding and helping to receive and transmit information had been killed.
He had been killed by Wang Yi's sniper battalion that had been sacrificed to delay the enemy's advance.
He had just led his battalion out of the encirclement in the rain when the messenger told him that they had discovered a few enemies. Since the people on both sides couldn't reveal any information and could only fight to the death, he didn't have anyone interrogate them and directly killed them.
Once these people died, the communication between the north and the south was naturally cut off.
Wang Yi actually knew what the enemy was doing. It was just a small team of a few people. Other than being a radio station messenger on the battlefield, what else could they do? However, his messenger didn't tell him that they had discovered the radio station.
This was a decision made by the referees. Once they said it, he would immediately know what it was. If they brought it to him, he would probably use it. That wouldn't do. Thus, they didn't mention what they had discovered.
Wang Yi sat down and looked at the sand table. He lowered his head and thought for a while. Suddenly, he laughed. "Haha, let's see what you guys are going to do now."
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