When Zhang Shougui said that they would arrive in three days, he didn't mean that all of the remaining fifteen thousand soldiers of the vanguard would be there. The supply troops couldn't travel that quickly. Instead, he was referring to another brigade that had been mentioned as the vanguard.
Just like Yang Qiang's brigade, they had five thousand soldiers. They would first arrive at Mount Huangshan and set up defensive fortifications there.
After passing down the order, Zhang Shougui began to wait for the reply from the central army so that they could work together.
This wait lasted for fifteen minutes. An hour had passed on the sand table, exactly four quarters. Zhang Shougui paced back and forth around the sand table. Sensing the passage of time, he suddenly stopped and asked, "You still haven't received any news?"
"Reporting, we haven't received a reply from the central army," the messenger replied.
"What happened to the vanguard brigade that was surrounded in Fuyang?" Zhang Shougui began to worry. He felt like something was wrong.
"Reporting, we haven't received a reply from our vanguard brigade in Fuyang," the messenger said something that Zhang Shougui didn't want to hear.
Zhang Shougui stood there and thought for a while. Then, he ordered, "The person in charge of the radio station, send out a reply."
This time, it was done very quickly. After the messenger left, he returned and reported, "I am a relay station of the radio stations. The most recent reply came from the fourth radio station, which is located one hundred and sixty li from here. It started from the fifth radio station and was interrupted."
Sweat began to seep out of Zhang Shougui's forehead. He definitely didn't think that the people of the fifth radio station had been eaten by wild beasts, nor did he think that the radio station was broken. This was because a fifth radio station was equipped with two radios. If one was broken, the other would send a message.
The only explanation was that it had been destroyed by the enemy.
"That's right. They also use the radio station, so they naturally know where the relay station should be, so they found the location and destroyed it. This is too unfair. How could they do this?"
Zhang Shougui muttered to himself. He finally realized where the problem was.
After complaining about the unfairness, he suddenly shivered.
"Not good. The enemy has troops behind our army. Scouts, investigate. Find the last position of the fifth radio station. Be careful not to be ambushed by the enemy."
Zhang Shougui hurriedly ordered. Unable to stand any longer, he walked over to the chair and plopped his butt down. Leaning his head back, he raised his head and sighed.
The generals in the room also realized how serious the consequences were. They stood there in a daze, guessing how the enemy had circled around to the back of their troops.
Zhang Shougui lay down for a while, then clenched his teeth and sat up. Looking at the others in the room, he said, "Let's begin the meeting. Based on what you've said, Yang Qiang's brigade can't be saved. He must have encountered many enemies, at least after being surrounded. What should we do next?"
The other generals looked at each other. They also wanted to know what was going on, especially the troops that Yang Qiang had encountered. It was just like what he had said when he had last sent back the news. They were even the main forces of the enemy.
If it was the former, then where was the enemy's main force? If it was the latter, how could our vanguard lead the enemy's main force to Mount Huangshan? He believed that Wang Juan was not a fool and was not easy to fool.
Everyone was silent for a while. Then a general said, "Lord Zhang, I guess that Yang Qiang encountered the enemy's main force. If it was the enemy's main force, they wouldn't have sent their main force to first contact Yang Qiang's brigade at Fuyang.
They wouldn't have allowed Yang Qiang to fight so smoothly and successfully switch between offense and defense. They wouldn't have given him the time to do so. But looking at his last call, he should have had the time to complete the defensive steps. "
"What kind of smooth? We killed more than two thousand of the enemy's people, and more than two thousand of our own people died. We ran out of cannonballs, and we also ran out of provisions. That's how it went smoothly? Our army is already fighting so smoothly, so it's better to surrender early. Wasting time in the Hibiscus Garden is not as comfortable as returning home. We'll also delay the people coming to play. "
Zhang Shougui was disgusted by the behavior of not admitting defeat even though they had clearly lost. What he wanted was not to find countless excuses, but to muster up the courage to take responsibility. Because this kind of excuse was useless to the emperor. The emperor was not stupid. Why would he go to the grave and burn newspapers? Who was he trying to fool?
Thus, his words were very impolite, causing the general who had spoken earlier to lower his head.
Another person stood up. "Lord Zhang, I estimate that Yang Qiang encountered the enemy's main force. Perhaps the enemy's main force has already arrived at Shanyin County. Coincidentally, when our air force was destroyed by the enemy, they circled around from the south.
And Fuyang is their main force, preparing to send supplies to the front line at Shanyin at any time. In the end, they encountered Yang Qiang's brigade. That regiment sent out the news, and the enemy mobilized their forces and surrounded Yang Qiang. "
"That's right." Another person agreed. "The most important thing right now is how to send the news back to the central army. The central army has probably already landed and is advancing toward Yuezhou. A portion of them might have already reached Hangzhou. If the central army thinks that our vanguard has already explored the path ahead and is not on guard, it will be very easy for the enemy to catch us off guard."
"Pass down the order. Send out our reserve signal soldiers to move out and move toward Hangzhou. Every platoon will be assigned a scout team of ten people to ensure their safety. In addition, don't hide like before. Contact the central army at all costs."
Zhang Shougui felt that this was indeed the case, so he immediately passed down the order.
Returning to his senses, he said to the people in the room, "Everyone, take a guess. How many people are in the team behind our army? Which part of the enemy do they belong to? How much of an obstacle will they pose to our army? "
After these three questions were asked, the crowd fell silent once more. Who knew who had killed the relay personnel, how many there were, and which part of the enemy they belonged to? In theory, there shouldn't be such a group of people.
Of course, the generals were well aware that their own theories were one thing and their own practical theories were another. In theory, anything could happen. An excellent commander could come up with inconceivable tactics.
So now that the referees had determined that the enemy was behind their army, the enemy would definitely have a way to get there.
"Reporting, our vanguard brigade has arrived. They are asking why our central army sent out the relay station reply order and whether our army has encountered any problems."
At this moment, a messenger entered and reported to the crowd.
"Tell Cui Xiyi that behind our army, an unknown number of enemy troops have appeared. At least four of our relay stations have been destroyed. Starting from Station 5, we have lost contact. Tell him to be careful and expand the scouting range."
After Zhang Shougui finished replying to the messenger, he harrumphed and said, "I estimate that behind our army, there is at least one enemy battalion missing. Their commander is definitely not easy to deal with. Our central army must slow down and send at least three battalions to carpet search the rear.
The prerequisite for our supply troops is to not give the enemy a chance. Supply troops? Supply troops? Wheel tracks? Oh! This general understands. They must have followed the wheel tracks of the supply troops to be able to follow so far behind us, exceeding the range of our scouts by thirty li. "
Zhang Shougui's analysis caused the eyes of the other generals to light up. One of them said, "Lord Zhang, since that's the case, why don't we send out a few battalions to search the rear? Our central army will station here and order the supply troops to continue forward, leaving behind wheel tracks. We can create a pocket and wait for the enemy battalion to come in and then surround and annihilate them."
Zhang Shougui nodded in agreement. "That's right. Let's follow this plan."
*****
Compared to Zhang Shougui, the besieged Yang Qiang was even more uncomfortable. It was not only the pressure from the sand table that made him uncomfortable, but also the fact that he could not rest in peace.
Because …
"Surrender! You've already been surrounded. If you continue to stubbornly resist, only death will await you. Surrender! You've already …"
"Commander of the enemy, do you dare to come out and fight? Don't be a coward. Aren't you very formidable? Don't you have guns? Come out and fight! Commander of the enemy … "
"Kill, kill, attack, kill, kill, kill …"
The messenger was constantly shouting in Yang Qiang's ear. His voice was not too loud, as if it was loud enough to disturb others, but it was still loud enough for Yang Qiang and the people in the room to hear it clearly.
Yang Qiang had not rested for fourteen hours now. He felt that the enemy was very shameless. They had already surrounded him, and if they wanted to fight, they would fight, but it was the enemy commander who ordered his subordinates to take turns shouting.
They clearly knew that no one on either side would surrender, but they were still shouting such useless words. Their goal was to disrupt the morale of their own side and prevent their soldiers from resting.
"This won't do. They're probably covering their ears and sleeping. We don't dare to sleep. If we sleep, they'll attack us from behind. We want morale, but we don't have morale. If we sleep, we won't be able to personally command them. How can they do this?"
Kong Lu looked at the soldier who was stubbornly speaking and felt extremely indignant. The soldier also had a helpless expression. After shouting for a while, he would have to rest and be replaced by another soldier. He was also annoyed, but he had no choice but to do as the referees said.
Li Gui squinted his eyes and tilted his head, his eyes soulless as he stared at the sand table. He also said, "They're playing for real with us. They're willing to do anything. Why don't we … counterattack? The officers of the army who surround us are now sleeping with their ears plugged.
They're playing a scheme with us, but they don't care. If they drag us down until we're out of energy, they'll have other soldiers charging up from behind.
Since we can't rest well, we can't let them have a peaceful life. Let's organize our men and harass them a few times. I hate them. "
Yang Qiang looked at his two commanders and shook his head. "If they shout again, we'll charge. They'll be prepared immediately. Should we shoot or not? If we use up the last of our bullets, can our bayonets win against the machetes and spears?
How about this, we'll take turns to rest. If they're willing to stall for time, we'll wear them down. At the very least, we'll be able to hold them back, even if they outnumber us by more than ten times. "
Yang Qiang's words received the approval of the others. They gathered together and assigned who would sleep first. Just as they were done, a messenger came in.
"Reporting, the enemy has released smoke from the wind in the west. The smoke is floating towards us."
"What? That's too much. The referees won't judge that their actions are valid and want to smoke us in our houses, right? That'll kill people. I don't believe that the fire they lit earlier will also cause the people they command to burn in the forest fire. "
Yang Qiang was shocked. His ears could not calm down. Did they want to light the smoke?
"No, Sir Yang, don't be nervous. We don't mean that. Even if you're willing to let people light the smoke, the referees won't do it. We're just informing you of the situation. Your lookout found out that the smoke is floating over from the wind. You can do as you see fit."
The messenger smiled and explained to Yang Qiang.
Yang Qiang was stunned. He slapped his forehead. "Right, I almost forgot. My head hurts from their noise. They're used to using smoke. Then, their troops will attack in the smoke. Quick, get people to prepare wet cloths to cover our mouths and prepare for the enemy's attack at any time."
After the messenger left, Yang Qiang could not sleep again. The main reason was that he did not dare to sleep. He was afraid that the enemy would use the smoke as a cover to organize a large-scale attack.
Kong Lu got up and wet a towel by the side of the basin. He wiped his face and said with a sigh, "They're also ruthless to their own people. Even if they use wet cloths to cover their mouths and noses in advance, they'll still feel uncomfortable in the smoke. If it's a little longer, they'll faint."
"They have no choice but to use smoke to attack. Once the smoke is released, both sides' vision will be affected. By releasing smoke, they'll make the battle environment of both sides the same. In this way, our advantage will be gone. In fact, we'll even be at a disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat."
Yang Qiang was very impressed with the enemy's commanders. They were actually able to think of such a method. As long as the terrain was suitable and the wind was suitable, they could use it. Once they used it, they would not be able to aim and could only shoot blindly into the smoke.
If the enemy crawled forward, not only would it reduce the damage to their bodies from the smoke, they could also avoid the bullets. When the distance was close, it would become a hand-to-hand combat.
How did they end up like this? It was too inconceivable. If they all did this, the advantage of firearms would be gone. Unless they had enough artillery shells, they could use them to block the enemy's charge.
Thinking of this, Yang Qiang became even more worried. He said to the others, "The enemy's strategy is very powerful. We have to think of a way to pass this information to our vanguard or middle troops. Tell them to be careful of the enemy's smoke hand-to-hand combat. When they're in formation, don't be too concentrated. It's best to split up a few parts.
This way, when the enemy uses smoke to cover their attacks, they can have room to retreat. Otherwise, in a fight, it's easy to not only not gain an advantage, but also suffer a lot of losses. "
Everyone nodded. They admitted that Yang Qiang's words made sense. In a situation where they were prepared in advance, it was very easy to break through the smoke attack. They were just afraid that their vanguard and middle troops would not think of this problem. In a crucial battle, they would be hit by an asymmetrical strategy and suffer heavy losses.
"How can we pass this information out? I think our transit troops have been dealt with by the enemy, "Kong Lu asked worriedly.
"Since you asked, then this mission will be handed over to you. We'll cover you. You take people and rush in the direction of the first fire. With the rest of our people and ammunition, it's still very easy to break through, especially in that direction. As long as you go, all of our sacrifices will be worth it."
Yang Qiang looked at Kong Lu and said solemnly.
Kong Lu took a deep breath. "Really fight? Then you guys …? "
"It's our turn to be heroes. Is she the only one in the limelight as Wang Juan's military academy commander?" Li Zhi said loudly from the side.
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