Zhang Xiaoman had been a soldier for more than a decade, but in reality, his highest position was only that of a company commander. Although he was later promoted to the brigade commander of the 6th Field Brigade like a rocket, he always knew what was going on. He was just giving Ren Xiaosu someone he was familiar with.
He carefully calculated the time he had served as a battalion commander and regimental commander. It seemed like he had served less than half a year in total before he was promoted to a brigade commander.
The Northwest Army was expanding too quickly, and the strongholds they controlled had increased by dozens of times. As a result, everyone was forced to do more than they could chew. Even the original commander of the Forward Strike Battalion had become the division commander of the 3rd Division.
Zhou Yinglong had told Zhang Jinglin several times that it was a little difficult for him to be a division commander.
But according to Zhang Jinglin, no one was born to be a division commander. You could only learn how to be one when you reached that position.
Of course, this kind of rapid promotion would leave behind some hidden dangers. Compared to the Pyro Company, the Kyung Clan, and the Wang Clan, the Northwest Army lacked a solid foundation. So some problems were bound to arise during a war.
However, even though Zhang Jinglin wanted to take things slow and steady, this era would not wait for them.
What was it like for Zhang Xiaoman in the Razor Sharp Company in the past?
Everyone ate and lived together. There were only 180 of them in total, and every one of them was a brother.
When the Razor Sharp Company was in battle, everyone's slogan was "Don't abandon, don't give up, and don't leave a single one behind."
Although everyone knew people would die in war, everyone had the original intention of not dying.
It wasn't only the Razor Sharp Company that was like this. The Forward Strike Battalion and 3rd Division were also like this.
What did the Northwest rely on to fight wars in the past?
Was it because Fortress 178 was well-equipped? It had only been 20 years since they started developing their military industry. Even earlier, everyone was so poor that they were afraid of the warlocks invading them every day.
Was it because the commanders of Fortress 178 were especially outstanding? Zhang Jinglin was only a medic. Back then, some of the commanders were even from the fucking kitchen.
It seemed that in the Northwest, one did not need to be strong to convince the masses. Ren Xiaosu was the odd one out among the previous candidates for the position of commander-in-chief.
Zhang Jinglin had admitted many times that his ability to command was never the best. Everyone was willing to let him be the commander because he was fair and kind.
Back then, Zhang Jinglin, a medic, had saved more than a hundred comrades on the battlefield. As long as they were still breathing, he would save them.
During that war, Zhang Jinglin's hands were covered in bloody blisters, and his feet were covered in blisters.
When the other medical staff came to examine his injuries, they were shocked.
This was Zhang Jinglin's charisma, not his ability.
At that time, life in Fortress 178 was very tough. As they only had one fortress to defend, every soldier was extremely precious.
If someone killed someone from Fortress 178, they would retaliate like crazy. On the battlefield, everyone would either live or die together.
It had been this way for so many years. It was as though the words "never abandon or give up" had become ingrained in everyone's bones.
Only by sticking together would they be able to survive in this chaotic world.
Zhang Xiaoman had not really become a commander, and it was not his turn to command the 6th Field Division either. So when P5092 calmly decided the life and death of his comrades, he found it a little unacceptable.
Even Ren Xiaosu had once told P5092 that the Northwest Army and the Pyro Company were actually different.
But it was precisely because of this that the Northwest Army's territory was more humane. The Northwest Army was not a cold war machine either.
This was a unit that believed in protection.
Therefore, even though Zhang Xiaoman knew P5092 was doing this for the sake of winning the war, it was still very difficult for him to accept it emotionally.
However, even though it was difficult for him to accept, he still had to obey.
Moreover, when he saw P5092's tears, he realized this seemingly cold war machine actually had the emotions of a normal person.
It was no wonder Ren Xiaosu told P5092 not to shoulder too much on his own.
Every time he made a cold decision, it would be a torment deep in his heart for P5092.
Zhang Xiaoman looked at P5092 and said, "I was wrong to have doubted you before. If I have to die in this war one day, you can tell me directly."
P5092 fell silent for a moment before saying, "You're not worth dying for. Otherwise, I would've sent you to your death a long time ago."
Zhang Xiaoman was speechless.
…
A large defensive line had been set up 500 kilometers west of Stronghold 144.
The defensive line stretched for over a hundred kilometers, and dozens of defensive support points formed a large net as they waited for the enemy to approach.
Hundreds of thousands of people were busy working here. It was not only the soldiers of the Northwest Army, but there were also young and middle-aged men who were supporting the construction of the defensive line.
They were doing the most basic tasks here. They might be carrying bricks, digging mud, or carrying sandbags.
Outside a defensive position in the south of the defensive line, a steam locomotive was rapidly approaching.
When the soldiers of the Northwest Army saw the steam locomotive from afar, they cheered, "Young Marshal, that's Young Marshal's steam locomotive!"
When the steam locomotive got closer, many of the soldiers who had never seen this behemoth before looked at it curiously.
Behind this defensive line was the Northwest Army's headquarters. Therefore, the checkpoints here were relatively stricter. All personnel who entered would have to undergo electric shocks to ensure they were not carrying nanomachines on them.
Of course, dozens of other defensive positions were also undergoing similar work to prevent the artificial intelligence from discovering the headquarters' location if the commotion was too big or too unusual.
When they entered the defensive position, the soldiers in charge of electrocuting and inspecting the nanomachines were in a difficult position. As Xu Man, Qing Zhen, Luo Lan, and Zhou Qi had special identities, no one knew if they should be electrocuted.
In the end, it was Qing Zhen who took the initiative to request it. "Please electrocute us. I'm just a normal person, so I can't be sure if I'm carrying nanomachines on me. Although the three of them are supernatural beings, there's no evidence to show that supernatural beings are immune to electrocution. "
After that, Qing Zhen walked into the inspection tent and took off his shirt. He allowed the nurse to place the conductive paste on his chest and receive the electric shock.
When Luo Lan and the others saw that even Qing Zhen had taken the initiative to be inspected, they had no choice but to follow suit.
Zhou Qi muttered, "With our identities, we should be putting on airs after coming to the Northwest. In the end, we ended up getting electrocuted first, so we'll have to lower our voices when we negotiate later."
After receiving the electric shock, Qing Zhen recovered for a short while. He said to Zhou Qi, "We're not here to negotiate. Negotiations are supposed to be a discussion on how to split the profits when both sides have a common interest. But we're not here to split anything. We're here to ensure the survival of human civilization."
Zhou Qi suddenly asked, "But even if we win this war, the Kyung Clan will still be gone."
"Then wouldn't it be better to plant some flowers and raise some grass in the Northwest?" Qing Zhen said with a smile.
Xu Man and the others were taken aback. Perhaps this was the outcome that Qing Zhen was seeking?
During this period, no one asked Ren Xiaosu to receive an electric shock. Zhou Qi asked the inspector, "Why didn't you electrocute your Young Marshal? He might've also been controlled by the nanomachines. Do you guys really trust him that much? These instruments were even sent to the Northwest by the Kyung Clan. "
Zhou Qi was right. The Kyung Clan were the first to discover a way to restrain the nanomachines in their bodies. Although this method could not be used on a large scale, it was still very effective when used at important defensive locations. At the very least, it could ensure that there were no AI spies in the base.
At that time, the Kyung Clan had given hundreds of sets of equipment to the Northwest, and the conductive paste was calculated by tons.
It had to be said that Qing Zhen had indeed made the necessary preparations in advance.
The nurse in charge of applying the conductive paste glanced at Zhou Qi and retorted, "The commander said that if even the Young Marshal can be controlled, then we can just wait to be destroyed. There's no need to resist. Why? Do you have a problem with our Young Marshal? "
Zhou Qi quickly shut up. Even though he had become a demigod, he would not dare to have a problem with Ren Xiaosu.
After all, Zhou Yingxue had already become a demigod, but she was still obediently working as a maidservant.
In the eyes of many people, Zhou Yingxue was like a yardstick. As long as you were not as powerful as Zhou Yingxue, you would have to behave yourself in front of Ren Xiaosu.
However, Ren Xiaosu also took the initiative to take off his shirt and said, "Give it to me too. There's no need to make it special."
The nurse's eyes widened. "Err … I don't have enough conductive paste here. Young Marshal, wait a moment, I'll go get it."
With that, the nurse quickly ran out and returned two minutes later with a new batch of conductive paste. However, there were more than ten nurses following behind her.
Getting the conductive paste was a lie. In fact, it was to get her friends to look at the Young Marshal's figure.
After the electric shock was over, Wang Fengyuan was already waiting outside the tent. "Everyone, follow me to the command tent. The high-ranking generals of the Northwest Army are all waiting there for the meeting."
After entering the command tent, they saw Zhang Jinglin sitting at the end of the long table. There were many phones on the table, and they were already in a call mode.
Zhang Jinglin stood up and said to Qing Zhen with a smile, "I'm sorry, the high-ranking generals of the Northwest Army can't attend the meeting in person. They can only hold a simple conference call. This is to prevent the artificial intelligence from knowing the location of the command center and getting rid of us all. These phone lines are all guarded by professionals, and they're all dedicated lines. The artificial intelligence shouldn't be able to eavesdrop on us. "
Qing Zhen nodded. "I understand. In this situation, it's not wrong to be more careful."
Seeing that Qing Zhen didn't mind, Zhang Jinglin pointed to the seat on his left and said to Ren Xiaosu, "Xiaosu, come and sit next to me."
At this moment, the high-ranking generals who were scattered on the other side of the phone heard that Ren Xiaosu had also come, and they hurriedly said, "Hello, Young Marshal!"
"Young Marshal, I'm Old Zhou. Zhou Yinglong, do you still remember me?"
"Is Young Marshal in good health?"
"Young Marshal, have you eaten …"
Luo Lan, Zhou Qi, and the others were speechless. This was simply a large-scale scene of bootlicking. They didn't expect that Ren Xiaosu's reputation in the Northwest had already reached such a high level.
Zhang Jinglin was still around, and everyone started to flatter the Young Marshal without holding back.
Generally, in financial groups, even if the next successor had been confirmed, everyone would still restrain themselves in front of the current head of the family. Those who chose a side in advance usually didn't have a good ending.
There was a possibility that the successor would be replaced.
However, this didn't seem to exist in the Northwest, and the atmosphere seemed to be completely different.
Zhang Jinglin coughed twice. "Alright, it's not too late to flatter him after he takes over my position. Now, let's get down to business."
The moment he said that, someone on the other side of the phone suddenly pinched his throat and said, "Ah, the commander-in-chief is jealous."
There were too many phones on the table, and everyone couldn't tell who said that just now …
Immediately after, everyone burst out laughing.
Qing Zhen suddenly smiled at Luo Lan and said, "I quite like it here."
"I think it's pretty good too," Luo Lan said with a smile.
Zhang Jinglin didn't get angry. "Alright, alright, let's get down to business."
The GCHQ quietened down, and all the staff officers consciously walked out of the command tent. This was not a meeting they could attend.
Zhang Jinglin said to Ren Xiaosu, "Xiaosu, you must have a lot of questions on your mind, and so must all the generals. You might not even know what to do to achieve victory in this war. The enemy seems to be so strong that it's hard to resist them. There are tens of millions of them, and after they absorb the population of the Southwest, they'll only get even bigger. Our Northwest Army has only expanded to a little over 300,000 soldiers. How are these 300,000 soldiers going to fight against an enemy with tens of millions of elite soldiers? I think everyone is wondering about this, right? "
Ren Xiaosu nodded. "That's right."
"But I still can't reveal the final plan for now." Qing Zhen said calmly, "This plan started a year ago. Although the situation has changed drastically since then, the plan Commander Zhang and I came up with at that time can still be put to use."
Ren Xiaosu glanced at Qing Zhen. It was no wonder Zhang Jinglin had asked him to bring Qing Zhen back. So it turned out the two of them had a secret plan a year ago.
Qing Zhen said, "Please don't mind me keeping it a secret. For the past year, I've been living in seclusion and restraining my desire to talk to the outside world every day just to keep this plan a secret. The reason why it's useful is precisely because no one knows about it. From here on out, we'll be facing a massive number of casualties and great sorrow every day. But this time, we can only achieve victory by fighting to the death. I implore everyone to buy me another nine days. I need Fortress 178 to still be standing after nine days. "
Qing Zhen still did not say what their plan was, but he had clearly told the Northwest Army what to do.
The final nine days.
The countdown began.
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