To the west of the Alxa Alliance was the Gobi Desert. In this day and age, no one would go there for no reason. It was truly a godforsaken place.
Therefore, at the beginning of the war, everyone knew that the straight-line distance between Fortress 178 and the Soong Clan's Fortress 146 was not particularly far. However, very few people thought of doing anything in the Gobi Desert.
If an army wanted to pass through the Gobi Desert, it would basically be a pipe dream.
However, the Soong Clan had been plotting against Fortress 178 for too long!
The Soong Clan was located in a region with scarce resources. They were far inferior to Fortress 178, the Kyung Clan, the Yang Clan, and even the Li Consortium.
Therefore, expanding outward in search of resources was something the Soong Clan had to do. Only with a huge amount of resources could they support their ambitions.
Where were the resources? Of course they were at Fortress 178.
As a matter of fact, Fortress 178 blocked off a wider territory in the Northwest. More than 90% of the mineral deposits in the entire Barrier Alliance were buried in that land, as well as a large amount of natural gas, crude oil, and various metallic minerals.
In the Soong Clan's opinion, it would be a waste of God's resources if they were left in the hands of those bastards from Fortress 178 and not put to good use!
A few years ago, the Soong Clan had quietly started sending secret troops to transport supplies into the Gobi. Now, they had built a huge forward operating base in a small oasis.
It was all for the sake of one day having a fierce force that could use this forward operating base to cross the Gobi Desert and deal a fatal blow to Fortress 178.
In fact, the Soong Clan knew that Fortress 178 was going north from the Blackstone River to attack Mt. Wuchuan. They also knew that after Fortress 178 blew up the Beiwan River, the Soong Clan would no longer have a way to launch a surprise attack from the south. However, everything was going according to Zong Ying's plan. Similarly, Fortress 178 would no longer have a path of retreat.
Zong Ying had already received very accurate intelligence that there was only one independent regiment stationed at Fortress 178. The entire fortress could be said to have turned out in full force.
Therefore, the defenseless Fortress 178 had become an isolated island with no one to reinforce it.
As long as the Soong Clan occupied Fortress 178, even if Zhang Jinglin and the others repaired the pontoon bridge, they would have no home to return to and no fortress to defend.
At that time, wouldn't Fortress 178's troops be at the mercy of the Soong Clan when their supplies were cut off?
Zong Ying calculated the time. In another seven days, his troops would be able to cross the Gobi and arrive at Fortress 178!
Zong Ying narrowed his eyes, wondering if Zhang Jinglin had already guessed all of this.
He should have guessed it. The reason why he cut off their path on Blackstone River was quite obvious.
But so what if he guessed it? Zhang Jinglin had no way of stopping him from taking over Fortress 178, right?
They had lost so many troops and used so many cannon fodder just to lure Zhang Jinglin to the north bank of Blackstone River. In the end, he was still more skilled.
Although an interlude like the Razor Sharp Company had occurred, it did not matter. No matter how powerful a single company was, it could not affect the overall situation.
Although their granary had been burned, the Soong Clan could still hold out for another month. During this period of time, it would be enough for him to drag out Fortress 178's troops. After all, Zhang Jinglin's supplies had also been cut off, right?
When Zong Ying thought about defeating a famous general like Zhang Jinglin, who had been famous for a long time, he could not hide the excitement in his heart.
At his position, only authority and an unprecedented victory could arouse his desire.
…
At this moment, Hu Xingzhi, the commander of the armored brigade next to Zhang Jinglin, looked at him. "Commander, the Soong Clan has cut off our main forces' retreat. They must be plotting to take over our fortress. Commander, please think of something."
Zhang Jinglin looked at Hu Xingzhi. "We can only win by fighting with our backs to the wall. Everyone, we have to take down Mt. Wuchuan as soon as possible. Only then can we carve out a path of survival. Inform the Engineer Battalion at the rear to rebuild the pontoon bridge as soon as possible. Ask them how long they'll need!"
A staff officer hesitated and said, "I've already asked them, and the Engineer Battalion at the south bank said they'll need 10 days! We can build a simple pontoon bridge. That'll be faster, but it'll be useless if our mechanized troops can't cross it. "
10 days …
Even if they could build the pontoon bridge within 10 days, it would still take them another seven days to get back to Fortress 178. Everything would be too late!
Suddenly, Zhou Yinglong ran back from the front lines. "Commander! Commander! It's a call from the Razor Sharp Company! "
Everyone was stunned. How could they have expected the Razor Sharp Company at the rear to have their communications restored?
The Razor Sharp Company had just fought their way out of Stronghold 144. Not only did they burn down Stronghold 144's granary, but they also stole a satellite phone from it. That was how they managed to get in touch with Fortress 178's troops.
When Zhang Jinglin took the satellite phone, the loud voice on the other end, Zhang Xiaoman, shouted excitedly, "Commander? Is this you, Commander? "
"Mhm, I'm Zhang Jinglin. Speak," Zhang Jinglin said calmly.
"We burned down all of Stronghold 144's granaries, destroyed seven or eight companies, and even killed three of the 1237th Regiment's regimental commanders. The deputy regimental commander is also in our hands now …" Zhang Xiaoman said proudly. It was as though he was afraid Zhang Jinglin would not give him the Nebula Medal, so he listed out all of the credit in one go.
The generals around Zhang Jinglin were stunned. They had not expected the Razor Sharp Company to have done so many great things. It was no wonder the Soong Clan had to transfer their troops back to the rear to deal with them.
Was this even a fucking company? Even an independent regiment might not be able to do that, right?
The Razor Sharp Company was too fierce!
But no one could feel happy about it. That was because the current battle situation was no longer something that could be changed by burning down the granaries, killing a few regimental commanders, and destroying a few companies.
However, Zhang Jinglin said with a smile, "Y 'all did a good job, but you have to be careful too."
"Don't worry, Commander, we didn't suffer any casualties!"
The generals were at a loss again. They could not imagine how the Razor Sharp Company had managed to do so many things without suffering any casualties.
Zhang Jinglin smiled and gave Zhang Xiaoman a few words of advice before handing the phone to Zhou Yinglong. He did not mention Ren Xiaosu at all, but everyone knew Ren Xiaosu had probably contributed a lot to this battle.
Zhou Yinglong took the phone and said to Zhang Xiaoman, "Alright, I know y 'all have performed a meritorious deed. I don't have time to talk to you right now. Evacuate to a safe zone first. We're in a very critical situation here."
Zhang Xiaoman was stunned. "Critical situation?"
Zhou Yinglong paused for a moment before sighing and explaining the general situation. The Razor Sharp Company soldiers around Zhang Xiaoman were all listening on the phone. Everyone was a little at a loss. How did the battle suddenly take a turn for the worse?
Furthermore, the Soong Clan might be taking over Fortress 178 soon? What about their wives and children? What about the girl that Fu Rao liked? What about everyone's dream lover, Lu Yao?
Zhang Xiaoman said anxiously, "Battalion Commander, don't worry. If they can attack our Fortress 178, we can also attack their Stronghold 146. The Soong Clan's powerful elders are all at Stronghold 146. If we kill them, the Soong Clan will immediately panic."
Zhou Yinglong laughed and scolded, "What the fuck are you talking about? Stronghold 146 has an entire brigade now. Do you think we can just attack them just because you say so? Hurry up and get lost. You all can run in the direction of the Central Plains right now —"
But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by another voice. "Mr. Zhang, are you still listening? I'm only asking if taking down Stronghold 146 will be of any help to the war situation."
Zhang Jinglin was silent for a moment. "Yes."
"Alright, I'll go and fight them."
All of the generals around him found the voice a little unfamiliar, but they knew it was probably Ren Xiaosu.
But Ren Xiaosu was a little too arrogant. How could a mere Razor Sharp Company take down Stronghold 146?
Zhang Jinglin sighed and said, "It's impossible for y 'all to take down Stronghold 146."
"Mr. Zhang, do you still remember what you said?" Ren Xiaosu asked calmly, "You said that it's foolish to insist on doing it even if you know it's impossible and might even get hurt. But do you remember what I said to you?"
Zhang Jinglin recalled that moment when Ren Xiaosu said that bravery was the same.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
