binnovel Chapter 341: Failure in the first battle
Chapter 341: Failure in the first battle
Because the Dawn Army was mobilized in its entirety, their movement was relatively slow, with frequent stops along the way. They finally arrived at the Flying Cloud Base the following morning. The Flying Cloud Base is currently located in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. After a long period of development and trade with Dawn City, it has been quite well-established. To avoid disturbing the ordinary residents of the Flying Cloud Base, Li Chenglong ordered the main force to camp outside the city, while he, Yun Lan, Zheng Yong, Feng Tian, and others went inside to discuss the enemy situation.
Upon entering the city, Li Chenglong and his men received a warm welcome from the Feiyun Base. However, due to the urgency of the military situation, there was little time for pleasantries, and half an hour later, a military meeting was held at the Feiyun Base command post. Xu Qingming personally explained, "Currently, the vanguard of the zombie army numbers approximately 2, mainly level 5 zombies, led by a level 11 zombie. They are still over 300 kilometers away from us. If we cannot eliminate them in time, the Qingshui Base, which has been deployed to defend the coastline, will be directly exposed, with unimaginable consequences."
Wu Gang stood up and said, "I request that my 1st Division send two regiments, with air force support, to wipe out the vanguard of this zombie army. As for the level 11 zombies, our 1st Regiment Commander Wang Haifeng is also a dual-element level 11 ability user, and the 2nd Regiment Commander Liu Yu is a dual-element level 10 ability user. With these two leading their respective regiments to take the lead, we will surely achieve the first victory."
Xu Limin and Wei Jing both looked at Li Chenglong, as he was their overall commander in this battle, in charge of all affairs, and this matter definitely required his approval. Li Chenglong carefully studied the map before saying, "Alright, but there are quite a few zombies, so the two regiments must proceed with caution." Wu Gang happily saluted and walked out excitedly, while the commanders of the other three divisions looked somewhat regretful.
At this moment, Xu Qingming introduced, "In this battle, our Feiyun Base will send one of my armies and one of Wei Huasheng's armies, totaling 56,000 men. Excluding various logistical personnel, we will have 48,000 combat-ready soldiers." Yun Lan said, "This time we brought all the troops of the Dawn Army, totaling 45,000 men. Because of the Dawn Army's unique troop deployment method, almost everyone can participate in the battle. In addition, there is a coalition of small and medium-sized bases, totaling 20,000 men, but this force's combat effectiveness is not very high; it can only add icing on the cake, not provide crucial support."
Wei Huasheng said, "You've come from afar and must be exhausted from your journey. Why don't you rest for a day and set off again tomorrow?" Li Chenglong waved his hand, "We'll depart five hours after the two regiments of the 1st Division leave. This zombie army is coming in a fierce and overwhelming manner, and we can't afford any delays. I hope you can understand. Everyone here is my family and friends, so I'll be upfront: this battle is extremely dangerous and we can't afford any mistakes. If anyone's mistake causes serious losses, we will hold them accountable."
Everyone nodded, understanding the seriousness of the situation, and expressed their determination to strictly follow orders in the battle to achieve the best results. Then, hosted by Xu Limin and Wei Huasheng, Li Chenglong and the others had a casual lunch. They were to depart at 3 PM.
Under Li Chenglong's arrangement, the allied forces were divided into two groups. One group was the Dawn Army, which would enter Xijiang Province from the south of Huian Province and carry out operations there. The other group consisted of 7 troops from the Feiyun Base and the allied forces from smaller bases, who would attack Nanzhe Province together. Finally, the two armies would meet in Fujian Province and launch a full-scale attack on Dongguang Province, the stronghold of the zombie empire.
However, attacking Dongguang Province is a viable option. If the strategic objective of forcing the various zombie groups to retreat has been achieved by then, the troops that have joined forces in Fujian will quickly retreat to avoid being surrounded. After all, that is the stronghold of the zombie army, with at least several million zombies, and their levels are certainly not low. If a real battle were to take place, Li Chenglong estimates that only a desperate fight by the entire Chinese army would offer any chance of victory.
At 8 p.m. on April 6, the troops had already set up camp according to Li Chenglong's orders and would continue their operations early the next morning. After a day of rapid advance, the main force of the Dawn Army had arrived in Tongling City in southern Huian Province and was expected to reach their main battleground, Xijiang Province, the next day.
As for Xijiang Province, it has changed hands several times during this year's battles. Every time the Chinese forces recapture Xijiang Province, the zombie army will launch a counterattack, and then the Chinese forces will start to recapture it again. In the past year alone, more than a dozen large-scale battles have broken out here, and the Dawn Army has participated in them many times.
At 9 o'clock, at the 1st Division of the Dawn Army's encampment, in a multi-functional all-terrain combat command vehicle, Wu Gang's angry roar suddenly came: "Wang Haifeng, Liu Yu, you two tell me, how did you fight? The army commander repeatedly emphasized that we must ensure victory in the first battle, but what did you do? Two combat regiments, plus two battalions of the rocket regiment and support from five air force aircraft, faced with 5 zombies, and you actually lost, losing so many brothers. Do you really have the face to come back!"
Wang Haifeng, commander of the 101st Regiment of the 1st Division of the Dawn Army, along with political commissar Liu Yang, Liu Yu, commander of the 102nd Regiment, and political commissar Chen Fu, stood dejectedly inside the command vehicle, listening to Wu Gang's roar. Hao Dahai, deputy commander of the 1st Division, political commissar Sun Youcai, chief of staff Qian Guangming, and director of the political department Wang Yousheng sat to the side, all with serious expressions.
After Wu Gang finished speaking, Hao Dahai said, "Wang Haifeng, Liu Yu, you were both soldiers in the 1st Regiment when Dawn City was first established, and you were all personally trained by Division Commander Wu Gang. You must understand his good intentions in criticizing you today. Do you know how difficult it is to seize this vanguard mission? Our Dawn Army has 4 divisions, each with 6 regiments, which is 24 regiments. Why did the army commander specifically send your two regiments out of 24? It was because he trusted you. But what did you do now? Even with artillery and air support, you still lost and suffered so many losses."
Looking at the battle report, Sun Youcai asked, "What exactly happened? Tell us, since we're all here, let's analyze it." Wang Haifeng and Liu Yu exchanged a glance before speaking, "This afternoon we arrived at Yushan County, Shangrao City, at the border of Xijiang Province and Nanzhe Province. There, we engaged in close combat with the vanguard of the zombies. Initially, we were doing quite well and achieved an initial victory. In order to eliminate the remaining enemies, we launched a pursuit."
Liu Yu continued, "Even though our sensory-type ability users didn't sense anything unusual or detect any enemy reinforcements, just as we were chasing someone to a slightly rugged area, a thick fog suddenly appeared, making visibility extremely low. This rendered artillery and air support practically useless. At that moment, a lot of quite powerful zombies suddenly appeared. Although we advanced ability users were fine, many soldiers were killed by the zombies that suddenly appeared in the thick fog."
After the two finished speaking, the command vehicle fell silent as everyone pondered what had happened. Wang Yousheng slapped his forehead and said, "Have you forgotten that booklet that the army commander used to edit specifically about alien species? Quickly open it and take a look; I remember it was mentioned in it."
He had barely finished speaking when Li Chenglong suddenly appeared in the command vehicle: "It's a level 7 mist zombie. Your defeat in this battle was well-deserved." Upon Li Chenglong's sudden appearance, everyone in the command vehicle immediately saluted, saying, "Greetings, Commander!" Li Chenglong nodded, gesturing for everyone to sit down, then walked over to Wang Haifeng and Liu Yu, saying, "Judging from your injuries, you did your best. Go and get them treated quickly. We must fight back next time." Hearing their commander say this, the two knew that the military headquarters wasn't planning to punish them severely.
It wasn't that they were afraid of death, but rather that this battle had cost them many brothers and brought shame to their regiment and division. They were all burning with resentment and wanted to redeem themselves through meritorious service. Li Chenglong slowly spoke: "There will be punishment for this defeat. You two regimental-level and deputy regimental-level officers will receive a major demerit, but your positions will remain unchanged. I hope you will remember this failure and make up for your mistakes by achieving victory in future battles."
The officers of the two regiments saluted in unison: "We will certainly live up to the commander's expectations!"