Abusai stormed into the room from outside. He had just discovered that their retreating frontline troops had actually been pinned down by Eastern Spirit ground forces. The Eastern Spirit forces had crossed the river!
“Retreating is useless now, General Abusai! Do you honestly think we can organize enough troops for a breakout right now? No matter which direction we try to break out, we won’t make it! The Eastern Spirit forces have plenty of tanks, artillery, and now their ground troops are here too!
“If their ground troops hadn’t crossed over, we might have successfully broken out. But as things stand now, General Abusai, holding our ground here is actually our safest option!” Hakes told Abusai.
“Damn it!” Abusai cursed loudly upon hearing this.
Abusai had to admit that, despite Hakes being arrogant and selfish, his judgment was correct. If they tried to break out now, they wouldn’t even be able to organize the necessary forces. How could they possibly succeed?
On the contrary, with their remaining forces, their best bet was to hold the city and hope the Eastern Spirit forces wouldn’t dare launch a fierce assault—or rather, wouldn’t dare risk massive casualties to storm Santong County.
“General Hakes! Barely any of my troops made it back! Our forces are pinned down by the Eastern Spirit troops!” Ren Kefu ran back into the room. Seeing Abusai there, he paused for a moment in surprise. He hadn’t expected Abusai to return as well.
“General Abusai just returned to tell me the same thing. We need to cooperate and deploy our defenses here together. As long as we can hold out until tomorrow afternoon, I believe we will definitely have some troops left!” Hakes told Ren Kefu.
“Damn it! I knew our opponent wouldn’t be simple!” Ren Kefu cursed furiously.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
“Rat-a-tat-tat!”
The sounds of explosions, heavy machine guns, and rifles were drawing closer to the city; they had already reached the outskirts. Meanwhile, in their rear, Li Jingsong and Ye Zifeng’s troops were bombarding the Allied firing positions. They hadn’t received orders to attack yet; their only task was to prevent the Allied forces from breaking out through their sector.
“Our infantry from the rear has caught up!” Li Jingsong, sitting in his command vehicle, said happily as he spotted Eastern Spirit armored vehicles in the distance.
“Chief of Staff, I heard our troops suffered catastrophic casualties! Our brothers fought an incredibly grueling battle tonight!” a staff officer remarked from behind Li Jingsong.
“Mm. That’s why Hao-ge said we must completely annihilate these troops. Otherwise, we’d be doing a disservice to the brothers who sacrificed themselves!” Li Jingsong nodded, his voice low and heavy.
“Now that we’ve surrounded the Allied forces, completely annihilating them shouldn’t be a problem, right?” the staff officer asked.
“If the Allied forces don’t send any more reinforcements, we could definitely wipe out these troops. But the Allied forces wouldn’t just sit back and not send reinforcements, would they? If they don’t, then our 87th Division can finally rest after this battle!” Li Jingsong said, looking ahead. He truly hoped no reinforcements would arrive, allowing them to slowly chew through the Allied forces in front of them.
What he didn’t know was that it was impossible for the Allied forces not to send reinforcements.
“Chief of Staff, call from Hao-ge!” The communications officer behind him handed him the radio.
“Give it here!” Li Jingsong took the receiver and immediately spoke, “Hao-ge, what’s up? Our counter-offensive was a success, right?”
“For now, yes. Tell me, are there any Allied units attempting a breakout on your end?” Hu Hao asked immediately after answering.
“Where would I find an Allied breakout here? They’re all hiding inside the city! Anyway, our troops have completely surrounded this place. I haven’t seen them try to come out; they’re just shooting from inside the city!” Li Jingsong reported.
“Good! Keep your eyes glued to them and await my orders! We must swallow these troops tonight! Otherwise, their reinforcements will arrive tomorrow. If we can’t wipe them out completely, it’ll be a lasting regret, and they’ll definitely take the initiative to attack us next!” Hu Hao instructed.
“What?! More reinforcements are coming?! How many?!” Li Jingsong asked in shock.
“At least one corps!” Hu Hao replied.
“Another corps?! Holy shit, why is there always another corps reinforcing our sector?! Why isn’t it like this anywhere else?! Are we just incredibly unlucky?!” Li Jingsong grumbled in pure frustration.
“Ask your old man! He’s the one who put us here!” Hu Hao chuckled bitterly.
“I am going to ask him! It’s like I’m not even his biological son!” Li Jingsong complained.
“Alright, wait for my word. I need to make some arrangements!” Hu Hao said.
“Deal!” Li Jingsong hung up the radio.
“Motherfucker! Another corps! We just wiped out three of their corps, and they’re actually sending another one?! Isn’t this just bullying?! My dad must be sick in the head, making me defend such a critical line! Motherfucker, am I really his biological son?!” Li Jingsong continued cursing after hanging up!
They had suffered quite a bit hiding in the forest these past few days—scorching heat during the day, mosquito bites at night. It had been agonizing.
“Sigh, what choice do we have?” a senior staff officer sighed from behind him.
“The Allied forces actually didn’t attempt a breakout means they’re planning to wait for their reinforcements! A full corps… Motherfucker! Xiao Quan, contact Headquarters! Ask them which country the incoming Allied reinforcements belong to, their exact current location, where their main force is, what areas they control, and who their commander is!” After a moment’s thought, Hu Hao immediately deduced that the Allied forces’ refusal to break out meant they were waiting for reinforcements.
“Understood!” Xiao Quan immediately ordered a staff officer to send a telegram to Headquarters. A formal inquiry like this definitely required a telegram for confirmation.
“Hao-ge, if that’s the case, we need to wipe out the Allied forces in the city as quickly as possible! Otherwise, once their reinforcements arrive, we’ll be forced to retreat. After all, we don’t have many troops, and they’ve been fighting for so long!” Xiao Quan said, walking over to Hu Hao after issuing the order.
“Two plans. Help me evaluate them. The first plan is to wipe out the Allied forces in Santong County first, then retreat and hold our defensive line.
“The second plan is to ‘besiege the city and strike the reinforcements.’ Tonight, we hammer the Allied forces in Santong County—cripple them, but don’t completely annihilate them. Simultaneously, we secretly dispatch troops to find an ambush point along the Allied reinforcements’ route. We wipe out a portion of their reinforcements, find a way to halt their advance, then turn back and finish off the Allied forces inside the city. Which one do you think is better?” Hu Hao pondered for a moment before asking Xiao Quan for his input.
“How am I supposed to choose between those?! However, Hao-ge, the brothers are exhausted. If we fight like that, our casualties will definitely be astronomical. Moreover, Hao-ge, we don’t have many veterans left. If our ambush fails, this defensive line might be lost! The responsibility is far too massive!” Xiao Quan thought carefully before reminding Hu Hao.
“That’s true. The brothers are exhausted. Prolonged, continuous combat definitely won’t work!” Hu Hao nodded, realizing the second plan wasn’t feasible. He simply didn’t have enough deployable troops on hand!
“Then let’s go with the first plan. Completely annihilating three Allied corps is already a massive merit! Li Jingsong’s troops have returned, and combined with our artillery, I feel confident we can hold this defensive line without any problems!” Xiao Quan suggested. Hu Hao nodded, knowing this was the only way to fight.
“Then… then we’ll use the first plan. Swallow the troops inside the city, then fall back, and we’ll continue conscripting troops!” Hu Hao decided.
“Yes, sir!” Xiao Quan nodded in agreement.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The artillery bombardment hadn’t stopped once. It had raged continuously for over an hour! The cannons fired in shifts to maintain a relentless barrage, only ceasing once the Allied soldiers had been completely driven into the city.
By this time, Hu Hao’s forces, along with the 89th Division, had completely encircled the remnants of the three Allied corps within Santong County.
“Hao-ge, the Allied forces have been surrounded. We don’t know exactly how many troops are inside, but I estimate it’s over 40,000!” Xiao Quan reported to Hu Hao.
“That sounds about right!” Hu Hao nodded.
“What’s next?” Xiao Quan asked.
“Have our logistics units bring up food immediately! Let our soldiers eat something first! Also, tell the artillery to commence bombarding Santong County in half an hour! Bombard it for thirty minutes, then order our troops to launch the assault into the city!
“Keep in mind that our bombardment might force the Allied troops to attempt a breakout! You must hold them back! Santong County doesn’t have many air-raid shelters; they can’t hide that many troops. The bombardment will definitely be highly effective!” Hu Hao instructed.
“Yes, sir! I understand!” Xiao Quan nodded.
Soon, the logistics units delivered food to the front lines. The frontline soldiers sat behind their armored vehicles, a steamed bun in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, eating quietly. Every soldier’s face was calm. There was no joy of victory, nor the sorrow of losing brothers.
To them, this battle wasn’t over yet. Only when it was truly over would they allow themselves to feel those emotions. Right now, they were merely preparing for the upcoming assault.
(End of Chapter)