lcionline Chapter 1383 Can't we hold grudges like this?
Chapter 1383 Can't we hold grudges like this?
A reconnaissance squad leader, who had been lying in wait at a mountaintop observation post near the border, using a high-powered telescope and a rudimentary rangefinder, returned to base to report, looking exhausted and shaken.
At this moment, the reconnaissance report, with its trembling yet exceptionally clear handwriting, was laid out on the table in front of Nguyen Van Hung.
Several blurry photos taken with a digital camera were also printed out and placed next to it:
The photo shows the newly appeared, larger and more elite military trains in the Pingxiang Railway Station area, as well as new heavy equipment with uniform paint being unloaded.
The deputy commander in charge of intelligence gathering, a major named Li Guangzhong (formerly a staff officer in the division headquarters), was reporting in a dry voice, each word like a stone striking the hearts of everyone present:
"...Based on 72 hours of continuous observation and comparison, it can be confirmed that since three days ago, at least three extra-long, heavily armed military trains with extremely high protection levels have arrived at Pingxiang Railway Station. The equipment unloaded is significantly different from what we previously recorded, being heavier and more systematic."
Li Guangzhong pointed to the photograph and the hand-drawn sketch:
"This is a new main battle tank of unknown model. The turret shape and main gun size are different from those of the previous ones. It is estimated to have a larger caliber and thicker armor."
"This is a new type of large-caliber self-propelled artillery. Judging from the chassis and barrel length, its range may exceed 40 kilometers."
"And there are even more armored personnel carriers and field air defense vehicles..."
"Based on the amount of equipment unloaded and the scale of subsequent troop disembarkation and assembly, the newly added forces... may reach the level of a fully equipped field army group, with a total number estimated to be between 50,000 and 80,000. This does not include at least one brigade-level combat team and a large number of engineering and garrison troops that they had already deployed in Pingxiang."
After saying all that, he paused, took a deep breath, and uttered the most terrifying conclusion:
"Commander, based on comprehensive assessment, the mysterious Central Plains War Zone within Zhou Bang's territory has upgraded Pingxiang from an ordinary settlement into a strategic forward base with operational offensive capabilities!"
“Their next move…I’m afraid…” Li Guangzhong didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood his unspoken meaning.
With so many troops piled up here, it's hard to guess who they're going to take down!
But what puzzled everyone present was: why?
This question isn't about asking the other person what gives them the right, but rather asking yourself what gives you the right.
People know their own situation best. What is it about their own barren land that holds such appeal?
Why would the enemy send such valuable resources to target us?
What picture?
They even use electricity from the other party's house; their limited domestic industrial base consists of projects that the other party didn't want...
So for the past few months, Nguyen Van Hung has been racking his brains trying to figure out what the other party's purpose was...
Could it be because of that grudge from decades ago? But decades have passed, and that grudge ended with us suffering a great loss. We can't hold a grudge like that, can we?
.....
The command center was deathly silent, with only the annoying hum of the old ventilation fans.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Nguyen Van Hung.
Nguyen Van Hung stared at the blurry photos and reports, his cheek muscles twitching uncontrollably. He could feel a chill rising from his tailbone and spreading instantly to his limbs.
An army group!
A field army group of 50,000 to 80,000 well-equipped, well-logized, newly arrived, and in high spirits!
It was deployed less than 100 kilometers away from his cluster defense line!
And what does he have in his hands?
All told, the force could only be called a “combat unit” of just over three thousand people. Their equipment was mixed, ammunition was scarce, and their heavy weapons consisted of only a few old mortars, a small number of recoilless rifles and rocket launchers, and a few modified armored vehicles.
Most soldiers weren't even getting enough to eat, let alone train...
This isn't even a comparison of magnitude! It can't even be called a "comparison," it's a crushing defeat! It's like Mount Tai crushing an egg!
Shock, disbelief, and then a deep-seated fear and helplessness overwhelmed Nguyen Van Hung like a tidal wave.
He could almost see the dust and smoke billowing up when the steel torrent opposite him started, and hear the roar that could shake the earth.
At this moment, he finally understood the suffocating fear that his ancestors had experienced for thousands of years...
Having such a gigantic neighbor nearby makes even the slightest movement a source of fear...
But he couldn't show it, because he was the supreme commander here, the last pillar of support for these thousands of people!
Especially in the current chaotic situation, if he dares to show the slightest weakness, those waiting to take over will not hesitate to turn their guns on him.
Thinking of all this, without warning, Nguyen Van Hung suddenly grabbed the tin ashtray on the table and smashed it hard on the ground!
Clang!
The ear-piercing roar echoed in the enclosed basement, sending shivers down the spines of the other officers.
"Damn it! Damn Zhou Bangren!" Ruan Wenxiong roared, his voice hoarse and filled with violence, his eyes bloodshot.
"What are they trying to do?! Deploying their entire army group on the border—do they think we're easy to bully and are planning to swallow us whole?!"
His chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, his gaze sweeping fiercely over his men: "Are you all mute?! Speak! What are we supposed to do now?!"
After a brief silence, Lieutenant Colonel Chen Wentai, who was in charge of the operations, forced himself to speak, his voice very dry:
"Commander, the enemy's strength is overwhelming... a direct confrontation is absolutely impossible. Our defenses can only hold out for a few hours at most against their heavy artillery and armored formations."
"So you mean to surrender? Or, like decades ago, to flee into the mountains and wage guerrilla warfare?!"
"This isn't the pre-apocalyptic world anymore. Not to mention the supply problem we can't solve once we're in the mountains, those mutated creatures in the mountains are far better at guerrilla warfare than we are!"
Nguyen Van Hung's words undoubtedly captured the current desperate predicament...
That means if Zhou Bang were to actually launch a direct attack, he would definitely be crushed on the main battlefield. And if he were to try to wear down the enemy through guerrilla warfare, as he had done decades ago, that would probably be exactly what the enemy wanted...
Because in this scenario, let alone wearing down the enemy, the troops would likely have to fight countless mutated creatures and plants in the jungle before they could even enter... and be wiped out in no time.
"No! Commander!" Chen Wentai hurriedly said, "What I mean is, we must adjust our strategy immediately! Abandon all forward advances and provocative actions, and switch to the highest level of defensive alert across the entire front!"
"Reinforce existing fortifications, especially anti-tank ditches and minefields. Simultaneously, immediately move south..."
At this point, he glanced at Nguyen Van Hung's face and said cautiously, "Send the highest level of alert to the 'Southern Joint Command' and request support, or at least... a promise to provide us with an evacuation route and a backup."
"south?"
Nguyen Van Hung scoffed, his voice thick with sarcasm and despair: "Those guys would love for us to be cannon fodder! They'd never come to our rescue! They'd only use this opportunity to annex our territory and the rest of our population!"
Even so, he knew that Chen Wentai was talking about the only seemingly feasible solution at the moment.
Holding out to the death is a dead end; we must find a way out and allies, even if those allies are unreliable.
“Commander,” Li Guangzhong spoke again, “besides military preparations, perhaps… we could also try to make contact.”
"Contact?" Nguyen Van Hung and the others looked at him.
"Yes. Through official channels, or by releasing some... signals."
Opposing Zhou Bang was practically politically correct in the Yue state, after all, they were facing a colossal figure, and more importantly, a cultural ancestor with thousands of years of history...
If Zhou Bang hadn't deliberately maintained distance or even fabricated hatred, he wouldn't have needed to do anything at all to use his powerful economic and cultural influence to shape the Yue Kingdom into his own form, much like how perseverance attracts planets.
This is undoubtedly unacceptable to any country with even a modicum of ambition...