Chapter 1 The Raucous Laughter

The loud laughter coming from the Xueqi Army's position, and the constant banter between the two officers, demoralized the Bei Liao warriors who were desperately charging towards the Xueqi Army's lines. The battle results constantly shouted out by those two guys on the broadcast—like sinking another ship, wiping out a few more enemies, smashing so-and-so into mincemeat, and so on—made these Bei Liao warriors want to look back and see if their own people were behind them, if anyone was still holding their rear, their escape route. What they saw were clusters of exploding, orange-red flames, and burning oil still floating on the water. Everyone generally knew by now that oil could float and burn on the water surface, and the panic caused by seeing the water on fire was far less than when oil bombs were first used a few years ago. But in the current situation, these Bei Liao soldiers weren't worried about the burning water surface, but rather a chaotic friendly line. A large number of Bei Liao soldiers couldn't even reach the other side and had to bob up and down in the water, and some boats couldn't even be pushed into the water in time before being smashed into pieces on the shore within range of the heavy crossbows.

"The next thing is very simple, you... keep throwing troops in, using up ten thousand and then another ten thousand. I believe the Xueqi Army is indeed very strong, they may indeed have no enemies that can match them, but they will also get tired. When they are tired, they won't be able to resist. At that time, charge directly across the pontoon bridge. I estimate... it will probably take four to five hours to do this. You organize it and let the other soldiers rest well. I... am going to sleep for a while." At this juncture, Gao Senqi was not nervous at all, but leisurely instructed. He was not talking nonsense, but really went to the rear camp to rest. This kind of combat had too little technical content, but Gao Senqi knew that this was actually the only way to defeat the Xueqi Army the fastest here. Relying on the advantage of troop strength to repeatedly and continuously charge, so that the Xueqi Army could not rest.

The generals under him silently cupped their hands towards Gao Senqi, and let him leave. Originally, they had been full of ambition to rely on their superior forces, high morale, and soldiers who were not afraid of sacrifice to break a bloody path, and let the Xueqi Army suffer their first defeat in history. But what they didn't expect was that they were not even facing the entire Xueqi Army, but only slightly less than half of the Xueqi Army, and a part of Ye Tao's guards. But judging from the current situation of charging the Xueqi Army's position, only slightly more than half of the army can reach the front of the Xueqi Army. God knows how long the Xueqi Army can maintain this level of long-range strikes.

Just as the Bei Liao army began to organize follow-up troops, their vanguard troops who had charged to the Xueqi Army's camp were attacked by the Longbow Camp. All that could be heard was the neat sound of bowstrings vibrating, and the dense arrows seemed to cover half the sky, making the surrounding scenery appear dim and yellow. Immediately, these arrows densely plunged into the ranks of the Bei Liao soldiers. The heavy arrowheads flashing with cold light were absolutely unstoppable by these Bei Liao soldiers who had almost no armor. However, the Bei Liao soldiers had no way to retreat now, they could only keep moving forward.

The Xueqi Army's long-range strikes directly eliminated half of the enemy, and then, it was the turn of the Xueqi Army's infantry to show their power. The heavy infantry standing in the front row calculated the enemy's steps, and then, when the two formations met, they forcefully swung their knives. The heavy infantry staggered back and forth, two rows as a group, and only arranged two groups in the position. But under the impact of the Bei Liao soldiers, they were as stable as stubborn rocks being washed by huge waves, remaining motionless. Seeing this scene through the telescope, the faces of the Bei Liao generals became even more gloomy. Facing the Bei Liao soldiers who had no heavy weapons and lacked armor protection, the heavy infantry didn't even take out things like tower shields. All they had were two-handed long-handled broadswords, just mechanically and forcefully slashing, but the Bei Liao soldiers rushed forward as if they were moths flying into a flame. Behind them, the light infantry did not rush up in a hurry. They held the short crossbows in their hands, and fired one shot at a time at those Bei Liao soldiers who seemed to pose a threat to their heavy infantry comrades. Hiding in the back was not because they were timid, but to prevent the two sides from falling into a melee so quickly. Once a melee started, the heavy infantry could not exert its full power.

"Stop talking nonsense, clear the channel!" Ye Tao instructed, leaning into the microphone. The two captains of the heavy equipment camp immediately responded loudly, and the two microphones set up at the forefront were turned on. One of them was connected to a wire and installed on Sun Bo, the commander of the heavy infantry standing in the front row. The most annoying thing about heavy infantry combat is battlefield coordination. They are never worried about how strong the enemy is. As long as they follow their tactical specifications, now no one in the world except Dongping itself has the best weapons to restrain heavy infantry: firearms. They are not afraid of other cold weapon arms, even cavalry. Directly using a loudspeaker to command, the orders shouted out by Sun Bo directly reached the ears of every soldier, and the entire battle line was maintained so perfectly.

"Ye Tao's little tricks are big changes for others... It's no wonder the young general is so afraid of him." A Bei Liao general said, and the surrounding colleagues responded with a silence. Ye Tao no longer needs to promote any major changes. Just the three inventions of airships, crossbow cannons, and telegraphs have greatly benefited Dongping. Even if the three countries of Bei Liao, Chun Nan, and Xi Ling know what airships and crossbow cannons are, even if they know the value of telegraphs, it is as difficult as climbing the sky to imitate and digest this knowledge. Moreover, the gap between them and Dongping is not getting smaller with the efforts of their countries, but is getting bigger and bigger. The entire research and development system supported by Ye Tao, and the occasional guidance on the direction of research and development, have made these research and development decades ahead of the times. The people of Dongping are already very familiar with air shuttles for passenger and freight transport, and many people have accumulated a lot of flight miles and have begun to enjoy the value-added services of being air travelers. Although other countries have also sent out spies and experienced craftsmen to come and go and observe the airships up close, it seems a long way off to create the same things themselves. The Xue Xiao airships, which contain power, beauty, and elegance, and the Yun Zhou Number One, which is a level above the Xue Xiao, are even more awe-inspiring. According to the news revealed by the Ye Clan Workshop's Research Institute, the current airships no longer prioritize the use of new technologies, but prioritize cost and efficiency, so that they are most suitable for civilian use. But even these "civilian" goods have made people from other countries jealous.

Ye Tao's energy is naturally not only exerted in these three major projects. What is even more amazing is that he can always combine various trivial contents into a system that is jaw-dropping, whether in military technology or in the civilian field. Only Dongping can luxuriously enjoy the jaw-dropping transportation capabilities and reaction speed of the two major logistics organizations, Federal Express and DHL. Dongping now rarely dispatches the military's logistics transportation force for the usual shipment of bulk goods. The logistics camp trains desperately, focusing its ability more on battlefield transportation and escort. Now the logistics supply of the Dongping military is participated in by the two major logistics companies. It just so happens that the transportation power of the people is said to be faster and more reliable than the transportation of the Bei Liao and Xi Ling military, according to the explorations of other parties.

Now, the Xueqi Army, built by Ye Tao with his own hands, is telling these veteran Bei Liao soldiers how strong an army can be with its performance. Training, equipment, morale, combat readiness... when every detail is done to near perfection, and the Xueqi Army is in an advantageous terrain and has no retreat, the combined energy is simply unimaginable.

"General, the scouts on the west road reported that there is a place more than twenty miles upstream where a simple bridge can be built to cross the river. But the passing ability is limited, and two or three thousand people can pass by tonight." Scout Chief Liang Gui was a middle-aged man in his fifties. Seeing that Young General Gao Senqi was not there, he cupped his hands towards the generals who were jointly commanding and reported.

"Go and tell the young general again. Two or three thousand people... is enough as a surprise force. Are you sure it wasn't discovered by the other side's airships?" Zhang Lixian, who now had the highest military rank and the deepest qualifications, asked.

"No. I have repeatedly verified it." Liang Gui said seriously.

"Okay. Let them cross the river as much as possible, and then lie in ambush and rest near the Xueqi Army's camp. Song Liang, go once, you personally lead the team. Let's have a good attack tonight and see if we can take it down. The losses during the day... are too great. I hope to drag them down." Zhang Lixian sighed.

The others all nodded, and the deputy general named Song Liang cupped his hands and prepared to set off. Then, Zhang Lixian instructed: "From now on, send another ten thousand people up every hour. The ones in the front... those who can be withdrawn will retreat and be reorganized, and those who can't be pushed down... I hope their deaths are valuable."

Looking through the telescope at the other side, even though they had suffered huge losses, they had no intention of stopping at all, but were constantly organizing troops to prepare for deployment, Ye Tao and others also sighed. This was a situation they had expected long ago, but it was also a situation they could not think of a way to solve. Fortunately, from top to bottom, Ye Tao and his colleagues had prepared for this situation long ago. As long as there was an opportunity to rotate, the soldiers would seize every minute and every second to rest. Behind the camp, all kinds of food and drinking water were on standby at any time. They were here to risk their lives anyway, and there was no reason to relax in any link.

"It's not a solution to keep fighting like this." Ye Tao said lightly, "Ask Sun Bo, is he ready to play hard? If he can hold on there, I'll make a move."

Would Sun Bo say no? This guy has super high ambitions. Born into a family of generals, he is holding back to reach Qiu Haohui's height in the shortest possible time.