Chapter 147 The Situation

Early this morning, after discussing matters with Gu Baisun, Su Tianyu was exhausted and couldn't stay awake any longer, sleeping soundly until now.

He had just woken up when he heard Zhao Weihu's words and was slightly taken aback. He immediately asked, "What's going on? Weren't things going smoothly a few hours ago?"

Zhao Weihu lit a cigarette, shook his head, and said, "Things haven't been going well these past few hours... Come, take a look."

Su Tianyu immediately got up, and the two walked to the sand table together.

Zhao Weihu pointed to the location of Huarei Town and said, "Extending two hundred kilometers inward from here is the Red Hat Army's defense line. Our previous offensive forced them back about twenty kilometers, which seemed smooth on the surface. However, the sly thing about Bahia Qiao is that their troops have all retreated into the mountainous areas and surrounding occupied towns, which has suddenly increased their defensive strength. This old warlord knows how to use off-site factors. Look, he's holed up here, and the overseas fleet of the First District can directly radiate half of the Old Mo war zone, which includes our offensive line. At the same time, their air force is still constantly bombing our side... The First District's tactic for him is simple: sea-air coordination, precision strikes."

Speaking, Zhao Weihu took a deep drag on his cigarette, his brow furrowed as he said, "In this way, our side is equivalent to facing the radiation strike range of their sea, land, and air forces at the same time. Every step forward will cost us a bloody price! The biggest problem now is that if we attack quickly, we will suffer severe combat losses and may even be dragged down on the front line! But if we don't attack quickly, we won't be able to break through their defense zone, and we won't have time to support Dragon City..."

After listening, Su Tianyu couldn't help but frown, and asked again, "What's the specific situation at the front now?"

Zhao Weihu slowly said, "On my side alone, there are nearly three thousand casualties. The Blackwater Legion has fewer, but still around two thousand. On Dingyuan's side, plus the casualties of the Old Mo government army, the total is about seven or eight thousand, close to ten thousand. As for the Red Hat Army, in addition to losing twenty kilometers of defense line, the casualty ratio is almost three to one in their favor."

Hearing this number, Su Tianyu looked at the sand table with concern, thinking about countermeasures.

Just then, the tent door was lifted, and Wang Dingyuan, draped in a military coat, strode in. He rubbed his cold hands as he looked at the two of them and said, "Are you both here? Discussing the situation on the front line?"

Su Tianyu nodded: "Yes, this area is indeed a bit tricky."

Wang Dingyuan immediately came to their side and said directly, "We can't fight like this anymore. It's too reckless. Even if we can push them back, our losses will be immeasurable. Urban warfare and mountain warfare directly minimize the effectiveness of our armored forces. And we don't have air superiority here. Our troops are just getting beaten when they charge up! Most of the three-to-one casualties are due to the opponent's naval and air bombardments. And now, Bahia Qiao is letting his Red Hat Army continue to turtle up, hiding in the mountains and towns, fighting guerrilla warfare with us, constantly slowing down our war rhythm, consuming our forces, and exposing our front lines to their firepower. The tactic is extremely shameless, but very effective."

After listening, Su Tianyu nodded, stared at the sand table, and said, "We must think of a way to gather our forces and strike out in one go!"

Wang Dingyuan was a little worried: "It's easier said than done. Look at the terrain here. To break out of Huarei Town, there's the sea along the way, mountains all around, plus dense, interconnected residential towns, providing them with a natural defensive barrier. At the same time, they have a lot of troops. It's too difficult for us to strike out in one go."

Su Tianyu pondered for a long time, then reached for the measuring ruler next to him and estimated the marching distance on the sand table, as well as the length of the enemy's defense line, and the measurement ratio of the opponent's troop defense thickness.

After measuring, he took out a notebook and pen, and quickly sketched on paper.

Wang Dingyuan put his hands behind his back and leaned over to look at the picture Su Tianyu was drawing. He couldn't help but praise, "Not bad, Xiao Yu, this drawing is very clear."

Zhao Weihu laughed from the side: "Don't you know? He graduated with a degree in military staff."

Su Tianyu seemed not to hear them, concentrating on continuing to draw. After he finished, he took the pen, marked two points on it, and then said to the two of them, "Look, the enemy's air force base and naval fleet are in this direction. And the Red Hat Army, from their capital, fought to the current inland location of Old Mo, the entire marching line is about twelve hundred kilometers... Since we can't break through by brute force, we have to think of a way to cut off their air and sea power in a short period of time! Only after that will we have a chance to break through from the front in one fell swoop!"

Hearing this, Wang Dingyuan couldn't help but pause, looked at Su Tianyu's drawing, and couldn't help but ask, "How are you going to cut off the enemy's air and sea power? Do you have the brain switch of the First District's military and political leader?"

"The solution is here." As Su Tianyu spoke, he drew a very small circle on a spot next to Old Mo on the paper.

When Wang Dingyuan saw this circle, he instantly understood and couldn't help but clap his hands and said, "That's right, this is promising! It's just that the brothers in the circle are going to have a hard time."

"Yes..." Su Tianyu nodded slowly: "However, this is the only way now."

The three people surrounded the sand table and began to discuss the next battle plan around Su Tianyu's method.

...

An hour later, along the coast of Dragon City.

Inside a cold and damp underground warehouse, a pot of hot soup was bubbling on a stove.

The pot was filled with green vegetables and a small amount of minced meat from military canned goods. A young guard surrounded the pot, watching the fire while stirring the pot with an extendable baton.

Tan Mingchao stood beside him, dumbfounded as he looked at the food being cooked in the pot, when he suddenly heard a crunching sound from the side. He turned his head and saw Xin Xiaodong sitting on a wooden box, holding a bag of dog food in his hand, grabbing a handful and throwing it into his mouth, chewing with relish.

Tan Mingchao couldn't help but be stunned, and then said, "I always thought you were just telling me, I didn't expect you to really eat this stuff?"

Xin Xiaodong said matter-of-factly, "What else can I do? My headquarters has been out of food for four days, and I don't dare to contact the outside world. Fortunately, we're guarding a warehouse, and there's a lot of drinking water stored here, so at least we haven't run out of water. To be honest, this pot of vegetables was left for me by my guard regiment commander! A total of three packs of vegetables and two boxes of canned food. You came, and we ate it all! This is the highest-level reception. You eat, I'll eat dog food!"

Tan Mingchao looked at the dog food in his hand and couldn't help but ask, "Can this stuff be eaten?"

Xin Xiaodong said very seriously, "This, I must tell you. Before eating, I specifically checked the information. Dog food is rich in nutrients, containing protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins! Eating a small amount is no problem and can also fill your stomach! Look at them."

As he spoke, he pointed his hand. Tan Mingchao turned his head and saw the only remaining platoon of guards in the entire headquarters sitting next to him, bragging while chewing on dog food, the atmosphere joyful.

The crunching sounds of chewing rose and fell, echoing throughout the warehouse.

In their optimistic noise, what Tan Mingchao saw was full of sadness.

Thinking of this, Tan Mingchao walked to the opposite side of Xin Xiaodong, sat down with a thud, and reached out to him and said, "Come on, give me some too, I'll taste it."

Xin Xiaodong waved his hand: "Forget it, you're also the son of a general, I won't let you eat this!"

"Son of a bitch general!" Tan Mingchao said nonchalantly: "Smell the stench on my body, is there any difference from the stench on your body?"

Xin Xiaodong smiled, "Okay, that's good to hear! You feel different to me now than before."

As a former member of the Third Division of the garrison, Xin Xiaodong was also an old acquaintance of this young master, and now he was speaking from the heart.

Tan Mingchao also sighed: "Before the war, in the era of peace, I never thought that the culture I learned and the environment I grew up in would bring me such great energy. Let's not say anything else, let's have some dog food!"

"Come on, have half a catty!" Xin Xiaodong was not polite, took out a handful and handed it to Tan Mingchao.

Tan Mingchao took it and asked with a smile, "Don't just eat it dry, do you have anything to drink?"

Xin Xiaodong smiled mysteriously: "You've come to the right person, I specifically saved some wine the day the troops left, and there's still two liang left! I originally thought that if I was going to get shot one day, I would first take a sip. Since you're here, let's each have one liang!" (liang is a unit of measurement)

"Good!"

Soon, the guard brought the wine.

Two young generals, sitting in a dark basement, eating dog food, rinsing vegetables, drinking small wine, and discussing the future situation in Dragon City.

"Ding ling ling!"

Just then, a phone rang.

The guard ran over again and said to Xin Xiaodong, "Report, Commander Su is calling!"

Xin Xiaodong took the phone and said excitedly, "Brother, you finally called me! I hope you're bringing me good news!"

Su Tianyu paused and said, "There is good news, the supplies will be delivered within twenty-four hours at the latest!"

Xin Xiaodong said happily, "You're indeed my good brother, I feel confident when I hear your voice!"

Su Tianyu then added, "When the supplies arrive, there will be a combat mission."

Xin Xiaodong was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but say, "Damn, you want me to work right after eating?"