The First Order

The soldiers were able to take a short rest after the great victory, but not the commanders.

Before everyone could even digest the food in their stomachs, P5092 called for an emergency war meeting.

The modestly sized command post was packed full of commanders and staff officers of all ranks.

Everyone was unsure why P5092 had summoned them. Didn’t they just score a resounding victory?

Then P5092 swept his gaze across the officers in front of him and said, “Although we’ve just won a battle, everyone should understand that we’ll have to face an even more brutal battle next. Time is tight, so I won’t discuss it any further. We’ll just assign the defensive tasks directly.”

Everyone looked at one another and suddenly felt a sense of urgency. It was as though P5092 felt that a great disaster was about to befall the defensive position, and this left them even more puzzled.

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P5092 looked at the 1st Regiment and said, “Previously, the 1st Regiment had been deployed as the maneuver force, so it was relatively simple carrying out your rotational defensive missions. But starting from tonight, things will be different. Beginning from zero hundred hours to zero six hundred, I want the 1st Regiment to be deployed at Position 3 and be on Level One combat readiness.”

The 1st Regiment’s commander, Qian Yiwen, was stunned. “Sir, so far, the barbarians have never launched an attack during the wee hours of the morning.”

P5092 glanced at him and said, “It’s precisely because they’ve never done so during this period before that it’s easy to assume their attack patterns. So we need to be more vigilant. Moreover, you must prepare the soldiers for the worst. From today onwards, you all will have to bear the most important task of defending the entire defensive position.”

Everyone looked at each other. According to P5092, if the barbarians were to launch their fiercest attack, they would definitely choose the period before dawn.

P5092 said, “We need a clear line of sight to use our Central Plains’ firearms effectively, but the barbarians don’t have that requirement when they attack. Even if we consider the advantages that each side has, the expeditionary army is still likely to launch a night attack rather than purposely avoid this period. That is where the problem lies, and I’ll only explain this once. 2nd Regiment, I need you to prepare the things I’ve briefed you about.”

The 2nd Regiment’s commander, Kong Sheng, stood at attention and said, “Roger.”

“If I’m not wrong,” P5092 said, “the expeditionary army will either launch a full-scale attack tonight or tomorrow night at the latest. Everyone, it’s all up to you whether we can hold the defensive position successfully or not. Perhaps we might all die here in another few days. The barbarians have many more troops than us, so even if we just clinched a great victory, they still have ten times our strength.

“All of you should also understand that in my battle plans, I’m pitting us against the expeditionary army in a battle that’s ten on one. So the most optimistic scenario is that we perish here together with the barbarians. Over the next few days, you guys might not even have time to sleep. There will be people getting injured, and some of you might get exhausted. But I hope that everyone will constantly remember your purpose here before those moments arrive. Alright, meeting adjourned.”

After that, all the officers walked out of the command post. Off to the side, Wang Yun asked, “Aren’t you afraid it’ll affect their morale if you deliberately make the situation sound so bad?”

“If I don’t tell them, wouldn’t they come to that conclusion themselves?” P5092 said calmly, “Honestly, we’re all aware of the situation we’re facing now. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I want to etch into their minds during the battle that killing ten barbarians will only be enough for us to draw even with the enemy. If they kill one more barbarian on top of that, another one of their comrades might be able to survive. This requires the courage to fight to the death; it’s a strength that’s gained from despair in the face of adversity.”

“Then why did you speculate that the barbarians will force an attack?” Wang Yun wondered.

P5092 did not answer this question.

…

Mt. Zuoyun lay quiet in the wilderness of the pitch-black night. Amid the towering mountain peaks, the defensive position appeared exceptionally insignificant and powerless.

But in fact, hundreds of blinds spread out across the defensive position in a staggered manner. When the soldiers traversed the trenches, the blinds reached as high as their chests.

This was even when the expeditionary army did not use any firearms and explosives, but if they did, they would have to dig bomb shelters and trenches so deep they would need ladders to climb up. Then, to observe the situation outside the trenches, they would even have to use periscopes to look over like they were in a submarine.

At the defensive position, the blinds were staggered like rows of houses. P5092 even gave specific names to every main route, such as Zhenxing Road, Killing Barbarians Road, and so on.

It was not because he wanted to boost their morale, but to facilitate the quick delivery of orders during chaotic battles.

Actually, this was a commonly used tactic in ancient warfare. Ever since people developed other forms of warfare communication, this method was gradually abandoned. But now that the 6th Combat Brigade could no longer depend on their communications equipment, P5092 reimplemented this method.

At this moment, a veteran was leaning against a trench blind on Zhenxing Road and was carving some words on it with a shell casing. A recruit went over to have a closer look and was surprised to see the words “Zhenxing Road.”

But just as the recruit was about to say something, the veteran suddenly stood upright and looked over the blind with a pair of military binoculars.

In the distance, black figures could be seen rushing over at high speed. The dense crowd of people moved like a tidal wave and made the veteran’s scalp tingle. “We’re under attack! Quick, tell the command post that the barbarians are here!”

Everyone was curious if P5092 had made the right call when the barbarians clearly never launched an attack during this time before.

But now, everyone knew the answer. P5092 was right.

At the command post, Wang Yun turned to P5092 after being informed of the enemy attack. “How on earth did you guess that the expeditionary army would come? You didn’t answer me last time.”

“Because I went to check on the supplies Future Commander brought back.” P5092 said, “Although there’s quite a lot of supplies, a quarter of them was black bread. You had a taste of the black bread too. It’s astringent, bitter, and sour. I doubt even the barbarians like eating something like that, right?”

“Yeah.” Wang Yun said, “I don’t think it’s something fit for human consumption.”

“This shows that their supplies are running really low. Perhaps the environment in the north is too harsh, so they don’t have enough to eat, and that’s why they headed south,” P5092 analyzed. “But just when they breached the Pyro Company’s defensive line and found a new source of supplies, it ended up getting snatched away by Future Commander. Including their own supplies and the ones they took from the Pyro Company, Future Commander did not leave anything behind for them.”

“So their plans for the resources obtained from the Pyro Company to support the battle were disrupted by Future Commander,” Wang Yun said with a start.

“That’s right.” P5092 said, “Now that their supplies have been stolen, if they still don’t stake everything on this attempt and launch a full-scale attack, they might starve before they even have a chance against the Central Plains. Although it sounds a little weird, the barbarians no longer have the initiative. You might not believe it, but they might already feel that this will be their last desperate counterattack….”

To be honest, Ren Xiaosu never thought he could have such a great impact on the overall situation by just plundering a few supply convoys.