Warlords: Conquer the world from the county magistrate

"Commander, the commander-in-chief has ordered us to gather our troops and guard against a surprise attack by the Nanshan Army." Hearing Liu Tianhai's inquiry, the chief of staff said truthfully.

Liu Tianhai curled his lips and said, "Under our fierce attack, the Nanshan Army can only hold the defense line. How can they have the strength to take the initiative to attack?"

Afterwards, Liu Tianhai asked the chief of staff to arrange people to collect the bodies, treat the wounded, etc., and launch an attack on the position in the afternoon.

On the other side, the Fifth and Sixth Divisions of the Northern Army, in addition to some people collecting corpses and treating the wounded, the two division commanders also sent troops to do defensive work.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the 4th and 8th Divisions of the Nanshan Army attacked Liu Tianhai's 13th Army from the left wing, and the 2nd, 9th and 10th Divisions of the Nanshan Army attacked the 5th and 6th Divisions of the Northern Army from the right wing.

The 13th Army was unprepared and was quickly defeated by the 40,000 Nanshan troops.

"How is it possible?" After receiving the news of the Nanshan Army's attack, Liu Tianhai still looked incredulous.

Although the 13th Army still had nearly 20,000 men, most of them were injured in the attack on Yanqiu, and their morale was low, so their combat effectiveness was only 70% to 80%.

The chief of staff came to Liu Tianhai and said solemnly, "Commander, the enemy is too strong to hold on. Let's retreat quickly."

"Retreat." Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Liu Tianhai had no choice but to lead his men to evacuate even though he was unwilling.

As Liu Tianhai fled with his guard regiment and his close associates, the remaining 10,000-odd men of the 13th Army quickly collapsed and were divided and surrounded by two divisions of the Nanshan Army.

On the other side, the Fifth and Sixth Divisions of the Northern Army put up much stronger resistance in the face of the Nanshan Army's attack.

But under the attack of nearly 60,000 Nanshan troops, it did not hold out for long and collapsed.

The battle lasted until 10:30 in the morning. The 13th Army was completely wiped out, and the 5th and 6th Divisions of the Northern Army were also annihilated. The two division commanders also committed suicide.

At the Northern Army Headquarters, Feng Huamin received intelligence from scouts that the Northern Army on the left and right wings had been wiped out.

Moreover, the Northern Army on the front was also attacked by countless Nanshan troops.

After hearing the news, Feng Huamin slumped in his chair. His adjutant came forward and asked with concern: "Commander, are you okay?"

At this time, the adjutant also felt a little uneasy. The Nanshan Army was coming with such an aggressive momentum that the situation of the Northern Army might not be optimistic.

"I'm afraid the battle in Nanchuan has ended and the reinforcements from the Nanshan Army have arrived." Feng Huamin sighed.

Feng Huamin speculated that if the Nanshan Army had already deployed so many troops on the eastern front, there would have been no need for them to fight a war of attrition with him before.

The many Nanshan troops that suddenly appeared today must be reinforcements from the western front.

The adjutant asked in a low voice: "Commander, what should we do now?"

"Retreat." Currently, there is only the 15th Army in the headquarters, and Feng Huamin will not be so arrogant as to use only one army to fight back.

Even if the Fifteenth Army was sent into the battlefield, even if some Nanshan troops could be killed, it would not have much impact on the battle situation, and the Fifteenth Army would also be trapped.

Since the decision to retreat had been made, Feng Huamin immediately said to the staff officer beside him: "Order the 15th Army and the headquarters personnel to immediately retreat from Nanshan and return to Sanjiang as quickly as possible."

"At the same time, send a message to the 11th and 14th Armies, asking them to withdraw from Nanshan Province as well."

After the staff officer went to convey the order, Feng Huamin looked dejected again.

"Alas, if we had known this, we should have attacked Changhuan earlier, which would have given the Nanshan Army time to eliminate Feng Zhangshan and Yun Zhizhou."

Although the adjutant agreed with this, he did not dare to express it: "Commander, this is not your fault. It is really because the Nanchuan Army is too useless, and Feng Zhangshan and Yun Zhizhou are too incompetent."

"If Nanchuan can hold out for a month, and Feng Zhangshan and Yun Zhizhou are a little more capable, the Nanshan Army will have to return from Nanchuan empty-handed."

After hearing the adjutant's comfort, Feng Huamin felt much better and stood up to urge the troops to move.

In just half an hour, the 15th Army set out and retreated towards Sanjiang Province.

When the second, fourth, eighth, ninth and tenth divisions of the Nanshan Army arrived at Feng Huamin's base, his troops had already left.

After receiving the news, Fang Guoxuan did not order his troops to pursue Feng Huamin's forces, but instead ordered the 4th and 8th divisions to support Lingshan County, and the 2nd and 9th divisions to support Jingshui.

The Northern Army's 11th and 14th Armies are still stationed in these two counties, so they must be destroyed.

The task of cleaning up the battlefield was entirely handed over to the remaining troops. The First Division had suffered heavy losses during this period and naturally needed to recuperate.

After receiving Fang Guoxuan's order, the four divisions quickly boarded the trucks and headed towards their destination.

There is truck transportation, and it only takes more than an hour to drive from Yanping to Lingshan and Jingshui counties.

In Lingshan County, after receiving the news from Feng Huamin, the commander of the 11th Army, Li Yonglin, immediately ordered the troops to retreat, but they were bombarded by the Nanshan 5th Division.

Seeing the Northern Army positions being bombed, Zhao Linyu was in a good mood: "Bah, if it weren't for the lack of troops, we would have annihilated you long ago."

The Fifth Division had fewer soldiers, and although it relied on its sophisticated weapons to repel the attacks of the Eleventh Army time and time again, the fighting during this period was very frustrating, which made Zhao Linyu feel frustrated.

Fang Guoxuan sent a telegram to Zhao Linyu yesterday, informing him of today's counterattack and asking him to delay the enemy in front of him with the Third Division of Jingshui.

Today, Zhao Linyu has been observing the movements of the 11th Army. Seeing that it was planning to retreat, he decisively ordered the artillery to fire at it.

"Commander, when the support arrives, we can then counterattack." The chief of staff said with a smile.

Zhao Linyu shook his head slightly: "We still don't know what the situation is on the Yanping battlefield, but judging from the performance of the 11th Army, they must have received the news from Yanping, but we don't know the outcome of the battle."

"What other results could there be? Either part of the Northern Army escapes, or they are surrounded by our army," the chief of staff said disdainfully.

Although the Northern Army's combat effectiveness was not weak, it was still inferior to that of the Nanshan Army, and its fighting will was even less comparable to theirs.

If it had not been for the concern for casualties, the Fifth Division would have attacked the Eleventh Army on the opposite side long ago.

However, in order to destroy the 11th Army, the 5th Division suffered heavy casualties. Even if they won, it would not be considered a victory for the Nanshan Army.

The Nanshan Army often wins with fewer troops, but they will never joke with the lives of their soldiers. Reducing casualties is the requirement for every commander.

Zhao Linyu observed the effect of the enemy's bombardment through a telescope and said, "Don't be careless. The Northern Army is much stronger than the warlords."

"They are equipped with heavy and light machine guns. Although they are not as powerful as us, their firepower should not be underestimated."

The chief of staff curled his lips and disagreed with this statement. The heavy machine guns equipped by the Northern Army were very bulky and had great lethality, but they were not as convenient to operate as the general-purpose machine guns of Nanshan, and their performance was also much worse.

Not to mention the light machine guns, which were far inferior to the Confederate submachine guns, and their bullet firing speed alone was far slower.

While Zhao Linyu was observing the opposite position, a staff officer came to him with a telegram.

"Division Commander, we won a great victory in Yanping County. Reinforcements are on the way. They will soon reach Lingshan County by truck."