The Republic of China: A Letter of Appointment Creates the Most Powerful Warlord

"The First, Second, and Fourth Corps, with 400,000 men, have been fully deployed. The borders of Donglu and Huishan provinces have formed a blanket blockade!"

"The Third Corps has successfully entered Shanghu and has completed its defensive positions. The Second Heavy Armored Brigade has taken the lead in establishing a firepower network along the border of Zhijiang Province!"

"The Fifth Corps straddles the southeastern part of Huishan and borders the southern part of Wu and Yue. The Fourth and Fifth Heavy Brigades, along with the Titan Heavy Brigade, provide all-around control!"

At seven o'clock in the evening, the Qizhou Command Headquarters was brightly lit and bustling with people. More than a dozen staff officers gathered in front of the sand table, perfecting their deployment tasks while also constantly simulating the development of the battle.

This time, the Independence Army dispatched 800,000 troops, nearly a thousand tanks, and grenade and rocket units, which were fully capable of resisting the joint attack of the Feng faction and the National Army, and even launching a counterattack.

"Notify the Fifth Corps to hold their positions. Not a single shell can reach Huishan, the Wuyue border!"

Zhang Ye held a cigarette in his mouth, with fine stubble on his chin, and gave the order with red eyes.

According to intelligence gathered from various sources, the foreigners will fire the first shot tonight and attack the Chuzhou Shipyard.

At the same time, Feng's faction and the National Army troops are also speeding up. By tomorrow morning at the latest, the support troops will arrive at Jiangyou and the Central Plains border.

"Also, while protecting the rear, advance forward in an orderly manner. Push the battlefield to Zhijiang, Zhili, Central Plains, and other places. Never allow our people to suffer the baptism of war!"

"Yes, Marshal!"

The communicator sent an urgent telegram to inform the front-line command of the latest orders.

For the various units of the Independence Army, this battle was simply an extremely satisfying massacre.

Regardless of whether it is Huishan, Wuyue, or Shanghu, each corps is equipped with at least one heavy brigade, more than one hundred tanks, vehicle-mounted howitzers, and rocket units. It would be a piece of cake to fight against that group of ragtag troops carrying fire sticks.

Therefore, compared with the nervous mentality of the Feng faction of the National Army, the Independence Army was obviously different. Everyone from top to bottom was extremely excited with golden lights in their eyes, and they couldn't wait to start a war and kill to their heart's content.

"Marshal, Zhijiang Province Governor Lu Yongxiang called and requested two more days. He will try to complete the negotiations with the Fengbei Army as soon as possible!"

Lu Shan came running over with the latest intelligence and asked for instructions.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Ye refused without even looking at it.

"I've given him time. If he can't grasp it, don't blame us for being rude."

"Notify the Third Corps and dispatch the heavy brigade. Advance to the riverside defenses immediately. Open fire if you encounter resistance. We'll have to fight sooner or later anyway. There's no need to wait any longer!"

"Marshal, how about we wait a little longer?"

Lu Shan had a lot of things to consider, so he held the information and whispered a reminder.

"We don't know the negotiation process between the Fengbei Army and Lu Yongxiang. What if they have already entered the final stage and are defeated by us?"

"Let it collapse, then. If anyone is to blame, it's only because he was too slow!"

Zhang Ye insisted stubbornly.

"By tomorrow morning at the latest, the main force of the Yangcheng Nationalist Army will have reached the right side of the river. The longer we delay, the worse it will be for us. We'd better start the battle as soon as possible and advance a few dozen kilometers to create a buffer zone to prevent the people of the three provinces of Donglu from being implicated!"

"This... okay..."

Lu Shan also understood the current situation. After hesitating for a moment, he could only obey orders.

The Marshal is right. Waiting any longer will only be disadvantageous to our side. Although they have an army of 800,000, the corresponding consumption is also increasing.

Fighting for one more day would cost an extra three to four million in military expenditure, which they simply cannot afford.

……

An hour later, silver moonlight spread across the earth. In the dim night, powerful spotlights were mounted on the watchtower, scanning back and forth.

At the border of Zhijiang Province, Lu Yongxiang's 70,000 soldiers have assembled, fearing a surprise attack by the Independence Army and the loss of the land under their feet.

If we were to say who had the most difficult battle, it would be Lu Yongxiang. This guy didn't have any big ambitions. He just wanted to have a stable territory and be a local emperor.

But the result was that the war broke out again before he had been the governor of Zhijiang Province for a few days, and the fighting was centered in Zhijiang.

This made him very worried. He couldn't win if he fought, and he couldn't report to his superiors if he didn't fight. He wanted to negotiate, but the other party's conditions were very harsh and there was no benefit at all.

They really pushed him into a corner and bullied him to death.

"Hey, can we fight this war? I don't want to die on the battlefield for no apparent reason."

"We're definitely going to fight. I have a fellow villager who's a staff officer at the headquarters. He said the Independence Army, in conjunction with the Fengtian Army, is deploying 700,000 to 800,000 troops across four or five provinces to launch a campaign. They're clearly aiming for something big."

"Fuck, the Independence Army and the Fengbei Army are on the other side, and on our side, the Feng faction includes Zhili Province, Zhongyuan Province, Qianhu Province, Fujian Province, the Yangcheng National Army, and foreign warships. If this fight breaks out, the whole of Daxia will be in chaos!"

"Who says it's not true? Among these bigwigs, who doesn't want to be the emperor? Now in Daxia, only these few groups are powerful. Isn't there internal strife?"

"Damn it! These days, people have no chance to survive. When ordinary people can't even get a full meal, and bandits are being rounded up, I finally get to the army and have two days of full meals, but in the end, there are always wars!"

"Heh, you want to make a living, and they want people to charge forward. You want food, and the superiors want our lives. It's fair."

On the Zhijiang border defense line, several grassroots officers sat in their tents, drinking and bragging, cursing from time to time to vent their dissatisfaction.

Judging from their military ranks, the lowest among these people is captain, and there are even one or two major-level officers.

In the military camp, these people can at least become platoon leaders or company commanders, and if they are lucky, they may even become battalion commanders.

Their status is already at the top level among ordinary people, but they still complain about the unfairness of the world and their difficult life.

From this, we can infer that the lives of ordinary people at the bottom of society can no longer be described as bleak.

"Why fight? The Independence Army has already pushed to Shanghu and the Wuyue border. They have all kinds of heavy firepower equipment that's terrifying. Look at our warlord, he's still trying to negotiate. What can we use to fight?"

"That's right. In my opinion, just surrender. I don't know if you heard about the last battle between the Independence Army and the Feng Clique. A heavily armored brigade came in and was completely invincible. Ordinary bullets and shells were like tickling them, completely unable to penetrate the defenses. What were they going to fight with? Are they going to charge in with their heads raised?"

"That's right, if you can't fight, surrender. Your life is your own, and staying alive is the most important thing!"

"fart!"

Just as he finished speaking, the tent curtain was forcibly torn open, and a middle-aged man with a gun on his waist was seen cursing angrily.

"The battle hasn't even started yet, and you losers are already thinking about surrendering. I'm going to kill you right now!"

"No, no, no, Captain, we're just bragging and chatting!"

Upon hearing this, a crowd of people hurriedly surrounded the officer, held his arm, and explained anxiously.

"I'm just sitting here with nothing to do, so I'm just talking nonsense."

"Nonsense!" The regimental commander had no intention of actually shooting. After breaking free from the others' restraints, he sneered, "If the supervisory team hears this, you idiots will all be shot, one by one!"

"Yes, yes, I won't dare to do that again. I absolutely won't dare to do that again!"

Everyone nodded quickly and laughed to hide their embarrassment.

This guy is just bragging and someone cares about him. How fucked up!