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

"Commander Zhang, please calm down. Boss Wu has been really exhausted and hard-working lately.

"He urgently needs some time to rest and adjust his condition." The staff officer stood aside, smiling and saying nice things, trying to defend Wu Zhongwen.

After all, no matter what, these two people are big figures at the level of legion commanders. If they quarrel or even fight in the command center, the people below will be laughed at.

"Hmph, stop talking to me about these useless nonsense!" Zhang Kui roared, and after venting his anger, his emotions calmed down a little.

He sat down on the chair angrily, but his tone was still full of strong dissatisfaction and resentment when he spoke.

Since the battle began, the casualties on the National Army side have been soaring and have remained high.

Faced with such a serious situation, Zhang Kui felt extremely miserable.

Even though he was helpless and had countless difficulties, he could only grit his teeth and bear it, forcibly suppressing his soldiers and resolutely carrying out various difficult combat plans.

Originally, he had hoped to gain an advantageous position on the battlefield through this huge sacrifice.

But things went against their wishes. What no one expected was that after paying the heavy price of nearly 30,000 soldiers, the coalition forces they formed not only failed to gain any advantage, but instead suffered a series of defeats on the battlefield, and the territory they occupied became smaller and smaller.

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable, and that it wouldn't be long before the entire Central Plains Province would fall into the hands of the enemy, how could he not be anxious!

I should never have listened to Wu Zhongwen's battle plan. If I had known it would be like this, I would have withdrawn earlier so that my brothers could have a break. There would be no need to worry all day long to prevent enemy bombing and sneak attacks.

"Boss Zhang, now that things have come to this, I really need to take the lion's share of the responsibility for what has happened!"

After a long silence, Wu Zhongwen finally turned around slowly. His complicated eyes contained countless hardships and irritations. He just looked straight at the other person, slightly moving the corners of his lips and letting out a sigh.

"These past few days, I've been thinking about the gap between the coalition forces and the independent army. I want to start from this aspect and find a way to make up for the shortcomings of our coalition forces."

Having said that, Wu Zhongwen shook his head unconsciously, with a hint of helplessness on his face.

"However, after some in-depth research, I was shocked to realize that the gap between us is simply an insurmountable chasm! This huge gap is definitely not something that can be easily caught up and bridged in a short period of time..."

"Humph, you're looking for excuses when you can't win?"

Zhang Kui crossed his arms in front of his chest, glanced at Wu Zhongwen, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a disdainful sneer, and his eyes were full of contempt and ridicule, as if he was looking at a clown.

"Wu Zhongwen, Wu Zhongwen, you're already in your forties, why are you still so hypocritical?"

Having said that, Zhang Kui paused, and then continued aggressively.

"They're all the same people, armed with the same guns and loaded with the same bullets. Do you think a coalition shell hitting their heads won't kill them? That's sheer nonsense!"

Zhang Kui's words were like a sharp sword, piercing Wu Zhongwen's heart, making it difficult for him to resist.

"Remember before the war? Our Independence Army had less than 250,000 or 260,000 men at most, while yours, including the remnants of the defeated troops from the Central Plains, totaled nearly 320,000. But what was the result?"

Zhang Kui became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice unconsciously rose an octave.

"Even after this battle, the coalition still has about 200,000 troops, but what about us?"

"Aside from those seriously and slightly wounded, the number of soldiers who can actually pick up their guns and charge into battle to bravely kill the enemy is already less than 180,000! Why is there such a huge disparity? I don't need to explain it any further, do I?"

"That's what I want to say!" Wu Zhongwen met his aggressive gaze, like an enraged lion, exuding majesty and courage.

He flipped through the documents on the table, his fingers trembling slightly, as if these papers were carrying a heavy burden.

"From the beginning of this war until now, why have we faced such heavy casualties in manpower? Why has the number of combatants been reduced again and again?" At this time, Wu Zhongwen had already firmly controlled the right to speak on the entire incident. Anger made his originally pale face quickly turn red, like a ripe apple.

He stretched out his index finger in anger, poked at the shocking numbers on the document, and started cursing.

"Open your eyes and take a good look! In just two weeks, reports of massive casualties are pouring in every day. Even on days when there aren't any large-scale battles, there are still significant casualties. Isn't this enough to warrant serious attention?"

The rage he'd suppressed for so long finally erupted like a volcano, and Wu Zhongwen felt a surge of relief. He stared at the person across from him, eyes wide, and continued to question.

"Especially your Fourth Army. The situation is appallingly dire! When they first marched into the Central Plains, they reported a strength of 38,000 men. However, only two weeks have passed, and now there are only a little over 26,000 left."

As he spoke, he threw the National Army's data summary on the table, then flipped through the pages, pointing at each piece of data one by one with his finger, and demanded a reasonable explanation from the other party.

Zhang Kui picked up the document on the table and read it carefully page by page and line by line.

Although he already knew in his heart that Wu Zhongwen's doubts were not groundless, he still did not think it was a big problem. It was just a few false reports of people drawing some empty salaries. It was not a big deal.

"The Fourth Army successfully withstood the fierce offensive of the Independence Army in the Tangxian and Xinxian areas. Not only that, they also engaged in direct confrontation with the enemy's mechanized forces and experienced several fierce battles."

"In such an environment, large casualties are inevitable!" Zhang Kui explained convincingly.

However, Wu Zhongwen, who was standing by, interrupted him mercilessly: "I don't think so!"

The next second, he took out another set of statistics, intending to explain this issue clearly.

"Look at this! It's just an analysis of the situation compiled by internal intelligence personnel and Qianhu Province!"

"It clearly points out that the Fourth Army has personnel discrepancies. A force of 30,000 men was falsely reported as 38,000 men. The death toll was arbitrarily falsified in an attempt to fill various gaps through combat losses!"