Seven Seas Beacon Fire

The news coming from the other end of the phone was not good!

After hanging up the phone, President Wilson looked at Hoffman and said, "The enemy has broken through our defenses."

"Breaked through the defenses?" Hoffman asked with some concern. "Has the western front been breached?"

Previously, Xixian was the front line under the greatest pressure for the Federal Army. After all, with the support of naval artillery, even local mobilized troops could defeat the most elite troops of the Federal Army within the range of naval artillery support fire. Artillery is the god of war, and this statement carries weight!

However, President Wilson shook his head: "An enemy force has crossed the Central Mountains and broken through our defenses on the Eastern Front."

"They've crossed the Central Mountain Range?!" Hoffman's first reaction was—was this intelligence really not some joke from the front lines? That's the Central Mountain Range, with a maximum altitude of over 4000 meters and an average altitude of over one or two thousand meters!

This isn't in a place like the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; this is on a large island at an altitude of one or two thousand meters!

You can say that it's one thing for a few hikers to cross over, but a large, organized group of hikers crossing over from here?

Did these Chinese people grow wings and fly there?

And the more crucial question is—would the enemy continue to advance northward and directly cut off the retreat route of hundreds of thousands of federal troops to Sandakan?

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"You bunch of cowards, don't try to convince me that the enemy you're fighting is any different from the ones you've fought before. I don't care if they're elite troops sent from the mainland to reinforce you. The 16th Infantry Division was routed the day before yesterday, and even their commander was captured by the enemy. Now it's your turn to drop the ball? They're elite, but aren't you?! You're the 1st Marine Division!"

Pan Xing vented his anger on the other end of the phone: "I don't need your excuses now. I know you retreated to rest, I know you're not fully manned, but your enemy crossed over from the Central Mountain Range. They didn't carry any weapons larger than 60mm mortars, yet you were still defeated! Li Zongdi's personal guard isn't made of gods! I demand you immediately plug the breach! No retreat, that's my order!"

After slamming the phone down, Pan Xing was still furious. Although he was also amazed that the enemy had managed to send an elite force across the Central Mountain Range to attack them, what he found even more unacceptable was that his own troops had been stunned by the enemy's surprise attack and then ordered a retreat.

He couldn't believe that troops capable of such combat missions were common in Borneo; otherwise, the enemy could have easily routed the federal army with a frontal attack.

He believed that such elite troops were extremely rare, even under the command of the Tang emperor. Moreover, in order to cross the mountains, they certainly did not have enough supplies and logistics, and they were simply not capable of penetrating deeper into the territory after breaking through the defenses.

But now, the commanders of his troops seem to have lost the ability to think calmly.

This is bad!

Chapter 171 Using Intimidation

In another world, the armies of Western countries love to do one thing: maintain their military myth.

For example, decades after the Korean War, the Americans kept arguing about modifying the exchange ratio between the F-86 and the MiG-15, using every possible word to try and maintain the superiority of American-made fighter jets over Soviet-made ones.

For example, in the Bekaa Valley air battle, Israel insisted that the exchange ratio was 85:0, and firmly denied that it had lost several tactical aircraft in the Syrian Air Force. Although in our view, there is not much difference between an exchange ratio of 85:0 and 85 to some other ratio, and these are all brilliant achievements of the Israeli Air Force, Israel is adamant about its zero losses.

What is all this for?

It's not for their military enthusiasts to have fun arguing online.

This is to create a military myth, to build an invincible image, and to make the enemy feel inferior from the start when they fight against them.

However, manipulating morale and public sentiment has never been a Western invention.

"I really didn't expect this. At the beginning of this year, we fought against this 5st Marine Division. They were a tough nut to crack. One of their divisions almost wiped out all five of our divisions on the outskirts of Dongdu." Li Yaguang looked at the telegram that had been sent back and sighed at how the tables had turned.

His other division and army commanders under his command nodded in agreement with his remarks.

While the Federation Army may lack some finesse in combat and its troop organization may be somewhat clumsy, its divisions are truly formidable, with over 2 men who can charge across the battlefield like wild boars. Moreover, the number of heavy machine guns and field artillery they possess far surpasses that of the Song army of similar numbers.

Moreover, thanks to the "simple and honest folk customs" of the North American region, the front-line officers and soldiers of the Federation Army, especially the riflemen, generally had good marksmanship. In fact, the first batch of Federation Army troops to arrive on the European battlefield had given the Levant Army some small surprises with their superb rifle marksmanship. However, this was probably the only highlight of the early Federation Army troops on the European battlefield.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the 1st Marine Division, with its decent individual soldier quality, large size, and well-equipped forces, is definitely a formidable opponent and a tough nut to crack on the battlefield.

But this tough nut was pried open so easily today.

It was so relaxed that it made one wonder if the enemy was feigning weakness.

However, on the one hand, the Federal Army had not shown such tactical acumen before. On the other hand, although they did not capture the division commander like they did with the 16th Division of Colombia this time, they still managed to reach the headquarters of the 1st Cavalry Division, seize a large number of divisional documents, and even kill the 1st Cavalry Division Chief of Staff who was still trying to organize a defense at the last moment.

Even in a play, you wouldn't do it like that.

“The morale of the Federation is about to collapse.” Wu Yushan walked over, smiling as he pointed to the telegram: “The Navy’s defeat cannot be concealed. After all, the large-scale artillery bombardment launched by our Navy along the coastline is something the Federation cannot cover up no matter how hard they try. And the retreat of the Federation Navy means that for the officers and soldiers of the Federation Army and Marine Corps who are still fighting on Yanping Island, panic will spread uncontrollably among the troops.”

"No one can help but worry about whether they'll be able to go home." The joy on Li Yaguang's face didn't last long. Faced with such good news, he could only sigh helplessly: "Unfortunately, the quality of the troops we have right now is just..."

The local Yanping troops currently fighting on the battlefield are divided into the Song Prince's regular army and local mobilization troops. The Song Prince's regular army can be basically regarded as an artillery-enhanced version of the National Revolutionary Army's reorganized divisions, while the local mobilization troops are even more uneven in quality and can be regarded as equivalent to other National Revolutionary Army units—but they are paid full pay.

It must be acknowledged that many units within the National Revolutionary Army, fueled by patriotism and with officers of relatively high moral standards who were less likely to exploit their soldiers, were able to "steadfastly defend" their positions quite well.

But expecting these troops to launch an attack would be asking too much of them.

In the movie "The Great Battle," many people pointed out that the biggest continuity error was the aerial shot of Huang Wei's army marching. If the historical Nationalist army could have marched in such a formation and organized such a complex mix of infantry and motorized units, they would never have lost the war.

“The predicament we are facing now is difficult to resolve in the short term,” Wu Yushan admitted. “The situation in the country is not stable either. His Majesty can only mobilize a few division-level units to fight here at most. Your brother units are in harsh conditions and have been at a loss for more than a year. Although many veterans have been trained, the mobilized troops are full of new recruits.”

Ordinary offensive forces are difficult to deploy. Even if we use our troops as the main force and employ assault tactics to break through the enemy's defenses, we do not have the decisive ability to penetrate deeper and further create a breach.

However, this does not mean we should give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Psychological warfare has always been a crucial factor in war; otherwise, the Eastern Jin Dynasty would have had no hope of winning the Battle of Fei River.

As Wu Yushan spoke, he walked to the map again and used his baton to point to several large groups of Federal troops marked on the battle map in turn: "Tai Chi emphasizes using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds and borrowing the force to strike. We will take advantage of the Federal Army's current fear and completely overwhelm them in terms of momentum. We know that we do not have the ability to fight an encirclement and annihilation battle. I believe that Pan Xing also knows this, but most of the Federal Army's rank-and-file officers and soldiers do not know this. I also do not believe that Pan Xing has a way to make these Federal Army officers and soldiers realize this in a short period of time."

Fear can destroy the enemy's will to fight, but that doesn't mean our counterattack is just for show. I've seen some charlatan Tai Chi masters on the street, all skin and bones. Such bodies can't possibly move mountains with a little force.

We must launch an offensive with all our might and within the limits of our military. Now is not the time to worry about casualties. The essence of using minimal force to overcome great strength is that we ourselves must first possess immense strength. Only in this way, when we want to borrow strength from the enemy, can we force them to do so whether they want to or not!

When he got excited, Wu Yushan couldn't help but roll up his sleeves, revealing his impressively muscular arm, especially his well-developed biceps. It made one feel that this general shouldn't be wearing a modern military uniform and sitting in the command room directing battles. He should be wearing ancient armor, riding a tall horse, wielding a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and looking down on everyone as chickens and dogs, ready to strike them down. That would be more fitting.

Wu Yushan's words can be seen as the official signal that the Tang-Song allied forces had launched a full-scale offensive. Compared with the offensive operations launched in local areas in the previous few days, after the Tang army's 54th Mountain Infantry Division crossed the Central Mountain Range and broke through the position of the 1st Marine Division, an offensive like a wave was launched on the long front line stretching from the coast of Dongdu all the way to the foot of the western side of the Central Mountain Range.

As everyone knows, most troops on the defensive tend to exaggerate the pressure they face when attacked. After all, if you don't report the situation to your superiors as serious, you can forget about getting priority support.

There was a comical scene in a certain anti-Japanese war TV series where, when the puppet troops were attacked, after reporting up the chain of command, even though there were only a few dozen people and a borrowed small cannon on the other side, the report to the Japanese superiors was that they had encountered the rumored main force of the Eighth Army.

Many viewers joked at the time that if the story continued, the Eighth Prince would even have an aircraft carrier.

However, this is actually understandable, because on the battlefield, each unit is only responsible for its own duties. If the superior tells me to hold this front line, then I must hold it to the death. If I can't hold it, it is my responsibility. If my flank unit fails to hold, it is my duty to lead the retreat. In short, as long as the problem does not originate from me, any problems that occur elsewhere are not directly related to me.

However, at this moment, the telegrams requesting assistance, flying like snowflakes to the Federal Army's front-line command, almost became a form of "full-band jamming" for the Federal Army itself, and even affected Pershing's normal troop movements.

Chapter 172 On the way back to Beijing

On the special train back to Yingtian Prefecture, Li Che looked at the situation map of both sides, which he had compiled before departure based on the information sent back from the Prince of Song's residence. He could hardly believe that the situation had progressed so smoothly.

In his vision, even if the navy achieved a more ideal result in the Battle of the Bashi Channel—for example, destroying an additional federal fleet's capital ship and allowing the Tang army to regain a numerical advantage over the federal army instead of the current balance of power—Li Che never thought that the war in Yanping could be ended this year.

After all, as had been argued in the Oval Office, there were indeed over a million Commonwealth people on that island, and the two sides remained deadlocked along the entire front until the end of the Battle of the Bashi Channel.

Under normal circumstances, for such a stalemate that has lasted for several months to change dramatically in a short period of time, there is basically only one scenario: one side has amassed enough troops and committed them at a crucial moment—such as the Battle of Stalingrad.

With little change in troop strength on both sides, even if one side receives reinforcements of elite troops, it might make some progress piecemeal, but it is almost impossible to change the situation in a short period of time.

In his original plan, the war situation might still depend on the navy gradually tightening the logistics of the Federation forces at sea, and after more than half a year or even almost a year of attrition, and continuous piecemeal attacks on the ground battlefield, it would finally be able to completely reverse the current stalemate between the two sides.

After all, while the Federation Army may not be good at offense, they are very good at defensive maneuvers.

However, the Federation Army is now in a state of partial collapse. This collapse is not because they have actually suffered a devastating blow, but because the panic among these units has spread.

Especially on the Eastern Front, where it was hundreds of kilometers from Pershing's command post, these federal troops, far from the reach of central authority, were able to exert more "initiative."

In particular, the 1st Marine Division, fearing that its retreat route would be cut off and that it would be surrounded, began to retreat without informing its allies (in fact, it was not intentional, but rather the command post had been attacked, and almost only the division commander managed to escape and lost his radio). This plunged the units adjacent to the 1st Marine Division into panic about the safety of their flanks.

After this sense of panic began to spread, the other divisions also worried that they would become the unlucky ones who were abandoned to attract the enemy's attention and were eventually caught. So, for a time, these federal troops, with the mentality that it didn't matter if they could outrun the enemy, as long as they could outrun their own troops, began the "Borneo Marathon" movement that would later become famous in military history.

This situation was something no one could have predicted beforehand.

After all, such a performance... compared to the Federation Army's previous performance on the battlefield, is quite surprising.

"How much longer are you going to stare at this map? Are you really going to make something out of this map?"

Zhu Miaoyun carried the big orange cat into the carriage. It was almost noon. Zhu Miaoyun had originally planned to call Li Che to go to the next carriage for lunch, but she found that he had been sitting in the carriage all morning staring at the map.

What are you doing? !

I'm next door!

You've spent the whole morning just looking at maps here?

It's common knowledge that women are jealous of everything in a relationship, not just men. Anything that competes with a man for attention will be disliked by a woman. So, generally speaking, your girlfriend won't like you playing with vinyl figures, WTs, or WOWS.

“It’s not that I’m trying to make a big deal out of the map, it’s just that I feel like I can’t even understand the current Federation Army.” Li Che shook his head: “I don’t know if they’ve been possessed by the South Korean army from another dimension. Their performance is so bad that even Syngman Rhee would shake his head.”

"I remember you once said that the Federation Army in this era was very powerful, didn't you?"

Although Zhu Miaoyun wasn't like that foul-mouthed, irritable beauty in the fictional Ming Dynasty book club that Li Che joined, who had a deep understanding of military affairs and history, she was, after all, his childhood friend with whom he had shared a body. Even if she didn't have much interest in these areas, under Li Che's influence, Zhu Miaoyun could still be considered a semi-military enthusiast.

Before she transmigrated, Zhu Miaoyun had heard Li Che complain a lot that the real power was the Federation, not the Federation Army. The Federation Army had never defeated an opponent of similar size. And if we specifically refer to the Federation Army, then the Federation Army has never been the world's number one at any point in history. This limitation includes 1991, when the Federation Army seemed to be at its strongest.

During Operation Desert Storm, the Federal Army's Abrams and Bradley made a seemingly overwhelming advance, as if they could flip the Iraqi army's roof over their heads with a single punch. But look at the final result: where was the annihilation war you were fighting? With such a huge air superiority and such a massive advantage in ground equipment, you turned an annihilation war into a rout.

However, although the upper limit of the Union Army has never been high, the lower limit of the Union Army has always been quite good compared with the armies of other countries around the world since the beginning of the Union War of Independence.

But now, the performance of the Federal Army and Marine Corps has somewhat fallen below the lower limit of the Federal Army in Li Che's mind.

"The Federation army of this era isn't that great. That's because you're comparing it to the armies of Victoria and Gauld. At least before that, their performance on the battlefield was better than most of the Ming Dynasty's standing army during the Ming Dynasty, except for the garrison troops under my grandfather. The main difference was in the ability and quality of their senior officers." Li Che looked away from the map. "But now they're running for their lives. I've never seen a Federation army like this before."

"What's so strange about that?" Zhu Miaoyun said with disdain: "My motherland before I transmigrated had been beaten so badly on the peninsula that it was like a moldy plant running away with its tail between its legs."

"While I acknowledge that the Union Army's retreat was indeed rapid in the first and second battles, I must point out that the Union Army was initially stunned. Even after realizing they might be surrounded, and despite their hasty retreat—even firing flares over the heads of their British allies for their own safety—they maintained their organizational structure throughout the retreat. The current Union Army, however..."

Li Che smiled and remained silent until the end, but the meaning behind his words was self-evident.

"Isn't this a good thing?" Zhu Miaoyun shoved the big orange cat she was holding into Li Che's arms and rubbed her arm. "Ending the war sooner is good for everyone, especially for the people of Borneo. The war over the past year has brought them countless casualties. The worst peace is better than the best war."

“While I also think this is a good thing, and ending the war sooner is indeed good for us, please allow me to have reservations about your last statement,” Li Che said. “Peace, in most cases, does not come from the charity of the enemy. It is precisely because you have experienced a hellish war that you can win precious peace.”

Zhu Miaoyun stared intently into Li Che's eyes for a while: "Pig, do you know? Maybe back then you thought that because of me in Gaza... Maybe your experience back then has given you this idea now, but if we put aside those children and just consider myself, I'm even a little selfishly glad that bomb fell. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to reunite with you like this. I can't imagine if our situation had continued for 10 or 20 years, would I have gone crazy because of it?"

Li Che was somewhat taken aback by Zhu Miaoyun's sudden, almost confessional, speech.

The topic shifted a bit too quickly.

"Don't you think my thoughts just now were a bit morbid?" Zhu Miaoyun continued to ask, and Li Che slowly nodded.

This woman does seem to have some mental issues.

"I myself feel that this feeling is a bit abnormal. People should cherish their own lives, don't you think?"

"Yes, of course."

"But why is there this bastard who promised me he wouldn't go to the front lines, but then went and ran off on the warship all by himself?" A dangerous glint appeared in Zhu Miaoyun's eyes. Li Che inwardly cursed. His grandfather had interrupted his last purge, and now he was waiting for him here?

"Yunyun, let me explain. The situation was quite special. If I didn't go, my grandfather would have to go, and the country needed him..."

“The country needs someone from your Li family to step forward and set an example, right?” Zhu Miaoyun tapped her head with her hand: “I’m a transmigrator. I don’t remember all of the original memories of this body, but it’s not like I can’t remember anything from before. As a princess, I can understand what you’re saying, but as myself, I can’t accept it.”

Listen to me, Li Che. Originally, I came into this world without anything that mattered to me. But after reuniting with you and recognizing each other, you are the only thing I have in this world. If I leave you, I'll be a truly lost soul. So no matter what your righteous cause is, no matter what your reason, I cannot accept you taking such a risk. This is the first time, and I don't want it to happen again!

Chapter 173 Not a Son of Man

"Alright, alright." Li Che pulled the girl into his arms, letting her head rest against his chest. "Can you hear me now?"

"What did you hear?" The girl being held in his arms was a little confused.

"Listen to my heartbeat," Li Che said softly. "A person's heartbeat changes when they lie, so listen to my heartbeat now. I solemnly assure you that I will never put myself in such a dangerous situation again."

The girl lifted her head from his embrace and looked at him: "You're not lying this time?"

“Even if I wanted to lie to you, I would need to have the opportunity to lie to you in the future.” Li Che smiled and said, “This war is visibly about to end soon. Next will be a 20-year interwar period. Do you think I will have the opportunity to personally go to the battlefield again? I am not Emperor Wuzong of Ming.”

Li Che forced himself to show the most genuine expression possible. He looked tenderly at the girl in his arms, confident that his words would persuade her. His sincere tone, his impeccable logic…

Do you like pregnant women?

Li Che: ? ? ? ? ?

no?????

Li Che felt that when he was talking to the girl in front of him, her thinking suddenly became more limited. How did the topic get to this?

"What are you saying, sister!" Li Che grabbed Zhu Miaoyun's shoulders. "Do you want to hear what kind of outrageous things you've just said?"

"So many emperors have personally led military campaigns, why don't you compare yourself to the Yongle Emperor or the Longwu Emperor, but instead compare yourself to the Ming Wuzong Emperor?" Zhu Miaoyun stared at Li Che: "I know that you always inadvertently reveal things that suit your own egos."

"Girls should be more pure!" Li Che covered his face speechlessly: "Don't casually browse those smut groups created by certain authors, they'll pollute your soul."

"Is it a case of 'the magistrate is allowed to set fires, but the common people are forbidden even to light lamps'? I just need to find out what kind of men you are!" Zhu Miaoyun curled her lip: "Some like Fu Rui, some like lolis, some like NTR characters, only a few like pure love..."

"Shut up, sister!" Li Che quickly covered Zhu Miaoyun's mouth with his hand. "I absolutely don't have those strange fantasies. Put away those thoughts. You're a princess, even in front of me, you should at least maintain some princess-like demeanor, right?"

"Why do you expect me to maintain the princess's airs when it's just the two of us?" Zhu Miaoyun pushed Li Che's hand away. "Is it so you can increase your attack speed later? You have quite a few women around you now. I think you just want to build a harem, don't you?"

Li Che finally understood. This was his aunt taking advantage of the opportunity of his deception to vent the resentment that had been building up in her heart. That's how women are when they argue; there's no reasoning with them.

"Don't take your grievances out on me. That girl from Yingzhou is clearly trying to arrange a political marriage. This isn't something I can decide on my own. You know that. In fact, it's your Zhu family's responsibility."