Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 216 Abandoned Oil Depot
But you can't blame Lao Zi for this, after all, the Du Lu were at a huge disadvantage back then!

Who knew they could pull off such a miraculous comeback!

Of course, no matter how many twists and turns there are behind it, it still comes down to winning or losing on the battlefield. If you lose on the battlefield, then all the efforts behind the scenes are meaningless.

The commanders of the Third Field Army were also very decisive. After discovering that Pantang Town had been occupied by Lao Jing's troops and was supported by bombers, and that they could not gain an advantage, they immediately and decisively withdrew the Seventh Column and stopped fighting with them.

There's no point in getting entangled any further; the most important task at hand is to deal with Huang Baitao's army.

As for the rest, that's a matter for later. The General Headquarters also agreed with the Third Field Army's decision. After all, if the strategic objective cannot be achieved, it's better to withdraw proactively and preserve strength than to waste resources in vain.

The general command wanted the victory of the entire Huaihai Campaign, not the gain or loss of a single city or town. After all, war is not about saving face.

Moreover, the general commander's decision is to fight only when victory is assured and retreat when defeat is not possible. Although large-scale troop operations have now been adopted, the flexible style of guerrilla warfare can still be carried forward.

However, this strategic retreat was great news for Lao Jing. Since the defeat in the Liaoshen Campaign, there had been no good news. So, in the face of this, Lao Jing decided to send reporters to take pictures and record the event in detail.

As the commander of Xuzhou, Liu Zhi was not good at commanding battles, but he was very good at understanding Lao Zi's thoughts.

I understand that Old Man needs a big win to boost everyone's morale.

Therefore, Liu Zhi had to put on a grand victory celebration, but Du Yuming, who still had the backbone and dignity of a soldier, complained to Qiu Qingquan, the person in charge of setting up the stage:
"Aren't you afraid of giving yourself away by setting up this stage like this?"

However, before Qiu Qingquan could say anything, Liu Zhi immediately interjected:
"Alas! The defeat of the Liberation Army is a fact! We just made the fire burn even brighter!"

However, Du Yuming refuted Liu Zhi's explanation, saying:
"This is simply self-deception. The main force of the relief army was not seriously damaged in front of the teacher. Such false propaganda will only confuse the public!"

Liu Zhi sighed helplessly at Du Yuming's insistence on taking things so seriously:

"Guangting, why take it so seriously! Nanjing needs this kind of news, and the old man needs it even more—it's truly inspiring!"

However, despite Liu Zhi's words, Du Yuming still asked earnestly:
"Is this what the chief wants to do?"

In response to Du Yuming's earnest question, Liu Zhi clicked his tongue and said:
"Why make Xiao Changming say this? Guangting, I am not as good as you when it comes to fighting, but when it comes to politics, you must listen to your teacher and learn to understand the superior's intentions!"

No sooner had Liu Zhi finished speaking than Qiu Qingquan interjected:
"The CEO is right, Du Siling, let's cooperate properly!"

With Liu Zhi and Qiu Qingquan, both superiors and subordinates, echoing each other, Du Yuming couldn't say anything more.

After all, Du Yuming understood that boosting morale at this time would be extremely beneficial, so he could only pretend not to see it.

However, Lao Jing's publicity was extremely effective, at least making the Suzhou observer in the capital a little uneasy.

However, it is obvious that Lao Zi, or rather Qiu Qingquan, was not very good at disguising himself, as the photos he took of the prisoners of war from the Liberation Army were full of flaws.

For example, they might dress the soldiers in the uniforms of the Liberation Army, but not their shoes; they would still wear leather shoes instead of the Liberation Army's foot shoes.

However, while Lao Zi was celebrating enthusiastically, the soldiers of Huang Baitao's army in Nianzhuang were exhausted, out of ammunition and food.

Of course, these weren't the most important things. The most important thing was that instead of airdropping food, Lao Zi (a nickname for a military commander) only sent small planes to drop newspapers to show the achievements made in Pantang Town. At this time, Huang Baitao's army had been besieged for many days, and their most important food supply had run out. They were now basically starving.

However, Lao Zi hadn't completely forgotten Huang Baitao; instead, he sent Huang Wei's army from the 12th Army Corps.

You have to understand, the 12th Army Corps is no ordinary army corps. It's practically a fully mechanized army corps, and it has a large number of tanks!

…………

"Is the marking clear? How many oil depots are there at Xuzhou Airport?"

Hiding in the woods, Wang Gensheng asked Li Xiu, "That's right, Wang Gensheng has been thinking about how to blow up Xuzhou Airport. At the very least, he wants to prevent the B-24 bombers from taking off."

For Wang Gensheng, it was better to make these bombers mere decorations than to blow them up directly.

It's important to know that although the B-24 bomber can carry up to three and a half tons of bombs, its fuel consumption is also quite high.

It can achieve a fuel consumption of more than 200 liters per 100 kilometers, so Lao Jing does not add much fuel each time in order to save fuel. After all, Xuzhou Airport is very close to the battlefield, so he only adds a small amount of fuel. This not only saves fuel consumption, but also makes it more conducive to the take-off and landing of the aircraft.

Of course, these are not the main points. The main point is that the old man's aircraft fuel is mainly supplied by the United States.

Therefore, fuel was extremely precious, and bombers were only used in critical moments, such as in the Battle of Pantang Town.

Therefore, destroying the fuel depot at Xuzhou Airport would cause even greater damage than destroying the bombers.

Of course, more importantly, if Wang Gensheng had destroyed the fuel depot at Xuzhou Airport without damaging the bombers, the bombers might have fallen intact into the hands of the Liberation Army.

After all, according to the plot, Xuzhou will be completely conquered in two months at most. At that time, the fighter jets and even bombers at Xuzhou Airport that are out of fuel will naturally fall into the hands of the Liberation Army.

Of course, this is all predicated on the assumption that Lao Zi will not send troops to destroy the bombers and fighter jets parked at Xuzhou Airport.

As Wang Gensheng inquired, Li Xiu took out a small notebook and answered him:

"Si Ling, we've observed that there are four fuel storage depots at Xuzhou Airport, located in four different corners of the airport. It won't be easy for us to destroy them all at the same time!"

Upon hearing Li Xiu's words, Wang Gensheng frowned. Clearly, the construction of Xuzhou Airport had taken into account the possibility of the fuel depot being attacked or suddenly catching fire.

Therefore, the fuel depot was divided into four parts and built in the four corners of the airport. This way, even if the enemy wanted to sabotage or destroy the fuel depot, it wouldn't be so easy.

However, even if it's not easy, it still has to be destroyed. After all, even if it's not destroyed at all, it can still attract the attention of the old pheasant army in Pantang Town, preventing them from putting all their energy into the frontal battlefield.

Just as Wang Gensheng was pondering how to attack, Li Xiu said again:

"However, when I was observing, I noticed that when they were refueling the bombers, the refueling trucks only refueled from the fuel depot on the east side!"

(End of this chapter)