Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Clearly, the frontline commander's words fully embodied the essence of guerrilla tactics: fight if you can, retreat if you can't, and never fight to the death.

Just as the reinforcements from Chaozhou were discussing a relaxed and flexible tactic, Li Qiwei, on the American side, was furious at the sight of the Southern Chaozhou army retreating like a tide. He drew his pistol and fired several shots into the air.

However, Li Qiwei was also rational and did not draw his gun and fire at the retreating Nanchao Guo soldiers, because doing so would cause a mutiny or even a counterattack.

It's important to understand that becoming a supervisory team member isn't easy; one wrong move and it could cause a mutiny, since the Southern Tide Kingdom isn't just holding a stick.

If we rashly open fire on deserters, it might provoke a counterattack, since soldiers are all hot-blooded young men.

This was especially true when the soldiers were conscripted. For example, during the war of liberation, many of the supervising officers in Lao Ji's army were shot and killed by deserters.

The army of Nanchaoguo was not much better than that of Laozi, which is why their fighting spirit and morale were so low.

However, Li Qiwei's shouts were hoarse from trying to clear the air of these demoralized Nanchao soldiers, so he could only turn to the messenger beside him and say:
"Order the military police to stop all Nanchao soldiers, issue them guns and uniforms, and restore control of these soldiers. Soldiers who refuse to obey orders will be dealt with by military law!"

Then he said to the communications soldier:

"Contact the Air Force and have the Fifth Air Force bombard the reinforcements from Kaesong to Khan City with all its might. Delay them for as long as possible. I'm starting to understand Woko better now. We're too short-handed, which is why we had to let the Southern Chao army take the lead. But they collapsed too quickly!"

After saying this, Li Qiwei sat back in the carriage and then said to the intelligence officer:
"Let's go back to Khan City!"

The intelligence officer, puzzled, asked:
"I'm not going to the front lines!"

"The safety of our military is now our top priority!"

After Li Qiwei finished speaking, he told the driver to turn around and go back to Khan City.

However, after Wang Gensheng killed the commander of the Southern Tide Kingdom, he did not stop. Instead, he used skis to lead the Marines to quickly glide through the snow and head towards Khan City.

With Wang Gensheng's mental scan and Li Xiu's super night vision, the Marines managed to avoid all the Nanchao Guo soldiers and US soldiers without incident.

The Imjin River is only 40 kilometers away from Khan City in a straight line, and even a powerful howitzer could reach Khan City.

Although Wang Gensheng took a detour to avoid the American and Southern Chao troops along the way, he still managed to reach Khan City in just half a night with the help of his skis.

Of course, Wang Gensheng's rush to Khan City was not to carry out a decapitation strike against Li Qiwei there.

Of course, it would be even better if Li Qiwei could be beheaded, as this would prevent him from developing his magnetic tactics. Indeed, Li Qiwei was a very capable commander; otherwise, he wouldn't have come up with the magnetic tactics. It's worth noting that he was appointed to the Chaoguo battlefield in a time of crisis.

Li Qiwei graduated from West Point Military Academy and spent most of his time teaching at his alma mater, West Point, before the outbreak of World War II.

After the outbreak of World War II, he went to the battlefield and fought in both the Pacific and European theaters, so Michael Asher and Howell were his superiors.

In December 1950, Li Qiwei succeeded Woko, who died in a car accident, as commander of the US Eighth Army. Before taking office, he met with his old principal and superior, Michael Asahi. At this time, Michael Asahi had lost his former arrogance. He appeared very irritable and full of complaints. He cursed the US Air Force for being useless and the South Korean army for being a bunch of good-for-nothings.

However, what Li Qiwei wanted to hear was how to reverse this defeat. On this topic, Michael Aser didn't say a word. Li Qiwei tentatively asked what to do if the Soviet Union intervened, and whether to fight more aggressively in South Korea. Michael Aser's attitude was extremely pessimistic. He believed that the US army might have to retreat to the Japanese.

The only thing that made Li Qiwei feel gratified was that when he asked, "If the conditions are favorable to me, can I launch a counterattack?" his old principal readily agreed, saying, "Matthew, the Eighth Army is now yours. Do a good job."

Upon arriving at the unit, Li Qiwei quickly discovered that it was a bewildered army. The soldiers were confused and panicked, which was understandable. Just a few months ago, they, like their supreme commander, Michael Ase, who always had an old corn pipe in his mouth, were full of contempt for the Huaguo army and believed that once they clashed with this army, a massacre would ensue.

Michael Aser and most of the US military were half right; the killing did indeed take place, but they became the lambs to the slaughter.

After taking office, Li Qiwei traveled to all the US military garrisons in South China and asked the local commanders what tactics they could use to defeat the reinforcements. The answers he received were consistent: no matter what method was used, it was impossible to defeat the Chinese army.

Li Qiwei, who patrolled the US military positions, always had a grenade hanging on his shoulder. This image is etched in people's memories, just like his predecessor Michael Aser's image of smoking an old corn pipe.

Li Qiwei, with grenades slung over his shoulder, certainly wasn't as cool as Michael Ase, who was smoking an old corncob pipe. However, Li Qiwei's image with grenades slung over his shoulder more clearly told every soldier on the front line that he, Li Qiwei, was there to fight.

The general with a grenade slung over his shoulder gave the US army a glimmer of hope. Under Li Qiwei's reorganization, the morale of the US army recovered somewhat, and the South Korean army even briefly resembled a cohesive force. However, with the arrival of the Chaozhou reinforcements and the launch of the Third Campaign, the morale that Li Qiwei had painstakingly restored was quickly shattered. Everything returned to square one, or even worse than before.

After all, the repeated defeats left the Nan Chao army with the impression that the reinforcements from Chaozhou were an invincible force.

At the same time, it left the impression on the US military that the aid-to-Chaozhou army was an invincible force.

Once this mark is left, let alone fighting, it's possible that American soldiers might surrender immediately upon seeing reinforcements from Chaozhou.

Morale is extremely important for an army; if an army's morale collapses, then that army is finished.

As a veteran, Li Qiwei knew that only a victory could truly save the morale of the Allied forces, and to win, one must understand one's own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of the enemy—this was without a doubt.

Michael Aser was blinded by his previous victories, convinced that the US army would simply overwhelm the reinforcements. When the expected crushing defeat failed to materialize, he collapsed. Clearly, this kind of thinking makes it unlikely to win a war. This mindset is similar to Xiang Yu during the Chu-Han Contention, who believed himself to be infinitely powerful when things were going well, and infinitely weak when faced with setbacks. (End of Chapter)