Blood-Red Front

On the battlefield, watching the people cleaning up, Lin Zhiyuan shouted, "When cleaning up, finish off the enemies first before looting the corpses. Be careful that the enemy doesn't pull a grenade and take us all down with them. We've already won, so don't let this turn into an unexpected disaster."

"yes!"……

Matsui, a newly promoted soldier who was pretending to be dead on the ground, heard a strange "pfft" sound and, somewhat puzzled, quietly opened his eyes.

Upon seeing the soldiers of the Great Xia Army stabbing one by one with bayonets, Matsui immediately realized that something terrible was about to happen.

If you keep pretending to be dead, you'll actually die.

Seeing that he could no longer dodge, Matsui quietly pulled the pin on the instant-explosive grenade he had prepared beforehand.

Just as a Shu soldier appeared nearby with a bayonet, ready to finish him off, Matsui suddenly sprang up and grabbed the Shu soldier's leg.

"Long live the Empress!"

With a shout, Matsui slammed the grenade in his hand.

"boom!"

The grenade exploded instantly, and the two people who were hugging each other were blown apart.

"Medic! Medic!" shouted nearby Shu soldiers.

"Fire! Everyone, finish them off with your guns! Don't let your guard down!"

Gunfire erupted again on the position, and the bodies of the newly risen soldiers lying on the ground trembled from the bullets.

Lin Zhiyuan strode to the site of the explosion and saw that the right calf of the Shu soldier lying on the ground had been missing and he was spitting out large amounts of blood.

Lin Zhiyuan's expression was somewhat grave. Losing an arm or a leg was not fatal, but massive internal bleeding meant that, even in later generations, without immediate rescue, there was little chance of survival.

But there is no operating room here.

At this moment, Ma Daxi also came over. Seeing that the soldiers were gradually losing their breath, he squatted down and took out the death flag.

The death flag, originally made of white cloth, was now covered in bloodstains.

Watching Ma Daxi carefully wipe the face of the dead soldier, the silent Lin Zhiyuan suddenly spoke up: "What do you think he was thinking just now? Did he regret coming to Binxi with me?"

After wiping his face, Ma Daxi folded the death flag back up, stood up and looked at Lin Zhiyuan with a very serious expression.

"Battalion Commander, don't look down on people."

"We are not cowards who were able to come to the front lines from our way back to Kyoto."

"I think he would only regret that he can no longer fight on the front lines."

Looking at the corpses on the ground, and then at the people still busy on the battlefield, Lin Zhiyuan's eyes became even more determined.

"Yes, he's walked thousands of kilometers, so how could he be afraid?"

"With you all here, what is there to fear from a mere newly risen nation! I will definitely lead you to counterattack and retake the newly risen homeland!"

"I heard that the emperor of the Rising Kingdom is a woman. I'll definitely make this damn empress dance for you."

Upon hearing this, Ma Daxi burst into laughter: "Then I'll be waiting! I've never seen anyone dance before, let alone an empress."

Lin Zhiyuan laughed loudly: "I'll definitely let you watch to your heart's content, and make that woman dance for you a few more times."

……

Just as Lin Zhiyuan and Ma Daxi were laughing heartily, Ji Qiu walked over.

From a distance, Ji Qiu greeted him, "Major Lin, on behalf of the 6th Regiment, I thank you for arriving at the critical moment. Otherwise, this position would have been in danger, and I might have died here too."

Wang Xiaoliu had mentioned Lin Zhiyuan's name to Ji Qiu before, but Ji Qiu hadn't taken it seriously at the time. However, now that he saw Lin Zhiyuan's age, Ji Qiu became much more polite.

A major who is so young must have some connections.

"Commander Ji, you're too kind. We are both soldiers, and it is our responsibility to defend against foreign enemies."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Zhiyuan pointed to the battlefield before them and said, "According to orders from the military headquarters, the Independent Battalion will also be fighting in Wenhe. Commander Ji, how about entrusting this position to the Independent Battalion for defense?"

"Of course, no problem." Ji Qiu nodded in agreement.

The 6th Regiment was already severely understaffed, and Ji Qiu naturally agreed wholeheartedly to Lin Zhiyuan's willingness to alleviate his burden.

"But there's something we need to clarify first." Ji Qiu changed the subject: "If the Independent Battalion takes over the position, then the command...?"

"The Independent Battalion is naturally under the command of the 6th Regiment," Lin Zhiyuan affirmed.

In war, it is most taboo to issue multiple orders. Since we are going to fight side by side, the first thing to do is to solve the problem of command authority. If we cannot coordinate, it will lead to serious problems.

Hearing Lin Zhiyuan's straightforwardness, Ji Qiu was overjoyed.

Although Ji Qiu did not ask about Lin Zhiyuan's identity, based on Lin Zhiyuan's surname and age, he could deduce that Lin Zhiyuan must be related to the chief prosecutor.

It's extremely rare to see a young master with such a background willing to obey his superiors.

"Brother Lin is so generous, and I, Ji Qiu, am not a stingy person either." Ji Qiu patted his chest and said, "I will leave the original 7th Company on the position for you to command directly."

"Thank you, Commander Ji." Lin Zhiyuan did not refuse.

For him, the more troops he controlled, the greater the role he could play.

……

After the handover of the position was completed, Lin Zhiyuan did not stay at the battalion headquarters.

Although he had a mini-map and could have a general overview of the situation without leaving the camp, it was equally important for the soldiers to see his presence.

After a quick tour of the position, Lin Zhiyuan soon discovered the problem.

This position was previously dug by the 6th Regiment, who constructed a relatively complete front-line position, but their anti-artillery defense was not as comprehensive.

Lin Zhiyuan gestured on the trench wall and said to Ma Daxi, who was standing beside him, "We need to dig more anti-artillery foxholes on the trench wall. They don't need to be big, just enough for one or two people."

The trenches were all W-shaped bends. If you simply huddled inside the trench to protect yourself from artillery fire, once a shell landed inside the trench, the soldiers within that bend would suffer heavy casualties from the shockwave and shrapnel.

Although the probability is not high, we cannot be complacent, since the infantry guns and mountain guns of the newly established army can all fire shells at a high angle.

However, as long as simple cat-ear holes are dug in the trench walls, soldiers can huddle inside and the shockwaves and shrapnel will not have any effect.

As for the soldiers who were hit squarely by the shells, their luck had run out, and even a god couldn't help them.

Ma Daxi had fought in many battles, and Lin Zhiyuan only needed to make a simple gesture and explain it to him before he immediately understood what it meant.

"I'll organize the excavation right away."

"The hole can be smaller, but remember to raise it a bit," Lin Zhiyuan added.

In Binxi, you'll find water if you dig down one and a half meters, and the trenches will become very muddy.

Digging slightly higher into foxholes not only provided shelter from artillery fire but also made it easier for soldiers to rest at night, even if they could only curl up in a cramped position.

"yes!"

Ma Daxi also clearly understands how important it is to have a cool place to rest.

After patrolling the positions of the First Company, Lin Zhiyuan went to the positions of the Second and Seventh Companies.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

Lin Zhiyuan now understood how the position had been breached.

I don’t know if it was because of time constraints, but the 6th Regiment didn’t build any deep defensive positions at all!

This is when big problems will arise.

Lin Zhiyuan decisively withdrew the 7th Company from the front line. Their next task was to dig a trench.

Without three lines of defense—front, middle, and rear—it would have been absolutely impossible to stop the attack of the Rising Army.