Blood-Red Front

Upon hearing the cannon fire, the soldiers of the 6th Regiment tensed up.

However, the sound of the cannon came and went quickly, stopping after only two or three minutes.

After calming the troops down, Lin Zhiyuan asked, "Chief of Staff, how many shots were fired in that last burst?"

Guan Jianchu thought for a moment, "About 20 shots."

Lin Zhiyuan nodded: "Four rounds each time, with a half-minute interval between shells. It should be the Type 41 mountain gun company of the newly promoted infantry regiment."

"How far do you think the enemy's artillery is from Ting'an?" Lin Zhiyuan asked again.

"I don't know," Guan Jianchu shook his head.

"This is a simple math problem." Lin Zhiyuan pulled a piece of paper from the side.

"The Type 41 mountain gun has a muzzle velocity of 360 meters per second, and there is a time interval of about twelve or thirteen seconds from when it leaves the barrel to when it explodes upon landing."

"Taking into account the speed of sound propagation, the Chu Sheng Army's artillery positions should be about five to six kilometers south of Ting'an..."

Lin Zhiyuan's voice grew softer and softer as he calculated.

When the cannon fired earlier, he hadn't anticipated any problems, but now, upon reflection, he realized something was terribly wrong.

Guan Jianchu's expression also changed drastically. "How could a newly promoted soldier be here?!"

Ting'an is 35 kilometers away from Huating. It would take the Chusheng Army at least a day of forced marching to reach it after conquering Huating.

However, Huating has not yet fallen, and the troops of Chusheng Army have already arrived in Ting'an South.

Looking towards the direction of the artillery fire to the south, Lin Zhiyuan said in a deep voice, "A deep attack, a flanking maneuver—the newly promoted army has quite the appetite!"

"Commander, should we immediately set up defenses at Ting'an?" Guan Jianchu asked urgently.

Although the 6th Regiment was not among the first wave of troops to retreat, it was still among the top ranks. At this time, there were hundreds of thousands of troops behind them who were retreating in sequence.

Once the nascent army occupies the railway line, it will be difficult for the main force to retreat.

"Ting'an? Is Ting'an Bushi Yaofang?" Lin Zhiyuan pointed to the map and said, "If I were the enemy, I would never be attracted by a small place like Ting'an."

What would happen if we chose to advance directly into Kunshan and then attack Taicang?

Guan Jianchu's expression turned grim: "In that case, hundreds of thousands of Xia troops would probably be surrounded in this triangular area and then wiped out."

The hundreds of thousands of troops in Binxi can be said to be half of the main force of the Xia army. If they are completely annihilated, the Chusheng Army can directly march along the Yangtze River to the Jingchu and Lianghu regions.

Lin Zhiyuan threw down his pencil, stood up straight, and said, "Pass on my order: the troops shall cease rest and immediately turn towards Lujia Town. We will deploy our defenses along the Wusong River."

Lujia Town is located 10 kilometers west of Ting'an, north of the Wusong River.

The Wusong River generally flows from east to west, but it forms a large bend in the shape of the Chinese character "几" along its course, and Lujia Town is located at the top of this bend.

Furthermore, at the bottom of the character "几" there is a 3-kilometer-long canal that was dug by hand, connecting the left and right sides of the bottom of the character "几".

Lin Zhiyuan planned to use the Wusong River to set up three lines of defense: a natural circular defense in the shape of the character "几", the north bank of the Wusong River, and finally, Lujia Town.

Looking at the simple battleground drawn by Lin Zhiyuan on the map, Guan Jianchu said, "Should we contact our superiors?"

"There's no conflict," Lin Zhiyuan said. "Sending telegrams is sending telegrams, and marching is marching."

The situation is extremely urgent. By the time we contact our superiors and wait for a decision, Lujia Town might have already been captured by the Chusheng Army.

Lin Zhiyuan decisively left the First Battalion behind to cover the priests' group, and then led the rest of the Sixth Regiment to Lujia Town at full speed.

……

"What did you say? Enemy troops have appeared in Qingpu?" Chen Zaizhi was shocked when he saw the latest telegram. "What's the situation in Huating now?!"

Qingpu was still 20 kilometers north of Huating, but he did not receive the telegram announcing the fall of Huating.

"The 67th Army in Huating is still fighting," Ren Huasheng said. "What appeared in Qingpu should only be a detachment of the newly promoted army."

Chen Zai slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Huating is still here, yet the Chu Sheng Army dares to venture deep into enemy territory alone! This is simply outrageous!"

"Cough cough cough..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Zaizhi began to cough violently.

The secretary-general, who was standing nearby, quickly patted him on the back.

After a moment, Chen Zaizhi waved his hand and then wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

Seeing that Chen Zaizhi had calmed down, Ren Huasheng put aside his worries and continued, "The Chusheng Army's adventure this time is extremely dangerous. Our main force in Binxi is already in a retreat posture. Once the Chusheng Army advances to Kunshan, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The hundreds of thousands of troops had already shifted from combat to retreat, and at this point, even if they wanted to switch back to combat status, it would probably be too late.

Chang Zhongshi said, "I suggest that the entire army immediately speed up the retreat and race against the Chusheng Army. In a short time, the Chusheng Army should not be able to take Kunshan and Taicang."

"That's not appropriate." Ren Huasheng shook his head.

"The infantry is fine, but our tank units, heavy artillery regiments, and supply trucks all have to cross the railway bridge. If they go through the Taicang area, all our heavy weapons will be lost."

"What are your thoughts? Just say it," Chen Zai said.

"According to the withdrawal plan, the main force of Binxi will need three more days to withdraw to the west of Wuxian. In other words, we now need a force to hold off the newly promoted army for three days."

As he spoke, Ren Huasheng looked at Lin Xing, the chief prosecutor of the procuratorate, who was standing to the side.

"According to the established retreat plan, the unit closest to the Rising Army at this time is the 6th Regiment, which is covering the retreat of the priesthood."

Both Lin Xing and Chen Zaizhi's expressions changed immediately.

They all knew who the commander of the 6th Regiment was.

Although the size of the Rising Army assault force is still unclear, it is certain that their numbers are considerable, otherwise the progress would not be so fast.

Local security forces were stationed in various places along the way, but they failed to stop the spread of the virus at all, which speaks volumes.

In this situation, it's easy to imagine what would happen to a regiment that is not fully staffed and consists mostly of new recruits when they try to block the breach.

Even Lin Zhiyuan, the regimental commander, might be included in the list.

Although Lin Xing's expression changed, he did not hesitate.

"Then let Lin Zhiyuan lead the 6th Regiment."

Chen Zaizhi hesitated; his old friend only had one son.

"The 6th Regiment is short of manpower and ammunition. Can they hold out?"

"We have to hold on, even if we can't," Lin Xing said firmly.

After a moment of silence, Chen Zaizhi nodded.

"Then let's do it this way. If the 6th Regiment can hold off the attack of the newly promoted army, I will personally preside over Zhiyuan's promotion ceremony when he returns."

"Thank you, President."

The promotion ceremony presided over by Chen Zaizhi could only have been for a promotion to the rank of Major General.

Although Lin Zhiyuan had only been promoted to colonel for less than a month, no one else had any objections.

Because this was earned with one's life, and it's not something that hasn't happened before.

Just last month, during the Battle of Luodian, someone was promoted from major to major general in just three hours.

……