Cao Xiangrong was a local from Qing State, a young farr robust in appearance. However, before he joined the Qing State army, he was frail, as if a gust of wind could blow him over.
It was because his family was poor and had many children that Cao Xiangrong had no choice but to enlist and earn his keep. In the chaotic Eastern Land, good n weren't soldiers, but soldiering at least ant having money to take. In order to allow his younger brothers to eat their fill, Cao Xiangrong chose to beco an enlisted soldier.
Zhang Shixiong treated his soldiers well, and Cao Xiangrong had grown strong and healthy. After four years in the military, in reality, Cao Xiangrong hadn't really fought in many battles, at most suppressing the Rebel Party. Yet, Cao Xiangrong felt that after all, the mbers of the Rebel Party were still people of Eastern Land, perhaps many of them were like him in the past, ordinary folk who could no longer get by, and he found it difficult to fight them.
Thus, when suppressing the Rebel Party, everyone had an unspoken agreent: they would just unleash a volley of shots, wait for the enemy to scatter, and then consider the mission accomplished. It was also because of this that the Rebel Party, despite a decade of suppression, had never really been quelled.
It wasn't until the Qikun people took over the lands beyond the pass and a large number of people from beyond the pass fled into their territory that Cao Xiangrong's thinking began to change. His second uncle made a living outside the pass where the land was fertile and plentiful, dealing in so mountain goods, living better than their family.
However, it was only a few months ago when Cao Xiangrong went ho to visit his relatives that he saw his second uncle looking dispirited and learned that his entire family had suffered from the horror of war. Out of a family of ten, only he had escaped. He had lost his property, his wife, and even his children who were to carry on the family line.
Now, his second uncle was like a madman or a fool, spending his days squatting under the locust tree in front of the courtyard of his rural ho, sotis crying, sotis laughing.
Cao Xiangrong deeply hated the Qikun people.
When he was a child, he had seen the Qikun people and thought they were wealthy and even polite, much more civilized than Eastern Landers. But now, he felt that the Qikun people were nothing but beasts in human skin.
People said that the Qikun were poised to invade past the pass, and Qing State would inevitably be involved. Cao Xiangrong thought that even if it cost him his life, he could not let the Qikun people take over Qing State.
Each day, he gazed at the distant military base of the Qikun in Sui County with a brooding look in his eyes.
Today, to his surprise, Commander Zhang had actually co to the barracks, accompanied by his daughter, fad as Qing State's number one beauty, and a young man.
This young man seed to have employed so "Immortal Law," having miraculously provided the Qing State army with a battalion's worth of armored vehicles that could move on their own.
Yu Erbao, a few years junior to him in age, cheerfully said to Cao Xiangrong, "Brother Cao, could it be that Commander Zhang has really invited a divine being to help us in battle? The storyteller at the teahouse in our county often tells such tales, about Zhou Ziya riding a bull to invite immortals, or Great Saint Pan scattering beans to turn them into soldiers—it's like magic!"
Fondling the automatic rifle he had just been issued, Cao Xiangrong knew from its fine craftsmanship and the feel of the material that it was an excellent weapon, the knowledge coming from his years as a soldier.
"I don't know, but as long as they help us fight the devils, they're heroes to ."
Yu Erbao, who seed to have no concept of tension, continued to smile broadly, "Alright, this ti I, Yu Erbao, will kill a few devils so that when I go back to the village I'll have stories to boast about to the old gang."
At that mont, their platoon leader ca running over with a clatter, calling out to them, "Co on, co on, get in the vehicles!"
So Cao Xiangrong and Yu Erbao jumped onto an infantry fighting vehicle. The soldiers in the squad felt around the vehicle, filled with wonder. Yu Erbao, still grinning, asked their stern-faced squad leader who was sitting upright, "Squad leader, who's driving?"
With a serious expression, the squad leader replied, "This vehicle is high-tech! It drives itself."
"Wow, that's amazing, no need for a driver then, but how do we fire the guns?"
"We can fight on our own, after all, the company commander said so."
Cao Xiangrong watched the platoon leader's expression and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The platoon leader got carsick, so while everyone else relaxed once aboard the vehicle, he looked as if he were on his way to the execution grounds.
The vehicle indeed started moving on its own, and a bunch of soldiers were extrely excited, dressing up so stylishly for war for the first ti, and against the enemy forces no less. They felt doubly honored.
At that mont, Bai Zhongqi's voice ca through the speakers inside the car.
"Gentlen, I am Bai Zhongqi, the commander of this operation. You are about to head into battle. Allow to briefly explain the key points of combat..."
For different units, Bai Zhongqi discussed different things. In this battle, he would lead several thousand soldiers and hundreds of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles against just over a thousand of Qikun's troops, taking them by surprise. However, he took it very seriously, arranging everything in an orderly fashion.
Bai Zhongqi didn't just stay behind; he moved the command post to the front as well. There, he set up artillery positions, with people like Zhang Shixiong and Hou Jimin accompanying him.
The firepower of this division was essentially in a state of complete surplus. Bai Zhongqi had actually equipped himself with the firepower of an artillery brigade, which included two battalions of 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, two battalions of 122 mm self-propelled howitzers, and a battalion of 122 mm 40-tube rocket launchers.
Such artillery, deployed at the front of the battlefield, was completely unbearable for Qikun's forces.
Because it was a fully automated and unmanned artillery, the AI deployed quickly. As the chanized troops had just begun their assault, the artillery was already ready to start bombarding Qikun's positions.
Engaging a company-sized enemy with the firepower of an artillery brigade was definitely a level of overkill.
Guo Daowu had originally been full of vigor at the front line, hoping to deliver a surprise to headquarters after taking Wei County, only to be unexpectedly t with a fierce barrage of artillery.
The Qing State forces in Wei County had almost no reliable artillery, with their armant consisting mainly of mortars and light howitzers. Qikun's intelligence unit knew this inside and out, and Guo Daowu was never afraid, but what he didn't expect was that the enemy's firepower would be more than ten tis his own.
The intense artillery fire instantly overwheld Qikun's positions. Guo Daowu imdiately strained his throat, shouting, "Get down! Brace for the firepower impact!"
The quality of Qikun's troops was still very high; they were fully prepared to attack the Qing State forces in Wei County. However, Bai Zhongqi's decision to have the artillery open fire from thirty kiloters away caught them off guard.
Because of the long distance of the artillery fire, although accurate, the spread was a bit wide, so it injured Qikun's forces but did not inflict a crippling blow.
Guo Daowu looked serious and a bit worse for wear. He did not know why, but he had a bad feeling.
"Move out imdiately, don't worry about the notifications anymore, just eliminate the Qing State forces!"
Guo Daowu imdiately boarded a command vehicle as well, and a large number of Qikun troops quickly assembled and got into vehicles. Seeing this scene, Guo Daowu nodded in approval, thinking to himself, "Only the strong Qikun army has the quality to remain unruffled in the face of an attack. The Qing State forces are just a bunch of clowns!"
But soon, he realized that these clowns were quite terrifying.
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