P5092 felt that he did not have any selfish motives when speaking to the other party as he was not interested in the position known as the commander-in-chief of the military corps.
But just as he had said before, politics followed people. Even a lowly P4 deputy commander dared to sneer at him and assumed he was envious that the 6th Division would take all the credit for winning the war.
Even someone as calm as P5092 would feel a bit angry when he encountered a dumbass colleague like that.
Off to the side, Ren Xiaosu asked, “Are they sure that the person they captured is the highest-ranking officer of the expeditionary army’s advance guard?”
“Yes, they’ve verified it.” P5092 explained, “They claim he admitted it after an interrogation.”
“Interrogation?” Ren Xiaosu wondered, “How could it be that easy to interrogate a high-ranking officer of the barbarians? They captured him not long ago, right? And he confessed that easily?”
“I suspect there’s something fishy about this matter.” P5092 said, “I suspect the person who was captured is not the highest-ranking officer of the expeditionary army’s advance guard at all. It should be a trap. Those defeated barbarians who are retreating north are obviously trying to lure our Pyro Company troops there.”
“Then you should tell them not to go there.” Ren Xiaosu said matter-of-factly, “Wouldn’t it be better to adopt a cautious and steady approach? Aren’t you P5s all very rational? How could they get carried away by their victory?”
P5092 looked at Ren Xiaosu helplessly. “We can’t stop them anymore. Do you think we’re all cast from the same mold? That’s not how it is. All P5s grew up in their own family environment and had different upbringings. It’s just that the Pyro Company felt that we were suitable to be commanders.”
“Oh, I see.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. “Then you’re much more capable than them. At the very least, you’re still able to analyze the situation carefully.”
Just as P5092 had guessed, with the position of commander-in-chief of the military corps still up for grabs, the other P5 division commanders started clamoring for glory recklessly upon seeing that the barbarians were beaten.
In the process of pursuing the northern barbarians, the 7th and 1st Divisions even fought over who would get the honor of utterly defeating them.
P5092’s so-called position as the acting commander of the military corps was not enough to control these people.
An acting commander without an official appointment lacked credibility. Moreover, most of the other division commanders always regarded P5092 as their strongest competitor, so they could not wait to oppose him at this time.
P5092 said, “I can’t stop them anymore due to my status. If I try to dissuade them from pursuing the enemy, it might backfire and stir up their competitive spirit.”
“Then what do you plan to do?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
P5092 turned around and said to his adjutant, “Tell the artillery at the rear to leave the Great Wall immediately and join up with us. All the soldiers of the infantry brigade are to start digging trenches where we are. We need to quickly set up a defensive line here!”
P5092 was really decisive. In an instant, he made the decision to set up a temporary defensive line here.
P5092 explained to Ren Xiaosu, “Even if the barbarians did not set a trap for us to the north, there’s nothing wrong with establishing a defensive line here. After all, we’re still only facing their advance guard at the moment. There will be more battles to fight in the future, so we have to shift our defensive line northwards sooner or later.”
“If the barbarians really did set a trap for us in the north, we can receive our defeated Pyro Company troops here and reorganize them to defend the Great Wall again.” P5092 said, “We’ve deployed half of our Pyro Company forces this time. Although it might seem like we still have the other half stationed behind the Great Wall and have sufficient forces to fight the war, we know internally that the soldiers of the remaining six divisions are mostly recruits. Some of them have never even been in battle before, so I have to do my best to ensure that some of our Pyro Company veterans make it back.”
P5092 was trying to preserve as many members of the Pyro Company as possible.
At this moment, the rest of the Pyro Company troops were rapidly pursuing the barbarians northwards. P5092 quickly spread out a map on the ground and made some markings on it with a red pen. “I’ve already figured it out. It’s late at night now, and there were no elderly barbarians when we encountered their troops at the beginning. Then the elderly barbarians started appearing later into the night. But there was only a small number of them as they were afraid we would notice that something was wrong in advance.
“After that, the ratio of their elderly got higher and higher. By the time that ‘Valentin’ was captured, all of the barbarian troops were replaced by their elderly. The barbarians did not come to kill us but were sent here to die!
“Only when the barbarians suffered enough casualties would the other division commanders believe they were truly losing. Our Pyro Company estimated there to be about 150,000 barbarians in the expeditionary army. Based on the sitreps so far, we’ve killed an estimated 50,000 barbarians in the forest. The Wang Consortium troops are definitely still engaged in battle with a group of them as well. Apparently, they’re fighting a tough battle there too. So, many of the P5 commanders think the barbarian troops are close to defeat, which is why they’re pursuing them without holding back.
“However, of the 50,000 barbarians we had killed, more than 30,000 of them were killed around the time Valentin was captured. Therefore, I suspect that our Pyro Company troops slaughtered 30,000 of the barbarians’ elderly.
“These barbarians are so ruthless.” P5092 lamented, “As the northern tribe moves southwards, their elderly become incapable of fighting. They contribute no productivity and are unable to bear the arduous journey and war. All they do is consume large amounts of food by staying in the group. So they might as well send their elderly into battle and use them as decoys to secure the final victory. But what’s scariest is that the old barbarians seem to be doing this willingly!”
After hearing so much from P5092, Ren Xiaosu suddenly looked north. “If the barbarians are willing to trade the lives of tens of thousands of their elderly in order to win a battle, they must be absolutely confident of their ambush in the north. I suggest that the 3rd Division retreat south of the Great Wall, because no one will be able to escape the barbarians’ encirclement.”
Since the barbarians had paid such a heavy price, how could they possibly let anyone from the Pyro Company return alive?
But P5092 shook his head. “No, even if only one division can make it back alive, I would still receive them here. If all six of these divisions get wiped out, it would really be the end for the Pyro Company.”
“What if only one brigade manages to make it back? Or none at all?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“That’s not possible.” P5092 said, “Although I don’t understand the barbarians as well as you do, I know what war is like. Even though five of our divisions have gone to pursue the barbarians, some of them will be more aggressive in their pursuit while others will sit back and observe the situation. If there’s people rushing off to the front, there’s naturally those who stay at the back. Regardless of how many barbarians there are, our forces won’t be annihilated. I’ve studied the terrain to the north, and there’s no areas large enough to trap 40,000 people in to wipe them out. So the barbarians are probably planning to pursue our troops back here to the forest, slowly picking off those who escape their encirclement. That way, the barbarians’ main forces will also incur the least casualties.”
Ren Xiaosu nodded. “Since you’re so confident, I’ll go north and investigate for you.”
“I’m counting on you.” P5092 gave him a solemn salute. “The success or downfall of the Pyro Company lies in this battle, and it might even affect the future of mankind in the Central Plains.”
