Ren Xiaosu and the soldiers of the Iron First Company hanged the barbarian corpses on the trees beyond the mountains.
The barbarians’ bodies dangled from the ropes hung around their necks while their ears that were cut off were piled up under the trees. Their swaying bodies were so heavy they even caused the thick branches to bend.
The Iron First Company’s commander muttered, “Fuck, these barbarians are pretty heavy!”
After they finished the task, the Iron First Company was totally worn out. Doing something to deliberately annoy the barbarians was not easy work either.
Ren Xiaosu recalled a novel called Spare me, Great Lord that he had read back in Stronghold 88. In it, the protagonist got stronger by annoying people.
If he also had that power, he would have become invincible by the end of this battle. Just the negative feelings that could be gained out of annoying and killing the barbarians would probably be off the charts!
What a pity.
Ren Xiaosu returned to the camp with the Iron First Company. The defensive position had already entered a Level One alert state. All of the soldiers would rotate in three shifts so someone would always be on duty.
Moreover, Wang Yun’s 200-odd subordinates had now become the 2nd Reconnaissance Company of the 6th Combat Brigade, and they entered the wilderness together with the original recon company to prevent the barbarians from sneaking into their position.
After all, Mt. Zuoyun spanned a large area. If the barbarians were to sneak in from other directions, it would be troublesome.
P5092 stood at the entrance of the camp to welcome back Ren Xiaosu. “Great work.”
“It’s nothing, but what’s coming next will be a tough battle.” Ren Xiaosu said, “What should we do when we get surrounded by the barbarians? Although we’ll have the advantage in a positional battle, we’ll still run out of ammunition and food someday. Also, how do we solve the problem of our water source?”
“If it’s about the water source, we’ve already got spring water here at our defensive position. Back when we were choosing the site, I already thought such a day would come.” P5092 said, “As for the food, we’re lucky you took some of the barbarians’ supplies back. Including the 6th Combat Brigade’s original rations, we have enough to last us another fortnight.”
“And what happens after that?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
P5092 shook his head. “The barbarians can’t possibly keep attacking Mt. Zuoyun for half a month, unless the Wang Consortium does not take any action at all. Just think. If the expeditionary army’s main forces remain here and surround us, the Wang Consortium’s side will be left with nothing much to do. All they need to do is to work with us and we can attack from both sides. If the expeditionary army can’t capture Mt. Zuoyun, they’ll be defeated by the Wang Consortium very quickly too.”
However, Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, “Then we’d better make more preparations. We must not place our hopes on the Wang Consortium. For some reason, the Wang Consortium has become unscrupulous in their goal to unify the Central Plains.”
P5092 asked, “Future Commander, how’s your relationship with Wang Shengzhi?”
“Our relationship is quite good.” Ren Xiaosu said, “But in this world, is there any kind of relationship that can be trusted? When I was still living in town, I saw all kinds of people.”
“Then we had better come up with another plan.” P5092 said, “We can go and steal some more of the expeditionary army’s supplies, but before they come and encircle us, they’ll likely reduce the frequency of their supply runs first. If we want to steal enough of their supplies, that will be quite impossible. I’ll think of some other ways then.”
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, “Is that so…. If we can’t steal from the barbarians, why don’t I try stealing from the Wang Consortium’s rear instead?”
P5092 was speechless.
He suddenly realized the future commander’s ideas were really unrestrained. As long as it was beneficial to him, he would really dare to think of anything!
P5092 hurriedly said, “We’re already collaborating with the Wang Consortium for the war. If you go and rob the Wang Consortium at this time, it would really cause some friction and affect the battle situation.”
“Oh.” Ren Xiaosu nodded. “Forget it then.”
But a radio operator suddenly ran over and said, “Future Commander, the Wang Consortium suddenly called.”
Ren Xiaosu wondered, “Why is the Wang Consortium calling at a time like this?”
He walked into the command post and answered the call. “Hello?”
“Are you Ren Xiaosu?” the person on the other end of the line asked.
Ren Xiaosu was taken aback. This was extremely unusual. How did the other party know he was with the 6th Combat Brigade? Could someone from the Wang Consortium be among their troops?
After all, he had not met any outsiders since joining up with the 6th Combat Brigade.
No, something was not right. Ren Xiaosu suddenly had doubts about the identity of the person on the other end of the line. He gave P5092 a look and then P5092 led everyone out of the command post.
Ren Xiaosu asked, “Lingling?”
The male voice on the other end of the line changed to a female voice. The other party wondered, “So you’re able to guess my identity every time.”
Ren Xiaosu wondered to himself, ‘Why would Lingling suddenly call here?‘ He asked, “What’s the matter?”
Lingling said, “A group of soldiers from the Wang Consortium will set off from Mt. Daniu and head to Mt. Zuoyun tonight. They’re expected to arrive before dawn.”
Ren Xiaosu said, “Why are they coming here? Our troops are enough to defend this position.”
“It’s not enough,” Lingling said. “I’ve already calculated the supplies you all brought. It won’t last you much longer. If Mt. Zuoyun gets besieged by the expeditionary army, you will most likely run out of ammunition and food.”
Ren Xiaosu said, “Can’t the Wang Consortium fight the barbarians harder then?”
“No, we can’t.” Lingling said, “The Pyro Company on the Great Wall is already showing signs of defeat due to a shortage of supplies. If the expeditionary army diverts their forces to us after defeating the Pyro Company, the Wang Consortium will have to continue defending Mt. Daniu and fight this battle with the most stable strategy.”
In other words, the Wang Consortium had to guard against the expeditionary army from another battlefield, and they predicted the Pyro Company would get defeated!
This left Ren Xiaosu with a bad feeling. “What’s the probability of the Pyro Company suffering a defeat?”
“71.13%.” Lingling said, “They still have a chance of winning, but they might not be able to seize the opportunity. If P5092 had become the commander-in-chief of the Pyro Company a year earlier, the situation could have been reversed. But it’s too late now.”
“Alright then.” Ren Xiaosu sighed. He did not know how to break this news to P5092. “So what is that group of soldiers you were talking about coming here for?”
“They’ll circle around the back of Mt. Daniu and use vehicles to transport some supplies to you. In the following week, the Wang Consortium will provide you with a steady stream of supplies so you can keep the expeditionary army engaged at Mt. Zuoyun for a longer time,” Lingling said.
Ren Xiaosu pondered this for a moment. Since they were coming to send them supplies, let them come. That would save him the trouble of going out to rob them.
Lingling ended the call after telling Ren Xiaosu what would happen. Ren Xiaosu somehow felt that Lingling seemed to have changed a little again, but he could not point out what had changed.
Ren Xiaosu walked out of the command post and solemnly said to P5092, “The Pyro Company might suffer a defeat, so let’s prepare for the worst outcome. The Wang Consortium will be transporting their first batch of supplies to us tonight and arrive before dawn. They’re hoping that the 6th Combat Brigade can hold the fort at Mt. Zuoyun.”
P5092 frowned. The situation was much worse than he had imagined.
