bullyxtreme Chapter 121 Great Retreat
Chapter 121 Great Retreat
After Zhuo Yongwang approved Wu Huaiyu's strategy of sacrificing pawns to save the king and concentrating on defense, he decided to adopt it.
While issuing orders to the other four defense zones to withdraw troops to Kilju Province, they also expressed their desire to restart peace talks to the capital.
According to Zhuo Yongwang's orders, supplies and provisions from the four provinces were being transferred to Jizhou Province along with the troops.
It's obvious—all of this is preparation for holding onto Kedah...
Within Liaozhou Province—Liaozhou Defense Zone Command.
"Brother Xue'an, it seems you've escaped a calamity for now! The Battle of Honghai is definitely out of the question."
"This was earned at the cost of 20 brothers on our Liaofu defense line..."
Commander-in-Chief Feng Dafei of the Liaozhou Defense Zone was on the phone with Commander-in-Chief Cai Xuean of the Honghai Defense Zone.
"President Zhuo has finally come to his senses. I heard that Wu Huaiyu personally went to the capital for negotiations this time."
"It seems the Liaodong-Fuping War has really woken President Zhuo up!" Cai Xuean's voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Whether he's awake or not is secondary; the most important thing is that we can temporarily avoid the Zhenguo Army's advance."
"No matter how you put it, this is the most important thing for you and my brother."
Feng Dafei said with lingering fear, "Brother Xue'an, you don't know this. After the Liaofu defense line was lost, I was worried and fearful every day."
"Once the Daqian Zhenguo Army breaks through Liaofu, it's a pipe dream for me to hold Liaozhou province with my remaining 50 troops."
"Even with a valiant general like Zhu Gaoqi stationed at the strategically important Liaofu defense line, it only held out for thirty-six hours."
"If the Daqian Zhenguo army continues its advance, how many more days can Liaozhou hold out...?"
“Me too!” Cai Xuean sighed. “Hearing that the Liaofu defense line was breached so quickly, I can already roughly imagine what the outcome of the Battle of Honghai will be.”
"I was prepared to give up completely. At worst, I would just die, which would at least save my family."
"When I received the order to withdraw troops from Jicheng, I almost thought I had made a mistake!"
"Brother Dafei, what do you think President Zhuo is up to?"
"They voluntarily ceded four provinces and even sent Wu Huaiyu to the capital for peace talks."
"Isn't this just an attempt to protect the province of Kyi?"
“Shen Moshen made it clear beforehand that any act of splitting the Great Qian Dynasty is not to be tolerated.”
"The president's desire to protect Jizhou province is likely just wishful thinking..."
“Wishful thinking is secondary.” Feng Dafeng saw things very clearly: “I can roughly guess what the president is planning.”
"Moreover, I'm pretty sure—this idea probably came from Wu Huaiyu again."
"Oh? Brother Dafei, could you please enlighten me?"
"The peace talks are just a smokescreen, unless our President Zhuo is willing to publicly announce the cancellation of the Yongchang Independent State and its return to the rule of the Daqian Dynasty."
"However, as you and I both know—getting President Zhuo to do that is harder than climbing to heaven!"
"Even if he eventually leaves Jizhou, he won't do that!"
"President Zhuo's resentment towards Shen Moshen is no ordinary matter..."
"Our President Zhuo will definitely do anything that can disgust Shen Moshen."
“They’ve already sent their sons away; they can abandon the mess of the Yongchang Independent State and run away at any time.”
"Therefore, I say this peace talk must be a smokescreen."
"The goal is simply to buy time!"
Feng Dafei analyzed in detail: "If I'm not mistaken, President Zhuo is waiting for the Western Luo Kingdoms to free up their resources to intervene in the affairs of the Great Qian Dynasty."
"Think about it—abandoning four provinces and concentrating all forces in Jizhou province will definitely be much easier to defend than simultaneously dividing forces to defend five provinces."
"If we deploy over five million troops to defend only Jizhou province, we have plenty of time to accomplish something!"
"In addition, Wu Huaiyu's trip to the capital for negotiations at this time can buy some more time."
"The president's plan is truly brilliant!"
"Brother Dafei, now that you've explained it, the whole thing makes perfect sense." Cai Xuean on the other end of the phone suddenly realized, "So, this battle definitely has to go on?"
"I am very sure of that."
"Moreover, once the war resumes, the wrath we will face will certainly be even more intense..."
Feng Dafei sighed: "The only thing we can be thankful for now is that we can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
"At least until the peace talks break down, this war should not break out."
"Moreover, by withdrawing under the pretext of peace talks, we don't need to worry about encountering air raids by the Daqian Zhenguo Army along the way..."
"So, we're going to be cannon fodder even in Jizhou?" Cai Xuean complained. "What kind of fate do we have?!"
"If the CEO can't swallow this insult, millions of brothers will have to risk their lives..."
"Not necessarily. Not all of the millions of people are willing to go down a dead end."
Feng Dafei continued, "Brother Xue'an, don't forget that these more than five million brothers are not just from Jizhou."
"If the other four provinces are all given up, and things really come to that point, there's no guarantee that some uncontrollable things won't happen."
"These are things that neither you nor I can control."
"Even President Zhuo is powerless to help..."
"Therefore, Wu Huaiyu's strategy of concentrated defense seems to be the best solution at present, but in practice it still has many drawbacks."
"Brother Xue'an, let's just wait and see."
"Who knows what kind of trouble will arise in Jizhou then...."
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the other side.
The Imperial Capital – Imperial Chief's Office.
"What is Zhuo Yongwang up to? Does everyone understand now?"
Shen Moshen waved the newspaper in his hand and laughed, "Now all the major newspapers are dominated by the news of Zhuo Yongwang's request for peace talks."
"The news about this is everywhere, overshadowing the Liaofu Victory."
"It's obvious—all this commotion is for one purpose only."
"That would force us to talk to them."
"However, Zhuo Yongwang really went all out this time, sending Wu Huaiyu directly."
"This sincerity is truly off the charts."
"If you ask me, there's still room for maneuver. If Zhuo Yongwang dares to come to the capital himself, that would truly be a move full of 'sincerity'!"
"That's asking too much. It's highly unlikely that Zhuo Yongwang will come to the capital on his own initiative in this lifetime..."
"Even if he had a thousand or ten thousand times the courage, he wouldn't dare come—but if he did, we'd leave him here forever..."
Everyone discussed the matter, each offering their own opinion.
"Chief, how should we deal with the situation in Jizhou?"
Ge Daqiang pointed out the key point directly: "Zhuo Yongwang's millions of troops are retreating to Jizhou Province in full swing."
"When they retreated, they also moved a large amount of supplies and food, which was clearly a preparation for holding Jizhou."
"Should we stop these retreating enemy troops from entering Jizhou, or let them retreat?"
"Ignore them, let them leave if they want to."
Shen Moshen didn't seem to care at all: "Being able to recover the territory of four provinces without bloodshed is a good thing for us."
“I said, the Zhenguo Army’s handling of these rebels and foreign wars are completely different in nature.”
"There's no need for such a deadly attack when our own people are fighting each other."
"The Liaodong-Fuping War has already served as a sufficient deterrent."
"I believe that any normal person knows what the outcome would be if the fight continued."
“We all know what Zhuo Yongwang is planning.”
"It's nothing more than concentrating our forces to defend Jizhou."
Zhuo Yongwang thought his approach was clever; he believed he could use this method to prolong the war as long as possible.
Shen Moshen said disdainfully, "If I'm not mistaken—Zhuo Yongwang is waiting for the reaction of the Western Luo countries."
"They tried to get foreigners to save them."
"However, we will soon show Zhuo Yongwang with facts how foolish and unrealistic his idea is!"
"In the face of absolute power, all schemes and tricks are a joke."
"Does Zhuo Yongwang naively believe that he can hold Jizhou Province by concentrating five million troops and that he can indefinitely prolong the war?"
"This idea is both ignorant and foolish."
"If they want to withdraw, let them withdraw first. Peace talks are out of the question. Once we have taken over the territory of the four provinces, we will immediately advance our troops into Jizhou."
"I'm really looking forward to seeing what surprises Wu Huaiyu, whom Zhuo Yongwang calls his top strategist, will bring us on his trip to the capital."
"How do you think Wu Huaiyu will complete the task Zhuo Yongwang assigned him?"
"It's really hard to say..." Ge Daqiang shrugged. "The fact that Wu Huaiyu came to the capital is quite surprising in itself."
"Shouldn't someone as important as Wu Huaiyu be waiting to run away with Zhuo Yongwang?"
"Isn't he afraid that he might not return from the capital?"
"There are only two possibilities—first, Wu Huaiyu is truly devoted to Zhuo Yongwang and is willing to risk his life for him."
Shen Moshen smiled: "Secondly, Wu Huaiyu's visit to the capital is probably for ulterior motives..."