Chapter 46: A New Plan

Within half a day, Kong Qing's 357th Division and Huang Bai's 119th Division withdrew from the front lines to defend Huangzhou City. Excluding the troops operating in the field, the entire garrison inside Huangzhou City numbered only around five to six thousand men.

If the allied forces of Ma and Sha were to exploit this vulnerability, Huangzhou City would fall easily into their hands, dealing a catastrophic blow to the Zheng faction.

Shortly after the 357th Division and the 119th Division fell back to reinforce Huangzhou, the Fifth Army and the Twenty-Ninth Army also quickly retreated to defensive positions within the city.

Inside Huangzhou City, an emergency meeting called by the temporary supreme command headquarters was urgently convened in the operations room. Only the highest-ranking commanders of each army corps attended this session.

At this moment, Song Pu, Chen Xing, and Qian Jiushan sat grim-faced at the very front of the conference table, while various subordinate division commanders, including Kong Qing and Huang Bai, seated themselves below.

A heavy atmosphere weighed on everyone present. They all knew that this initial engagement with the Ma-Sha coalition forces constituted a severe and grave mistake for the Zheng faction.

"Old Chen, Old Qian, you two speak first," Song Pu said with a solemn expression, addressing Chen Xing and Qian Jiushan directly.

Chen Xing and Qian Jiushan exchanged glances. Chen Xing let out a long sigh and said, "Very well, I will start."

"I am a person who does not mince words. This time, the 117th Division was guarding the northwest sector of Huangzhou City, yet they allowed the enemy to exploit a gap, lost their positions, and turned the northwest side of Huangzhou into the enemy's front line. Furthermore, enemy reinforcements will be able to arrive in roughly a day."

"Or even faster. Now that the Ma-Sha coalition has seized favorable terrain, I estimate their next move will be to await their reinforcements and then launch an even larger assault on Huangzhou City."

Chen Xing paused, furrowed his brow, and looked at Shi Jing, commander of the 117th Division. "Division Commander Shi, what is your view on this defeat?"

Seated below, Shi Jing felt he had grievances too bitter to voice. Originally, their role was merely to provide a diversion on the flank. Never did anyone anticipate that the Ma-Sha coalition would bypass the 357th Division on the primary battlefield and launch a direct surprise attack on his 117th Division. This was something completely beyond anyone's imagination.

Just as Shi Jing opened his mouth to speak, Song Pu flew into a rage. "What is there for him to explain? What could he possibly say? Entrusted with such a massive division, and not even on the primary battlefield, he actually managed to lose the position and sacrifice so many soldiers. Shi Jing, tell me, what face do you have left to speak here?"

Chen Xing, standing nearby, shook his head and remained silent. He knew that the ultimate responsibility for this defeat lay squarely with their own temporary supreme command headquarters. Today, after holding this emergency operational meeting here, they would immediately have to attend another conference organized by the Zheng faction.

There, they would face scathing reprimands from headquarters. Of course, none of that was the primary issue right now; the overriding crisis was that the current situation in Huangzhou City had become exceedingly perilous.

According to intelligence from the General Staff's Information Department, the enemy reinforcements currently mobilizing from the northwest of Huangzhou City numbered over twenty thousand men, all belonging to mechanized units.

Meanwhile, the 18th Brigade of the Ma-Sha coalition, which had already seized the positions of the 117th Division, possessed a strength of roughly twenty thousand men. Although not among the enemy's elite forces, their combat effectiveness could not be underestimated.

The 5th Brigade, which was rushing over, was indeed an elite unit of the Ma-Sha coalition. Rumor had it that they had already achieved massive victories on other battlefields and had traded blows with the National Defense Army without falling behind.

Consequently, the Ma-Sha coalition forces facing Song Pu and his comrades in Huangzhou numbered over forty thousand troops, instantly plunging Huangzhou City into a state of siege.

Even if one factored in the 9th Army and the 48th Army, which were currently moving toward Huangzhou, the total garrison of the entire city would still amount to only a little over thirty thousand men. Moreover, aside from the 5th and 7th Armies, the combat capabilities of the other Zheng faction units were not particularly strong.

"Alright, alright, Old Song, do not harbor excessive resentment. If we speak of responsibility this time, we all share the blame. What we must discuss now is how to deal with the enemy outside the city," said Qian Jiushan, commander of the 5th Army, who could no longer contain himself and spoke up directly.

Song Pu let out a long sigh. "Then Old Qian, you tell us. We need a victory, the greatest of victories. Only in this way can we redeem the honor of the Zheng faction and alleviate the pressure on Bozhou City."

Qian Jiushan tapped the table. "Alright, alright. Old李, share your thoughts so we have something to refer to."

The "Old Li" whom Qian Jiushan referred to was Li Jinhan, chief of staff of the 5th Army headquarters. This man was exceptionally renowned within the Zheng faction forces, frequently coming up with brilliant strategies.

Li Jinhan stood up. "To be frank, this battle will not be easy to fight. If it were yesterday, we would still be in a favorable position, but now we are essentially under the enemy's very eyes."

"Several comrades have just mentioned that our paramount task right now is to hold Huangzhou City and secure a victory. I have spent the last few days studying how to win this battle, and I have a preliminary plan. Let me outline it for everyone and see what you think."

Li Jinhan motioned for his staff officer to hang up the map, then walked over to it.

Pointing with his pen to a spot on the map, Li Jinhan said, "Here, this is a place called Hushu Woods on the western side of Huangzhou City. There are numerous trees here, making it suitable for a large force to lie in ambush. Right beside this Hushu Woods is a highland. I took the time yesterday to inspect this location, and I can say its positioning is exceptionally prime, with a relatively broad terrain. If utilized for trenches, it would undoubtedly make an extraordinary position."

"Furthermore, this location sits right along the mandatory route leading in through the western gate of Huangzhou City. My original idea was to use stratagems to lure the enemy into this Hushu Woods, ambush them from this highland, and then annihilate them in an encirclement."

"However, it now appears that there are likely formidable military experts among the enemy's ranks. Such a plan of mine would probably be seen through by them."

"Therefore, I now have a counter-idea: we will lie in ambush inside Hushu Woods, leave this highland as the combat zone for the enemy, and launch our attack from the lower terrain upward toward the higher ground."

"Old Li, are you talking nonsense? Although I, Chen Xing, am not well-versed in military tactics, since antiquity there has never been a case of attacking upward from low ground. Won't that put us at a complete disadvantage?" Chen Xing, seated to the side, could not help but interrupt.

Li Jinhan smiled. "Army Commander Chen's words are entirely reasonable. But this time, having lost the initiative, we have no choice but to let the enemy hold certain advantages while we take on certain disadvantages. Only by doing so will they believe it is genuine."

"And let us not forget, participating with us this time is the artillery regiment of the 15th Corps. This will be our finest helper in executing this ambush."

"In terms of terrain, we may indeed be at a disadvantage, but we possess the artillery regiment. We can initiate the assault on the enemy's positions with the artillery first, followed by an annihilation battle executed by our three army corps."

"This is my preliminary concept. I kindly ask all army commanders and chiefs of staff to offer your suggestions."

One had to admit, Li Jinhan's strategy this time was formidable. If successful, it would deal a devastating blow to the Ma-Sha coalition forces.

Qian Jiushan slapped the table before him. "Ahem, everyone, I will say this: I never cast a dissenting vote against Old Li's decisions. Furthermore, regarding this plan, I feel the most crucial thing for us is not to scrutinize the plan itself, but rather the uncertain variables within our own troops."

As Qian Jiushan finished speaking, Song Pu's eyes narrowed in an imperceptible slit. He had already thought of this long ago. When they held their previous operational meeting, a large number of people had attended, including representatives from various operational staff departments and even some minor leaders.

Just as Qian Jiushan stated, there were simply too many uncertain factors. Someone among them must have leaked the intelligence, which directly led to the failure of this battle.

"I think Old Li's plan is still quite good. But Old Li, you haven't explained how we are going to lure the enemy into our encirclement," Song Pu said, hitting the nail on the head. "I believe that is the most critical part."

"Precisely, Old Li, you talked for ages without touching upon the core issue, or is it that you already have an idea and are just waiting to spring it on us?" Chen Xing, on the flank, also failed to hold back and blurted out.

Li Jinhan smiled slightly. "I have no intention of toying with you all. I merely needed you gentlemen to first determine whether my plan is viable. If it is feasible, I will then explain my plan to lure the enemy into the trap."