Chapter 48: Arrival of the Fifth Brigade

The annihilation battle outside the west gate of Huangzhou City was undeniably fierce. In truth, the two armies were evenly matched in strength, which was precisely why the fighting reached such an intense pitch.

However, even under the perfect encirclement orchestrated by the Zheng faction, the Eighteenth Brigade of the coalition forces of Ma and Sha managed to break through the heavy siege, moving toward the northwest and setting up a temporary camp ten kilometers away from Huangzhou City.

This campaign dealt a devastating blow to the coalition forces. Out of approximately twenty thousand troops, only five to six thousand remained. Yet, Song Pu and his commanders also suffered heavy casualties; among the seven divisions deployed, totaling over fifteen thousand men, more than six thousand were lost, leaving roughly nine thousand effectives.

Combined with the remaining 117th and 119th Divisions stationed inside the city, the total Zheng faction forces numbered slightly over twelve thousand.

On the evening of the second day following the conclusion of the Battle of Huangzhou, the Fifth Brigade of the coalition forces finally arrived in the northwestern outskirts of Huangzhou City, successfully rendezvousing with Floco's Eighteenth Brigade.

Meanwhile, on the Zheng side, the Ninth Army commanded by Tang Hehai and the Forty-Eighth Army commanded by Guo Rong, both dispatched by Zheng Zeliang, arrived at Huangzhou City one after another, thereby lifting the crisis facing the city.

Following the arrival of the Ninth Army and the Forty-Eighth Army, the strength of the Zheng faction's forces was once again restored to around twenty thousand men. This roughly equaled the troop numbers of the coalition forces outside the city, making it far from simple for the coalition to breach Huangzhou City.

The commander of the Fifth Brigade of the coalition forces was named Zakheyev, a renowned general even more famous than Floco and a prominent figure among the invading coalition forces. Zakheyev was a native of the nation of Magili.

Inside the provisional operations command post of the coalition forces, several senior officers from both the Fifth and Eighteenth Brigades were gathered. In the wake of the recent defeat at Huangzhou, they urgently needed to hold a briefing to analyze and summarize the reasons for their failure.

The first to speak was Sebern, Chief of Staff of the Eighteenth Brigade: "General Zakheyev, General Floco, our Eighteenth Brigade suffered catastrophic losses when we fell into the ambush set by the Zheng faction outside the west gate of Huangzhou City. It is fair to say this is the most crushing defeat our brigade has suffered since entering the theater."

"There are many reasons for this. The miscalculations made by General Floco and myself are the most direct causes of this defeat. We will later submit a profound self-reflection to the command headquarters, and if headquarters imposes any punishment, the two of us will accept it entirely without a single word of dissent."

"However, at present, the objective of our expedition remains unfulfilled. The headquarters gave our two brigades the clear order to capture Huangzhou City. Therefore, I sincerely hope that while reflecting on past mistakes today, everyone will formulate a sound operational plan for the upcoming offensive. Does anyone else have anything they wish to discuss?"

Floco had no desire to speak at all, for he was still seething with rage. The battle outside Huangzhou City had resulted in devastating losses for his Eighteenth Brigade, a humiliation of the highest order.

In particular, Floco and Zakheyev did not get along well. Yet, facing a major military campaign, Floco knew this was not the time to indulge in petty grievances, though bringing himself to bow his head was something he found exceedingly difficult to stomach.

Beside him, the Chief of Staff of the Fifth Brigade, a Magilian named Batev, broke the silence: "As Chief of Staff Sebern has stated, our most severe task at hand is how to capture Huangzhou City and accomplish the mission entrusted to us by the headquarters."

"Joseph, please brief everyone on the current combat situation first. Having suffered one defeat, we now require a much more meticulous plan to deal a crippling blow to the Zheng faction forces."

The Joseph referenced by Batev was the chief operations staff officer of the Fifth Brigade, as well as a seasoned and experienced veteran.

Joseph unrolled and hung up the tactical map. "Officers, this is the terrain of our current location. Although there are some minor discrepancies, the overall layout remains largely unchanged."

"Here is our current position, situated northwest of Huangzhou City, and this is the west gate highland where the fierce battle recently took place. Before our arrival, we studied the fortifications of Huangzhou City thoroughly. Among the four major gates, only the north gate can be considered relatively favorable for an assault, followed by the west gate."

"Our opportunities at present are actually quite limited. If the Zheng faction forces maintain a rigorous defense of the city, it will spell trouble for us, and taking the city will demand an even heavier price."

"Our Fifth and Eighteenth Brigades currently muster a combined force of over twenty-six thousand men. Concurrently, according to our intelligence, reinforcements from the Zheng faction arrived inside Huangzhou City just as we did—roughly two armies totaling over twelve thousand men. Combined with the troops already stationed within Huangzhou, the current defending force stands at approximately twenty-four thousand. In terms of sheer numbers, our forces are quite evenly matched."

"Furthermore, the artillery regiment upon which the Zheng faction heavily relies is also stationed inside the city. This was precisely one of the primary reasons for the Eighteenth Brigade's defeat at the west gate highland. The Zheng faction's artillery regiment is equipped with the most advanced field guns available today, serving as a crucial pillar of their defense."

Joseph briefly outlined the balance of forces and relative strengths of both sides, demonstrating that the combat capabilities of the two opposing forces were not drastically apart. Swallowing hard, Joseph continued.

"In addition, aside from capturing the city, another objective of our campaign against Huangzhou is to support the command's deployment at Bozhou City. Bozhou City is a vital military stronghold of the Zheng faction and one of our primary targets. If we can successfully take Huangzhou City according to plan, the pressure on our forces operating toward Bozhou City will be greatly alleviated, forcing the Zheng faction to divert more troops to reinforce Huangzhou."

"Officers, our formulated plan is to employ a strategy of making a feint to the east while attacking the west. Specifically, we will use small detachments to launch continuous harassment operations against the south, north, and west gates, tricking the enemy into believing our main assault will come from these three directions. However, our ultimate goal is to lead them into the misconception that the attack will originate from the east gate."

"Nevertheless, as previously noted, the actual assault will be launched from the most vulnerable north gate. We plan to deploy fifteen thousand troops to initiate a formal offensive at the north gate, while splitting the remaining nine thousand-plus personnel into three small raiding detachments to maintain constant harassment. Once the enemy's vigilance is completely broken, we will launch our offensive in a single, decisive stroke."

Joseph finished explaining the concise operational plan devised by the Fifth Brigade—a plan, of course, that had already been approved by Zakheyev and Batev.

When Joseph concluded, Batev signaled for him to be seated and addressed the gathering: "Gentlemen, the enemy is undoubtedly standing on high alert at this moment, and they are well aware of our arrival. Therefore, our primary objective must be to achieve total surprise, exercising patience and waiting for the opportune moment."

"General Floco, what are your thoughts on our proposed plan? We would certainly appreciate hearing your insights." Batev looked toward Floco. Despite the earlier defeat, Floco's military acumen still commanded respect.

Floco furrowed his brow slightly. He had listened carefully to Joseph's briefing and, truth be told, harbored no objections to the diversionary strategy.

After a brief moment of reflection, Floco spoke: "I believe this plan is quite sound. However, we must strengthen our intelligence-gathering efforts. My previous defeat stemmed precisely from inadequate intelligence, compounded by my own arrogance and complacency. I do not wish to see such a tragedy repeat itself among our ranks."