Chapter 5: Retreat Against the Tide

  "I told you, Liu Yuan, when we set out, Principal Jiang entrusted me to tell you that as the eldest of the Liu family, you cannot go to the front line, and you agreed." Nie Rongzhen blocked Liu Yuan's way, his face filled with anger.

  "The Art of War says that the general is the backbone of the army. Don't block me, I am the highest military commander." Liu Yuan saw Niu Renzhe blocking himself and was unhappy at once. In the Third Division, no one could afford to contradict him.

  "Liu Yuan, what are you being impulsive about? I am a representative of the Party, and the Party commands the gun. I represent the Central Committee, and you must obey the orders of the Center." Nian Rongzhen also got a bit angry, just now everything was fine, how could he suddenly turn against him like this.

  "Lao Nie, where have you been as a party representative? Did you see them in danger? If you have a conscience, follow me to the battlefield. Besides, in the Third Division, party representatives only take care of daily life, not military affairs." After finishing speaking, he took Li Erniu and left with a flourish.

  "Cough, how did I end up with such a partner, it's really deadly." Nie Rongzhen pulled out his handgun from his waist and said to the several clerks around him, "Let's go, the Third Division still has soldiers who are not afraid of death. We can't lose face either."

  "The party representatives, we are just here to learn and we are non-combatants." Several CP members who were studying beside Nie Rongzhen whispered among themselves. Many of them had returned from studying abroad and were temporarily following Nie Rongzhen in the Third Division to study. Liu Yuan and Mao had a good relationship, so he didn't refuse.

  "Bastards, I'm telling you, pick up your guns and follow me to the battlefield right now! Haven't you seen that even the combat advisors of the 3rd Division are on the battlefield? What kind of crap are you guys? When have our CP ever had cowards like you? Either follow me to the battlefield or get out of my sight!"

  Seeing Niu Hongzhen really getting angry, several young people could only say yes and follow behind Niu Hongzhen to charge into the battlefield.

  Actually, Liu Yuan was not very willing to come to the battlefield, but just as they were charging, even the communication soldiers took out their pistols and followed them up. On the one hand, this proved that the Third Division was very brave, but the person who conveyed Liu Yuan's military order was gone.

  Looking at the battlefield situation, there are indeed not many people on the opposite side, a full-scale attack is necessary, otherwise Xie Wenbing will really run away.

  Liu Yuan led the guards in a rush to the front line, but it was too late.

  The straight army that had been silent in the trenches suddenly jumped out of the trenches, holding bayonets and fighting to the death with the soldiers of the third division.

  Leading the way was Dong Yutou, a great man from Anhui. Dong Yutou had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, his eyebrows were like cold stars. In ancient times, if he wore a white robe, he would be an absolute handsome man, but wearing military uniform, he had a few more heroic spirits.

  "Brothers, follow me in a charge." Dong Yuhu was like his name, a fierce tiger going down the mountain, fearless and unstoppable.

  Wang Yaowu rushed forward and suddenly saw a heroic man rushing out of the trench, who was also startled.

  In the blink of an eye, Dong Yutou led his troops to charge forward, and Wang Yaowu, although having some martial arts skills, felt a chill upon seeing Dong's aura, and immediately became timid.

  On the battlefield, there is no room for even a moment of distraction. Wang Yaowu's brief lapse in attention led to his army colliding with the Third Division.

  Like a sharp dagger, it pierced into the soft skin, and with a "whooshing" sound, a big gash was made, and fresh blood splattered everywhere.

  Wang Yaowu felt that he was fierce enough, but in front of the handsome guy opposite him, he had only made one move and was stabbed in the shoulder, lifted off the ground, and blood gushed out. It wasn't until then that Wang Yaowu realized how painful it must be for his seniors to shed blood on the battlefield.

  Wang Yaowu's defeat was due to his cowardice, and because of his cowardice, a series of adverse reactions were triggered.

  Because the officers who followed Wang Yaowu were mostly newly graduated from military school, the old soldiers had been with Liu Yuan for a longer time and would strictly follow the military school's rules of conduct, where they would not rush around like them.

  However, it was these newly promoted officers who brought no small trouble, because they were all platoon leaders or company commanders, with soldiers under their command. Even if they charged forward fiercely, they still had a considerable number of people following them.

  Wang Yaowu is done for, and many of the students behind him, or his juniors, immediately felt hopeless, because in military school, Wang Yaowu's strength was unparalleled, he's finished, let alone these people.

  So the soldiers in front suddenly went soft, and Dong Yuhu commanded the soldiers to hold their bayonets and slaughter them like cutting melons and vegetables, continuously killing the soldiers of the three divisions.

  Everything that happened on the front line was not just Liu Yuan, Hu Zongnan and others saw it with their own eyes. They really couldn't understand why this sudden reversal came about.

  Liu Yuan furrowed his brow and said to the secretary beside him, "Take note, all new military officers, regardless of whether they graduated from a military academy or came from other troops, send them to the grassroots for re-creation, let them be ordinary soldiers."

  "It's done", with a stroke of the pen, the clerk will have everything recorded perfectly.

  The collapse of the front line did not lead to a rout of the three divisions, after all, the three divisions had nearly 10,000 troops, especially since the three divisions also had fierce generals.

  Guan Lin led the three companies of old comrades, holding his bayonet and rushing to the front, "New recruits, get out of the way! You think you have what it takes to fight a real battle? The guns issued to you are for show only."

  The man had not yet arrived, but the overbearing voice had already reached him. When he finally arrived, it was a bloody scene. The previously fearless and mighty Straight Army's morale suddenly plummeted.

  Guan Linzheng and the old soldiers behind him were all people who had rolled in the bloody sea, so they wouldn't be afraid of them. The confrontation with the straight army was like a needle tip against a wheat awn.

  Dong Yuhu also found that the big man in front of him was too fierce, and in the dark night, he was as ferocious as the devil king. With just one glance, he knew that his luck tonight was bad.

  But in a direct lineage, there is no such thing as retreating, Dong Yuhu held the bayonet and was about to engage in a bloody battle with Guan Lin.

  "Ah!" Dong Yuhu shouted and rushed over.

  "Bang!" A gunshot rang out, and Dong Yuhu fell into a pool of blood, his face filled with regret as he looked at Guan Linzheng, but he could no longer speak.

  At this time, the direct system had no main general, and naturally began to flee in disarray.

  "Senior, how could you do this? Are you still a man? You actually fired your gun during the assassination. What you just did was an insult to a soldier." Wang Yaowu covered his shoulder and walked over to Guan Linzheng's side.

  "Private, watch your tone. Is this how you usually speak to a superior officer? And out of respect for your education, let me tell you that in war, we don't care about honor, what we want is victory. Alright, take your cowardly soldiers and go rest, I'm going to continue the pursuit, or else they'll get away."

  Wang Yaowu listened to Guan Linzheng's words, as if he had everything we wanted, was the victory really like this? But an instructor who returned from studying in Japan told himself that when the Japanese assassinated someone, they would always withdraw the bullet, and when did he establish a column of soldiers?

  Watching the soldiers whizzing by beside him, Wang Yaowu gritted his teeth and didn't think about it anymore. He went up first and would ask Liu Yuan for advice if there were any problems.

  Just then, from far behind, a retreat horn sounded.

  Guan Lin marched with a look of discontent, gun in hand, cursing as he walked. "Who was it that told the instructor to retreat? I almost caught up with those sons of bitches from across the way!"

  "Comrade, can you tell me when I will be promoted to a private?" Wang Yaowu hastily asked.

  "Private, next time you speak, address me as Colonel. This is the military, and there's no room for such questions. And now, lift up Dong Yutou," he said, "He's a good man, can't let him die in vain."