"Where's my supplies, Major Kirschner?"

"Please sit casually, Captain Wiesenberg. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info"Logistics staff officer of the expeditionary force Heinrich. Major Koschner bowed to Otto, who suddenly burst into his room. Captain Wiesenberg made a gesture, then picked up a cup, "What do you want to order?" I personally recommend Chinese wine, it's ......"

"Thanks, Major Kirschner, but what I need is supplies, not alcoholic beverages." Wiesenberg said loudly, stressing: "My troops have not been supplied to the required standards for three days, there are no cans and sausages, and only half of the bread is left, so that my soldiers can only collect food from the Chinese." Now, Mr. Major, people are asking where our supplies are. ”

After a pause, he continued, "Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered you, Mr. Major. But everybody says you're now responsible for all supply issues. ”

"Yes, Captain Wiesenberg, I am indeed responsible for this." Koschner put the cup back in its original position, then turned around and made a gesture to the captain, and replied calmly: "However, it is very regrettable that I cannot provide any supplies to your troops right now. ”

"What!"

"There are no supplies." Kirschner repeated, then explained, "I haven't gotten any supplies in the past ten days - three convoys were supposed to arrive, but I haven't seen any of them so far." ”

"Are you kidding?"

"I don't like jokes, Captain Wiesenberg." The major continued, "You have to understand that we are on the territory of a strange and hostile country, and anything can happen. ”

"You mean, the Chinese have cut off our supply lines." Wiesenberg leaned forward and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "It's strange that I didn't hear anything, and Colonel Kittel didn't seem to have done anything. ”

"So, Captain, you think I'm secretly withholding your supplies?" Koschner raised an eyebrow, but not at all angry: every officer who came to him to ask for supplies would have guessed that Wiesenberg was not the first, nor the last.

And the captain would immediately deny that he had such a thought - "No, Major. I just feel weird and hope to get my supplies. ”

"As I said, there are no supplies, Captain." The logistic staff officer repeated again, and then continued: "Unless we re-establish contact with His Excellency the Marshal in Beijing and the Allied Command, and have a supply convoy that can reach here immediately, you and your soldiers will have to figure out how to solve the problem on our own." And, you have to pray that Colonel Kittel will not order the troops to move on. ”

"Our connection with the coalition command has also been cut off!" Wiesenberg cried out, as if taken aback - of course every officer reacted to the news, without exception, especially to the last: "The colonel still wants to go on?" It's ......."

He paused abruptly and replaced surprise with doubt again. "Is it really that bad, Major?"

"You can ask Colonel Kittel directly. I am sure that he can give you a satisfactory answer. ”

Ask the Colonel? Almost immediately, Wiesenberg rejected the suggestion—it was never wise to question Colonel Kittel directly, and he was only a captain. However, this meant that he could only accept Kirschner's explanations and try to believe that the expeditionary force was in trouble.

But if there really is trouble, why does the colonel still want to move on?

"I personally think that since there is a problem with our supply and liaison, the colonel should order the troops to stay in this village and stand by." Wiesenberg said uncertainly, "Even if the food can be collected, but the ammunition ...... Mr. Major, I have to emphasize the fact that my troops have less than two base ammunition left...... Probably only one and a half. ”

"The same goes for the other companies, Captain." Kirschner shrugged, "But you have to understand that Colonel Kittel doesn't give up on his mission easily, he's never done anything like that. However, Lieutenant Colonel Lunt and Lieutenant Colonel Rohr were trying to persuade him, and things were not ...... yet"

He didn't finish it either. Before Koschner could say "terrible bad," a soldier ran in and gave Wiesenberg an order.

"Captain, the lieutenant colonel has asked us to leave in ten minutes."

"Go?" Wiesenberg immediately became vigilant, "Where to go?" ”

"A village, I don't know what it's called, could be ten kilometers from here." The soldier replied, "Colonel Kittel asked the lieutenant colonel to occupy there by sixteen o'clock this afternoon." ”

But that's not Wiesenberg's concern. All the captain cared about was: "In which direction is it?" East, West, South or North? ”

His question puzzled the soldiers: Of course, it could only be the west, where the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Imperial Ministers of China were located, could it be otherwise? "I don't understand what you mean, Captain, where else can we go but to the west?"

"Stay here, of course, and wait for the supplies to arrive" - but Wiesenberg kept his complaint to himself and did not divulge a word. This was the only option, and since he was only a poor captain, he could only strictly carry out the commander's order, rather than openly questioning the reasonableness of the order, and even less being able to disobey it, even if it would make the situation worse......

If the supply lines and contacts of the expeditionary force have really been cut off by the Chinese, as Major Koschner said,

But. Wiesenberg then thought. One way or another, at least he can do some preparation for the difficult times that are coming, within his authority.

"Helmut, inform everyone in the company." He gave the order, "I give them five minutes to count their equipment, especially ammunition." Before I go, I had to figure out how many bullets we had - accurate numbers! ”

"Yes, Captain." The soldier replied, and then rushed out of the room as quickly as he came, leaving Wiesenberg and Kirschner staring at each other.

"I don't understand at all," Wiesenberg sighed at the end, "why Colonel Kittel insisted on attacking instead of first re-establishing contact and resuming supplies." ”

Koschner never considered this issue - he was a logistical staff officer, not an operational staff officer. Wiesenberg didn't expect him to answer either. However, after thinking carefully for a while, Koschner still gave an answer: "Perhaps, the colonel just thinks that even without supplies, the expeditionary force can successfully complete the mission." After all, we're pretty close to our goal, and the rest of the supplies and loot we're going to be able to sustain us for a while. ”

He thought that this could be the case, and of course in reality, this was the thing: at least on the map, the distance between the German expeditionary force and Taiyuan was only the last hundred kilometers, four days...... In no more than a week, it will be able to occupy that city and capture the Empress Dowager, the Emperor and the Imperial Ministers of China, completing the Honorable Emperor His Majesty and the Venerable Feng. The sacred mission bestowed by Marshal Wadsey, and then the triumphant victory.

Just a trifle. Rudolph. Colonel Kittel did not see the Chinese army as a threat, and even though one of his units had inflicted heavy losses on the Japanese army, the last information received showed that that force was retreating towards southern China and could never engage his expeditionary force; Moreover, the powerful and experienced German Army was not the Japanese Army in its student years, and to fight his troops, the Chinese would have to use more tactical skills, master more courage, and have to double their luck than they had in Tianjin.

However, the Chinese could not have so many advantages at the same time - God was on the side of the great Germany, Kittel was very sure.

However, his actions were not invulnerable, and there was a danger: it was likely that the Empress Dowager, Emperor, and Imperial Ministers of China had decisively abandoned the city and fled to the more remote inland areas before his troops could reach and occupy the city.

It's like they gave up the capital of China.

It was a more real threat than supplies or Chinese troops, and the Chinese-American brigadier general failed to anticipate such a move that he missed the opportunity to wipe out the head of the Chinese government and give him a brilliant opportunity to show himself – but that opportunity could also slip out of his hands.

Kittel was reluctant to repeat Qin Lang's mistake.

So he had to speed up, not stop somewhere, restore liaison and supplies, or wait for the rest of the coalition forces to rebuild supplies.

He should attack. Onward, onward, onward, until the German flag was planted on the highest point of that city, until the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Imperial Ministers of China became his captives.

Kittel's plan was fairly simple.

Of course, the colonel was not aware of the situation at hand. Just in front of the German Expeditionary Force, an armed force of 200,000 men had been assembled: the local troops that had come to defend the Empress Dowager and the Emperor - not all governors and governors were willing to stand by and watch, there were still some officials who remained loyal to the Qing government - the temporarily conscripted militias and landlords' armies, the Boxers in Shanxi, the troops that escorted the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to Shanxi, and Nie Shicheng's troops.

A large armed force, but even within the Qing government, not many people believed that it could play a role.

In addition to the former army of the armed guard.

"Now, we are the last hope of the imperial court." Nie Shicheng smiled bitterly and shook his head slowly. (To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )