In the early morning of March 18, 2008 in the Imperial calendar, General Barker's Fourth Army finally arrived at the town of Sorad, which was located on the banks of the Liujin River. Due to the high-intensity and rapid march overnight, the troops arrived very tired.

At this point, the town of Sorad is empty, and most of its inhabitants have been evacuated to the southern part of the empire, far from the battlefield. After the Fourth Army entered the town, Commander Higgins ordered the troops to rest in place, and he himself led several captains out to survey the terrain.

As General Buck said, the town of Sorad is located in the middle of the Scanya Plain, with the flowing river of Liujin on the left and a large swampy depression on the right. If the enemy army wants to reach the city of Yanjing, this is almost a must-pass place. Otherwise, there is only a big circle, a detour to the upper reaches of the Golden River, and then back from the south of the empire. But that would take at least five or six times more time than taking this path. This is almost impossible for an army that wants to quickly penetrate the heart of the enemy country and strive to cooperate with the coalition forces as soon as possible.

The town of Solad was founded more than 500 years ago as a small village of a few dozen people. After hundreds of years of development and growth, it has now become a large town with more than 700 houses and a population of nearly 10,000. Since it is not too far from the Panzu Mountains, almost all the buildings here are built with huge stones collected and transported from the Panzu Mountains. The texture is very strong. There is one main street leading to the northwest in the town, and there are a dozen other side streets, and the entrance and exit of the town are at both ends of the street.

After the survey, Commander Higgins set up his temporary headquarters in the Holy Sect Altar in the south of the town. After breakfast, he ordered his troops to prepare for the defense at once. In addition to a vigilant force, tens of thousands of men worked together to dig a trench more than a man high and three horses wide two hundred paces in front of the town of Solad, bordering the river on the left and the swampy depression on the right.

This huge undertaking was dug from the morning until almost dark in the afternoon, but at this time, the scout Pegasus, who had been sent out, reported that more than twenty miles ahead, the enemy's vanguard was approaching here.

Commander Higgins immediately ordered his troops to withdraw to the town. And began to demolish some buildings, sealing the entrance into the town with large stones.

A big war is coming!

The vanguard of the Zhuang Khan Kingdom is also a group army. As soon as they slaughtered more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians in Langdal City, they marched to Yanjing of the Pangxin Empire under the leadership of the army commander Mo Khan. After two days of marching, they came to the central part of the Scanya Plain.

It was getting dark, and according to the plan, the troops were supposed to rush to the town of Sorad before it was dark to camp and rest. It's just that a few small villages that have not yet been evacuated have been slaughtered along the way, so it has been delayed a little.

However, Mohan did not care, because he knew that on the Scanian plains, there would hardly be any decent Ponsin Emperor[***] troops to stop them. Even if they arrive in Sorad after dark, their troops will have time to eat and sleep.

The army is steadily advancing, the sun is on the western horizon, and it is about to sink. Mo Khan rode on his black horse, looking triumphantly at his army of tigers and wolves. He was smiling, and what others didn't know thought he was very satisfied with the results of this journey. In fact, what he was thinking in his heart was that he had just captured a few Ponsin Empire women in the village in front of him. Two of them are quite good-looking, and when they arrive in the town of Solad in the evening, they will have time to have a good time.

While he was in a daze, a fast horse suddenly galloped in front of the troops. Immediately, one of them shouted: "Report to the commander, according to the scouts, an army of the Ponsin Empire has been found outside the town of Sorad ahead." They are digging trenches, and it seems that they are intending to stop the advance of our troops!"

As soon as he heard this, Commander Mohan immediately came back from his heart. His face changed, and he said, "A Pang Xin Emperor [***] team? How is this possible? How many people are there?"

"Commander Hui, it's about a group army, about 50,000 people!"

"An army group?" Commander Mohan was even more surprised, knowing that most of the regular army of the Ponsin Empire was fighting the army of the Kingdom of Tandax in the north. The armies in the northwest have been almost wiped out by the armies of their own side. After the capture of the city of Rondal, the Ponsin Empire was left with only a few remnants of the army on the northwest front, which was not a problem at all. How is this possible when an army group suddenly appears in formation?

But the scout's reward is true. There was an enemy army with a strength similar to his own in front of him, which had to make Mo Khan, who was old and slick, cautious. He immediately ordered: "Order the troops to stop advancing and stand by in place." Officers above the rank of captain shall come to me at once to discuss. Send another scout force and find out to me which enemy forces are ahead and where they are coming from!"

"Yes!"

It was completely dark, and under the lighting of torches, officers above the rank of captain of the Fourth Army of the Ponsin Empire were also holding a combat meeting at the corps command post.

The map was placed on a dilapidated wooden table, and the army commander Higgins said: "The vanguard of the Zhuang Khan Kingdom has not appeared until now, and it is estimated that the existence of our army has been discovered." This is just right, our purpose is to delay the enemy army for as long as possible, and prevent them from reaching the Yanjing city before the main force of our army. At this time, it was already dark, and attacking at night would be detrimental to the [***] team of King Zhuang Khan. Moreover, they are only the vanguard, and their strength is not much different from ours, so they will not dare to attack rashly. That way we can delay for another night. But when the main forces of the enemy's rear received the news, they would inevitably accelerate their rendezvous with the vanguard. By daylight tomorrow, a major battle was inevitable. Therefore, my request is that except for the vigilant personnel in all departments, everyone else should seize the time to rest and recover their strength. Once the battle begins tomorrow, the [***] team and the [***] team will first enter the battle as the first line of defenders, and the [***] team will be ready to support the second line at any time. The 19th and 20th Brigades, as reserves, should also be prepared to be dispatched at any time. The officers and men of all units must be like a nail to hold on to their positions. No matter how heavy the casualties are, they are not allowed to retreat without an order. The enemy's attack on the first day must be very frenzied, and we must grit our teeth and persevere. When it gets dark, it's victory. The general ordered us to hold out for at least four days, and everyone, our task is very arduous! Okay, if you have any opinions and suggestions, let's talk about them!"

I only heard one of the captains say: "Commander, the enemy's vanguard is similar to the strength of our army." They don't dare to attack rashly, so why don't we take the opportunity to kill him and catch him by surprise, wouldn't it be better?"

Higgins shook his head and said: "Our task is very clear, it is to fight a war of resistance, not a war of annihilation! No matter how caught off guard the enemy army is, it is also a group army of the same size as our army, are you sure that you can eat him in one bite? Even if we can eat this enemy army, we will kill 1,000 enemies and lose 800 ourselves." When the time comes, what will we use to stop the attack of the main forces behind the enemy? This suggestion will not work, change it!"

Another captain said: "Commander, once the main force of the enemy army meets the vanguard, then their attack power will definitely be very strong." The purpose of our army's operations is to delay as much time as possible. Do you think we can find a way to send a detachment directly to the rear of the enemy's vanguard troops, pretend to be suspicious soldiers, interfere with or hold back the enemy's main force, and prevent them from joining up with the vanguard forces too soon?"

As soon as these words came out, not only several captains present nodded one after another. Even Commander Higgins let out a sigh and immediately leaned over to the table to study the map carefully. It was only after a long time that he shook his head again and said, "The suggestion is good, but the feasible surname is not high! The geographical location near the town of Solad is unique, with the 500-mile-long Liujin River on the left and the depression more than 100 miles deep on the right. It was almost impossible for a brigade of military horses to pass through these two places. In the middle of the plain, it is also very difficult for us to cross the past without being discovered by the enemy's vanguard. Moreover, the number of the enemy's main force is small, to say that there are more than 100,000, and the number of people we send out is small, so it will not play a role at all. My opinion is that we should remain the same and stay in the town of Solad. The town is very fortified and easy to defend and difficult to attack. Our army has a small number of troops, which is only suitable for defensive battles. If we take the initiative and the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, if it is not against us, then it will be difficult for us to come back and organize an effective defense. ”

Captain Higgins' analysis is also very reasonable. The enemy is strong and we are weak, and the purpose of our army's operations is very clear. Then it is the best choice to stay in one place with all your might, so as to respond to all changes. Several captains listened to it, but they didn't have any opinions. The operational meeting was held for a while, and after some specific rules were clarified, it was dispersed.

The night is getting deeper. The war was imminent, and Higgins couldn't sleep, so he took a personal soldier to inspect and inspect the defense areas of various troops. The soldiers were tired for a day and a night, and at this moment they had already fallen asleep. Higgins came to the defense area of the [***] team, walked to the entrance of the street, looked at the dark distance, and couldn't help but think of his newlywed wife.

Higgins was an orphan whose parents died when he was very young. As a child he lived by begging, and nine years ago when he was fifteen years old, just in time for the outbreak of the First Great Patriotic War. He lied about his age and enlisted in the army and fought in that war. Later, General Buck saw him by chance, and saw at a glance that Higgins was actually underage, so he kept him by his side as a personal soldier. But Higgins, despite his young age, was intelligent, studious, and brave and tenacious. It soon won the affection and appreciation of General Buck. So he began to deliberately cultivate him and promote him. In the past nine years, he has also been very competitive, not only making many achievements, but also constantly improving his own quality. By the end of last year, he had become the youngest army commander in the empire.

Higgins' wife was the daughter of General Barker's sister and Diana's cousin. Their acquaintance and love were also facilitated by General Barker. When Higgins received the order to return to the army and go north to fight, it was only the third day of his wedding.

Higgins sighed and looked silently into the distance. In the night sky, it seems that the beautiful smiling face of his wife has appeared. He stared blankly, and for a moment, as if he were stupid.

On the quiet night before the Great War, there were still many people who couldn't sleep, and who, like Higgins, were thinking about someone. In the Earl's Court in Rochester, Judy sat in a chair and stared blankly at the ceiling. Since Keya and Anne announced their relationship in public that day, her whole person has been in the same trance as now. She clearly knew why she was like this, and that heartache and sadness made her so uncomfortable that she couldn't eat or sleep well. In the first few days, Judy was very resentful of Koya. That kid with no conscience, she was so good to him, she almost even distanced herself from her best friend Diana for him. But instead of appreciating it, he got along with her most hated rival, Anne.

How can this be? Why Annie?

Judy was puzzled, and in her opinion, Keya and Anne were also incompatible. But why do two people who are so opposed suddenly fall in love with each other?

After a long time, her resentment towards Koya weakened, and she wanted to ask him why, but since that day, Koya has disappeared and never appeared in front of her again. Judy knew that he was in the Holy Sect and was practicing diligently all night in order to become a sword master. She knew she couldn't bother him. But Judy just couldn't help it, she wanted to see Koya, she missed him......

In the palace, the young Princess Jennifer stood in her own princess building, facing the window, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes to pray to the goddess that General Buck, who had been worrying him all night, to return safely as soon as possible.

In fact, in Princess Jennifer's small heart, she doesn't understand what love is. She just thinks that General Buck is her savior, and her life is given by Buck, so she is willing to give everything she has, including her life, for General Buck.

Buck saved Jennifer twice, and the first time she was saved, Jennifer was only eight years old. That day, she went home with her mother to visit her grandfather, but unexpectedly encountered two huge flame dragons. My grandfather's house was burned into a sea of fire by the flames of the Flame Dragon. Everyone in her grandfather's house was burned to death, including her mother. She was the only one who survived, because she was playing hide-and-seek in the garden with some boys, and she happened to be hiding behind the rockery waterfall. That's when General Buck appears, kills two dragons, and rescues Jennifer from the fire. The second time was at Miracle Mountain, when Jennifer had just turned twelve years old, and she attended the education of saints for the first time and listened to the teachings of the goddess for the first time. It's just curious that when she stood on the boulder that the goddess stepped on, she accidentally fell into the abyss that she couldn't see because she wanted to pick a beautiful little yellow flower on the edge of the cliff. It was Buck who saved her, and just as Jennifer was desperate, General Buck flew up and carried her back to the mountain.

So Jennifer thinks that Buck is the one who is destined to protect her, and haunts him from then on, and misses him every night. She didn't think about becoming Buck's woman, she just blessed him and prayed for his safety.

That night, General Buck was also thinking about his wife and daughter. His wife, although beautiful, was only a commoner's daughter. She and General Buck grew up together and were childhood sweethearts. After Buck grew up and became famous, countless noble girls in the empire wanted to marry him, and His Majesty Emperor Pierre VI even wanted to give him all his daughters as wives. But Buck refuses them all, and he only chooses the lover he has liked since childhood, the daughter of an ordinary servant in his family.

Just yesterday, Buck commanded his troops to successfully annihilate the vanguard of the Kingdom of Tandax, so frightened that the main force of the Kingdom of Tandax no longer dared to approach. But the journey back to Yanjing is still a long one. Even if he led the army back to Yanjing, he didn't have time to go back to see his wife and daughter. Because he is the commander of the emperor's [***] team, he has to command the army and people of the whole empire and fight a duel to the death with the enemy who invades the motherland.

He still has many, many jobs to do, and the war is still a long one. Therefore, he can only occasionally miss his relatives in the dead of night and take a short rest.

It was a quiet night, and if it weren't for the war, it might have been a peaceful sleep. But at this moment, except for those extremely tired soldiers, insomniacs, there are too many......

Finally, it was dawn. The soldiers of the Imperial Fourth Army in the town of Sorad had a good night's sleep, and everyone felt refreshed and full of strength. After a hot breakfast, we immediately went to work on repairing the fortifications.

Not long after, suddenly the lookout soldiers guarding the highest building in the town shouted: "The enemy soldiers are coming!

The soldiers stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to look at the fields outside the town. On the horizon, there is a thick cloud of dust and smoke, slowly rolling towards here.

It's finally here, and the big war is about to begin!

One of the squadron leaders immediately shouted, "What are you doing in a daze, pick up your arms, take your places, and prepare for battle!" So the soldiers, although in a hurry, quickly assembled, and then threw themselves into their respective guard lines according to their pre-battle subordinates.

After Higgins heard the report, he also hurriedly rushed to the front line from the military command post and carefully observed the movements of the incoming enemy. The sixteenth and seventeenth captains also quickly came to his side.

After looking at it for a while, Higgins muttered: "Judging from this splash of dust and smoke, the enemy's follow-up main force has arrived overnight! It seems that the enemy wants to strike with all his strength and break through our army's defense line as soon as possible." Order the troops, immediately get ready for battle!"

"Yes, Commander!"

The enemy forces were getting closer and closer, thick smoke was billowing in, and even in the town, a slight tremor of the ground could be felt. After a while, the figure of the enemy's vanguard could be faintly seen.

It was a light cavalry, and the wind banner at the head was clearly discernible!

Although the officers and men of the Fourth Army had long put life and death on the line, they were still a little nervous when they saw the enemy's army pressing on the border. Some people have their palms starting to sweat.

At this time, Commander Higgins laughed and said loudly: "Soldiers, you see that the enemy is moving so slowly, and the momentum is not at all violent, do you know what that is for? I tell you, because they are afraid! They know that this is the grave where they are buried, and when they get here, their only fate is death! Soldiers, in order to express our joy that we welcome them to their deaths, why don't we sing a welcome song together!"

(To be continued)