"To the President of the Family Command, Lord Luo Minghai, with the highest respect:

Our troops arrived at Chishui Beach in Yun Province on September 15.

Acting Commander of the Zhōngyāng Army, Stirling"

Chishuitan in Yun Province was neither a military stronghold nor a strategic fortress, but the busy military commander Stirling (who did not yet know that he was already officially in charge) made an exception to take time out of his way to write a war report to the command, showing how important it was to regain control of the family army. In the summer of the Empire's 779th year, this place, which was too small to even bother to mark on the map, brought nightmarish and painful memories to the Zichuan family. A month earlier, the Far Eastern Army, the 300,000 Jīng Rui family, had fought a battle on an unprecedented scale of one million men against 500,000 rebels and 150,000 Lei Hong rebels on this narrow plain divided by river hills.

Tang Chuan, a scholar of family war history, once commented on Chishuitan: "It was here that the Zichuan family lost 230,000 loyal and warlike soldiers. The Zichuan family's two-hundred-year rule over the Far East, the glory and dreams of seven generations, and the qualification to dominate the Xichuan Continent were ruthlessly shattered by the horse's hooves the moment Lei Hong's army appeared on the Chishuitan Plain. Due to the defeat at Chishuitan, the weakening of the strength of the Zichuan family was also the cause of a series of disasters in the family's later years. Chishuitan can be called a turning point in the fate of the Zichuan family from strength to decline. ”

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Stirling was shocked by the Shura place in front of him.

The vast plains at the foot of the mountain, as far as the eye can see, are littered with corpses of broken battle armor. The family's proudest Far Eastern ironclad cavalry ended up exposing corpses in the wilderness. I don't know whether it was out of hatred or ostentation, but the victors of the Battle of Chishuitan were not kind enough to bury the wreckage of the losers, and the strong smell of rotting corpses in the air was unbearable a few kilometers away.

The dense remnants of broken spears spread to the sky, a remnant flag stood diagonally in the sunset in the distance, the evening breeze "hunting" rolled up the flag, and the words "Far East ##骑#军" were faintly visible, the flag was still here, but the soldiers holding the flag had already turned into white bones.

Hordes of ghoul vultures swooped down on the sky, one after the other, and the strange cries of waw wow seemed to celebrate their good fortune.

Sterling burst into a burst of nameless fire, took out his arrows and slashed off a strange vulture, and let out a wistful sigh of wistfulness.

The senior officers behind him looked at Ping Rì, a steady and calm young commander, uneasily, and did not understand why he was so irritable.

"Stop the advance and bury the bodies for the friendly forces. They fought and died for their country, and we can't let them be exposed to the wilderness like this. ”

The officers shooed. The 3rd Cavalry Division's banner Ben Ma Yuan proposed: "My lord, this will delay a lot of time." We won't be able to catch up with the rebels. ”

Sterling said coldly, "Can we catch up now?"

※※※

Ten days earlier, Stirling had led 20,000 cavalry of the Zhōngyāng Army to pursue the main rebel force into Yun Province.

Ever since the pursuit into Yun Province, the rebels have been as agile as fish in water, this is their land, their hometown, and they know the terrain here as well as their own room. On the contrary, the steep mountains and rugged mountain roads of Yun Province made it difficult for the pursuing human cavalry to walk, and coupled with the unfamiliar terrain, it often happened that the entire army set off in the cloud curtain in the morning, and worked hard for a day under the rugged and winding mountain road until twilight, so everyone found themselves back in front of the anointing fire where they had slept the night before.

Their only guide was a book from twenty years ago—a large river appeared where the road was marked, that there were only a few stakes left where there was a bridge, and that a certain place was "beautiful and pleasant, and suitable for camping in the wilderness!" -- and that 20,000 troops would have been buried alive in the mudslide if they hadn't run fast that night!--Stirling found out with disgust that this atlas, full of errors and omissions, was pirated!

Stirling had considered hiring a local native-style guide, but no matter how much he was paid, the villagers would just look at him coldly as if they were idiots (or like idiots) with dull eyes. Finally, an old orc man "volunteered" to lead the way, only to lead a squadron of cavalry into the swamp and swallow it - so Stirling had to abandon the idea of hiring a local guide, and watched as the enemy's rout grew farther and farther away from him, and finally disappeared from view......

Another important reason for the slow advance of the army was the hostility of the local population towards the family. The Great Far Eastern Rebellion was launched in the province of Sharo, but it was the province that achieved the greatest development: when the news of the uprising arrived, the whole province united as one person and responded quickly, and the young and middle-aged people immediately grabbed rudimentary weapons and rushed to the local garrison, and then besieged the provincial capital, slaughtering all the besieged hundreds of thousands of human soldiers and civilians. The governor of the province, Ben Yang Licheng, surrendered at the time of the break, but was tortured by the rebels for three days before finally Kai Grace killed him. It can be said that the whole province is either a rebel or a rebel family.

Although Sterling had been mentally prepared in advance, he did not expect the residents of Yun Province to welcome their arrival so "warmly" - within twelve hours, the forward scouts encountered hundreds of attacks, sneak attacks, and traps, ranging in size from a large team of thousands to suicide attacks by one or two people. When the procession was advancing, sometimes a cold arrow came from the grass, sometimes a javelin flew out of the woods, when the army stopped to camp, there was no peace around the city, and when the sentinels were sent to investigate, either nothing could be found, or none of the people sent out returned. When Stirling examined the prisoners of war, he was shocked: almost all civilians, old and young, women and children, and not a single young man. What did their men do? The answer is obvious.

Stirling understood why, with the scheming of Rì Lobo and the courage of Lin Bing, coupled with the bravery of the soldiers of the Far Eastern Army, there was still the defeat of Chishuitan - when a race had already made up its mind to resist to the death, the destructive power they erupted was staggering.

Stirling once pondered: "What is the reason that after two hundred years of the Zichuan family's "benevolent government" on this land, every living creature in the land has tried their last breath to oppose us? What are we wrong?", but he consciously prevented himself from continuing to search for the answer: soldiers should not interfere in politics, and the army has a thought, which is the harbinger of the country's demise.

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Ma Yuan immediately shut up. The officers exchanged glances, understanding that Lord Sterling was in a bad mood today, and warned themselves not to touch the mold. It's just that everyone is a little confused about Sterling's plan: if he doesn't pursue the enemy, is he preparing to retreat?

The officers had long wanted to retreat, such a lone weak brigade of cavalry had advanced too deeply, leaving all the infantry and supplies far behind thousands of kilometers, within a radius of 1,000 kilometers, except for the rebels or rebels, the rebels who couldn't be killed, all kinds of rebels: rude orcs, yīn dangerous snake clans, dwarves who love to release cold arrows, cruel demons, roaring dragons...

The only motive force that supported the whole army to move forward was Sterling's unwavering will. With the dignity of the commander of the zhōngyāng army, he shared food and clothing with the soldiers, nibbled on wild vegetables that were difficult to swallow, and rolled in the muddy grass, fighting like an ordinary soldier. He is the last to fall asleep every night, and he is the first to get up every day. The soldiers loved Sterling, embraced him wholeheartedly, and carried out every order he gave with all their hearts.

The mid-level officers, however, felt the danger: no matter how high the morale of the troops, the army could not fight on morale alone. Officers kept coming to persuade Stirling: "My lord, it's time to withdraw!" "We have already made great achievements in the battle, defeating hundreds of thousands of rebels, and the credit is great enough!" "My lord, let the army rest for a while, they have been fighting for nearly fifty days and running five thousand miles!" -- Sterling always listens very carefully every time someone comes, and from time to time he gives an approving "yes!" "That's right!" "I think the same thing as you. ". But when it comes to tomorrow's action arrangement, he always understates one sentence: "As planned, it will not change." ”

So the officers complained, some thought that Sterling was too mean, some thought that Sterling was using the soldier's life as a bargaining chip for the sake of meritorious promotion, and even Luo Minghai of the command office also wrote to him twice in three days to tell him: "What is the matter of your officer!?

Faced with the misunderstanding of his subordinates and the reproach of the command, Sterling did not say a word to defend himself. In his mind, his own honor and disgrace are really insignificant. He was bitter about why he had won so many battles and defeated rebels all the way, but the situation had not improved at all, the Far East was still on fire, and rebellions were still rising and falling. As Di Lin said in his letter: "A hundred victories are not enough to turn things around, and a defeat will lead to disaster." "His current situation is really walking on thin ice, using his meager forces to contain and deter hundreds of thousands of rebels (and millions of people in the Far East who want to become rebels), and he can only win, not lose! Although he said that he has defeated hundreds of thousands of rebels, Sterling knows that this is meaningless: the rebels are a nine-headed dragon, cut one to death, and several more! They collapse easily, but as soon as the wind blows, they gather quickly. Where exactly is the battlefield that determines xìng?

Therefore, he firmly believed that the only way to quell the rebellion was to go straight to the source of the rebellion, fight to the death with the rebels, and eliminate the root cause of the rebellion in one fell swoop! Although the rebels were now defeated and looked very weak, Stirling knew very well that the rebels were still strong, and they were only confused by Stirling's lightning and rapid attack! When they came to their senses, the family would have to pay a hundredfold bloody price if they wanted to quell the rebellion in the future.

At this time, the only one who understood Sterling was Zichuan Chief Zichuan Sanxing. He wrote to Sterling with only one sentence: "I am worried, I know." When reading the letter, Sterling couldn't help but burst into tears: although he did not ask for anything in return, his good intentions for the family were finally understood by the chief. The hardships of the fierce battles on the battlefield, the tragedy of dedication, the cāo labor of the night, and the pain of not being understood, now it seems that all of them have not been in vain.

After a moment of hesitation, Wen He, the commander of the 1st Cavalry Division, asked the question that everyone was most concerned about: "My lord, then we..."

Stirling did not reply, he turned to look at the blackened soldiers behind him: the soldiers were hungry, jīng, thin, tired, ragged, their crisp and gold-trimmed uniforms torn to pieces, they walked like ghosts rather than people, their trembling hands could barely hold spears and guns, so thin that they looked like a group of knights in iron armor riding skeletons on skeletal horses—a very different race from when Rì set out from dìdū's imposing armor and distinctively set out: how small this unit had become!

But even so, they were still the sharpest troops! Every time they heard the sound of the horn, these half-dead soldiers immediately became more energetic, their faces were miraculously red, their eyes shining with electricity, and they shouted highly. No matter how strong the enemy is, they dare to stride forward and not retreat an inch. - Despite the interruption of supplies for more than ten days, the soldiers still did not complain, as long as they heard Stirling's first call, they were willing to fight with him to the ends of the earth to the Demon God Castle.

Looking at the young and haggard faces, a pair of determined eyes, thinking that there are many more equally young and determined young men who have been buried in the land far away from their relatives and lovers, from the city of Valen Fortress to the Chishui Beach in Yun Province for more than 3,000 miles, there is an average of every fifty meters of the cross of a dìdū disciple.

Stirling suddenly felt a sense of trepidation:

What right does he have to make these children pay with their lives for his stubbornness?

Is it a sin to take advantage of the soldiers' love for themselves and lead them to the path of death?

For the sake of the strong unification of the family, for the restoration of peace and the turning of the sword into a ploughshare in the Far East, is the sacrifice made by the zhōngyāng army too great?

Is your judgment accurate, is there really a decisive battle that can change the entire situation in the Far East?

Can such an army survive a battle?

Turning to face the whole army, Stirling's hoarse and deep voice clearly reached the ears of every soldier.

"Soldiers, in front of us are the comrades of the Far Eastern Army of the family. They fought valiantly and sacrificed their lives for their country. Now what we're going to do is bury the bodies for them, and—" Sterling closed his eyes, two tears rolling down his eyes, "we withdraw." ”

The soldiers stirred, but with good discipline, no one made a noise.

"Soldiers, in the past month or so, you have experienced seven battles, twenty-five field battles, and two hundred and eleven assault battles, and you have won all of them, and you have not lost a single one! You have defeated twenty times the number of enemies you have defeated! Your appearance has made the entire Zichuan family proud, and you have added glory to the family eagle banner at the ends of the earth!"

"Qing chūn will not be wasted, and blood is wasted. Please believe in the family, and will not forget your loyalty and courage!

On behalf of the family, I would like to say to you: "Thank you for your hard work, brothers!"

Stirling solemnly gave the whole army a beautiful salute.

He was responded to by a roar like a wave: "I want to follow my lord!"

※※※

On the fifteenth day of September in the year 779 of the Imperial Calendar, Stirling led a section of the Zōngyāng Army to occupy the Chishui Beach in Yun Province.

On September 15, 779 in the Imperial calendar, Stirling took the initiative to withdraw his troops from Chishuitan and left Yun Province, ending this crazy pursuit.

As it turned out later, Stirling's operation ended just right. On September 21, the rebel troops, re-reinforced from the center of the rebellion, frantically counterattacked, attempting to sweep the entire Far East again. However, after Sterling was recuperated and reinforced, he guarded the highway of the Yun Province Mountains like a nail, choking the throat of the rebel dragon and locking it up in the territory of Yun Province.

The 50,000 zhōngyāng army and the 200,000 rebels fought a tug-of-war in the jungle of the Yunsheng Mountains, and once the rebels broke through this exit, there was a plain area in front of them.

The command office ordered Minghui's troops to urgently reinforce Stirling, and must not allow the main rebel force to rush out of Yun Province. At the same time, the first units of the People's Army were ordered to march to the Far East.

※※※

September 16, a stormy night. An uninvited guest suddenly visits Zi Chuanning's home.

The visitor asked Zi Chuanning very directly: "Is Ah Xiu living here?"

Zi Chuan Ning looked at the visitor vigilantly: a mature woman with excellent charm, she opened her mouth to be so affectionate as Ah Xiu Chang and Ah Xiu Short - she couldn't help but ask: "May I ask you to find him because of ......"

"Oh, I'm his ex-mistress, and now I've come to him for alimony and Qing Chūn compensation. ”

The teacup in Zi Chuanning's hand "snapped" and shattered.

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