Two hours later, on the north bank of the Qingshui River, rolling around.

In the joint command of the Kachin Fifth Brigade and the Mobile Armored Brigade, Commander Kashaw listened to the adjutant's report, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"They dodged our air raids? We didn't leak any information about this operation, nor did we show any obvious intentions, so how would they know that we had their information? ”

Hearing his words, the adjutant who should have been "submissive" to his superiors in the civil land martial arts sneered abnormally, and then replied:

"I said a long time ago that there is no point in such an air strike."

"Do you think your opponent is a wild dog that came out of nowhere? They are real battlefield wolves, their sense of smell is extremely keen, their spirits are always tense, and their vigilance is many times higher than yours! ”

"How could they not have anticipated an air strike during the march? It should be said that they are even waiting for our air strike! ”

"Judging from the final high-altitude reconnaissance results, their real main force chose a path through the mountains, and the exposed area above is extremely narrow, if we want to launch an air attack, we will most likely have to pass over their heads at a low altitude."

"What they need is an opportunity to keep them out of the air bomb as much as possible, and once we launch a low-altitude dive attack, they have a chance to kill us with the limited air force they have."

"They didn't make a mistake all the time, unlike you."

Hearing the adjutant's words, Kashaw scratched his head a little ashamedly, looking like he was "obedient".

This strange scene was watched by everyone in the command room, but no one questioned it.

The reason is simple, the "adjutant" who is speaking here is, in fact, a white man.

His name is Varence, a member of CIASAD, one of the main leaders of the Southeast Asia region, and an experienced intelligence officer, killer, and special operations researcher.

And the reason why he appeared in the command tent of the Kachin army is self-evident.

But of course, he is still "not qualified" to participate in the actual command operation of Kachin.

Because their position is to "aid and assist" the Kachin army.

If the Kachin commanders were really taken away from their command, it would not have ended so well.

In fact, this is one of the things that Valence is most frustrated with at the moment.

Knowing that many of Kachin's actions did not conform to the laws of war and could not bring positive results, he could not interfere and could only suggest.

And a lot of the time, Cashaw really doesn't listen to his advice.

Even Valence vaguely felt that Cashaw was just using CIASAD as a tool, and his heart may be far from being as "loyal" as he appeared.

However, Valence didn't have much to do about it, his authority was not big enough, his status was not high enough, and naturally he couldn't expect Ka to wag his tail and beg for mercy like a dog.

All he could do was complain afterwards and learn some lessons for them, as he is doing now.

Looking at Cashaw, who had nothing to say, Valence sighed softly, and then said:

"In short, take your enemies seriously."

"I have emphasized countless times that the Dongfeng Corps is not an ordinary opponent, they are strong, and they are not strong in the so-called small-scale special operations capability."

"This is your biggest misconception, you always think that they are a special forces like the Six SEALs, and think that they have no power to fight back against the regular army"

"This kind of thinking is just joking with me, have you ever seen any special forces force that can't wait to buy tanks after they have money?"

"They are Wagner that has not yet grown up, and it may even be an extralegal corps that has not yet grown, and it is a strengthened version!"

"You have to treat them the same way you would treat the elite units of the regular army, understand?!"

"I understand, I understand."

Apparently a little impatient with Valens's preaching, Cashaw replied perfunctorily and then said:

"No matter who they are, in short, we are bound to have a fight with them."

"It will take them at least four hours to reach the Qingshui River, and I think we should be able to complete the river crossing within those four hours, right?"

"That's right."

Valence breathed a long sigh of relief, nodded slowly, and said:

"How's the team's readiness?"

"We've all made the go-ahead, and we've requisitioned all the ships we can requisition, and the total number is about 40."

"40?! Are you kidding me? You are a full brigade plus an armored mobile brigade with a number of 3500, and you told me that you only have 40 boats ?! ”

"How are you going to cross the river? Are you stacking arhats like Indians?! ”

Kashaw's brows furrowed slightly, and he said dissatisfiedly:

"We can't help it, the Allies took almost all the ships after crossing the river, and it is already the limit to be able to find 40-—— and most of them are transported from the Nu River."

"Moreover, the width of this section of the Qingshui River is not wide, and the narrowest point is only more than 50 meters."

"If you can't ship it all at once, can't you transport it in parts?"

"We have an advantage in firepower and numbers, how can the Confederates hold us back?"

"Whatever you want, I'm going to report up."

Valence completely lost patience with Cashaw, but his attitude caused even greater resentment from Cashaw.

"Report upward? Then report it. ”

"The plans you put forward are simply impossible to execute, and even the so-called blitzkrieg is already very reluctant for us."

"Please respect the facts, and if you can't give us objective advice under limited conditions, then I think it's better for you not to speak."

Kashaw's words sent a chill in Valens's heart, and he realized that he did seem to have "overestimated" the strength of the Kachin army.

At the end of the day, they're just a militia.

Although it is necessary to be stronger than other militia organizations in terms of training, it is not bad that it can achieve this step when it is perennially dissatisfied with the establishment and has been "dual-use" for both military and civilian purposes all year round

Thinking of this, Valence nodded slowly, and then said:

"You're right, we are indeed limited by objective conditions."

"So, I'm going to make some objective suggestions."

"First of all, you go and prepare a firefighting boat, you don't need to use any high-grade materials, you just need to make it explode violently on the water."

"The other side is likely to set fire on the surface of the water to block the passage of our small boats, and your firefighting boat can use the shock wave of the explosion to tear apart the flames and open the way for us."

"Can you understand that?"

"Totally understood."

Cashaw nodded immediately, while Valence continued:

"In addition, our river crossing operation this time must focus on one point, don't think about detours, don't think about dividing the troops."

"The section of the river that we can use is the 20 kilometers that run east-west, and the rest of the area is mountainous, which is completely unfavorable for the deployment of large forces. Therefore, we will focus on seizing the hill bridge and the narrow river channel near the hill bridge. ”

"The distance between the two sides will even be less than 100 meters, and the casualties must be very large, you must be mentally prepared, and your soldiers must also be mentally prepared."

"I understand, I will directly let my private soldiers lead the charge."

"Good. The third point is that you must not enter the Qingshuihe urban area, the fifth place is too close to the north, so we will fight in the area of Rolling Lane and Huoban, understand? If you want to occupy the Qingshui River, you will also wait until the encirclement of the river crossing is completed before turning back and occupying it."

"Don't worry, I know this better than you do."

"That's fine."

Valence breathed a sigh of relief, then asked:

"When do you expect to attack?"

"An hour later."

Glancing at his watch, Kashaw continued:

"According to our plan, before the Dongfeng Corps arrives, we will be able to cross the Qingshui River and go to Banglong for breakfast."

On the other side, on the south bank of the Qingshui River, near Hoban.

Peng Deren held a telescope in his hand and hid behind the window of the temporary command post, slightly nervously watching the movement on the riverbank in the distance.

He knew that a full-scale Kachin offensive was about to begin, and that the other side had found the ship and protected it at the dock north of the confluence of the Qingshui and Nu rivers.

Within a distance of less than 300 meters, the two sides had engaged in several sporadic exchanges of fire, and several more positions on the Allied side were exposed, but the Kachin army also paid the price.

However, because of the inferiority of the Allied forces themselves in terms of equipment and ammunition, Peng Deren pressed his men to death and did not allow a large-scale attack.

Because he knew that if the bullets were wasted in such a place, so that the firepower of the subsequent river crossing defense battle was insufficient, it would simply play into the hands of the Kachin army.

Therefore, no matter how aggrieved he was, he could only endure it, no matter how provocative the other side was, how he fired recklessly with machine guns, and even used the machine guns on their M2s to carry out a wave of aimless strafing at the complex where he was located, he was completely indifferent.

He didn't even expect that he could endure it so much-—— if it had been a few months ago, he might have retreated hysterically after a wave of fighting, and retreated to the jungle to fight guerrillas, right?

But now it's different, and now he knows that that kind of seemingly resolute, seemingly heroic behavior is actually a kind of cowardice.

Only those who achieve victory at any cost and by any means are the true heroes.

This was the third and most important thing he learned from the Dongfeng Corps.

Thinking of this, Peng Deren breathed a long sigh of relief, and at the same time, in his telescope vision, the Kachin army in the distance finally began to move.

A squad crossed the anticline hill used for concealment and was approaching the riverbank.

They seemed to be just conducting a routine "reconnaissance", but Peng Deren knew that the other party must be going to fight.

Because, this "reconnaissance team" has a machine gun on it.

Peng Deren's heart pounded, and then, he immediately ordered:

"Prepare for battle!"

"The reconnaissance team must keep an eye on the enemy's movements, and must confirm to me where they are going to cross the river from before the battle begins!"

"Stare their ship to death, and tell me as soon as it moves!"

"I'm going to see if they're going north to cross the river from the Xiaoshan Bridge, or if they're rolling around and crossing the river on the spot!"

"Mortars are prepared, and after the battle begins, first organize a round of shelling of the opponent's dock according to the guidelines!"

"Understood."

"Understood."

The replies of various regiment commanders and battalion commanders were heard on the radio, and soon, Peng Deren's guess was also verified.

——

But alas, not in the way he expected.

What confirmed his suspicion was a heavy shelling!

Less than a minute after the Allies discovered that Kachin had the intention to go to war, shells from the artillery battalion of the Kachin Mobile Brigade arrived.

The whistling shells covered all the key areas on the south bank of the Qingshui River, including Huo Ban, where Peng Deren was located!

The deafening sound of artillery continued to sound, and a single shell even exploded less than fifty meters outside Peng Deren's temporary command post!

"Boom!"

The huge shock wave shattered the glass of the command post, and Peng Deren stabilized his body, and then shouted into the radio:

"Don't fight back!"

"Don't fight back until the other party officially crosses the river!"

"Save ammo, save ammo—"

Soon, his shouts were drowned out by more violent explosions, and under the dense artillery fire, Peng Deren even felt dazed.

Is it really the Kachin Army on the other side?

With such a density of artillery fire every few seconds, can they really hit it?

Where did they get so many shells, and where did they get gunners who could shoot non-direct!?

They themselves did not find their artillery positions at all, and neither did the fire reconnaissance groups sent out!

It's too late.

It's too late to think about these questions now.

Can only be resisted.

Peng Deren was anxious, he was waiting for the reconnaissance team to give him information on the movement of the Kachin army across the river, and soon, his wait also paid off.

"Prepare to cross the river! Get ready to cross the river! ”

"Their speedboats have already begun to move, and there is a large force gathering near the small mountain bridge!"

"There are assault boats! They have armed assault boats and are heading south from the north side of the Nu River! Attack in the direction of Hexinzhou! ”

"The fire is fierce! We can't stand it—"

"Hold it off for me! Support is coming soon! ”

Peng Deren gave a decisive order, and then ordered the correspondent who was waiting on the side:

"Communication class, pass on my orders!"

"Two key defense areas! Defense area 1, the confluence of the Nu River and the Qingshui River, the delta near the rolling lane and Huli. ”

"The enemy will inevitably try to cross the river from here, and we must hold the delta to the death and force them to continue north!"

"Defense area two, near the hill bridge! The river is the narrowest here, and they don't have many boats, so it's the best for reciprocating maneuvers. ”

"Order the sapper group to dump all the oil, detonate the tanker, and start setting fire now!"

"The rest of the troops distributed along the Qingshui River immediately gathered in these two directions and quickly supported!"

"Understood!"

The correspondent turned to leave, while Peng Deren directed the telescope and picked up the Bayi bar that had been placed on the table a long time ago.

The battle has already begun, and it is absolutely impossible for him to stay out of it as a commander.

At this time, the hum of propeller planes was already heard in the air.

On the ground, the burst fire of the machine guns on the M2 armored infantry combat vehicle was even more harsh.

As the gunfire intensified, Peng Deren walked to the mortar position hidden in the complex.

He was going to correct one of his command mistakes.

Seeing the gunner, who had already begun to prepare shells, he hurriedly spoke:

"Artillery scouts give me the front!"

"The dock can't be stopped, don't fight!"

"Do what I taught you, aim at that infantry chariot on the riverbank, and hit me hard!"

(End of chapter)