Kong Ren went to the front line and became the chief of staff of the Yanling County Theater.

When Jiang Xi learned about it, he complained: "I finally have a helper, and you got him away again, do you want to exhaust your second uncle?"

"With me, I, the deputy commander of the Military Command Department, will go to the General Staff to help you, do you think?"

"You should be on the front line the most, you are more threatening to lead troops on the front line than to command in the rear, who is not afraid of your ability to run thousands of miles? ”

If there is a choice, Jiang Xi would rather have Kong Ren as an assistant, his nephew is too capable of tossing, and new ideas will pop up when he is not in a while. The problem is that this restless assistant has the final decision-making power, and everyone has to follow his train of thought.

The closer he is to the enemy, the more headaches the enemy commander will have, and staying in the rear honestly weakens his own threat.

"Always rely on me to fight the world, young generals will never be able to get up, isn't the hidden danger of the Eighth Army also the same?"

This topic is the last thing Ding Kui wants to talk about, but he has to face it.

Dong Ba and Hua Mo are over the retirement age and should have retired a long time ago; Wang Chou, Ma Ju, Luo Tao, and Xi Xiu are approaching retirement age and should not go to the battlefield in a few years; Shu Li and Qiao Meng can hold out for a few more years, but they are also starting to decline; Fan Yuzhen and Quan Wanyun have not yet reached their peak and will need a certain amount of time to grow up.

The division commanders of the Eighth Army Corps, the old ones and the small ones, there are only two in the prime of life, and the replacement of the old and the new is a big problem.

On the staff side, Jiang Zhi, the new generation of chief of staff, carries the banner, and the overall level of the elite army can be maintained, but there is no need for Ding Kui to worry.

The last is the quality of recruits, in the past, there were national legions to transfer elite supplements, now can only replenish new recruits, the average quality of individual soldiers in the corps is constantly declining, compared with the strongest period, the current eighth legion can only be regarded as an elite corps.

Jiang Xi was silent for a while, and suddenly asked, "How long does it take for the military academy to train a qualified officer now?"

"Normally, it takes two years, and it takes less time to have a good foundation, and there are also half a year or a year, otherwise why would I go to the trouble of finding my uncle to get a group of officers, and those people can graduate in three months of study. Ding Kui now has the bottom in his heart.

Military academies have already begun to operate, experience is accumulating in all aspects, and the speed of training officers can be predicted more accurately.

Middle-level officers are the skeleton of an army, they will not collapse, the army will not collapse, and with soldiers with the soul of the army, that is an elite army with flesh and blood.

Or are the people of your Ding family suitable for managing the staff, and coming up with such a method of training officers is much more efficient than the knights' guild, and you can build a few elite legions in less than ten years. ”

"Second uncle, don't be humble, your nephew is embarrassed. There are no problems with the General Staff under your management, and it is enough for me to take care of the existing corps, and I have a big head when I think of the troops in the whole country. You can't afford to leave it alone. Ding Kui was worried about Jiang Xi's resignation.

"Hahaha, I'll think about it when the military school is a little better, you can rest assured for the time being in the past few years. I'll go back to the staff tomorrow, and you won't stay at home. ”

Even if Jiang Xi goes home, he will not be idle, Jiang Li will definitely let him manage the Anguo Army, it is better to stay in Nanqiu County and visit his father at any time.

The first half of the new year is a public holiday for the small imperial court, and except for a few departments that are open all year round, officials of all sizes can rest at home for half a month.

Since the war has begun, officers on duty have been added to the General Staff and Military Command Headquarters, and from 5 January onwards, people have been assigned to their posts.

Shaodianluan took his son to stay in the princess's mansion because he didn't want Ding Kui's father and son to be separated for too long.

The county seat of Nanqiu is equivalent to accompanying the capital, and Ding Kui has no objection to the nominal prison staying in the "accompanying capital", and it is more convenient for the five ministries and local officials to come and visit.

Xianggou City diverted water from the Tongyuan River and dug out the moat, but when the first division of the Protector Army arrived, the sky was already clear, and the national navy sent a reconnaissance boat into the moat, easily broke out of the pontoon bridge, and then broke through the city gate by an iron pulley, and soon announced the fall of the city.

At the foot of Yanling Mountain, Fan Yuzhen led a team leader to the grave. This is a cemetery with a huge stone monument in the middle of the cemetery.

Lin Xuanmo introduced: "The stele is engraved with the names of 5,000 soldiers and magicians under General Huaiyu Gu, and the remains of General Gu are buried below. ”

The words on the stele are dense, and they are the names of more than 5,000 people.

"General Gu has been famous for this battle, which is fascinating!" Fan Yuzhen felt hot all over, and a stream of hot blood flowed in her body.

"Five thousand people, not one of them left the battlefield! Even the magicians did not fly away, they were stunned to drag more than 200,000 enemy troops for a whole day and a night, right under our feet, who can replicate such a feat?" Ding Cai's eyes were moist.

Xie Luo said: "The same place, the same record is impossible to happen again, there are the heroic souls of the ancient generals and soldiers here, and no Chinese soldier will choose to retreat." ”

Ji Zhubao said weakly: "The defenders of the county town won't be like the heroes, right?"

"What are you talking about!" Sun Yilei glanced at Ji Zhubao, "How can those local moths be compared to heroic martyrs!"

"Hehe, this time the county town was besieged is different from last time, we are the army that really represents the imperial court, and the defenders of the county town are just thieves who steal the territory. We have to re-defend this place for the martyrs!" Lin Xuanmo mobilized before the war.

"Well, Staff Officer Lin said it well!" Fan Yuzhen immediately complimented, "We are qualified to defend the country!"

"That's right!" Xie Luoli patted Ding Cai, "Have you ever seen an iron pulley?"

In recent days, the iron block has been shining on the battlefield of Yanling County, and its reputation is unparalleled for a while, and the soldiers of the Eighth Army are the farthest away from Nanqiu County, and they don't know enough about the new weapons, and they don't have time to equip them, so they are very curious about it.

"I look at you almost every day, how can I have time to see the iron pulley? Ding Cai pinched Luo Li's face.

"Get out!" Xie Luoli kicked when he raised his foot.

Then he said in a very small voice, "Haven't you touched enough of the adult's face?"

"What did you say?" Fan Yuzhen turned her head to look.

"No, no!" Xie Luoli shook his head and waved his hand, "Didn't I say you taught him enough?"

"Hmph! Speaking of the iron pulley, we really want to focus on it, and it just so happens that Captain Xie, this task is up to you. You go to the friendly ones and squat and see how they use the iron pulley. ”

"Huh? ”

"What am I, do you still have a chief in your eyes?" Ding Cai became angry, "Don't hurry up and take the order." ”

"Uh, yes! Xie Luoli glanced at Ding Cai fiercely.

The troops responsible for the siege of the county town were the 74th Division and the Protector Army, and the 199th and 200th Divisions were supposed to appear, but they did not know why they withdrew from the battle, and it is said that they had another mission.

The county town of Yanling did not have time to gather the defenders of other cities, and there were only 5,000 city defenders in the city, and no matter how the county guards persuaded them, no people were willing to go to the city to fight.

If it is facing a foreign enemy, the magistrate can forcibly recruit the people, but the enemy outside the city is his own people or the famous elite troops.

The 74th Division arrived first and surrounded the west and north of the county, while the Protectors arrived two hours late and surrounded the east and south of the county.

Lei Feixiang took the initiative to come to the north barracks and meet Fan Yuzhen. It stands to reason that he commands more troops, and his position is slightly higher than that of Fan Yuzhen, but according to the rules of the army, he is a junior, and he should respect his predecessors.

"Xiao Lei, how do you want to fight?" Fan Yuzhen was not polite to Lei Feixiang.

They are both members of the Thirteen Lieutenants of the Protectors, and they have a very close personal relationship, and they talk about official affairs and private affairs, and they all have something to say.

"How else can you fight? Attack from all sides, do you want me to borrow two iron pulleys for you to use?" Lei Feixiang didn't plan to use the tactic of sneak attack, mainly because the special combat regiment did not infiltrate the county town.

"Yes, of course! Do you remember the last mission?" Fan Yuzhen's last question was endless.

"Of course, I have occupied that place on the stage, and my main attack force is at the east gate. This time I have to avenge my brothers and sisters!"

The first mission of the Thirteenth Lieutenant of the Protector was to come to Yanling County, but later the military personnel left first, and Fan Yuzhen and Lei Feixiang did not participate in the protection of the art troupe, and only later heard about the conflict outside the east gate of the county seat.

"Sheng Ru, the commander of the city defense army, and Hong Tao, the president of the Knight Guild, these two must be captured alive!" Fan Yuzhen decided to breathe for the group of thirteen.

This requirement is not high, but it is not low, both of them are fifth-level combat power, both are high-ranking officers in the city, and it is not easy to catch them alive.

"I'm afraid you'll kill them, so it's decided!" Lei Feixiang agreed very happily.

The two agreed on a time, and Lei Feixiang returned to his camp.

Two iron lugs and their operators were sent to the 74th Division, and the siege battle began.

The 74th Division adopted the old method, with mixed crossbows and bows to suppress the wall, heavy infantry to sweep the fortifications, and then cover the iron pulley to break the door.

The Protector Army was a little different, exiting the ballista at the beginning and shooting at the tower, until half of the tower was destroyed, and the iron pulley appeared, running over the defensive siege and rushing to the city gate.

"Ahh Xie Luoli really squatted on Lei Feixiang's general platform to observe the use of new weapons by the Protector Army.

In his opinion, the ballista was relatively ordinary, and could be replaced by a powerful magician, and was not as practical as the iron pulley.

About half an hour after the battle began, the four gates of Yanling County were broken one after another.

"Rush!"

"Kill!"

"Capture Sheng Ru alive!"

"Capture Hong Tao alive!"

“......”

The besieging troops rushed into the city with shouts, and when they saw the officers, they would ask, "Who are you?" and "Have you seen Sheng Ru or Hong Tao?"

"Why did you capture me alive?" Sheng Ru and Hong Tao had the same question in their hearts.

Civil wars are basically not deadly, one side will surrender if it is defeated, and the other side will not fight to the death. It is understandable to arrest the county guard by name, but it is rare for the commander of the city defense army and the president of the knights' guild to be named.