Reception room at the outpost.
Yi Chuan, who rushed over from the embassy street, finally caught Chu Guang who had just come out of the shelter. As soon as they met, he got straight to the point.
"McClan is in your hands?"
Chu Guang stared at him for a few seconds and nodded.
"Yes."
Yi Chuan was slightly stunned.
He thought Chu Guang would evade responsibility or pretend to be ignorant, but he didn't expect him to admit it directly.
Seeing that this guy didn't speak for a long time, Chu Guang guessed what he wanted to say, but he still asked politely.
"Any questions?"
Coming back to his senses, Yi Chuan coughed lightly.
"Well, it's not a big deal. The Council asked me to ask you if you can send McLen to our place for detention. After all, he is an important war criminal. It's not appropriate for you to send him to dig coal... and it will affect the subsequent ceasefire negotiations."
"Ceasefire negotiations?" Chu Guang looked at him with a strange expression, "We have only just started now?"
Knowing that Chu Guang would have this reaction, Yi Chuan continued patiently.
"We have liberated Oasis No. 9 and captured McLen... The bargaining chips in our hands are enough to make the Legion sit down at the negotiation table honestly."
"What to talk about?"
"Of course, it's to withdraw. Their supply lines have been paralyzed and they have no ability to continue attacking. We can't break through their defenses in a short time. Continuing to fight is nothing more than a war of attrition, consuming each other's manpower... The ceasefire has a realistic basis, and they will consider it."
Seeing what Chu Guang was going to say, Yi Chuan said quickly.
"Don't rush to reject it. Why don't you listen to our proposal first?"
Chu Guang nodded and signaled him to continue.
Yi Chuan paused and continued.
"We plan to use McLen and other prisoners of war, as well as the Iron Heart, to exchange for the crew of the Pioneer. As for the issue of Shelter No. 0, we can put it aside for the time being... Of course, you are using the Iron Heart now, and we won't let you pay for it in vain. As compensation, we will leave the Pioneer to you. What do you think?"
Objectively speaking, this proposal is quite sincere.
A Pioneer is indeed much more useful to the alliance than an airship modified from the core of a frigate. That thing is a mobile industrial zone. As long as the raw materials are in sufficient supply, it can easily solve the supply of a division.
Otherwise, the legion would not be so covetous, chasing and intercepting one after another, and even sending the Iron Heart to chase Luo Hua.
However, Chu Guang's face still showed a trace of displeasure.
Is he the kind of person who would sell out his allies for profit?
"What about Oasis No. 3?"
Yi Chuan was stunned and looked at Chu Guang with a strange expression, as if he was surprised that he suddenly mentioned this insignificant place name.
Seeing that Chu Guang was not joking, Yi Chuan calmed down and said seriously.
"It is not realistic to ask the Legion to give up the occupied areas, but we can put pressure on them to force the Legion's own troops to withdraw from Oasis No. 3... As for the rest, let the survivors of Luoxia Province solve it themselves."
Although this is a high EQ statement, the implication is obvious, that is, to sell the Honey Badger Kingdom.
There is nothing wrong with doing so.
The enemy of the enemy is a friend who can be united, but this temporary friendship is based on the situation where the fight still needs to continue.
As long as a ceasefire can be achieved and the Legion stops expanding eastward, an oasis is just a sacrifice from the perspective of the enterprise.
Originally, those people were not on this chariot, but just happened to squat in the same trench. If they want to blame someone, they can only blame themselves for not being able to resist for even a week.
To be honest, Chu Guang didn't want to fight. The alliance had just started and needed to develop. Peace was of course more in line with the interests of the alliance.
But the premise is real peace.
It's not that both sides take a break and then get up and continue fighting.
"Even if it is left to the survivors of Luoxia Province to solve it themselves, it should be after we liberate Oasis No. 3 and disband the armed forces of the Falcon Kingdom."
Yi Chuan was stunned for two seconds after hearing this, and then smiled bitterly.
"My friend... do you think this is realistic?"
"Why not?" Chu Guang asked back.
Yi Chuan reminded.
"The Legion dispatched ten clone regiments to the front line."
Chu Guang said without hesitation.
"We will solve it naturally."
Yi Chuan couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"What happens after we solve this? What if they dispatch ten more clone groups? They have as many consumables as they want, which are produced every two years. Can you kill them all?"
"It is precisely because we cannot kill them all that we plan to solve this problem once and for all," Chu Guang stared at his eyes seriously, "My friend, didn't we agree to drive out all those jackals together?"
"...That is the overall goal. We don't expect to achieve it all at once. That is simply unrealistic," Yi Chuan shook his head and continued earnestly, "Let's stop while we are ahead."
Chu Guang's expression did not change.
"We should stop while we are ahead after the fight is over, not halfway through. Our people have shed a lot of blood. We finally gained a little advantage and grabbed the throat of the jackal. If we don't take this opportunity to break its neck, I will not be able to sleep."
Yi Chuan was silent for a while.
Perhaps there will be no progress even if we continue. He sighed as if giving up and said in a second-best way.
"Back to the first question, at least extradite General McLen to our side--"
However, his concession did not win the compromise of the allies. Chu Guang still looked unmoved and shook his head.
"Now is not the time to discuss the placement of prisoners of war. Even if we want to discuss it, we have to wait until this war is over."
Seeing that this guy did not give in at all, Yi Chuan almost vomited blood and said with a red face.
"I can't explain to the Council if you do this!"
Looking at the expression on his face, Chu Guang knew that he was about to drive this honest man crazy, and quickly changed his tone to a gentle one.
"It's not that I want to embarrass you, but no one in the alliance will agree to a ceasefire at this time... Let's do this, I promise you that this war will end before the end of the year."
Yi Chuan gritted his teeth.
"What if it doesn't end before the end of the year?"
Chu Guang said in a relaxed tone.
"If it's not over by the end of the year, then I'll agree to your terms and sit down with the Legion to talk."
...
Personal friendship is one thing, and collective interests are another. When negotiating with the enterprise on behalf of the alliance, Chu Guang did not give Yi Chuan too much face.
The reason why McLen was thrown into the coal mine was that he didn't want this guy to have too much contact with the enterprise and leave too many fantasies for old friends on the East Coast.
The council is composed of many people, and the opinions of the majority will inevitably swing with the number of votes.
"Unwavering support" and "Don't want to fight because of the money" are two seemingly contradictory positions, but they are not contradictory when placed on the enterprise. It's better to say that this is the norm.
Chu Guang knows very well that he must be tough when he should be tough, and he must not be embarrassed because of eating soft rice.
If he opens a gap and hands McLen over to the enterprise, the East Coast Council will soon start arguing about "whether to take McLen to negotiate with the Legion alone". If something goes wrong, it will add variables to the battle.
At least in this war, he didn't think it was something that needed to be debated.
After leaving Chu Guang, Yi Chuan returned to the Embassy Street, worrying about how to write the report to the Council.
Yun You happened to be here at this time, and seeing the sad expression on his face, he couldn't help but speak.
"Any results?"
Yi Chuan shook his head.
"No."
Yun You frowned slightly and put down his arms.
"I'll go talk to him."
Yi Chuan stopped her quickly.
"Don't... It's hard to make some progress, take your time, leave this to me."
Yun You stared at him for a few seconds and suddenly spoke.
"Excuse me, you've spoiled them too much."
"We spent more than 1 billion to help them fight this war and upgrade their industry. We are the investors! If you don't speak firmly, the survivors will only think that you are easy to bully, and even take advantage of you, just like now... If you don't do well, I will submit a report to the board of directors and ask them to replace the representative who can better represent the interests of the enterprise."
Yi Chuan didn't know how to refute, and said with a wry smile.
"I'll try again... Give me some time."
...
Unable to withstand Yi Chuan's soft and hard grinding, Chu Guang finally made concessions and transferred McLen and his adjutant from the coal mine in Xizhou City and sent them to a separate small room.
This was not entirely the request of the board of directors.
But according to Yi Chuan, by the end of the month, Ideal City plans to send reporters to interview General McLen and other captured officers.
If those reporters knew that the alliance was suspected of "torturing prisoners", it would undoubtedly reduce the image that the alliance had worked so hard to establish.
According to Yi Chuan, the residents of Ideal City would rather see the Alliance convince people with reason, use the "glory of civilization" to influence the prisoners of war, let them realize that their behavior is wrong and barbaric, and repent from the bottom of their hearts.
Chu Guang naturally disdains this.
Since ancient times, it has never been civilization that can tame wild beasts, but whips, sticks and little boys. If you really want them to realize their mistakes, you should send them to the coal mines and realize the difference between humans and beasts through labor.
What's more, compared with the methods used by the Willant people to treat slaves and other survivors, the methods used by the Alliance to treat them can be considered merciful.
However, considering that the Alliance still needs the support of old friends, Chu Guang didn't say much.
Anyway, the number of prisoners of war in the Alliance has almost caught up with one-third of the total population.
There is no shortage of one or two in the coal mine.
...
Southeast of Oasis No. 3.
After showing off his food for more than a month in the rear, Zhan Di Lao finally got the chance to go to the front line and continued to waste food in another place.
The desert-colored open jeep stopped at the foot of a sand dune.
Following Commander Kolwe out of the car, Zhan Di Lao looked at the surrounding positions.
I saw trenches crisscrossing and connecting the layers of mountains into one piece. Looking around, the mountains and plains seemed to be pierced with gun holes.
In addition to the trenches reinforced with wood and sandbags, there were machine gun bunkers covered with camouflage nets and anti-aircraft artillery positions half buried in the sand.
More than 100,000 infantrymen were scattered on a front line of dozens of kilometers, turning the entire position into an iron barrel, so solid that even a fly could not fly in.
After getting off the car, Kolwe looked at the soldiers waiting next to the bunker and gave orders.
"Notify the acting captain of the 7th Hundred to bring all the brothers to gather."
"Yes! Sir!"
The soldier stood at attention and saluted, then trotted to the anti-artillery hole next to him, and soon trotted back with an officer.
"Beaufort, the acting captain of the 7th Hundred, reports to you!"
After a short wait.
The teams squatting in the trenches also left their combat positions one after another, and under the command of the centurion, they walked to the bunker to gather and barely stood in a fairly neat queue.
To be honest, if I hadn't seen the ferocious appearance of those clone soldiers in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, I really couldn't imagine how strong these people could be.
Unlike the normally developed clones.
Most of these clone soldiers have dull eyes and slow reactions, and they have some obvious or subtle physical defects, or obvious and hidden injuries left in the previous battle.
Their only advantage is the eight-fold growth rate. They can reach the physical fitness of a sixteen-year-old boy in just two years, reach the peak of physical strength in three years, enter the aging period in five years, and can handle their funeral affairs soon after retirement.
In fact, no clone soldiers can live to retirement safely. Those innate physical defects are to prevent them from living long and becoming a burden on society.
This technology is obviously inhumane in the prosperous era.
But in the wasteland era where nuclear bombs can be thrown at will, obviously no one will care about those minor issues.
"Our thousand-man team is responsible for the G35 defense zone, and you are responsible for the G35-7 section... From today on, these people are all your subordinates!"
Standing next to the battlefield elder, Kolwe looked at the more than one hundred clone soldiers in front of the trench, and squinted slightly with satisfaction.
It's a pity that the supply didn't keep up.
If the ammunition was more sufficient, they wouldn't have to retreat at all. It would be more than enough to rely on this 100,000-man army to crush the alliance.
"Can they understand me?" Zhan Di Lao couldn't help but complain.
"Of course they can, how could they not understand?"
Kelway smiled and patted his shoulder.
"I know what you are worried about, but don't worry at all. Although they look a little stupid, they are not stupid at all when fighting. As long as they see blood, they will become fearless mad dogs and fight until only the last one is left... Commanding them is much easier than commanding ordinary soldiers."
After a pause, he continued.
"In addition, the centurions here will also assist you in your work. They are all officers of the Falcon Kingdom and have received professional military training. If you encounter problems that you can't make up your mind, you can consult their opinions more."
Kelway is not worried about the combat effectiveness of the pangolin.
His bravery and loyalty have been tested in practice, but a good soldier may not become a good general. He still needs to experience the baptism of war and prove that he is also as good as others in the art of command.
Just in time for this rare opportunity, Kelway plans to train him.
Knowing the importance of this opportunity, Zhan Di Lao took a deep breath and nodded seriously.
"I'll remember that."
Thinking that the expression was nervous for the upcoming battle, Korway grinned and patted the man on the shoulder.
"Relax, there shouldn't be any battle in the short term, but it's better to be safe than sorry... In short, take care of yourself, pay attention to safety, and be careful."
After leaving this sentence, Korway sat on the jeep next to him and returned in the direction he came from.
Looking at the rolling dust disappearing at the end of the dirt road, the expression on Zhan Di Lao's face did not change, but he sighed in his heart.
If it were really that optimistic.
Yesterday at the forum, he revealed the position of the defense line he was responsible for, and the guys who were bored all started to come and give him a big gift.
It was estimated that the attack would be at night, and Zhan Di Lao planned to go around the position twice to familiarize himself with the terrain so that he could act more realistically.
"Your name... is Beaufort, right?" Zhan Di Lao looked at the former acting captain, who was now the deputy centurion, as his adjutant.
The man stood at attention and saluted.
"Yes, sir!"
Zhan Di Lao nodded, his face solemn, glanced at the soldiers present, and continued.
"From now on, I will be your commander. No matter where you come from, whether you are noble or civilian, you only have one identity now, that is, my soldiers! The only thing you have to do is to observe strict discipline, listen to my command, and do whatever I tell you to do. Do you understand?"
The clones shook their heads in confusion, looking not very smart.
However, their commanders had normal IQs, and they stood at attention and shouted back.
"Understood!"
"Very good!"
Zhandi Lao nodded with satisfaction, and then looked at Beaufort, "Let the brothers return to their respective positions, you take me to the battlefield."
Beaufort stood at attention and saluted.
"Yes!"
The discipline of the officers trained by the legion is indeed impeccable.
Moreover, the officers who came from the entourage were originally of low status, and there was no possibility of promotion unless they encountered special circumstances. Therefore, no one was blindly provoking this "pangolin" because he had just arrived.
In addition, Beaufort could see that this airborne centurion was not only powerful, but also a rare awakener, and had a close relationship with their centurion, so there was a bit of flattery in his words.
Zhandi Lao did not take his flattery too seriously, but just pretended to affirm his work, and then asked about the supply situation indirectly.
Including how many bullets each soldier has, how many machine guns and rifles are on the battlefield, how the team is organized, etc.
A team of 100 is roughly equivalent to a company, and a team of 1,000 is roughly equivalent to a regiment. If you understand the firepower configuration of the company level, you can basically infer the firepower of the entire regiment.
As soon as he heard the new centurion asking about ammunition, Beaufort immediately began to complain.
"... We haven't seen a supply vehicle delivering ammunition for a long time. The soldiers have less than 60 rounds of ammunition on average, and machine gun ammunition is even more precious. Our entire team has only two boxes. Why don't you say hello to Lord Kolway and ask him to send more ammunition."
In Beaufort's view, this is just a matter of saying hello. No matter how scarce the supplies are, there is always a way to give priority to the relatives.
However, what he didn't expect was that the officer in front of him was upright and rejected him sternly.
"It's not just us who are in trouble, the whole army is in trouble! How can you trouble Lord Kolway for such a small problem?"
"But with the amount of ammunition we have now, I'm afraid a battle--"
Beaufort was anxious when he heard this, and hurriedly tried to explain, but before he finished speaking, he was ruthlessly interrupted.
"But what?"
Zhandi Lao stared at his adjutant intently, secretly happy in his heart, but he had to put on a serious expression on his face, almost causing him internal injuries.
"Where is your spirit? Where is your loyalty? Where is your oath to sacrifice your life for His Majesty the Marshal? You can't fight without bullets? Where is your will and backbone!"
Beaufort's face was full of confusion, and he opened his mouth for a long time without saying a word, and subconsciously glanced at the nose of this officer.
This guy...
Isn't he a Willant?
Why does he feel more crazy than the Willant!
At this moment, a shout suddenly came from the direction of the observation post.
"Unknown armed forces spotted 500 meters ahead! There are about a hundred people!"
"They are heading towards us!"
At the same time as the sentry's shout, the entire position immediately sounded the alarm, and all personnel entered the combat position.
Zhan Di Lao stopped talking to Beaufort.
Hearing that someone was coming, he immediately went to the machine gun position at the front line, picked up the telescope and took a look, and saw the debt-like big eyes rushing to the front.
This guy is obviously an intelligence department, but he didn't even bring a VM. He was holding a broken gun that was probably picked up from the previous battle and rushed towards him with people.
Zhan Di Lao, who was holding the telescope, was stunned.
Good guy.
This is not even acting!
It's almost written on his face that "I'm here to give my head".
Also looking at the people attacking from the front, Beaufort standing aside frowned, not taking it lightly because the enemy was full of flaws.
They didn't have much ammunition.
Even if it was a suicidal charge, they couldn't hold out if there were more waves. And Lord Kolwe had specifically instructed that they must not let the other side see that there was a problem with their supply situation.
For a moment, he couldn't help but fall into a dilemma.
Should the machine gun position open fire?
"It should be a test by a small group of enemies!" Beaufort gritted his teeth, and the officer next to him whispered, "It is recommended to let them get closer before shooting!"
Zhan Di Lao nodded subconsciously, but soon thought that he was on the side of the legion, so without saying a word, he kicked the dazed machine gunner aside.
"What the hell are you all standing there for?"
"Hit me hard!"
Without waiting for the confused machine gunner to figure out the situation, Zhan Di Lao squatted on the machine gun position, grabbed the grip and turned on the safety, and fired a burst of bullets at his good brother 300 meters away.
There were exaggerated screams in the distance, but they were soon drowned in the noise of gunfire.
Seeing the flames from the machine gun position, the infantrymen squatting in the trenches also opened fire, and more than a hundred people who charged towards the position were instantly shot into sieves.
There were large tracts of open space in the Gobi Desert. Without the cover of armored units and artillery fire, they were doomed to die the moment they showed their heads.
Not to mention the awakened, even the managers were useless.
As the smoke dissipated, there were no living people in front of the position.
"Cease fire! All of you stop firing! They are dead!" Beaufort, who was standing aside, shouted desperately.
If it weren't for this guy being his superior, if it weren't for the possibility of being defeated, he would have wanted to rush up and kick this pangolin in the ass.
In fact, seeing the death of the opposite side, the infantrymen in the trenches had already stopped firing, but the superior lying on the machine gun position seemed to be bloodthirsty and didn't realize it at all.
In just half a minute, this guy wanted to use up the ammunition of a ten-man team!
Until the sound of a metal hammer "Ka" was heard, the index finger stuck on the trigger was finally moved away, and Beaufort's blood pressure also dropped.
Looking at the empty ammunition belt and the red-hot gun barrel, Zhan Di Lao smacked his lips unsatisfied and threw away the faintly hot machine gun grip.
Seeing that the machine gunner and his adjutant were staring at him with a murderous expression, Zhan Di Lao was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly coughed lightly to remind them that he was the superior.
"Cough... Don't feel sorry for the ammunition. The more you lack ammunition, the more you can't let the other side look down on you!"
"The commander of the other side is probably watching from behind. If they know that we are short of ammunition, the next time they come, it will not be a team of 100 people, but planes, tanks, and thousands of people!"
"As long as we can destroy their living forces, this little ammunition is worth it!"
Beaufort nodded in confusion.
Although it seemed like there were problems everywhere, it did make sense. After all, they had killed a hundred-man team, which was a great achievement.
Looking at the corpses outside the position, he suddenly felt relieved.
Before, he saw the friendly troops withdrawing from the front line, all of them were leaning on crutches, looking scared, and he thought those people were terrible.
Now it seems that he thought too much...
"It feels like the alliance is just like this."
While saying this, Beaufort suddenly regained confidence.
Looking at the pile of corpses in front of him, Zhandi Lao mourned for his good brothers in his heart for a second, and then looked at the officers standing by.
"Who will take someone up to take a look."
"Me!"
The centurion squatting in the next trench volunteered to raise his hand, with an eager expression on his face, obviously intending to show off in front of the new commander.
Beaufort wanted to raise his hand, but when he saw someone else had done it, he took it back.
The old man looked at the young man and nodded.
"Not bad, very energetic, go and come back soon!"
"Yes! Sir!"
The centurion laughed, grabbed the "Eviscerator" rifle leaning against the edge of the trench, took five clone infantrymen and left the trench, walking towards the pile of corpses.
The front line lacked ammunition.
Of course, the enemy's weapons could be recovered as much as possible.
By the way, you can also feel and see if there is any hidden oil and water.
The young man just stepped forward and was about to reach out to touch the first corpse.
However, I don't know if he touched a switch or the person lying on the ground was not dead yet, so he pulled the grenade, and there was a bang and it suddenly exploded on the flat ground. The people squatting in the trench subconsciously lowered their heads and then looked out.
"Fuck!"
"It's a booby trap!"
"Kemis!"
Beaufort stared at the outside of the trench, shouted with red eyes, and when there was no response, he punched the sandbag hard.
"Damn it! He's dead!"
There was silence in the trench.
Looking at the pile of dead bodies filled with smoke, everyone looked at each other, and many people swallowed their saliva unconsciously.
This was the first death that appeared around them since they were sent to the front line.
Looking at the centurion who was blown to pieces, Zhan Di Lao also stared blankly for a long time.
It's okay to hide a booby trap in clothes.
Isn't this different from what we agreed yesterday?
Fortunately, I didn't go up to show off, otherwise I would have gone back home to reunite with my brothers.
I didn't expect that there would be war damage on my first day in office. Zhan Di Lao's mood was also complicated, and he shook his head with a smile.
The brothers were afraid that being an undercover agent would be too boring, and they always felt that this position would not be peaceful.
Reaching out and patting the deputy centurion next to him, whose face was pale and whose lips were trembling and unable to speak, he coughed lightly and said.
"...Now you are the centurion."
"Do a good job and don't let me down."