Chapter 235 Retribution

Zhongzhou is currently in a bad situation. Half of the area has been occupied, and even the capital Minghai City is on the verge of being on the front line of the war.

Since neither side of the conflict had a large number of heavy weapons, the battles were basically encounters and raids.

Unless there is a huge disparity in strength or some special reasons, there will be no siege or positional battles.

Adriano's troops were mainly composed of cavalry regiments, supplemented by a small number of elite mountain divisions and monk regiments.

The so-called cavalry regiment is a motorized unit.

Since they occupied several large oil depots in the rear, they had no shortage of oil.

Zezhou fell too quickly due to the rebellion, and many arsenals were occupied, so they had no shortage of ammunition.

The only thing missing is food.

Wang Boan’s defense line is centered on strongholds, with each important military town pinned on the map like nails.

The combat radius of the troops in the strongholds is the distance between the strongholds.

Adriano's cavalry regiment also fought around the nails. They needed to go around the nails to rob food in the rear, but they couldn't be intercepted and trapped.

Wang Boan could not attack rashly, for fear of being lured out of the fortress and destroyed in the wild.

Because the enemy was unaware that Wang Boan's pressure was greatly reduced, material supplies were restored to sufficient levels, military logistics forces were restored, a large number of managers returned to their posts, the number of soldiers required to maintain the operation of the city was greatly reduced, and the strength of the regular army was quickly restored.

Therefore, this old general, who had fought bravely on the battlefield in the past and was known as the God of War, formulated a strategy to take advantage of the opponent's strategy.

He took advantage of the information gap between the two sides and ordered the troops in various places to pursue the enemy in an ineffective manner, retreat slowly and timidly, in order to maintain the illusion of previous decline.

A large group of soldiers were sent inland disguised as refugees, dragging a large amount of luggage.

Adriano's cavalry regiment was indeed fooled. After confirming that the refugees were outside the combat radius of Minghai City, the cavalry regiment immediately launched an attack.

They dispatched more than 20,000 people and rushed into Wang Boan's encirclement at a lightning speed, but were surrounded by 100,000 regular troops who had traveled a long distance.

This battle was fought with great success. All 20,000 cavalry troops were annihilated, while our side suffered minimal losses. A large number of military motorcycles and other combat supplies were also seized.

This was Wang Boan's first victory since the invasion of the Papal States of Adria.

Although it was only a moderate victory, it did relieve the frustration that had been pent up in the chest and boosted the morale of the troops across Zhongzhou.

Afterwards, as Changshan County began to accept the third batch of refugees, material supplies were further restored, and logistical strength was greatly strengthened, the army was finally able to concentrate on fighting.

Wang Boan got rid of the burden and even went to the front line to command the battle.

The Zhongzhou army was no longer dull and stupid, but became responsive, agile and cunning. Especially after seizing thousands of military motorcycles, the mobility, the biggest shortcoming of the regular army, was also supplemented.

The situation on the battlefield reversed at some point. The regular army won battle after battle, while the cavalry regiment suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat, abandoning some important strongholds.

Wang Boan took the opportunity to advance and recovered a lot of lost territory.

However, there was almost no trace of Zhongzhou's victory in the mainstream media. Only the Empire's First TV Station inserted the news in text, while most other media remained silent about the real victory.

Shenjing.

The Supreme Council held an emergency meeting.

All of Yu Zhongxian's direct descendants gathered in the main hall of the Winter Palace.

Now, the Supreme Council has achieved de facto unification. Among the eight Supreme Council Presidents, six have sided with Yu Zhongxian, and the remaining one has closed his door and turned a blind eye to everything.

With the secret support of the three elders, Yu Zhongxian has achieved absolute control over the Supreme Council and has become the uncrowned chief councilor.

However, now is a special period, and the powers of the Council have been greatly reduced. It is temporarily lurking in the shadows, and its power has not been demonstrated.

However, activities in the shadows have not abated.

This emergency meeting was called because of the setback of activities under the shadow.

At the beginning of the meeting, "Left Hand" He Chenggong reported the critical situation in Zhongzhou and described in detail the series of victories Wang Boan had recently achieved.

"In short," he concluded, "if this continues, our plans in Zhongzhou will be ruined. The deep-sea chess piece we planted will never be able to replace Wang Bo'an as the Governor of Zhongzhou."

Yu Zhongxian said coldly: "What on earth is going on? Why did the situation suddenly reverse?"

Wang Xinwei, who had just been promoted to the position of "right hand," said: "I heard that Wang Bo'an sent a large number of refugees to nearby areas."

Yu Zhongxian stared at him, his eyes filled with biting coldness.

"How much can they give? Did the Governor go crazy and accept Wang Boan's refugees in such large numbers? Is he not afraid of death, or is he too much money?"

Wang Xinwei hesitated for a moment and said carefully, "Wang Bo'an has sent over 3 million refugees."

Bang!

As expected, the general manager got angry and said coldly, "Who took it?"

Liu Aimin, the newly appointed Supreme Council President and a staunch supporter of Yu Zhongxian, shouted, "Speak quickly! The General Director wants to see which bastard has the guts to go against us!"

He Chenggong frowned slightly, but still bowed and said, "Sheng Huaixuan, the governor of Dongqinzhou, has taken in 500,000 refugees."

Liu Aimin spat, "Sooner or later, I'll pull out his tendons and peel off his skin!"

"There are also seven states including Minnesota and Binzhou, which have taken in a total of 500,000 refugees."

Liu Aimin waved his hand and said, "Alright! Write down their names and let them know the consequences of offending the Council."

As soon as the words fell, everyone's expression became unnatural.

Yu Zhongxian coughed lightly and said calmly, "Ai Min, these states are intimidated by our authority and have only accepted a few refugees. Don't worry about it."

Liu Aimin turned around and immediately said with a cheeky smile, "Yes, yes, the General is magnanimous. Please spare their lives."

Yu Zhongxian looked at He Chenggong and asked, "Anything else?"

He Chenggong lowered his head deeply: "Changshan County received 2 million."

boom!

Liu Aimin jumped up immediately.

"What? A county? What kind of a shitty county can take in so many people?"

Yu Zhongxian's power has expanded significantly since the joint meeting. Currently, more than half of his direct subordinates do not know about Changshan County.

Only a small number of old subordinates knew that this was a hard nut that they had tried to crack many times but failed.

Yu Zhongxian hadn't heard this name for a long time. He thought for a while before he remembered it. He immediately turned his head to look at Chang Hai, who was huddled in the corner, wishing he could burrow into the ground.

"Chang Hai! You're in charge of Changshan County, so why is it still making such a fuss?"

Chang Hai trembled violently, rolled off the stool, and lay on the ground, shouting:

"Master General, you can't blame me. Changshan County is incredibly stubborn. I've tried countless methods and sent countless spies and assassins to sabotage them, but in the end, nothing worked. They even managed to turn our ace spy, Anders, against us..."

"What did you say?"

"Anders was turned against us?"

"Why didn't you report it earlier?"

Liu Aimin roared, "Waste! What's the point of keeping you here? Come on! Drag him away and torture him with the cannon!"

"Wait." Yu Zhongxian stopped him: "First, explain the situation clearly."

"Yes, the General is right!" Liu Aimin said loudly, "What is the situation in Changshan County?"

Chang Hai lay on the ground and recounted all the previous attacks on Changshan County.

Including sending assassins to assassinate, sending spies to sabotage, hiring foreign mercenaries to attack Changshan County, policy attacks, poisoning water sources, etc.

The more they listened, the more incredible it seemed to them, especially when they heard that the ace spy Anders had been turned, secretly returned to the Council, killed the guards, rescued his family, and then disappeared without a trace. It was even more unbelievable.

Wang Xinwei asked, "Why is this happening? Anders is our most elite ace spy, having served us for fifteen years. Why would he be turned against us?"

"Anders's disguise and stealth skills are second to none in the Empire. He might be able to infiltrate the Council!"

"Oh no! We need to conduct a major investigation immediately!"

He Chenggong said: "The question now is, what is the situation in Changshan County?"

Chang Hai was lying on the ground, his whole body as dry as sieve chaff. Although the eyes of the people looking at him did not change, they were full of contempt in their hearts.

"My, our spies can't get in. Their intelligence defense is very good."

Liu Aimin shouted, "Doesn't that mean you don't know anything?"

Chang Hai trembled and said nothing, obviously agreeing.

"Waste!" Liu Aimin rushed over and kicked him fiercely. "How could there be a waste like you on the Council?"

Chang Hai huddled on the ground with his head in his hands, not daring to move.

He Chenggong turned around and said to Yu Zhongxian, who was standing above him, "From what I've learned so far, Wang Bo'an has concentrated all the refugees in Qingcheng, and there are a large number of trucks traveling back and forth between Qingcheng and Hangu Pass."

"It now appears that the truck has obviously passed through Hangu Pass and arrived in Changshan County."

"But I don't know why Changshan County dared to recruit so many people."

Wang Xinwei said, "I think Changshan County must have killed all those refugees."

"He relied on the strength of their spies to block all news and intelligence. As soon as the refugees entered Changshan County, they were secretly massacred. The bodies were then thrown into pits and either buried or burned. This way, they would not leave any evidence and would also remove any burden."

"Two million people."

An official exclaimed, "With so many people, how much gasoline would that cost? Would they be willing to spend that much money on Wang Bo'an?"

He Chenggong said, "Look at the geographical location. Zhongzhou, Changshan Commandery, and Dongqinzhou are all connected together. Isn't it possible for them to form an anti-Council alliance?"

"It's possible."

"So what should we do? Are we going to expose him now?"

"It's difficult. Judging from the intelligence we just received, their spy force is very powerful. The KGB is well-organized, with sophisticated methods and superb technology. It's already a first-class spy organization."

"However, although the KGB is powerful, it is still within the scope of understanding. The Dragon Group is truly incomprehensible. Many incredible things are done by agents within that organization."

"All the information we've collected about the Dragon Group so far comes from novels like 'The Beautiful Dragon Group Agent and the Secrets County Governor Lin Has to Tell,' which were serialized in Changshan County newspapers."

He Chenggong distributed the newspapers. After everyone looked at them for a while, they all said they didn't gain anything.

"It must be made up."

"Maybe they just set up a smokescreen."

"There's too little detail. Every crucial moment is just 'A night has passed,' which isn't thrilling at all..."

Liu Aimin realized that he had let the cat out of the bag and immediately changed the subject:

"But I've noticed a Dragon Team agent named Qi Mu appear quite often, and he's always involved in logistics and cyber hacking. Novels are based on real life, so maybe he's a real agent."

This sentence reminded him, and Yu Zhongxian immediately issued an order: "Make every effort to investigate this person named Qi Mu."

He Chenggong asked, "General, what should we do with the refugees? If Changshan County continues like this and kills all the refugees in Zhongzhou, then once Wang Boan is free, those red-headed Indians will be no match for him."

"That's right."

Wang Xinwei agreed, "If Wang Bo'an achieves a great victory and then supports Hindenburg and the Jinsuo River front, helping the Empire achieve victory, then even if the incident is exposed later, it may not be effective."

"The transport of refugees to Jangsan County must be stopped."

Yu Zhongxian issued an order:

"He Chenggong, take half of the new council that's fighting Qin Gang in Luozhou, and bring the newly created ones from Derik Castle. Disguise yourself as bandits, attack the Qingcheng refugee camp, and prevent the refugees from being transported to Changshan County."

"If necessary, we can stage a massacre in the Qingcheng refugee camp, have our reporters document the entire process, and then have grassroots opinion leaders guide public opinion and fiercely criticize Wang Boan."

He raised his right hand, and Wang Xinwei immediately understood and moved closer.

"Send secret guards to tip off the Papal Cavalry Regiment in Zhongzhou. Don't let those red-headed Indians lose too quickly."

Wang Xinwei replied softly, "Yes, Mr. General."

Yu Zhongxian raised his left hand.

He Chenggong immediately came closer.

"Contact the Imperial Satellite Monitoring Department and ask them to capture a high-definition map of Changshan County, no matter the cost."

"Yes, sir!"

Yu Zhongxian stood up and ended the meeting.

"The invasion of the Papal States is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Wang Boan must die, and Zhongzhou must be conquered."

"Yes! Mr. General."

The officials answered in unison.

At this moment, Chang Hai on the ground suddenly shouted, "Master General, I remembered, I have another important piece of information!"

Yu Zhongxian stopped, and Chang Hai scrambled to his feet and pulled out a piece of intelligence from his pocket: "This, this is Changshan County's secret information."

A guard stopped him and said, "Give me the information."

Chang Hai was stunned for a moment. Seeing that the guards around Yu Zhongxian were looking at him coldly, he had no choice but to hand over the information.

He wailed, "Master General, please forgive my mistakes! I don't want to die!"

A personal guard took the information, and a red light flashed on an instrument in his hand, then went out, before he handed the information over.

Yu Zhongxian unfolded it and saw a piece of black paper with a bright red word "death" written across the center.

At the same time, Chang Hai rushed forward and pounced on Yu Zhongxian, but the guards reacted faster. In an instant, five or six people rushed up and knocked him down. At the same time, several giants fell from the sky and blocked Yu Zhongxian.

Yu Zhongxian tore off the black paper and sneered, "Who are you? Chang Hai can't possibly have the guts to do this."

Chang Hai's voice on the ground suddenly changed, becoming hoarse and old. He shouted, "Old dog Yu! You have lost all conscience and humanity. One day, you will receive retribution from this world!"

He Chenggong had already recognized him: "It's Anders!"

His expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, "Hurry, run!"

But it was too late. Anders detonated the explosives he had brought with him at great pains.

Outside the Winter Palace.

Countless guards and security personnel, and even passers-by in the distance, heard the loud noise coming from the usually solemn and silent palace.

(End of this chapter)