The mad dog crawled out of the sand, shook its body, and looked up with a deep, serious gaze.
As a mercenary, what kind of situation hasn't he seen?
This was the first time they had ever seen bandits with such ample firepower and 'advanced' tactics.
Mad Dog instinctively sensed something was wrong, hurriedly scrambled to his feet, grabbed the sidearm from a corpse, and pulled the trigger.
Da da da—
Gunshots rang out incessantly.
Countless vehicles sprang from the top of the sand dunes, followed by the army. Yuan Yongliang rushed to him and helped him up, asking, "How are you?"
The mad dog then felt the pain, looked down and saw that it was bleeding heavily in its abdomen, and immediately felt dizzy and disoriented.
He grabbed Yuan Yongliang and said, "I'm afraid I can't make it. You give the order to surround us from both sides, using the same method we used to sweep up the biker gang. These guys were lying in ambush beforehand and know our route. You also send someone to Xibao immediately to tell the master!"
"good!"
Yuan Yongliang nodded, and was about to say something when Mad Dog suddenly collapsed and died on the spot.
"Use a C-formation to encircle them. All units coordinate their operations. Motor transport battalion, protect the cargo. Guard company, assault company, follow me!"
"Charge!"
The army followed Yuan Yongliang into the battlefield.
Bang bang bang!
On the sand, countless fireworks rose up and exploded, blasting the soldiers' bodies into a bloody mess, limbs flying everywhere, and hot blood splattering everywhere.
The bandits continued fighting and retreating, but Yuan Yongliang, with his sharp eyes, spotted a group of people standing in the distance, guarding several vehicles and peering into their direction through binoculars.
"Drive three vehicles over here. Their command post is ahead. Charge in and engage them!"
"yes!"
Before long, three metal-clad vehicles, under the cover of the main force, successfully drove up to Yuan Yongliang. He climbed into the passenger seat with his gun, and together with a veteran who was also his comrade-in-arms, they drove a motorcycle assault company and charged toward the enemy command post ahead.
In the distance, Scorpion Gang leader 'Scorpion' lowered his binoculars and said, "There are still too many people. How much of their cargo have been destroyed?"
"Seven or eight trucks were bombed, weighing at least twenty tons."
"Hahaha, good, very good." Scorpion climbed into the car and said, "It's time to retreat. We shouldn't fight battles we can't win. Hurry!"
"yes!"
Several guards, carrying incendiary guns on their shoulders, threw them into the back of the vehicle, then climbed onto the truck and sped off.
Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, several gunshots rang out from a distance. Behind a slope with poor visibility, three or five motorcycles came hurtling towards them. Several bandits next to Scorpion groaned and fell to the ground, shot.
Two bullets even flew swiftly along the scorpion's cheek and into its back.
Seeing this, Poison Scorpion's eyes turned cold. He let out a cold snort, and without hesitation, ran to the back of the truck, picked up a firecracker, and fired a shot in the direction of Yuan Yongliang's two companies.
Bang!
A dark shadow shot past with incredible speed, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, and struck Yuan Yongliang's vehicle with pinpoint accuracy!
The two companies of soldiers immediately lay down on either side, and a loud bang suddenly rang in the ears of countless people!
boom!
"Deputy Division Commander!!"
The soldiers' pupils contracted, their eyes turning bloodshot, and they raised their guns, firing at the location of Poison Scorpion and his men.
Bullets transformed into curtains of light, sweeping across the sand ahead. Countless grains of sand were shot out in columns of sand, while Poison Scorpion and his men drove away quickly. The bullets hit their metal-clad vehicles, scattering sparks.
However, the military command system in Shabao was in disarray. With the deaths of Mad Dog and Yuan Yongliang, the remaining battalion and company-level officers gathered their forces and wiped out the remaining bandits.
The scorpion was fast; it used an incendiary gun to blow up dozens of tons of cargo. When it returned to the highway, many trucks were still burning fiercely.
The two regimental-level officers quickly ordered the cleanup of the battlefield, collected the bodies of Mad Dog and Yuan Yongliang, released several companies to clear the way, and sent fast horses to Xibao to report the battle situation.
Many people died in this battle. Although they eventually repelled the bandits with their superior numbers and captured six or seven damaged incendiary guns, the losses were too great. Goods were burned, countless soldiers were killed, and morale plummeted.
"Have the statistics been compiled yet?"
"Reporting to the regimental commander, seven starch trucks were destroyed, and one weapons truck was blown up. We have lost more than 800 men in total. The division commander and deputy division commander... are dead!"
The regimental commander gritted his teeth, his face pale, and his eyes filled with intense hatred.
"Set off immediately, keep watch on the surroundings, and no one is allowed to rest before reaching West Fort without my order! Immediately inform others that we will be on our way after lunch."
"yes!"
"Old Cui, what do we do now?"
The two men standing on the sand dune were Lu Bin, the former commander of the 4th Division of Shabao before the disarmament, and his commander-in-chief, Cui Zhiping.
After the troop reduction, Lu Bin was invited by the military to rejoin the army as a regimental commander. At first, Lu Bin was unwilling, thinking that the rank was too low. Later, Chen Fusheng found Li Jiuyuan, who was doing business abroad, and wrote several letters to his former subordinates, completely bringing them into the current military system.
Lu Bin was appointed commander of the First Regiment, while Cui Zhiping, the former commander-in-chief of the Fourth Division, was appointed commander of the Second Regiment.
Cui Zhiping took a puff of his cigarette and said, "What can we do after losing? We can only go to Xibao and apologize to the master."
Lu Bin said, "I'm thinking, could we find and kill this group of people before we go to Xibao? At the very least, if we bring their heads to plead guilty, our sentences will be lighter."
Cui Zhiping shook his head: "Didn't you see the quality of these people? And their weapons, they're not ordinary bandits at all. Someone deliberately set up a sandcastle. I think we should go back and listen to the master's instructions before we act. After all, we're escorting so many goods, we can't take any more risks."
Lu Bin sighed: "With Mad Dog and Yuan Yongliang dead, it'll be hard for either of us to explain ourselves."
Cui Zhiping glanced at him meaningfully.
With the division commander and deputy division commander dead, and apart from Chen Da, the deputy division commander who is still stationed in Shabao, the loss of these two generals will inevitably lead to the selection of a new commander from among the lower-level officers. Lu Bin has served in the army for many years, is senior, and is obedient, so he is very likely to become the deputy division commander.
But Cui Zhiping shook his head, unconvinced.
Neither he nor Lu Bin were the master's trusted men. Chen Da would immediately fill the position of division commander, but the position of deputy division commander would most likely not be re-established. Even if the position was not abolished, it would remain vacant to ensure the purity of the military command system.
Cui Zhiping was older than Lu Bin and had seen more of the world. Seeing this, he intentionally or unintentionally reminded him: "After the troop reduction, there will be military reform. Before the master left, he discussed it with Leader Sha and Elder Chen. This military reform is different from the past."
"What do you mean?" Lu Bin glanced at him, his brows furrowing.
Cui Zhiping laughed and said, "Master wants to eliminate the military autocracy and the tendency for independence within the Sand Castle army, and establish a 'government-assistance agency' directly under the cabinet to do ideological work within the army."
Lu Bin narrowed his eyes: "Old Cui, you're saying these things because you're afraid I'll deliberately try to steal the deputy division commander's position, aren't you..."
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