Wartime command post of the Duchy of Ryan.
The phone rang incessantly, and intelligence from the front lines was constantly being displayed on the central screen.
Before the operations staff could finish reading a single piece of battlefield intelligence, they were overwhelmed by new intelligence reports, forcing them to constantly scroll down their computer screens to record a complete report.
The operations staff looked ashen as they input battlefield intelligence into the operations command terminal, transforming it into red lines on the holographic virtual sand table in the center of the wartime command post.
Red arrows, symbolizing the army of the Fazhan Khanate, spread rapidly across the virtual sandbox.
Six resource planets have been captured, more than thirty immigrant satellite cities have fallen, and six border fortresses have been completely destroyed.
Without air support, the ground defense forces of the Ryan National Army were forced to fight independently and were divided, surrounded, and annihilated one by one by the Fas Khan Army, which concentrated its superior forces.
Inside the Marshal's Mansion, Chief of the General Staff General Andrei was reporting the battle situation to Marshal Zhu Yifu.
"So far, our six fortresses bordering the Fazhan Kingdom have been captured. The fourth and fifth space fleets stationed on the border were unable to react in time. More than half of our warships were destroyed in the port. The other half, although they participated in the battle, were trapped in the port by the wreckage and became sitting ducks. In the end, only one battleship, three light cruisers, two destroyers and five transport ships were able to retreat."
"The local fleet stationed on Milan Star has been completely wiped out due to the overwhelming disparity in strength with the enemy, and the two sides have entered into ground warfare. Although our ground forces have a numerical advantage on Milan Star, they are facing the danger of being divided, surrounded, and annihilated one by one by the Fas Khan Army due to the loss of air superiority."
General Andrei, the Chief of the General Staff, spoke in a hoarse voice. A week ago, the Faz Khanate launched a surprise attack without warning, simultaneously assaulting six fortresses on the border of the Principality of Rais. In a very short time and at minimal cost, they cleared the obstacles on the border and then began their rapid advance.
The Khanate of Fazhan had clearly been planning this for a long time, while the Duchy of Rhine had clearly been ill-prepared for the war and was still unable to organize an effective defensive force.
The troops on each front fought independently, and despite having a numerical advantage, they were repeatedly defeated by the Fas Khan army, who achieved victories against overwhelming odds.
What's even more infuriating is that the Ryan army is filled with a large number of "academic" commanders and "spoiled soldiers" who have never experienced the baptism of war.
The Duchy of Ryan has been at peace for too long, and many of the upper-class beneficiaries have used the military as a shortcut to gain prestige and promotion.
An earl with no military training can simply hold a nominal position in the army and suddenly become a high-ranking general. Or, one can send their children to military academies for two or three years, and upon graduation, they become junior officers.
How can such an army have any fighting power?
"Marshal, your previous prediction was completely correct," Andrei said helplessly. "Unfortunately, the Senate not only repeatedly rejected your proposal to increase the defense budget, but also kept cutting the annual military expenditure, resulting in our equipment being outdated and our training being insufficient, which allowed Fass to take advantage of the situation."
There was one point that Andrei didn't explicitly state: the Senate's repeated cuts to military spending were not only due to the long-standing peaceful environment of the Principality of Lane, but more importantly, due to their fear of Zhu Yifu Konstantinovich, who was considered an "impure outsider."
The Senate repeatedly tried to reduce Zhu Yifu's power in the army, but Zhu Yifu had extremely high prestige in the army and was widely respected and loved by the soldiers. Almost half of the middle and high-ranking commanders in the Ryan army were his followers.
Marshal Zhu Yifu's position in the Ryan National Army is currently unshakeable, so the Senate can only try to hinder him by focusing on issues such as military spending.
“We don’t discuss politics.” Zhu Yifu waved his hand, resting his hands on his cane as he sat down in a chair, his gaze steady yet sharp. “I want to know how Ryan is doing right now? What are your next steps?”
“The war mobilization order has been issued,” Andrei said. “The First Space Fleet is responsible for protecting the security of the capital planet and cannot be mobilized.”
"The first task force, composed of the second and third space fleets, has completed its assembly in the asteroid belt between the capital star and the Milan star. Since the space jump points around the Milan star have been blocked by the Fas Khan Army's space fleet, it is no longer possible to force a jump to reinforce the Milan star."
"Therefore, the General Staff has already issued an order for the First Task Force to jump to the Barcelona Fortress near the border, and then cruise at sub-light speed to Milan Star to provide reinforcements. This will take at least... a week to arrive."
"The seventh and eighth space fleets, drawn from the Asiatic Starfield, are assembling in the rear. They will jump to the outer public starfield to flank the Fas Khan army's offensive. It will take... two weeks."
"The remaining forces of the Fourth and Fifth Space Fleets, which withdrew from the border, have begun to integrate with the local fleets. After replenishing ships and personnel, they are expected to be expanded into a mixed fleet. However... due to limitations in combat capability, they can only be used as a defensive force."
Seeing that Marshal Zhu Yifu, who was drinking tea from a thermos, still showed no reaction, Andrei added:
"In accordance with the wartime emergency, we have taken over some important factories and shipyards and are operating at full capacity to rush the production of new warships and mechs."
"The fourth-year students of military academies have also graduated early this year and are continuously entering the barracks to receive training. We will use their actual combat performance in place of this year's graduation assessment."
“Your General Staff has done a great job.” Zhu Yifu put down his thermos and stood up. “The next week will be crucial. If Milan can hold out until reinforcements from the First Task Force arrive, we will have hope of a counterattack.”
Zhu Yifu walked to the window with his cane, lifted a corner of the curtain, and looked outside.
"If we can hold out for a month, we can achieve a strategic balance of power. With three times the population, nearly five times the resources and production capacity of Fass, we can launch a full-scale counterattack within a year."
“Therefore, Milan will be the key, and we must defend it at all costs!” Zhu Yifu turned to look at Andrei. “If Milan is occupied by Fass, we will lose an important strategic barrier and forward base, and fall into a completely passive position. Fass will be able to turn the six resource stars they occupy into war factories without any worries and establish a solid defensive line in Milan.”
“Yes.” Andrei said with a worried look, “The Phos’ offensive is too fast. In our previous war games, it would take Phos at least a month to break through our six border fortresses. We will have plenty of time to complete our war preparations.”
"But in fact, they reached Milan in less than three days, almost without any resistance, within a week..."
“Never underestimate the determination of your enemy, especially when you are facing Milovich.” Zhu Yifu turned back to look out the window, his back to Andrei, and asked, “Where is Qingyi now?”
"Major General Huangfu led a special operations team and successfully infiltrated the positions of the 3rd Division of the Fazhan Army, which was attacking Milan, last night." Major General Huangfu Qingyi was Marshal Zhu Yifu's prized student, and Andrei naturally attached great importance to him as well.
"Major General Huangfu believes that the Third Division of the Fas Khan Army is the main force of the ground forces attacking Milan. If this force can be defeated, it will greatly reduce the pressure on the defense of Milan."
"The commander of the Third Division of the Fas Khan Army is Domir Khan." Zhu Yifu was still looking out the window. "The Third Division is the elite force of the Fas Khan Army."
“Yes.” Andrei nodded. “Major General Huangfu also knows that no unit in Milan is currently a match for the Third Division in a direct confrontation, so he carried out a decapitation strike.”
"Oh?" Zhu Yifu finally turned around again. "How did he do it?"
"Major General Huangfu modified three old propeller transport planes from the Milan Military Museum, successfully evading the radar of the Fas Khan Army's outer space reconnaissance ships and high-altitude spy satellites, and deployed a paratrooper brigade to the rear of the 3rd Division headquarters," Andrei said with some admiration.
Modern radar technology can detect almost all flying targets, but it is precisely these old propeller transport aircraft that can "steal" from advanced radar.
In General Andrei's view, the idea of using such an old propeller plane to evade the advanced reconnaissance methods of the Fars was simply genius.
"While the 102nd Airborne Brigade was causing chaos in the rear of the 3rd Division, Major General Huangfu's special forces successfully infiltrated and destroyed the 3rd Division's command post in the dark. However..." Andrei felt a pang of regret and disappointment, and said with a sigh, "According to the intelligence we have obtained so far, Lieutenant General Domir Khan, the commander of the 3rd Division, was not in the command post at the time... Therefore, the operation failed."
"After Major General Huangfu broke through the encirclement, he lost contact with the front line, and we don't know his situation now. At present... the situation is not optimistic."
“Qingyi did a good job, but he encountered a more cunning opponent.” Zhu Yifu’s expression did not change much. “Domir Khan is experienced on the battlefield and has a keen sense of smell. He is not someone who can be easily deceived.”
"Marshal, should we order Milan to send out a search party?" Andrei asked.
“No need.” Zhu Yifu waved his hand, stopping Andrei’s idea. “A soldier should know what he is doing and be clear about the consequences of doing so. He should not let others make unnecessary sacrifices for his failure. Qingyi is first and foremost a soldier, and only then my student.”
"Yes, Marshal." Andrei nodded heavily, then bowed to Zhu Yifu. "Marshal, our General Staff hopes that you can come out of retirement and take charge of the command center. As long as you are here, Ryan will have the strongest defense."
“If I come out, it will indeed relieve your pressure,” Zhu Yifu smiled. “But the pressure from within Ryan will be ten times more terrifying than the Fas Khan army you are facing now.”
Andrei stared blankly for a long time before finally lowering his head and sighing.
He knew, of course, how furious the Senate would react if the Marshal regained control of the military; they were almost obsessively sensitive to any actions the Marshal took involving the military.
Marshal Zhu Yifu stepped down from the front line 10 years ago and no longer personally took charge of military affairs. It was precisely because of the marshal's compromise and concession that the Ryan military had a relatively better environment.
Both sides have reached a tacit understanding that as long as Zhu Yifu does not touch military power, the Senate will not interfere too much in military affairs.
Andrei suddenly realized that he had become a less pure soldier without even realizing it, and that he had even begun to ponder the dirty politics in his heart.
“You’ve done a great job.” Zhu Yifu patted Andrei on the shoulder. “Keep up the good work, the future belongs to you.”
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