Translator: Legge
Everyone knew that Wang Yun had an excellent memory. But Ji Zi’ang was a little confused. “Normally, such structural drawings are an esoteric subject, so how did you come to learn all this? It has nothing to do with your previous job scope.”
Wang Yun explained to everyone, “When I realized I had a photographic memory, I deliberately spent some time reading in the library. I’ve been to public and military libraries. This way, I don’t have to flip through books when I need the information. I can just retrieve it from my mind.”
Then Wang Yun drew a series of three-dimensional structural designs, such as foxholes, trenches, and other structures from his memory. These would then be used for Ji Zi’ang’s reference.
Wang Yun said, “There will definitely be some differences between the drawings and what is actually built. But with Ji Zi’ang’s power, they can be adjusted accordingly after they’re built, so it’s not a big problem.”
After The Cataclysm, 3D printing technology had been lost. Although some organizations wanted to redevelop this technology, it still only existed in legend.
Ji Zi’ang was just like a 3D printer now, but he could only print out something if he had the design sketches.
Meanwhile, P5092 and Wang Yun happened to be able to complement each other and complete the drawings.
The defensive position that usually required thousands of people to work for three days to build only took one day to finish under Ji Zi’ang’s lead. Ji Zi’ang was in charge of altering the landform’s foundation while the rest of the soldiers finished building the installations. This was because Ji Zi’ang’s mental strength was limited, so he had to take a half-hour’s rest every now and then.
When the large and complex defensive position was completed, everyone found it very difficult to believe that it was built in only one day. Furthermore, this was definitely not a makeshift defensive position. In the past, such complex structures would probably have taken half a month to construct.
When Ji Zi’ang saw everyone looking at him enviously, he chuckled, “When the world becomes peaceful again, I’ll become a contractor and build houses for everyone.”
Zhang Xiaoman’s eyes lit up. “That’s a good idea.”
However, P5092 said with a sigh, “I wonder when peace will come again. We don’t even know if we’ll get to witness it.”
“We definitely will,” Ji Zi’ang said firmly.
At this moment, Ren Xiaosu looked at P5092. “Now that the defensive position has been built, can you tell us your plans? Although this defensive position looks really sturdy, the barbarians won’t be coming here, right?”
P5092 brought over a map and spread it out on the ground. “If they don’t come, we’ll make them come. Look here. We’re located diagonally behind the expeditionary army. It’s not only us Central Plains people who know how to build a supply line. As the expeditionary army advances southwards en masse, they’ll need to have a supply line as well. I’ve marked three routes in red on the map. They’ll surely use one of them to transport their supplies.”
“Where we’re situated right now, we can get to that farthest route within two hours. After we’re done plundering their supplies, we can still beat a hasty retreat back here,” P5092 said.
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Ren Xiaosu figured out something. “Are you thinking of disrupting their lifeline at the rear so that they’ll be forced to come and attack Mt. Zuoyun?”
“Yes,” P5092 said, “we’ve already seen how the Wang Consortium has had a hard time dealing with the barbarians on the main battlefield at Mt. Daniu. But if there were another group supporting them and harassing the expeditionary army at that time, they would have had a chance of winning. In a war, both sides will sometimes have to compete in troop numbers when battling each other. But when both sides are evenly matched, you have to create an opportunity for the enemy to trip up. It’s very difficult to make mistakes on the main battlefield, so only by pushing them to adjust their formation and to constantly make more decisions will such an opportunity suddenly arise.”
Ren Xiaosu wondered, “Are you confident of robbing the expeditionary army’s supplies? What if there’s a lot of barbarians escorting the supply convoy?”
They had framed a good scenario whereby robbing the expeditionary army’s supplies would cause the barbarians a headache. But there was also another scenario where they might not even have enough troops to go up against the expeditionary army’s transportation corps.
This was a very strong possibility. That was because the barbarians were physically stronger. In a situation where there was no defensive position to help the Northwest’s army, the barbarians might be able to wipe out 3,000 Central Plains troops with just a 1,000 of their men.
P5092 looked at Ren Xiaosu and said seriously, “That’ll require you and Ms. Xiaojin to lead a team in. If it weren’t on the presumption that you two would be leading the team, I wouldn’t have drafted a battle plan like this. With your abilities, even if you can’t wipe out the supply column, you can still retreat unscathed after destroying some of their supplies and harassing them. The two of you only need to concentrate on harassing them, and I believe you can do fine.”
Realization dawned on Ren Xiaosu. So it turned out P5092’s idea was to make use of his and Yang Xiaojin’s combat capabilities.
P5092 said, “Actually, you two are the most important part of this plan. Once you’ve harassed the expeditionary army enough, they’ll feel like something is nipping at them.”
This was akin to discovering a venomous and hairy spider at home, but that was not the scariest thing. What was most terrifying was that you realized it had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
When Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin would vanish after robbing the barbarians’ supplies successfully, the expeditionary army would start scratching their heads and wonder what happened.
Previously, Yang Xiaojin said to P5092, “Since you like to use decoys, and Ren Xiaosu likes being the bait, you two complement each other well.”
And now, P5092 had really started using Ren Xiaosu as bait. However, this was bait that could kill.
P5092 continued, “Surely I don’t have to explain any further how important a supply line is to all troops. So they’ll definitely come to Mt. Zuoyun to encircle us. When the time comes, we’ll be in for a tough battle. In the bigger picture, the 6th Combat Brigade doesn’t have that many troops, but what if we’re fighting a positional defensive battle? In a defensive battle, it’s possible for one soldier to kill ten enemies. In war, we should always think of ways to put ourselves in an advantageous situation.”
Once they occupied the advantageous terrain, the barbarians were nothing to be afraid of. Moreover, with Ji Zi’ang around, his power could really be quite terrifying in such a mountainous area.
Just imagine that as the barbarian troops marched down a mountain path, piles of boulders could suddenly fall from the mountains. This was a power that was comparable to heavy machine guns.
“Alright then,” Ren Xiaosu said, “I agree with your plan. But if we’re attacking their supply column, I suggest that Yang Xiaojin and I act alone. It’ll be a little troublesome if we have to bring the others along.”
It was obvious the future commander saw everyone as a burden. However, they pretended they did not hear it. After all, their future commander was fully qualified to say that.
However, P5092 disagreed, “You have to bring some people with you. If there’s only the two of you, the expeditionary army won’t care to encircle Mt. Zuoyun. The barbarians will only come if you take at least one company with you. I want you to bring them along not because they can help you with anything, but to make the barbarians know there’s a group of soldiers hidden in Mt. Zuoyun!”
“So that’s what you mean.” Ren Xiaosu said, “Then who’ll go with me? We don’t have any special forces like the Pyro Company has, so our mobility is a little bad.”
Zhang Xiaoman chuckled, “Future Commander, let me lead the Iron First Company of the 2nd Regiment and go with you. Those rascals might not be good at waging war, but they can run faster than anyone else.”