Chapter 05 Part 05 - From the Red Lake to Fort Warren (1/2)
Chapter 05 Part 05 - From the Red Lake to Fort Warren
Thirty thousand soldiers perished under the command of Red Banner Master Li Ke, a devastating loss the High Command did not antic.i.p.ate. It proofed that the rebels were not as disorganized as they had thought. Instead, they were a well disciplined force of armed warriors. It also served to further ill.u.s.trate the incredible talent of their military leaders. They first exploited Li Ke’s arrogance, luring his army deeper into their territory, and then surrounded him with superior force. For such skillful display of combat strategy to come out from a race which was commonly believed to be pure brutes with little brains, one couldn’t help but reconsider – if the Beastmen possessed same kind of cunning and guile of Humans, in addition to their natural physical prowess, how long could Humans remain the masters of these less evolved races?
One very important factor that led to House ZiChuan Army’s defeat was: During the heat of battle, one division of Beastmen and one division of Serpents from House ZiChuan’s army had mutinied at the same time, causing the front line to crumble in an instant. It was exactly what Di Lin had feared. A large portion of the Far Eastern Army consisted of local non-human races. In the war of Humans against other races, their loyalty was not something you could count on. The situation continued to evolve as Di Lin predicted, the terrible defeat was like adding firewood to what was already a wildfire. Everywhere, non-human soldiers sent to suppress the local revolt turned on the human officers leading the army, causing entire division to mutiny and then joining the rebellion.
Within the month, what was once the rebellion of a small village had spread to seven provinces. The number of people partic.i.p.ated in the rebellion had reached five hundred thousand. The speed and the ferocity, in which the rebellion had spread, gave everyone a pause.
Someone did recall what Inspector General – Di Lin had predicted, but could only lament regretfully: “If only I knew…”
The second war council joint by High Command and the Ministry was a.s.sembled at the request of ZiChuan Shen Xing to discuss how to best handle the current situation.
As of now, the other commanders had all realized their mistakes and the correctness of Di Lin’s foresight. They were fully prepared for Di Lin’s disgusting gloating and humiliating mockery… They had turned themselves into solid rocks.
But Di Lin didn’t say a word this time around. He just kept smiling, but doing so silently… making everyone completely miserable in the High Command.
In the end, ZiChuan Shen Xing finally lost his patience as he kept asking Di Lin: “Inspector General, what is your opinion on this matter? Would you like to share?”
And every time, Di Lin would answer directly: “Sir. I have no opinion on this matter. I would rather hear what other Commanders had to say.” It was a worse torture than straight out killing them. Luo Ming Hai’s cheeks were swollen red.
As a result, the war council did not reach any conclusion, and had to end prematurely.
Later, Stirling came to see Di Lin: “Brother, I knew you had something to say. Why wouldn’t you say it?”
Di Lin smiled bitterly: “Because it is pointless. When Lei Hong first mutinied, I told them we have to redeploy the Central Army to the Far East. n.o.body listened. When the non human races rebelled, I told them we needed to divert the army fighting Lei Hong to deal with the rebellion; we could even negotiate with Lei Hong for a temporary truce. And again, n.o.body listened, instead they went to draw forces from the provinces west of Fort Warren. I’m sure they are going to order Far Eastern Army to ignore Lei Hong and focus their full attention on the rebellion of races next… But too bad, they are always one step behind.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“My proposal would scare Luo Ming Hai s.h.i.+tless and give him a stroke.”
Stirling smiled: “My blood pressure is just fine, you can tell me!”
Di Lin looked at Stirling: “All right, then listen up. In my opinion…”
Di Lin spoke one word at the time: “We don’t need to care about Lei Hong or the rebellion. Pull the Far Eastern Army all the way back to Fort Warren, together with every garrison unit stationed around the border, including the ones guarding the border to the Demon Empire. We must relinquish our control to the entire Far East… Perhaps then we can still salvage this.”
Even Stirling was shocked, so much so he couldn’t even speak. Di Lin sighed: “See, even you can’t handle it. What is the point of me telling them?”
……
High Command’s reaction was exactly as Di Lin predicted. They just gave the order to Deputy Commander Lin Bing and Luo Bo currently holding in the province of Galock with the bulk of Far Eastern Army, ordering them to cease the battle with Lei Hong and turn around to deal with the revolt!”
The order arrived just when the Far Eastern Army was caught in a fierce battle against the Rebel Army. Given the chaos of the battlefield, if they gave the order for retreat now, they might as well bend over and let their enemies kick them in the a.s.s!”
When Deputy Commander Lin Bing first received the order from the High command, she shouted angrily: “Luo Ming Hai knows nothing of war! If we turn around now, we may as well let them kill us! f.u.c.k him and his stupidity!”
The more level-headed Luo Bo put a hand against her mouth and began preparing for the retreat.
Luckily, under Luo Bo’s shrewd leaders.h.i.+p, a normally very flawed tactical manoeuvre, to retreat right in front of your enemy, was made to look like a perilous ambush, deterring Lei Hong from giving chase. After suffering a few casualties here and there, the Far Eastern Army of three hundred thousand strong successfully retreated from the province of Galock and began their march towards the rebellion of races.
The battle against the rebellion of races went pretty much according to plan at first. The Far Eastern Army booked success almost every day; even Luo Ming Hai was relieved. But when the army reached the heart of the rebellion, the province of Yun in Year 779, June, they suddenly lost all contact. Three hundred thousand men seemed to have disappeared from thin air, leaving everyone in the High Command in the dark…”
Only Inspector General – Di Lin seemed not to be bothered by it: “Lei Hong is not a fool after all.”