Between the Zhao Clan and the Bai Clan, there is a vast area with undulating terrain, interlaced hills and canyons, and several stone forests rise abruptly and stand tall on the ground. At the bottom of the canyon, the river roars through, the current is fast, and there are hidden reefs everywhere. Even people with good water quality dare not trespass.
This vast area is a natural battlefield. Due to the complex terrain and inconvenient transportation, many places are impassable even for trucks with the best off-road capabilities. Therefore, neither the Zhao clan nor the Zhang clan built large forts in this area at the beginning of the war. Just build some small forts.
At this moment, on the rough road along the canyon, an army is marching in the direction of the Zhao Clan. There are only a dozen trucks in this team of about a few hundred people, which are full of supplies and wounded, so most of the soldiers can only move forward on their own feet.
Among the soldiers walking on the ground, many of them were wrapped in bandages, and some of them were still oozing blood. Almost every truck has a lot of bullet holes. The roof of the cab of the worst one is missing, and only half of the engine cover is left. Every time there was a big bump, the car groaned and spewed so much steam that one wondered if it would break down completely on the next stretch.
Both the truck and the soldiers had Zhang Fan's insignia on them, obviously they had just been withdrawn from the front line. Although they seemed to have just experienced a bitter battle, they still maintained a basic marching formation, and their morale did not decline.
Following the officer's order, the force immediately divided dozens of people and a truckload of supplies, and began to build a defensive position on the roadside hills, while the rest continued to march. Everything is in order. From these details, it can be seen that although Zhang Clan's private army is not so famous, it is also a rare elite.
After advancing for more than ten kilometers, this force divided up dozens of people and built a defensive and alert position again. The remaining people walked another twenty kilometers, and a hill appeared on the horizon in the distance, and a castle loomed on the top of the hill.
Officer Zhang Clan picked up the binoculars, and the castle gradually became clear in his vision. This is not a small stronghold, but a fortress that can accommodate at least thousands of people. On the wall of the fortress, several military flags fluttered in the wind. Seeing the words "You Yan Zhao Clan" on the military flag, the officer's tense face finally relaxed a little, he let out a heavy breath, and ordered: "Send someone to report to the general immediately, and say that we have arrived at the Zhao Clan's defense zone."
The captain next to him immediately got off the command car, took out a locomotive from the rear compartment, and drove towards the way he came. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared at the end of the road amid billowing smoke and dust.
At this moment, in the fortress not far away, there are seven or eight generals crowded in a small conference room. Except for two generals of the regular imperial army, the rest are wearing the marks of the Zhao Clan or the Beacon Legion. . This did not reduce deterrence, but increased it. As we all know, the combat power of the Zhao Clan's private army and the Beacon Army is still higher than the main army of the empire.
Sitting in the middle was a lieutenant general with graying temples, who was frowning at the moment, staring at the map laid out on the conference table. On his left, sat a young general with sword eyebrows and starry eyes. He looked less than thirty years old, but he was impressively wearing the rank of major general. Among the generals, there were actually two less than thirty years old, and one of them was a brigadier general who looked only in his twenties. Most of the remaining generals are between thirty and forty, and rarely more than forty.
Only two generals belonging to the Imperial Legion were in their fifties, both major generals. When they looked at the silent lieutenant general in the center, there was a sense of awe in their eyes.
Zhao Zhuoyan, the fourth son of Lord Yan, entered the battlefield at the age of sixteen, and has been fighting for more than twenty years, with rare defeats in his life. It's just that his style has always been prudent, and he uses troops like a rock, but he is not as easy to attract attention as Zhao Weihuang's wind, thunder and volcano style. However, Zhao Zhuoyan should not be underestimated regardless of his record or strength.
Hosting the Zhao Clan theater on the Fulu battlefield this time is a recognition of Zhao Zhuoyan's strength.
Although Zhao Zhuoyan's reputation is not obvious, most people in the imperial army know him, and they all know that this is the most troublesome opponent.
The two imperial generals glanced at the other Zhao Clan generals, especially the major general on Zhao Zhuoyan's left for an extra period of time, and then looked at each other, and they both saw the deep fear in each other's eyes.
Zhao Junhong, one of the four sons of the Zhao family, can be regarded as a model of becoming famous since childhood. If Zhao Jundu was not too dazzling, his reputation would not stop there. It's just that everyone didn't expect that after showing his outstanding commanding talent, Zhao Junhong's combat power also improved by leaps and bounds, breaking through again and again, and now he was already at the twelfth level, and he was on par with Zhao Jundu for a while.
And the young man sitting next to Zhao Junhong, Zhao Junsu, was only in his early twenties, and he was also a brigadier general. So far, the former four sons of the Zhao family have become warriors, from needing the family's protection to being able to stand alone.
Zhao Fenglei, who was sitting on the other side, was older, but he was also compared to Zhao Junhong and Zhao Junsu. Now anyway, he is also a major general, and he definitely belongs to the young and strong faction in the imperial military. And in this generation, Zhao Clan also has Zhao Jundu, Zhao Ruoxi and Zhao Yuying, who are the essence of the Clan.
This is the Zhao Clan, which cannot be described as full of talents.
At this time, Zhao Zhuoyan, who had been silent for a long time, finally raised his head, looked around, and said in a deep voice: "This time to meet the Zhang Clan army is related to the fate of the country. I don't need to say more about the significance. This battle will adopt Jun Hong's strategy, only success is allowed, and failure is not allowed!" No matter who makes a mistake, it will be dealt with according to military law, and there will be no mercy!"
Zhao Zhuoyan spoke in a stern voice, everyone's heart trembled, and they responded loudly.
It can be seen from the map that there are nine fortresses in the vast area between Zhang and Zhao's two war zones, which vaguely form a layout of nine palaces.
Zhao Zhuoyan said: "This time the Zhang Clan is defeated, the dark race will definitely not let it go, the army must be chasing after them, advancing in multiple directions at the same time, outflanking, and trying to wipe out the Zhang Clan's army outside our Zhao Clan's defense area. The fortresses are still very important. We must delay the dark army as much as possible so that the Zhang faction's army can retreat smoothly and enter our defense area. Except for the three fortresses on the front line, the rest of the fortresses must hold on for at least three days. After three days, I will organize reinforcements to respond .”
All the generals focused their attention on the nine fortresses. Even those with no military knowledge knew how difficult it was to stop the army of darkness with the hastily built fortresses. It was almost a deadly task.
Seeing the dignified faces of everyone, Zhao Junhong suddenly smiled and said: "This battle is not without chance. In the eyes of the dark race, chasing the Zhang clan's army is obviously much more important than pulling down a small fortress. We just need to defend the first wave of offensive , the dark army will definitely leave a small force to continue to attack and contain, while the main force will bypass the fortress and continue to pursue."
The expressions of the two imperial generals improved immediately, and they both nodded.
The chief generals of these nine fortresses are the most important, Zhao Zhuoyan looked around and said: "You generals can choose which fortress you like."
Some of the generals frowned, some pondered, and fell silent for a while. Which fortress to choose depends not only on yourself, but also on who the commanders of the surrounding fortresses are. In fierce battles, whether the fortresses can cooperate with each other and echo each other is the key to whether they can be defended. The three fortresses on the front line are equipped with two generals because they are the first to meet the enemy. After completing the task, the first-line defenders will withdraw to the second-line fortress, join the defenders there, and so on.
At this moment, Zhao Junsu stood up with a snap, and was about to reach out and point to the three fortresses on the front line.
Without waiting for him to speak, Zhao Zhuoyan said, "Jun Su, you defend Fort Seven."
Zhao Junsu was taken aback for a moment, and asked, "Why?"
Fort No. 7 is located on the third line, closest to the Zhao Clan base, and also the place with the least defensive pressure. Although there will definitely be troops of the dark race detouring from the periphery, but their strength is not as strong as the army chasing Zhang Clan in the middle, and there are back and forth support, so it is not difficult to defend.
Zhao Zhuoyan's complexion was gloomy, and he said: "Is it a trifling matter for military affairs, how can you have the strength to defend the fortress in front?"
Zhao Junsu's face was green and pale, although he was not convinced, but Zhao Zhuoyan had a lot of prestige. Now that the order had been given, he didn't dare to openly disobey it, so he sat down depressed.
Zhao Junsu started, and then several generals spoke and chose the fortress. Among them, Zhao Zhuoyan came from the palace in the town to support the surroundings. Zhao Junhong, Zhao Fenglei and the two major generals of the empire chose three fortresses on the front line respectively.
At this moment, Zhao Fenglei suddenly said: "No matter how it is arranged, the entire defense system is still too weak. There are not enough people!"
Zhao Zhuoyan said calmly, "Yuying will come tomorrow, and there are two generals at home with her."
Zhao Fenglei shook his head and said, "Even with Yuying, it's not enough."
How could Zhao Zhuoyan not know what Zhao Fenglei could see? He sighed, and said slowly: "This matter is unthinkable. The dark race is so powerful that even Zhang Clan has been defeated. How can there be an easy battle? Several large fleets of the outer void empire are fighting hard, maybe we can only wait They have decided the victory and defeat, and it will be easier to prevent the dark race from adding troops to the floating land."
What if the imperial fleet is defeated? More than one person came up with this idea, and then didn't think about it any more. If the imperial fleet is defeated, the more than 100,000 troops on the floating land are doomed to be wiped out, and perhaps only a few descendants of aristocratic families and tyrannical people will be able to escape.
Zhao Fenglei suddenly said: "This battle is very important, but my Zhao family's strength seems to have not been used enough."
As soon as these words came out, all eyes fell on Zhao Fenglei. Zhao Zhuoyan's face remained motionless, he couldn't see what he was thinking at all, he just asked, "Why do you say that?"
Zhao Fenglei exhaled, and said, "Could it be that you all forgot about Qianye?"
Zhao Zhuoyan frowned slightly, and did not speak for a while.
Zhao Fenglei continued: "If Qianye is here, with him and Cointreau roaming outside to support, the dark army will inevitably lose sight of one thing and lose another, and will not be able to siege the fortress with all its strength. The pressure on our defense will be much less."
Zhao Zhuoyan raised his eyebrows slightly, as if he was moved, but he still sighed and said: "Qianye chose to hunt freely, and now he is fighting with the Li family. After all, he is not from the Zhao Clan, nor is he in our family." I do not have the right to dispatch jurisdiction because I am serving in the legion."
Zhao Fenglei sneered, and said, "Why isn't he from the Zhao Clan? Don't forget, he is registered in the fourth son's other residence. Besides, we are fighting to the death here, but he is in the Li family's house." Fighting for your own reward, why can't you justify it? I think it was a very important moment, and for the sake of the overall situation, we should issue a call-up order to Qianye and order him to return immediately!"
Zhao Junhong stood up abruptly, and shouted: "No!"