SFS Chapter 1348 Delay them, await reinforcements
Chapter 1348 Delay them, await reinforcements
He gritted his teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, filled with resentment and deep-seated hatred.
"Father, what do we do next? Should we continue fighting?"
The carriage jolted violently, nearly throwing Reese out.
Outside the vehicle came the soldiers' cries of alarm and the wounded soldiers' painful groans, along with the distant, chilling sound of the Turkic cavalry's charge.
A blood-soaked officer rode up to the carriage window, his helmet missing, his face covered in soot and exhaustion, his voice filled with despair: "Your Majesty! Too many fleeing soldiers have blocked the road! The Turkic cavalry have caught up with us! Please advise, should we... should we continue fighting? Where should we retreat?"
Shahar abruptly pushed open the swaying car window, and the icy wind mixed with the smell of blood rushed in, slightly clearing his confused mind.
He looked out at the apocalyptic scene: abandoned flags, scattered weapons, wounded soldiers struggling and groaning in the snow, and faces completely dominated by fear.
We've lost. We've truly lost everything.
On the main battlefield, faced with the overwhelming weaponry of the Xiao Kingdom and the Turkic coalition, his proud Slavic army was practically made of paper.
"Fight? Of course we should fight!"
Shahar's voice suddenly rose, carrying a desperate, resolute tone that sounded particularly jarring in the cold wind: "There are no cowards among the Slavs who surrender without a fight! You little brat Xiao Ce thinks you can make us submit with iron birds and iron golems? Dream on!"
He was panting heavily, and a hint of ruthlessness, characteristic of a cunning tyrant, rekindled in his despair. "But... we can't fight like this! Charging forward like this is suicide! It's foolish!"
He roared at the loyal but equally disheveled officer outside the car window: "Order! All units that can still move, abandon your baggage and travel light! Retreat at top speed toward the Iron Wall Fortress on our side!"
"Relying on the fortresses and the surrounding strongholds, we will launch a series of attacks to wear down the enemy! Tell the commanders of those fortresses to hold their ground! Anyone who dares to retreat even a step will be punished according to military law and their entire clan will be exterminated!"
The Iron Wall Fortress is the most fortified group of fortresses on the eastern border of the Slavs. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is their only hope at present.
"Yes! Your Majesty!"
A glimmer of hope flashed in the officer's eyes, as if he had grasped a lifeline, and he immediately spurred his horse to deliver the order.
Shahar slammed the window shut, shutting out the howling wind and screams outside. Only the heavy breathing of the father and son remained inside the carriage.
He looked at Ries, whose face was still pale: "See? We have no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. Han Da's frontal assault, Wei Wuji's aerial bombardment, and Xiao Ce's iron golems that could appear at any moment... what can we use to defend against them? We must change our tactics!"
No matter how strong Xiao Ce is, he's still made of flesh and blood! His iron bird will eventually land! His iron golem... I refuse to believe it has no weaknesses, no times when its energy runs out!
A calculating glint flashed in his eyes: "We must stall! Stall for time! Using the terrain we know so well, using the fortresses we've built up over the years, we'll tear them apart like a pack of wolves, making them pay a bloody price for every step they take! Meanwhile..."
He lowered his voice, with a hint of desperation.
Shahar's tone was unquestionable and filled with violence...
"We can wait a little longer..."
After hearing Shahar's words, Ries asked in confusion, "Wait? Wait for what?"
Shahar looked at Ries with unwavering eyes and said, "Do you really think that mysterious person has truly disappeared?"
After hearing Shahar's words, Rhys asked with some surprise, "Father, do you still have hope for him?"
Shahar nodded, then said to Ries, "That's right...that's the situation now...we've stirred up a hornet's nest...and it's clear from their very first stop that their Xiao Kingdom has been developing a lot behind our backs..."
"Their strength far surpasses ours. As the saying goes, once the arrow is released, there's no turning back... We've already seriously offended Xiao Ce..."
"Therefore, we only have one path: resistance...and we must also be wary of defections from within our ranks...We'll wait!"
After hearing Shahar's words, Rhys nodded: "So, what if that mysterious person doesn't reappear?"
Shahar said firmly, "That's impossible. They will definitely show up... So, we need to demonstrate our value now..."
Reese nodded: "Then we need to prove our worth..."
Shahar nodded: "That's right... We need to demonstrate our value and tell all the cabinet ministers to come together..."
Ries nodded, then said to Shahar, "What if..."
Shahar said to Ries, "What if that mysterious person, that mysterious organization, really disappears... then we're just unlucky..."
"Go quickly."
Rhys nodded solemnly.
Not long after, in this impregnable fortress on their border, which they had built to defend against the Turks and even resist the Xiao Kingdom...
At this moment, inside the main hall of this fortress!
The atmosphere was oppressive, filled with panic and the heavy smell of tobacco. On the huge sand table, most of the small blue flags representing the Slavic army had been pulled out. On the eastern border, red arrows symbolizing the enemy Turks and the Xiao Kingdom, like ferocious venomous snakes, were approaching the model of the iron fortress symbolizing the last line of defense from multiple directions.
The fire crackled in the fireplace, but it couldn't dispel the bone-chilling cold.
Tsar Shahar sat in the main seat. Although he had changed into a clean marshal's uniform, his eyes were sunken and his face was haggard. The defeats and immense pressure of the past few days made him look as if he had aged ten years.
Reese stood behind him, trying to straighten his back, but his eyes flickered, and he dared not look directly into the eyes of the important officials below.
Although they had previously used East Asian forces to eliminate oligarchs within their own country.
These people are now all on their own.
The cabinet ministers who were able to attend sat around the long table; each of them was a pivotal figure in the Slavic Empire!
Their faces were equally grim; some were still shaken, some were worried, and some carried an undisguised air of doubt.
"As you all have seen, the situation is as it is."
Shahar's voice was hoarse and weary, yet carried an undeniable weight: "The front lines... suffered a crushing defeat. Handa's Turkic cavalry and Xiao Guowei's Iron Bird air force, along with their well-equipped and heavily armed infantry battalions, utterly crushed my main eastern army. The losses... exceeded 15,000 men, and countless pieces of equipment and supplies were lost."
"We intended to attack them, but they caught us completely off guard. What are your thoughts on this?"
He omitted the exact number of prisoners, a number that would have devastated everyone.
The hall was deathly silent, save for heavy breathing and the crackling of the fireplace.
The Field Marshal, an elderly general with graying hair, slammed his fist heavily on the table, making the teacup bounce: "Disgrace! This is the greatest humiliation the Slavic Army has ever suffered in a century! When did those Turkic barbarians and the people of Xiao acquire such terrifying weapons? Those 'flamethrower sticks' that can fire continuously, those iron birds that can throw explosives! What have the intelligence agencies been doing?!"
"Over the years, when we've attended meetings with their East Asian Federation, they've never mentioned it..."
A lean, elderly man stroked his beard and said in a low voice, "Marshal, please calm down. Attempting to assign blame now will be futile. The most pressing question is how we should proceed. His Majesty the Tsar has summoned us here; surely he has a plan?"
He turned his gaze to Shahar.
Shahar took a deep breath and forced himself to cheer up: "A head-on fight is a dead end. The gap between our weapons and those of the Xiao Kingdom and the Turkic allied forces is like a hunting bow against a repeating musket, or a warhorse against an iron bird! We have no chance of winning in a direct field battle."
He pointed to the solitary fortress model on the sand table, "Our only hope lies here at Iron Fortress! Relying on its sturdy walls, dense network of fortifications, complex terrain, and our remaining forces, we must wage an unprecedented and most tenacious defensive battle! Buy us time..."
"defense?"
The Minister of War's voice trembled, "Your Majesty, the fortress's reserves... especially gunpowder, cannonballs, and arrows, at normal consumption, will only last for two months at most! Moreover... and the muskets we copied are far inferior to the enemy's in range and power, and have a high failure rate! The soldiers... the soldiers' legs go weak at the mere sound of the 'Iron Bird'!"
His words resonated with the other ministers, and a pessimistic mood spread.
"And what's the point of our defense... is it just to buy time?"
"Then find a way!"
Shahar interrupted sharply, his gaze sweeping over the crowd like a knife: "No gunpowder? Requisition all the reserves in our Slavic nation's warehouses, including those in civilian workshops! Immediately order all arsenals to work day and night, prioritizing the production of boulder for arrows and crossbows, as well as oil!"
"Firearms won't work? Then use more crossbows, dig more pits, and set up more chevaux-de-frise! Fill the mountains and forests around the fortress with traps! Let the soldiers know that retreating even one step means national annihilation! Their families and land will be trampled under the iron hooves of the Turks!"
"Every bit of time we buy increases our chances of survival and victory... We need to wait for our reinforcements to arrive..."
"Reinforcements?" Upon hearing this, all the cabinet ministers turned to look at Shahar.
Shahar nodded, stood up, placed his hands on the edge of the sand table, leaned forward, and exuded a sense of desperate pressure.
"That's right, we have reinforcements, as long as it takes time... those reinforcements are equipped with far superior weaponry, far exceeding their own... so now we just need to wait for them to arrive... we must defend the land beneath our feet!"
"We must make Xiao Ce and Han Da understand that Slavic land is not so easy to conquer! Every step they take will come at a bloody price! We must hold them back, keep them bogged down in the quagmire! We must deplete their forces, wear down their morale, and stretch their supply lines! Time is our most precious resource now!"
"But Your Highness..." the Minister of the Interior began, his voice filled with worry.
"Such enormous expenditure and mobilization... the country's food, supplies, and manpower... are likely insufficient to sustain it. Moreover, such a crushing defeat... has unrest among the lords and the people in various regions. What if..."
"Nothing unexpected!"
Shahar was resolute!
"Tell those lords that if the kingdom falls, where will their territories survive? If the skin is gone, where will the fur attach? Anyone who dares to undermine morale, hoard goods, or even secretly collude with the enemy at this time, I will exterminate their entire clan! All confiscated property will be used as military funds!"
His eyes flashed with a ruthless light: "Internally, we must maintain strict control! Send reliable people to strengthen the guard in the rear of major cities and fortresses, and strictly prevent spies from instigating rebellion! Externally, we must implement a scorched earth policy! Fifty miles in front of the fortress, destroy all villages, granaries, and water sources that can be destroyed, and bury poison in the areas that cannot be destroyed! Leave the enemy not a single grain of food or a drop of clean water!"
The Chancellor of the Exchequer's face fell instantly, but he dared not refute it and could only grit his teeth and record this almost impossible logistical task.
"Everyone..."
Shahar softened his tone, but his gaze deepened: "I know this is difficult. But it's our only way out! No matter how strong Xiao Ce is, he's still human! His iron birds need to land, and his iron golems need energy! His soldiers will also get tired and fearful! As long as we hold on, hold on until they show a weakness, hold on until they run out of supplies, hold on until... perhaps... a turning point will appear!"
"Let me tell you, our powerful allies are on their way. They are a formidable reinforcement force... but before that, we need to demonstrate our capabilities. The better we perform, the more support we will receive from the reinforcements..."
"Therefore! We must make Iron Wall Fortress a meat grinder for Xiao Ce and Han Da! A grave to bury their ambitions!"
Shahar's voice echoed in the command post, carrying a sense of tragic resolve: "For the Slavs! For the land beneath our feet, where we have lived for generations! This battle must be won, not lost! Now, immediately transmit my orders to every corner! All departments, operate at full capacity! Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"
"If we agree to this war, I tell you, their entire East Asian Federation will collapse... and we will be able to rebuild a completely new order belonging to us Slavic people..."
"We must hold on! Rely on the fortress and wear them down! Make them pay with their blood for every inch of land! Destroy all their available food and water resources..."
His voice was so loud that even he needed to raise it to convince himself. "If we can hold on for another month or two, we'll be able to launch a counterattack once reinforcements arrive!"
Before he could finish speaking, a series of hurried, frantic footsteps, accompanied by the clanging of metal armor, approached from afar...