Chapter 1 In the Town of Tanli

Behind the southern wing of the Northern Liao army's entire battle line was a town called Tanli. Unlike Zhongjun Town, Tanli had not become prosperous due to the army's passage and stationing, but had turned into a place where good and bad mingled. Large quantities of military supplies had to pass through Tanli to supply the front lines, and soldiers on leave also liked to come to Tanli for entertainment. The town's simplicity was quickly worn away. Tanli had now become a place with numerous restaurants and brothels, with various channels to dispose of stolen goods or obtain scarce items. Before the start of the war, a unit of the Special Operations Battalion was stationed in Tanli.

Due to the war between Northern Liao and Dongping, Tanli had been forced to expand its size in a short period. The original city walls were no longer sufficient to accommodate all the buildings. Some less important buildings, as well as some newly built civilian houses, were outside the city walls. Outside the city walls, there was a two-story building that, although unremarkable, was one of the strongholds of the Special Operations Battalion soldiers. This was a branch set up here by the Intelligence Bureau, and it had a set of dedicated equipment that, although troublesome, could transmit intelligence at any time. In the Northern Liao-controlled area, it was obviously impossible to set up telegraph wires. But that didn't mean there was no way to communicate with the outside world, and it had to be very secretive.

This small building had a unique design under the roof: a tube with a signal light inside, facing a specific direction. On a hill a few miles away, there was another building, also staffed with Dongping intelligence officers, who would specifically monitor the light signals in this tube. Correspondingly, there was also a tube like this on their end. Because the signal light was installed deep inside the tube and had limited brightness, it was difficult to detect the movements inside unless specifically paying attention. Only from very specific angles could the signals in the tube be identified. In other directions, it would at most be thought of as the light flickering. However, this method was more feasible on clear nights. If it encountered heavy wind and rain, or the blizzards that were common in the Northern Kingdom in winter, then this tube used to maintain communication between these two points would not work at all. Fortunately, it was now late summer. Although the wind gradually picked up after nightfall, the signalmen on both sides could still transmit intelligence after several confirmations.

"Boss, news from the mountain village, the main force has set off. They told us to be extra careful." The signalman took off the glasses he used for observation, rubbed his eyes, and relayed the intelligence he had just received. "Barrett is hunting on the periphery, asking what kind of cooperation we need."

Zhang Wei smiled. Taking action in Tanli now was a bit premature. There were only small fry here now. Zhang Wei chose to have everyone lie low in this small building and wait for the opportunity. He hoped that the two sniper rifles that the Special Operations Battalion had obtained from Ye Tao could be displayed on sufficiently important people. Once this kind of thing appeared on the battlefield, the other side could not fail to notice it. Although the sniper rifle had a range of a full six hundred paces, it was quite accurate even at eight hundred paces if errors were not considered. As soon as the sniper rifle was unveiled, the other side's protection distance for important figures would be extended far enough in the future. Although Ye Tao said that sniper rifles would be a relatively common configuration in the future, and would be used to snipe enemy generals, officers, and non-commissioned officers on the front line to disintegrate the enemy's command, for the time being, only the Special Operations Battalion and the Guards had two sniper rifles each in the entire Pacification Commissioner's office. Manufacturing them was too difficult. Including the scrapped parts, the cost of one gun was now over two thousand Yunzhou silver dollars, a price that could be said to be very outrageous. Ye Tao would not manufacture this luxury item again until the cost was reduced to a certain extent. Popularization? He didn't know if it would be possible in three to five years. Since they were going to use it, they had to use it well.

"Boss, I just came back from a walk around the city. It seems like there really is a big fish here now. Dong Hushan is currently at the Si Yu Tower," a soldier approached and reported. "I took a look. It seems like the other side isn't very vigilant. They shouldn't know that our main force is advancing today, it isn't a preparatory command move. It looks like Dong Hushan is entertaining some guests."

"Oh?" Zhang Wei immediately became interested. He stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "It's still early now. Although this is the first target to be attacked, the main force won't arrive here until tomorrow morning at the earliest. We... still have at least seven shichen (a Chinese unit of time equal to two hours). Since Dong Hushan is here, and he ran into us, it's his bad luck, so we naturally have to get rid of him. But it's too early now. Seven shichen is enough time for them to determine who will take over the command. Then it won't be very meaningful at that time. So..."

Zhang Wei made up his mind and said to the signalman who was waiting on the side: "You send a message out, let Barrett cooperate with our actions, and two shichen later, conduct a harassment on the periphery, make it loud. Xiao Lin, I'll take the first team to lure Dong Hushan out. You take action when the time is right and come back here. I and the first team will draw away some of the enemy. Then, before dawn, the second and third teams, you can move freely in the city, make some noise. Xiao Lin, you take Pengzi and act according to the situation. Don't force it if there aren't any good opportunities, but it's best to kill the succeeding commander as well at that time. Or the person Dong Hushan is entertaining now... Although I don't know who it is, coming here at this time is probably not a good thing. If you can't kill him, at least find out who it is. Everyone is clear about the first principle of our Special Operations Battalion... You are all valuable soldiers, don't take unnecessary risks."

After Zhang Wei finished speaking, several officers around him nodded and went to make arrangements. The Special Operations Battalion was a silent unit. Years of arduous training had made their relationship and tacit understanding as strong as iron, but their years of lurking, sneaking, and operating in enemy-occupied areas had also turned them into a very silent group of people. Officers had to control the troops, liven up the atmosphere, and often chat with the soldiers, but many of the soldiers would never open their mouths unless necessary. The Special Operations Battalion had been operating in enemy-occupied areas for too long, and this habit had become more and more pronounced recently. Some of them had mastered the local accent, but most of them didn't have any expertise in this area. Silence was also a form of self-protection for them.

Each captain understood that Zhang Wei was planning to harass the garrison in Tanli several times. Although the killing effect might not be satisfactory, after a night of back-and-forth harassment, how many soldiers in the entire city would still have the energy to meet the battle the next morning would be a big problem. Tanli's location was relatively important, and there were many garrisons, but because this was an important transit point for materials, there were less than two thousand strong combat troops. The rest were mostly logistics and second-line troops, as well as some caravan guards, with a total force of four to five thousand people.

Barrett quickly received Zhang Wei's message. Once the message reached the mountain village outside, it would be very easy to transmit it to these lurking troops.

"Using me as a gun..." Barrett grumbled with some dissatisfaction. He realized that there must be a reason for Zhang Wei to do this. This kind of harassment war was indeed very suitable for the current situation. Their Special Operations Battalion was not meant to be used for storming fortifications. However, understanding was understanding, but giving up the initiative in combat and purely cooperating with Zhang Wei was somewhat unwilling. He knew himself that his personality was too rough. If it weren't for his outstanding combat skills and the fact that he had established a very high position in the minds of other soldiers since the selection process, it would be difficult for him to serve as the main officer with his tactical skills. He thought about it and asked an officer next to him, who was a captain under him: "Lao Xu, what do you think, how should we cause trouble?"

In contrast to Barrett, Lao Xu, whose name was Xu Zuoqing, wasn't very good at combat skills. Although he was much stronger than the soldiers in the general troops, he could only be considered below average in the Special Operations Battalion. However, in the battalion's previous confrontation exercises, he could always come up with new tricks to make his opponents look good.

Lao Xu thought for a moment and said with a wry smile: "Zhang, the boss, has really given us a difficult problem. This feint is never easy to do. If we make a big commotion, what if... we force out the guys who are planning to take action? We don't have a remote sniping team here. If we make a small commotion, it won't work. Several elite squads of the Tie Yun cavalry have been plotting around here."

Barrett felt that Lao Xu was right and nodded, saying, "Then do you have a solution?"

Lao Xu casually pulled a blade of grass, chewed on it while thinking, and the soldiers under him tacitly spread out the map in front of them. Lao Xu scanned back and forth, suddenly pointing his finger at the map: "Here... time is a bit tight, but it should be in time."

The target that Lao Xu had in mind was a small village north of Tanli. A large amount of horse feed was stockpiled there, and about three thousand warhorses were raised. The various warhorse losses on the southern line of the West Route Army were directly replenished from here. Originally, this horse farm was located south of Tanli, but due to the endless raids and harassment of the Tie Yun and Jing Yun cavalry, and a feigned attack launched some time ago to obtain a favorable attack position and control a larger buffer zone, this low-key horse farm had to be moved to the north of Tanli. Originally, someone in the West Route Army said that it would be safer to set up the horse farm east of Tanli, or simply inside the city. However, there was no suitable site within a relatively close distance east of Tanli, and the current Tanli had a large number of people coming and going. Three thousand warhorses would increase many supply problems for Tanli, and would also make the entire town dirty and chaotic. After considering several factors, the horse farm and stockpiles were placed in their current location. Now there was still an understaffed battalion stationed at the horse farm. It was said that the horse farm's warhorse inventory would be expanded to five thousand to eight thousand soon. Because the current horse farm was located closer to Tanli than before, and the harassment of the Dongping army's small infiltration forces had increased, the current garrison of the horse farm adopted a four-sided post defense method. This understaffed battalion of just over seventeen hundred people was divided into six groups, stationed in different directions, supporting each other, and all had high platforms to facilitate calling for help from Tanli at any time.

After Lao Xu explained the situation, Barrett understood what he meant. This kind of defense was good for defending against regular troops like the Jing Yun and Tie Yun cavalry, but for troops like the Special Operations Battalion, a small military camp with hundreds of people was simply a target for infiltration and night raids. They didn't know how many times they had conducted this type of exercise. In this way, although there was no ready-made combat plan, everyone could discuss it, and it would be almost the same. And whether the attack was successful or not, they would light a bonfire to report the news... According to Barrett and Lao Xu's consistent ruthless habits, they would most likely have to find a way to swallow a batch of reinforcements.

A gleam flashed in Barrett's eyes, and he said, "Let's do it. Notify everyone to prepare and set off immediately. Counting the time on the road, we must set off within a quarter of an hour."

Zhang Wei's unit had already started its operation in Tanli. Zhang Wei personally led a group of people and quietly came to the vicinity of Tenglong Lane, where the Si Yu Tower was located. Tenglong Lane was heavily guarded, and the Si Yu Tower was surrounded by Dong Hushan's personal guards. Zhang Wei couldn't help but feel a little irritable when he saw this situation. In the current situation, unless he could really lure Dong Hushan outdoors to be sniped, it didn't seem cost-effective to raid the Si Yu Tower.

"Boss, that red-lacquered carriage, I guess that's the mysterious guest's carriage, right?" A soldier nudged Zhang Wei with his elbow, his eyes fixed on the carriage parked in the alley next to the Si Yu Tower. Zhang Wei was reminded by this and looked carefully at the carriage, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. "Damn, we really ran into a big fish." The carriage was hung with special gold bells, which looked like inconspicuous decorations, but these gold bells were actually produced by the Ye family workshop research institute, and the sound was very penetrating when they rang. And on the hubs of the carriage wheels, the missing nails were not because the carriage was damaged, but because the missing nails spelled out a brief explanation: Yunzhou Ye. This showed that the owner of the carriage belonged to Ye Tao of the Yunzhou Pacification Commissioner's office... That was an out-and-out member of their own side.

"Wait, absolutely no one is allowed to touch that guest, understand? Quickly pass the order down." Zhang Wei scratched his head: "Be sure to notify those two guys... Don't snipe our own people, or I'll be in trouble."

"Our own people? Then what should we do later? Just kill Dong Hushan's people? In that case... will our own people be in trouble?"

When Zhang Wei heard this, he had an even bigger headache. He glanced at the carriage: "Go... the coachman must be one of our own. This is the rule, let's go up and find out."

Dong Hushan was a big fish, and the person he was entertaining was naturally also a big fish, and the person who came was none other than Kong Xinhua. Kong Xinhua had come to the front line with twelve airships and a large number of supplies, and was still worried about what to do. He was in charge of most of the airship affairs, and he naturally didn't want to create an oolong of airship confrontation now. Although he wasn't worried that Dongping would have any problems in this regard, it would affect future actions after all. Using airships to drain the national wealth, confidence, and confidence of Northern Liao was always a very challenging task. When Kong Xinhua sent these important supplies and combat weapons, Dong Hushan was naturally very excited, but Kong Xinhua was extremely tormented by such hospitality. At this time, suddenly a subordinate came to his ear and said a word, and Kong Xinhua immediately cheered up.