Cannot Be Reached

Shanhai Pass, Eastern Route Army temporary command post.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it could be wrung dry.

On the map, the red arrows representing the Feng Army were supposed to be unstoppable, plunging straight into the passes.

But now, several blue arrows representing the Shou Army were striking from unexpected positions, slicing the red offensive into scattered fragments.

The battle situation had reversed in an instant.

At the start of the war, everyone thought this would be a sure-win steamroll.

Who could have imagined reality would slap them right across the face?

Internal corruption, incompetent generals, elites who bragged to the heavens in peacetime but collapsed the moment they hit the battlefield.

Add to that the old rival Cao Kun, who refused to fight head-on and only used dirty tricks like flanking and infiltration.

The deadliest blow came from behind.

Zhang Jinghui's forces stationed at Jiumen Pass surrendered to the Shou Army without firing a single shot!

That surrender exposed the entire flank of the Eastern Route Army to the enemy.

Rout was already a foregone conclusion.

Mukden, Marshal's Mansion.

Zhang Yuting's eyes were bloodshot as he slammed his fist onto the table, rattling the teacups with a buzz.

"Transmit my order!"

"Full line retreat! Pull back outside the passes! Preserve our effective strength!"

The order was quickly relayed to the front via telegraph. Inside the Eastern Route Army command post, the already chaotic situation completely exploded.

"Commander! Guo Songling's Third Brigade is being outflanked by two Shou Army brigades! They can't hold much longer!"

"Commander! Our way back... our way back might be cut off!"

"Can't reach them! The phone line to the Eighth Brigade is down!"

Zhang Xueliang snatched the operator's headset and shouted into the microphone.

"Get me Zhang Xueming! Connect me to the Eighth Brigade! Hurry!"

"Reporting, Commander... the line was severed by artillery fire. We... we've lost contact with the Eighth Brigade!"

The signalman's voice was trembling.

Zhang Xueliang's mind went blank.

Old Fang's position—he had personally arranged that for his younger brother.

He thought it was a relatively safe rear area, letting the Eighth Brigade, made up of new recruits, get used to the rhythm of battle.

Who knew it would now become a dead knot on the entire Eastern Route Army's retreat path?

"Damn it!"

Zhang Xueliang slammed the headset to the ground and drew the sidearm at his waist.

"Guard Company! Follow me!"

"Commander! Where are you going?" Adjutant Tan Hai grabbed his arm in a death grip.

"To Old Fang's position! I'm going to save my younger brother!" Zhang Xueliang's eyes were red as he struggled to shake Tan Hai off.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Tan Hai was nearly in tears. As a civilian adjutant, he had nowhere near Zhang Xueliang's strength, so he could only use his whole body weight to drag him down.

"You're the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Route Army! If you leave, what about these hundred thousand brothers? The entire Eastern Route Army will be finished!"

"Let go!"

"Commander! The Second Young Master is blessed by heaven! But you can't gamble the fate of the entire Eastern Route Army! If you go, how do we explain it to the Marshal?"

Tan Hai's roar made Zhang Xueliang freeze for a moment.

Right.

He was the commander.

He couldn't go.

Zhang Xueliang slumped, releasing his grip on the gun. His body swayed, and several staff officers caught him.

He stared at the three characters for "Old Fang's Position" on the map, his heart twisting in pain.

Old Fang's position, Eighth Brigade, Third Regiment front.

Artillery fire had plowed the entire hilltop.

On the scorched earth, shell craters and wreckage were everywhere.

Chu Shixin held a long-extinguished cigarette butt between his teeth, leaning back in the trench, panting heavily.

A full seven days.

This regiment of theirs had somehow held out against the relentless assaults of two Shou Army divisions for seven straight days.

In front of the positions, enemy corpses piled layer upon layer.

But they were also nearing their limit.

"Damn it, are these Shou Army bastards crazy? Why are they grinding us down here?" a company commander spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"Let them come. Kill one, I'll take one. Kill two, I'll take a pair!"

Chu Shixin wiped the black grime off his face, but his gaze drifted back toward the brigade headquarters behind them.

The Brigade Commander should have made a decision by now.

Meanwhile, inside the Shou Army's command post, the atmosphere was completely different.

"Commander-in-Chief, victory is at hand!" a Staff Officer pointed excitedly at the map. "The Feng Army has collapsed across the entire line. We just need to..."

Cao Kun waved his hand, cutting him off.

He pointed at a spot on the map.

"Old Fang. Still not taken?"

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the force holding there is Zhang Yuting's second son, Zhang Xueming's Eighth Brigade. That kid's a bit of a freak—stubborn as a rock in a latrine pit, hard and stinking. We've been gnawing at him for seven days, and the losses are heavy."

"Zhang Xueming?" Cao Kun narrowed his eyes.

He had heard of this Second Young Master of the Zhang family.

But in his view, he was nothing more than a Youngster.

The big picture was already set. There was no need to waste time on a mere Eighth Brigade.

"Pass my orders," Cao Kun said in a deep voice. "Leave two brigades to continue besieging Old Fang and prevent them from breaking out. The rest of the forces will pursue across the entire line. We must annihilate the main Feng Army force completely Inside the Passes!"

"Yes, sir!"

This order soon reached Zhang Xueming's ears.

He lowered his binoculars, a cold, sharp curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Here it comes.

The opportunity had arrived.

He spread out the map and spoke to Chu Shixin and the other regimental commanders beside him.

"Cao Kun's main force is advancing eastward, leaving only two brigades to watch the house."

"They're looking down on us."