Chapter 94: The Strategy of Expanding Northward and Defending Southward (1)

The Special Committee was now under a pincer attack from zombie hordes in the northeast and across the vast central heartland of China, which was militarily unfavorable.

The General Staff had been reinforced by professional staff officers from the two mountain bases, and their analysis was far more precise than the rough-and-ready staff that the Special Committee had relied on before.

A few simple figures were enough to bring the Special Committee around to the new strategy: defend to the south, expand to the north.

In the end, the southern defensive line was drawn along the rivers of the Hai River basin that were suitable for defense, and along the central heartland. North of that line, clearing operations would begin. The zombie hordes would be lured to various areas far from the front line in the north, then annihilated quickly with artillery and firearms. The reason for destroying them far away from the defensive line was to keep the thunderous noise of modern weapons from drawing the zombies southward.

After detailed planning, the southern defense line was set as follows: to the west, the Taihang Mountains would serve as the barrier; after Tianjin was retaken, the sea would become the eastern defense line; to the south, the Hai River basin, which originates in the Taihang range, would be used as the line of defense; and to the north, the Yanshan Mountains would serve temporarily as the frontier. Once the rear was stabilized, the army would march on Shanhaiguan, retake the northeast, and then drive north again.

Wherever the zombies were in this apocalypse, that was where the ceasefire line lay. National borders could no longer be considered. Still, it was hard to say the General Staff did not harbor thoughts of taking back Siberia while they were at it.

The General Staff demanded the recapture of Tianjin, the largest city within striking distance of the Beijing headquarters base. Before the apocalypse, its population had been more than thirteen million, which meant nearly thirteen million zombies now, a grave threat. Tianjin lay only 120 kilometers from Beijing. At the observed zombie movement speed of eight kilometers per hour, they could cover forty kilometers in a sprint.

At either pace, they would be at the city walls in less than a day. This threat could not be left standing.

Tianjin was also a port city with abundant supplies. Retaking it would greatly improve the overall situation of the Special Committee, and it could serve as a crucial supply depot for the reconquest of the northeast.

As for reaching the sea, that was no longer something anyone dared to dream of. Once the apocalypse began, naval bases around the coast were destroyed one after another by mutated sea creatures. Nuclear submarines were lost. Even completed aircraft carriers were sunk. Although some vessels may not have gone down, everyone aboard was gone.

The General Staff planned to draw as many of Tianjin’s zombies as possible to the banks of the Ziya River north of the city, where preset artillery positions would then unleash concentrated fire and wipe them out.

As for troop deployment, it was impossible to throw nearly three million troops into the Tianjin campaign. Heavy firepower could not all be brought to bear there, and there was no need to. Against nearly thirteen million zombies, two corps would be enough if the battlefield was prepared in advance and fully equipped with heavy weapons.

“Modern weapons really are powerful,” Li Fengyi thought with a sigh.

Thus, all fronts would move at the same time, merely with differing priorities according to transportation and other constraints.

As he looked at the meticulous plan, the maps spread out before him, and the interconnected conditions listed one by one, Li Fengyi felt his eyes growing hazy. Too complicated.

It was a complete surprise. In the past, on a small scale, everyone would simply wave a hand and charge. At the critical moment, he would grab an iron pipe like a gun and shout, “Party members, step forward! Follow me!” And that would settle it.

But no one had ever considered strategy on this scale in such detail. It was truly a case of each profession having its own expert.

War was a complicated discipline. Death itself served as the invigilator. Either you passed or you failed; the result was either life or death.

Of course, Li Fengyi added a private note to that: you could always run away and start over again. We could always retake the exam.

When Commander Liu saw the battle plan, he kept nodding. “Mm. Mm...”

After spending a long time around him, Li Fengyi knew that the old man’s official education was said to be a bachelor’s degree from the National Defense University, but in truth he had graduated from the literacy classes of the children’s corps at the base.

To be exact, it was hardly even a graduation. He had simply learned to recognize a few characters from the semiliterate political instructor of the Eighth Route Army, mainly so he could understand the contents of travel passes. Later, in the People’s Liberation Army, he learned enough to know his letters properly, and then he entered military school to study some theories of warfare.

That he had risen to the rank of lieutenant general and army commander was due chiefly to his courage in battle, and also to his uncanny ability to always end up on the winning side in every round of factional struggle. Whenever bad luck was about to strike the major figure he followed, he would somehow be assigned to another task or simply transferred to a different unit. His fortune was so remarkable it was almost absurd.

He had been rescued from the brink of starvation by the Eighth Route Army, and from that day on he had remained steadfastly loyal to the revolutionary ranks. In his view, some internal disagreements were perfectly normal; so long as no one was betraying the Party or the nation, they could be accepted.

“Have all the opinions been summarized?” Commander Liu asked. Having spent his whole life in the army, war had taught him many things, and he used them with practiced ease.

“They’ve all been summarized,” replied Chief of Staff Shi Yongcheng. Beside him stood Wang Xuming, former chief of staff of the mountain troops from the Mentougou region and now deputy chief of staff of the Temporary First Group Army of the People’s Liberation Army. To a large extent, the battle plan had been the work of the mountain officers, who made up the largest contingent in the newly formed staff.

Wang Xuming looked smugly at the expressions on Li Fengyi and Commander Liu’s faces. Through Li Fengyi’s calm expression, he noticed his eyes blinking furiously. If someone said Li Fengyi had a twitching eyelid, he would not be surprised. He grunted inwardly, pleased with himself. Hmph. We’re not freeloaders either. It’s just that our leader isn’t up to much.

As for Commander Liu, he would not dare underestimate him. The old man was now one of the few true stabilizing pillars in the army. Those old predecessors had built this foundation for them under such harsh conditions; if some of them lacked a solid educational background, that was understandable. That was simply a matter of not being tainted by the pedantries of intellectuals. The army, in truth, was the organization that valued continuity most.

Commander Liu took up the pen, signed his name, and passed the document to Li Fengyi.

Li Fengyi nodded to himself, thinking, I expected as much. You probably can’t make heads or tails of it. Still, he certainly looked like a man seasoned by many battles.

He cleared his throat and said, “Go back and make your preparations. The Special Committee will coordinate with the various departments to ensure the battle plan is carried out smoothly.” He, too, signed his name.

The Ministry of Armed Forces immediately adjusted the deployment of the troops advancing south. Units that had crossed beyond the Hai River defense line were pulled back, and reconnaissance teams built around scout battalions were sent out to conduct perimeter surveillance.

The clearing of relatively safe areas and the construction of defensive works were all handed over to newly established companies. The Commerce Department negotiated with them over the percentage of supplies recovered and the tax arrangements. The Propaganda Department then vigorously promoted the commercial revival in the Special Committee’s territory: roughly speaking, all strategic materials were to be recovered without exception, while all other materials would be taxed at a certain rate, and the remainder would belong to the various commercial companies.

If anything was needed, a bidding conference would be held and the different companies would compete for the contract.

Every department in the Special Committee underwent corresponding adjustments. For the present, the United Front Department and the Propaganda Department worked in close tandem. Their task was to promote the Special Committee’s vision of a better life, and, as far as possible, to divide, undermine, and attract the great powers and factions across the country.