Chapter 19 Another Side Quest
Da Gaoling is a strategically located place that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and Xiuyan is just an isolated city. Naturally, he is not willing to go there. However, Nie Shicheng is now the commander-in-chief, so he can't oppose it openly, but he can only secretly dislike it in his heart.
Nie Shicheng saw Feng Sheng'a's unhappy expression and sighed helplessly in his heart. When he was in Korea, he knew this gentleman very well. This gentleman was a little timid and afraid of death. He always avoided the important things in the war. But this gentleman was a Manchu and had a strong backing in the court.
However, the main attack direction of the Japanese was Da Gaoling, so he had to dispatch Feng Sheng'a, who was not strong in combat, there.
After a pause, Nie Shicheng emphasized: "The Fifth Division has the best Japanese general, Tachimi Naofumi. The soldiers under him are good at bayonet fighting and are tough."
Tachimi Naofumi is a famous general who is known by the Japanese as having no rivals in Japan. In history, the Japanese Army elder Yamagata Aritomo avoided him even when walking, and did not dare to show up at the funeral hall until he died.
During the Russo-Japanese War, he used 10,000 "Tachimi Army" to attack with bayonets, successfully lifted the siege of 100,000 Russian troops, and turned defeat into victory.
Unfortunately, because he was born in the shogunate army and was idle for a period of time, he is not as high-ranking as many people he defeated, including Yamagata Aritomo, and is only a major general.
He came to China to grab military merits, so the army was eager to fight.
Feng Sheng'a also fought with Tachimi Naofumi in Korea and suffered a great loss at his hands. When he heard that he would attack Dagaoling, his face looked much better, and he also looked at Nie Shicheng with gratitude.
Seeing the fear on the faces of several generals, Nie Shicheng changed the subject and said with a smile: "The Japanese army has been fighting for a long time, and the logistics supply has been delayed and seriously insufficient. The soldiers have long been exhausted. Our army is well-rested and has the advantage of time, place and people. Even if he sees Shangwen as a superpower, I, Nie Shicheng, can make him retreat, not to mention that he is not superpowers."
The faces of the generals returned to normal.
Nie Shicheng wanted to boost morale, but at this time, his aide Feng Guozhang rushed in.
Feng Guozhang had a square face, two mustaches, and very rough eyebrows. He walked with a fierce and powerful gait. He was worthy of being one of the three famous Beiyang heroes that Yuan Shikai relied on in the future.
However, he was only a staff member under Nie Shicheng. After graduating from Beiyang Military Academy, Feng Guozhang joined Nie Shicheng's army as an instructor. Nie Shicheng saw that he was quite proficient in both civil and military strategies, so he promoted him to a staff member.
Seeing this, Nie Shicheng quickly winked at Feng Guozhang. He had just been encouraging the morale of the generals, and he didn't want to hear Feng Guozhang report any bad news in front of everyone.
Feng Guozhang showed joy on his face. After saluting, he smiled and said, "Marshal Nie! Generals, the spies in Jiuliancheng have just brought good news."
Feng Guozhang deliberately paused here to whet everyone's appetite.
When everyone pricked up their ears and looked like they were listening, he continued, "Our prisoners actively resisted in Jiuliancheng and blew up a large Japanese arsenal. The Japanese lost countless guns and ammunition, and more than a hundred Japanese soldiers, which was enough to slow down their offensive."
The Qing soldiers, whose morale had dropped below zero, urgently needed good news to boost their morale before the war. Therefore, this small victory was used by Feng Guozhang and publicized with great fanfare.
Nie Shicheng also understood this truth, with a smile on his face, and echoed, "Our prisoners actually defeated the Japanese army. From this, it seems that the Japanese are not invincible. Huafu, quickly report this good news to the entire army to boost our morale. The Japanese will definitely lose their troops in this battle. You should work together with me, Nie Shicheng, to show the Japanese that our Qing soldiers are not cowards. We will win this battle!"
"We will win this battle!" The generals shouted in unison.
Although Nie Shicheng was delighted, he did not think that the captives who had made contributions could escape the encirclement of the Japanese. Jiuliancheng was already behind enemy lines. Who could have thought that Wei Jichen could lead the captives out of the city?
However, Wei Jichen's current situation was not very good. Counting the time, it had been two days since he escaped from Jiuliancheng.
During these two days, everyone had to eat and sleep in the wild. Fortunately, there were many birds and beasts in the northeast, and there was no shortage of mountain roots and tree bark. Relying on these things, everyone managed to survive.
A group of forty people walked on the goat path in the mountains. They were hungry and thirsty. Wei Jichen looked at the sun and estimated that it was noon now.
"Brothers, let's stop and rest for a while." Wei Jichen sat down and rubbed his sore thighs.
When the soldiers heard that they could rest, they lay on the ground in twos and threes, panting.
Mengzi and Huzi greeted Wei Jichen, took two soldiers, and went hunting again during the rest time.
Along the way, we passed two or three small mountain villages, but we didn't encounter the Japanese. It seems that the Japanese have limited military strength. Although they occupied a large area of Liaodong, they can only defend the limited military strength in the towns. As for the vast rural areas, they are out of reach.
Wei Jichen found a shady place, closed his eyes, and entered the system.
Because there was no battle with the Japanese for two consecutive days, the merit value remained stagnant, only more than 150 points.
Wei Jichen entered the task system. The main task was to lead at least ten soldiers to escape from the prison and join the Qing army. There were 42 captive soldiers in the temporary army. As long as Wei Jichen brought these people to Dagaoling safely, he could get more than a thousand merit points. If he bought a super bulletproof vest from the system, his chances of survival on the battlefield would be much greater.
Wei Jichen thought happily while looking at the task system.
One main task, not yet completed, two side tasks, one failed and one succeeded.
At this time, Wei Jichen was stunned. There was another new side task in the task system.
Side task: Kill the Japanese captain Saito Masaaki. The host's style of doing things aroused the captain's anger. Saito Masaaki has now led the army to chase the host and will catch up from time to time.
Mission completed: reward 300 merit points, mission failed, deduct 100 points.
Saito Masaaki, Wei Jichen remembered that the Japanese soldiers talked the most about this commander of Jiuliancheng in the prison. I didn't expect Saito Masaaki to come and chase me in person. I don't know if it's my misfortune or luck.
At this moment, Wei Jichen was very grateful to the system. If there was no reminder of this side quest, he would never have thought that Saito Masaaki would bring the army to chase him.
But now that he knows, Saito Masaaki has become a lot of merit points in Wei Jichen's mind.
Not only are there rewards for completing side quests, but there are also merit points for killing Saito Masaaki. According to the calculation method of the system, Saito Masaaki is a captain of the Japanese army with more than a thousand soldiers under his command. Killing him, Wei Jichen can probably get more than 500 merit points, which is more generous than completing side quests.
Sure enough, it is easier to make money by making extra money. Wei Jichen didn't think much about it and immediately clicked to accept the task.
But how should he tell the soldiers about this? Wei Jichen, who had exited the system, was troubled. He couldn't tell his soldiers that he had a super military support system.
If he said so, Wei Jichen could imagine that several soldiers would come up and hold him down, and then perform exorcism activities.
It's really a headache!
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Happy Dragon Boat Festival, collect the red tickets, don't leave them there to rust.