12: Chapter 12 New Military Exercises

Three days after the re-equipment was completed, Li Ling decided to conduct a large-scale military exercise.

It wasn't to show off, but rather for two purposes: first, to test the combat capability of the New Army and see how much of a role these new weapons could actually play; second, to open the eyes of his father and those old-school generals, securing their support for the subsequent re-equipment.

All thirty thousand soldiers of the New Army participated in the exercise, divided into the Red and Blue armies, with fifteen thousand men each. Li Ling personally served as the commander of the Red Army, while the Blue Army was commanded by several veteran officers from the New Army, simulating the tactics and equipment of the Japan's military.

To enhance realism, Li Ling also specially had the Production Base temporarily produce a batch of "enemy identifiers." Each Blue Army soldier wore a blue armband, used old-style rifles, and their tactics also simulated the skirmish line charges of the Japan's Army.

The exercise location was chosen in a hilly area thirty li outside the city, with undulating terrain and crisscrossing ravines, highly suitable for practicing offensive and defensive tactics.

On the night before the exercise, Li Ling gathered all the Red Army officers of battalion level and above for a pre-battle deployment meeting.

"For tomorrow's exercise, I have only one requirement," Li Ling pointed at the map, his tone serious, "wipe out the Blue Army completely, leaving none behind."

The officers looked at each other. Although they knew it was just an exercise, Li Ling's tone made their skin crawl.

"Young Master, the Blue Army also has fifteen thousand men. If we want to wipe them out completely, I'm afraid..." a battalion commander said cautiously.

"Afraid of what?" Li Ling interrupted him. "The rifles in your hands are ten times better than the Blue Army's, and your artillery is a hundred times stronger than theirs. If you still can't win, you might as well go home and farm as soon as possible."

The officers dared not say more and lowered their heads to look at the map.

Li Ling drew a few arrows on the map. "Tomorrow's tactics are very simple—pin them down from the front, flank them from both sides, let the artillery saturate the ground first, and then the infantry will charge. Remember, do not engage in bayonet fights with the Blue Army; use Hand grenades to resolve close-quarters combat. Is that clear to everyone?"

"Understood!"

The officers responded in unison. Although they still had doubts in their hearts, they were infected by Li Ling's confidence.

## II

On the day of the exercise, the weather was cooperative, with clear skies stretching for thousands of miles.

Li Ling took his father and a group of generals to the viewing platform, which was set up on a small hill beside the battlefield, offering a panoramic view of the entire exercise area.

"Ling'er, isn't this display a bit too grand?" Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan looked at the densely packed troops below, feeling somewhat uneasy. "Thirty thousand people—if something goes wrong..."

"Don't worry, Father, I know what I'm doing." Li Ling smiled. "Today, I'll let you see just how strong our New Army really is."

At nine o'clock in the morning, the exercise officially began.

The Blue Army launched the first attack, advancing toward the Red Army's frontal positions in a skirmish line according to the tactics of the Japan's Army. The Blue Army commander was a veteran who had fought in the First Sino-Japanese War; he was highly familiar with the tactics of Japan and imitated them quite convincingly.

The Red Army's frontal positions were held by the First Battalion and the Second Battalion, totaling three thousand men, who had constructed simple fortifications relying on the hills.

"Attention everyone, the enemy is eight hundred meters away." The Red Army battalion commander raised his binoculars. "Artillery prepare, target the enemy vanguard, fire!"

Sixty Mortars fired simultaneously, shells tearing through the sky and exploding within the Blue Army's formation. Although the shells were training ammunition used for the exercise, the explosions were deafening, sending dirt flying several meters high, and the Blue Army soldiers scattered in panic.

On the viewing platform, Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan and several generals watched in dumbfounded silence.

"Th-this, what kind of artillery is this?" a general asked, stammering.

"Sixty-millimeter Mortar, high-angle fire, with a maximum range of three thousand meters," Li Ling explained casually. "It's suitable for mountain and trench warfare, much more flexible than the foreigners' field guns."

Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan stared intently at the battlefield without speaking, but the shock in his eyes could not be concealed.

The power of the Mortars far exceeded the Blue Army's expectations. Before their skirmish line could even get close to the Red Army's position, they were blown to pieces. The Blue Army commander tried to organize a charge, but the soldiers were pinned down by the explosions and could not advance at all.

"Red Army, flank from both sides, begin!" Li Ling picked up the walkie-talkie (an experimental product provided by the system, with an effective range of only five hundred meters) and issued the order.

The Red Army's Third Battalion and Fourth Battalion flanked from the left and right sides. The Blue Army, busy with the frontal assault, had vulnerable flanks and was caught completely off guard by the Red Army's flanking maneuver.

The commander of the Third Battalion was a young officer named Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan, only twenty-five years old, whom Li Ling had personally promoted. He led fifteen hundred men out of the forest on the left, only three hundred meters away from the Blue Army's flank.

"Hand grenades ready!" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan ordered.

Three hundred soldiers took out Hand grenades from their waists, pulled the pins, and awaited the order.

"Throw!"

Three hundred Hand grenades flew out simultaneously. Although they were only training grenades, the momentum was astonishing, and the Blue Army's flank was instantly "blown" into a rout.

Seeing that things were going south, the Blue Army commander tried to retreat, but it was already too late.

The Red Army's frontal forces launched a charge. Three thousand men, holding rifles and shouting battle cries, rushed out from the fortifications. Flanked on three sides, the Blue Army's morale collapsed, and they were "completely wiped out" in less than ten minutes.

The exercise ended. The Red Army "completely wiped out" the fifteen thousand men of the Blue Army at a minimal cost, with the entire battle taking less than two hours.

## III

On the viewing platform, there was a deathly silence.

Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan and several generals were completely stunned. They had fought battles all their lives, but they had never seen this kind of tactic—the artillery saturates the ground first, then the infantry charges, flanking from both sides, with Hand grenades clearing the way. Every move was clean and decisive, and every move was lethal.

"Th-this, this..." an old general's lips trembled, "Young Master, who taught you these tactics?"

"I figured it out myself," Li Ling smiled. "In modern warfare, what matters is firepower. Whoever has the more powerful artillery and the more accurate rifles wins."

Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan took a deep breath, and the way he looked at his son completely changed. He had originally thought his son was just fooling around and trying out some new tricks, but now he understood that his son was not fooling around; he was playing a grand game of chess.

"Ling'er," Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan lowered his voice, "can this way of fighting be expanded to the entire Army?"

"Yes," Li Ling nodded, "but it will take time. For all thirty thousand soldiers of the New Army to be fully re-equipped, it will take at least another month. For the one hundred and eighty thousand soldiers of the old Army to be re-equipped, it will take at least half a year."

"Half a year..." Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan pondered for a moment. "Good, I will give you half a year. During this half-year, whatever you need, just say the word."

"Money, food, and men." Li Ling held up three fingers. "For money, I want silver; for food, rice; and for men, strong young fellows. Additionally, I need you, Father, to deal with the imperial court so those people won't interfere with my troop training."

Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan nodded. "These are all easy to handle. But there is one thing you must promise me."

"Please speak, Father."

"Do not rush for success," Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan looked at his son seriously. "I know you are capable, but one must eat rice bite by bite, and walk the path step by step. Your current strength is not yet enough to go head-to-head with the Great Powers."

Li Ling fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."

He was not a reckless person. Although he usually threw tantrums in front of the system, when it came to serious matters, he was clearer than anyone. Right now, he didn't even have a single complete Heavy Combined Arms Brigade, so how could he go head-to-head with the Great Powers? Development was the hard truth—grow stealthily and don't get cocky.

## IV

After the exercise ended, Li Ling returned to the military camp, and the system suddenly popped up a notification.

"Detected that the host has completed a relatively large-scale military exercise with proper tactical application and excellent unit performance. Evaluated as a minor achievement."

"Lucky draw?"

"Lucky draw." The system paused. "Congratulations to the host for obtaining: a set of night combat equipment, including signal flares, illumination flares, glow sticks, etc., enough to equip one regiment."

Li Ling was stunned for a moment, then grinned.

"System, did you know that my next step is to train for night combat?"

"I didn't know, I just give rewards randomly," the system said flatly. "If you don't want it, I can take it back."

"No, no, no!" Li Ling waved his hands hastily. "I want it, I want it, I want all of it!"

The night combat equipment came at the perfect time.

In his past life, Li Ling had studied modern military history and knew that in an era without Radar and night vision devices, night combat was an important means for the weaker side to turn the tables. Especially when facing enemies with superior firepower, night combat could minimize the opponent's firepower advantage and bring one's own close-combat capabilities into play.

"However, a set of night combat equipment for only one regiment is still too little," Li Ling began to calculate again. "Can you give me enough for another regiment?"

"Do you think I'm running a charity?" the system said crossly. "If you want more, exchange them with resource points."

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll exchange for them myself." Li Ling opened the system mall, looked at the price of the night combat equipment, and gasped. "Ten resource points for a set of glow sticks? This is robbery!"

"Take it or leave it."

"...I'll exchange." Li Ling grit his teeth and spent one hundred resource points to exchange for ten sets of night combat equipment. Although it pained him, this money had to be spent for the sake of training the troops.

## V

In the evening, Li Ling called Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan over and told him to start organizing night combat training.

"Young Master, training at night?" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan was a bit puzzled. "It's dark and hard to see, so accidents can easily happen."

"That's exactly why we need to train," Li Ling took out a set of night combat equipment. "From today on, your Third Battalion must train in night combat—marching in the dark, charging in the dark, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat in the dark, until you can fight even with your eyes closed."

Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan took the equipment and looked at it. Although he didn't quite understand what the glow sticks and signal flares were for, since the Young Master had said so, then they would train.

"Additionally, from today on, your battalion will be responsible for the night security of the entire Army," Li Ling continued. "If you let the enemy slip in at night, I will hold you solely responsible."

"Yes!" Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan stood at attention and saluted. Although his posture was not yet standard, his presence was formidable.

After sending Chief of Staff Zhang Wanshan off, Li Ling sat alone in the headquarters, staring blankly at the map.

With the re-equipment of the thirty thousand men completed, Mortars and Hand grenades arriving one after another, and night combat training underway, the prototype of his Army was basically formed. But Li Ling knew very well that this was still far from enough.

The one hundred and eighty thousand old Army troops needed to be re-equipped, three hundred thousand new troops needed to be recruited, the Navy needed to be built, the Air Force needed to start from scratch... every single thing required money, resources, and time.

"The road ahead is still very long," Li Ling muttered to himself.

"It's good that you know," the system chimed in. "Don't get cocky. With your current strength, you can't even defeat a single colonial fleet of the Great Powers."

Li Ling rolled his eyes. "Can you stop discouraging me all the time?"

"I am spurring you on," the system said righteously. "If I praised you every day, you would have floated up to the sky long ago."

Li Ling was speechless, too lazy to argue with the system.

Late at night, the military camp quieted down, with only the occasional sound of the patrol team's footsteps.

Li Ling stepped out of the headquarters, looked up at the starry sky, and took a deep breath.

It had been over a month since he traveled to this era. From his initial bewilderment to his gradual adaptation, he became clearer and clearer about what his mission was.

Not to become an emperor, nor to dominate the world, but to make this impoverished and weak country stand up, so that the people on this land would no longer be bullied.

This path was very difficult, but he was not afraid.

Because he was not fighting alone.

## VI

Three days after the exercise, the news reached the provincial capital.

Major newspapers scrambled to report it, each headline more exaggerated than the last:

"Young Hero Li's New Army Drill: Thirty Thousand Men Completely Wipe Out the Enemy in Two Hours!"

"Earth-Shattering New Tactics: Who Exactly is Young Hero Li?"

"Great Powers Shocked: The Li Family's New Army's Combat Power Far Exceeds Expectations!"

Of course, most of these reports were written by people Li Ling himself had commissioned, with a very simple purpose—to build momentum.

He wanted the imperial court to know that the Li family was not to be trifled with; he wanted the Great Powers to know that the Qingxia Kingdom was not a soft target; and he wanted the common people to know that there was someone who could protect them.

The effect was instantaneous.

That very afternoon, several major trading firms in the provincial capital sent representatives to visit, expressing their willingness to donate money and food to support Li Ling's troop training. Li Ling rejected no one and accepted everything, but also made it clear: donating money is fine, but don't even think about interfering in military affairs.

In the evening, Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan hosted a banquet to entertain several big merchants, with Li Ling accompanying him.

After three rounds of drinks, a merchant asked tentatively, "Young Master Li, I heard your soldiers use foreign rifles?"

Li Ling smiled. "Even better than foreign rifles."

"Then... could you sell some to us?" The merchant's eyes lit up. "The guards of our trading firm need good rifles."

"Not for sale," Li Ling refused flatly. "Military supplies are absolutely not for external sale."

The merchant smiled awkwardly and did not dare to ask further.

Retired Emperor Li Zhenshan glanced at his son and nodded slightly. He knew his son's thinking—good things must first be equipped for themselves, and only the leftovers could be considered for sale. Furthermore, even if they were to sell, they could not sell to domestic buyers; if the weapons fell into the hands of enemies, it would only invite trouble for themselves.

After the banquet ended, Li Ling saw the guests off and returned to his study to continue studying the map.

His gaze fell on the southeast direction—there lay Japan.

The Japan of this era, having gone through the Meiji Restoration, possessed strong national power and wild ambitions, and had become even more arrogant and domineering after the First Sino-Japanese War. The weakness of the Qingxia Kingdom gave them opportunities, and they were gradually encroaching upon the territory and interests of the Qingxia Kingdom.

"Japan..." Li Ling muttered these words in a low voice, his gaze turning cold.

He knew very well that Japan would sooner or later be his great enemy. Not because he hated them, but because in this era, Japan's expansionist ambition and the living space of the Chinese people were fundamentally in conflict.

"System," Li Ling asked, "do you think I can defeat Japan?"

"Yes," the system uncharacteristically refrained from mocking him, "but not now. Right now, you can't even defeat a single division of theirs."

Li Ling smiled. "I know. That's why I need time."

"How much time do you have?"

"I don't know," Li Ling shook his head, "but I will strive for it."

Outside the window, the moonlight was like water.

Looking at the moon, Li Ling silently vowed in his heart: one day, he would ensure that everyone on this land could look at the moon in peace, without worrying about the flames of war or fearing invasion.

This day will come.