77: You coward! You traitor!

He pointed at the city on the map: "To keep fighting is just sending my Soldiers to their deaths. I can't do it."

Nicholas looked at Emilio's exhausted yet determined face and fell silent.

He knew that everything the division Commander said was the truth.

"I understand." Nicholas took a deep breath. "But I'm not leaving either. If we stay, we stay together."

Emilio looked at his old partner of many years, his eyes reddening slightly, and nodded heavily.

"Gather all officers at the brigade level and above for a meeting."

Five minutes later, the Commanders of the First Division gathered together.

When Emilio announced, "I have decided to lead all officers and men of the First Division to surrender unconditionally to the Free Army,"

the entire command room instantly erupted into chaos.

"Division Commander! Have you lost your mind?!"

"This is treason! We cannot surrender!"

"That's right! We can still fight! We'll fight them to the death!"

A stubborn Brigade Commander flushed red, pointed at Emilio's nose, and cursed: "Emilio! You coward! Traitor!"

"Enough!" Emilio slammed the table, the loud sound drowning out all the noise.

His bloodshot eyes scanned everyone: "Fight? With what? By sacrificing the Soldiers' lives? Our reinforcements are gone!"

"We can't count on the air force! How much longer can the ammo in the city last? One day? Or half a day?"

"Who among you is willing to let your subordinates be slaughtered like pigs and dogs in the alleys by the enemy's aircraft and heavy artillery?"

These words left everyone speechless.

The officers who had just been clamoring to fight to the death all lowered their heads.

They were all frontline Commanders; they knew better than anyone how brutal the battle situation was.

"I am surrendering to save you all, to save the tens of thousands of lives in the First Division." Emilio's voice was filled with exhaustion.

"Call me a traitor or a coward, I will bear this responsibility alone."

After saying this, he picked up the phone on the table and called the command posts of the various brigades on the front line one by one.

"This is Emilio."

There was initial skepticism on the other end of the line, but after confirming it was indeed the division Commander's voice, a long silence followed.

"Order your troops to cease fire immediately, lay down their weapons where they are, and wait for the Free Army to take over."

A sigh of relief came from the other end of the line.

"Yes... division Commander."

Free Army frontline command post.

When Oliver received the unconditional surrender telegram sent by Emilio, he was completely stunned.

"Surrendered? The First Division, just like that?" He held the telegram, reading it over and over, unable to believe his eyes.

David was also somewhat surprised, but he quickly understood the key to it.

"It's normal. The information gap and overwhelming strength are enough to destroy the will of any army."

"Emilio is a smart man; he knows there's no point in continuing to fight."

Oliver excitedly slapped his thigh: "Great! Now we've taken Gasparre without spilling a drop of blood! We've saved ourselves a lot of trouble!"

"Don't get too happy too soon." David poured cold water on him.

"Accepting the surrender of an entire division is not an easy task. If handled poorly, it will cause endless trouble."

"Then what do you suggest?" Oliver immediately calmed down and looked at David.

David tapped his fingers on the table, quickly thinking of a countermeasure.

"You go meet Emilio in person and give him enough respect and dignity."

"He is the soul of the First Division; if you stabilize him, you can stabilize the entire First Division."

"Bring all division-level and brigade-level officers to the command post, arrange some nominal positions without real power for them, and keep them well-fed and taken care of."

"As for the lower and middle-ranking officers and Soldiers, conduct ideological screening and education."

"Those who are qualified will be broken up and supplemented into second-line units. Those who are unqualified will be disbanded on the spot."

"Our goal is to assimilate the effective strength of the First Division, not to bury a ticking time bomb for ourselves."

Oliver nodded repeatedly, admiring David's foresight and deep planning.

"I understand! We'll do as you say!"

That afternoon at Gasparre airport.

A huge roar approached from afar, and a Black Hawk helicopter kicked up dust as it landed precisely on the tarmac.

The cabin door opened, and Oliver, in full military uniform, jumped out, standing tall with sharp eyes.

Felipe, Theodore, and Macolira, who had been waiting there, immediately went up to meet him and saluted in unison.

"Commander!"

"Well done." Oliver patted their shoulders, his gaze passing over them to land on two people a little further away.

Those two were none other than Emilio and his adjutant, Nicholas.

They had changed out of their Government Army general uniforms and were wearing plain clothes, standing there with complex expressions, appearing somewhat awkward and uneasy.

The once ace division Commander, now a prisoner, found it hard to adapt to the change in status.

Oliver walked over with a warm smile on his face and took the initiative to reach out his hand.

"General Emilio, General Nicholas, welcome to making the right choice."

Emilio was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly shook Oliver's hand.

The hand was warm and strong, without a hint of mockery or contempt.

"Commander... Oliver." Emilio's voice was a bit dry.

"Don't be so formal." Oliver laughed heartily.

"From now on, we are family. Let the past be the past."

He turned to look at Theodore: "How is the situation in the city?"

Theodore stepped forward and reported loudly.

"Report, Commander! All Government Army Soldiers have disarmed and are waiting in the camp for reorganization."

"The order in the city is orderly, and the citizens' emotions are stable!"

"Very good." Oliver nodded with satisfaction. "Let's go, let's go take a look at the city center."

The group split into several military off-road vehicles and drove towards the city center.

The buildings on both sides of the street still bore traces of the battle, but order had been restored.

Citizens poked their heads out from windows and doorways, curiously sizing up the army that had taken over the city.

There was fear in their eyes, but more so a sense of relief at having survived the ordeal.

No looting, no harassment of civilians; this unit called the "Free Army" was so disciplined that it didn't seem like a rebel army at all.

Oliver stayed in Gasparre for three days.

He inspected the surrendered Government Army camp.

He gave a speech to reassure the public and met with local business leaders and gentry, quickly stabilizing the situation.

Three days later, Oliver took Emilio, Nicholas, and a group of other senior officers from the former First Division.

Boarded a plane back to Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz, Free Army headquarters.

An unprecedented military meeting was being held.

The conference room was filled with stars; all Free Army Commanders at the regimental level and above were present.

Everyone's face was filled with excitement and pride.

Oliver sat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping over the young and vibrant faces, feeling a surge of heroic spirit in his heart.

"Brothers!"

He cleared his throat and spoke.

"We won the Gasparre campaign! And it was a complete victory!"

"We exchanged a small casualty count of over three hundred for the surrender of an entire division."

"We captured the economic hub of eastern Bolivia without spilling a drop of blood!"

"This is an unprecedented victory! A victory worthy of being recorded in history!"

Thunderous applause erupted in the conference room.

"Here, I want to first commend the 1st Regiment Commander Theodore and the 6th Regiment Commander Macolira!"

Oliver's voice rose, "Your troops fought head-on and displayed the might of our Free Army!"