unclear

Chapter 1376 Battle of Enbird Port 5
How Wang Datou treats his child is his family matter; Yan Busi is too lazy to care and has no right to interfere. But after only ten minutes of not paying attention to the situation on the sea, the European coalition warships were closing in on him from the starboard side, less than 400 meters away.

It was clear that they were determined to separate the garrison fleet from Enniu Port, undoubtedly because they feared that the cargo ships transporting the landing troops would be interfered with.

Since they are so eager to launch a landing operation, they might as well take advantage of this opportunity to take a few more bites. Even if sinking or damaging a few ships will not affect the overall situation at present, they are just sitting around anyway, so they might as well treat it as a live-fire exercise.

It just so happens that the gunner on the flagship is also a young officer who has excellent performance in target practice. I just don't know if he will be a completely different person in actual combat.

It's really hard to guarantee this. Some people are born with a strong heart and are more likely to perform exceptionally well in emergency situations. This is what later generations called a competitive personality.

Some people have a training-oriented personality. They perform exceptionally well in training and drills, no less than any veteran athlete. But they just can't take it seriously. Once they're on stage, they get nervous, their minds go blank, and they can't think of anything useful.

However, such people are difficult to detect. They must suddenly encounter real combat to be aware of their abnormal behavior, otherwise they themselves may not even know that they are going awry, so there is no question of deception.

When faced with such an officer, the fleet commander is helpless and can only submit an explanation to the General Staff and apply for his transfer to another department, or simply have him retire and change careers.

In any case, they can't get on any more ships, not even merchant ships. After all, there are dozens or even hundreds of lives on a ship, so they can't be careless.

"Commander Zhu, the hot air balloon lookout reports that more than ten cargo ships are quietly approaching the beach behind the cape, most likely intending to land. We have also received orders from Commander Yan to select a commander from the reserves to support Enbird City, in order to avoid leaving the Kosa warriors to defend alone."

The flag signal sent from the flagship of the garrison fleet was quickly spotted by the lookout in the hot air balloon floating above the naval port, and then relayed to the command tower below. The one who finally received the order was Zhu Neng, the commander of the Yuheng Guard of the Marine Corps.

Along with the garrison fleet, the Yuheng Guard and Tuolong Guard, which were blocked by the marines, were also responsible for guarding N'N's Port. The former was fully staffed, while the latter had only one and a half thousand households. The remaining three and a half thousand households were deployed at the Seychelles naval base as a mobile force, ready to support the Persian Gulf to the north or N'N's Port to the south at any time.

With one garrison and one and a half thousand households, the total strength is nearly seven thousand. With so many strong defensive fortifications available, it is not a small force. It is more than enough for defense than offense.

Indeed, if it were just Enbird Port or Enbird City, these troops would be more than enough. There would be no need to request reinforcements. As long as they had enough ammunition and food, they could fight for half a year without any problems.

However, it was a bit of a stretch to have 7,000 people defend both the port and the city together, mainly because Ngimbo Port was too big, with the military port and civilian port combined stretching for a full 20 kilometers.

Enbird City was not originally part of the frontline defense plan, but now it has suddenly been attacked by the enemy and there are no well-constructed fortifications to rely on. The only option is to transfer a thousand-household commander from the port area to provide support, leaving the port area in a tight spot.

"You want to transfer another commander! What is that Xiao guy doing? He's been here for three days and still hasn't figured out how many enemies there are or where they're from. And he still has the nerve to ask me for men!" Upon hearing that he was going to have troops transferred from his command again, and that it was another commander, Zhu Neng immediately started cursing.

If you have reserves available, you can seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack against the landing enemy, killing personnel, destroying small boats, and severely damaging their morale. But if you don't have any spare troops, you can only defend to the death, which is too passive and offers no ability to counterattack. "Hey, I heard everything. Talking behind someone's back isn't a good habit! If you're not happy, then go and try it yourself. Go to Enbird City and see if you can find the answer!"

Unexpectedly, the walls had ears. As soon as Zhu Neng finished speaking, a deep male voice came from outside the door, and then a burly naval officer walked in.

He looked tough and spoke tough, resolutely refusing to admit he had any problems. Clearly, he was the Xiao man Zhu Neng had mentioned, whose full name was Xiao Si, the second son of Xiao Ruxun, and the current commander of the Tuolong Guard.

"Just talk, stop with the physical violence. This is the front-line command post. If you don't want to provoke the military police, behave yourself!"

Upon seeing this person appear, Zhu Neng's attitude immediately changed. Although he continued to issue warnings verbally, he secretly took a step back and used his peripheral vision to pinpoint the escape route, ready to activate the final contingency plan at any moment.

"Don't worry, you're the commander-in-chief now, so I won't risk getting into trouble. But you can't ignore the facts and pin the blame on me. It was just a coincidence that I overheard it; what if I hadn't? I would have suffered in silence, and people would have thought I was useless!"

Despite his strong limbs, Xiao Si was not simple-minded. Instead of resorting to physical violence as usual, he tried to reason with Zhu Neng, relentlessly focusing on his flaws.

"Stop trying to shift the blame here. One and a half thousand households are not enough to guard the city. You want to mobilize my reserves. And you don't even want to do it yourself. Instead, you go through Governor Zhang to complain to Commander Yan and then give me the order. Isn't that too insidious!"

As long as he didn't lay a hand on Xiao Si, Zhu Neng wasn't afraid of him at all. Although Xiao Si came from a military family and harbored all sorts of cunning schemes passed down through generations, times had truly changed, and those tricks were no longer as effective. Reason prevailed everywhere, and even the emperor would have to have his way of speaking and debating right and wrong.

"Bullshit! I, Xiao, have always acted uprightly and honestly. Even if I wanted to ask for reinforcements, I would ask you directly, not complain to Governor Zhang. Besides, Commander Yan isn't Governor Zhang's son, so why would he blindly obey my military orders?"
"Since the order has been given, it means Commander Yan has new plans. Enough talk, send the men over quickly. Oh, and I need the 4th unit. You can keep the 5th unit for yourself; we can't afford to use it!"

Xiao Si was not to be outdone. He resolutely denied playing any tricks, but he wholeheartedly supported Yan Busi's orders. He even picked and chose to keep the weakest fighting force, which included various miscellaneous personnel.

"...Alright, you wait, we'll settle this score after the war! Commander Yan also said that you should use the Khosa warriors separately and not concentrate them together."

Listen to this, even those who operate naval guns understand better than you. If we keep fighting like this, the city's ammunition reserves will be exhausted before the enemy even dies of thirst or hunger.

"They're really selling off their father's land without a care in the world! They're throwing grenades more densely than setting off firecrackers for Chinese New Year. These must have been the work of the Khwarazmian soldiers, right? Don't get too cocky, it's also your fault for poor command!"

Since the order had been given, no matter how much objection there was, it had to be carried out. Zhu Neng dared not disobey, but he didn't want Xiao Si to take the person away so easily; he had to add some vexing elements, such as a post-battle summary report.

(End of this chapter)