Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2582 The First Conflict (First Update, Please Subscribe)
The morning sunlight streamed through the sliding glass doors, slanting into the living room and casting a bright shadow on the floor. Dust motes floating in the air were clearly visible in the light.
The air conditioner was whirring loudly, so powerfully that it made the curtains in the corner sway. The air conditioning in the living room was so strong that it felt almost too cold.

The man sitting on the sofa, however, was completely unaware of any of this.

He remained silently slumped in the sofa, his back slightly hunched, his hands clasped together on the armrests, looking like a frozen sculpture.

At this moment, his expression was solemn, his brows were furrowed, and the bloodshot veins in his eyes were clearly visible, with a hint of moisture in them. On the glass coffee table in front of him, a neatly folded newspaper was laid out.

After an unknown amount of time, the man fixed his gaze on the news on the page, or more precisely, on the chilling news of death.

His gaze was unfocused, as if he were held firmly by the printed words. Although he had never met the people in the names, his eyes involuntarily reddened, and a deep sadness welled up like a tide.

Tears finally escaped her grasp and slowly slid down her cheeks, staining her shirt.

He didn't wipe away his tears, but his lips trembled uncontrollably. The news of his death cut into his heart like a knife, completely enveloping his expression in deep pain.

At this moment, a suppressed sob came from his throat.

He knew why he was in so much pain. Although he didn't know them personally, only had seen their names in the newspaper and news reports about them, they were his…

His chest heaved violently, yet he couldn't even utter a complete sigh.

After a long while, he slowly raised his hand and tremblingly touched the photo on the newspaper.

"This might be fake news. Those people always spread all sorts of fake news just to attack them. It's just a despicable tactic..."

Thinking of this, it was as if hope had returned to him; the man still held onto a glimmer of hope.

Thinking of this hope, the tightness in his chest eased a little, and he finally let out a long, heavy sigh.

That sigh contained a sense of sorrow, resentment, and a deep feeling of powerlessness, which slowly spread through the quiet living room, mingling with the hum of the air conditioner.

A dozen minutes later, the man washed his face and then got into his car and left. On the way, as the car was driving, the radio played the news again, and not just that news, but another news as well.

"...leading thousands of his followers to surrender to the government army of the Republic of Zhenla, this act is very likely related to the previously reported death, which also corroborates the authenticity of the death report..."

The sudden news made the man slam on the brakes, then he slammed his fist on the steering wheel, muttering to himself.

"How is this possible? How is this possible..."

At that moment, the man was like a wounded wild animal, howling in the car. Outside, cars came and went in a constant stream, and he just sat there, weeping bitterly.

……

For the world, this news had little impact. Although it made headlines in various countries, that was about it. News reports from various countries focused more on the future of Cambodia.

What will become of Cambodia in the future?

At this time, Zhenla was being invaded by the Hanoi army. Under such circumstances, what stance would the Republic government, as the only legitimate representative of Zhenla, take?

Amidst much attention, General Chen Wencai led the government forces in another attack on the remaining Chizhen troops.

"We must not only drive out the invaders, but also destroy the devil!"

General Chen Wencai's speech seemed to have already indicated his attitude: with the support of Siamese artillery and air power, the government army's offensive was swift. The guerrillas in the rainforest were either wiped out or surrendered. After losing their command, all that was left were scattered soldiers fighting their own battles.

While clearing out the remaining guerrillas in areas such as the Cardamom Mountains, the government forces continued their advance towards Phnom Penh.

In the middle of an open field overgrown with weeds, a unit of soldiers in camouflage uniforms was advancing at a steady pace along a dirt road. The soldiers were spread out on both sides of the road, maintaining appropriate spacing to prevent the dust they would kick up as they marched. The scout at the front of the column vigilantly scanned the low slopes and bushes on either side. This open field seemed to offer no cover, but no one knew whether deadly dangers might lurk within the waist-high weeds.

Moreover, both guerrillas and the Hanoi army were particularly adept at this kind of ambush.

"Da da da--!"

The sudden burst of machine gun fire shattered the silence on the road. At the same time, mortar shells whistled down near the column. The explosions of mortar shells echoed, flames shot into the sky, and flying dirt and shrapnel whistled everywhere. The marching troops were caught completely off guard; several men fell to the ground with screams, but the others reacted swiftly. The soldiers immediately dropped to the ground on both sides of the road, gripping their automatic rifles tightly, pressing their bodies close to the ground to minimize their visibility.

Some soldiers, without realizing it, rolled directly into the roadside ditch, splashing up a cloud of muddy water.

A pungent, putrid stench permeated the ditch, where several rotting corpses lay swollen and deformed, submerged in the sewage. Despite their decay, their bald heads and remnants of monks' robes identified them as monks.

The heads of these monks, like those they had seen elsewhere, looked as if they had been smashed by heavy clubs, with broken bone fragments mixed in with rotting flesh, and white maggots wriggling rampantly inside the corpses, a truly nauseating sight.

But at this moment, the soldiers in the ditch didn't care about any of that. The stench and nausea were completely overwhelmed by the urgency of life and death. They clung to the edge of the ditch, shouting loudly towards the ambush direction while setting up their rifles and machine guns and fiercely returning fire. The muzzle flashes constantly flickered in the smoke.

"Smoke grenade, to identify..."

As the officer relayed the orders, soldiers had already thrown smoke grenades. The red smoke not only indicated their location and identity but also provided them with cover.

"Our Tango 17 district has been ambushed and needs artillery support! We need artillery support! Coordinates... Requesting close air support!"

The commander of the team lay prone below the ditch, observing the direction from which the gunfire was coming while simultaneously calling for backup via radio.

Most of these government military officers had been trained by the US or Siamese armies, and their tactical skills were generally very competent.

At their call, eighteen 155mm SH-2 truck-mounted guns were already ready to fire from artillery positions dozens of kilometers away. This truck-mounted gun with a 45-caliber barrel has a maximum range of over 39 kilometers. In the border artillery battles of the past few years, it has rendered Chizhen's artillery powerless to retaliate thanks to its range advantage.

The moment they received the order, the Siamese artillerymen on the artillery position immediately shouted and sprang into action. After inputting the coordinates, the gun barrels automatically adjusted their angles, and the loading, aiming, and firing were completed in one smooth motion.

"put!"

At the gunner's command, all eighteen truck-mounted cannons opened fire simultaneously, the immense recoil causing the vehicles to shudder violently. Eighteen shells, piercingly screeching, tore through the air and rained down on the ambush area.

The moment the shells fell, the explosions on the open field were deafening. The enemy's ambush position was instantly engulfed in fierce artillery fire, with flames and thick smoke shooting into the sky. The previously dense gunfire suddenly became much less intense.

At the same time, a reconnaissance drone also arrived over the battlefield, with its camera capturing the ground situation and transmitting the images to the command terminal in real time.

After seeing the area shrouded in red smoke on the screen, the drone operator maneuvered the camera to point in another direction, where enemy defensive positions could be seen amidst the smoke from exploding shells. He immediately adjusted the artillery parameters based on the shell impact points and gave guidance into the microphone in a deep voice:
"Fire correction, target moved 50 meters to the left, repeat, move 50 meters to the left!"

Guided by the drone, the subsequent shells seemed to have eyes, landing one after another on the ambush site.

Although their artillery fire was not intense, and could even be described as sparse, their shelling was extremely accurate.

Each attack hit the enemy accurately, and the violent explosions engulfed nearby enemies. Accompanied by the screams of the enemy, the ambush force was completely destroyed, and soon the whistle for retreat sounded on the battlefield. After suffering a setback, the ambush force did not linger in the fight. The combat skills they displayed far exceeded those of the guerrillas.

"It's the Hanoi army!"

Almost at the same time the enemy retreated, the officer spotted the symbolic green sun hats on those men through his binoculars.

"They're trying to escape..."

Seeing this, the soldiers on both sides of the road were greatly encouraged and their firepower became even more intense. As the enemy retreated, they immediately launched a pursuit, while the drones in the air continued to guide the artillery fire.

Soon, an ambush turned into a pursuit, and the butcher became the lamb.

The fierce battle lasted for less than half an hour. Although most of the Hanoi troops, who were on the ambush side, were wiped out by accurate artillery fire, some still managed to escape.

While cleaning up the battlefield, the officers and soldiers of the Zhenla government army seemed quite excited. This was their first encounter with the Hanoi army, and although it was only a battle between a few hundred people, they had won.

"Is this the so-called invincible Hanoi army?"

Seeing the corpses scattered all over the ground, the Zhenla government troops, who had previously been somewhat afraid of them, no longer felt any fear and even became more eager to try.

They knew that from this moment on, their enemy had changed—it was the Hanoi army!
(End of this chapter)