Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 889 Systemic Suppression
Yesterday's victory of the Production and Construction Corps made the atmosphere on the reviewing stand strange. The civil and military officials whispered among themselves, their eyes occasionally glancing at Xia Lin. Xia Lin, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much about today's events. He sat there with his head down, picking at something and putting it in his mouth, looking like a crab eating.

At the second quarter of the hour of Chen (7:45 AM), the bugle sounded again.

Three hundred soldiers from the Great Wei New Army's guard battalion entered from the west. Unlike the somber atmosphere of the construction corps yesterday, this column moved almost silently, and every soldier's eyes were remarkably calm.

They showed neither the swagger of the Imperial Guards nor the deliberate discipline of the Production and Construction Corps; it was as if they were simply carrying out an ordinary task.

Wei Tong stood in the reconnaissance company ranks, her face painted with camouflage, her slender figure obscured by her uniform. She slightly raised her head, her gaze sweeping across the reviewing stand, lingering briefly on her father, General Wei's, solemn face, before turning to Xia Lin.

Seeing Xia Lin eating crabs, she almost burst out laughing. No wonder the captain told them not to be nervous yesterday; now that the commander-in-chief wasn't nervous, they naturally knew what was going on.

Also, yesterday the captain secretly gave a little hint to the new recruits, saying that their guard battalion had another name, but it was a long one and not used much. Wei Tong was very curious and kept asking the older soldiers until he finally got the answer from them—the Third Elite Army Officer School Training Regiment of the Great Wei New System.

The entire training regiment was staffed with at least four years of education at Fuliang Academy and three years at military academy. The armed reconnaissance captain, who usually shared meat with them, was a tactical champion from the second class of the Fuliang Army Military Tactics Academy.

The reason he was traveling around with Xia Lin this time was mainly to guide the Northwest Army in the Western Regions and to guide the Li Tang New Army under Li Zhi in Chang'an.

But clearly, most people don't know what a training corps is...

Wei Tong only realized now why the way people addressed each other in the guard camp was so strange; sometimes they would call each other "classmate," and sometimes they would even address each other as "sir" instead of "general"...

"The second round of competition begins," the judge announced loudly. "Today's events: urban warfare, field attack and defense, and encirclement of a camp. Firearms are prohibited; only military skills will be tested."

As soon as the words were spoken, the 300 guards quickly split into three teams of 100 men each, silently dispersing like flowing water into the pre-designated simulated streets and alleys. These alleys were modeled after a small border town, with earthen walls of varying heights and narrow, winding lanes.

The Northern Imperial Guards also dispatched three hundred elite troops, led by Wang Ben, the bravest general from the previous day. As soon as they entered the alley, they formed a wall of shields and advanced steadily, their blades gleaming coldly in the morning light.

"Flank on the left, suppress on the right," Wang Ben commanded in a low voice. The Imperial Guards immediately split into two groups, one to draw the enemy's attention from the front, and the other to flank them from the side. This was a standard tactic that the Imperial Guards had practiced for many years and had always been successful in previous drills.

However, the guard battalion's reaction was beyond everyone's expectations.

Instead of holding their ground or launching a direct attack, they broke into smaller groups of five and disappeared into the shadows of the alleyways. As the right flank of the Imperial Guards charged past the first intersection, rope nets suddenly fell overhead, and wooden spears covered in lime emerged from behind the earthen walls on either side. In an instant, more than twenty Imperial Guards had been "killed" and eliminated from the competition.

"Above!" Wang Ben looked up in surprise and anger, only to see several guards quietly withdrawing from the rooftop, their movements as agile as apes.

A collective gasp rippled through the viewing platform; this was no longer a simple martial arts contest, but a true battle of combat.

Wei Tong's group was responsible for the southeastern area of ​​the alley. She lay prone on the roof, carefully moving a tile aside to observe the movement patterns of the Imperial Guards below.

"Second Lane, Third Group, retreat and lure them into a dead end," the captain instructed via hand gestures.

Wei Tong nimbly leaped off the roof and darted swiftly through the alleyways. She deliberately revealed herself at a corner, drawing the attention of five imperial guards. Just as they rushed into a dead end, four guards suddenly leaped down from the walls on either side, their wooden swords striking the guards precisely in the neck.

“This girl…” General Wei stood up abruptly on the reviewing stand, then slowly sat down again, his expression complex.

In less than half an hour of street fighting, the Imperial Guards had already suffered more than half their losses, while the Imperial Guard Battalion had only "casualties" of seventeen. What was even more alarming was that they maintained control of the battlefield's rhythm throughout, with every feigned retreat and every attempt to lure the enemy meticulously calculated.

Next up is the open field attack and defense. The location has been moved to the hilly woodlands by Kunming Pool. The guard battalion is responsible for defending a high ground, while the Imperial Guards must capture it within one hour.

Wang Ben regrouped and divided his remaining forces into three waves, employing a rotational attack tactic. Arrows rained down on the high ground, while shield bearers advanced steadily in front.

The guard battalion's response, however, was once again astonishing.

Instead of holding their ground, they launched a preemptive attack. In groups of ten, they used the trees for cover and constantly harassed the Imperial Guards' flanks. While the main force of the Imperial Guards was drawn away, another squad circled around to the rear and raided their supply points.

"This is a 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' strategy! This is a 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' strategy!" a civil official on the viewing platform exclaimed.

Wei Tong, along with three companions, stealthily advanced to the rear of the Imperial Guard. She astutely spotted a defensive gap: two sentries were changing shifts. She gave a signal, and the four of them pounced like cheetahs, eliminating the sentries in the blink of an eye and sprinkling red powder, symbolizing incineration, onto the supply vehicle.

When the red signal, representing the flames of war, rose, Wang Ben's face turned deathly pale. According to the rules, if supplies were destroyed, the attacking side automatically lost.

At this moment, the guard battalion has only suffered 31 "casualties".

The entire arena fell silent. If yesterday's victory of the Production and Construction Corps was still within reason, then the strength displayed by the Guard Battalion today had completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

Xia Lin finally stood up and walked to the front of the reviewing stand. He glanced at the officials with their various expressions and finally looked at the imperial guards generals with their ashen faces.

"Looks like we'll have to make it a bit more difficult." He said casually, "How about this, the guard battalion will send 500 men, and the Northern Army will send 7,000 men, and we'll conduct a field exercise right here on the shore of Kunming Pool. The time limit is three hours, and the objective is to capture the central command flag."

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

Five hundred against seven thousand, a fourteen-fold difference in troop strength! Even the most arrogant general wouldn't dare make such a boast. Changsun Wuji finally couldn't help but speak up: "Marshal Xia, isn't this... a bit too frivolous?"

Xia Lin raised an eyebrow: "Playing games? Then let's see who's playing games."

He turned to Third Sister and grinned, "What does Your Majesty think?"

Third Sister stared at him for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Granted."

The bugle sounded three times, and the real contest began.

Five hundred soldiers of the guard battalion lined up on the north bank of Kunming Pool. Facing the imposing force of seven thousand imperial guards on the south bank, they remained calm. Wei Tong was temporarily assigned to the vanguard reconnaissance team and crossed the river first with nine other comrades.

She lay prone in the reeds, carefully observing the defenses deployed on the opposite bank.

The Imperial Guards had clearly learned from the lessons of the previous two rounds and no longer launched rash attacks. Instead, they constructed three lines of defense, taking advantage of the terrain. The commander's flag stood before the central command tent, guarded by the most elite Dragon Eagle Guards.

“There is an opening at the junction of the 3rd Battalion on the left flank and the central army.” She drew a simple map on the muddy ground: “The patrol interval is twenty breaths, enough for a small team to infiltrate.”

The captain nodded and gestured for the reconnaissance to proceed separately.

At the same time, the main forces began to take action.

Instead of launching a direct attack across the river, the guard battalion dispatched two hundred men to move westward along the riverbank, creating the illusion of a feint attack. The Imperial Guards fell for the ruse and immediately mobilized two thousand men to deploy defenses on the west side.

The real killing move was revealed at this moment. The remaining three hundred men silently slipped into the water and swam to the opposite bank under the cover of reeds. Wei Tong's reconnaissance team had already cleared several outposts, opening a passage for the follow-up troops.

When the Imperial Guards discovered the feigned attack from the west, the vanguard of the Imperial Guards had already broken through the first line of defense. They did not linger in battle or pursue, but instead aimed directly at the central army.

"Stop them!" Wang Ben roared at the second line of defense, and the archers unleashed a volley of arrows, while the shield bearers formed a wall of defense.

However, the guard battalion's response was once again unexpected. They suddenly broke into smaller groups of three and dispersed into the formation. These groups skillfully maneuvered through the Imperial Guard's formation, specifically targeting command points.

Within fifteen minutes, the command structure of the second line of defense had fallen into chaos.

The vanguard assault team was now close to the central command tent. She astutely noticed a fatal flaw in the Dragon Eagle Guard's defenses: they focused too much on frontal defense, leaving the supply battalion on the flanks and rear as their weak point.

"Break through the grain cart area," the captain whispered. "That leads directly to the rear of the command tent."

The nine men passed through the grain cart array like ghosts, and when they were less than a hundred paces from the commander's flag, a patrol came towards them.

In a flash, Wei Tong leaped into the air, lightly touching the grain cart with his toes, and accurately threw the lime packet in his hand onto the flagpole of the commander's flag. Blue smoke, signifying a successful strike, rose slowly.

At this moment, only an hour had passed since the start of the battle, and the guard battalion, at the cost of 57 "casualties," captured the commander's flag amidst the encirclement of 7,000 imperial guards.

The whole place was dead silent.

A gentle breeze rippled across the water, dispersing the lingering smoke. The guards began to line up, remaining as silent as ever, as if the astonishing victory they had just witnessed had nothing to do with them.

"how did you do that?"

Third Sister turned around in astonishment to look at Xia Lin: "This level of manners is just too high."

As the saying goes, the layman sees the spectacle, the expert sees the details. As someone who had commanded large armies, how could she not see the details here? The textbook example of the guard battalion's victory against overwhelming odds and the decapitation strike made her feel a chill down her spine.

If the number of guards could be increased to two thousand... no, or even just one thousand, then they could even completely encircle the Northern Imperial Guards from top to bottom.

Their individual soldier skills, combat capabilities, battlefield awareness, and command system are simply unmatched by anyone of their generation.

To put it simply, even Xia Lin's own elite new army is no match for the current guard battalion; this can be described as a dimensional reduction attack...

"Oh, this."

Xia Lin smiled somewhat embarrassedly, then leaned close to San Niang's ear and whispered, "This guard battalion is actually my army training regiment... It was originally sent to the Western Regions to lead the Northwest Army, but since it has completed its mission, it came along with me to help my son."

"You bastard!" Third Sister laughed angrily, then punched Xia Lin's thigh hard: "You used the training corps to bully my people?"

(End of this chapter)