Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Upon receiving the telegram, Shiji was immediately agitated.

"What is this? How can it be so powerful? A lethal radius of 200 meters and a kill radius of over 500 meters? Three shots can wipe out an outpost?"

When the North Korean representative in the headquarters heard the report, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

This is Chinese, why can't I understand it?
Unlike the jubilant volunteers, the Soviet representative standing to the side had a serious expression.

He never imagined that China could also develop missiles.

Moreover, from the details in the report, he felt that this missile seemed to be no worse than Soviet missiles.

This was not a good thing for Soviet Russia.

However, regardless of what the Soviets thought, the happiness of everyone in the Volunteer Army remained unaffected.

While the results of the battle were being hotly debated within the headquarters, domestic newspapers also published the news.

Inside the UN forces headquarters in Ironclad, there was complete silence.

Clark stood in front of the map, silent, lost in thought.

Beside him was a newspaper, a Chinese newspaper that had been urgently airlifted.

After a long silence, Clark finally spoke: "This battle cannot continue. All troops must withdraw to the second line of defense."

Hearing Clark's words, most people breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Bai Jingye took a step forward: "Sir, we still have a chance!"

"I don't believe the Chinese have more missiles!"

Bai Jingye was unwilling to withdraw just like that.

In this counterattack, the Southern army not only suffered heavy casualties, but also lost several more hilltops, completely losing out.

"Whether they have any stock or not, the battle is over!" Clark asserted.

"Both sides have reached an agreement on a ceasefire and are now just waiting to sign it. Those hilltops are insignificant."

This time, the five missiles directly caused more than 5 casualties among the South Korean army, and the front-line airfield also suffered some damage.

Although such a small loss is nothing to the UN forces.

However, this means that China has acquired the capability to threaten the rear of UN forces, which has a very significant impact.

More importantly, such a long-range delivery capability certainly means it can carry nuclear weapons.

Although China does not have nuclear weapons now, if the United States dares to use them, nuclear weapons will instantly grow on Chinese soil and be launched at American bases in Japan.

1300 kilometers is enough to cover Japan.

If the United States wants to influence East Asia, it cannot afford to lose Japan as a bridgehead.

Although the verbal threat of nuclear weapons has never worked, the United States has no better cards to play.

The armistice agreement was less a consensus reached by both sides and more a reflection of America's urgent desire.

When a country that considers itself the world's hegemon takes the initiative to negotiate on an equal footing with other countries, it is actually a failure.

Bai Shangye clenched his fists in response to Clark's ultimatum.

These territories were irrelevant to the US military, since they weren't theirs, but for the Confederate army, not an inch of territory could be lost.

After the meeting, Bai Jingye returned to the front line, but he did not follow orders to retreat to the second line of defense.

The following day, Bai Shangye openly defied the order.

He organized the last remaining fighting forces of the Southern Army and reorganized them into a reinforced regiment, then launched another fierce attack on Hill 898.

Upon learning that the South Korean army had launched another offensive, Clark was not angry about Bai Shangye's actions. Instead, he had his staff send a telegram to the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

On the surface, this was entirely the action of the South Korean army and had nothing to do with the United States.

As for the rest, Clark ignored them completely; he didn't think Bai Shangye could change anything.

When everyone was pessimistic about Bai Shangye, the Southern Army itself failed to live up to expectations.

Within two days, the Southern army had lost its last fighting force.

Even if Bai Shangye wanted to continue the attack, he had no troops available.

By this point, Li Chenglong had to admit that his actions had yielded nothing but tens of thousands of casualties for the Confederate army. Knowing that the Confederate army was completely subdued, Clark met with Li Chenglong again.

"Mr. President, I am hereby formally informing you that the U.S. delegation has provided full responses and assurances to the questions raised by China and North Korea, and the two sides are now finalizing the military demarcation line."

"The war is over. If you insist on going your own way, it means a terrible disaster."

Clark's meaning was clear: the agreement had been drafted, and if the Confederate army continued to cause trouble, the United States would simply abandon them.

“I know.” Li Chenglong nodded somewhat dejectedly. “General Clark, I can assure you that the Southern Dynasty will absolutely not put any obstacles to the armistice agreement.”

After the Chinese People's Volunteer Army easily captured 195 square kilometers of land, Li Chenglong had lost all his illusions.

He knew very well that without American help, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army could have driven him to Jeju Island within a week.

To Li Chenglong's surprise, Clark shook his head immediately after hearing his assurance.

"What you need is not assurances to me, but assurances to the White House."

Li Chenglong's face stiffened.

The South was so far from Washington that he couldn't possibly call Eisenhower directly.

Therefore, if you want to assure the White House, you have to write a letter, or at least send a telegram.

But anything written down is completely different from what is said aloud.

However, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

Li Chenglong lowered his head: "I will send a telegram to President Eisenhower."

Clark gave him a disdainful look and said nothing more.

If only they had behaved themselves earlier, they wouldn't have lost so much land.

Compared to the first armistice negotiations in 1951, after the final demarcation of the military demarcation line was completed on July 19, the South Korean army effectively lost hundreds of square kilometers of territory.

Of the lost territory, half was lost by Lee Seung-ryong, and the other half was lost by the United States and the Confederate Army together.

With Li Chenglong completely backing down, the ceasefire agreement faced no further obstacles.

On July 27, the armistice agreement was officially signed at Panmunjom.

Both sides agreed to designate two kilometers to the north and south of the current contact zone as a demilitarized zone.

Although Li Chenglong had long since resigned himself to his fate, he still felt somewhat humiliated by this ceasefire agreement.

Of course, at this point he no longer dared to make any underhanded moves.

However, in order to preserve their political life, or rather, to save face, the Southern Dynasty did not participate in the signing ceremony or sign the agreement.

Of course, no one cared whether South Korea would sign or not; the three parties—China, the US, and North Korea—didn't even ask.

A defeated general is not worth mentioning.

Although everyone in the world knows who won the Korean War, the United States still demonstrated its winning philosophy.
Immediately after the armistice agreement was signed, Eisenhower delivered a national address, declaring that the United States had won the Korean War and defended freedom and democracy.

However, there was not a trace of celebration in Eisenhower's speech; instead, it carried a sense of heaviness.

In contrast, there are the treatment American veterans receive when they return to the United States from North Korea.

They not only did not enjoy the grand welcoming parade that was held at the end of World War II, but they were also ignored by the entire society.

After delivering his victory speech, Eisenhower immediately began to downplay the Korean War.

The US government’s goal is to bury the Korean War in history as much as possible.

The reason for doing this is simple: they cannot provide a reasonable explanation for the Korean War.

If the US did not use its full strength, it would contradict the publicly available data.

If the US admits to using its full strength, it would mean that it cannot defeat a newly formed China, which would directly destroy the confidence of its allies in confronting the Soviet Union and Russia.

Therefore, under the deliberate influence of the US government, the Korean War seems to have become a memory that does not exist in the United States.

In the decades following the war, not only did public discussions cease, but even cultural products that most often depicted the war seemed to have forgotten about it.

Cultural products such as films and books on the Korean War have been largely absent.

(End of this chapter)