Starting from 1950

Chapter 114 Frontline Dilemma

Su Yang sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and gently stroked Xiao Bai's back.

The little guy was eating heartily, and when he was stroked, he just hummed comfortably twice.

"Wolf!"

Wu Xinxue was startled, her eyes widening as she carefully examined Xiaobai, who was eating rice.

She simply couldn't associate this adorable little creature with an animal like a "wolf."

After Xiaobai finished eating the minced meat, the little guy licked his tongue around his mouth and took small steps to try to return to Wu Xinxue's arms.

When Wu Xinxue was licked on the back of her hand, her body trembled slightly before she reached out and scooped it up, beginning to examine the little guy's body from head to toe.

"Let me see what the difference is between a wolf and a dog."

Seeing them playing together again, Su Yang smiled and continued cooking.

The next morning, Su Yang was woken up by Xiao Bai's wet tongue licking him.

He hadn't rested well during the past few days of hunting, and Wu Xinxue obviously knew this, so she always left for work quietly in the mornings, but alas...

We couldn't stop the newbie.

The little guy is full of energy, and he ate some raw minced meat last night and didn't have any discomfort.

It was nudging Su Yang's face with its pink paws and nose, its blue eyes filled with urging, "It's time to get up and play with me."

Su Yang sat up with a helpless smile and rubbed the little white fluffy head.

Little White has grown a lot since we first met. Its sparse white downy hair has become thicker and fluffier, like it's wrapped in a layer of fine velvet.

On the stove, the leftover pieces of meat from last night were simmering slowly with millet and radish chunks; it was the leftovers Wu Xinxue had given him.

After breakfast, Su Yang contacted Xiao Yu as usual to learn about the situation on the front lines. By the time he left the family compound with Xiao Bai, it was almost noon.

I didn't notice it when I got back yesterday because it was dark, but I discovered today that the street in front of Limin Flour Factory was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations.

Su Yang belatedly realized that today was already the 20th of the twelfth lunar month!

"A little to the left! Hang it higher!"

At the entrance of the flour factory, Zhang Zhenguo was directing two security officers to hang large red lanterns at the factory gate.

Su Yang walked over and asked with a smile, "Uncle Zhang, what are you doing?"

"Su Yang?"

Zhang Zhenguo turned around in surprise, "Didn't you say you were resting at home these past two days?"

He got off work early yesterday and only found out today that the hunting team had returned last night. He also learned the details of the Xifeng hunt from Yu Feng.

"This is the wolf cub you brought back from Xifeng? It looks quite spirited!"

The little white dog that Su Yang was holding was very eye-catching, and Zhang Zhenguo was immediately drawn to it.

Noticing the little guy struggling to get down, Su Yang simply put it down.

After Xiaobai got off the ground, it first sniffed the air, and then staggered towards Erhu, who was tied up at the gate.

Su Yang saw it, but he wasn't worried. Erhu, that old dog, had two characteristics: laziness and cowardice. He would always stay far away from rats in the factory.

Zhang Zhenguo quickly turned his gaze away from Xiaobai and smiled at Su Yang, saying, "We've won one victory after another at the front lines, and with the New Year just around the corner, the people of Shenzhou have been living in fear for months. The higher-ups want us to have a proper celebration this year!"

"celebrate?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yang thought of the current battle situation. This morning, Xiao Yu had been sent by Chief Wen to scout the south bank of the Han River.

When Xiaoyu flew to the front line, Su Yang was eating. He was stunned when he switched his view to her.

The enemy is still bombing the positions of the Fifth Army, and the number of aircraft has increased from 18 yesterday to 32.

Under the enemy's heavy firepower, the Qibaoshan position has fallen.

However, the remaining positions are still in our hands.

The scene on the front lines was horrific; several mountains that were once covered in snow had been completely stripped bare due to continuous bombing.

The 50th Army suffered heavy casualties and was running out of ammunition, but it still held its ground and refused to retreat.

According to the intelligence that Su Yang obtained through Xiao Yu in Junzili, the Zhisi Command gave the 50th Army an order when the battle began on the 25th, stating that they had 500 yards of retreat space per day.

Judging from this situation, it seems that the high command of the 50th Army did not pass the order down at all!

The only lost position, Qibaoshan, was lost because almost all the soldiers on it were killed or wounded.

Su Yang saw the scene at the front line through Xiao Yu in the morning, and was so angry that he couldn't even eat breakfast.

He quickly ordered Xiaoyu to fly back to Junzili and instructed her to report the battle report to Chief Wen.

After hearing this, Commander Wen was furious, but after a long while, he only said, "Well done, Fifty Army," before continuing to deal with other matters.

Su Yang was somewhat puzzled, so he asked Xiao Yu to eavesdrop outside the headquarters of the 40th Army, which was very close to the army headquarters.

The guards outside the headquarters saw Xiaoyu, but since they seemed to have been informed of its existence beforehand, they did not chase it away.

Su Yang then had Xiao Yu eavesdrop on the meeting of the big shots for a while through the wall.

After listening, Su Yang realized that he had oversimplified things.

Right now, only the 50th Army is at the forefront.

Although there were several of our army's corps behind them, none of them were fully organized.

After the three battles, many armies were reduced to only one of their three divisions, with the majority of their troops, like those of the 40th Army, left to treat the wounded in the rear.

They rested and helped local villagers rebuild on the ruins.

Although troops have been urgently redeployed, these disbanded units cannot be regrouped and put back into battle in just two or three days.

Moreover, the most difficult problem now is the logistical issue that has existed since the start of the war.

First, there was the issue of food. The local area had been bombed countless times by the enemy, with farmland almost completely destroyed and much of the people's stored grain destroyed. What remained was not enough to feed them. The option of requisitioning grain locally was effectively blocked.

Food supplies can be sourced domestically, since the MiG Alley is already taking shape and transportation is much better than at the start of the war. However, sourcing supplies takes time, and time is what we lack most right now.

Besides food, the next issue is clothing.

The shortage of clothing is even more severe than the shortage of food.

The Korean Peninsula is currently experiencing its coldest period of the year. Due to the hasty crossing of the river, our army has deployed approximately 350,000 combat and logistical troops across the river since October of last year.

At least 50,000 people died or suffered frostbite from freezing!

Combat casualties amounted to approximately 50,000!

Excluding logistics personnel, our army currently has approximately 21 combat-ready troops on the Korean Peninsula.

These 21 men, after fighting three battles, chased after the enemy's vehicles on foot. Not only did they suffer tremendous physical exhaustion, but their shoes were also worn out!

More than 40% of the soldiers did not have cotton shoes at all, and for the past three months they have been running in the snow wearing only single shoes.

For the soldiers who had cotton-padded shoes, a large portion of their shoes suffered from worn-out soles, torn seams, and exposed toes during this marathon.

Some soldiers had even lost their shoes long ago and started wearing straw sandals, just like they did when they fought in battles back home.

When Su Yang instructed Xiao Yu to overhear these events, he felt a mix of emotions.

He did not doubt the authenticity of the data, not only because the person reporting the data to the boss inside was Chief Lan, but also because he had personally witnessed these situations in the 352nd Regiment.

Now, by eavesdropping on the meetings of the bigwigs, Su Yang can finally examine this war from a higher perspective.

He then truly understood what it meant for war to be a battle of logistics.

He could only pray silently that the brothers of the 50th Army at the front could hold out longer, buying time for the brother units in the rear to assemble and for logistical supplies to be replenished.

"Su Yang, are you even listening to me?"

Zhang Zhenguo's dissatisfied voice rang out. He thought to himself, "Since when did this kid start to like spacing out?"

"Oh, okay, I'm listening. Please continue." Su Yang's thoughts were pulled back.

A smile finally appeared on Zhang Zhenguo's face. He continued, "The higher-ups said the factory must be decorated to have a New Year's atmosphere, and each factory must organize performances before the New Year. Although we can't have a holiday this year, we must make sure our employees are happy! Because of the war, people's material lives can't be guaranteed, but they must be enriched spiritually!"

He kept talking on and on, but Su Yang seemed a little distracted.

"Awoo... Awoo... Awoo!"

Suddenly, Erhu, who was at the gate, tucked his tail between his legs and screamed as he fled deep into the flour mill.

"Wow!" Little White strode back to Su Yang's side with a smug look on its face.

"Hey! Erhu, that coward, he can bully such a little guy!"

One of the security guards said with exasperation.