A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

The situation in the US is far more complex than that.

At this crucial juncture in the election, this crushing defeat is like a precision-guided bomb, striking right at the Ducey government's Achilles' heel.

Republican presidential candidate and five-star general Dwight D. Eisenhower seized the opportunity and held a press conference in Chicago immediately. Facing hundreds of reporters and live cameras, his expression was somber, but his tone was unusually sharp: "A battlefield that was proclaimed 'imminent victory' has resulted in the most devastating annihilation of an entire unit in the history of the U.S. military. The incompetent President Duterte and the Democrats deserve to die! This war should end, and it must end!"

Reporters in the audience swarmed and raised their hands, and flashbulbs went off everywhere.

Eisenhower seized the opportunity to launch a full-scale attack, systematically accusing the Ducey administration of three major crimes: squandering military spending, incompetent command, and poor intelligence. Van Fleet's disastrous defeat and the annihilation of the elite 7th Division became his most powerful weapons in attacking his opponents.

The Republican National Committee launched an overnight attack on Google, displaying the casualty figures directly on the screen: "Five hundred billion dollars in military spending a year, resulting in the complete annihilation of our elite division—this is the Democrats' 'victory'!"

Public opinion collapsed instantly, and an anti-war wave swept across the United States. Protests stretched for several blocks in front of the White House, with people holding photos of fallen soldiers and shouting for the withdrawal of troops.

The US intelligence system was the first to be targeted, becoming the target of public anger.

For two years, the assessment of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's combat capabilities was completely inaccurate. The battle reports submitted to the White House were completely contrary to the facts on the front lines, and the media ridiculed it as a "federal-level fraud group."

The CIA director was forced to admit in a closed-door congressional hearing: "We seriously underestimated our adversary's strategic deception capabilities and the scale of their underground fortifications..."

What he didn't know was that his opponent, surnamed Chen, was not only a master of intelligence but also the head of China's largest fraud ring.

A simple "Wishing you prosperity" can drain the savings of countless people!

After the chaotic scene subsided, Eisenhower went to his private office to review the file on the commander of the Third Army Corps provided by the intelligence department.

He flipped through a few pages, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper, before finally closing the folder and letting out a cold laugh:

"What utterly absurd talk! A cripple, a general suffering from multiple illnesses, can't last long, and he's a womanizer? He's probably not even half as good as Mike. Perhaps this cripple can't even handle his own wife? Ridiculous!!!"

He tossed the folder onto the table, leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, and spoke with a chilling sarcasm:

"It seems our intelligence department needs a thorough overhaul."

The Volunteer Army Headquarters was anxiously awaiting the results of the battle. At this time, the Corps Commander had returned to China, and the Acting Commander, Old Chen, had also gone back to prepare for the Harbin Military Engineering Institute.

Currently, the headquarters is being led by Deputy Commander Deng, with Second Deputy Commander Zhang Renfeng directing operations from the forward command post. The Third Deputy Commander is Commander Yang of the 19th Army Corps, and the Fourth Deputy Commander is Commander Song of the 9th Army Corps. Deputy Commander Han has also been transferred back to China due to health reasons.

He had barely slept a full night in the past year, and the burden of being the acting commander had turned his temples gray.

When Chief of Staff Xie rushed in, clutching the telegram, his face was relaxed like never before; he hadn't been so jubilant in many years. Following behind was Old Hong, who had also just run back from the communications department. Old Hong, panting heavily, lifted the curtain and, before he could even stand properly, announced with a hearty laugh, "Hahaha, it's done!"

The entire command post fell silent for a second. All the staff and communications personnel looked up at the same time, followed by a suppressed murmur and commotion.

Chief of Staff Xie stood beside the sand table, unfolded the telegram, cleared his throat, and spoke in a loud voice that could be heard throughout the entire tunnel: "The battle report summary is as follows: ...A total of over 40,000 enemy troops were annihilated on the central front, the US 7th Infantry Division was completely wiped out, over 16,200 were killed, over 2,800 were captured, the South Korean 8th and 6th Divisions were severely damaged, and over 4,200 foreign allied auxiliary troops were annihilated. Our army suffered 1,360 casualties in a single battle during the decisive battle in July."

With each sentence uttered, the breathing in the tunnel grew heavier.

When the words "annihilate the US 7th Division" were read, Lao Hong clenched his fist and clenched it hard, and several staff officers next to him couldn't help but shout it out.

They all knew that the year-long stalemate and feigned weakness to lure the enemy had been paved with blood.

Deputy Commander Deng placed his hands on the edge of the sand table, lowered his head slightly, closed his eyes tightly for a moment, and then opened them again.

Even the usually refined and restrained man couldn't help but shout out, "That was awesome!"

He straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the familiar faces in the tunnel, his voice carrying the relief of a year's worth of tension finally released:

"To be honest, I was really worried. It's not that we didn't win any battles in this year-long tug-of-war, but the victories were hard-won. The mental resilience of the frontline commanders and soldiers is exceptionally strong after such a year-long series of rotations."

"Our Commander Zhang is amazing. He's only thirty-three years old, and he has to endure tremendous pressure almost every day and night. To be honest, I'm truly impressed. I'd always heard people say how positive and optimistic he was, and I was a little skeptical, but I've seen it for myself."

Commander Yang smiled broadly. As one of Old Nie's old subordinates, he had heard the old commander boast about his son-in-law Zhang Renfeng's prowess before the mission to North Korea. This time, Zhang Renfeng was truly impressive.

Old Nie's judgment is impeccable. I, Old Yang, am of the same generation as Old Nie. Does that mean that next time I see Old Zhang, I can ask him to call me "uncle"?

Thinking about this, he felt that he had to take advantage of this opportunity. He slammed his hand on the table and said "good" several times.

Commander Song had a serious expression. In his opinion, the Ninth Army Corps had not fought well in the previous battles and had suffered heavy non-combat losses. He had long wanted to take revenge. As a former commander of the Third Field Army, Commander Song had experienced many great battles, and this battle was not necessarily much worse than the ones he had experienced. Moreover, the technical difficulty was particularly high!

In particular, the need to coordinate domestic intelligence agencies indirectly confirms Zhang Baopo's exaggerated coordination ability, Lao Chen's quick thinking, and everyone's support for him.

This guy only lost because of his age. If Chen and Zhang were given a chance, I, Old Song, would not exaggerate and believe that they could have formed the Fifth Field Army.

After much thought, it's still Old Chen who's a burden to Old Zhang; he's frail and sickly. With a sigh, Commander Song said...

"That's great! This battle has wiped out another entire American division! And this division has a long history!"

Unexpectedly, in just one year, we annihilated two American infantry divisions in their entirety, which can be called a miracle in the history of war. This kind of tunnel defense encirclement and annihilation battle is at least the first time in our war history. I wonder what President Liu in Nanjing would think.

After all, quite a few comrades have already been transferred back to China for further study. From their letters, I learned that Dean Liu used last year's battle as a teaching case. He said Zhang Renfeng was his apprentice in the first sentence and his beloved son in the second... haha."

He couldn't help but chuckle, then added, "To be honest, I think it's Old Chen who's dragging Old Zhang down. He's frail and sickly..."

The moment the phrase "frail and sickly" was uttered, everyone in the tunnel laughed.

Actually, everyone was just joking, after all, it was Old Chen himself who said it...

Old Hong was standing next to the sand table, picking at the wax marks on the edge of the sand table with his fingernail. When he heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched, and the complex emotions in his heart churned for a while.

He had known Zhang Renfeng the longest, ever since they were in the third term of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, when they had even shared an air-raid shelter together. He had watched firsthand how that young Red Army soldier, who became a team leader at the age of eighteen, had risen to where he was today. He was genuinely happy for Zhang Renfeng, but at the same time, he felt a pang of inexplicable bitterness.

He envied Lao Zhang because Lao Chen was frail and sickly—he could never bring himself to say it, but that was truly what he thought.

But he envied Old Chen even more, because Old Chen had a fully automatic and promising young blaster named Zhang.

With this combination, plus my old Hong who handles logistics... damn it, let alone fighting North Korea, I think I, old Hong, could sink Sakura Island.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Lao Hong froze, then cursed himself inwardly: When did I become so shameless? I'm a frontline commander too! I don't do logistics! Besides, the corps commander promised that I'd lead troops after the battle...

He hesitated for a couple of seconds, then decided not to dwell on it. He cleared his throat and gestured for the chief of staff to raise his chin:

"Chief of Staff Xie, have the battle results been compiled? I'll personally take them back to China."

Chief of Staff Xie nodded: "It's already being drafted, and it should be ready in twenty minutes."

Old Hong then turned to Deputy Commander Deng: "Commander Deng, I suggest that this telegram be worded more strongly. We've held back for a year, and now we've wiped out an elite American division. Everyone in the country needs to know about this."

"Actually, what I want to say is that the battle fought by Lao Zhang and Lao Chen was absolutely a miracle in military history. I don't think it's an exaggeration to call them the shield of the Republic!"

"Great, let's write 'Shield of the Republic'!!!"

Deputy Commander Deng clapped his hands in approval, his gaze finally settling on the Wusheng Mountain area on the sand table, which was circled countless times with red and blue pencils. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke:

"Alright, let's quickly organize the results and send them back home."

He raised his wrist to check his watch, then added,

"Oh, and also send a telegram to the forward command of the Third Army Corps, saying that the entire headquarters of the Volunteer Army pays tribute to Comrade Zhang Renfeng and all participating troops!!!"

The commanders were so excited because the country had just been founded, and we desperately needed confidence. As the saying goes, adversity strengthens a nation, and what is needed for a nation to prosper is absolute self-confidence—the self-confidence of the entire nation!