Chapter 1400: Ling Chen in Action

Europe, Austria!

The Dragon Flame Army led by Ling Chen set out from the port, conquering all the way; their momentum was unstoppable, and now they had somewhat penetrated into the heart of Europe.

However, their logistics were starting to fall behind.

The cities occupied by the Dragon Flame Army did not engage in burning, killing, or looting, and lacking a popular base, they could rarely obtain grain and forage.

"General, if we continue to advance, we truly won't have any logistics left."

An adjutant, looking at the current battle lines on the map, said with concern.

They had been marching and fighting for over a month; every time they reached a place, the city's garrison would see the Dragon Flame Army coming from afar and would not even start a fight, inevitably fleeing after casting aside their armor and weapons.

The city gates would be wide open, as if waiting for something, just waiting for the Dragon Flame Army to enter the city.

At first, Ling Chen was extremely cautious, secretly wondering in his heart if this could be a conspiracy by the Austrian generals.

But after sneaking into the cities, he didn't even find a shadow of an Austrian guard.

Let alone any ambushes or traps, there were even very few Austrians to be found.

After scouting the area, the Dragon Flame Army gained very little; apart from the small amount of grain stored in the cities, they obtained almost nothing else.

At the beginning, the soldiers in the Dragon Flame Army were still secretly mocking the Austrians for being a bunch of cowards and softies.

They hadn't even fought a battle before getting scared away.

And they even left so much grain behind for them...

Regarding this, Ling Chen didn't say much, merely issuing the order to continue the expedition.

But as this situation occurred in one Austrian city after another, the officers within the Dragon Flame Army all discovered this problem.

They might have fallen into the enemy's scheme: luring the enemy deep!

If this continued, once they entered the heart of the European continent, they would definitely be trapped and die; in a situation of being isolated and without help, it was impossible for their small force to get out alive.

After realizing the severity of the matter, these officers frequently reminded Ling Chen.

But this general, who was considered a genius of the Art of War, acted as if he saw nothing, ignoring these Admonishments and still ordering them to continue conquering Austria.

Until today, they had already entered the heart of Austria, close to Vienna, but this was also the heart of Europe.

"Ling Chen, although you are the general, you cannot act arbitrarily!" A Strategist slammed the table suddenly.

He said coldly and furiously: "If this continues, our army will surely be destroyed here!"

His hand, which had slammed the table, moved to the map of Austria and pointed: "If you want military merit, go take another city yourself; my unit will absolutely not follow you to your deaths!"

"Is that what you all think too?" Ling Chen scanned left and right at the generals and Strategists gathered here, and said indifferently.

Swept by his knife-like gaze, the complexions of everyone present changed slightly.

They all tacitly agreed.

Ling Chen nodded and said: "Fine, I understand. Pass down my order: set up camp and fortify here!"

"Station here for a period of time."

Once these words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Set up camp and fortify here, and station for a period of time?

What does that mean?

"Ling Chen, the task the Chief Councilor gave us is to disrupt the enemy forces, give Prussia a chance to catch its breath, and simultaneously coordinate with the Prince of Yong to launch an offensive!"

"This is the order of the Chief Councilor, you haven't forgotten that, have you!" A Strategist shouted sternly!

Ling Chen was known as the general who understood Liu Zheng best, but now he wasn't even listening to Liu Zheng's orders.

Everyone looked at Ling Chen with unkind eyes; this was a critical period, and disobeying military orders was treason!

Although you are the general, you cannot disobey the orders of the higher-ups.

Words like "a general in the field is not bound by the orders of his sovereign" are not easy to use.

The Prince of Yong is currently in Poland, fighting; if we don't provide him with good cover, I'm afraid there will be big problems on the Prince of Yong's side.

Ling Chen sneered,

Looking at the person who said this.

"The military order we received is to contain the Ottoman Empire and its allies. Do you think continuing to attack or changing the direction of the attack will contain them?"

The Strategist retorted directly: "Otherwise what?"

"If we stay here and don't move, won't the troops of Austria and other allied nations still go and attack Prussia?"

"And if we stay here, we are just waiting to die. If Austria wants to cut off our transport and supply lines now, it is very simple."

"Changing to another direction to attack is the only choice we have!" The Strategist felt his words were pearls of wisdom, deafening and enlightening.

Looking at Ling Chen with disdain, the others gave him a thumbs up.

He was right; now they could only change the direction of the attack to ensure the Dragon Flame Army wouldn't be trapped and die here!

"Utterly ignorant!" Ling Chen sneered.

His finger pointed at the map of Austria, and he said indifferently: "You don't even look at where we are now."

"Just clamoring here."

The various Dragon Flame generals looked at the place Ling Chen's finger was pointing; wasn't it the heart of Austria, still three cities away from the Austrian capital, Vienna?

But at the Dragon Flame Army's marching speed, this distance could be covered in less than a day.

"Did you not notice that no matter how we attack, Austria will flee and leave an empty city for us!"

"If we continue to fight, these Austrians will still avoid battle, and this way they will have the energy and time to attack Prussia."

"And every time we occupy such a city, not only do we have to divert troops to garrison it, but we also have to continue attacking the next city."

"Our supply lines are already stretched very long. You all see this 'luring the enemy deep,' but you don't know how to break it; what is the use of that?"

Ling Chen's gaze sharpened, staring at everyone in the room, and he said coldly: "If this continues, we will be like monkeys being played around by others!"

"You didn't even see through this little trick; it's truly laughable!"

Everyone's expression stiffened; their originally arrogant posture was now as if they had something stuck in their throats, unable to speak.

"But... but what is the use of us setting up camp here?"

Ling Chen swept a glance at the Strategist who had spoken.

"Can you not read a map?"

Reminded by Ling Chen once again, they looked at the map and immediately understood why Ling Chen wanted to do this.

"Using their own strategy against them, besieging Wei to rescue Zhao?"

Ling Chen nodded, not expecting that there was still one person who could understand his intentions.

If those people from Austria won't come out to fight, then I will station troops near your capital and see if you get nervous.

Will you worry about whether our Longyan Army will strike over there!

Hearing the reminder, everyone suddenly realized, so that was it.

But someone still asked worriedly: "However, our provisions are not abundant, and with the supply line so long now, I worry..."

This touched upon Ling Chen's sore spot; he rubbed the corners of his eyes, not knowing when the provisions Liu Zheng promised him would arrive.

If there were no more provisions, they would have no choice but to withdraw their troops.

Just at this moment, a foot soldier rushed in and said: "General, it is a letter from Lord Liu."