Munitions Empire-Chapter 1077 - 999 Market

Chapter 1077: 999 Market

Dahua Empire, Fengjiang, amidst a pile of ruins, inside a street bunker converted from an underground room, a Dahua military officer tossed some maps onto his desk.

The maps in his hands, procured from the Great Tang Empire, were far more accurate than their own urban maps. Although many of the marked areas had turned into ruins, the maps from the Great Tang Empire were still somewhat more valuable for reference.

The maps drawn by the Dahua Empire itself were just too inaccurate, sometimes so much so that they were completely unusable.

To the north of this street bunker was the Fengjiang railway, which cut across from east to west, running through Fengjiang City. This area was now a zone where troops from both sides dared not move about lightly.

As a result, some Fengjiang civilians who had not evacuated began to conduct business around this railway. Some sold food and supplies, while others provided various services to both sides’ militaries.

Ever since the Dahua Troops re-entered Fengjiang, or it could be said, bought back their own occupied area, the intensity of firefights between the two sides’ troops declined sharply. The daily exchanges of a couple of shots from one side and a shell from the other became rare, and large-scale combat operations seldom occurred.

After a month of peaceful nurturing, the local residents have begun to thrive with vigor. Many children gathered around the railway to dig for shell casings to sell for money, and some traded newspapers from the Great Tang Empire.

They would “stock up” at the makeshift docks by the bridge and along the riverbank in the afternoon, and then come to sell goods along the railway the next morning. Usually, only people from the Dahua Empire side, who were short on supplies, would come to buy.

The Great Tang Empire did not intervene in such cross-river trade, as their people only needed to take the newspapers, canned goods, and instant noodles across the river by boat. Since the traders would quickly return, the coastal border soldiers couldn’t be bothered to stop them.

Those who came across the river to fetch goods would also sell them and leave without lingering, and nobody asked any questions.

As the war continued, the Great Tang Empire’s control over the border area began to relax since the number of Dahua civilians trying to cross the border started to diminish.

Most people had already fled south, and those with connections had already crossed the border. The remaining Fengjiang residents were either unwilling to leave or unable to, making it unlikely for them to “smuggle” into the Great Tang Empire.

After experiencing the surrender turmoil, Zhao Chen and his senior officers strictly ordered their troops to conduct trade with the Fengjiang garrison. Smuggling was forced underground from the open, and civilian market trade became prosperous.

The soldiers acted on their own initiative, and the higher-ups generally did not interfere. Instead, everyone continued to carry out various operations under similar banners.

It was obviously unsafe to go elsewhere; only along the railway was it safe from attacks. The railway was like Fengjiang City’s neutral Peace Hotel, where everyone tacitly agreed to abide by certain rules.

“Check out the newspapers! Yesterday’s papers! The Laines Empire test-fired Scud Missiles! Extra! Extra! Tense border relations between the Laines Empire and the Suthers Empire! The Laines Empire test-fired Scud Missiles!” Even in this underground street bunker, one could hear newsboys selling newspapers near the distant train tracks.

Close to ten o’clock in the morning, the area near the railway tracks was akin to a market, bustling with those selling newspapers from the Great Tang Empire, along with shoe-shining kids. Many people also set up stalls with vegetables or bread, and occasionally, one could find high-end items like canned goods.

The support from the Great Tang Empire to Fengjiang had been continuous. Although the supply of weapons and ammunition was limited and controlled, the Great Tang Empire had always been generous with civilian supplies and food.

Every day, the civilians could collect various foods, and if they saved some, they could make a small fortune selling them along the railway tracks.

The marketplace buzzed with activity. Fengjiang soldiers, guns in tow, snacked on street food here, while the Dahua Empire’s soldiers bought seasonings and bread.

Old ladies sitting in the sun charged fees to mend soldiers’ damaged uniforms, and old men displayed an array of weapons and ammunition in front of them.

Indeed, one could actually purchase weapons and ammunition here: the most common were Shireck Model 1 bolt-action rifles, Thompson Submachine Guns, and various handguns and gun parts.

All weapons sold here were second-hand, scavenged by civilians from battlefield ruins: some rifles even bore dried bloodstains.

Many soldiers from the Dahua side were potential customers for these rifles and parts: if you lost your weapon on the battlefield, you could buy one here to avoid punishment. It was a severe offense in the Dahua Empire to lose a weapon, but buying a gun here could spare you the penalties.

Moreover, the Dahua Empire’s logistical support was poor, with many of its soldiers’ weapons faulty and lacking spare parts for repairs. Here, they could purchase the needed parts, ensuring their weapons were in good condition to save their lives at critical moments.

Some Dahua soldiers would purchase some extra bullets here because the amount provided to them was insufficient and could run out at critical moments.

Everyone haggled in the market as the weather grew colder; sweaters and cotton-padded clothing were much sought-after commodities. The down jackets from the Dahua Empire were world-renowned and even more popular among the soldiers here.

Especially the liners that could be worn inside military uniforms, they were truly priceless. Whoever could get their hands on these were considered to have extremely good connections.

Most soldiers could only afford cheap clothing. In the ruins of Fengjiang, there were many of these; self-reliant troops would search, pick up, and even snatch things in the ruins. A more civilized approach was to buy them in the market.

Due to the Battle of Fengjiang, many civilians and local rich people had already fled, either to the Great Tang Empire or to Shanping or other cities.

These people left when the weather wasn’t so cold, so they probably abandoned their old clothes—poor people would of course take everything, but the rich might not want to carry so much luggage.

And for the desperate locals who stayed, they couldn’t care less in the midst of shelling. They would enter buildings destroyed by artillery to find anything useful, and then they’d take them.

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Such behavior continued to this day, having escalated to the point where people blatantly broke into doors and locks, raiding unoccupied houses for belongings to sell as “goods.”

Some civilians even moved into these houses, indulging in the once middle-class lifestyle and rightfully using all the items within.

“What’s the matter, Commander?” Seeing his immediate superior so distressed, the staff officer approached and handed him a cup of hot tea.

This street barricade was built atop a partially underground basement, surrounded by a ring of relatively high half-length windows close to the ground, naturally forming shooting ports. The structure was reinforced with rubble and sandbags to the point of utmost strength.

Its covert location and proximity to the railway line, being also some distance from the front line, made it the chosen command post for their battalion.

Compared to living in the wild outdoors, the living conditions here were decent, at least providing shelter from the wind and rain in the increasingly cold season, and they could even light a stove for hot water or to cook some food.

After all, this place was the battalion command post, so the conditions were bound to be better. Moreover, it was close to the “market,” so if they really couldn’t bear it, they could purchase some items from the market and bring them back.

“It’s from division headquarters.” The commander pointed to the map on the table and an order beneath it, answering his staff officer’s question.

The staff officer walked over, admired the exquisite map, and then looked at the document underneath, showing a wry smile: in the afternoon, their battalion had to dispatch two companies of soldiers to maintain security along the railway because…

Because there was another train from the Great Tang Empire passing through, a train exporting goods to the Dahua Empire, and it carried various luxury items that the Imperial Capital was waiting for—items belonging to the aristocrats, so it was imperative to ensure the absolute safety of the train.

“It’s really like it’s all peaceful and prosperous,” the staff officer put down the document and said with a smile to his commander, “Compared to the troops down south, this task is actually quite nice.”

“I feel it’s disgraceful. As a soldier, to guard a railway for the enemy?” The commander gulped down the warm tea and exhaled, voicing his thoughts.

“Losing face is better than losing life,” the staff officer poured another cup of hot tea for his commander: “At least we still have tea leaves. If it wasn’t for the railway, where would you go to drink this.”

Holding the tea cup, the commander fell silent because he knew he was indeed being somewhat sentimental. Based on the intensity of combat before the ceasefire, his battalion could only fight on the front line for three to five days at best.

The replenished recruits would quickly be used up, then they would be pulled back for rest, waiting to be sent to the front line again to their demise.

Now, they no longer needed to risk their lives on the front line. Everyone treated it like a routine job; the casualties were naturally fewer, and so were the deaths—everything seemed to follow a natural order.

It had to be said that the current situation was the best outcome considering everyone’s interest, but whether it was truly good for a nation, that no one knows.

“You’re right, I was being a bit stubborn,” the commander still sighed and criticized himself.