Munitions Empire-Chapter 891 - 814 Tang Country’s Advisor

Chapter 891: 814 Tang Country’s Advisor Chapter 891: 814 Tang Country’s Advisor The Western Wall Frontline, as the defense line between Qin Country and the barbaric Beast Clan, had never seen the end of hostilities; minor skirmishes broke out almost every year.

On the edge of the wilderness, there was actually nothing worth fighting over here: no valuable resources and no prosperity to speak of.

For Qin Country, this location served merely to halt the eastern advance of the Beastmen, while for the Beastmen, it was a millstone to reduce their own population.

On the somewhat barren city wall, a man dressed in the uniform of a Major General of the Great Tang Empire patted his coat hem twice with gloved hands, finding the environment here was excessively harsh compared to the terrain of Tang Country.

“Further west, is there an oasis?” Zhou Huaiyuan squinted at the distant battlefield and asked the Qin Country General beside him.

The General of Qin Country nodded, pointed across the desert, and said, “110 kilometers that way, there’s a river; the Beastmen’s Iron Fist Fortress is established on the river’s eastern side.”

“Is it hard to capture? If we take it, can we then dismantle this defensive line?” Zhou Huaiyuan, as a military advisor for the Great Tang Empire, had many tasks to undertake upon arriving in Qin Country.

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On one hand, he was to train some of Qin Country’s Generals per agreement, enabling them to understand and learn to use more advanced weapons and equipment.

On the other hand, he also had the responsibility to recommend weapons and equipment. Qin Country’s purchase of any advanced weapons manufactured by Tang Country required his approval.

No wonder Qin Country valued their military advisors from Tang Country so much, as with their arrival, Qin received an interest-free construction loan of 10 million Gold Coins and another 20 million Gold Coins’ worth of weapons assistance.

These new weapons included 3,000 Thompson Submachine Guns, 100 million rounds of ammunition for the submachine guns, 45 armored vehicles model 113, along with many corresponding maintenance machinery and equipment.

Even more touching for the officials of Qin Country was that Tang Country had also provided 30 reconnaissance aircraft, aiding Qin Country in a series of reconnaissance activities.

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All aircraft were piloted by Tang Country’s pilots, and all operation results were freely provided to Qin Country.

The missions for these aircraft were incredibly busy. They were involved in taking aerial photos of Qin Country, drawing more accurate maps, scouting the Beastmen’s military deployment, and providing early warnings of invasions by the Beastmen troops.

Further, these aircraft also helped identify suitable areas in Qin Country for road construction, railway building, and canal dam building, enabling basic surveying and mapping.

In the spirit of intelligence sharing, unbeknownst to the high-level officials of Qin Country, this data was sent back to Tang Country, constituting part of the workload for Tang Country’s intelligence departments.

Tang Mo was all too familiar with the American style of intelligence sharing: “I lend you technology to help draw your maps and mark crucial coordinates, then save all this information in a computer system, next upload it into missile chipset…”

On the battlefield there, the 155mm caliber howitzers provided by Tang Country demonstrated an astonishing effectiveness, shocking the inexperienced border army of Qin Country who witnessed such powerful weapons for the first time.

15 kilometers from the artillery position, precise shelling greeted the Beastmen troops attempting to advance, soon followed by the slaughter commencing from machine guns on the flanks.

The Beastmen deployed further forces, trying to push the battle into hand-to-hand combat as usual. But they quickly discovered that such bayonet struggles seemed unnecessary for the Qin military.

Close-range concentrated firepower completely routed the Beastmen, with over a hundred Thompson Submachine Guns playing a significant role in trench warfare. The Beastmen had no chance even to display their bravery before they fled, abandoning their gear and retreating from battle.

“We don’t have enough means to push the logistics to Iron Fist Fortress…” said the Qin military officer, retracting his gaze and speaking somewhat sheepishly.

Over 70 kilometers of desert terrain, if the Beast tribes held out for just two or three days, the attacking Qin soldiers would be dragged down by logistics and suffer heavy losses.

Honestly, the Qin military had previously considered advancing the front line to the Sandy River near Iron Fist Fortress.

But their efforts all failed, with previous assaults resulting in heavy losses, hundreds of thousands perished in the desert.

In their closest approach to success, they had risked the loss of 200,000 men to capture Iron Fist Fortress; however, they immediately encountered a severe issue: stretched over 110 kilometers of desert, Qin Country could not ensure that their logistics teams could sustain their troops stationed at Iron Fist Fortress…

Things quickly became awkward. The Qin troops, who had barely occupied Iron Fist Fortress, had to ultimately abandon the fortress and retreat back to organize defenses along the Western Wall.

Since then, the high command of the Qin military had lost all willingness to entertain the notion of reconquering Iron Fist Fortress; all offensive plans were canceled and shelved indefinitely.

“There’s nothing a railway can’t solve, and if there is, then build two,” Zhou Huaiyuan said.

He was a staff officer of the Tang Empire, originally from Dongwan, and had studied in Dragon Island during his early years. He had made his mark during the war against Qi Country, rising through the ranks to Major General.

As a staff officer, his record was indeed extraordinary; even Tang Mo felt he was highly capable, a candidate worth focusing on for development.

Although he had never fought on the battlefield, his experience on the staff was extensive; he had participated in planning the counterattack strategy for Xicong during the war against the Dahua Empire.

Unfortunately, he was just a staff officer, a staff officer in the Tang Empire… In the Tang Empire, it was customary for the military to unconditionally support the logistics department’s proposals.

For example, when drafting an attack plan, the staff department, after calculations, would decide a railway was needed to support it, and the logistics troops would make arrangements accordingly to facilitate the continuation of the military campaign.

However, in other countries, reality was a lot more complex. Thus, when they heard Zhou Huaiyuan’s suggestion, the officers from Qin Country’s faces changed.

He lowered his voice and explained, “General Zhou, it’s not that we are unwilling, but the construction of the railway is just too expensive…”

Zhou Huaiyuan realized that his suggestion might have been unrealistic, and with an awkward cough, he apologized and then changed the subject.

Discussing the construction of a railway to support a particular war zone was like suggesting that an office worker frustrated with traffic buy a helicopter—quite far-fetched.

Not all countries could just build railways at will, such as Qin Country, which had very few railways throughout the nation; it was hardly feasible for them to construct a 70-kilometer long railway just to attack Iron Fist Fortress.

In the eyes of the King of Qin and the high-ranking officials, this 100-kilometer railway would be better constructed near the capital, to facilitate the transportation of materials, increase population mobility, and strengthen the effective control over the metropolitan area.

After all, this 110-kilometer railway had to be profitable. If the investment couldn’t yield sufficient returns, for a country like Qin Country, constructing another 110-kilometer railway would be a long wait.

Even though they had received some support from the Dahua Empire and managed to get backing from the Shireck Consortium, all the railways in Qin Country barely amounted to over 900 kilometers.

In such circumstances, constructing over 100 kilometers of railway into the desert outside the western defensive line was clearly unrealistic.

“It’s a pity, by capturing Iron Fist Fortress, you could shorten the frontlines and save at least 200,000 border troops in the future…” Zhou Huaiyuan shook his head, expressing his regrets with a final remark.

The Qin Country officer escorting Zhou Huaiyuan also felt melancholic, he sighed and replied, “General Zhou, everyone understands this… but the least valuable thing here is probably human life.”

Zhou Huaiyuan remained silent, his mind already calculating the most suitable weapons and equipment for Qin Country, so they would be more willing to spend.

Likely, the main purchases suitable for defensive battles would be howitzers, with an estimation that Qin Country would buy at least 2000 cannons of various models.

The 75mm caliber infantry guns that Tang Country discarded could be sold to Qin Country at a cheaper rate, and they could also provide some bolt-action rifles that were more ammunition efficient.

Previously armed with the Shireck Type-1 rifles, Qin Military’s preference shifted towards Tang weaponry after several fierce battles with the Tang Army.

Therefore, Qin Country was now gradually transitioning to second-hand weapons from Tang Country. Brand new equipment was too expensive for them, while second-hand was a good option.

For instance, the 98K rifles that Tang Country was phasing out, along with the Thompson Submachine Guns and the previously used Left-Wheel Handguns and 1911 pistols.

These weapons, though outdated for the Tang Army, were still valuable for the Qin Army and were quite affordable, so they bought a portion.

As for the large-scale heavy equipment of the Tang Army, Qin Country could not afford to buy them except for some type 113 armored vehicles that were donated by the Tang Army. The only thing they could afford was military trucks.

The good news was that Qin Country produced oil, so there were no issues with fuel; the bad news was that Qin Country lacked a strong industrial base, and everything needed to be developed from scratch.

The good news was that they did not border Tang Country, so even if they were a bit behind, they didn’t need to worry about a potential invasion by Tang Country; the bad news was that since they didn’t border Tang Country, they couldn’t benefit from exporting oil to Tang for substantial profits.

Even though the Dahua Empire also desperately imported oil, its economy was, after all, not as strong as that of Tang Country.

“If possible, I can grant you the purchase rights for a few airplanes,” Zhou Huaiyuan said after a long silence, expressing his goodwill, “Perhaps that will allow you to familiarize yourselves quicker with reconnaissance aircraft, providing early strategic warnings.”