Munitions Empire

Chapter 615: This matter is entrusted to you.

Just at that moment, an official rushed into the grand hall, clutching a telegram and approached Zhao Kai.

“What’s the matter?” asked Zhao Kai, his face clouded with displeasure as if the entire world owed him money.

“Your Majesty! A telegram just came from Qi Country… King Jiang Xian, he has passed away,” the official replied in a low voice.

“What?” Zhao Kai was taken aback, quickly snatching the telegram to examine the words, his face full of disbelief, “Idiot, could there be a mistake?”

“It’s unlikely. They used the agreed upon cipher,” the minister replied at once, wash his hands of responsibility completely.

There was no time to delve into his subordinate’s attitude of passing the buck, as Zhao Kai read the telegram once more, then tried as best he could to accept such a terrible truth.

Jiang Xian was not particularly old, and in Zhao Kai’s mind, the man could have lived at least another twenty years.

But what he never expected was that the otherwise in the prime of his life, King Jiang Xian of Qi Country, would exit the stage of history in such an undignified manner.

“Does the telegram say how the King of Qi died?” Zhao Kai looked to the minister bringing the news, his expression shifting continuously as he asked.

He no longer knew which expression was appropriate for handling these ridiculous mishaps that left him not knowing whether to laugh or cry. If you say Qi Country was playing him, Zhao Kai, even the King of Qi played himself in it, wasn’t that a bit too dedicated?

But if you say Qi Country wasn’t acting, they’ve just started the war, lost Nanye, with hundreds of thousands of troops trapped, seemingly on the brink of collapse… How could there be no actors in a war that turned out like this?

“The telegram mentioned it, said there were troops from Tang Country that descended from the sky and launched a surprise attack on the King’s camp; the King led his troops in a bloody battle and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries,” the minister replied immediately, producing another telegram and handing it to Zhao Kai.

Zhao Kai took the telegram, scrutinized it for a long while, and then handed it to General Feng Kezhi beside him, “You have a look too!”

Now, Zhao Kai felt like murdering the King of the Laines Empire and Shireck’s witch Sofia.

Could the intelligence report be any less reliable? Before the battle, they talked it up with all sorts of grand promises. But once the fighting started, not a single word proved true!

Initially, they said that as long as Qi Country resorted to scorched earth tactics and strictly defended their lines, even after half a year Great Tang would achieve no victory.

But now, well, including the initial week of both sides sitting idle, it took less than 10 days for Great Tang to breach Qi Country’s border defenses!

Those were the defenses that Qi Country had meticulously constructed over more than half a year, with a triple line of defense and reinforced bunkers as permanent defensive works!

The defenses were completely breached within two days of the start of the battle, and then Qi Country’s southern stronghold, Nanye, was lost, leaving Qi on the verge of collapse without time for Dahua to provide support.

When they started their diplomatic blackmail against Tang Country, Zhao Kai had no idea that Tang had a new weapon called an airplane.

It wasn’t until about ten days ago that the military intelligence department of the Dahua Empire officially confirmed that Tang Country possessed terrifying airplanes that dive and screech; with each bombing run, their precision munitions could create a crater with a radius of tens of meters!

Similarly, it was only about twenty days ago that he, the Emperor of Dahua, learned about the existence of a weapon called a tank in the Tang military arsenal—mighty at destroying fortifications and seemingly indestructible!

Also, it was only recently that he became aware of another weapon called a flying fortress—a huge aircraft that can carry many bombs, travel rapidly over hundreds of kilometers, and strike the industrial heartland of the enemy.

It was only by then that Zhao Kai realized that what he and his ministers thought to be the utterly secure Imperial City, the major industrial areas across the country, and the nationwide network of railways and roads, were, in fact, completely exposed to Tang Country—as if running naked and undefended.

And only then did Zhao Kai understand how fearsome the war machine of Tang Country truly was. It slaughtered Qi Country as if slaughtering chickens, and destroying the Dahua Empire might not be much more difficult…

To address this issue, the Dahua Empire was compelled to urgently produce 500 Shireck anti-balloon cannons, barely managing to deploy them in key areas to maintain a semblance of possessing anti-aircraft capabilities.

Meanwhile, they rushed to design new types of anti-aircraft weaponry, hoping to be able to fend off future Tang airplane attacks.

He had barely calmed down and made appropriate preparations against Tang’s airplanes and tanks, only for now this unimaginable type of soldier to appear from the skies… Who could hold out against this?

“Why do they always have this and that kind of bizarre thing! Ah?” Zhao Kai had a breakdown, cursing uncontrollably.

Actually, this was because, upon seeing the telegram about the death of the King of Qi, a surge of fear and a chill emerged from the depths of his heart.

He was scared!

Although he possessed an empire, he was scared!

He feared that one day while sleeping in his palace, Tang’s soldiers would fly into his bedroom. He was afraid that he would be assassinated any time, anywhere, by killers from the sky, the ground, or the water.

If a person can descend from the heavens and kill the King of Qi, wouldn’t it be just as simple to kill the Emperor of Dahua?@@novelbin@@

“Aren’t you going to think about it? If one day, they kill their way to my presence! To you, and you, and the side of your beds! Who among you could escape death?” When Zhao Kai shouted these words, his voice was sharp and had already gone off pitch.

A group of ministers finally understood what had happened; the enemy described in the telegram, who supposedly descended from the heavens, indeed left these ministers dumbstruck.

“Your Majesty! We should strengthen the capital’s defenses,” Chu Muzhou said, bowing his head and suggesting to Zhao Kai.

Following his suggestion, several Chief of Staff also quickly bowed their heads and said in unison, “Your servant seconds the motion!”

“The Prime Minister’s words are extremely apt, your servant also believes it should be so,” on the other side, the Minister of War Shen Chuan also chimed in.

No kidding, they were genuinely worried about the Imperial City being in jeopardy: all their families were here, and if the Tang Army overwhelmed them in one fell swoop, they would truly have no tears left to cry.

“Had we known this would happen, we should not have rashly allowed Qi Country to go to war with Tang Country,” several ministers whispered to each other on the side, expressing their opinions.

But hindsight is 20/20, and the ability to foresee the situation is the true skill. By this time, Zhao Kai had also calmed down somewhat and started to ponder how to eliminate the serious threat of Tang Country.

He had decided not to give Tang Mo any more chances to creep and grow. He wanted to strike while Tang Mo’s wings were not yet fully grown and eradicate the problem once and for all.

“General Feng Kezhi!” he suddenly looked to his Great General.

“Your servant is here!” General Feng Kezhi bowed his head in response.

“If we don’t mobilize troops but directly attack Tang Country from the eastern border, what are the odds of victory?” With the mindset of full-scale war, Zhao Kai asked a question that made everyone present palpitate with fear.

General Feng Kezhi was silent for a moment, then he raised his head and replied, “Your Majesty, your servant believes the odds of victory are about thirty percent.”

“Only thirty percent?” Zhao Kai was obviously dissatisfied with this response.

General Feng Kezhi explained, “Your servant and colleagues have also analyzed the battle reports provided by Advisor Shireck. Your servant believes that without the support of new weapons like tanks and planes, it is indeed hard to breach the enemy’s defenses with just infantry.”

“This is also why we previously thought Qi Country could hold out for over half a year! Gauging by our own military’s capabilities, to break through Qi Country’s border defenses would indeed take half a year or even longer,” he spoke logically, as Zhao Kai listened without saying a word.

The veteran of Dahua continued, “So, conversely, attacking Tang Country’s border defenses would also require about half a year, and it’s uncertain whether we could even break through.”

Then, General Feng Kezhi analyzed the combat effectiveness of the Tang Army from various angles: this army molded by Tang Mo had stronger individual firepower, more advanced machine guns, and their squad- and platoon-level fighting capabilities completely overpowered those of comparable Dahua units.

Simultaneously, the Tang Army had a clear advantage in artillery, both in quantity and quality, surpassing Dahua, another unfavorable factor.

Even more vexing was the fact that the Tang Army also had a massive number of automobiles and an ample supply of fuel reserves, meaning their troops could maneuver faster and had more abundant logistical support.

Furthermore, Tang Country’s infrastructure was better developed, with more railways, stronger transportation capabilities, and higher productivity—these were all advantages Dahua could not match.

Additionally, the Tang Army’s self-propelled artillery, tanks, and planes, along with various modern weapons, were continuously emerging, changing some of the tactical rules. Engaging in combat with the Tang Army under such circumstances was no different from courting death.

Having summarized up to this point and seeing that Zhao Kai’s expression had turned very gloomy, General Feng Kezhi concluded, “Your Majesty, your servant believes that if we engage in direct combat with Tang Country at the border, the odds of victory are only thirty percent!”

“However!” Just as Zhao Kai was trying to suppress the anger in his heart, General Feng Kezhi suddenly changed his tone and uttered this word.

“Hmm?” Zhao Kai glanced at him, puzzled.

“Your Majesty! If Chu Country engages Tang Country in the south to draw some of their attention and Sheng Country stalls Tang forces in the north with Qi Country, and Laines and Dorne take action on another front, once they all begin to wage war, we declare war on Tang last, our odds of victory can be increased to seventy percent,” General Feng Kezhi laid out the scenario he thought had the highest chance of success.

Upon hearing his general put it that way, Zhao Kai was somewhat satisfied. It seemed that the situation was not impossible, only that it required some manipulation.

As long as it was feasible, it was a better prospect for Zhao Kai than just sitting and watching Tang Country consume Qi Country.

He had already watched the extinction of Zheng Country; this time he did not want to watch helplessly as Qi Country met the same fate.

Thus, he looked toward Jiang Run of the Ministry of Rites again and ordered, “Minister Jiang, you’ve heard, haven’t you?”

“Your servant has heard everything,” Jiang Run bowed his head, knowing his work seemed to have become very important. He immediately assured, “Your servant will not let Your Majesty down and will strive to achieve the situation needed by General Feng for the Empire.”

“Good! Minister Jiang, I entrust this matter to you!” Zhao Kai nodded in satisfaction.

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