Munitions Empire

Chapter 630: 589 Suitable Slave

The last refitted transport vessel for personnel left Brunas, an old man hunched over, picked up the rusty chain from the ground, and locked the dock of the port.

The huge crane, erected on the other side, had been out of operation for two days, as the ships that carried various metals to this place had become scarce.

The port of Brunas now probably only had one-third of its capacity during its peak times, causing the entire city to become desolate as well.

The Nobility and the rich had obtained everything they wanted, occupying luxurious houses here, turning these lands, once belonging to the Great Tang Group, into their private property.

In the distance, the chimneys that seemed to merge with the city emitted smoke from only a small portion, signifying that Brunas’s once terrifying production capacity had now been significantly reduced.

However, for the Laines Empire, everything was worth it, since they have the land and the population, and now they had obtained technology and machinery; soon everything would improve.

They could restore production here, making Brunas great once again. This was also their slogan, and countless people flocking here to strike gold would arrive continuously, revitalizing the city.

Accompanying the departure of the last transport ship, the fleet of the Great Tang Kingdom also began to assemble on a large scale. Apart from the squadron remaining at Dragon Island, the rest of the warships began to gather toward Dongwan Island.

The five Jade City-class battleships had been renamed Dongwan-class, and these dreadnoughts still remained the most powerful presence on the sea.

Unlike the Army, both the Navy and the Air Force are branches dominated by technology; only by mastering more advanced technology can they maintain an advantage over the enemy and achieve victory in war.

Clearly possessing a technological advantage, the Great Tang Group’s Navy was undoubtedly the most powerful!

Bernard had been frustrated enough for long enough, having been responsible for ensuring transportation in the southern part of the Endless Sea all this time; his Navy had also been reduced to a large transport team.

All of the warships were scattered at sea, some escorting transport fleets, and some directly serving as transport vessels.

Now, after transferring a large number of personnel, they were finally able to become combat units again, ready to pay a visit to their enemies.

The sharp bows of the warships sliced through the sea, with rolling white waves extending continuously to the distance. The warships, over one hundred and sixty meters long, sailed the sea like small islands, presenting a magnificent sight.

With the Dragon Banner hoisted high on the warship masts, Bernard stood on the bridge, already beginning to calculate how to launch an attack on the Qi Country Navy.

“Intelligence shows that the shipping lane between Qi Country and Beiyuan City is very vulnerable; if we cut off this route, the Qi Country Navy will surely appear,” said the aide standing next to Bernard, speaking to his superior.

Bernard nodded slightly, as this was also part of the combat plan he and his staff had devised. In fact, as long as the transportation line from Qi Country to Beiyuan City was cut off, the Navy would consider the mission accomplished. However, from top to bottom, from staff to Bernard, what they really wanted was to completely annihilate the Qi Country Navy.

They hoped to destroy the Qi Country Navy in one battle, blockade Qi Country’s ports, and attack along the Qi Country coastline… In short, according to Bernard’s plan, the Navy was almost set to destroy the entire Qi Country coastline within range.

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Meanwhile, Tang Mo was also listening to the Air Force liaison officer’s report on the bombing of the perimeter positions outside Beiyuan City.

“The Air Force launched a total of 1,489 sorties, bombing ground targets. Due to poor visibility, we couldn’t guarantee the effectiveness of subsequent bombings, so there was only one bombing the next day,” the liaison officer reported, standing upright in the smart blue uniform that represented the Great Tang Air Force.

Originally, three waves of bombing were planned for the first day, but only two were carried out. Because by the time the second wave of planes reached the battlefield, they found almost no worthwhile ground targets left.

Smoke was everywhere, since the artillery and the first wave of bombing had created too much smoke, obscuring vision and heavily affecting the precision of the second bombing.

To be honest, from a professional perspective, the second round was a complete waste of ammunition, which led the Air Force Commander Ibrahim to immediately cancel the third round of bombing that had been originally planned.

After learning from this, the second round of bombing on the second day was also canceled, and the Air Force Command changed all subsequent bombing plans to once a day.

The Air Force, too, was short on ammunition; it was not as if they could have as many bombs as they wanted. To go to the battlefield and recklessly throw valuable bombs was nothing short of a crime.

It should be noted that launching planes in itself consumed a lot of precious aviation fuel, adding to the drop of bombs, which also put considerable pressure on logistics. To ensure a sufficient reserve of ammunition and fuel, Ibrahim ultimately reduced the number of bombings.

“Can you estimate the losses of the Qi Country troops?” Tang Mo asked the liaison officer.

He was growing increasingly displeased with the people from the Shenguo, as the photos urgently sent back to Anpu from the front lines visually displayed the Shenguo people’s cruelty and barbarism.

These images stirred some unpleasant memories buried deep in Tang Mo’s heart, where, in his subconscious, the act of killing was only rational when carried out by forces approved by him.

There was no helping it, he wasn’t a good person, nor was he ever reasonable. He did not abhor killing itself; he only detested that it wasn’t the beloved country of his doing the killing.

“We have no way of estimating, we can only speculate. According to casualty probability, there should be at least 2,000 Shenguo soldiers dead,” the liaison officer replied.

In fact, Tang Mo asking this question was somewhat difficult, as it was generally hard for the Air Force to tally the precise number of enemy deaths.

If it were just about calculating the destruction of heavy weapons, including vehicles and other targets, it was actually possible with devices like photographic guns to tally them.

But to calculate the number of infantry casualties, it couldn’t be done through pilots’ descriptions and limited photos alone.

And what’s more, with the artillery troops continuing to fire after the planes left, how could one count which people died from bombing and which from artillery fire?

“Bernard’s fleet has assembled and is en route to Dongwan… They will resupply upon arrival at Dongwan, with an estimated rest period of three days,” the Navy liaison officer began to report on the movements of the Navy fleet.

This war was supposed to be an opportunity for the Navy to play a role, where they could have directly cut off Shenguo’s interference and ended the war more quickly.

However, their late arrival due to transport missions allowed Shenguo to seize the opportunity, complicating the war.

Nevertheless, Tang Mo wasn’t dissatisfied with this because, compared to preventing Shenguo troops from intervening in Beiyuan City, retrieving scattered personnel from around the world and bringing them back to Dragon Island was clearly more important.

“Tell them not to rush! Let them rest at Dongwan for five days!” Tang Mo delayed the Navy’s northbound time, “Order Bernard, including himself, to rest well! Inspect the warships, replenish supplies and fuel… In short, be fully prepared before heading to Linshui,” he commanded.

Tang Mo didn’t want his fleet to rush into battle after a long voyage and suffer an embarrassment like the Sharussian fleet, who hurried a thousand miles only to deliver their heads on a platter.

He needed the fleet to maintain its optimal state, to ensure absolute superiority over the Shenguo fleet! He wanted to resolve the threat from the north of the Endless Sea once and for all and control the regional sea power.

Because he understood the profound impact this naval battle would have; as long as the Shenguo Navy was defeated, he could spend the next several years without restraint, facing the challenges from the Dahua Empire with the sea at his back.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The Navy liaison officer promptly responded and then turned to convey Tang Mo’s decree.

Tang Mo then turned his attention to the Air Force liaison officer beside him and ordered, “Instruct Ibrahim to maintain bombing on the outskirts of Beiyuan City!”

After issuing the order, he looked towards Luff, “Have the artillery troops continue shelling the Shenguo positions! Use up all the 130mm caliber and 200mm caliber shells from the Qi Country’s stockpile!”

He had no intention of allowing ground troops to attack, even harboring a bit of a wish to attract more Shenguo troops and annihilate them at the foot of Beiyuan City.

According to Tang Mo’s thinking, it would be a waste just to destroy 60,000 to 70,000 Shenguo troops near Beiyuan City. If possible, he wanted to wipe out more than 150,000 Goblins or at least capture around 100,000.

He needed these slaves to build more railways and roads, and to mine and process minerals without regard for their own lives.

In short, he needed cheap labor that could work overtime, didn’t require payment, and whose abuse while laboring would go unnoticed by others!

While the Great Tang Kingdom was now powerful, it was not entirely perfect. Tang Mo knew he had many constructions that needed time and manpower to complete, so he hoped this war could provide him with at least an additional 200,000 slaves.

He had already secured 100,000 prisoners from Qi Country, and for the remaining 100,000, he hoped to fill that with Goblins from Shenguo, as he had already used Goblin slaves on Dongwan Island, without any additional guilt. They naturally submitted to hardship, endured labor, and had a strong work ethic, which made them very comfortable to use.

Considering these factors, it seems the people from that country really were fit to be slaves. They were meticulous and orderly, often producing industry experts; if overworked or if they erred, they would take a slap and immediately bow apologetically… Truly the conscience of the industry! It must be said, such intensely diligent slaves are rare these days.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Luff noted Tang Mo’s orders, also feeling that instead of spending resources and effort to remelt the shoddy weapons and equipment from Qi Country, it would be more convenient and simpler to use them directly.

There was no choice, despite the Tang Army’s more advanced weaponry, the long transport distances meant that the logistics troops couldn’t promptly deliver sufficient ammunition to the front lines where it was needed.

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