Munitions Empire

The sound of the tank engine shattered the tranquility of the village, its rolling tracks breaking through the fence, and the slender gun barrel being the first to emerge from the bushes, followed by the most striking feature of the Panther Tank—the sloped armor. Liu Guozhu stuck his head out, holding binoculars to observe the low-lying fields in the distance, where on the ridges, some ammunition boxes that had not been carried away were still piled up. This area had clearly been occupied by Dahua military forces, but they must have discovered the approach of the Tang Army and then fled in panic. The village civilians hadn't had time to escape yet. They watched the tanks, almost larger than their homes, rumble past their doorways, shaking off clumps of mud from the walls. "113 calling 115! 113 calling 115! It's safe here! No Dahua troops!" Liu Guozhu held the transmitter and informed the friendly tank moving in alongside him. The commander of the other tank responded with a tease, "115 heard! 115 heard! I see it too! They've left quite a bit of stuff on my side." On the other side of the village, tank 115 stopped beside a pile of household goods abandoned by the Dahua military, appearing almost as if it was standing guard over the junk. Because there was no time to take it away, a 100-mm caliber howitzer had been abandoned there, with a few ammunition boxes beside it, empty of shells but surrounded by scattered cartridge cases. In previous engagements, Dahua artillery units obviously had fired on the Tang Army from this position, although Liu Guozhu and his men had not come under shell attack; heaven knows where the Dahua troops had actually aimed their guns. Next to the cannon lay a cart with broken wheels, with its reins messily draped over the shafts, clearly the main reason the Dahua military had abandoned the artillery piece. "Do you see the hillock to the south? And that patch of woods! I would bet Dahua troops retreated in that direction," Liu Guozhu, assured after surveying the terrain around, said to the commander of tank 115. "Let me check! A house is blocking my view! Wait a second! Okay, I see it... Judging by the terrain, they could indeed have retreated there," agreed the commander of tank 115 with Liu Guozhu's assessment. Clearly, after suffering several defeats during their retreat, the enemy did not take the main roads, as the Tang Army's Lion-type armored reconnaissance vehicles had been searching along them for Dahua's main forces. Had the enemy retreated along the highways, they would have been spotted and overtaken by the more mobile Tang Army and annihilated. So after being routed several times, they abandoned the idea of retreating along the highways: they had suffered heavy losses in a few battles for villages west of Wangchun City and were subsequently surrounded by the attacking Tang Army, making survival a near impossibility. Quickly, two large encirclements formed, and the slower Dahua troops became the prisoners of the Tang Army. About 100,000 were encircled by the Tang forces, and these hastily gathered, nearly supply-less troops surrendered. After again suffering heavy losses, the surrounding Dahua commanders finally realized that their plan to counterattack Wangchun City might have been a bit too optimistic, so they quickly began to retreat. The battle had been ongoing, though previously the Dahua forces were on the offensive, while the Tang Army had laid a trap and were waiting at their leisure. Now the situation was reversed, with Dahua troops east of Hidden Sword Gorge retreating, while the not-so-numerous Tang Army was advancing. In such a context, Redman reported the situation encountered, and Tang Mo and Luff, far away in Chang'an of Tang Country, swiftly seized the opportunity: they clearly realized that east of Hidden Sword Gorge, there seemed to be no substantial Dahua forces! Therefore, the original plan to sever the Dahua military's supply lines near Xicong was immediately revised to the much vaguer: "Seek out and engage the enemy east of Hidden Sword Gorge." Redman, having received the order, immediately utilized the advantages of his Air Force and Armored Corps. In the relatively flat terrains east of Hidden Sword Gorge, his strategy was to attack haphazardly, consuming as many unorganized Dahua troops as possible. Thus, when the mission was distributed to the troops, the command everyone received was simply, "Maintain the offensive!" "Let's go and see! If Dahua troops are hiding there, two tanks rolling over will be enough to wipe them out," Liu Guozhu put down his binoculars and continued to suggest to the commander of tank 115. The commander of tank 115 did not reject the idea. In truth, over the past few days, he had come to understand just how powerful his tank really was. Even if there was a whole Dahua infantry battalion on the other side, the two tanks would face no danger. Still, he offered his opinion, "Just drive the tanks over, no matter whether there's Dahua military there or not, the view is better on that side." "Alright! Keep formation! Avoid the main road, they might have planted mines," Liu Guozhu reminded, then gave an order to his driver, "The hillock on the left! Head over there! We'll take the lead! Tank 115, follow us!" "Roger that!" The operator immediately responded to Liu Guozhu's command, piloting the tank to adjust its direction slightly, callously breaking through a small tree, and heading for the hillock. Next to the tank, a child from a Dahua village, bare-bottomed, wiped his nose and waited, his large eyes fixed on the huge tank as it rumbled away. It was only then that the woman hiding in the house realized her child had not followed her inside. She rushed out frantically, and in the dissipating exhaust of the tank, she scooped up her son and dragged him into the house, where she began spanking the child fiercely. Because the advance was so rapid, Liu Guozhu and his two tanks were not even followed by any grenadiers. The two tanks charged up the slope one after the other, and then Liu Guozhu and the commander of tank number 115 were stunned. Before them lay chaos—a hundred or so white tents, Dahua tanks parked around the tents, and some trucks as well. They also saw craters on the ground, overturned tables tossed aside, and all sorts of other random mess. There were soldiers' clothes, backpacks, some stretchers, and the bodies of soldiers scattered on the ground. Clearly, the Dahua troops stationed here had completed their assembly, likely comprising an infantry battalion and seven or eight tanks. It was very possible they were the same troops that had abandoned the village, only to be hit by an aerial assault from the Great Tang Air Force while they were encamped. Next to the craters lay fallen military horses that had no saddles on their backs. This suggested that the Dahua troops hadn't been prepared for battle. They were suddenly attacked and scattered in all directions. In the end, their commander—if he had survived the air raid—had given up the camp, taking whatever troops remained and leaving behind a scene of utter devastation. "We were just a step too late, otherwise there would have been a bloody battle," the commander of tank number 115 lamented as he looked over the ruined camp. "Yes, if they'd learned to camouflage against air attacks, they might have held out until we got here," Liu Guozhu agreed, nodding as he surveyed the grim battlefield. This was merely his reflection; in reality, his words meant little. While the Dahua Empire might have some anti-air camouflage for their permanent fortifications, moving troops simply had no concept of air defense. Their military supplies had largely started to be replaced en masse only over the past two years, so they hadn't adapted to the current battlefield environment. Their tents were still primarily white, and they used many black horse-drawn carriages. Compared with the Great Tang troops, who had almost entirely adopted camouflage, the difference was night and day. A somewhat dispirited Liu Guozhu ordered a retreat to find a spot with taller grass to conceal themselves. Tank number 115 did the same, selecting a position to leave the direction they anticipated the enemy might attack from open. Clearly, if there were any nearby enemies, they would likely be in the forest. However, Liu Guozhu and his men were not keen on entering the woods to court trouble. Since the enemy had already been spooked by the air raid, it was unlikely they could organize a counterattack soon. A smarter move was to wait for the reconnaissance troops who had taken a roundabout route to bring back information before taking action. Soon, the company arrived in the village behind them, and the communication trucks and supply vehicles also made it. The supply personnel accompanying the convoy bustled about, unloading fuel drums from the trucks and ensuring that each tank was filled with diesel as much as possible. The air was thick with the peculiar smell of diesel, forcing anyone who wanted to smoke to leave the village and head farther out to light up. Liu Guozhu leaned against his tank, fished out a melted piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped the sticky wrapper, and stuffed the misshapen lump into his mouth. A wave of sweetness instantly filled his mouth. Although the sugar distributed by the military wasn't very pure, the taste was indeed stimulating and refreshing to a young person. It had been two days since they left the chaotic village they had fought over. In these two days, they had been advancing westward, without even digging a single trench. The Tang Army had unexpectedly adopted an offensive stance on this defensive front, a move that truly surprised everyone. It wasn't just the Dahua side that was caught off guard, even the Tang Army hadn't expected this. Liu Guozhu's tank battalion was advancing westward, already pushing nearly 70 kilometers ahead of the main defense line! This was a significant bulge in the line, too large to be ignored: even the Tang Army themselves felt the achievements they'd made were a bit too great. "What are the orders from above? Do we continue to push forward?" the commander of tank number 115 asked as he approached Liu Guozhu, with an unlit cigarette dangling from his mouth.