Munitions Empire

To be frank, Zhao Kai still hoped to cause some trouble for General Feng Kezhi, aiming to strip the Great General of some of his power.

However, if it meant trading the southern oil fields and the vast territories in the southeast just for an opportunity to undermine the authority of the Great General, Zhao Kai wasn't willing to do so.

The price was simply too steep.

So, he exhaled, adjusted his mood, and said, "Leave the affairs of the southeast to Zhao Chen…"

He paused, then continued, "As for you, Great General… I ask that you redeem yourself through meritorious deeds and rescue General Qian Jinhang!"

"Your servant obeys the command! I shall do my utmost to rescue Qian Jinhang… and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command!" General Feng Kezhi bowed his head in obedience. He certainly knew that Zhao Kai was not really concerned about Qian Jinhang but rather about the perimeter of Xicong, those hundreds of thousands of soldiers of his Dahua Empire!

Only by bringing these hundreds of thousands of soldiers back to the Empire could Dahua continue the fight! After all, they couldn't afford to lose!

From Dahua Empire's perspective, the southern oil fields that were supposedly blown sky-high were actually safe and sound. However, this piece of news was also received quite late by the Tang Country side.

Redman, who had taken South Wind Pass, was still focusing his attention in the direction of Li Family Village where the main force of the Tang Army was tightening the encirclement, preparing to surround Dahua's troops under the walls of Xicong.

Qian Jinhang, who had just received the news that South Wind Pass had fallen, was utterly shocked. This news essentially negated almost all of his previous judgments.

The strength of the Tang Army at South Wind Pass had been reinforced, and the Tang Country troops that crushed the reinforcing troops at South Wind Pass were now standing firm with the support of South Wind Pass and Li Family Village.

And Qian Jinhang's previous estimate that he could rally a hundred thousand defeated troops was also wrong. He had wasted two days and had only managed to gather tens of thousands of troops.

Yet his capital was still substantial; the Dahua troops near Xicong still controlled over 600,000 soldiers and a vast area.

But to Qian Jinhang's despair, his chances of a breakout were almost nonexistent now: the previous thinnest side of the encirclement at South Wind Pass had become extremely solid, and it was impossible to break through in this direction.

He knew, deep in Xicong as he was, that he couldn't even take Xicong, let alone turn back and capture South Wind Pass.

So Qian Jinhang kept the loss of South Wind Pass a secret, soothing his subordinates as best he could, telling them he would act immediately upon receiving orders to break out, leading the troops towards South Wind Pass.

For the sake of his own lie, he even began to actually assemble troops, reallocating the Armored Corps that had initially been prepared to strike at Four Waters City of the Tang Country to the direction of Li Family Village.

But in fact, he had already received a do-or-die order from General Feng Kezhi, commanding him to break out towards South Wind Pass at all costs and retake it.

General Feng Kezhi's order actually had two purposes: one was indeed to get Qian Jinhang to break out, as there were no Dahua forces nearby that could rescue him.

The other was actually to sacrifice Qian Jinhang, using his breakout to draw the attention of the Tang Army, buying Prince Zhao Chen more time to strengthen the Hidden Sword Gorge defense line.

This was definitely a kill-two-birds-with-one-stone tactic. The only problem was whether Qian Jinhang had the capacity to break out, or how long he could last in Xicong.

Qian Jinhang wasn't prepared to follow General Feng Kezhi's orders because his forces couldn't sustain combat in the open field. The reality was if he stayed put in Xicong, perhaps he could last another ten days or so; if he left Xicong for Li Family Village, he would likely completely collapse on the way.

To the north was the fortified defense line of the Tang Army without any significant strategic positions, and hundreds of thousands of troops simply couldn't move in that direction.

Heading south was out of the question; that was the border with Chu Country, and the myriad mountains stretched far and wide. Out of those six hundred thousand men, it would be decent if even twenty thousand made it to Chu Country and found civilization.

Moreover, if he did escape with a few tens of thousands to Chu Country, with all the artillery and tanks lost, not to mention the ammunition and fuel… how could he return to Dahua?

After receiving the order from General Feng Kezhi, Qian Jinhang was aware that the breakout command included dual intentions, insisting he must fight! Regardless of how he fought, he had to draw the attention of the Tang Army.

Therefore, fleeing to Chu Country was not an option; if the Dahua forces took to the mountains, the Tang Army would only need to deploy some troops to ensure that Qian Jinhang's forces couldn't turn back.

Then, at least two hundred thousand Tang soldiers would press towards Hidden Sword Gorge, threatening Sword Pavilion… and the situation of the Dahua Empire would truly be precarious.

If South Wind Pass was lost and then Sword Pavilion went too, the Dahua Empire would lose everything, inside and out. At that point, what remained, whether for General Feng Kezhi or Zhao Kai, was a thought too frightening to entertain.

Qian Jinhang understood General Feng Kezhi, or perhaps he had long seen through Zhao Kai. In this situation, he had no other choice but to hold on as long as possible; this was what he could do and must do.

Therefore, he secretly sent a telegram to General Feng Kezhi, informing the Great General of the Empire of the situation he faced: "Breaking through is impossible for me, holding firm in Xicong might allow us to hold on for a few more days."

After seeing this reply, General Feng Kezhi was somewhat moved. It was only then he realized that it was Qian Jinhang, whether Han Zhiyuan or Ding Hong, who truly understood him.

But now there was no way to safely bring Qian Jinhang back, so General Feng Kezhi resolutely sent a telegram to Qian Jinhang, ordering him to defend Xicong and fight to the last moment.

At the same time, General Feng Kezhi once again visited the Imperial Palace and met with Emperor Zhao Kai, seeking a higher military rank for Qian Jinhang, adding the word 'Great' before the title of General.

Yes, Qian Jinhang too had become a Great General, albeit a second-grade Great General, a rank still inferior to General Feng Kezhi's as a Great General of the Empire.

This title was already quite awe-inspiring within the Dahua Empire, for in the past decades, the Dahua Empire had not seen a second "Great General."

Thus, just like the real Paulus surrounded by enemy forces, this other-world version of Paulus got promoted, possessing somewhat an air of supreme ministerial authority.

Magic began to unfold as, under the clear awareness of almost everyone, General Feng Kezhi sent a new telegram ordering Qian Jinhang to hold his ground in Xicong, not to retreat a single step.

Emperor Zhao Kai extensively praised Qian Jinhang's loyalty and patriotism in the imperial court, hoping Qian Jinhang could hold his position in Xicong to draw the main forces of the Tang Army.

Shen Chuan announced that the Dahua Empire had newly recruited one million soldiers, joining forces with troops from Qi Country and Chu Country, preparing to retake the South Wind Pass, and to fight a decisive battle to the death against the Tang Army!

A series of promotions and pledges, a series of real and fake guarantees, somewhat calmed the morale of the Dahua Troops near Xicong; for the time being, no officers were clamoring to break through anymore.

However, difficulties don't just disappear if you ignore them. As Qian Jinhang endeavored to maintain the status quo and began to reinforce the defenses near Xicong, his supplies were visibly dwindling.

After all, they numbered 600,000 people! They needed to eat every day, they had to fight every day, and it would be a real wonder if their stockpile of supplies did not diminish.

Soon, the Dahua Military was no longer daring to waste its ammunition lightly: some minor operations were no longer permitted, and many positions were strategically abandoned.

After all, every artillery shell fired was one less, and every shot was one bullet less; who would dare to waste resources in these circumstances? So, they had to retreat to save supplies.

For Qian Jinhang, giving up some defensive positions wasn't entirely without benefit; at least it made the distribution of supplies and the coordination of troops more convenient, and it saved some waste on transit.

But everyone noticed that they were getting further and further from South Wind Pass—the Dahua Armored Corps, which had been sent towards Li Family Village, retreated over thirty kilometers after being squeezed by the Tang Army's Armored Corps.

This retreat led to another realization: the fuel in their possession was also being consumed incessantly. Tanks used it, automobiles used it, soldiers still needed it for warmth.

The headquarters of various divisions needed lighting, especially for troops camped in the field; officers also needed to burn some fuel for warmth and to dry out, and furthermore, to maintain communication, they needed to generate electricity.

Therefore, as time went on, every unit began to experience a shortage of fuel. Many vehicles and tanks were abandoned, which in turn caused the combat efficiency of the Dahua Military to plummet drastically.

Food was the fastest to go; although the Tang Army was squeezing the encircled Dahua Troops, they deliberately did not annihilate the Dahua Troops within the encirclement on a large scale.

As a result, the numerous Dahua Military did not lose soldiers, so the daily consumption of food was enormous.

Qian Jinhang could cut down on ammunition usage, he could save on fuel expenses, but what he couldn't do was make his soldiers eat less.

The Dahua soldiers crowded on an increasingly smaller area did not care about the thoughts of those above; two meals a day were essential for them.

That was already the bottom line: under normal circumstances, troops should be ensured three meals a day to maintain better physical strength and combat effectiveness. However, since not many countries in this world could ensure enough food for everyone, most countries' basic military enlistment promise was two meals a day, not like the Tang Army's three meals a day.

But if they couldn't be full even with two meals a day, then the troops from these countries wouldn't just lose combat effectiveness – they would mutiny, they would collapse and scream, they would drag their own officers out and beat them to death.

This was not without precedent; in earlier years, the Dahua Empire's own troops had experienced similar events, and among the militaries of weaker states like Chu Country and Zheng Country, such incidents were even more numerous.

In the end, with no other option left, Qian Jinhang could only let some troops attack Xicong, hoping to find some food in the city to supplement his nearly depleted military rations.

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The make-up for yesterday's leave is hereby presented.