Munitions Empire

As a large-scale military exercise that yielded numerous results, the Dongwan Island landing exercise was studied and discussed by the entire army.

Despite being classified, to ensure all troops learned from that exercise, cadre at the division level in various corps were briefed on the landing exercise details during their discussion and study meetings.

To ensure the marine corps could secure a foothold on the beachhead, the Great Tang Empire developed many pieces of equipment to provide technical support for the landing.

For instance, the Great Tang Empire constructed tank landing ships: theoretically capable of delivering tanks directly onto the beachhead, the Great Tang Empire equipped dozens of these valuable vessels.

However, the Navy Marine Corps of the Great Tang Empire was equipped with Type 4 tanks, which, at this point in time, were no longer considered advanced.

There was no choice, for cross-sea landing, logistics supports and other aspects must be considered. The Panther Tank was not suitable, and the Type 59 Tank was in short supply for the army itself; thus, the Navy Marine Corps had to make do with the outdated Type 4 tanks.

Throughout the exercise, the lack of experience of the Great Tang Empire's Navy Marine Corps was glaringly exposed. Many blunders occurred, which is why it was used as a case study for discussion by the entire army.

Recalling the discussions during previous meetings, an officer shook his head and sighed, "Half of the 1st Marine Division was blocked on the beach, and it took them about 3 hours just to get the first batch of heavy weaponry ashore. Had they been attacking an enemy's heavily fortified coastline, they might have lost half their men."

"Whether the losses were heavy is a minor issue, the real danger would be if the enemy mounted a counterattack, our troops might well have been driven back into the sea," pointed out a staff member freshly returned from the Imperial Staff Department in Chang'an.

The officer who had been reviewing documents beside them put down his paperwork and joined the conversation, "The paratroopers were a complete mess too; in their last war, which was with the Dahua Empire, they didn't see action and were just training in the rear. Lots of rookies, and their numbers had expanded to five times their original size. The exercise was quite chaotic."

He paused, then continued, "Two airborne divisions took part in the exercise, and after parachuting, one-third of them got lost. Soldiers who landed couldn't find their officers; officers couldn't find their soldiers. You wouldn't believe it, but there were four fractures upon landing and eighteen lost their rifles. The commanders in the exercise headquarters from the Air Force were livid. It was a total embarrassment."

This news was something he had only heard from a friend the day before, and the specifics weren't widely publicized, so many people were unaware.

Indeed, as soon as they heard about the broken bones and lost rifles, many laughed, "Hahaha! Is that for real?"

In the military, entertainment is rare, and everyone seemed delighted to hear about the mishaps of friendly forces. There was a certain Schadenfreude mixed with a little joy akin to seeing a classmate fail a test.

That officer immediately responded, "Of course, it's true. But luckily, the troops that managed to land reacted quickly and completed about half of the exercise missions, salvaging some dignity for the paratrooper corps."

Suddenly, someone posed a sharp question, "Hey? With all this parachuting and landing, isn't His Majesty thinking of reclaiming the Eastern Continent?"

Many from Brunas and Northern Ridge had always harbored the idea of returning to the Eastern Continent. Although they seldom spoke of it, the desire remained.

People in this world value the concept of 'fallen leaves return to the roots,' otherwise Li'ao wouldn't have asked Tang Mo to bring his ashes back to the Western Continent.

Thus, those who had migrated from Northern Ridge and Brunas surely hoped that one day the Great Tang Empire could reclaim the Eastern Continent.

The person who asked the question was an old staff officer who had participated in the battle of Dongwan Island. His experience showed that he likely lived through the Brunas Era and wanted to return.

Each time such an issue arose, or when they saw such hope, these old-timers would invariably ask persistently, filled with longing.

But soon someone threw cold water on it, "It's unlikely. The General Staff has calculated that if we want to launch a landing operation on the Eastern Continent, we need to double our current fleet size and need about ten times more transport ships to possibly accomplish the landing operation."

Immediately, others nodded agreement, those who could analyze so rationally were likely of the so-called native faction, those with black eyes and black hair of the Hua Clan.

They were less interested in returning to the Eastern Continent and more keen on westward expansion to annex the Dahua Empire and subsequently take down Qin Country and Shu Country. They felt that cross-sea operations were fraught with numerous difficulties and should not be ventured rashly.

So, someone spoke up, reminding, "Right, by then backed by the Endless Sea, just getting additional munitions and weapons ashore wouldn't be easy."

These difficulties truly exist and were even understated: the real complexity and difficulty of long-distance cross-sea operations are only higher than what they described.

The first wave of landing troops can succeed ashore due to surprise and concealment, but if subsequent troops cannot be replenished in time, even elite troops could only be driven back into the sea.

Having too few troops is definitely not feasible, relying on tens of thousands of people to oppose hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of enemy troops with their backs to the sea is unrealistic, especially when they cannot replenish their ammunition.

Although they are reluctant to admit it, the old staff officers had no choice but to acknowledge that these young people were right. Crossing the Endless Sea to fight back is not realistic, at least not for now.

Thus, with a bit of despondency, he didn't know whom he was asking: "Then what exactly is our landing exercise for?"

The staff officer who went to the meeting was quite sensitive: "On one hand, it is to prepare for landing on the Eastern Continent, testing some data; on the other hand, it might be that His Majesty has some plans regarding Mirage Country."

Upon hearing this, someone immediately felt it made sense: "Don't just say it, it's really possible. The distance from Mirage Country to Beiyuan City is much closer than crossing the Endless Sea. Besides, don't we have an agreement with the Orcs?"

Another person agreed with his analysis: "Makes sense, taking down several islands of Mirage Country is very possible. This way, we can appease the Orcs."

The Tang Empire has always coveted the islands of Mirage Country, on one hand, because the Tang Empire genuinely needs these islands as stepping stones to shorten the actual distance to the Eastern Continent.

If setting off from Dragon Island to Brunas is considered a distance of 2, then from Mirage Country to Eternal Winter Port is almost only 1! This indeed will bring the Tang Empire closer to the Eastern Continent, or at least closer to the Ice Cold Empire!

Moreover, Tang Mo has always been considering handing over one of Mirage Country's islands to the Orcs as a form of appeasement and gratitude. Therefore, the Tang Empire will inevitably wage a war to conquer Mirage Country.

This war is bound to come sooner or later; it's not surprising no matter when it happens, so many officers are looking forward to this war: for them, it will be another feast of dividing military exploits.

However, now may not be the time. In any case, it should wait until after the grand wedding of the Emperor of the Tang Empire, as this joyous event is a symbol of the unbreakable alliance between the Qin Country and the Tang Empire!

Qin Country hopes to consolidate its relationship with the Tang Empire through such a wedding, while as much as possible acting like a tiger backed by a fox, fishing for benefits they wouldn't even dare to contemplate normally.

The Tang Empire hopes to rally the people through such a wedding, allowing the Emperor of the Tang Empire to further enhance his influence over the Western Continent, becoming a ruler recognized by the commoners.

As the officers and staff in the headquarters of the 9th Group Army discussed the possibility of attacking Mirage Country, the future Imperial Concubine of the Tang Empire—Ying Yue, was selecting the jewelry she would wear on her wedding day.

To be frank, she really didn't expect the Tang Empire to be so luxurious: in the history books she had read since childhood, it had always emphasized the virtues of diligence and frugality of rulers, and she had never seen such unabashed luxury in a monarch before.

In the Tang Empire, it seems luxury is not a sin, but rather a matter of course: to meet everyone's expectations for this wedding, the Tang Empire spent at least 20 million Gold Coins.

Apart from the wedding itself, just the sapphire necklace, ring, and the headwear for the gown that Ying Yue will wear on the day are worth over 3 million Gold Coins!

Upon seeing these jewels, Ying Yue even became frightened: she didn't know whether this was a test, with the Emperor testing whether she was a vain woman or not.

She had never seen such beautiful jewelry and dresses before, and only now did she understand what a princess dream was, and what kind of facade royalty should have.

What scared her was that, even so, she still had choices! Yes, the jewelry sent to her was not just one set, and there were many backup options for the gown! This means that such expensive treasures are countless in the Tang Empire...

In reality, the situation is not as exaggerated as Ying Yue imagined, she didn't know that these jewels were provided by a jewelry company under the Great Tang Group, and the cost was nowhere near as high as she guessed.

But few women could stay rational in front of a two-liang weight gemstone necklace, so Ying Yue fell for it too. Now all she could think about was one thing: perhaps the Emperor really liked her. It's normal because she couldn't imagine how wealthy Tang Mo really was.

Once this thought appeared, it didn't go away anymore, and Ying Yue suddenly had a bit of a small woman's sense of happiness. She devoted herself to preparing for her wedding, fantasizing about what kind of expression Tang Mo would have when he sees her most beautiful moment.

That might, indeed, be an interesting event.