Munitions Empire

In the Imperial Capital of Kangrao of the Shu Country, Liu Jing looked at the intelligence report sent by his subordinate generals. However, his mind was occupied by thoughts of a woman so beautiful that she stirred the heart of an old man like himself.

Upon hearing that the Emperor of Tang Country was about to marry the breathtakingly beautiful Princess Ying Yue of Qin Country, Liu Jing felt even more uneasy.

He had once laid eyes on Princess Ying Yue of Qin Country when she was just 18 years old, already blossoming like a celestial fairy.

What a pity... He sighed inwardly, then forced his thoughts back to reality and looked at the photographs that had made their way to Shu Country.

The photos were taken from an aerial perspective; it was impossible to tell the exact altitude, but some objects in the photos were quite blurry, seemingly having been magnified and re-drawn.

Clearly depicted was a stretch of railway track extending from one edge of the photo to the other. There were train carriages on the track, and from the bird's-eye view, these could be distinctly identified.

One particular carriage was quite long, with something that resembled a large cylindrical object on top. These carriages were ringed and marked with annotations.

The first carriage was a troop transport, the second was also for troops, and the third was clearly a flatbed carriage with a twin-mounted 76mm caliber anti-aircraft gun installed.

Behind the anti-aircraft gun was the carriage carrying the large steel barrel, beside which was noted: Qin Country's replica of the Laines Empire's 400mm caliber railway cannon.

Following the railway cannon were a crane carriage and an ammunition carriage. Further back was another anti-aircraft gun flatbed. These were also all marked out very specifically.

"Mr. Speaker, according to the intelligence sold to us by the Tang People, the Qin Country is transporting such heavy artillery to the front line near Shu Mountain. We must think of something; otherwise, things will get even worse," the intelligence officer reported to Liu Jing.

Although Liu Jing had secured himself a safety net by forming an alliance with that woman, Sofia, he still was not willing to easily give up Shu Country—this was one of his bargaining chips.

Therefore, he stayed a staunch resister, even though he knew that resisting Qin Country meant buying time for Tang Country—he had to hang on.

"Haven't we also bought heavy 350mm caliber railway cannons from the Poplar Empire? Bring them out and bombard the Qin Army!" Liu Jing recalled a previous weapons transaction that he had authorized and spoke immediately.

The reason he remembered this detail was that previous arms purchases were mostly dealt with by the Great Tang Group or the Shireck Consortium. But the expenditure for those railway cannons went to the Poplar Empire, which left a strong impression on him.

After all, Shu Country's economic state was much better than that of Qin Country, so Shu Country was more willing to spend on weapons: they purchased 30 of the 350mm caliber heavy cannons from the Poplar Empire in one go, with great generosity.

These railway cannons were deployed across Shu Country, and several had already been involved in the defense against Qin Country, leaving a very strong impression on the Qin Troops.

Now, since Qin Country was preparing a surprise for Shu Country, Shu Country would definitely have a shock in store for Qin Country in return.

"The frontline generals are also assembling our railway cannons, but due to the terrain, they can only be used near the Shu Pass where the railway is present," the intelligence officer explained the heavy artillery deployment situation of both sides to Liu Jing.

Unlike the highly developed railways within the Great Tang Empire, there are many mountains in the vicinity, and only near the strategic Shu Pass are there tracks laid. To put it another way, it's the only place feasible for laying railway tracks.

Therefore, both Qin Country's railway cannons and Shu Country's railway cannons can only be deployed near the Shu Pass.

At that time, it will be a standoff, and both sides can only exchange fire here to see who is the stronger.

Glancing at the photos from Tang Country, Liu Jing couldn't help but once again scorn Tang Mo's character. He had barely won the beautiful maiden only to betray her homeland right afterward—truly heartless.

From the perspective of the Great Tang Empire, acting in such a way is undoubtedly most advantageous to themselves. For Shu Country to remain mired in conflict with Qin Country, it certainly benefits the scheming of the Great Tang Empire within the civil turmoil of the Dahua Empire.

With this in mind, Liu Jing began to consider whether it was feasible to use these photos to sow discord between Qin Country and the Great Tang Empire.

However, he quickly dismissed the idea: joking aside, on one hand, the Great Tang Empire would not be afraid of such a trivial ploy; on the other hand, if Shu Country angered Tang Country, it could make the situation even more difficult for him.

Forget it; at the very worst, he still had intelligence support from Tang Country and could smuggle in various materials and machinery from Chu Country that originated in the Great Tang Empire. If Tang Mo became enraged and cut off the supplies, wouldn't Shu Country face the possibility of annihilation?

He sighed and instructed the front line to intensify preparations, not to be frightened by Qin Country's heavy artillery. They must hold their positions and prevent the Qin people from crossing the Shu Mountain defense line.

After the routine meeting concluded, Liu Jing returned to his office, exhausted. He then stuffed a document into a file bag and handed it over to a trusted aide to deliver to the contact point Sofia had left him.

...

Wanliang is a city, as well as a region. In the past, the ancestors of the Dahua Empire fought their way out of Sword Pavilion all the way here. Seeing the fertile lands stretching for miles, they renamed this place Wanliang, hoping it would produce an endless supply of food.

The fertile land of Wanliang lived up to expectations and still remains one of the main grain-producing areas of the Dahua Empire, surrounded by farmland.

Unfortunately, the civil war within the Dahua Empire has spread to this region. Luo Xiao, a young General of the Great Tang Empire assigned to command and advise in Fengjiang Military, launched an attack against the Dahua military in this direction.

Previously in charge of supervising the war efforts here was Crown Prince Zhao Ji of the Dahua Empire. However, after the missile strike on the city wounded Zhao Kai, Zhao Ji, this Crown Prince of Dahua, rushed back to the Imperial Capital like the wind to exercise his right of succession.

As a result, he was detained in the Imperial Capital for reflection, with no freedom of movement to this day, and could only ponder his errors within the Prince's Mansion in the Imperial Capital.

But war is no child's play, and the Wanliang region's Dahua army, having lost its linchpin, was defeated again and again. What was once fertile farmland was turned into a devastated area riddled with calamity.

Countless grains were wasted in the summer warfare. Fields that had promised good harvests became the battlefields of machine gun crossfire, and once good embankments were now littered with the wreckage of destroyed tanks.

The local civilians were driven to madness. Already oppressed within the territory of the Dahua Empire, they now saw their means of livelihood vanish. How could they possibly remain rational?

Additionally, many had been relying on the exports of grain from Fengjiang. They were supporters of Prince Zhao Yu, favoring Tang affiliations, so the morale of the military near Wanliang was noticeably unstable and no longer a secret.

"General, whomsoever you follow, Zhao Yu is also of the Royal Family and someone you serve. Why persist in your obstinacy?" asked a persuader with a smile, posing a challenging question to the commanding General of Dahua's 200,000-strong forces in the region near Wanliang.

"If you stand on the side of justice now, with the war near Wanliang extinguished, how many people will be grateful for your merit? When His Highness Zhao Yu returns to the Imperial Capital, you'll surely be among the celebrated contributors!" Seeing some hesitation from the other party, the persuader continued to urge.

"All you say are fine words, but if things don't work out, I could lose my head," the General was wavering, but still wanted to sell his bargaining chip at a good price.

"That's not a problem at all, General. To tell you the truth, if you agree now, you can immediately take a 5 million check and live the good life in the Great Tang Empire. His Highness Zhao Yu said not to worry about your family and children; if worst comes to worst, he can arrange for a beautiful new wife for you!" the persuader said generously.

The General was clearly tempted. He already felt that he could no longer control his troops. Prince Zhao Yu's influence was indeed significant in many places.

Now, if he surrenders and hands over Wanliang City to Fengjiang Military, he would be in an invincible position: he could choose an excellent position in Zhao Yu's court in the future, or he could go to the Great Tang Empire and enjoy a life of luxury.

The only downside was that his family was detained in the Imperial Capital, and their rescue was indeed risky: even the intelligence officers of the Great Tang Empire could not repeatedly extract people from Dahua's Imperial Capital without limit.

They had already done so twice, and the Dahua side had become alert. It seemed unlikely that they could repeat the feat of rescuing Zhao Yu's entire family like they had for Zhao Zheng.

But some people don't care much about family—some have long wanted to replace their nagging wives, and even abandoning sons and daughters isn't out of the question. After all, didn't Liu Bang also have a share of the "spoil"?

"Deal! As long as you fulfill your promise, I'll hand Wanliang over to you!" The Dahua General, who had already lost the will to fight, clenched his teeth and made his decision.

"The General is a wise man!" The persuader had accomplished his task, and his joy was evident, impossible to hide. He stood up and handed the 5 million check to the General directly: "With this check in your pocket, you can sleep sounder, I believe."

"It's true... you understand me so well," the General said with a broad grin, relieved that he had finally chosen the right answer. With five million... the loss of a wife didn't seem so hard to accept anymore.

The Emperor of the Dahua Empire, Zhao Kai, was still unaware of the ramifications of Zhao Ji's hasty departure from Wanliang back to the Imperial Capital. The consequences were only beginning to emerge.

Meanwhile, the 300,000-strong army stationed in Wanliang, with the 150,000 main forces in the core area, was fermenting a defection in the face of battle, preparing a massive surprise for Zhao Kai, who was still confined to a sickbed and not yet fully mobile.