Munitions Empire

Chapter 613: 572 Qi Army’s Logistics

The King of Qi, Jiang Xian, was dead, more dead than one could imagine. When an officer of Qi Country found the carriage overturned by the explosion of an aerial bomb, all he could see was the bullet-riddled corpse of the King of Qi inside.

He held the corpse and wept bitterly, and many soldiers of Qi Country gathered around, silently witnessing everything that was happening.

The airplanes of Tang Army continued to circle overhead, occasionally diving to strafe the crowd.

The terrifying missiles had left huge craters in the estate, blasting the place beyond recognition, with houses collapsed and structures shattered.

Everywhere there were corpses, some once untouchably noble, some powerful enough to sway the court, and others just like them, simply the most ordinary soldiers.

Now, less than half of the Imperial Guard regiment was still alive, but those alive had already lost the target they were supposed to protect.

The entire central mechanism of Qi Country had been destroyed by the attacks from the sky in just the past two hours, with almost nothing left.

Had it not been for the convenience of some people staying in King City, perhaps the entire governmental affairs of Qi Country would have been paralyzed at that moment.

Anyway, the Prime Minister of Qi Country was dead, his body lying next to the carriage. The King of Qi was dead, his body had just been carried out of the carriage.

Several of Qi’s important generals were dead, some bodies recoverable, others blown to pieces beyond recognition.

A whole host of Qi’s important ministers were dead, some beside the carriage, some in the corners of the courtyard, including one who was a bit more fortunate, crushed under the body of one of His Majesty’s concubines.

As time went on, more ministers were found; they had all died, killed in haste by the Tang Country Paratroopers as they tried to escape in another courtyard.

Captain Ma was also dead, he had taken his own life… It’s not just that he couldn’t escape blame with the King dead, but with so many court officials dead at once, he had virtually no hope of living on.

Any family from anyone who died here, if they decided to pursue the matter, he as the captain of the Imperial Guard would have had his family exterminated.

So he chose to die with dignity, giving himself and those seeking vengeance that dignity.

By the time his men heard the gunshot, it was too late; Captain Ma had shot himself in the head, and the bullet had gone through his temple, presenting a horrific sight.

This made things even worse, as everyone now lacked command and leadership, especially after the spiritual totem, His Majesty, had just died, and almost all state ministers were annihilated… The remaining lower-ranking soldiers had no heart to fight under the harassment of the airplanes.

They found some stretchers, carried the bodies of the Prime Minister and His Majesty the King, and then, without caring for the remaining corpses, they just left.

Nobody realized that the Donghe Bridge, the eastern gate of King City, had already been occupied by the enemy, nor did anyone think of counterattacking or searching for the Tang Country Paratroopers. The Qi soldiers retreated like this, abandoning the smoking, burning estate, taking a few corpses and fleeing back to the King City of Qi Country in disarray.

What they didn’t know was that a Tang Army Armored Corps was already en route to the estate, and another Tang Army Armored Corps was advancing towards the King City of Qi Country.

In short, they knew nothing, intending only to bring back the news of the death of the King of Qi to the King City, and then find someone with authority to take over everything.

…

On the southern battlefield, the outskirts of Luo Town, which always seemed hellish, saw the Qi soldiers flooding towards the Tang Army’s position like a tide once again.

Qin Xiong quietly observed through his binoculars as his troops launched an attack on the Tang Army’s positions; he personally witnessed young lives cut down en masse by the roaring machine guns of the enemy, like wheat being harvested.

With no artillery preparation, this tactic of using human lives to storm enemy machine gun positions was no different from sending people to their deaths.

However, Qin Xiong had no choice but to use this inefficient method, forcing his soldiers to attack the increasingly fortified lines of the Tang Army over and over again.

He truly had no other option, as the artillery shells he had brought were all spent. The Qi military now had a numerical advantage but lacked the capability to continue combat.

The soldiers had enough bullets; after all, in an offensive there weren’t many opportunities to shoot, and the number used by machine guns was a minor matter no matter how large.

But those supporting the artillery—those shells were not so easily transported: each weighing several dozen or even hundreds of pounds, one vehicle could not carry many.

The mechanization level of the Qi military was already low, and there were not many ox or horse carts either, so the amount of artillery shells they brought into battle was not substantial.

This was a significant reason why the Qi generals were unwilling to move away from the railroad: their logistics depended too heavily on the railway to the extent that without it, they could hardly maneuver their forces.

Modern large military units are supported by logistical services. Without transport and supplies, without fuel and ammunition, such large units become the nightmare of generals, a black hole that devours everything.

A hundred thousand people crammed together, how much food would they need every day? To maintain their consumption, how many people would have to hustle along the roads, transporting food and other supplies?

Even drinking water was a problem: being blocked outside Luo Town, the Qi troops needed to transport drinking water for several kilometers, which was simply a logistical nightmare.

To maintain the 1st and 3rd Armies, along with the surrounding units’ food consumption, Qin Xiong had no choice but to reduce the replenishment rate of ammunition.

Because there were only a few roads behind them, which had either been destroyed by the Tang Army’s planes or congested by their own military, they were already overwhelmed.

Relying on these inferior dirt roads to transport the food stored in the southern defense lines to the vicinity of Luo Town was also a major project for the Qi transport teams.

Wasn’t the Qi Army stationed at the border in need of food? What must they feel as they watched the last of their supplies in the warehouse being carted off?

Simply coordinating these contradictions, transporting various reserves, and distributing frontline materials, Qin Xiong was nearly exhausted.

Now, that he could still make the time to visit the front line was only achieved by sacrificing sleep. But watching his troops march up there to their deaths, Qin Xiong felt he might as well get some sleep.

The First Prince on his end, still had no intention of leaving his station. It seemed this prince was waiting to see the outcome of Qin Xiong’s side before deciding on his own next move.

Qin Xiong knew that the Second Prince had already led the 2nd Army to retreat toward Beiyuan City via the eastern railway, but as for how quickly the retreat was proceeding, that was not for him to know.

It seemed King City might have the 2nd Army coming to the rescue, and whether they would arrive in time was known only to the heavens, so Qin Xiong wasn’t anxious about it.

He decided that what he needed to do was to keep fighting here, maintaining the situation, and buying more time for the rear.

Whether it was to seek help from other nations or to ask the Tang Country for peace, time was needed. The more stable he could keep the battle here, the better it would be for Qi Country.

As for the logistics behind him that were on the verge of collapse, Qin Xiong had chosen to selectively forget about it. It was as if by not actively mentioning these problems that tormented him through the night, they didn’t exist.

You have to understand that now, every shell he used had to be transported from the permanent defensive positions dozens of kilometers to the south.

The food his troops ate also came from there, and the stored food and ammunition there were not infinite, either.

Originally, the food stockpiled at the southern front was thought to be enough for about a month and a half of defense on site. The thinking was that there was no need to hoard so much since the supply lines could continue to be supplemented via railway.

On paper, the numbers were sufficient to last three months, but in reality, because Tang Country had gone mad buying up grain in the previous two years, many astute individuals had diverted some strategic reserves, enriching their own purses first.

The war had been raging for over a month now, and with several granaries and ammunition depots on the southern front having been destroyed or captured, the supply situation was close to hitting rock bottom.

If the hundreds of thousands of troops found out they were out of food and ammunition, there would be no reason to continue the war…

"General, the Tang Army’s tank units have advanced far enough to threaten our flank,” an officer rushed back with a message that alarmed everyone in the command bunker.

After receiving reinforcements and rest, the 1st Armored Division of Tang Country launched an offensive on the flanks of the main Qi forces near Luo Town.

Since the Tang forces inside Luo Town already had ample troops, they didn’t have to worry about their defense lines being breached anymore.

The 1st Armored Division of Tang Country, free from worries of rear defense, quickly resumed the role of an offensive force and began an encircling attack that threatened the flanks of the Qi forces attacking Luo Town from the north.

Having cleared several nearby villages, they took up positions that were quite troublesome for the 1st Army.

"We must think of a solution,” another officer, glancing at the silent Qin Xiong, voiced his thoughts.

Waiting here was definitely a dead end; they were almost out of capacity to keep assaulting Luo Town. If they didn’t plan an escape now, were they actually preparing to dig their own graves here?

Qin Xiong also knew that he couldn’t continue to hold out here and, with a sense of dreary resignation, he closed his eyes and finally gave the order, “Command the 1st Army to retreat 10 kilometers to the rear, vacate the positions, and hand over the defense zone to the 19th Division.”

Upon hearing this, everyone understood that Qin Xiong was preparing to first withdraw the First Prince’s family assets, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Xiong then continued to command, “Stop the offensive, pull the troops back, and construct defensive works on the spot

As a renowned general of Qi Country, Qin Xiong still had his pride: even if he was preparing to flee, he wanted to appear as if he were still holding on firmly…

There was no way around it. From any perspective, he could not abandon the positions near Luo Town: He had to put on a show of intending to break through Nanye south of Luo Town and march all the way to King City to rescue His Majesty the King. Otherwise, how could he explain himself to Jiang Xian?

-

Here’s another update

COMMENT

0 comment

Vote

3 left

SEND GIFT

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!