Munitions Empire-Chapter 1056 - 978 like the sound of spring thunder

Chapter 1056: 978 like the sound of spring thunder

Time passed by the second, and those wealthy and civilians crowded near the city gates on the outskirts grew increasingly restless.

They actually received the news a step too late, while those who truly had connections had already been watching the excitement from estates in suburban areas outside the city.

Indeed, at this very moment, Pan Yiping and his daughter Pan Qi were anxiously enjoying exquisite food in a manor in the suburbs.

Surrounding them were various social elites, wealthy nobles, Pan Yiping even noticed the Prime Minister and several Chief of Staff families’ ladies during the banquet.

The environment of the manor was excellent, and they had been invited here hours ago; the courtyard was filled with various luxury cars.

Pan Yiping finally realized the enormous gap between people in this world: when ordinary people received the news, some had already made all the preparations.

Because it was far from the potentially attacked city, the atmosphere here was still entirely serene. If you only saw the merry lights and wines here, you would never feel that the Dahua Empire was still in the midst of a civil war.

The waiters respectfully carried trays, delivering beautifully cooked beef dishes and deliciously sweet and sour fruit wines to everyone, the smiles on their faces warm, making one feel refreshed.

“I heard the attack has started, I wonder how things are in the city?” a girl leaned towards Pan Qi and asked familiarly.

In the past, she somewhat looked down on Pan Qi, a merchant’s daughter, but now, she truly considered Pan Qi her best friend.

Because being arranged to come to this manor at this time, nearly all belonged to the “upper” class, everyone was on the same level, and there was no disdain.

Since the power was similar, the social status was naturally about the same. Moreover, Pan Qi was actually becoming more famous in the circles of Dahua Imperial Capital, especially being the woman of the bartender, Du Jia.

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A woman’s status is actually linked to her husband; if her man does well, her status naturally rises.

People might not respect the merchant Pan Yiping, but they had to respect Du Jia’s father-in-law… Similarly, they might not care about Pan Qi, but everyone had to respect Mrs. Du Jia.

“It might be just a few minutes now.” Pan Qi took out her pocket watch and checked the time. Today, she deliberately chose a very neutral outfit for ease of movement; jodhpurs with a vest, her hair pulled up and secured with a pin, looking very capable.

She, being a merchant’s daughter, didn’t care much about dressing and behaved casually. This unreserved Pan Qi has a unique beauty, which was one of the reasons why Du Jia fancied her.

Most of the attendees at this banquet were women because since Zhao Zheng’s family fled, Zhao Kai had implemented stricter control over almost all officials’ and nobles’ families.

It was somewhat better for women, but men were not allowed to leave their residences without permission. Any violators would be immediately punished.

Thus, although it appeared harmonious with singing and dancing, many were still worried about their men and elders back in the city. Thus, someone like Pan Qi who was well-informed was even more popular.

Who wouldn’t want to cozy up to Pan Qi and please her husband, Du Jia, to have more options at critical times? So, soon another young woman approached and started conversing with Pan Qi as if they had been close sisters for many years.

Pan Qi was open to all comers; as a merchant’s daughter, she inherently had the knack for being socially versatile. Now, intending to help Du Jia maintain networking, she was naturally willing to chat back and forth with these women.

She quickly cheered up and began discussing some intimate topics with these worried women, such as how to send their children to Tang Country for schooling or how much it would cost to buy a villa in Linshui—such topics were genuinely interesting to the women at that moment.

…

In the tense Imperial Defense Command Center of Dahua Empire, Li Mingshun, dispatched to supervise the war, grasped the phone, frantically asking the air defense forces commander in the Hezhe direction: “Let me confirm once more, have any bombers passed through your area? Tell the truth! Make it clear!”

Beside him, another general was speaking with the air defense forces commander in the Xiajian direction, also confirming whether any planes had passed that direction.

Unfortunately, the responses they got were the same: no observation stations or sentry posts detected any planes passing by, and the patrolling fighter jet troops also didn’t spot anything.

No planes attacked from the Fengjiang direction, nor was there any sight of massive hostile aircraft activities on the Fengjiang frontline.

Everyone was searching for the so-called “enemy aircraft,” including the patrolling planes, ground sentry posts, and civilians from factories…

As long as there was contact, constant verifications were being made everywhere, to check if there were any airplanes coming from the direction of Fengjiang.

“No! Commander! We have not spotted any airplanes passing through our airspace! Yes, none at all! Absolutely none!” The queried commander firmly assured Li Mingshun.

After hanging up the phone, Li Mingshun irritably looked at the generals around him: “Nobody has seen any airplanes. Hasn’t Tang Country sold bombers to Fengjiang?”

“Perhaps there’s only one airplane…” one general optimistically suggested to Li Mingshun: “Perhaps it’s just a small-scale attack…”

“Small-scale?” Li Mingshun glanced at him: “No matter how small, it’s unacceptable! We must ensure our Imperial Capital is completely secure!”

Zhao Kai entrusted such a critical matter to him, and he had to live up to Zhao Kai’s trust. Additionally, if there really existed a weapon capable of striking an enemy city from over 1700 kilometers away, it wouldn’t just be their Dahua Empire at misfortune.

If Tang Country truly possessed such a weapon, wouldn’t the King City of Chu Country also be under siege?

If such a weapon were deployed in Chu Country, wouldn’t the King City of Kangrao in Shu Country be in the same situation? Surely other countries couldn’t tolerate this; if such weapons were to proliferate, then the concept of strategic depth would cease to exist in this world.

“The time Tang Country declared is drawing closer…” another general anxiously spoke: “Should we…”

He didn’t finish his intended words, but everyone knew what he was implying: should they arrange for Emperor Zhao Kai to take shelter in a bunker first, to avoid any mishap.

Despite the fact that urban-level air defense was imperfect due to development reasons, shelters for important personnel had been constructed by countries worldwide.

His Majesty The Emperor certainly had his own bunker, even a fully equipped air defense command center capable of contacting generals, assigning tasks, and issuing orders from beneath the ground.

Naturally, the Dahua Empire also had such an air defense bunker, but Zhao Kai hadn’t yet taken refuge in his own bunker; he did not believe staying in his Imperial Palace was dangerous.

“Make a call… ask His Majesty to immediately enter the underground bunker, to ensure safety…” With no other choice, Li Mingshun opted for the safest solution.

However, as he spoke these words, up in the sky, having crossed over 1700 kilometers, the ballistic missiles of the Great Tang Empire had already re-entered the atmosphere, making their final sprint towards their target.

Chu Muzhou did not leave King City, he did not even leave his home. After having his butler send away his daughters-in-law, most of the Chu family’s men stayed in the city, awaiting the impending “attack.”

Helpless as it was, being the Empire’s Prime Minister meant that their family couldn’t easily leave the city; and from their Chu family’s perspective, during a national crisis, they also had to stay and face their own fate.

This was a duty, a rule, an attitude. As a traditional noble family of the Empire, a Prime Minister’s family, Chu Muzhou and his descendants carried weighty responsibilities.

Laying on a lounge chair in the courtyard and looking up at the sky, Chu Muzhou saw a meteor, a rapidly approaching meteor.

Even during daylight, that object shone like a star, trailing a long tail, and rapidly heading towards the ground.

His sons also saw this scene, and several nearby sons immediately rushed over, surrounding their father nervously.

“Sigh…” Chu Muzhou sighed. He knew that the weapon Tang Empire spoke of had truly come, and he also knew it must be another terrifying weapon capable of altering the world’s balance.

Sadly, as the proverbial sacrificial chicken to serve as a warning to others, and being the world debut of this new type of weapon, Dahua Empire’s capital was doomed to suffer this calamity.

“Don’t be nervous; if it really falls here, our Chu family would also have served our country with loyalty.” After sighing, the old Prime Minister Chu Muzhou comforted his sons.

He had several grandsons attending a banquet in a villa owned by Great Tang Empire merchants outside the city, and he also had a son who went to study in Tang Country last year… All in all, the aftermath had been arranged, and Chu Muzhou had no regrets.

As Chu Muzhou spoke, a second meteor appeared in the sky, crashing rapidly towards the capital of the Dahua Empire. Although its speed was incredibly fast, it was still clearly visible.

The crowded near the city gate let out terrified screams, everyone saw the awe-inspiring descent, that fearful dark shadow.

These civilians pointed at the two dark shadows, which indeed plummeted straight into the heart of Dahua Empire’s capital.

Following that, the ground trembled slightly, a snowy-white column of smoke billowed upwards, swirling towards the heavens. Before anyone could understand what had happened, a dull explosion echoed from afar, as if spring thunder had burst in the sky.