Munitions Empire-Chapter 1111 - 1032 two names

Zhao Chen got to know two people within one day.

One is called Zhao Feng.

The other is called Luo Xiao.

From some sources unknown, Zhao Chen finally found out who had been commanding the persistent air raids targeting him from Fengjiang Air Force.

A scion of the Dahua imperial family—accurately speaking, a fallen scion, who was captured by the Great Tang Empire in the last war, just a fighter jet pilot.

This person had attended a pilot training school in the Great Tang Empire and lived there for at least 5 months… Of course, this information was from a Fengjiang pilot who was shot down and told Zhao Chen.

Zhao Feng boasted about his training experience in the Great Tang as an achievement, which is almost memorized by the pilots from Fengjiang by now.

Now, this Zhao Feng is the commander of the Fengjiang Air Force, and his command style is particularly fierce, frequently deploying planes to attack ground targets, and hardly cares about losses.

From the effectiveness of the air raids, Zhao Feng is definitely a formidable air force commander: Zhao Chen’s troops suffered heavy losses, constantly harassed by the air force under Zhao Feng’s command.

What Zhao Chen does not know is that the main reason Zhao Feng fought so fiercely was that the fuel, planes, and pilots were not his...

He did not have to care about the losses of these pilots and planes, with ample fuel supply, so he was eager to attain achievements to report to his real superiors.

The pilots of Fengjiang had already suffered immense losses a long time ago; after battling for over half a year, those Fengjiang pilots who remain alive are the veterans among veterans, the elites among the elite.

In fact, those fighting against the pilots of the Dahua Empire have been the pilots from Chu Country, Ice Cold Empire, Poplar Empire, and even Mirage Country.

Moreover, these pilots mostly operate on a rotational system. After fighting in Fengjiang for two months, they would be recalled to their home countries to be replaced by new pilots to join the battle and enhance their flying capabilities.

In reality, pilots from the Great Tang Empire also frequently participate in the air battles over Fengjiang, but they all took off from the East Fengjiang airport on the side of the Great Tang Empire, confronting those Dahua planes raiding Fengjiang.

Countries around the world use Fengjiang as a training base; after mastering actual combat skills and encountering the advanced weapon technology of the Great Tang Empire, the actual combat capabilities of these countries have relatively improved.

The pilots from various countries, with their strong fighting will and determination, maintained a rather high level of combat effectiveness for the Fengjiang Air Force.

They often took to the skies to battle, focusing their full attention on attacking ground targets in recent days.

There are two types of ground attack aircraft in the Fengjiang Air Force, in addition to a small number of Il-2 attack aircraft, the rest are Stuka.

Chu Country supplied Fengjiang with a large quantity of Stuka, and honestly, most of these Stuka were probably provided by the Great Tang Empire.

With a large number of Stuka dive bombers, the Fengjiang troops continuously attacked ground targets, severely trapping Zhao Chen’s troops that were urgently trying to break through to the west.

Now, as soon as dawn breaks, Zhao Chen could hear that annoying, siren-laden, cursed sound of the Stuka: for the encircled troops, that horrific sound indeed felt like a disaster.

Having lost all air superiority, Zhao Chen simply had no way to intercept Fengjiang’s planes, all the supporting planes from the Dahua Empire had already deserted.

Some directly became spoils of war in Hezhe under Luo Xiao, while others retreated to Xiajian. Planes taking off from Xiajian couldn’t possibly fly over Hezhe to support Zhao Chen, so Zhao Chen’s land forces are completely exposed.

Originally, on the way from Hezhe to Fengjiang, the Dahua Empire had even temporarily constructed several field airports, but the pilots stationed at these airports, fearing encirclement, fled back to Xiajian at the first opportunity.

Zhao Chen sent telegrams requesting the planes near Xiajian to relocate to the field airports and join the fight, but they outright refused: With the war progressing to this stage, who wouldn’t consider their own survival?

Who will end up as Emperor is still unknown, how could they enjoy wealth and status without holding some leverage? Supporting Zhao Chen who is already encircled, wouldn’t that be lunacy?

Subsequently, Zhao Chen even lost his anger: The little aviation fuel left at the field airport was looted by the fuel-starved troops, and even if the planes returned, there was no fuel to take off and participate in the battle again.

Seeing the scattered ammunition and spare parts beside the airport runway, along with planes paralyzed on the runway, Zhao Chen’s heart ached.

Those planes were left behind due to malfunctions and could not fly away. Some parts of some planes had already been dismantled and taken away, while some appeared still intact.

But they could not fly anymore, and the ammunition, because of the different calibers with the land forces, were completely unusable, countless resources spent to bring these to the frontline, now lay abandoned on the ground like trash.

For a group of people preparing to break through, any items that cannot be carried are considered trash, easily discarded burdens.

Compared to Zhao Feng, the name Luo Xiao made Zhao Chen’s teeth itch with hatred: it was this man who led his troops to occupy Hezhe, blocking Zhao Chen’s path.

Zhao Chen had never heard of Luo Xiao before; he had always focused on studying famous generals from the Great Tang such as Redman, Tagg, Strauss, and Bolton.

Regrettably, he never got the chance to duel with such Generals of the Great Tang, and instead, he found himself plunged into an abyss of no return by a minor general he’d never heard of.

It is said that Luo Xiao is just over 30 years old, and until he was 20, he was only a colonel in Qi Country, having commanded just three thousand men.

But now, this Luo Xiao is commanding an army of a hundred thousand, standing right in front of Zhao Chen, and has even achieved an unthinkable three victories in three battles!

Indeed, two days ago, Luo Xiao led his troops eastward to start a sudden assault; his first battle resulted in the rout of Zhao Chen’s forward troops near Hezhe.

Luo Xiao advanced fiercely seventy kilometers forward, catching Zhao Chen completely off guard. Zhao Chen had to personally come to the front line, organizing troops to counterattack, preparing to fiercely target the unstable Luo Xiao.

Does anyone still remember there was once a circular defense line between Hezhe and Fengjiang? Indeed, Luo Xiao fully utilized this abandoned defense line, blocking Zhao Chen’s advance.

The second battle was fought on the ruins of this defense line, which was originally constructed by the Dahua Empire, facing east...

Indeed, in the hands of Luo Xiao, this defense line played its intended role. Zhao Chen’s forceful attacks throughout an entire day, losing 3000 troops, failed to take this tough nut.

The reasons included the demoralized state of Zhao Chen’s troops, constant harassment from aircraft overhead, and of course, the truly infuriating nature of this defense line.

However, all things considered, in their second encounter, Zhao Chen still lost; he was unable to recapture the defense line, forcing his troops to wait in place for another day.

Unexpectedly, yesterday, Luo Xiao took the initiative and launched a second assault: while Zhao Chen was frantically organizing his troops to stabilize the front, Luo Xiao continued his advance, pushing at least another 20 kilometers east!

Zhao Chen was originally on the eastern side commanding the already collapsed rear guard, facing incoming pursuers from the direction of Fengjiang. As a result, not only did he fail to repel the pursuers, but the western defense line behind him also collapsed.

Frantic, Zhao Chen collapsed, fainting right in his own headquarters; by the time a doctor revived him, it was already dark.

Thus, an army of eight hundred thousand remained idle overnight, and by early morning, only seven hundred thousand remained!

A part of the western forces surrendered to Luo Xiao, and a portion of the rear guard was overtaken and surrendered to Zhao Zheng and Zhao Yu. It’s nearly as if Zhao Chen did nothing, and his eight hundred thousand-strong army was reduced by an eighth!

After waking up, Zhao Chen was lost in contemplation: hadn’t many of these people been his allies in the past? Wasn’t Zhao Yu a prince unfit for public appearance? Wasn’t Zhao Zheng just a minor general of average ability? Wasn’t Zhao Feng just a pilot? He had never heard of Luo Xiao before.

Now, these people had surrounded him without leaving any chance for a breakout.

Yet these were the people, whom he had looked down upon before, who had now besieged the last half of the Dahua Empire’s field troops in place.

"General!" Seeing Zhao Chen lost in thought, an officer couldn’t help but speak up: the enemy was attacking; as the Commander, he had to think of something.

"The Armored Corps has already moved up..." the Division Commanders of several Tank divisions reported their status: "The attack can start at any time! However, we are short of spare parts and fuel, and only half of the tanks have reached their positions..."

The logistical support of the Dahua Empire was at early World War II levels, and it was already good enough if it could meet the needs of the frontline troops. With air raids overhead and the troops now encircled, there was simply no way to ensure the normal operation of the Armored Corps.

By robbing Peter to pay Paul, compromising two tanks into one, they barely managed to gather the necessary number of tanks for the attack.

But in reality, Zhao Chen had already lost the courage for a desperate battle. In terms of capability, Zhao Chen and General Feng Kezhi were quite similar, but the biggest difference between him and Feng Kezhi was that Feng had the will to survive when he was in the Dahua Empire, whereas Zhao Chen was only ever concerned about preserving the last vestiges of the Dahua Empire.

Only at this moment did Zhao Chen realize that as a general, his desire for victory had faded; he had already lost years ago.

Looking at the pistol hanging on his belt on the wall, Zhao Chen sighed. He lacked the resolve to take his own life, having never even considered that he should die for his country.

Although, he was a royal relative of the Dahua Empire.

"Send a telegram to Zhao Yu... just say... I am willing to surrender!" In the end, for his own dignity, or perhaps clinging to the fantasy of returning the remaining seven hundred thousand-strong army back to Dahua, Zhao Chen chose to contact Zhao Yu first.