Munitions Empire-Chapter 747 : 706 disappointment

Time indeed had begun to gradually take the side of the Tang Kingdom.

As the battle for Li Family Village was decided and the Dahua Empire's military continued its attack on Xicong, the rainfall in the Northern Region suddenly ceased.

The sky began to clear, and the long-missed sunshine bathed the earth. During this brief period of clear weather, the Tang Country's Air Force finally took action.

150 Flying Fortress Bombers, laden with bombs, and escorted by 20 fighters, flew towards Fengjiang, the Dahua Empire's largest city in the north.

The counterattack began so suddenly that the Dahua Empire was completely unprepared.

Although the Dahua Air Force also took off their planes to intercept upon sighting the Tang Army's aircraft group, they found they couldn't catch up to these enemies that came and went like the wind.

Everything was in vain; not only was there a clear gap in speed between the aircraft on both sides, but there was also a huge difference in the altitude they could reach.

Thus, the Dahua Air Force could only watch helplessly as the enemy's planes crossed their defense lines and flew over Fengjiang.

As the largest city in the eastern part of the Dahua Empire with a population of over one million, Fengjiang was also an emerging industrial city.

It housed not only the largest textile mill in the Dahua Empire but also countless light industries. At the same time, it was a transport hub and a distribution center for goods in the eastern region.

On this day, just when the people finally felt relieved to see the clear weather and thought they could go out for a walk, the piercing sound of air-raid sirens suddenly echoed throughout the city.

It was then that the residents of Fengjiang realized their country might actually be at war with a neighboring nation.

In their daze, they had yet to grasp the gravity of the situation because they believed their city was more than 400 kilometers from the border and that battle flames could not possibly reach them.

But the Tang Country's Air Force soon made it clear to everyone that times had changed! Squadrons of bombers dropped bombs like raindrops, and then these bombs submerged Fengjiang in a sea of dust and smoke.

Huge explosions destroyed the skyscrapers that Fengjiang had managed to build, and the already congested streets were filled with craters of all sizes.

The workshops of the textile mills were struck by bombs, instantly claiming the lives of dozens of people. Realizing the enormity of the situation, the civilians of Fengjiang finally started to panic amidst screams and cries.

The pace of technological advancement in this era was too fast, fast enough to make people overlook some details. These details were not apparent in everyday life, but once problems arose, they were magnified, making people realize that they were still living in a state of backwardness.

Fengjiang was such a city. With the Dahua Empire's industrialization, Fengjiang's local civilian life improved day by day using the momentum of this industrialization.

They felt their lives were decent, seeing the city change anew every day. Here, they had power plants, flashing advertising signs, and smoking chimneys. They had smooth streets and countless cars of various models.

It seemed that the city was getting closer and closer to resembling Brunas, becoming more and more modern. But it wasn't until the Tang Country's bombers flew over the city that the residents realized a severe problem: they did not seem to have any bomb shelters!

The city's facade grew increasingly glamorous with skyscrapers everywhere, but places like the sewer system were neglected. Successive City Lords, prioritizing outward appearances in city construction, chose to overlook essential utilities like drainage systems and civil defense projects.

Now, more than a million people desperately seeking bomb shelters realized too late that even the city's sewers were frequently problematic, let alone digging underground shelters.

Although wealthy households had cellars, and many homes had basements for storage, these were places for storing wine or potatoes—they offered no protection against bombs!

Thus, the streets of Fengjiang were filled with people running in chaos, which only enhanced the effectiveness of the Tang Army's bombing.

Huge aerial bombs scattered across the city's streets and alleys. Over a hundred bombers easily completed their dropping of bombs and then turned back on their original course to return home.

By the time these planes had left, Fengjiang was in shambles. The already fragile power supply system was almost entirely paralyzed, and everywhere there were bodies, craters, and collapsed buildings.

More than two hours later, the sky began to drizzle again, and the rolling clouds of dust gradually thinned out.

In the rain, the grieving civilians of Fengjiang searching for their family members also came to realize that the gears of war had fully erupted.

On the eighth day after the outbreak of war, Emperor Zhao Kai of the Dahua Empire had just thought about hosting another party to celebrate his military's capture of Li Family Village and the direct assault on Xicong, when he received the shocking news that Fengjiang had been bombed.

That was the largest city in the eastern Dahua Empire! That was a transport hub deep within his empire's territory!

"What did you say! Say it again! Fengjiang was bombed? More than three thousand people dead? Over fifty thousand homeless?" Zhao Kai sat on his throne, overlooking the attendant who had come to report, his voice filled with rage.

The ministers on both sides were greatly shocked. Among them, there were those who had served in Fengjiang or who had family members there. They had never considered that Fengjiang, a city within the heartland of the Empire, would one day be directly attacked by the enemy!

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"What is the Air Force doing? Why didn't they intercept?" Zhao Kai's question, asked in shock, left Shen Chuan, the Minister of War who had just rushed back to the Imperial Capital, without any face.

The Dahua Empire had equipped a total of three different models of fighter jets. One type was a biplane modeled after the Great Tang Group's Camel Fighter, which, to be honest, didn't perform very well and was basically just there to make up the numbers.

Another was a fighter produced by Shireck that used a central monoplane design. The round fuselage looked a bit cute, and its performance... was only slightly better than that of the Camel Fighter.

It adopted a fully enclosed cockpit, so it could barely fly at altitudes between 7,000 and 8,000 meters, and it wasn't very fast either, but it was indeed much higher than the Camel Fighter.

The third type of aircraft was the latest improved fighter jet, roughly the otherworldly version of the I-16, with a performance gap that was very obvious compared to the Butcher Fighter equipped by the Great Tang Kingdom.

Even though the brand new Dahua Type 1 fighter jet was mediocre, it was still the most advanced fighter jet developed and manufactured by the Dahua Empire. But there were few of these jets, and most were deployed near the Imperial Capital and in the southern front.

In the Northern Region, which was in a defensive position, the fighter squadrons were equipped with the outdated Camel, which would be a feat if they could intercept the Flying Fortress and Butcher.

Regrettably, Shen Chuan could not explain it that way. He could only hang his head, waiting for the Emperor to finish venting before finding a private opportunity to explain the situation.

"A bunch of useless people! Good for nothings!" Zhao Kai had always felt that it was his ministers who had held him back, preventing him from becoming a ruler of unparalleled wisdom and martial prowess who had expanded the nation's borders.

However, recalling that his front-line troops had just taken Li Family Village and were advancing towards Xicong, Zhao Kai still managed to suppress the anger in his heart.

He ordered, "Strengthen the anti-air defenses in the Northern Region! Send more planes! We can't let Tang Country attack Fengjiang again!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Shen Chuan bowed his head, acquiescing to Zhao Kai's demand. From his standpoint, he couldn't let the Tang Country Air Force run rampant in the eastern and northern regions of the Dahua Empire.

The immediate task was to rush to the aircraft manufacturing plants to urge them to increase production of the newest type of planes and to boost the strength of the Northern Air Force.

Besides, more anti-aircraft guns needed to be produced and deployed in strategic areas to intercept enemy planes, or at least to a degree that would cause the enemy Air Force some concern.

At the very least, it should show an attitude that would let the citizens know they had not been abandoned and that the Empire was still working hard to protect them.

These tasks should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Works. After the court session, he would need to have a good talk with Chief of Staff Chen Jing. At the very least, he should force Chen Jing to agree to increase the production of new aircraft and anti-aircraft guns.

"So frustrating!" Zhao Kai stood up and left in a huff—unable to display his sagacity and martial prowess, unable to hold a grand victory celebration, unable to proclaim the merits of capturing Li Family Village was indeed an irksome matter to him.

After Zhao Kai left, a group of ministers huddled together and whispered amongst themselves. Their main concern was whether the enemy's planes would appear over the Imperial Capital.

"It shouldn't be possible under normal circumstances; their range wouldn't be enough," explained Shen Chuan, who still possessed some theoretical knowledge, to the anxious ministers.

The other ministers were somewhat reassured by this explanation and then began to inquire about the outcome on the southern front.

"Does taking Li Family Village mean we're close to winning?" Minister of Personnel Zhou Qiang, who didn't understand military matters, asked a rather superficial question.

As Prime Minister, Chu Muzhou had some understanding of military matters. He knew that although it seemed Dahua Empire had the advantage, the situation was still very delicate.

However, he couldn't burst their bubble; he could only maintain his silence, listening to Shen Chuan carefully avoiding the heart of the matter: "Not necessarily. In fact, we can only say that we've stabilized the situation once we have taken Xicong."

"Aren't we on the offensive?" another minister seized Shen Chuan's wrist and continued to inquire.

"Only by capturing Xicong can we possibly advance to the Four Waters! Once we've taken the Four Waters, then we can rest easy!" Shen Chuan went on to say, "But General Qian Jinhang is experienced and capable. Since he has already captured Li Family Village, taking Xicong should be like reaching into a bag to obtain something!"

Hearing him say this, a few ministers finally felt some agreement. They didn't want to know too much; just knowing that taking Xicong meant victory was enough.

By then, when presenting reports at court or when analyzing the situation, they would at least have a reference point and wouldn't be talking nonsense.

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Dragon Spirit has a pretty serious waist injury, so he can only update reliably recently, not daring to make up missed updates or incur new debts. I ask for everyone's understanding with the unstable updates. Sorry about that.