Munitions Empire
Chapter 1370: 1287 news came.

Chapter 1370: 1287 news came.

Qin Country has already started national mobilization and is working on reorganizing the original Dahua Army that surrendered in the Dahua region. These Dahua soldiers have little combat capability, but their numbers are quite substantial.

If we simply count the numbers, the surrendered military from the Dahua Kingdom to Qin Country is approximately over a million strong. If these people can all be armed, then Qin Country can restore its front-line defense.

However, on one hand, Qin Country has some distrust toward these surrendered Dahua forces, and on the other hand, these Dahua troops really do lack combat strength.

Expecting these previously surrendered Dahua soldiers to fight to the death against the stronger Great Tang Empire army is impossible, but if these soldiers are not armed, Qin Country can’t even organize a decent defense.

“We can only relax the restrictions now…” A Qin general gritted his teeth and spoke out the plan formulated by the Staff Department.

The Staff Department’s plan is simple yet practical: while sending the mobilized troops to the front, quickly arm the Dahua people near the frontline and let them hold the position for a while.

“It doesn’t matter if they surrender, or if they’re afraid to fight! As long as they enter the battlefield and let the Tang army know there are troops there!” As the general spoke, he became more fluent, seemingly finding some rhythm.

“The supplies can’t be rushed back, anyway, guns and ammunition will fall into Tang Army hands no matter what! So distributing them or leaving them in the warehouse makes no difference.” After he finished speaking, he explained the reasoning behind the Staff Department’s assessment, and then waited for Emperor Qin Ying Duo to speak.

Ying Duo also understood that, rather than leaving food in the warehouse for the Tang army to benefit, it’s more advantageous to distribute it and consume it for their own benefit.

The same logic applies to ammunition and weapons. As long as those Dahua people stand on the battlefield with guns, the speed of the Tang army’s advance will slow down.

Even if these people surrender directly, with so many prisoners congesting the roads, it can still buy the Qin Army enough time to organize a new defense in the Wangdu area.

The only problem is, if the Old Capital is lost, and the Tang army moves south through the Xiqing and Caili route, what should be done if they invade Shu?

“The Old Capital must be held! This is our bottom line!” After analyzing all the intelligence, Ying Duo expressed his view: “No matter what! The Old Capital must be defended to the death! If the Old Capital is lost, we don’t have enough troops to commit to the direction of Shu.”

Qin Country indeed has vast territory, but it only recently annexed Shu Country and Dahua, and the people there are not stable, so they can’t contribute much in the war.

At least, they can’t mobilize troops, and even if they forcefully mobilize some, their combat power can’t be guaranteed.

These places might produce weapons and ammunition and manufacture some aircraft and artillery, but actually making them participate in the war and become the frontline wasteland—the locals certainly wouldn’t be willing.

If Tang troops appeared in the Shu Territory, Ying Duo could imagine with his eyes closed that there would certainly be natives colluding secretly with Tang Country, and once chaos erupts in Shu, the Qin Army would be irreparably doomed.

“Your Majesty, we only have 100,000 troops near the Old Capital, and at most increase to about 200,000 in a few days. Relying on so few people to defend the Imperial Capital is unlikely,” an army general pointed out the logistical difficulty.

The frontline troops collapsed at such a fast pace. Xiajian had initially gathered massive forces, over 700,000 troops confidently in an offensive posture.

Who could have imagined that overnight, the 700,000 to 800,000 troops collapsed just like that, and Xiajian was not held, losing their armor and fleeing all the way to Dongqing.

Then, the central group in Dongqing also instantly fell into a passive situation. Although Dongqing hasn’t been lost yet, it’s already surrounded on three sides, and half of their forces have been struck powerless by aerial attacks.

Over 1,300,000 people were trapped in the encirclement, and tens of thousands of troops retreated in defeat from Xiajian to the Old Capital. Don’t mention combat power; even the basic organizational structure of military units has disintegrated.

Just reorganizing these troops to restore their organizational framework and appointing enough officers to command them would take at least several months.

And as for these soldiers, like quails terrified by a bowstring, who knows how much courage remains in them to take up arms and return to the frontline to continue fighting with the Tang army—only heaven knows.

“The routed soldiers are unlikely to regain combat power, and even adding them up, the Old Capital would only have about 200,000 troops, still not enough assurance to hold it.” The army general added more figures, but these numbers, upon entering Emperor Qin’s ears, indeed made him uneasy.

700,000 Qin troops couldn’t hold Xiajian, and similarly, nearly 900,000 Qin troops in Dongqing didn’t achieve much either. Now asking 200,000 to hold the Old Capital, it’s really not very reassuring.

“We have already drawn some forces from Wangdu, Daxi Pass, and other areas, approximately 150,000 troops, heading towards the Old Capital to provide support…” Ying Duo comforted his generals, assuring them: “As long as we hold for 10 to 15 days, at least another 100,000 will reach the frontline! Determined defense is the solution!”

At this point, he could only paint a rosy picture for the collapsing army, and what he said was indeed true—if the Old Capital can delay for half a month, Qin Country’s subsequent forces can fill the gap at the front.

In Emperor Qin Ying Duo’s view, the Tang army isn’t likely to ignore the encirclement of a million Qin troops and continue advancing towards the Old Capital.

Destroying Wang Luo and Ying An’s troops would take some time, right? By the time all Qin troops from Hezhe to Dongqing are eliminated, and the Tang army’s main force advances to the Old Capital, the Qin army should have some defensive preparations ready.

By then, with telephone lines set up, reinforcement and supply coordination for the troops would have some reliance, making it unlikely for the Tang army to launch another surprise attack like at the start of the war.

“Report!” An officer entered, interrupting the ongoing meeting. It was already midnight; news delivered at this moment usually wasn’t good.

As expected, the officer whispered a few words into Emperor Qin Ying Duo’s ear, causing Ying Duo to stand up abruptly, staring wide-eyed at him: “What did you say?”

“Your Majesty!” The officer glanced around at the generals and ministers, nervously reminding Ying Duo.

Ying Duo waved his hand, ordering everyone at the meeting to leave. As everyone stood to depart, he instructed: “Prime Minister, Chief of Staff, and General Liu Zhian stay behind.”

The others quickly left upon hearing the orders, leaving the two military generals and Prime Minister Ying Ke looking at each other in confusion.

When everyone was gone, leaving only them, Ying Duo’s pale complexion slightly recovered: “Ying An has been captured by the Tang army…”

“What?” “Ah?” They all exclaimed in surprise…