Munitions Empire

Therefore, upon seeing the Chief of Staff resting in the village, the commander of the guard battalion began to complain: "Chief of Staff, if something happens, how do I explain it to General Tagg?"

"I will have a good talk with him, make him pay attention to his safety," the Chief of Staff replied. While he spoke, a female officer from the division headquarters passed by, carrying a large stack of documents.

"Chief of Staff, the 2nd Battalion made contact! I have marked their position on the map," another officer who followed the female officer reported as he passed by the Chief of Staff.

The already busy Chief of Staff nodded, then pulled out a map from the clutter on the folding table to check the positions on it.

The entire division was in disarray... Many troops were still unaccounted for. However, the good news was that those found had already reached their assigned positions.

On the other end of Zheng Country’s King City, the 155 mm howitzers of the 1st Infantry Division were bombarding the walls of King City from 10 kilometers away.

The heavy shells landed near the city walls, with one directly exploding at the base, toppling a thick segment of the wall.

The fractured stones of the wall broke and tumbled, several soldiers stationed at the top were killed by the artillery fire, and the surrounding Zheng soldiers panicked as they passed under the collapsing wall, quickly disappearing into the rolling dust.

"What do we do now? What do we do now?" Zheng Tong, watching the smoking walls in the distance, questioned Li Jun and Zhang Ming at his side.

Zhang Ming looked towards Li Jun, curious himself about what plans the Great General of Zheng Country could possibly have to address the crisis at hand.

"I have already ordered the troops to set up a defensive perimeter; based on the combat manual provided by Shireck, we dug trenches and reinforced artillery at key positions," Li Jun replied, competently and properly, indeed a capable commander.

He had actually not seen these tactics before, but after suffering several setbacks, he decisively began to use the new methods outlined by Shireck.

In addition, he deployed a large number of soldiers in the workshops and factory halls outside the Royal Palace and was prepared to contest these vital industrial facilities with the Tang Army.

"Is there any news from the envoy we sent to Dahua for reinforcements?" Zheng Tong then turned to Zhang Ming at his side and asked.

Zhang Ming immediately bowed his head: "Your Majesty! There’s no news yet! However, there was information earlier that the road to Dahua was cut off, in chaos, with Tang Army everywhere…"

"We’ve fallen into the enemy’s trap!" If Zheng Tong hadn’t figured out by now that the strategy proposed by Pang Tong was actually poison for Zheng Country, he wouldn’t be fit to be the king of Zheng Country.

Thus, he did not blame Li Jun; the fact that the Great General of Zheng Country could lead troops back to the King City to enforce loyalty was already satisfying to him.

"Order the troops to hold! As long as we hold on, the Imperial forces from the Dahua Empire will arrive! Just hold on... and there will be a way!" Zheng Tong then looked at Li Jun and ordered, "Open the treasury! Reward the three armies! Those who fight with dedication will have their rewards in the future!"

Li Jun immediately nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty! I will fight to the last soldier, never retreat half a step!"

He intended to have his troops use buildings and cover to fight against the Tang Army encircling the King City. He believed he roughly had 50,000 troops at his disposal; while he thought this might not be enough to counterattack the Tang Army, it should be more than sufficient for defending the Royal Palace.

So, after assuring Zheng Tong of his determination to hold out to the last moment, the Zheng Army continued, "Although the enemy has begun shelling the city walls, they haven’t bombarded the Royal Palace... they must be wary of damaging equipment, reluctant to attack the civilians inside the city... Your Majesty, leave this to me, go back to the Royal Palace and rest..."

Before he could finish his sentence, artillery shells whistled over his head, with the Tang Army’s shells flying over the battlements and into the city, accurately striking Zheng Tong’s Royal Palace.

A massive explosion destroyed the Royal Palace’s wall and collapsed several buildings; thick smoke rose from the palace, and even flames could be glimpsed among it.

"Quick! Put out the fire!" Zhang Ming was stunned, then was the first to snap out of it, crying out with a sob in his voice.

Li Jun also reacted, immediately commanding a general by his side, "Quick! Go put out the fire! You personally lead people to put out the fire! Protect the Royal Palace! Don’t let chaos break out!"

Following his order, the general hurriedly clutched his waist saber and rushed toward the Royal Palace with a few soldiers. On the streets, the common people were ducking for cover, heart-stricken and unsure of what to do.

This was the first time the Tang Army had shelled targets within the city, and it also meant they were getting closer and closer to King City.

Zheng Tong, who had never felt the pressure of war up close, now had a particularly ugly look on his face. Previously, his experience had been limited to seeing smoke and hearing the sound of cannons, but now he had truly seen the Royal Palace, his Royal Palace, being destroyed by artillery fire.

Earlier, for safety, Zheng Tong had followed Li Jun’s advice and moved his headquarters to a separate courtyard, away from the main target of the Royal Palace.

But as the bombardment continued, both Li Jun and Zheng Tong realized that the Tang Army seemed never to shell the Royal Palace of Zheng Country.

That’s why Li Jun had only just convinced Zheng Tong to return to the Royal Palace to issue commands. But the Tang Army, which had never before shelled the King City, suddenly bombarded the Royal Palace today.

Suddenly, chaos began to spread. The Zheng Army stationed outside the city hadn’t even had time to check the collapsed walls behind them when the Tang Army’s attack began.

Next to the vine-covered walls, there was a hastily dug trench by the Zheng Army forces. The soldiers from Zheng Country huddled inside the trench, holding their heads and curling up as shells fell around their positions.

The vibrations eventually caused the already unstable walls to collapse, and with one explosion after another gradually receding, the Tang Army soldiers dispersed and advanced toward the Zheng Army’s position.

Amidst the gunpowder smoke, a Zheng Country soldier poked his head out from the trench, spotted the Tang Army soldiers who had already come close to their position, and immediately withdrew his head.

"This is bad! The enemy, the enemy is coming over here!" The young Zheng Country soldier pressed his voice to the lowest and shouted with all his might.

Hearing the warning, the Zheng Army soldiers inside the trench quickly chose their positions, poked their heads out, and then their weapons, ready to pull the trigger on those approaching enemies.

But before they could open fire, bullets from the sniper rifles flying toward them sent those Zheng Country soldiers back into the trench.

The shot soldier fell on his back, with a hole in his forehead. Seeing their comrade’s head blown open, the remaining Zheng Country soldiers all pulled their heads back, no longer daring to look out carelessly and see how the situation was changing.

Not everyone has the courage to expose their head to a sniper, let alone the opposite side wasn’t just one sniper! It was a group!

While these terrified Zheng Country soldiers were huddling in the trench, arguing with their eyes over who should take a peek to scope out the situation, the Tang Army soldiers crawling forward outside the trench had already come very close.

Carefully withdrawing grenades from beside them, the Tang Army soldiers in pairs pulled the pins from the grenades and then released the safety lever.

The delayed fuses started to work, and after mentally counting to two, the soldiers threw their grenades forward together.

Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

Explosions suddenly resounded above the heads of the Zheng Army soldiers hiding in the trench, and the soil lifted by the blasts fell upon them.

Due to the explosions, one after another, the thrown soil seemed to be burying all the people alive in the trench.

At that moment, at the foot of a Zheng Country soldier, a round grenade tumbled and rolled to the side of his shoe

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Brothers, Dragon Spirit is ill and needs a couple of days to recover, so for now we’ll just have one update. Once the illness is over, I will make up the updates.

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