Munitions Empire-Chapter 1126: Issue an order and settle it at 1047

The Imperial Capital of the Dahua Empire, after Zhao Ji’s departure, Li Mingshun continued to hold on for a few more days before he led the remaining troops in a panicked retreat from the city district that no longer had any value to defend.

To be frank, fighting within the Imperial Capital had already destroyed many of the ancient city’s neighborhood buildings, and Li Mingshun felt like a sinner, having subjected the city to unnecessary losses.

Watching as tranquility returned to the city districts, the Fengjiang rebels began maintaining order within the city, everything started to return to calm, and the local civilians finally saw the peace they had longed for.

Some curious folks ran to the suburbs to watch the Fengjiang troops advance southward and westward. These troops were equipped with a considerable number of vehicles and tanks, which seemed more capable of combat than the previous Dahua forces no matter how one looked at them.

After all, these troops had been strengthened to some extent, having acquired weapons and equipment drawn from the surrendered hundreds of thousands of soldiers, which were naturally in vast numbers.

Backed by the Blackwater oilfields to the north of Dongqing, these Fengjiang troops had an ample supply. Since the Blackwater oilfields surrendered early, their facilities were not destroyed; they continued to produce continuously, but now the gasoline produced was supplied to Zhao Yu’s Fengjiang army.

"It seems... that bastard Zhao Ji will never come back," a merchant, seeing the unending line of Fengjiang troops, said to a friend beside him.

His friend nodded in agreement with his view: "Indeed, look what he did when he came back to the Imperial Capital, right?"

"With Zhao Yu becoming Emperor, our future days will be good," the merchant continued.

They all looked forward to Zhao Yu’s return to assume the throne because he had always supported trade with the Great Tang Empire and frequently managed to secure some decent investment projects from there.

Thus, many merchants in the Dahua Empire supported Zhao Yu, and many Ministers also preferred the more generous Zhao Yu.

On the highway in front of them, trucks produced by the Great Tang Empire were lined up neatly, piled high with various materials, and some seated soldiers wearing Dahua military uniforms.

These soldiers all had white armbands around their arms because they were in such a hurry, there was no time for the Great Tang Empire to help them change their outfits. They had to fight in their old uniforms, increasing the likelihood of friendly fire incidents on the battlefield.

But this was unavoidable because those troops willing to stay put and wait for the Great Tang Empire to take over actually stayed where they were; those who returned to the Imperial Capital were the ones who wanted to return to Dahua no matter what.

After the best-equipped troops passed by, the following troops arrived in various cars: Dahua Empire manufactured its own trucks, and it also purchased some vehicles produced by Shireck and Gobur.

At that time, to pad the numbers, these vehicles were all given to the front-line troops; now, these troops have returned to the Imperial Capital, only their equipment is a chaotic mix and outdated, giving a somewhat disorderly and backward appearance.

A large number of vehicles and countless soldiers crowded the roads, the railway had not completely recovered due to the war, people everywhere were watching the excitement, and in places even further, one could see endless rows of tents.

Within the Imperial Capital, some Engineer Corps, in collaboration with the local Dahua people, had already started repairing streets destroyed by the war. They filled craters on the ground, began clearing rubble from collapsed houses, and transported found bodies out of the city.

The water plant had already resumed operation, the eastern power plant was still under repair due to being demolished by Li Mingshun, but the western power plant had partially restored power.

Most areas inside the city were still shrouded in darkness at night, but since the military patrolled, order was maintained. At least gunfire had vanished, and crimes like robbery were effectively curbed.

In the Imperial Capital, to avoid trouble, Luo Xiao chose Zhao Ji’s "Prince’s Mansion" as the command base. The place was spacious enough to accommodate a large amount of radio equipment.

In the relatively clean house, an officer from the Great Tang Empire’s military advisory group was reporting the latest battle conditions to Luo Xiao, the actual commander of the Fengjiang army: "Beiku has surrendered, our people have arrived there, they are very cooperative, as they themselves lacked the capability to resist anyway."

The surrender of the northern city Beiku was completely expected. This city was connected to the Imperial Capital by only one railroad, and with the Imperial Capital occupied by Fengjiang forces, Beiku naturally could only surrender.

"The Dahua forces in Beiku number about 5,000 men, and their equipment is not very good; it’s probably only enough to maintain local law and order," the officer added in explanation: "They are all light infantry equipped only with Shireck Model 1 bolt-action rifles; they don’t even have many trucks."

In fact, the equipment of the Dahua soldiers stationed at the Blackwater oilfields was similar: the Dahua Empire couldn’t keep all of its troops up to date with new equipment. In reality, they only cared about the weapons and equipment of the main forces; seldom did anyone inquire what exactly the second-line troops were wielding.

Seeing Luo Xiao not continuing the conversation, the military officer continued to report, "The Dahua troops in Wangdu have already disintegrated. They received Zhao Ji’s orders to reinforce the south at all costs, and because they lacked railway support, many generals were unwilling to leave their hometowns to follow Zhao Ji’s orders."

The troops were actually those from the northwest direction, dispatched to reinforce the Imperial Capital. Originally, there were about 150,000 men, but upon their arrival in Wangdu, they heard the news that the Imperial Capital had "fallen." freeweɓnøvel.com

At that moment, not knowing what to do, the reinforcement troops immediately fell into a panic. Some thought they should proceed southward to support their king loyally, others believed they should return the way they came, and there were those who advocated simply surrendering.

In any case, everyone had their own ideas, which directly led to the disbanding of the 150,000-strong army, turning subsequent actions into a farce.

The officer from the Great Tang Empire continued the report, "They scattered on the road south from Wangdu to Xiqing, with about 50,000 continuing towards Xiqing, and 100,000 returning to Wangdu... Now these Wangdu troops have chosen to surrender, willing to fight for Zhao Yu."

"That’s somewhat good news; at least we don’t have to worry about the garrison in Xiqing increasing to 250,000 men," Luo Xiao cracked a joke with a grin.

The officer laughed along with the other staff and civilian officers, then pointed to a city in the northern part of the map, and said, "The garrison in Bingshuo City has sent a telegram acknowledging Zhao Yu as the Emperor of Dahua. They are willing to serve the new Emperor, and Zhao Yu is dispatching people to take over command."

"Is he sending people? Can his appointees handle the handover properly?" A staff officer beside Luo Xiao hummed dismissively, expressing skepticism about Zhao Yu’s ability to appoint the right people.

To be frank, without Xu Guo’s help by his side, without the efforts of the intelligence department of the Great Tang Empire, Zhao Yu’s actual capabilities might not be better than Zhao Ji’s.

Luo Xiao shrugged his shoulders and laughed it off lightly, "We don’t need to worry about that. Whoever he wants to send, let him send. If there’s trouble, he’ll have to sort it out himself. Our agreement doesn’t include helping him suppress rebellion."

He even felt it would be better for Zhao Yu to stir up some trouble: in the end, it was the Great Tang Empire that would surely benefit.

After the laughter, the officer who was briefing them moved his finger further west, to a place where the key town of the Dahua Empire, Daxiguan, was located, "The troops at Daxiguan are still wavering, they are too far from us, so it seems they want to wait and see which way the wind is blowing."

If Shahun is considered the largest city on the farthest western side of the Dahua Empire, then Daxiguan is the fortified point on the western side of the Dahua Empire that is easy to defend but hard to attack.

The Dahua Empire has consistently stationed more than 200,000 troops there to guard against the increasingly powerful and capable Qin Country to the west.

"The Qin Country has been quite well-behaved; they fear our stance, so they did not attack Shahun. However, the garrison in Shahun is very clear about their situation and have sent a telegram to express their submission to Zhao Yu," as they discussed Shahun, a trace of joy appeared on everyone’s faces.

If eventually all four cities in the northwest could be smoothly handed over to Zhao Yu, then their task could be considered mostly accomplished.

Among the remaining cities, only six in the southern part of the Dahua Empire are not under Zhao Yu’s control. Capturing these six cities would effectively mark the end of the civil war in Dahua.

As soon as the civil war in the Dahua Empire ends, Zhao Yu must keep his promise to downgrade the Dahua Empire to the Kingdom of Dahua, and cede one-third of the territory to the Great Tang Empire...

So, many officers started to feel optimistic, "Once Shahun is secured, the entire northwest of Dahua will fall into our hands. As long as there are no disturbances, we’ll soon accomplish our task."

Luo Xiao reminded these optimistic officers that there are still many battles to fight, "It’s too early to celebrate! Zhao Jie has built a defense line in Pingfeng, and relying on Shanchong and Jutian to stabilize the front. To take down this dependent king won’t be easy."

He praised his adversary, giving a fair assessment, "Li Mingshun is also quite perspicacious; they did not retreat to Wangdu but moved to Xiqing instead. Now they are defending the three cities of Xiqing, Caili, and the gateways into Shu province, reducing their overall defensive width and becoming neighbors with Zhao Jie."

Having the courage to abandon the more numerous cities in the northwest and turn to escape toward the less populated southwest does indeed make it more difficult for the Fengjiang troops to attack the south.

However, in Luo Xiao’s view, this was merely a last-ditch struggle. Zhao Ji and Li Mingshun, who fled to Xiqing, along with the areas controlled by Zhao Jie, totaled only six large cities.

In contrast, without counting the territories soon to be ceded to the Great Tang Empire, Zhao Yu had control of as many as nine cities, dominating the southern region in industrial manufacturing.

Because they heavily rely on the technology of the Great Tang Empire, as well as the parts and various special materials provided by it, most of the Dahua Empire’s industry has essentially been placed along the railway lines.