Munitions Empire

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Some things are just so strange. In the Brunas sector of the Jade City at Northern Ridge, where things were the most chaotic, hundreds of thousands of people had already begun to relocate. Yet, in reality, nobody was prepared to fight a battle here.

On the other hand, at the quiet and eerily silent border between the Tang Country and Qi Country, where a real war was being prepared for, all trade ports were shut, and envoys from both nations had been called back. Everything seemed to have come to a standstill.

On both sides of the boundary markers, as troops and generals were being dispatched, the situation had already escalated to a do-or-die stance—even if Qi Country did not want to fight, it had become necessary to carry on with the war.

No one would complain that their trenches were too deep or too complex before a war, nor would anyone think they had too much ammunition in reserve.

Within the concealed positions of Qi Country, groups of soldiers were moving boxes of bullets. Commanders had already smelled the scent of war and had started organizing the distribution of the bullets to the soldiers on the front lines.

The ammo was being stockpiled in the trenches, carefully camouflaged and hidden within the sturdy defensive fortifications.

Qi soldiers, wearing soft caps and carrying Shireck Model 1 bolt-action rifles, stood guard over the distance. In front of them was a stretch of barbed wire, and beyond that, they could see small mounds on the other side of the border line.

Compared to them, the soldiers of the Great Tang Kingdom appeared completely unprepared for war. No fine wire networks were visible from the opposite side, nor were there any signs of laborers digging trenches.

Although the commanders repeatedly warned everyone that the enemy's defenses might be behind the mounds, no one wanted to believe such ghost stories.

If the enemy were to build defenses, wouldn't they take advantage of this high ground? At the very least, shouldn't they deploy a company of soldiers here? Or have three trenches and a sapper ditch in the front?

Yet, the Tang Army had none of this; one could only occasionally see some Tang soldiers patrolling by—wearing steel helmets, dressed in gray-green military uniforms, and hastening along with their packs and weapons.

By all accounts, today should still be a calm and ordinary day, unremarkable and waveless. Everyone would continue to dig trenches, build fortifications, casually eat some unsavory military rations, and rest after lights out in the evening.

But on this peaceful day, there suddenly arose a commotion—the loudspeakers set up on the position for broadcasting suddenly crackled to life with a message that nobody anticipated, echoing throughout the positions.

"The enemy has opened fire! Return fire! Return fire!" The voice from the speakers, accompanied by incessant static, resounded; and then, shortly after, the sound of machine-gun fire really did erupt from a nearby position.

The company commander, who had not even managed to put on his pants properly, burst out of his command bunker in a fit of anger, loudly demanding what had happened.
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But nobody knew what had transpired, no one was aware of the specifics. Everyone had only heard machine-gun fire and the news of war's outbreak repeatedly echoing from the speakers.

"Who the hell ordered to fire? Who was it!" The company commander, having heard the nearby gunfire, finally managed to get his pants on and then, with his guard, stormed toward the position close by with raging momentum.

It was the neighboring battalion's position, not under his command, but it was obvious there was no issue in him going over to see what was happening.

He had barely taken two steps when the whistling sound of incoming shells made him flinch and stop his cursing.

He could tell that it was the sound of the Shireck 130mm howitzer deployed on the front line, firing from Qi Country toward Tang Country!

"What's going on... Wasn't it just yesterday they emphasized not to fire the first shot?" The company commander was bewildered, unsure of what to do.

Even now he was befuddled, unaware of what had occurred. Why had someone fired? Why had the artillery behind start shelling so inexplicably?

Did the regiment commander know? Did the division commander know? The army commander... surely the army commander didn't know; that guy was probably still in bed with a concubine back in the city...

"Something's not right! Something's amiss..." He keenly sensed that this was completely different from the spirit conveyed in previous meetings, there had to be a problem.

But as a mere company commander, how could he pinpoint the issue? He could only stand there, dumbfounded, watching as the war gradually escalated.

At first, it was a single 130mm howitzer; then it became an entire howitzer battery. Nobody knew what exactly was happening, so each began their own performance.

The machine gun from the neighboring battalion had just stopped its barrage, but then sporadic gunfire came through. Soon, it seemed a bullet flew from the opposite side, and on the Qi army company commander's own position, someone fired back.

It seemed as though war had broken out—if not, why would everything suddenly become so lively?

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A signalman quickly passed by; he came to inquire if there had been any attacks by the Tang Army. Some said they heard gunfire from the opposite side, others said they didn't hear anything at all — the accounts varied greatly, even the company commander couldn't be sure whether he had heard the enemy fire or not.

Because, up until now, it seemed that the Tang Army has not launched any effective artillery counter-strike, one could only hear the Qi Army's cannons rumbling from time to time.

This signalman hadn't left when another one rushed over, coming with orders to prepare all troops for battle. If the Tang Army attacked, they were to retaliate firmly.

The voice over the loudspeaker had changed and was now broadcasting the news of the Tang Army's attack in a loop, stating that the Tang Army was attacking a position several kilometers away, which was why they were returning fire.

People quickly realized that despite the fervor of their own side's fire, the Tang Army's response didn't seem to be significant at all.

Originally, everyone had guessed that behind the earth mounds on the border line must be the Tang Army's defensive positions, but now it seems that this might not be the case.

Most of the recent artillery fire had landed on the other side of the earth mounds, but the Tang Army clearly hadn't been hurt by it; otherwise, they wouldn't have remained silent up until now.

The gunfire that lasted for over two hours, along with the occasional artillery fire, was almost exclusively coming from the Qi Army's side; the Tang Army seemed virtually non-existent.

By now, even the soldier who had initially assuredly claimed to have heard the Tang Army's counterattack gunfire, wasn't sure whether he had really seen bullets hitting the ground in front of their position.

At this point, no one knew for certain whether it was their side that fired first at the Tang Army or it was the other way around. Everyone was at a loss, followed by a series of ridiculous actions.

The Tang Country issued a statement condemning Qi Country for inciting trouble on the border line, invading Tang Country's territory, and attacking the Tang Army patrol team.

Qi Country immediately responded in kind, accusing the Tang Army of being the first to fire on their defensive positions and disrupting regional peace and stability.

As if it were just natural, Tang Country declared war on Qi Country, and within minutes, Qi Country declared war on Tang Country. Neither side seemed to bother about who fired the first shot; they didn't even go through the process and laid their cards on the table directly.

The outcome so far still seemed to be within everyone's comprehension, but what happened next was somewhat confusing.

After declaring war on each other, the border quieted down: From the Qi side, there was no longer continuous waste of artillery shelling the Tang Army, and on the Tang side, no subsequent actions were initiated.

The Qi Army, lacking any means of breakthrough, could only stay put in their positions, waiting for the Tang Army's attack, as their previous plans were defensive.

After all, the impression that the Tang Army had left on Shireck was one of unpredictable tactical finesse, flexibility, and sharpness. So, the military advisory group from Shireck had prepared the Qi Army generals a tactic of holding their ground.

Moreover, lessons from the last war suggested that the defensive side always had the advantage, and the offensive side, even with the deployment of new weaponry, could easily suffer losses. Given this context, it was understandable that the Qi Army preferred to stay in their positions and not initiate an attack.

On the Tang side, because Tang Mo wasn't quite ready, his reinforcing troops were still gathering along the railway lines, waiting for subsequent transport.

These newly established units were meant to fill the defensive line. Additionally, Tang Mo's Air Force hadn't arrived in its entirety at the war zone yet and needed a few more days for rest and adjustment before he was eager to launch an attack.

The day after Tang Country declared war on Qi Country, the Dahua Empire announced its condemnation of Tang Country for its arrogance and rudeness; shortly thereafter, Chu Country also condemned Tang Country.

Amidst these countries' hysterical condemnations, Tang Army's B-17 bomber squadrons arrived at the front, beginning their rest and maintenance.

Another day passed, and two newly formed infantry divisions reached the front, with subsequent heavy weapons and equipment beginning to be put in place gradually.

That afternoon, the Laines Empire condemned the Great Tang Group for its support of the Tang Country, demanding that the Great Tang Group cease its arms trade with the Tang Kingdom.

Afterward, Dorne and Suthers also contacted the Tang Group, expressing hope that the Tang Group would reconsider its relationship with the Tang Kingdom. They emphasized that if the Tang Group persisted in its actions, it would affect the commercial cooperation between the two countries and the Tang Group.

On the fourth day after Tang and Qi declared war, the battlefield was still quiet. In this war that had the whole world watching a form of quiet sitting, everyone started to believe that the once unconquerable Great Tang security forces were nothing special after all.

On the fifth day at dawn, as the first light of morning shone over this land, Tang Mo received a telegram from Tagg and Redman, claiming that they were ready to attack.

"Give Tagg and Redman the order to attack… We can't let our enemies wait for too long. It's been so long, they seem to have forgotten… Great Tang… has never been defeated!" Putting down the telegram, Tang Mo muttered to himself in a voice no one else could hear, "I'm waiting for the tanks and planes to be in place… What are you waiting for, Jiang Xian?"