Munitions Empire

It was shocking, or rather, it bordered on the comical, that Chu Country, the one most severely affected by the disaster, became the first to declare war on Tang Country. The reason for the declaration of war was that Tang Country's flood control and rescue efforts had interfered with normal drainage and flood discharge practices, which greatly harmed the citizens of Chu Country. Therefore, Chu Country had no choice but to declare war on Tang Country. Merely one minute after this declaration of war, the Dahua Empire officially declared war on Tang Country with the reason being to protect their vassal state, Chu Country... Within half an hour, the Laines Empire, Dorne Empire, and Ice Empire successively declared war on Tang Country, with astonishingly similar reasons: they condemned Tang Country's disaster relief actions for disregarding the lives of Chu Country's citizens, thus declaring war on Tang Country. Hearing such reasons really evoked a mixture of laughter and tears. Their reason for attacking a country was simply because that country had performed its flood control and emergency response too well. Following that, Tang Country took a strong stance and declared war on all the countries that had declared war on them, including the Dahua Empire, Qin Country, Chu Country, Shen Country, Ice Cold Empire, Poplar Empire, Suthers Empire, Laines Empire, Dorne Empire, and Gobur Kingdom. In essence, Tang Country was declaring war on half the world, pitting itself against so many countries. On this day, the First World War officially erupted, with the Anti-Tang Allied Forces battling the Tang Army. The disparity in military strength was so staggering it was shocking, yet the war still began. Almost simultaneously with the declarations of war, combat erupted. In a complete contrast to the previous slow pace, amidst the continuous drizzle, the Dahua Empire's border troops began bombarding territories within Tang Country. Having prepared for a long time and holding an absolute advantage in military strength, the Dahua Empire assembled over 3000 cannons, thoroughly plowing the areas they suspected to be occupied by the Tang Army. As these shells landed on Tang Country's soil and kicked up plumes of black smoke, a telegraph crossed the ocean and flew to a certain sea area. Waves slapped against the deck as the smoking submarine commander, leaning against the conning tower, stared blankly at the distant horizon. A sailor emerged from the hatch behind him and shouted at his captain, "A telegram from Linshui." The captain flicked his cigarette into the sea, turned around to receive the telegram, and glanced over the content. Then he crumpled the message into a ball, stuffed it into his pocket, and with a gloomy expression, walked over to the hatch, "War has broken out! Our mission is to attack Brunas Harbor! Pay a visit to our 'old friends' there!" One by one, the sailors who had been airing out on the conning tower crawled back into the submarine; clothes hanging from the rail had also been gathered and brought inside. Adjusting the white naval cap atop his head, he was the last to enter inside the submarine, securing the hatch above him, "Change course, head for Brunas! Sink any and all ships we encounter!" He descended the steel ladder, strode to his battle station, and addressed the crew operating the submarine, "Our homeland is being ravaged by floods, our brothers in the Army are helping our families fight the disaster! And these bastards plan to annihilate our country at a time like this!" After pausing briefly, he asked everyone, "What should we do?" "Fight! Fight!" Everyone shouted loudly. The submarine's location was not far from Brunas, and they had already reached their designated position before the outbreak of the war. With the war's outbreak looming, Tang Country's Navy had begun strategic deployment. Their submarines had been dispatched with orders to maintain communication at all times. Now, the war had broken out. "Open the valves! Dive! Periscope depth! Battle stations! Check the bow torpedoes!" the captain bellowed his orders as white foam encircled the submarine, and the floating deck gradually sank beneath the water. The conning tower cut through the water, shattering the waves straight ahead, and surged toward the direction of Brunas. The snorkel began to rise, and over time, the Dragon Banner-adorned conning tower also began to sink. In Dragon Harbor, the duty officer grabbed the telephone, "Hello! All warships, light your boilers! Start preheating! Be ready to leave port in 20 hours!" "War has begun! The war has already started!" The harbor resonated with the warning sounds from the loudspeakers. Sailors started to muster and board ships while smokestacks of distant warships began to belch thick black smoke. The neatly docked Dongwan-class battleships began warming their boilers, and preparations for departure were underway for both Wolf-class cruisers and two models of destroyers. The last truck carrying life jackets entered the harbor, distributing the newly made life jackets to sailors about to embark onto ships. Above the newly-installed bridge of the Dongwan-class battleship, radar equipment that had been shrouded in canvas finally revealed its true form. The few remaining Dongwan-class battleships of Tang Country had all undergone modernization refits, installing more anti-aircraft guns and also adding radar fire control systems. This extended the theoretical range of the main guns of Tang Country's battleships to over 20 kilometers, significantly strengthening their combat capabilities. Some merchant ships from other countries that had just arrived at the port were naturally detained, and many of Tang Country's transport ships heading to foreign ports also lost contact, tallying incalculable losses worldwide on this day. Far out at sea, aboard the bridge of a newly-built Linshui-class destroyer, the captain of Tang Country received a telegram. After reading it, he immediately issued combat orders, "Turn on the radar! All personnel, prepare for battle!" Instantly, alarms began to sound, and the duty radar operator powered up the radar, causing the circular screen to light up green, its grid lines reflecting a faint glow against the backlight. On an accompanying destroyer of the same class, lights were flashing urgently—a signal inquiring whether their lead ship had received the same message. The sharp bows of the two destroyers rose and fell against the rolling waves, the spray they kicked up at the crests rising as high as a few stories. Atop a mountain on Dragon Island, two soldiers climbed a tall metal frame and tore off the tarpaulin covering it. A neat row of connected antennas revealed their true form, an early warning radar system capable of detecting aerial targets over a hundred kilometers away. Meanwhile, on the runway of an airfield, the propellers of two B-17 Flying Fortress bombers designated for patrol began to spin, and the already boarded pilots gave a thumbs up to the ground crew beside them. After the outbreak of war, the number of patrol aircraft naturally increased manifold, yet the defenses around Dragon Island remained as solid as ever, given that the Tang Army's main fleet was deployed here, along with submarines lurking in the shadows. Upon hearing the news of many countries declaring war on their own, the military and civilians of Tang Country, who were fully engaged in flood relief, became enraged. All they wanted was to live a good life, to survive well—why was there always someone trying to bully them? Thinking this way deep in their hearts, the common people, who were busy with their daily struggles for survival, fully erupted in anger. In many places, people spontaneously organized, petitioning the authorities, supporting their King, Your Majesty, eager to volunteer for the defense of their homeland. Three hours after the outbreak of the war, Tang Mo issued a decree, calling for the national mobilization for war, requiring reservists to report to recruitment centers at all levels. At the same time, Tang Mo issued another decree, asking the people to remain calm, to focus on flood control and disaster relief to stabilize the home front, and to support the front lines through production and other means. In the western frontiers of Tang Country, the Dahua Type 1 tanks made by the Dahua Empire crossed the border, covering an innumerable number of Dahua Empire soldiers and launching an attack on Tang Country. The tanks of the Dahua Empire were copies of the Shireck Type 2 tank, with a combat weight of 15 tons, equipped with a 90mm caliber short-barreled gun, and they resembled a larger version of the T-26 tank. The performance of these tanks was fairly balanced, with average defense and firepower similar to the tanks of the Tang Army, and their mobility was also comparable. The only problem was that these tanks lacked communication equipment, making coordinated command quite inconvenient and thereby reducing their combat effectiveness significantly. Yet, their concrete specifications were there to be seen, and they were certainly much more advanced than the early Shireck Type 1 tanks. When over a hundred such tanks began their attack, escorting twenty thousand soldiers, their momentum was indeed formidable. These troops belonged to the 3rd Armored Division and Infantry Division of the Dahua Empire's 3rd Armored Army, and their target was the important border city of Xicong in Tang Country's western front. As a border city, Xicong was an industrial hub with various light industries and also a junction for many nearby railways. Many of the products that Tang Country exported to the Dahua Empire before the outbreak of war passed through here. Being a key transportation hub with a large airport and a commercial gateway, capturing Xicong virtually represented achieving the initial strategic goals of the Dahua Empire. Tagg naturally focused his defenses here, as Xicong housed the Tang Army's largest munitions depot on the border, storing a massive inventory of military supplies, with three field airports behind it, and two hundred military aircraft of various models parked there. Losing Xicong was no laughing matter; it could adversely affect the entire course of the war. Therefore, Tagg stationed his main forces here, preparing to resist step by step, to buy time. Unfortunately, he only had hastily constructed defensive works, and most defenses could barely be deployed relying on the terrain, desperately resisting against the enemy's superior numbers and overwhelming firepower. Thus, the Dahua Empire's military quickly crossed the border and penetrated the territory of the Great Tang Kingdom, marking the first time that Tang Kingdom's lands had been invaded by enemy forces since its establishment. In the northern part of the western front, the roles were reversed. The Tang Army assembled its 1st, 2nd, and 3rd main armored divisions, and thousands of tanks, launching an offensive against the Dahua Empire. The sky remained cloaked in dark clouds, and the rain continued to pour down as if weeping for the world.