Munitions Empire

``` Off the coast of Brunas, the busy sea lanes were bustling with countless small ships, most of which were of modest tonnage and used for short-haul cargo transportation. Although most navies in this world had phased out sailing ships, the scale of military shipbuilding programs was so vast that civilian transport developments hadn't progressed as quickly as one might have expected. Most of the coastal transport ships had wooden hulls and were small, rendering them of little value for attack and with limited cargo capacity. Nevertheless, many large ships had been built, some civilian liners exceeding 3,000 tons, truly deserving of the title "giant ships." Near the farther outside anchorage, countless patrol boats shuttled back and forth, and the massive smokestacks of warships belched thick smoke, further darkening the already dimming sky. The Laines Empire had declared war on the Great Tang Kingdom, and the navy had more or less entered a state of war. Despite the sudden onset of the rainy season and the equally sudden floods, the Laines Empire had completed its battle preparations as swiftly as possible. All the warships had assembled, and the immense fleet stationed off the coast of Brunas bestowed endless security upon the new residents of Brunas. No joking, the four Brunas-class battleships were formidable forces indeed, complemented by more than ten cruisers and nearly twenty destroyers. The fleet was such an upgrade from the old Laines fleet that it could be likened to trading a shotgun for a cannon. They were waiting, for the Dorne fleet moving northwards to join them. Then they would set sail, converge with the Poplar Empire's fleet to the north, and head to Shencountry. After resupplying in Shencountry and merging with its fleet, they would attack Linshui. With an overwhelming military advantage, they aimed to completely destroy Linshui Port and cripple the Great Tang Kingdom's sea transportation. To counter the aerial threat, every warship participating in the operation had been fitted with numerous large-caliber machine guns to enhance their anti-aircraft capabilities—a veritable porcupine in terms of armament. In the banquet hall of Brunas 1, the flagship battleship, advisers from Shireck were prematurely celebrating the victory they anticipated alongside the naval commanders of the Laines Empire. It's worth noting that the assembly of dozens of battleships seemed unbeatable in their eyes. They simply couldn't fathom what Tang Mo could do to resist such a powerful fleet. "Don't worry, we won't be taking too many risks this time," reassured the adviser from Shireck to the Laines Empire's admiral, "Even if we only cut off the enemy's deep-sea routes and sink their oil tankers, we are guaranteed to win!" They had no reason to lack confidence, as the Dahua Empire's ground forces had already breached Tang Country's borders. Reinforcements from both Qin Country and Chu Country were on the way, piling on the pressure like a mountain. If that wasn't sufficient, they could pass through Shencountry to transport troops from the Ice Cold Empire and Shencountry themselves to land in Beiyuan City, exerting pressure on Tang Country from another side. Moreover, with their superior navy attacking Linshui's eastern harbors and Dragon Harbor, the Tang Kingdom was systematically disadvantaged and left with no opportunity for resistance. Even if Tang Country had aerial superiority, the anti-Tang alliance also had an Air Force, with a total exceeding ten thousand aircraft! Although most of these planes were old-fashioned biplanes, persisting without allowing Tang Country to exploit their air superiority and disrupting their combat deployment was, at least to some degree, achievable. No matter how one calculated it, the advantage was on their side, which was thrilling for the high-ranking figures of the participating empires. After all, the demise of Tang Country presented numerous benefits for them. On one hand, they could carve up Tang Country's wealth, technology, and take everything they wanted. On the other hand, they could destroy the sleep-stealing Tang Country development model, snuff out the spark they detested, and prevent the spread of Tang Country's reform methods that might influence their nations. In summary, it was beneficial for all the countries involved, a once-and-for-all war, so there was no reason not to fight! They also had no reason to allow Tang Country to continue existing. "I still suggest focusing on cutting off the enemy's supply lines! There's no need to enter dangerous coastal regions to fight," expressed the admiral of the Laines Empire, concerned about potential risks to his warships. "Relax! The navy of the Ice Cold Empire is converging with that of Shencountry. They will be the first to attack; we are merely there to help, so there's no danger," the adviser from Shireck continued to assure. In his view, by the time the subsequent fleets reached Shencountry, the maritime battle would probably be over. The combined naval might of Shencountry and the Ice Cold Empire was already enough to crush Tang Country's navy. At that moment, an officer knocked and entered the not-so-large banquet hall, walked over to his superior, and said in a lowered voice, "Sir, we've just received a message; Tang Army's attempt to breach the Dahua Empire's border defenses has been thwarted." ``` Redman's attack was not going smoothly; he had assembled an armored force to launch an offensive, but progress was slow due to the lack of air superiority. To avoid unnecessary casualties, the Tang Army withdrew from the battle, which greatly boosted the confidence of the Allied Forces and made them believe that the armored onslaught of the Tang Army was not as formidable as they thought. "After all, the numerical advantage of Dahua's military is too apparent, they have at least 300,000 troops defending the northern front, while the Tang Army might not even total a hundred thousand..." The smile on the face of the admiral from the Laines Empire widened, and he too began to feel that the war meant to annihilate Tang Country might truly be within reach of victory. Floods were ravaging the interior of Tang Country, and it was besieged by so many empires from the outside, one could say it was beset by internal and external troubles and had little chance to turn the situation around. Thus, he raised his glass to Shireck's advisor and said with a smile, "Then, here's to our flag leading to victory!" "To our flag leading to victory!" Shireck's advisor also smiled and raised his glass, but before either of them could drink, a distant, ethereal boom was heard. "Hmm?" Despite the thick armor and being inside the hull, the dull explosion was still clearly heard by everyone. Shireck's advisor frowned, and the admiral from the Laines Empire also looked displeased. If something went wrong at this time, like a boiler explosion or ammunition catching fire, they would truly want to execute a few unfortunate souls to set an example. "What's gone wrong?" the admiral from the Laines Empire asked, holding his glass and looking annoyed at the person next to him: "Go have a look!" The officer, upon receiving the order, hurriedly turned and went out; by the time he climbed up to the deck, he saw that it was already crowded with sailors, who were pointing and chattering about Brunas's number 3 Battleship in the distance. He pushed through the crowd, then saw Brunas's number 3 Battleship, billowing with thick smoke. He was slightly startled by the sight before him, and, somewhat frightened, muttered subconsciously, "What... what happened?" "Don't know... Brunas's number 3 Battleship suddenly exploded, not sure what happened, could be..." The sailor, who heard the murmur, answered the question, but just as he was about to suggest a boiler explosion as the cause, Brunas's number 3 Battleship's bow also suddenly exploded with a loud bang. Even though it was no longer bright outside, aided by the lights from Brunas City in the distance and the dying rays of the sunset, it was still possible to see clearly that the explosion had slightly lifted the bow of Brunas's number 3 Battleship, warping the deck. "What... what on earth... what's happened..." The officer sent to investigate stared at the exploding Brunas's number 3 Battleship in disbelief. At that moment, on the sea far away, where no one was paying attention, a tube-like device traced a small ripple on the surface of the water, slowly advancing, its lens aimed at the Brunas's number 2 Battleship which was moored behind Brunas's number 3 Battleship. "Prepare torpedoes!" the captain of the U-11 submarine, with his face against the periscope, issued a low command. Inside the dim command room, the crew repeated the captain's order. In the forward torpedo room, the soldiers opened the torpedoes' safety mechanisms and then unscrewed the front torpedo loading hatch covers, strenuously pushing the torpedoes into the torpedo tubes which had already been fired. Meanwhile, on the other side, the three torpedo tubes were already aimed at the target moored at the anchorage; for this submarine, that battleship was completely an undefended prey. "Fire!" Having completed the turn and aiming of the submarine, the captain issued the attack order once again. Since the enemies were completely unaware of the existence of such a weapon as a submarine, they had too much ample time to change firing positions, aim, and then launch the torpedoes at leisure. And Tang Mo's 533-caliber torpedoes were later improved for reliability, mature designs with no issues of hitting the target without exploding. Being mature products tested through the battlegrounds of craftsmanship and design, there was no need for the testing phase, allowing for rapid mass production and deployment. "Torpedo launch!" The sailors repeated their captain's command, opening the torpedo tubes of the submarine and then skillfully turning the compressed air valves in the dark. With the opening of the submarine's torpedo bay doors, a torrent of bubbles surged toward the surface. Following that, three torpedoes were successively pushed out by compressed air, accelerating towards the distant target. The propellers spun rapidly, churning up a trail of bubbles, and a white wake appeared on the sea surface, extending directly from the submarine towards the distant Brunas-class battleship. Three straight lines headed directly forward, inching closer to the target, and at this time, most of the sailors aboard Brunas's number 2 Battleship were still crowded on the deck, watching the commotion of Brunas's number 3 Battleship. They were completely oblivious to the fact that beneath their feet on the battleship's flank, three white lines were already on the brink, about to slam into the steel beneath their feet.