Munitions Empire

"The troops are too few; we must focus on encircling and annihilating Qian Jinhang's forces," Tang Mo, staring at the map, said to Luff and the others standing behind him. "Although I'm an outsider and don't want to interfere with the commanders on the battlefield, attacking Sword Pavilion really is risky," Tang Mo's gaze rested on the city of Sword Pavilion as he continued to speak. The Tang Army had deployed roughly 40,000 troops in the direction of Sword Pavilion, only about two divisions, which had to be spread out over a quite extensive defensive front. Although this defensive front was now effectively an offensive front, such a small force trying to control such a vast area was a very dangerous thing. "Despite the fact that capturing Sword Pavilion would be more advantageous for us, this plan has actually exceeded the entire troops' capabilities," Tang Mo also felt a bit reluctant because taking Sword Pavilion indeed had many benefits for Tang Country. From a macro perspective, obtaining a strategic foothold to the west of Hidden Sword Gorge would allow the Tang Army to maintain a high-pressure situation in the southeastern region of Dahua, using fewer troops to contain a large number of enemy forces. This bridgehead could also directly threaten Dahua's cities to the west of Hidden Sword Gorge, while at the same time undermining the very foundation of the Dahua Empire. Of course, from the perspective of war, as long as Sword Pavilion was in hand, then the defensive line of Dahua's troops in Hidden Sword Gorge would be incomplete, and the natural defenses would no longer be impregnable. Moreover, consistent with the judgments of the Dahua side: after capturing Sword Pavilion, the Tang Army would be able to completely disrupt the Dahua Empire's strategic deployment in the southeast before Qin Country's troops could approach the battlefield, which is definitely a permanent solution to the issue of the Dahua Empire. To put it more vividly, losing Sword Pavilion would be like the Song Dynasty without Yan Yun, strategically on the back foot the entire time. Unfortunately, as beneficial as it is, the Tang Army indeed doesn't have the means to just gulp down this seemingly delicious piece of fat. Tang Mo had not been without thoughts in this regard; he had even redeployed some troops, trying to squeeze out forces from other directions to reinforce the attack on Sword Pavilion. But after making an effort, he could only redeploy about 40,000 troops—which seemed quite substantial, but alas, still fell short of Tang Mo's expectations. As for the subsequent 30th and 31st divisions filling the defensive line, there was no problem, but a direct attack on Sword Pavilion still seemed to be beyond their capabilities. Both of these units were newly formed second-line infantry garrison forces, expecting them to charge through like Armored Corps as if on a rampage was unrealistic, and capturing Sword Pavilion clearly required more than forty thousand troops. Sword Pavilion is not Wangchun City; it is a large city with a population of over 500,000. It was previously a transportation hub and commercial center for the Dahua Empire in the southeastern region. Now with numerous industrial layouts, the population is growing even faster. In Tang Country, such a place would be regarded as a big city, let alone in the Dahua Empire. To capture such a city, a few tens of thousands of Tang troops would definitely not be sufficient. Because the forty thousand Tang reinforcements could not all be committed to urban combat, they had to solidify their defensive line along Hidden Sword Gorge and maintain the security of their supply lines at the rear... The troops directly available for a frontal assault might not even amount to twenty thousand. In other words, Tang Mo, at best, could commit slightly more than one division's worth of troops at Sword Pavilion. For the strategic objective of capturing and holding Sword Pavilion, this is tantamount to trying to douse a cartload of firewood with a cup of water. Therefore, Tang Mo wisely decided to put aside the unrealistic idea of swiftly devouring the Dahua Empire and focus on achieving the pre-war strategic objectives that had been set. "Don't be impatient! Impatience won't get you hot tofu!" Tang Mo consoled the military's generals, "As long as we achieve our objectives, isn't that a victory?" "True, but it's still a bit disheartening to see the benefits right before our eyes and not be able to take advantage of them," Luff was actually a bit reluctant, as many generals in the Staff Department had been quite optimistic about the decision to attack Sword Pavilion. In the view of these staff officers, defeating Sword Pavilion and breaking the Dahua Empire was the truly great victory! For this victory, they were even willing to temporarily disregard the oil fields in the southern part of the Dahua Empire. They reasoned that with the oil fields on Dragon Island, Tang Country's need for oil was not that urgent. As long as Sword Pavilion was taken, turning around to capture the southern oil fields would be a piece of cake. This line of thinking from the Staff Department stirred up some of Tang Mo's vague yet profoundly etched memories: it was a tough decision concerning whether to strike at Moscow first or the Caucasus. In that difficult decision, the man with a small mustache on his upper lip chose the greediest option of "I want it all," resulting in him not getting anything and losing the entire war. Tang Mo decided to learn from past experiences and not waver on strategic objectives. Thus, he resolved to adhere strictly to the plan, not assigning tasks beyond the troop's capabilities and ensuring the safest possible gains with a cautious and measured approach. "There's no reason to feel discouraged! Order the troops to halt their advance in Hidden Sword Gorge! The main force, however, should continue to push south, block Qian Jinhang, and defeat him—we can't let him retreat!" Tang Mo made his decision with firm resolve. In actuality, things were not as simple as the Staff Department had imagined: once the Tang Army focused on Sword Pavilion, it would trigger a series of uncertainties. The biggest issue was that Qian Jinhang might lead his soldiers back to South Wind Pass, where the Dahua Empire had previously constructed solid defensive fortifications and stockpiled vast amounts of strategic materials. As long as Qian Jinhang held out in South Wind Pass, with Dahua Empire's southern oil fields at his back and supplies coming from Chu Country, he could essentially reactivate the entire southern region. By that time, whether the Tang Army could successfully occupy their earlier strategic target—the Dahua Empire's southern oil fields—under such complex circumstances, remained an unknown. Therefore, Tang Mo believed that capturing South Wind Pass as quickly as possible, trapping nearly 800,000 Dahua troops in the wilderness to annihilate them, would leave the southern oil fields at their mercy, ripe for the taking by Great Tang. The reason the Staff Department had thought it possible to capture both Sword Pavilion and the oil fields was entirely due to the front-line troops' exceptional performance. The soldiers had given the commanders too much confidence, resulting in some strategic miscalculations by the decision-makers. "Don't hold yourself too high, nor underestimate the enemy... Luff, victory can blind us to the path at our feet. I established the Staff Department mainly to have a group of people who can correct each other's mistakes, not to have a bunch of fools making them together!" Tang Mo walked up to Luff and patted his shoulder as a reminder. Fortunately, in the world he had come from before – where that man with the small mustache had made similar errors, nearly conquering all of Europe – the powerful Third Empire had perceived their adversary as a dilapidated house that would collapse with a mere kick. Regrettably, history had proven that the dilapidated house didn't collapse with the kick but instead unleashed a horde of tough guys... "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, we became complacent," Luff lowered his head, admitting his mistake with some shame. "It's alright, wire Redman to continue the southern offensive! Direct the supply materials preferentially to the troops in the south!" Tang Mo issued a direct command: "I too was misled by the 1st Armored Division's excellent performance until a few hours ago, when I realized that we, the snake, do not possess the capability to swallow the elephant. Not yet, at any rate." Minutes later, a telegram reached Redman, who had just arrived in Wangchun City and had just selected his headquarters, delivered by an officer with a message from Chang'an. "His Majesty orders us to capture South Wind Pass according to the planned operation..." Redman handed the telegram to his Chief of Staff: "The logistical troops must also prioritize supplying the advancing troops in the south." "His Majesty is cautious," the Chief of Staff took the telegram and breathed a sigh of relief: "General, now that you've received this telegram, you can finally take a rest, can't you?" "I can't sleep," Redman rubbed his sore eyes and groaned wearily: "I've been feeling nauseous since yesterday..." "Your meals are too irregular, and just eating dry biscuits all the time is a bit negligent," the Chief of Staff reminded Redman to take care of his health: "You should pay attention." "And you're one to talk? Haven't we been eating together lately?" Redman twisted his neck and then exhaled: "Alright, I'll listen to you and lie down for a bit. Wake me immediately if anything happens... Don't delay anything!" "Understood! I'll keep an eye on the 1st Armored Division. If there's any trouble, I know the severity and will definitely wake you," the Chief of Staff assured him, who, in fact, also had not slept properly for two days and nights but was still in somewhat better shape than Redman. Both of them had only managed to catch brief moments of sleep in the bouncing cars, and meals were also consumed hastily in the vehicle or by the roadside. There was no helping it; the troops were continuously advancing. Redman preferred to progress with the troops to stay closer to the front lines—a habit developed by veteran commanders, and Tagg was the same. They didn't quite trust communication equipment and always felt there was a discrepancy between their subordinates' reports and reality. Therefore, they were accustomed to seeing things for themselves, which was a good habit but, in some respects, also a bad one. Hearing his Chief of Staff say this, Redman entered the adjacent bedroom and, not even bothering to take off his uniform, he lay down on the bed and promptly began to snore. The Chief of Staff smiled as he helped his commanding officer close the bedroom door, then went over to the recently used telephone, picked up the receiver: "Draft an encrypted document, send a telegram to the 1st Armored Division, instructing them that their advance must stop at Hidden Sword Gorge!"