Munitions Empire

On the highway, the military stretched as far as the eye could see, Dahua's soldiers trudged through the damp air, step by weary step on the road back home. They were very depressed because they had finally made it past South Wind Pass through Li Family Village, and then from Li Family Village to Xicong. Along the way, they truly suffered: the constant drizzle meant they could only cover a few kilometers each day, mired in mud, severely tormenting the feet of Dahua's army. It's already been mentioned that this kind of weather is very unfriendly to the soldiers' feet; wet boots would lead to foot rot, and the soldiers were widely afflicted with athlete's foot. Cross-infections of fungi could be so severe they were intolerable. Thus, the march from South Wind Pass to Xicong was extremely slow. The soldiers grumbled, and the officers were just as miserable. Compared to the well-equipped Tang Army, Dahua's troops were worse off in the details and gear; they didn't have enough rainproof equipment. The quality of the raincoats was poor, and almost half of the people didn't even have such gear. Those without had to make do with traditional straw coats and leather, but they would end up drenched as they walked along the road. The flu was rampant among the troops. If they hadn't purchased some medical preparations from Great Tang, Dahua's military might have collapsed by this point. Even so, the consumption of medicines was huge; military doctors were busy all day soothing those unlucky enough to be coughing and feverish. It wasn't until this point that Dahua's troops, gathered to advance on Xicong, remembered they were here to fight a war. But they hadn't yet seen the enemy from Great Tang, and they were already close to annihilating themselves. Just as these troops were impatiently waiting to vent their frustration on the Tang people at Xicong, they received the retreat orders... Qian Jinhang didn't even know how to bring up the matter to these troops. They had trudged so far through the rain, only to have to turn back without having fired a single shot. For everyone, this was devastating news. Thus, after pacifying the soldiers' emotions for over a day, these troops that had received the order to return to defense began to march back painfully slowly. Because of the rain, the tents were almost completely soaked. Most of the white canvas, coated with water-resistant tung oil, was about to lose its waterproof effectiveness. The heavy items were piled haphazardly on the wagons, and the soldiers looked up at the gray sky, helplessly taking steps once again. Their shoes were wrapped in mud. The supply convoy had repeatedly crushed the soil, and the road they had come by was now very muddy. The soldiers marched with deep and shallow steps, occasionally seeing a group crowded in the middle of the road, collectively pushing a wagon stuck in the mud under a chorus of chants. Among the soldiers crowded on the road were cannons of various calibers. These were all valuable assets of the troops, not to be abandoned lightly. So, while moving along, soldiers had to continually stop to help push these heavy lumps of iron out of the mud pits, which meant the pace of the troops could be described as crawling. They moved across the ground as slowly as turtles, and having barely covered a few miles, they'd again have to consider the matter of encampment—although they had only just left the previous camp a few hours before, they now had to find a relatively dry spot to camp and settle again. This is why they had been marching for so many days, and the Tang Army had already taken Tengyun, yet they had only just reached Li Family Village. There was no choice, for morale had been worn down to near breaking point by the continuous march, and even Dahua's commanders did not dare to forcefully prod these volatile soldiers on the verge of explosion. "Li Family Village is up ahead, the vanguard has already passed there... With roughly two more days, we should be able to return to South Wind Pass," a commander stated from a high ground, overlooking his troops. Like a giant serpent, his troops twisted along the road, with encampments covering both sides of the land, filled with endless wagons, vehicles, and artillery. "The road will soon be easy to travel. Didn't they keep saying they were working on it, laying stones from South Wind Pass all the way to Li Family Village?" another officer reminded himself, comforted by the previous telegrams. "What took them so long?" the leading Dahua commander snorted coldly, clearly very dissatisfied with the Engineer Corps. This road should have been fixed long ago; at least some stones could have been laid to facilitate troop movements. Enhancing supply efficiency could have made things easier on the front, couldn't it? But due to rainfall and the situation of the war, the plan to repair this road had clearly been delayed. It had only recently been worked on, barely reaching near Li Family Village. ``` However, they had also reached Li Family Village, and the roads ahead were all in good condition, which was undoubtedly good news for the Dahua troops. This meant they could quickly make their way back to South Wind Pass, where they could enter the city, at least enjoy several hot meals, and stay in houses with roofs for a few days, giving the troops a chance to properly rest and recuperate. As for the threat of the Tang Army advancing south towards South Wind Pass, in the eyes of the retreating Dahua military commanders, it wasn't considered a significant concern. After all, once they reached South Wind Pass, with more than 200,000 soldiers stationed at the fortified supply transfer station, the Tang Army would likely have no quick solution to overcome them. "I wonder how General Ding Hong is doing. He should have no problem holding for two days, right?" the leading commander asked, with his hands behind his back as he breathed in the damp air. It had rained only a little over the past two days, and the weather was generally not bad, which at least didn't pose any obstacles to marching. It was certainly much better than a downpour. Although clear weather was not particularly good news for the overall military situation, it was obviously still a positive for the retreating Dahua troops. "Don't worry, the previous telegram mentioned that General Ding Hong has at least 50,000 soldiers at his command; holding for two or three days should pose no problem," a general beside him confidently stated. Never mind that the Tang Army had traveled a long distance with few in numbers, even if they also had 50,000 soldiers, the Dahua troops, relying on permanent fortifications, should be able to hold out for two or three days with confidence. "Moreover, didn't Ding Hong just send a telegram a few hours ago saying that he had repelled another Tang Army attack? The outer defense line of South Wind Pass is still intact and as solid as gold soup, right?" the general added afterward. "The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly; we still need to be cautious," the leading general said worriedly. He couldn't put his finger on what might go wrong, but he was always concerned that something would. This feeling could be described as a sixth sense or intuition, much like the rats that sense the silence before a ship sinks, or a wife, suspicious of her husband's infidelity... While the two were talking, a fast horse galloped from the road behind, with the rider shouting loudly, ignoring the cursing soldiers on the road, and charging through the crowd without slowing down. The soldiers walking on the road quickly made way, but soon the rider charged off the road and toward the high ground where they stood. That rider was whipping his horse incessantly, and it wasn't until right in front of the hillside, when he encountered the guard troops, that he dismounted. Staggering up to the high ground, he arrived in front of several generals, breathless, and pointed in the direction of Li Family Village, speaking in a low, mournful voice, "Bad news! The Tang Army! The Tang Army is coming!" "What?" the general who came up to support the courier was startled by the news, nearly dropping the messenger to the ground. The courier stumbled, lifted his head, and mournfully repeated, "Bad news! The Tang Army is coming! They've already reached Li Family Village! They're at Li Family Village now!" "Nonsense! How could the Tang Army possibly be at Li Family Village!" the leading general said sternly, rebuking the other. In defense, the rider quickly pleaded, "General! I am a messenger from the 1st Regiment of the 204th Division of the vanguard... We had just arrived at Li Family Village when we discovered tanks from the Tang Army within the village. Then the fighting began, and the entire 1st Regiment was routed; more than half of the 204th Division's headquarters was gone. I was ordered to bring this message!" The courier articulated the situation clearly and concisely, providing such a detailed account of the battle that the generals had no choice but to believe that an unexpected Tang Army force had indeed appeared in Li Family Village. "A tank unit... this... it can't be that the Tang Army outflanked us from both wings and has surrounded us, can it?" one general furrowed his brow, contemplating a possibility. "There have been no reports from the northern forces. It seems unlikely..." another general immediately objected. However, his tone lacked conviction, and his voice faded as he spoke. But soon another possibility was raised, "Could it be that something went wrong at South Wind Pass? If the Tang Army came from South Wind Pass, that would be bad news." At this suggestion, many turned pale with fear: if South Wind Pass was truly lost, their situation would be dire. "It couldn't be, how could Ding Hong lose South Wind Pass?" Elsewhere, the leading general was frowning, gazing in the direction of Li Family Village—he no longer wished to guess whether South Wind Pass had fallen or whether the Tang forces from behind had caught up from the flanks. Because these issues were no longer important, what consumed his mind now was: where should these nearly 200,000 troops of his go? Without the solid fortifications of South Wind Pass, or even much tank cover, how could they face an attack from the Tang Army in this wilderness? ```