Chapter 1369: 1286 Late Night Military Meeting

“Our military didn’t even know what was happening before they began to collapse.” At the meeting in Qin Country, a general from the front lines reported the entire campaign to Emperor Qin Ying Duo.

He had returned to Wangdu by plane just before the outbreak of the Battle of Dongqing, from where he could comfortably continue flying back to the heart of Qin Country.

Unfortunately, most of the Qin soldiers couldn’t run as fast as he could, so now Dongqing or Xiajian, both of the massive encirclements, have swallowed about 1.3 million Qin Army soldiers.

Once the Tang Army digests these two enclaves of Qin Army, the next step would be for them to launch an attack on the old Imperial Capital.

“Communication breakdown, commanders couldn’t even find their troops… Army Corps Commander and Group Army Commander were inexplicably attacked by missiles, some command centers were paralyzed just a few hours after the war started and still haven’t recovered.” This officer was somewhat aware of what had happened at the front line and explained it more logically.

The incidents within the entire war zone were beyond what individual bravery could change, no single person or unit could change the entire war situation by being brave.

The modern army, having lost logistical support, is even more fragile than its ancient counterparts; at least ancient armies carried their food, drink, and weapons on their own backs.

The modern army of today carries only a few days’ worth of rations, enough ammunition for only a few battles, once beyond this scope, they can’t even complete combat.

No matter how brave you are, you can’t stop the enemy’s tanks and armored vehicles with just dozens of bullets and a rifle. No matter how gallant a unit is, they can’t compete with a tardy supply wagon.

“A large amount of military supplies was wasted on the way, many tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed on the roads… we never really fought the Tang Army, only kept retreating, collapsing, retreating…” His voice even turned tearful as he spoke, a state of extreme grievance.

You might say they aren’t brave, but they had already prepared mentally for huge sacrifices and costs before the battle.

They believed that even if it meant losing hundreds of thousands, even millions, if it gained a chance to defeat the Great Tang Empire, those costs would be worth it.

But reality is too cruel; these brave people found that their courage meant nothing. They didn’t even have the chance to perish together with the enemy before they were defeated, and defeated miserably.

So he was very aggrieved and extremely dejected because he gave it his all but realized that everything he tried could not change anything on a macro level. For a commander, this is a kind of despair.

“No news from the Navy side yet?” Emperor Qin Ying Duo was more worried about the issues on the Navy side at this time. He heard the naval battle had already begun, but the timing seemed off.

It was obvious that the main force of the Tang country’s navy had moved south after the war started, otherwise time would be insufficient. This means that the Great Tang Empire’s navy was not passively avoiding battle but actively seeking it!

The other side knew the movements of the combined fleet from the start and came directly for it. Simply put, they came to eliminate the combined fleet, and they were very confident in eliminating it.

Currently, this seems to be the case. Although not well-versed in naval battles, it seems that the issues appearing in the army have also occurred in the navy.

Poor communication makes it even harder to coordinate the combined fleet, which was already composed of two nations’ fleets. Even someone like John Cleves, with exceptional skills, might not be able to realize half the combat power of the combined fleet.

For such a large navy, this is simply fatal. The entire fleet includes 10 aircraft carriers, 10 battleships, 29 cruisers, and 25 destroyers,

“None! The communication interference in the south is very severe, and the radar station we built along the coast of Shu Country is only half completed, so the detection signal is also interfered with.” The officer responsible for the coastal defense of Shu Country replied helplessly.

Previously, their coastal defense troops submitted an application, requesting 300 jet fighter jets, around 400 twin-engine bomber type 17, and at least 150 Stukas for the Navy.

As a result, even by the time war was declared against Tang Country, only a small portion of these requests were fulfilled. Only 80-plus jet fighter type 183s, 120 type 17 bombers, and only 16 Stukas were deployed along the coast of Shu Country!

Because the previous assumption was that Qin Country and Dorne’s combined fleet could move north to attract the main force of the Great Tang Empire’s navy fleet, the defense along the coast of Shu Territory didn’t need to be particularly strong.

Another reason was that Qin Country really didn’t have the national power to strengthen the coastal defense any further. They needed to form more armies and deploy as many aircraft and heavy artillery to the main battlefield against the Great Tang Empire as possible.

In doing so, it was unlikely that resources would be wasted on the less critical or less likely to be attacked coastal areas of Shu Country.

But who would’ve thought that the Great Tang Empire’s navy fleet would willingly engage and seems to have already thrown the combined fleet into disarray.

All this was beyond the calculations of both Dorne and Qin Country, as Qin Country even hoped to rely on the southern route to bring Dorne’s forces and technologies into Qin Country to participate in the war.

But now, if the route is cut off by the Tang Army fleet, the support from Dorne will be impossible, leaving Qin Country to face the Tang Country alone, which is definitely not good news for Qin Country.

“A strategic miscalculation indeed.” Ying Duo rubbed his nose, nearly sleepless for days, with every day’s battle situation doubling his stress, now relying on sleeping pills to fall asleep.

“Your Majesty! Our most crucial concern right now is not the Navy and the southern route, but the defense of the old capital! If the old capital is lost, Zhang Xuan’s side…” Prime Minister Ying Ke expressed his thoughts.

If all the traditional spheres of influence of the Dahua Empire are lost, then Qin Country’s control over the Shu Territory will be less stable.

If the Tang Army moves south, the southern group led by Zhang Xuan attacking the Chu Territory from Shu Territory could be encircled.

What’s even more troubling is that if Shu Territory is lost on land, then the connection with Dorne will be truly severed– even if there were no issues with the navy, losing land routes would leave the navy homeless.

“We really have too little military strength in the direction of the old capital… overall, it’s unlikely we can hold the old capital.” A nearby army general spoke with a tone of despair.

This night is destined to be a sleepless one.