Munitions Empire

Groups of soldiers emerged from the ruins, raising their hands in silence as they congregated along the path laid out by the Tang Army.

They had held out for over a month inside Fengjiang City, and now the time had come for them to surrender their weapons.

As they gathered, they placed their rifles by the roadside, where an array of weapons had now piled up.

There were Maxim heavy machine guns and so-called light machine guns developed by Shireck, crude in appearance and performance.

It was precisely because of their poor performance that, aside from the Tang Army, many nations' main machine guns remained the Maxim, the same equipment used by the Tang Army eight or nine years ago.

This era saw the great development of weapons; every year brought new ones into existence. For a weapon to remain in use for eight or nine years truly said something significant.

Of course, the most common were the committee rifles, the Shireck model 1 rifles, which had no particular advantages but also no intolerable shortcomings, so they continued to be used.

It became the world's most successful bolt-action rifle, as the Mauser KAR98K used by the Tang Army itself was already rendered obsolete by assault rifles.

The outdated 98K rifles were often provided at extremely low prices to the allies of Tang Country, including the refugees from the northern region of Chu Country during their uprising.

Great Tang Group also sold the production technology for the KAR98K rifles, including the production lines, but not many countries purchased them.

After all, most nations had already chosen the Shireck model 1 rifles. Without much improvement in performance, there was little reason to switch.

They did, however, wish to be heavily equipped with assault rifles, but they hadn't fully mastered the necessary technology, and there wasn't time to equip similar weapons.

Nevertheless, many countries were researching assault rifles; it was relatively easier to replicate individual weapons than complex tanks and aircraft, so their progress was decent.

Great Tang Group took notice of this and a heated debate was underway within Tang Country on whether they should introduce the Type 56 assault rifle to the market when Shireck was about to launch its own.

This could prevent the embarrassing situation of the 98K failing to capture the market, allowing Shireck to make a fortune, and it would allow them to wage a price war with cheap weapons, making it hard for Shireck to recoup the technological costs of developing new weapons.

The battle in Fengjiang City progressed faster than Bolton had anticipated; his troops swiftly took over numerous critical positions, controlling well over four-fifths of the city's districts.

Such rapid progress also minimized the damage to the remaining buildings, preserving some robust high-rise structures, including the former Lord's Mansion.

Had the Emperor of Dahua not issued the order to surrender, General Feng Kezhi estimated that they could have held out for at least another ten days relying on the ruins.

Even if they had all cooperated, perhaps Fengjiang City would not have been encircled. The situation would seem much better for them.

But reality did not entertain 'if's, and the Tang Army had already captured most of the city. It was too late for regrets.

Internal strife among Dahua's defending forces also accelerated their collapse, with some areas breaking into fights over command, losing half of their numbers before the Tang Army even arrived.

Those who had won, advocates of continued battle, were disheartened as they were forced to surrender and disarm, quickly joining the ranks of the disarmed troops at the designated detention locations.

They had been determined to fight on, to serve their homeland, but the harsh reality forced them to capitulate: they lacked logistical support and were running out of ammunition, with no possibility of holding out any longer.

The peace faction surrendered all the more readily, handing over their supplies, including locations within the city where materials were stockpiled, directly to the Tang Army, giving them a great advantage.

Sitting in his headquarters, General Feng Kezhi was aware that the situation had spiraled out of control. The shift in circumstances was faster than he had anticipated, and Zhao Kai's methods of betrayal were more ruthless than he had imagined.

Out of the 250,000 strong army, at least 70,000 were influenced by the royal order and chose to surrender, with about 50,000 succeeding and the resolve of another 20,000 waning.

The Tang Army broke through the defenses of the 50,000 troops who had surrendered, and amidst the ensuing chaos, a complete collapse spread.

Forces that had not planned to surrender were caught off guard by the Tang Army's sudden assault, resulting in heavy losses. Many more units, confused by the circumstances, chose to surrender.

Neighbor troops who couldn't stand by turned to clean up these traitors who had raised the white flag of surrender. Fierce fights quickly broke out, leading to a situation that spiraled completely out of control.

The Tang Army didn't even know who to support; many times, they took the opportunity of the chaos to eliminate both sides engaged in the firefight. Such actions intensified the casualties; within a few hours, approximately more than 10,000 people had died.

The most tragic part was that these soldiers, who should have fought bravely, ended up dying at the hands of their own, and their death was even more baffling.

The commanders sent out to take control of the troops couldn't find their own units. Some units left their stations on their own and were then annihilated by friendly forces; some units held their ground and quickly ran out of ammunition, being wiped out by the Tang Army.

General Feng Kezhi had imagined many possible outcomes for himself, but what he truly hadn't anticipated was sitting in such an embarrassing situation in his own underground command post, having lost control of almost all his troops.

Even above his head, he couldn't hear the rumble of artillery; the heavy weapons fire inside the city had actually completely ceased. The majority of the Dahua military artillery positions scattered throughout the city had been abandoned by now.

The Dahua artillery, equipped with various calibers of cannons, along with the surrounding guard units, had given up resistance. They sat quietly next to their cannons, waiting for the Tang Army to come check the ammunitions and take over those cannons that actually still had decent performance.

Although not numerous, within the encircling perimeter of Fengjiang City, the Dahua troops still had more than 400 cannons. These weapons and equipment could actually still be sold off after a discount.

Even if second-hand, as long as they were cheap enough, someone would definitely be willing to pay. The Dahua Empire itself was actually a fine buyer, as long as they didn't mind the absurdity of spending money to buy back their own weapons.

"It looks like today is the day I'm going to die here," General Feng Kezhi mocked himself with a laugh, pouring himself a glass of distilled spirits of decent quality.

It was already not easy to find such alcoholic drinks in Fengjiang City; only he, as a great general, still had access to alcohol supplies while under siege.

About two kilometers away from him, the special forces unit that had infiltrated the Dahua Empire finally encountered the core guard unit of the Great General of the Dahua Empire.

These troops, directly belonging to the Great General himself, definitely had combat effectiveness online, and they were also more inclined to fight to the very end for the Great General, still maintaining a certain level of fighting spirit at this moment.

The special forces of Tang Country also knew that they couldn't get past this kind of unit with a few hastily made false identity documents, so they dispersed their forces in advance, leaving only a few empty military vehicles as a probe.

As expected, the other side demanded to inspect the vehicles. The soldiers on both sides of the checkpoint were very vigilant, even prepared to sweep the trucks with gunfire immediately.

Knowing that they would soon be exposed, the Tang Army's special forces chose to strike first. They knocked down the enemy soldiers who came up for inspection through the vehicle doors, then drove through the checkpoint, triggering a battle.

The ambushing special forces opened fire immediately. Snipers took out the most threatening Maxim gunners on the checkpoint.

Subsequently, a fierce battle ensued. The three trucks driven by the special forces were destroyed, and the drivers inside were all killed.

The fifty special force members who had arrived by truck quickly advanced, annihilating all the Dahua soldiers at the checkpoint before breaking into the core area of the Dahua command post.

As the sound of gunfire neared, more and more Dahua Empire soldiers rushed over. After all, there was at least a battalion's worth of guard troops here, and inside the inner circle, at least a company of the Great General's personal guard which were the die-hards, General Feng Kezhi's most trusted, ready to fight to the death.

Despite this, the special forces of the Tang Army were still penetrating like steel needles, inching towards General Feng Kezhi's hiding place.

Inside the basement, General Feng Kezhi's adjutant opened the door to the basement and reported the news of Tang Army soldiers appearing nearby, "Great General! A small unit of the Tang Army is trying to get close to us."

"Tang Army?" General Feng Kezhi was very curious. He didn't really believe that this unit was definitely sent by Tang Country. In fact, he suspected these people were disguised as Tang Army, assassins sent by Zhao Kai to kill him.

"The exact situation is unknown, but our men are stopping them. The enemy's firepower is ferocious; we have suffered significant losses," the adjutant added anxiously.

He was not very clear about the situation on the battlefield either and had only heard a brief description from the person who had come back to report.

He had come here to persuade General Feng Kezhi to relocate quickly or make some other plans.

"Just a small unit, there's no need to panic, let the guard troops handle it," General Feng Kezhi, as a great general, maintained his composure in the face of danger.

He knew very well that even if the outer perimeter had completely collapsed, it would still take time for the Tang Army to reach him. The enemies appearing here now were unlikely to be many.

It was far from the point where he needed to flee. Going out at this moment would truly give others an opportunity to exploit.

But still, it was better to be prepared for all eventualities... Thinking this, he walked behind his desk, opened a drawer, and took out a very exquisite pistol, placing it on the table.