Chapter 1429: 1346 Fatal Blow

At the war council meeting of the Great Tang Empire, Tang Mo sat in the chief position, listening to several ministers discussing the battlefield situation.

Unlike the passive situation of the Qin Country, the Tang Army’s situation could be described as overwhelmingly favorable: except for the besieged Nanshan Port, they had regained the initiative elsewhere.

In fact, the encirclement of Nanshan Port was also nominal, as the Tang Army’s ground forces no longer needed to fight. The Qin Army’s attack had long ceased, and both sides had entered a standoff at the outskirts of Nanshan Port.

The Qin Army was unable to attack and was eager to retract its defense line, so there were not many troops left at the outskirts of Nanshan Port, and they showed a tendency to retreat at any moment. Nanshan Port was as stable as Mount Tai, with no real danger at all.

“If we are to land in the Shu Territory, it’s best to redeploy General Feng Kezhi’s 9th Group Army from Shen Island. This will save a lot of trouble, as they have rich experience in amphibious landings,” suggested Luff, the Imperial Chief of Staff of the Great Tang Empire, prioritizing combat.

“Is it necessary? If we withdraw the 9th Group Army, wouldn’t we need to supplement another group army there? Otherwise, wouldn’t Shen Island be too weak?” Vice Premier Chu Muzhou was somewhat worried about the newly occupied northern isles.

A general laughed and disdainfully said, “What can they still pull off? If the Northern Island dares to make trouble again, we can deal with it all at once this time, swiftly.”

In the Great Tang Empire, the status of generals was not inferior to civil officials. The two systems are different and rarely interact, so there’s no question of superiority or inferiority.

Moreover, in times of war, the status of generals naturally elevates, so Chu Muzhou showed no dissatisfaction.

The general in charge of logistics and transportation shared his view: “But if we redeploy the 9th Group Army, they’ll have to be transported back from South Island and New Island, covering thousands of kilometers from north to south. I’m afraid it’s not stable to put them immediately into combat in the Shu Territory.”

After all, he was the expert in logistics. Mobilizing a thousand transport ships and redeploying a group army is no small task. Doing it again requires considerable manpower and resources, so he had to carefully deliberate.

Moreover, deploying a unit on the battlefield involves more than just transport; it also requires considering the unit’s fatigue level. After thousands of kilometers of sea transport, they would barely be able to walk on land, let alone fight.

So, he continued, “We’d have to arrange for rest, probably needing about 30 days at Nanshan Port, and we might still be waiting for the follow-up ships to arrive. This consumes quite a bit of time.”

“Then let’s not use the 9th Group Army. Send Eric’s 7th Corps there! No experience, so what? Are we in the Tang Empire afraid of that?” Another general straightforwardly suggested.

Since we’re sending troops anyway, why not send the closer ones? This way, we can save half the journey, effectively doubling our transport capacity.

“Is sea transport necessary?” Yet another general offered his opinion.

“What do you mean?” Luff looked at the general and asked.

The general pointed to the location of the Tang Army’s main reserves on the map: “Up to now, Marshal Redman’s attack reserves haven’t moved. Directly deploy them to the Pingfeng battlefield. If Marshal Tagg moves north, Marshal Redman can move south, capturing the entry to Shu. They can cut into the Shu Territory battlefield from the north and pressure Zhang Xuan and Sun Guang, how about it?”

“Activate Hoge’s 1st Corps and Luo Xiao’s 8th Corps? I’m afraid the top brass of the Qin Country can’t handle that,” several generals grinned. With such an advantageous position, deploying more heavy troop groups could surely make the opponent collapse.

“Hehehehe…” Someone quickly followed with a laugh. They really wanted to see the Qin Country’s top brass’ ghastly expressions after tens of thousands more Tang troops joined the front line.

“Hahahaha!” Soon, others joined in the laughter.

But Chief of Staff Luff frowned and asked, “There are issues with this arrangement too. Marshal Tagg’s troops rely on the Shanchong transport line. If Marshal Redman also takes the Shanchong route, wouldn’t these two army groups create too much of a logistics burden?”

Tang Mo had remained silent, listening. On one hand, he wasn’t as professional as these people regarding strategic issues, and on the other, he hoped to hear more opinions to make his judgment more accurate.

The logistics general thought for a moment and explained, “There’s definitely pressure, but the transport conditions southwest of Hidden Sword Gorge Bridge are sufficient. In fact, transport capacity in the South Library and Sword Pavilion directions is adequate.”

“The issue is that west of Guiguang, transport capacity in areas like Shanchong is indeed limited.” He pointed on the map on the table, indicating the route from Shanchong to Jutian Pingfeng.

The roads here are in terrible condition, and surviving war ravages. If it weren’t for the repair by Tang Country’s Engineer Corps, they would be nearly unusable.

Given this situation, expecting these roads to support both Tagg and Redman’s army groups’ advances is clearly unrealistic.

Then, the logistics general continued, “We are building more railroads and airfields, supporting Marshal Tagg’s supplies, which still have some surplus.”

“As for allowing Marshal Redman’s troops to move in this direction… It’s indeed challenging. But… relying on Guiguang is still better than sea transport, right?” He concluded his statement.

Luff understood his meaning and directly asked a key question: “If only the 1st Corps takes action, it’s probably manageable.”

Alongside, Qian Jinhang offered a suggestion: “Hoge’s main 1st Armored Army is already under Bolton’s command in the battle. How about giving the opportunity to the 8th Corps this time?”

Luo Xiao’s 8th Corps is a newly established unit with no commendable battle record. They urgently needed a chance to prove themselves, hoping to capture the entry to Shu and decide the war’s outcome.

“Alright!” Luff nodded in agreement with Qian Jinhang’s suggestion: the 8th Corps indeed didn’t rely on logistics as much as the 1st Corps, given they didn’t have as much heavy weaponry as the 1st Corps.

Finally, Tang Mo spoke up: “Then don’t leave any fantasies for the Qin Army and Dorne, and let them understand the war’s cruelty. Send a message to Marshal Redman to have the 8th Corps move into the central war zone.”

All the generals stood up, stood at attention and saluted, and echoed in unison: “Yes! Long live our Emperor!”

———

The second update will be supplemented tomorrow…