Chapter 1483: 1400 Can’t Be Held

On the Huai Mountain frontline, Liu Zhian, who always hoped for another encounter with the Great Tang Empire, held his binoculars, observing the battle situation at the front.

The Tang Army deployed a large number of artillery pieces, almost continuously suppressing the Qin Army’s defensive positions. Unlike the aimless bombardments, the Great Tang Empire’s shelling wasn’t fierce but precise.

Using various reconnaissance methods, and then employing relatively inexpensive artillery to carry out pinpoint destruction on key nodes of the Qin Army’s defense line, this was the tactic of the Tang Army.

Therefore, the Tang Army’s artillery wasn’t intense but continuous—occasionally a shell would fall, causing chaos on the Qin Army’s side for a while, losing some carefully constructed positions, and eventually forcing them to retreat or commit more troops to make up for the recent losses.

This time on the frontline inspection, Liu Zhian clearly felt the improvement in the Tang Army troops: previously when he was on the northern line, he faced the “main force” of the Great Tang Empire, namely the renowned 2nd and 3rd Corps.

Obviously, fighting against such a main force wasn’t easy—their firepower was too fierce, the attack power extremely strong, but somewhat brute force.

But now he was facing the previously unknown 6th and 7th Corps of the Great Tang Empire, yet Liu Zhian still felt the pressure these new troops brought him.

Compared to the already well-reputed dual blades of the Great Tang Empire, Bolton and Strauss, the current Eric and Zhao Chen were really troublesome too.

What surprised Liu Zhian even more was that the Tang Army seemed to improve every day. The newly formed corps in the Tang Army were no longer immature, their tactics increasingly seasoned, and even the 7th Corps earned the reputation of being as unmoving as a mountain.

After all, in what was organized by Zhang Xuan as the only large-scale counterattack by the Qin Army so far, the Tang Country 7th Corps did not retreat a single step, holding almost all positions until the Qin Army’s flank collapsed.

And Zhao Chen’s 6th Corps emerged out of the Chu Territory, then crushed Zhang Xuan’s flank in one fell swoop, achieving a great victory in the Shu Territory, becoming a rising “new star” in the Great Tang Empire’s military.

New star, my ass! Isn’t Zhao Chen supposedly a famous general of the Dahua Empire? Wasn’t he the most capable general in the Dahua Empire before it fell? Yet here he is, pretending to be fresh by surrendering to the Great Tang Empire!

After a silent curse in his heart, Liu Zhian refocused his attention on the positions in front of him.

“General, the brothers can’t hold on anymore… Your safety is most important, please relocate,” begged a Division Commander of the Qin Army stationed there, almost in tears.

His troops had been engaged in a tough battle at the front line for three days, and although the Great Tang Empire’s offensive wasn’t fierce, it was very targeted.

The defense line had already been weakened and was at risk of collapsing at any time. Most of the Qin Army soldiers were new recruits, whose combat effectiveness couldn’t be trusted, and under such circumstances, getting the high-ranking officials sent down for inspection away safely was the wisest course of action.

Of course, fleeing or retreating couldn’t be done right in front of the supervisory officers sent down, and defending to the death was also risky with a big figure around.

Liu Zhian handed his binoculars to his adjutant and pointed to the positions ahead: “The trenches aren’t dug deep enough, that’s why a single cannon shot leaves them in this state! Record the summary well, you need to know why you failed.”

The Division Commander nodded repeatedly in agreement, but in his heart, he was complaining: Of course, I know what you’re saying. But there aren’t enough engineers, not enough shovels, and the new recruits lack training. It’s good enough they managed to arrange things to this extent, how could I ask for more?

After all, this Division Commander was also an experienced officer, having fought bravely and climbed his way up to this position, and he understood many tactics.

But understanding is one thing, getting the soldiers under him to understand is another. The Qin Army was now lacking an organized system of NCOs and officers, and without these officers and sergeants to command and lead, the new recruits simply didn’t know what they should be doing.

It was said that a regiment of the Qin Army advanced to the front line and after stopping, didn’t even set up defenses or dig any shelters, just stayed in the village for a few days until the higher-ups arrived and they realized they were already at the front line, with the Tang people just on the other side.

The result was that this regiment collapsed upon contact with the Tang Army’s reconnaissance troops—over a thousand were chased by just one armored reconnaissance vehicle from the Tang Army, and even the regiment commander ended up captured.

“I know you face difficulties, but this way you can survive!” Liu Zhian then comforted him: “Digging a few more shovelfuls of soil could potentially save two more lives—this must be understood by the officers and soldiers.”

“Only if they die less can they have the chance to grow, become veterans, be promoted to officers, and lead more brothers to survive,” said Liu Zhian, while in the distance another shell landed, the soaring black smoke attesting to the power of the Great Tang Empire’s 155 howitzers to everyone around.

Although the Qin Army has larger caliber artillery, the thickness of the shell casing, the shape of the explosives inside, and the composition of the propellant are all different. The Great Tang Empire’s shells in both explosive sound and destructive power are more than a grade above the Qin Army’s artillery.

A single 155 howitzer from the Tang Army could produce the momentum of a Qin Army’s 200-millimeter howitzer, severely affecting the morale of the Qin Army.

Having dealt with the Tang Army for a long time, Liu Zhian naturally knew the current Tang Army offensive wasn’t their fiercest. Because the fall of the Shu Territory was too swift, the Tang Army hadn’t yet had time to repair the airport facilities behind them.

Once the Tang Army completes the railroads and highways, repairs the airport facilities, they will soon unleash a larger-scale offensive action.

By then, Thunderbolt Attack Aircraft will hover over their heads, and the roar of engines will irritate everyone. And the terrifying strafing and rocket barrages could cause the untrained Qin soldiers to collapse in an instant.

He’d already seen more than once how just one Thunderbolt Attack Aircraft could shred a Qin regiment’s front line. The new recruits of the Qin Army fled crying out for their fathers and mothers, even the Supervisory Battalion couldn’t stop those cowards who had been scared witless.

Nor could the Qin Army soldiers be blamed for being cowardly, because Liu Zhian himself couldn’t guarantee he could hold his ground under such fierce firepower.

Those new recruits didn’t even undergo complete training, and possibly hadn’t even heard artillery fire before coming to the front… to expect these soldiers to face the Tang Army’s fierce fire head-on was somewhat unrealistic.

So, Liu Zhian already knew that Huai Mountain was almost certainly indefensible. What he was considering was whether Shu Mountain City could hold out a bit longer. After all, it was once the endpoint of the Shu Mountain Defense Line, with relatively complete fortifications and the Qin Army’s preparations were more adequate there.