Munitions Empire-Chapter 1217 - 1137 Can’t be Concealed
In retaliation for the sinking of two destroyers and damage to one, the Tang Army began transporting 200 Scud missiles to New Island.
These missiles were stockpiled munitions, but despite being such, their precision had improved compared to previous Scud models. On one hand, this was due to advancements in manufacturing accuracy, and on the other, the integration of newer and more advanced guidance technologies.
In fact, hadn’t the first-generation Scud missiles in stock already been sold to countries around the world? The remaining old stock held by the Tang Army wasn’t really "old" at all—they were still quite new.
Although the Tang military leadership swiftly decided to retaliate, issuing the order almost immediately after the sinking of the Beiyuan No. 44 destroyer, it still took some time to transport the missiles to New Island.
On one hand, maritime transportation was not particularly fast; on the other hand, the destruction on New Island was quite extensive. The port at New Shuicheng was completely paralyzed and required time to repair.
Although the Tang Army had constructed a floating dock this time, its scale was smaller than the one on South Island, with limited capacity. It could only prioritize supporting the supplies for the 9th Group Army.
General Feng Kezhi’s troops encountered a minor problem. While they quickly eliminated all organized Mirage Country forces on New Island, they unexpectedly lost a soldier during subsequent operations.
That soldier was patrolling at the time. A local Mirage Goblin civilian was hiding in the roadside grass and, using a Shireck Type-1 rifle from about 15 meters away, fired a shot that happened to hit the soldier in the neck.
The Tang Army patrol subsequently captured the Goblin, who only had a single bullet, and executed him. Although the incident was not particularly complicated, it carried a strong resemblance to "counter-insurgency warfare."
In the past, the Tang Army had never faced such situations. Whether during campaigns against Zheng Country, Qi Country, or even the Dahua Empire, once the enemy’s main forces were annihilated, the war was effectively over.
Local civilians would prepare food and drinks to welcome the army, with no resistance whatsoever. Rather than saying that the Tang Army conquered these regions, it was more accurate to say they liberated them.
Since the military had always considered the local populace in occupied areas to be their own people, a "glorious tradition" of losing materials had even emerged over time.
The Great Tang Empire, with its vast territory and resources, had always maintained harmonious military-civilian relations. Therefore, Tang troops had never experienced being unwelcome by local civilians.
Now, they were experiencing it...
Since the strategy against the four islands of Mirage Country was completely different from past campaigns, the Tang Army was now facing unprecedented challenges: The Tang Army planned to clear all Goblin inhabitants within the occupied zones, which naturally led to the fiercest resistance.
The attack on one soldier was just the beginning. In the foreseeable future, more and more civilians from Mirage Country would start to resist.
On South Island, due to the suppression by Mirage collaborators and the supervision of Orc laborers, such resistance was not noticeable.
However, on New Island, where Tang troop numbers were temporarily low, forces were insufficient, and there weren’t enough auxiliary troops, the resistance from Mirage civilians became far more intense.
New Island had been a battlefield, and weapons left behind by scattered, defeated forces were everywhere. Finding artillery might be challenging, but finding a rifle was exceedingly easy.
Some soldiers who had fled home still carried weapons, and there were countless machine guns and rifles discarded across the wilderness, allowing anyone to find bullets or firearms with little effort.
The most commonly found weapon was the Shireck Type-1 rifle! There were simply too many of them, as it was the primary weapon of Mirage forces, scattered everywhere.
General Feng Kezhi came up with some methods to confiscate these weapons and ammunition. He established a rule: every rifle could be exchanged for a box of canned meat and a pack with five compressed biscuits.
This food truly tempted people, and indeed, some locals turned in weapons in exchange for supplies. However, this couldn’t entirely prevent determined individuals from hiding a rifle and setting up ambushes under occasional circumstances.
After this incident, General Feng Kezhi had no choice but to suspend patrol missions on the island, instead gathering his troops together to guard against potential chaos.
But this was only a temporary solution. To truly secure New Island, they could only count on subsequent Orc laborers and the eventual removal of the Goblins after the war.
Aside from this minor episode, there was good news from South Island: with the repair of the Great Southern Bay by the Great Tang Empire, the first batch of human settlers had arrived.
Removing the Goblins was just the first step. Filling the population gap with their own people was the real way to complete the occupation of South Island and New Island.
The Great Tang Empire planned to relocate 700,000 settlers to the two islands. If necessary, this number could increase to 1 million or more.
Apart from the islands, South Island also had farmland and mineral resources, making it capable of supporting a significant population. The settlers mainly consisted of Navy family members, as their relatives might be stationed in the Great Southern Bay in the future and thus came along.
According to policy, these settlers would receive welfare housing, large plots of land, and, effectively, a considerable amount of money.
Moreover, the assets they previously owned within the Great Tang Empire would be converted into Gold Coins and returned to them. In this way, the settlers essentially became much wealthier than before. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Currently, these settlers were concentrated near the Great Southern Bay, numbering only in the thousands. However, it was at least a promising start, with human settlers appearing for the first time in former Mirage-controlled areas.
...
In Chang’an, the capital of the Great Tang Empire, within the technical intelligence office, an officer set down his magnifying glass and raised his voice to the leader across the table: "Sir! You’d better come take a look at this!"
"What is it?" The leader lifted his head from a pile of documents, taking off his glasses to clean them as he spoke.
The workload in their department was overwhelming, with a lack of expert analysts, requiring them to work overtime until late every night.
His subordinate brought over the satellite images just received, along with comparative archive images, and placed them in front of him. "These are the latest photos sent back from Satellite 1031..."
"1031? The one reconnoitering Ben Island?" The leader was, of course, familiar with this reconnaissance satellite, which used the latest imaging technology and had remarkable clarity.
The subordinate immediately nodded. "Yes, sir! Look here... Right, their beach shows almost no changes. This is the photo from Satellite 995, and this one is from 1031... There’s almost no difference."
As he spoke, he placed the earlier image taken by Satellite 995 on the table. The angles were almost identical, clearly capturing the same location.
Satellite images often required comparisons to identify discrepancies. Since Ben Island was likely to become the next battlefield, such reconnaissance and analysis were indispensable.
Glancing at the two images, the officer with the rank of Major immediately noticed a problem.
Frowning, he raised his head and questioned his subordinate: "Why aren’t there any signs of construction?"
The two photos were nearly identical. Trenches, partially dug earlier, had been abandoned on the beach with no further progress made.
Previously identified artillery positions nearby were also desolate, featuring discarded communication trenches and empty shelters with no signs of activity.
If these areas were still in use, they wouldn’t appear in such a state. Clearly, the enemy had ceased construction, which raised questions.
The subordinate pointed to the unchanged length of trenches near the beach, shaking his head. "No, after the battle for New Island erupted, they must have quickly abandoned work on coastal defensive structures. The workers disappeared, and there’s been virtually no progress. Their stationed troops seem to have relocated as well."
"I don’t think they’re preparing to surrender." The Major leaned back in his chair, surveying the images while muttering to himself.
The subordinate quickly laid out additional images for comparison, pointing out other locations. "That’s correct, sir. Look here—33 kilometers from the coast, in a mountainous area. Four new camps have appeared nearby, and significant changes can be seen on the hills themselves."
Compared to the virtually unchanged coastal defenses, the transformation in this region was dramatic: even the blind could see that construction was underway, with people and temporary encampments everywhere.
The Major paused, then narrowed his eyes to scrutinize the heavily altered hills, forests, and riverbanks. "Are they building a defensive line here?"
"Yes, based on road conditions, excavated soil piles, and the increased number of stationed troops nearby, they indeed seem to be constructing a defensive line here," the subordinate confirmed.
"Are there other comparative images?" The Major decided to verify further.
His subordinate spread out additional photographs on the table. "Yes, here… a riverine area… and here, also mountainous terrain… They’re building defensive lines inland and abandoning the beaches…"
"Are they deliberately avoiding our naval artillery bombardments?" As an intelligence officer, the Major speculated about their possible motives.
The subordinate agreed with this assessment. "For now, that seems the most plausible explanation."
The Major sorted all the images into categories and placed them into a file folder. "Compile all this information—I need to bring it to the General Staff Department. The enemy’s tactical shift must be reported to the Marshal immediately. You have one hour to finalize a report and make copies!"
Since the advent of copying machines, administrative efficiency had improved significantly. Reports that once had to be manually transcribed could now be reproduced in dozens of copies with relative ease. Technological advancements had impacted not just the battlefield but every aspect of military operations.
"Yes, sir!" The subordinate saluted and then hurried off to prepare the report.
Whether Kuribayashi Tadashi’s "tortoise tactics" would prove effective remained to be seen. While he had evaded U.S. reconnaissance planes, Mirage Country could not conceal its activities from the Great Tang Empire’s satellite intelligence. The times had indeed changed.
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One chapter today; the rest will be made up tomorrow.
