Chapter 706: 706 Disappointment
Chapter 706 706 Disappointment
Time has indeed gradually begun to side with the Tang State.
Just when the battle for Lijiacun was decided, and the army of the Dahua Empire continued to attack Xicong, the rain in the northern area suddenly stopped.
The sky began to clear up, and the long-lost sunshine shone on the earth. During this brief period of clear weather, the Tang State's air force finally dispatched.
150 Flying Fortress bombers were loaded with bombs and escorted by 20 fighter jets, flew to Fengjiang, the largest city in the northern part of the Great China Empire.
The counterattack started so suddenly that even the Dahua Empire did not make any preparations.
Although after discovering the Tang Army's fleet, the Dahua Air Force also took off its own planes to try to intercept them, they found that their planes could not catch up with these enemies who were coming and going like the wind.
Everything is in vain. There is not only a significant difference in speed between the two aircrafts, but also a huge gap in ceiling.
Hence, Dahua's air force could only watch helplessly as the enemy's fleet crossed its defense line and flew over Fengjiang.
As the largest city in the eastern region of the Great China Empire, Fengjiang has a population of more than 1 million and is also an emerging industrial city.
It not only has the largest textile factory in the Dahua Empire, but also has countless light industries. It is also a transportation hub and material distribution center in the eastern region.
On this day, just when people were finally thankful that the weather had cleared up and felt that they could go out for a walk, suddenly a shrill air raid siren echoed throughout the city.
It was also at this time that the residents of Fengjiang realized that their country seemed to have declared war on its neighboring country.
They were unaware of the seriousness of the problem because they felt that their city was more than 400 kilometers away from the border, and it was impossible for the war to burn above their heads.
But soon the Tang Air Force told everyone that times had changed! Swarms of bombers dropped bombs like raindrops, and then these bombs submerged Toyojiang in a cloud of smoke.
The huge explosion destroyed several tall buildings that Fengjiang had finally built, and the already crowded streets were filled with large and small craters.
The workshop building of the textile factory was hit by a bomb, and dozens of people were killed on the spot in an instant. The civilians in Fengjiang, who realized the seriousness of the problem, finally began to collapse amidst the cries.
The technological progress in this era is so fast that people overlook some details. These details are not visible on ordinary days, but once problems arise, they will be magnified, making people realize that they are actually still living behind the times.
Fengjiang is such a city. When the Great China Empire began to industrialize, with the east wind of industrialization, the lives of local people in Fengjiang became better and better day by day.
They feel that their lives are not bad, and they can see new changes in the entire city every day. There are power plants, flashing advertising signs, smoking chimneys, smooth streets, and many different models of cars.
It seems that this place is getting closer and closer to Bunas and more and more modern. But it wasn't until Tang bombers flew over the city that the residents here realized a serious problem: they seemed to have no air raid shelters!
The appearance of the city is getting brighter and brighter, with tall buildings everywhere, but no one cares about places like sewers. Successive city lords built the city based on superficial principles, including drainage systems and civil air defense projects, but these things were selectively ignored.
Now, when more than one million people want to find shelter in air-raid shelters, they find out in despair that there are often problems with the city's sewers, let alone the construction of underground projects to hide people.
Although rich people have cellars in their manors, and many people also have basements in their homes, they are all storage rooms, places for storing wine or potatoes. They... are not explosion-proof!
So people can be seen running around on the streets of Fengjiang everywhere, and this situation made the Tang army's bombing effect outstanding.
Huge aerial bombs were scattered throughout the streets and alleys of the city. More than a hundred bombers easily dropped the bombs and then turned back to the original route.
By the time these planes left, Toyojiang was already in a mess. The already fragile power supply system was almost completely paralyzed. There were corpses everywhere, craters everywhere, and collapsed buildings everywhere.
More than two hours later, it started to drizzle again, and the billowing smoke gradually faded away.
The civilians in Fengjiang who were looking for their families in the rain also realized in grief that the war machine had completely broken out.
On the 8th day when the war broke out, Emperor Zhao Kai of the Great China Empire just wanted to hold another party to celebrate his army's victory over Lijiacun. When the troops were pointing directly at Xicong, they received the shocking news that Fengjiang had been bombed. .
That is the largest city in the eastern part of the Dahua Empire! That is a transportation hub in the hinterland of his country!
"What did you say! Say it again! Fengjiang was bombed? More than 3,000 people died? More than 50,000 people were homeless?" Zhao Kai sat on his throne, overlooking the waiter who came to report, with a full tone in his voice. It's violent. The ministers on both sides were shocked. Some of them had served in Fengjiang or had family members in Fengjiang. They really never thought that Fengjiang, a city in the hinterland of the empire, would one day be directly attacked by the enemy!
"What does the air force do for food? Why don't they intercept it?" Zhao Kai was shocked and continued to ask. The question he asked made Shen Chuan, the Minister of War, who had just rushed back to the imperial capital, feel ashamed.
The Dahua Empire is equipped with a total of three different types of fighter jets. One is a biplane that imitates the camel fighter of the Datang Group. Its performance is really not that good, and it is basically just a fill-in.
The other type of fighter is a fighter produced by Cyric, which uses a mid-wing design. The round fuselage looks a bit cute, and its performance... is basically a little better than the Camel fighter.
It uses a fully enclosed cockpit, so it can barely fly to an altitude of 7,000 to 8,000 meters. The speed is not very fast, but it is indeed much higher than the Camel fighter.
The third type of aircraft is the latest improved and produced fighter, which is probably the otherworldly version of the I-16. Compared with the Butcher fighter equipped by the Tang Kingdom, the performance gap is very obvious.
Although the new Dahua 1 fighter jet has average performance, it is also the most advanced fighter jet developed and manufactured by the Dahua Empire itself. However, the number of such fighter jets is very small, and most of them are currently deployed near the imperial capital and in the southern theater.
Because the northern region is in a defensive posture, the fighter units use backward camels. It would be damned if they could stop the Flying Fortress and Butcher.
Unfortunately, Shen Chuan couldn't explain it this way. He could only lower his head and wait for the emperor to vent his anger before finding a private opportunity to explain the situation.
“A bunch of rice-baskets! Rice-bastards!” Zhao Kai always felt that it was his group of ministers that held him back, preventing him from becoming a peerless wise king who could open up new territories and expand his territory.
However, Zhao Kai suppressed the anger in his heart when he remembered that his frontline troops had just captured Lijiacun and were advancing towards Xicong.
He opened his mouth and gave instructions: "Strengthen the air defense in the northern region! Send more planes! We can't let Tang attack Fengjiang any more!"
"Yes! Your Majesty!" Shen Chuan lowered his head and agreed to Zhao Kai's request. From his standpoint, the Tang Air Force cannot be allowed to operate unscrupulously in the eastern and northern areas of the Great China Empire.
What can be done now is to quickly supervise the aircraft manufacturing plants and ask them to produce more of the latest aircraft as soon as possible to strengthen the strength of the northern air force.
In addition, more anti-aircraft guns must be produced and deployed in key areas to intercept enemy aircraft, at least to the extent that the opponent's air force is afraid of them.
At the very least, we should show an attitude that lets the people know that they have not been abandoned and that the empire is still trying to protect them.
These tasks should be the affairs of the Ministry of Industry. After he retires from the court, he will have a good chat with Chen Jing, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. At the very least, Chen Jing should be forced to nod his head and agree to increase the production of new aircraft and anti-aircraft guns.
"What a disappointment!" Zhao Kai stood up and walked away - for him, it was indeed a big deal that he couldn't show off his brilliance, hold a grand celebration banquet, or publicize his achievements in occupying Lijiacun. Unpleasant things.
After Zhao Kai left, a group of ministers gathered together and began to whisper. What everyone is most concerned about is whether enemy planes will appear over the imperial capital.
"Probably not. Under normal circumstances, the voyage is not enough." Shen Chuan still had some theoretical knowledge, so he explained to the flustered ministers.
The ministers nearby felt more or less relieved after hearing this statement, and then they began to care about the outcome of the Southern Front Theater.
“Does taking Lijiacun mean that we are about to win?” Zhou Qiang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, did not understand military matters, so the question he asked was relatively superficial.
As the prime minister, Chu Muzhou knew more or less about military knowledge. He knew that although the situation seemed to have the advantage of the Great China Empire, in fact the situation was still very delicate.
However, he could not break this layer of window paper. He could only remain silent and listened to Shen Chuan's evasive explanation: "That's not the case. In fact, only by capturing Xicong can we say that we have stabilized the situation."
“Aren’t we attacking?” Another minister grabbed Shen Chuan’s wrist and continued to ask.
"Only by capturing Xicong can we advance into the Four Rivers! Only by capturing the Four Rivers can we say we have peace of mind!" Shen Chuan continued to explain: "However, General Qian Jinhang is mature and prudent, and he is still very capable. Since he has captured the Lijiacun, capturing Xicong will be like searching for something!"
Hearing what he said, several ministers finally felt a little bit in agreement. They don't want to know that much, as long as they know that winning Xicong means victory.
At that time, the court report will still analyze the situation. With some reference, it will not be nonsense.
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Long Ling’s back injury is quite serious, so I can only update steadily recently. I don’t dare to make up for updates or take on new debts. Please forgive me. The update is not stable, sorry.
(End of this chapter)