Chapter 1015: 937 Fengjiang Suburbs
Compared to the tranquility and harmony within the Tang Empire, the western Fengjiang of the Dahua Empire had already beco a true battlefield.
Zhao Chen’s recent military achievents had greatly satisfied Zhao Ji, who was supervising the front line, as he could genuinely feel Zhao Chen’s urgency and effort.
Or it should be said, when the Dahua Empire’s troops were on the attack, they truly gave it their all: every day, hundreds to thousands of people died or were injured, and the reserve of dical supplies was visibly depleting.
Despite this, Zhao Ji still sent a telegram to his father Emperor Zhao Kai, praising Zhao Chen’s dedication and also patting himself on the back.
Emperor Zhao Kai was naturally delighted and imdiately rewarded Zhao Chen again… Of course, along with the comndation letter received by Zhao Chen, there was also an order urging him to capture Fengjiang as soon as possible.
Zhao Chen knew without needing orders from Zhao Kai that he must capture Fengjiang at all costs. He dispatched every available troop to the frontline, pushing desperately towards the suburbs of Fengjiang.
To better appease Emperor Zhao Kai, or rather to ensure the outsider Zhao Ji kept silent, Zhao Chen’s tactics were very direct and targeted.
He didn’t encircle from the flanks to reduce Fengjiang’s strategic space but instead charged fiercely towards the urban area of Fengjiang from a relatively narrow region.
Thus, on the battle report, he could very clearly tell Zhao Ji, and subsequently Emperor Zhao Kai behind him, a figure: the distance remaining to Fengjiang in kiloters.
This figure could keep Zhao Ji and the faraway Emperor Zhao Kai in the Imperial Capital silent, but the downside was that this thod essentially created a salient in their front.
The flanks were still under the control of Fengjiang’s defenders, while the Dahua troops had punched forward along the railway towards Fengjiang, forming a salient about 8 kiloters long.
Although the Fengjiang defenders didn’t have the capacity to launch a pincer movent against the troops commanded by Zhao Chen to surround the Dahua troops advancing towards the urban area, they still controlled the flanks of Fengjiang.
Now, the situation was that the Dahua troops were indeed getting closer to Fengjiang, but the actual significance of this salient was unknown to anyone.
Today, the troops of the Dahua army finally reached the edge of the urban area of Fengjiang: what stood in front of them was no longer wild hills, but a small farm.
Surrounded by simple fence walls were several small houses, all of which had been destroyed by artillery fire, leaving behind only so half-collapsed ruins.
The exhilarated Dahua troops continued their advance, and the soldiers attacked this farm under the cover of a Type 3 tank.
On the crater-filled battlefield, the defenders were a group of Dwarf rcenaries. They did not retreat but launched a counterattack relying on the craters and the communication trenches between them.
These Dwarf soldiers were regular troops from the Ice Cold Empire, and their fighting spirit was incredibly tenacious: because dying here ant they would receive the casualty compensation standard of the Great Tang Empire, ensuring their families back in the Ice Cold Empire would be financially secure for life.
“Charge! For His Majesty The Emperor!” shouted a Dahua officer, leading his soldiers towards the apparently not-so-sturdy trenches under the cover of the tank.
The Dwarfs initially stayed hidden, not firing rashly, allowing the Type 3 tank to pass their defensive line.
Seizing the opportunity between the distance created among the advancing Dahua infantry and the tank, the Dwarfs caught the Dahua soldiers off-guard.
One Dwarf soldier with a long pole charged towards the Type 3 tank, attaching the magnetic anti-tank mine fixed to one end to the side of the tank.
He was quickly riddled with bullets by Dahua soldiers covering the tank from a distance, but then the anti-tank mine detonated, the blast penetrating the thin side armor of the Type 3 tank, setting off its ammunition.
The massive explosion blew off the tank’s turret, and with this blast, the Dwarfs’ counterattack began.
“Ura!” Amidst hysterical shouts, the Dwarfs charged with their Mosin-Nagant Rifles towards their enemy. The Dahua soldiers ard with bayonets also didn’t hesitate, imdiately clashing with these counterattacking Dwarfs.
“Tatatata!” The dwarf soldier wielding a Boposha Submachine Gun sprayed bullets at the Dahua soldiers. On the Dahua side, there were also people holding various captured submachine guns, wildly pouring bullets at the dwarf soldiers.
Both sides had n fall, and the remaining people mingled together with gleaming bayonets. Everywhere were sounds of fierce fighting, everywhere were shouts and pleas for rcy.
The sound of blood spraying, bayonets clashing, crying, and groaning interwoven together, creating a spine-chilling symphony.
Wearing M35 Steel Helts, the dwarves shouted “Ura,” wielding their Mosin-Nagant Rifles. This scene was sowhat comical. Unfortunately, Tang Mo was the only person in this world who understood the dissonance in this scene, so nobody else got the joke.
Thus, without this sense of dissonance, all that remained was brutal slaughter and bloody battle.
When the bullets ran out, they used bayonets, when the bayonets were lost, they used shovels or Steel Helts and rocks. Eventually, both sides even resorted to using their teeth and fists.
When a second Type 3 Tank attempted to enter the battlefield, a Yir Attack Aircraft in the sky destroyed it. This prolonged the battle, with both sides thinking they would erge as the victors of the day, so they continued to send in new troops, fighting for this now aningless position.
The area was flat, with no significant facilities, not even a machine gun bunker, just a farmhouse, rely a ruin.
Yet, it seed to hold special significance for both sides, so soon a dwarf rcenary Infantry unit arrived and joined the battle.
On the Dahua side, they were not to be outdone and sent a new infantry unit charging in, subsequently reinforcing with another unit in an attempt to overwhelm the dwarves nurically.
The battlefield was littered with corpses, yet the battle did not subside. The skirmish continued from noon until the evening. Eventually, the remaining dwarf troops began to retreat, leaving behind over 300 bodies, virtually wiping out an entire infantry battalion.
The Dahua Empire also suffered heavy losses, with at least 400 dead and over 100 wounded. Such losses nearly crippled two battalions, yet they still felt victorious.
Because during dinner, they had occupied the farmhouse. Looking solely at this position, it might seem aningless, but if you consider it as a building in the suburbs of Fengjiang, then its significance was quite different.
Zhao Chen sent a telegram to Zhao Kai overnight, the content of which stated that his troops had advanced to under the walls of Fengjiang City!
The distance between “our army and Fengjiang,” which was a major concern for Zhao Kai, Zhao Ji, and the entire court of the Dahua Empire, was finally reduced to zero by Zhao Chen!
Yes, now he could very accurately tell Zhao Kai that the distance between his troops and Fengjiang was zero! Absolutely zero!
That night, disregarding the disadvantage of night fighting, Zhao Chen suddenly launched an offensive, pushing forward approximately 500 ters, really pushing the battle line near so buildings on the outskirts of Fengjiang.
Then, in the early morning of the next day, to secure the flanks, Zhao Chen ordered an attack on both flanks, expanding his salient to about 10 kiloters in width.
Though it was still a salient, at least on the map, it was already a considerably large one.
The sa day, in a terrified Fengjiang, Zhao Yu moved his “headquarters” into an underground bunker at the easternmost artillery base in Fengjiang.
These artillery bases were built with the sturdiest reinforced concrete, topped with 380mm caliber giant cannon turrets; their safety was undoubtedly impeccable.
After over a month of fighting, the shells for these giant cannons were nearly depleted, eliminating worries about accidental explosions, making the underground bunker an ideal command center.
What reassured Zhao Yu further was that, just by crossing the river by boat, he would be in Tang Country’s territory, which was absolutely secure.
anwhile, near the western side of Fengjiang urban area, newly arrived dwarf troops, goblin troops, and human rcenary Troops from countries like Laines Empire began occupying ruins and buildings, establishing a new defensive line along the edge of Fengjiang’s urban area.
The Fengjiang troops deployed on the flanks also slightly withdrew, relinquishing so defensive positions—a large number of troops began retreating into the urban area of Fengjiang, then reinforced the city’s defenses.
Exaggeratingly speaking, the military advisors of the Great Tang Empire planned to turn Fengjiang city into this planet’s Stalingrad.
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