This is a large town surrounded by several hills hundreds of meters above sea level.
Hills several hundred meters high are only considered hills in other places.
But in the plains of Western Europe, these hills stand out.
Peak No. 1, the highest point in Jishan Town, is the headquarters of the Shu Army and is also the location of six 350 mm caliber fortress artillery batteries.
Yan Baizhi, the commander-in-chief of the Shu army, stood under the fort, following the direction of the cannon and looking at the Swiss army in grass-green uniforms in front of them.
Two hundred thousand Swiss troops have been assembled and can launch an attack on Jishan Town at any time.
He could see through the telescope that the Swedish engineering troops were building a railway in the rear.
They prepared to transport large-caliber train guns and artillery shells via railway to break through the blockade of the Shu army's trenches.
Yan Baizhi lit a cigarette, took a puff of the cigarette, and while blowing out the smoke ring, he cut off the cigarette in his hand, threw it on the ground and crushed it several times with his military boots.
He slapped his hand on the wall of the fort: "I really want to order the cannon to fire and blow up the arrogant Swedish army until they cry for father and mother."
Chief of Staff Qiu Lushen immediately stopped him and said: "Old Yan, this is impossible.
Not only does this battle show no signs of stopping, but it is gradually escalating.
We are fighting happily on the front line, but we must also consider the affordability of the imperial court.
This cannonball is worth up to 10,000 taels of silver coins.
This fight is purely about money.
When the cannon goes off, there is a thousand taels of gold. This saying is not empty talk.
It's really a waste to use it to blow up big-headed soldiers.
You must hit high-value targets to achieve the desired effect.”
Of course Yan Baizhi knew this situation.
This was already the third line of defense he defended. The first two lines of defense were breached. It was not because the Shu army was not fighting bravely, but because the supply of ammunition was interrupted.
The Shu army was originally small in number, and it was impossible for Yan Baizhi to let the soldiers launch an attack when there was insufficient ammunition.
This means letting soldiers die and will cause a mutiny in the army.
This is not a war with a foreign tribe. It can be restrained by national justice. The soldiers are also worried about their treatment after surrendering.
They are both Han people. As long as they choose to surrender, they will only lose power, but they can still enjoy glory and wealth.
The situation at the beginning of the war was very brutal.
But most of the people who filled the trenches were natives of Shu.
Yan Baizhi didn't care at all how many of these people died.
It is impossible for these blond and blue-eyed people to receive the same treatment as the Han people.
He also noticed that the Swedish army on the opposite side also used these indigenous soldiers as consumables.
There will indeed be some who stand out among them and can be reused, but most of them are cannon fodder.
This is already the tacit practice of the militaries of various countries.
Yan Baizhi looked at Chief of Staff Qiu Rushen and asked: "How much ammunition is there in the military supply warehouse now?"
Chief of Staff Qiu Lushen took out a brochure from his jacket pocket. After flipping through it, he replied: "There is an adequate supply of all kinds of fats, and there are still two million fats in the warehouse.
The imperial court also continued to use military trains to transport them.
Since the tensions among the European vassal states became tense, the empire shipped all the ammunition that was about to expire in its inventory to Gufeng and dumped it on European countries.
Some of them are purchased by our country, which is billions of bullets, and the price is relatively cheap.
Even countries with extremely poor military production capabilities will not be short of bullets as long as they have money.
The price of a bullet is almost five cents.
Ordinary 75mm caliber artillery shells and 120mm caliber artillery shells.
Their inventory is about 10,000 rounds each, and there are only 500 rounds of 350 mm caliber fortress cannon shells left."
When Yan Baizhi heard the inventory of bullets, he still had a faint smile on his face.
When he heard the inventory of cannonballs, his face immediately turned pale.
Yan Baizhi said in surprise: "I have been dealing with the defense issue of Jishan Town during this period.
I remember that the inventory of this shell was almost the same as the inventory when we retreated last time.
Didn’t the imperial court replenish our ammunition?
There are not enough cannonballs, so I have arranged so many forts here just to set off fireworks to celebrate."
After Yan Baizhi said this, he quickly walked towards the room next to him.
This is a confidential telephone room, and the headquarters is issuing military orders to all armies to prepare for war.
Switzerland has completed its military arrangements and may launch an attack at any time.
Any misfire now will trigger the long-simmering war between the two countries.
Yan Baizhi picked up the direct phone call to Warsaw.
He yelled into the phone: "Get me the Governor."
The phone beeped several times. This was a call from the front line. It had a very high priority and would be answered soon.
"I am He Feng, Lao Yan, what happened?"
Yan Baizhi said angrily: "No matter how great the governor, the imperial court is unable to supply sufficient ammunition to the front line.
How to fight this battle?
Are we allowed to launch a desperate charge against the enemy's artillery fire?
There are 200,000 enemies and only 70,000 of us.
With a gap of more than three times, I still have a little confidence in defensive operations.
If we take the initiative to launch an attack, we people will not achieve much results.
Fifty kilometers behind Jishan Town is the Hongshanling Iron Mine.
Hongshanling Iron Mine is relatively close to the hinterland of my country, which is a good thing.
But if Jishan Town is lost, the Swiss army's tank troops can attack the Hongshanling Iron Mine in only one to two hours at a distance of fifty kilometers.
In this case, I cannot defend Hongshan Ridge.
Please ask the Governor-General to report to the King and remove me from my post."
The Grand Governor He Feng immediately consoled him: "General Yan, what are you in a hurry for?
Everyone knows that when there is insufficient ammunition, the front line cannot be held at all.
We, the Shu Kingdom, have already paid such a heavy price, how could we make such a low-level mistake?
The imperial court has purchased ammunition and will arrive at the front line in three days.
Even if a war breaks out today, the ammunition in stock will be enough for three days."
When Yan Baizhi heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as there is sufficient ammunition, the Swedish army cannot break through his defensive line without paying a huge price.
"Captain He, I'm offended."
"Everyone is doing this for state affairs, and we have no personal grudges, so there is no need to apologize."
Yan Baizhi put down the phone and issued a military order: "Instruct all artillery units not to save ammunition, but to use it as much as possible for me.
If the Swedish army really dares to attack, Jishan Town will become the burial place for most of their people."
When Chief of Staff Qiu Rushen saw General Yan Baizhi's high-spirited look, he knew that the imperial court had solved the problem of artillery supply.
The first two lines of defense were forced to abandon their previous positions due to the untimely supply of ammunition and reinforcements.
The Swedish army has now occupied a quarter of the Hongshanling area.
The imperial court still trusted General Yan Baizhi, which meant that everyone knew that General Yan Baizhi was not to blame for the loss of the front line.
As an army of an agricultural country, the Shu army suddenly adopted the fighting style of an industrial country to deal with the war, and it had to pay the price of learning.
…
There are some unimportant hills in Jishan Town.
Some people who looked at the badges were generals, and they were watching with binoculars.
General Su Zihai of Gui State looked at the tense confrontation between the two armies.
He told everyone: "The Shu army has already set up a complete defensive position in Jishan Town.
The Swedish army also invested heavily in preparing to capture Jishan Town.
Jishan Town holds a strategic position and is connected by railways.
Rui was unable to capture Jishan Town. If they wanted to bypass Jishan Town, they would be divided into multiple battlefields by the Shu army.
In this way, the Swiss army's numerical advantage cannot be used.
Roads for material transportation are also easily blocked. Once the army's supplies are cut off, no matter how strong the army's will to fight, it will only be defeated.
If I were the commander-in-chief of Rui, I would never cross Jishan Town to occupy the Hongshanling Iron Mine before taking over Jishan Town."
General Hou Da of Cao State nodded slightly and said: "The people who command the armies of both countries understand this truth.
Our military observation group had been observing the two armies before, but we met in Jishan Town.
We want to discuss some profound things. These common people can talk about a few things, so there is no need to discuss them in depth.
I'll just throw some ideas out there.
I heard that the Shu Kingdom wanted to produce cannonballs, but because the quality of the gunpowder was not up to par, a batch of products were produced.
There is a problem with the supply of artillery shells in Shu, can they still hold their position?"
The words of General Hou Dayou of Cao State made several people around look at each other.
This is a scandal for the Shu Kingdom, and the Shu Kingdom absolutely does not want this news to leak out.
It was a bit surprising that Cao Guo could learn this information.
It may not be the first-hand information obtained by Cao Guo, but it may be provided by Rui Guo.
The relationship between Cao Guo and Rui Guo is obvious to all.
Rui's spreading of this news was to reduce Shu's potential supporters.
After Rui Guo learned the news, he also let everyone know that they would definitely attack in the near future.
The generals of Rui will never let go of the Shu army's positions that are short of ammunition.
Imperial General Niu Feng laughed and said: "I have also heard about this matter. The Shu Kingdom is a novice in the field of military industry.
They were deceived by merchants and used Zhao domestic cotton as imperial short-staple cotton.
The short-staple cotton from the western regions of the empire is the best material for making propellants, and the technology is very mature.
If you replace it with inferior cotton, the quality of the gunpowder will be worrying.
But I don't think there will be any problems with the supply of ammunition to the Swedish army.
Rui Guo received a guarantee from the Liao royal family for unknown reasons.
Everyone knows that the Liao Kingdom is the main producer of gold, and the Liao royal family is extremely wealthy.
With the guarantee of the Liao royal family, Shu could borrow money from banks and purchase enough weapons and ammunition.
Everyone knows that the Empire stores a large amount of ammunition in Gufeng.
Which country has demand, you can contact me immediately to place an order.
As long as the money is available, the Empire is responsible for transporting the ammunition to the designated location."
After General Niu Feng said these words, some people's faces became gloomy, while others smiled.
Most of the people's expressions remained normal. These people preferred to see both Rui and Shu lose.
Some people also wonder why the Liao Kingdom intervened in the war between the Rui Kingdom and the Shu Kingdom.
They had not heard that Li Qingmu, the king of Liao, had a good relationship with Qian Mingyi, the king of Shu.
The Liao Kingdom has the idea of intervening in the wars in various European countries. This is an important piece of information that they must send back to the country as soon as possible.
All European countries were happy to see the empire's promotion of weapons and ammunition.
The empire sells weapons and ammunition and makes some money easily.
This kind of money should be paid, it is better than the empire personally intervening in this war.
General Qi Long of the State of Wu was a member of the royal family of the State of Wu and the strong cousin of King Qi of Wu.
He has a different perspective on the situation in Europe.
The development of the situation in European countries is driven by the interests of each country.
There are many behind the scenes, pushing countries to move in different directions in order to achieve different goals.
The Kingdom of Shu has just publicly announced that the disputed area belongs to them alone, openly provoking the Kingdom of Switzerland.
This move is unusual, and there must be a pusher behind it.
General Qi Long couldn't figure out who was behind this?
But the mastermind behind this must have a very high status.
Not only can it influence the Shu Kingdom, but it can also influence the Liao royal family.
For the Liao royal family to appear on the table, they must obtain sufficient benefits.
This kind of benefit is definitely not something that major European vassal states can afford.
If we think about the identity of King Rui Sulei again, the answer becomes obvious, which involves the internal strife between the imperial royal family.
Many people can understand this situation, but they must never say it out loud.
In the current situation, any country targeted by the imperial family will have to pay a heavy price.
If he were King Sulei of Rui, he would definitely become furious after knowing this information.
General Qi Long judged: "I think if Rui moves quickly, a war will be launched before the sun sets."
General Hou Dayou of Cao State knew part of the Rui army's strategy.
He said in surprise: "The railway in Switzerland has not been repaired yet, and the train guns are still waiting at the rear.
Without the support of large-caliber artillery, it will be difficult for the Swedish army to launch an attack today."
General Hou Dayou's judgment was recognized by most people.
Qi Long smiled calmly and said: "General Hou only needs to convey to Rui Guo what General Niu just said.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! We will wait and see whether Switzerland will take action."
…
The country of Rui is prosperous.
King Rui Sule learned the latest news from the front line.
He directly threw his favorite glass teacup to the ground, smashing it into pieces.
"It's too much to bully others, it's simply too much to bully others.
I have already arrived in Europe and they still don’t let me go.
I want to send a report to my mother and complain to my father.
If I don’t have a good time, you can’t have a good time either.”
The officials below could already guess what happened.
But this is a family matter of the imperial family, and this is King Sule's private matter.
Those of them who are ministers had better not get involved in these things.
After Rui Wang Su Lei vented his anger, he quickly recovered.
After so many years of training, he is no longer the impulsive child he once was.
I reported this matter to my father. The most he could do was reprimand me, which would not cause much harm to that person.
"Shu is unkind, so don't blame Rui for being unjust."
King Su Lei of Rui immediately asked the Governor Qi Kuohai: "Can our army launch an attack today?"
Qi Kuohai immediately stood up: "Your Majesty, our army is ready and can launch an attack at any time."
King Rui Su Lei smiled and gave the order.
"The telegram ordered Lu Qianjin and Xu Fei to launch an attack and seize the Shu army's position at all costs.
Tell them not to care about what the world thinks.
Any tactics that do not violate the Jianye Convention can be used, and I will be responsible for anything."
The Grand Governor Qi Kuohai immediately saluted with a military salute and replied: "Yes."
…
Ruijun Camp, Jishan Town.
Xu Fei, the commander-in-chief of Rui Kingdom, looked at the telegram he had just received.
King Sulei of Switzerland and the governor-general ordered the Swiss army to launch an attack as soon as possible.
In this war, the governor's office has completely relaxed its control. As long as it does not violate the "Jianye Convention", any means can be used.
Xu Fei suddenly felt that the shackles on his body were gone.
He picked up the phone and issued an order: "Each army will implement Plan B 3 and launch an attack on the Shu Army's position in an hour."
The Swedish army quickly entered into combat formation and launched an attack on the Shu army's position when most of the people on the front line were surprised.