It is actually no longer an easy task to find food in Xicong. The place has almost been fortified and cleared, and most of the civilians have left this place before the war.
So when you go into Xicong to look for food, the subtext is that if you go to Xicong and fight to the death, others will eat the saved food.
Therefore, a large number of second-line Dahua troops were sent into Xicong and fought hard in the ruins and streets.
Qian Jinhang learned about his promotion to general by His Majesty the Emperor while eating. His subordinates even celebrated for him, and the kitchen even made extra meals for him.
But on the evening of the next day, he learned some not-so-good news: the Tang army had occupied the southern oil field and had begun to repair the severed pipeline from the oil field to Nanfengkou.
It is said that this pipeline was built with the help of the Datang Group. At that time, the relationship between the Dahua Empire and the Datang Kingdom seemed to be pretty good on the surface, and the two sides launched many cooperation projects.
For example, the Tang Kingdom helped the Dahua Empire build an aircraft production line, specializing in the production of Camel biplane fighter jets that seemed to have pretty good performance at the time.
These aircraft were also exported to Chu and Qin by the Dahua Empire, and the foreign exchange earned even made the Dahua Empire a small profit.
The oil pipeline project was built for a full year and a half. At that time, it suddenly boosted the domestic demand of the Dahua Empire, increased the oil production speed of the Dahua Empire by more than ten times, and instantly solved the oil consumption problem of the Dahua Empire.
Even at that time, part of the oil was exported to the Tang State and used as payment for goods, and a large amount of machinery and equipment was purchased from the Tang State.
With these mechanical equipment, the Dahua Empire began its own industrialization, gradually giving this ancient empire an industrial foundation.
But now, these pipelines are controlled by the Tang Army and have become part of the Tang State's oil facilities: with the southern oil fields, the lack of oil in the Tang State has been solved at once.
In fact, at Nanfengkou and the southern oil fields, the military supplies captured by the Tang army included not only ground-based weapons and equipment, but also weapons and equipment in the air.
Due to the weather, the air force units assembled by the Dahua Empire in the southern region were unable to be mobilized. These aircraft parked at the field airport basically became trophies of the Tang troops.
In at least 10 different field airports, the Tang army captured more than 800 aircraft of various types from the Great China Empire in one fell swoop.
However, for the Tang Army, these captured aircraft had no practical value at all and were almost no different from junk.
Most of the aircraft that seem to be numerous are actually Camel fighters. This kind of aircraft is no different from the one used by the Tang Army in those days. Its performance is backward, and its wings and fuselage are made of wood.
In other words, these aircraft cannot even be sold for scrap metal: the fuselage of the aircraft is made of wood, the wings are canvas-covered, and the only thing worth a little bit of money in the entire aircraft is the engine.
In fact, the technology of this engine has completely lagged behind, and even the Dahua Empire has looked down on this type of aircraft.
Previously, the Dahua Empire independently designed and developed a large multi-engine bomber using the engines of four Camel fighter jets. Although the performance was not very good, it somewhat solved the sales problem of some Camel fighter engines.
This kind of bomber is slow in speed and low in load, so it can be said to be almost useless. However, it still solves the problem of bombers in some countries. Qin State purchased 300 of them, and Chu State probably equipped 200 of them.
The Dahua Empire also equipped 500 of them, and the Tang Army even captured many of these cobbled-together bombers - but they were indeed of no use, and the Tang Air Force even scorned these big toys in terms of safety.
Counting the captures in the central region, the Tang army had captured almost more than 1,000 Dahua Empire aircraft at this moment.
If we count the downed Dahua aircraft, the Dahua Empire has lost nearly 2,000 aircraft of various types since the war began.
Interestingly, according to the Dahua Empire's own statistical records, due to problems such as rough production technology, more than 100 of their own planes crashed, accounting for one-twentieth of the total losses!
Despite its huge number, the Dahua Empire's air force was actually far from being exhausted. None of their advanced aircraft dared to be deployed on the front lines, so they escaped the fate of being destroyed.
A large number of aircraft were destroyed and captured on the ground, so the losses among the Dahua Empire's air force pilots were not heavy, with only a few hundred killed or injured.
However, such losses still severely weakened the Dahua Empire's control over the battlefield. As the weather gradually improved, Tang Air Force aircraft took off more and more sorties, and air control was naturally controlled by Tang.
The sky in Xicong showed signs of clearing up for the first time in two months, and the sun shone on this humid and smoky city.
A Flying Fortress bomber hovered over the outskirts of Xicong, seemingly conducting reconnaissance and reassessing the number and location of the surrounded Dahua troops.
No one cared about the plane overhead, because various voices began to emerge from the Dahua troops whose defense depth was being gradually compressed.
Even Qian Jinhang's confidants began to discuss the feasibility of breaking out: the rescue promised by the empire did not seem to exist at all, and there was no difference between being trapped in Xicong and waiting to die.
"General! We must try to break out! There is no way out if we stay here!" An officer reminded Qian Jinhangdao worriedly.
The environment here looks pretty good, because it is a residential area near Xicong. There are several houses that have not collapsed, are dry and fully functional.
Although it is not as good as some areas in the city that have direct sewers, it is much better than being stationed in the wild.
In the not-so-big room, another general looked at Qian Jinhang who said nothing and also spoke: "General! I mentioned the rescue and counterattack before... I didn't see anything. I should give him some help."
Shall we have an explanation?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Many generals in the room are actually Qian Jinhang's confidants, and their troops can be regarded as the most capable among the besieged Dahua troops.
The troops that Qian Jinhang invested before were all second-line, non-direct line troops, so the losses of these direct line units were not actually huge.
The generals in front of them are very anxious, because they still have capital, their troops are relatively complete, and their supply priority is relatively high, so their combat effectiveness is still guaranteed.
But seeing the situation getting worse, they are the most hopeful and those who want to struggle the most.
I only heard some generals complaining: "Yes, there is not even a telegram! Where are the troops to rescue us? We are close to Nanfengkou in a few days. You must tell us, right?"
The general standing next to him also spread his hands: "Let us persist, let us continue to fight in Xicong. You should tell us when the reinforcements will arrive and when the supplies will be replenished!"
These generals are not blaming Qian Jinhang, but are pointing the finger at the rescue promised by the empire - they have been fighting in Xicong for several days, and they originally promised to recapture the reinforcements at Nanfengkou, but there has been no news.
.
They are all commanders of thousands or even tens of thousands of troops. Who is the real fool? I believed that there would be reinforcements before, but I just believed that Dahua’s top brass would not be so bad that they would not save hundreds of thousands of people.
But as time goes by, this trust becomes lower and lower, reaching the point where it cannot be maintained.
At this moment, everyone had almost guessed that the so-called reinforcements did not exist at all. In fact, they did guess correctly that the previously promised counterattack against Nanfengkou was actually just a scam.
Now that you have guessed it, what is the use of coming here to say these words? In fact, it is of no use. The reason why everyone comes here and stands here is not to complain about the recklessness of the rear.
What I said just now is just foreshadowing. The subtext is actually "We all know the truth, sir, please stop acting."
At this point, everyone saw Qian Jinhang and said nothing, and gradually brought the topic back to a more realistic direction: "The weather is getting better and better. When the Tang Army's planes start bombing, our situation will be even more passive.
Already."
Since there is no hope of rescue, we can always break out on our own, right? This is actually what everyone wants to say in this meeting.
So one of the generals reminded Qian Jinhang: "The soldiers have begun to complain that the food is getting worse and worse. More than half of the food we carried has been consumed. Now it is mixed with sawdust and water... The people below complained.
It’s so big that I can’t hold it down anymore.”
"The ammunition of the troops is decreasing every day. If we continue to fight, we may not even have enough base to break out of the encirclement! You have to say something, General!" Someone in the corner also spoke.
Qian Jinhang glanced impatiently at the corner where the sound came from. He sighed, signaled everyone to be quiet, and finally spoke, passing all his responsibilities to Prince Zhao Chen who was far away in Jiange: "I too
I was deceived by that bastard Zhao Chen!"
"Then Sir..." Several generals wanted to speak, but were interrupted by Qian Jinhang.
He waved his hand and said: "We can't defeat the Tang Army's armored forces in the wild. Giving up on Xicong is a dead end..."
Without waiting for these generals to say anything else, Qian Jinhang continued: "There is no point in continuing to fight now. Surrendering at this time would be a disgrace to the empire's cultivation for us."
"So, we can only continue to use it up! Eat up all the food, use up all the ammunition... hold on for ten and a half days, and the defense line in the direction of Zangjian Gorge has been stabilized. I will wait... and then make plans." Qian Jinhang said and glanced around.
asked everyone present: "What do you think...?"
He seemed to be asking, but in fact he had already made a decision. Calling these generals was just to inform them.