The Western Wall defense line is the defense line between the Qin State and the barbaric beasts. The war here has never stopped, and there are several small-scale conflicts almost every year.
Because it is on the edge of the desert, there is actually nothing to fight for here, no decent resources, and no prosperity at all.
For the Qin State, this place was just a line of defense to block the Orcs' eastward advance. For the Orcs, this was a millstone to reduce their own population.
On the slightly deserted city wall, a man wearing the uniform of a major general officer of the Tang Empire patted the hem of his clothes twice with gloves. Compared to the territory of the Tang Kingdom, the environment here was a bit too difficult.
"To the west, is there an oasis?" Zhou Huaiyuan squinted his eyes, looked at the battlefield in the distance, and asked a Qin general who accompanied him.
The Qin general nodded, pointed to the other side of the desert, and said: "More than 110 kilometers over there, there is a river. The orcs' Steel Fist Fortress is built on the east side of that river."
"Is it difficult to attack? If we seize that place, can all the defense lines here be eliminated?" Zhou Huaiyuan, as the military advisor of the Tang Empire, had a lot of work to do when he came to Qin.
On the one hand, he wanted to train some Qin generals according to the agreement so that they could understand and learn to use more advanced weapons and equipment.
On the other hand, he also has the responsibility of recommending weapons and equipment. If Qin wants to purchase any advanced weapons and equipment produced by Tang, he needs his nod.
It’s no wonder that the State of Qin valued Zhou Huaiyuan and other Tang military advisors, because with their arrival, the State of Qin received a construction loan of 10 million gold coins with almost no interest, and at the same time received weapons assistance worth 20 million gold coins.
These new weapons include 3,000 Thompson submachine guns, 100 million rounds of submachine gun ammunition, 45 113 armored vehicles, and many supporting maintenance machinery and equipment.
What moved Qin even more was that Tang also provided 30 reconnaissance aircraft to help Qin conduct a series of reconnaissance activities.
All aircraft are controlled by Tang pilots, and all operational results obtained will be provided to Qin free of charge.
The tasks of these aircraft are very busy, including taking aerial photos of the Qin Kingdom, drawing more accurate maps, detecting the military deployment of the Orcs, and providing early warning of the Orc army's attack.
In addition, these aircraft will also help determine areas in Qin that are suitable for building roads, railways, canals, dams and other facilities, and complete the most basic surveying and mapping.
In line with the principle of intelligence sharing, these data will be sent back to Tang without the knowledge of Qin's senior officials. This is also a job of Tang's intelligence department.
Tang Mo is really familiar with the American intelligence sharing system: I will lend you my technology to help you draw a map and mark the important coordinate parameters, and then store all the data into the computer, and then input it into the missile chipset...
On the battlefield over there, the 155mm caliber howitzer provided by the Tang State had already exerted shocking power. The Qin State border troops, who had never seen the world, saw such a powerful weapon for the first time.
The artillery position 15 kilometers away accurately used artillery shells to greet the phalanx of Orc troops who tried to launch an attack, and then the heavy machine guns began to massacre from both wings.
The orcs invested more troops, trying to push the battle into a dogfight as usual. But they soon discovered that... the Qin army did not seem to need to do such things as bayonet fighting.
The intensive firepower at close range caused the Orcs to completely collapse. More than a hundred Thompson submachine guns exerted their power in the trench warfare. The Orc troops did not even have a chance to show their courage, so they abandoned their armor and withdrew from the battle.
"We don't have enough means to push the logistics supplies to Steel Fist Fortress..." The Qin officer withdrew his gaze and explained with some embarrassment.
In the desert area of more than 70 kilometers, as long as the orc tribe holds on for three or two days, the attacking Qin soldiers will be overwhelmed by logistics and suffer heavy losses.
To be honest, the Qin Army had not thought before that they could advance the battle line to the Shasha River, which was near the river behind the Steel Fist Fortress.
But all their efforts failed. They lost many troops in the previous attacks and hundreds of thousands of people were buried in the desert.
The closest they came to success was when they lost 200,000 people and captured the Steel Fist Fortress, but then they discovered a serious problem: With more than 110 kilometers of desert behind them, Qin could not guarantee that its logistics troops could maintain their strength.
Their garrison at Steel Fist Fortress...
Things became awkward in an instant. The Qin army, which had barely occupied the Steel Ring Fortress, finally had to abandon the fortress and retreated to the Western Wall defense line to organize defense.
From then on, the top brass of the Qin Army no longer wanted to think about counterattacking the Steel Fist Fortress. All offensive plans were canceled and shelved.
"There is nothing that cannot be solved by one railway. If there is one, then build two." Zhou Huaiyuan said.
He was a staff officer of the Tang Empire. He was a native of Dongwan. He studied in a school on Longdao in his early years. He later distinguished himself in the war against Qi and was promoted to the rank of major general.
As a staff officer, his resume can definitely be said to be outstanding. Even Tang Mo felt that he was very talented and worthy of focusing on training.
Although he has never been on the battlefield, he has considerable experience in staff positions. During the war against the Great China Empire, he participated in the strategic design of the Xicong Counterattack.
It's a pity that he is just a staff officer, a staff officer of the Tang Empire... In the Tang Empire, the army generally supports the proposals of the logistics force unconditionally. This is a habit.
For example, when an attack plan is drawn up and the staff department calculates that a railway is needed to support it, the logistics force will find a way to obtain a railway according to the requirements to support the continuation of the campaign plan.
But in other countries, the actual situation is much more complicated. Therefore, when they heard Zhou Huaiyuan's suggestions, the expressions of Qin's officers changed.
He lowered his voice and explained: "General Zhou, it's not that we don't want to, but the construction of this railway is too expensive..."
Zhou Huaiyuan also realized that he might be a little unrealistic. He coughed twice in embarrassment, said sorry, and changed the subject.
Telling these countries to build a railway to support a certain war zone is really the same as suggesting that a commuter complaining about traffic jams buy a helicopter. It is a bit too taken for granted.
Not all countries can build railways at will. For example, the Qin State has few railways throughout the country. Of course, it is impossible to deliberately build a 70-kilometer railway in order to attack the Steel Fist Fortress.
In the view of the King of Qin and senior officials of the Qin State, this 100-kilometer railway should be built near the capital to facilitate the transportation of materials, increase population mobility, and strengthen effective control over the Gyeongsang region.
After all, building this 110-kilometer railway must pay back the cost. If the investment cannot get more returns, for a country like Qin, it is not known how long it will take to build a second 110-kilometer railway.
Already.
Even if it received some support from the Dahua Empire and found a way to gain support from the Cyric Consortium, the total number of railways in the Qin State was only over 900 kilometers.
Under such circumstances, it is obviously unrealistic to build more than 100 kilometers of railways into the desert outside the Western Wall defense line.
"What a pity. By capturing Steel Fist Fortress, you can shorten the defense line and save at least 200,000 border defense troops in the future..." Zhou Huaiyuan shook his head and finally sighed with some regret.
The Qin general who was responsible for accompanying Zhou Huaiyuan was also very melancholy. He sighed and responded: "General Zhou, everyone knows this kind of thing... But the most worthless thing here is probably human life."
Zhou Huaiyuan did not speak. He had already begun to calculate in his mind how to provide the most suitable weapons and equipment for Qin so that they would be more willing to pay for them.
Thinking about it, howitzers, which are very suitable for defensive warfare, must be the bulk of the purchase. It is estimated that Qin will purchase at least 2,000 artillery pieces of various types.
The 75mm caliber infantry guns that the Tang State does not want can be sold to the Qin State at a cheaper price. In addition, some bolt-action rifles that save more ammunition can also be provided.
The Qin State was previously equipped with Cyric 1 rifles, but after several fierce battles with the Tang Army, the Qin State military was more inclined to purchase Tang-made weapons and equipment.
Therefore, the Qin State is undergoing a small-scale replacement of some second-hand weapons and equipment from the Tang State. Brand-new ones are too expensive for the Qin State, and second-hand ones are a good choice.
For example, the Tang Dynasty is eliminating the 98k rifle, the Thompson submachine gun, and the previously equipped revolvers and 1911 pistols.
These weapons were outdated for the Tang army, but they were good things for the Qin army and the price was very cheap, so they purchased some of them.
As for the large and heavy equipment of the Tang Army, Qin could not afford it: except for some Type 113 armored vehicles that the Tang Army provided free assistance, the only ones Qin could afford were military trucks.
The good news is that Qin State itself produces oil, so there is no problem in using oil. The bad news is that Qin State does not have a particularly good industrial foundation, and everything needs to be developed again.
The good news is that they are not adjacent to the Tang State. Even if they are slightly behind, they don't have to worry about the Tang State taking the opportunity to invade. The bad news is that they are not adjacent to the Tang State, so they cannot enjoy the huge dividends brought by exporting oil to the Tang State.
Although the Great China Empire also desperately imported oil, the economy of the Great China Empire was just like that after all, and it was not a little worse than that of the Tang Dynasty.
"If possible, I can give you the right to purchase a few aircraft." Zhou Huaiyuan spoke after a long silence and expressed his goodwill: "Perhaps this will allow you to familiarize yourself with the use of reconnaissance aircraft faster, and provide you with