Munitions Empire-Chapter 1133: Tense Eastern Continent
The intelligence department of the Laines Empire has been rather busy lately, keeping a close eye on the naval movements of the Great Tang Empire.
Although all signs indicate that the likely target of the Great Tang Empire’s operations is the Mirage Country, the Laines Empire nonetheless does not wish for their Brunnis Port to be suddenly struck by a massive fleet.
The diplomatic department of the Laines Empire is repeatedly communicating with the Ambassador of the Great Tang Empire residing in the Laines Empire to confirm that the Great Tang will not take military action against the Laines Empire.
Despite the Tang Ambassador’s reassurances that there will be no military operations against the Laines Empire, the latter remains extremely anxious.
First, Leines I has assembled 100,000 troops toward Brunnis, and at the same time, the naval fleet of the Laines Empire has also gone on alert. The atmosphere across the Eastern Continent is extremely tense, seeing that the Poplar Empire and the Ice Cold Empire in the north also seem ready to erupt into war at any moment.
Therefore, the intelligence department of the Laines Empire has been terribly busy recently, desperately gathering any intelligence on the naval operations of the Great Tang Empire without letting anything slip through the cracks.
Upon entering, this official from the busy intelligence department of the Laines Empire loosened the button on his collar and took a big gulp of water, exclaiming, "I’m exhausted."
"How’s the investigation going?" his curious colleague asked.
The intelligence officer responsible for the matter said disdainfully, "Some things are so obvious even a blind person could notice! No matter how good the Great Tang’s intelligence work is, they can’t hide such massive strategic preparations."
As he spoke, he began to gesticulate exaggeratedly: "Their tankers are moving northward, not ten, not twenty, but hundreds of them! Can you imagine a country assembling so many tankers, so many supply ships? Apart from the Great Tang, no other nation can muster so many transport vessels."
Recently, intelligence personnel in Linshui from the Laines Empire have witnessed a spectacle they may never see again in their lifetimes: the transport ships of the Great Tang Empire docked at sea in such numbers that it could trigger someone’s fear of dense clusters.
To ensure the logistics for the expedition, the Great Tang Empire even assembled numerous ships specialized in transporting food and supplies; these vessels can’t support landing operations, but they can provide ample resupply for subsequent combat engagements.
The entire plan is grand and complex, so in the execution process, there is essentially no secrecy to speak of: as long as the enemy has some means of gathering information, they could roughly guess the Great Tang Empire’s strategic deployment.
The official who had summarized the intelligence spoke up, "At the docks, there are personnel transport ships moored as far as the eye can see! Each of these ships can carry thousands of people, but such ships... in Linshui, in Beiyuan, in Dongwan, in the unseen Dragon Island, there are thousands!"
It’s not only personnel transport ships, but also tank transport ships, medical ships, supply vessels; the Great Tang Empire has mobilized over 4,000 vessels, some even designated as reserves.
Among these ships are also engineering vessels for constructing floating docks and ships intended to be sacrificed to clear potential minefields.
He shook his head as he spoke, clearly not understanding the behavior of the Great Tang Empire, "I don’t know why the Great Tang Empire has the confidence to organize such a large-scale attack without being able to deploy aircraft to the Mirage Country... Nevertheless, their commanders seem quite confident about this."
"Who knows?" his colleague put down the document they had been holding and made a gesture of incomprehension.
A person recently involved in sorting intelligence on the Great Tang Empire joined the discussion, "Tang troops are assembling and mobilizing, although they have been secretive, still every day soldiers are arriving at the harbor, stepping onto the docks... From the high-rise buildings in Linshui, just lift a high-powered telescope, and you can see the crowds swarming onto the ships."
As he spoke, he picked up a newspaper from the Great Tang Empire, "Their television stations and newspapers, including radio stations, are all vehemently denouncing the heinous crimes committed by the Mirage Country in Beiyuan and Dongwan, arousing a sentiment of revenge in the people of Qi and Zheng. The entire Great Tang Empire is cheering for the opportunity to attack the Mirage Country. No one is worried about the failure of the war; what they fear is the war being canceled!"
"Everywhere on the streets there are parading crowds, with women holding up signs calling for the extermination of the Goblins, and the survivors from Beiyuan City are even exposing their breasts and loudly condemning the Goblins for defiling their bodies." As he spoke, he picked up another newspaper and showed his colleagues a picture of a disheveled old woman.
The title was very clear, a woman from Beiyuan City accusing the Goblins of the crimes committed in Beiyuan City, her expression contorted with immense pain and distress.
"The men are like ticking time bombs, already ignited... In the eyes of the Tang people, Tang People should not be violated. They are shaking their fists, demanding justice for the persecuted women, and the recruitment centers of the Tang Empire have even formed long lines." He couldn’t help but reflect that the Great Tang Empire had taken up a just cause; the entire nation had already begun gearing up for war.
Monarchs from other countries watched this situation with great envy because it was a power they desired but could not possess. The very thought of being able to mobilize the emotions of an entire nation for one’s own use was exhilarating.
Therefore, the officials in the intelligence department of this office also greatly envied the Great Tang Empire’s ability to control public opinion. Someone couldn’t help but lament, "Countless people wish to join the military and serve their country; they do not fear sacrificing themselves, or rather, they revere sacrifice. They’re willing to perish for victory, and in their eyes, the Great Tang Empire has never been defeated!"
"Conservatively estimating, the first wave of troops attacking Mirage Country from the Great Tang Empire exceeds one hundred thousand. Whether these troops can breach Mirage Country’s defense line will be crucial to whether Mirage Country can defend its territory," said the official who had just returned to the office.
Indeed, he had underestimated the power of the Great Tang Empire: the forces mobilized by the Great Tang Empire were far more than one hundred thousand.
His colleague quickly spoke of Mirage Country’s response: "Mirage Country hasn’t been sitting idle; they imported 300,000 tonnes of concrete from Dorne and Gobur, and procured metal from nearly every nation. They are well-prepared for war; this time, the Great Tang Empire may not easily triumph."
Someone added, "It’s said that Mirage Country started constructing their coastal defenses half a year ago. In critical areas, they even built formidable multilayered defense structures; these defenses will play a role."
Mirage Country is also heavily promoting their war readiness, attempting to deter the Great Tang Empire’s attacks with this method.
And indeed, they’ve invested heavily in defense, purchasing all the materials they could get, including cement and steel rebar, and even heavy artillery and tanks.
This drained nearly all the funds Mirage Country had saved up: a significant portion of which was earned by supporting the Fengjiang mercenary rebels.
"Even with naval artillery support, it won’t be easy for the landing troops to forcefully tear through the defense line. Despite the Great Tang Empire’s experience in long-range troop deployment, that’s already events from over a decade ago," someone expressed their opinion.
As Laines people, everyone in this room had an aversion to the Great Tang Empire. They feared this colossal entity and also felt extremely guilty because of the Brunas affair.
In their view, the Great Tang Empire was bound to retake Brunas sooner or later, and the conflict between the Laines Empire and the Great Tang Empire was irreconcilable.
"They will suffer heavy losses. Even if the subsequent troops can land and capture some territory, they will struggle due to a lack of reinforcements. In my opinion, the Great Tang Empire’s operation this time is overly confident," another person agreed with the view and believed that Mirage Country might win.
The official who had just returned to the office also nodded in agreement: "Indeed, a fleet without air superiority is vulnerable. No matter how many times we simulate it, a fleet without air cover struggles to exert its combat power. Unless the Great Tang Empire can send Butcher Fighter Jets to participate in Mirage Country, they are bound to suffer a crushing defeat."
Someone immediately laughed, "I’m quite interested in the Great Tang Empire’s crushing defeat. Who wouldn’t want to see the seemingly invincible Great Tang Empire suffer a setback?"
"You’re right, I also feel that a crushing defeat for the Great Tang Empire in Mirage Country would be more beneficial for us," everyone else also laughed. The atmosphere in the office suddenly became much livelier; it had been too long since they had such a pleasant conversation, having been repressed for too long.
Again, modern warfare requires vast amounts of materials. Those street literature stories about intercepting telegrams or decrypting codes to confirm enemy movements are simply nonsense.
Real intelligence isn’t about a nimble War God sneaking into the enemy headquarters, fighting through two thousand guards to pry open the safe and get that worthless document. Instead, it’s the collection and analysis of an immense amount of mundane information.
To know the Great Tang Empire’s strategic preparations, one just needs to rent a house beside the railway station and carefully observe whether various materials are entering major ports like Linshui and Beiyuan.
Besides, the deployment of the Great Tang Empire’s military, the transport of weapons and ammunition, and the assembly of various vessels, whether coal and heavy oil are directed towards places like Linshui’s Dongwan...
With these pieces of information gathered and analyzed, it would be possible to roughly determine the extent of the Great Tang Empire’s war preparations.
Moreover, by having merchants at the port observe where over a hundred Destroyers and a dozen Cruisers last resupplied, it would be possible to guess where the main Great Tang Empire Fleet is positioned.ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
