CHAPTER 1424: THE CRUELTY OF THE WAR IN 1341 IS IMMINENT

The sirens of the fire trucks continued to echo through the night, with the damage caused by the Great Tang Empire’s missiles to Wuyang City being far more significant than anticipated.

Numerous buildings collapsed, while others caught fire, burning for several hours without being extinguished even by nightfall.

The people of Wuyang City gathered together, numb as they watched the still smoking buildings, which were once their homes, now reduced to ruins.

War has always seemed distant from here; the Qin Country has always been martial, expanding outwardly with an overbearing demeanor.

The People of Qin also admired military prowess, keen on solving problems through war and flaunting their force. The commoners fervently supported the wars, hoping to change their fate through military achievements.

In fact, the promotion system in Qin Country is very advanced, almost having the rudiments of today’s military structure. Their commoners can truly ascend in rank based on military merits, ultimately improving their social class.

In quite a broad circle, people do not reject those who take risks to achieve accolades, and this societal atmosphere allows commoners to accept this "military system" model.

But the blade cuts deepest when it falls on oneself; the fervent reverence for war might simply arise because they haven’t suffered attacks themselves.

Qin Country has reaped too many benefits from victorious wars, viewing war as a means to gain profits from top to bottom. In their subconscious, they have blocked out the possibility of defeat.

From the time they repelled the Orc Empire at the western wall fortress, they have been extracting benefits from the Dahua Empire through warfare. This continued until they invaded Shu Country, reaching the pinnacle of their expansionist route!

This is why the whole of Qin Country dared to challenge the Great Tang Empire: they have won too often, and victory has blinded them.

Now, with the Great Tang Empire’s ballistic missiles hitting Wuyang City, the people of Qin finally realized how close war was, and its brutality was starkly presented before them.

The distant victories that only appeared in newspapers or on the radio were nowhere near as shocking as the houses collapsing right in front of them.

"Wuuu wuuu wuuu..." A child kept crying, unable to be comforted by his mother. They had lost their home and their former calm and composure.

"Didn’t they say the frontline was still within Dahua’s borders? How did the fighting reach here?" A woman asked the man beside her, not understanding these matters and growing fearful.

Previously, in news propaganda, the Tang Empire’s troops were still engaged near the old capital with the Qin Country, but for the People of Qin, that old capital felt so distant, and so did the war.

But what was happening now? How did the battle fires near the old capital suddenly reach Wuyang City? How could it suddenly come right before them?

"Could the reports be wrong?" Another elderly woman followed up, questioning the propaganda in the newspapers.

The literacy rate in Qin Country was very low; the old People of Qin’s literacy rate was less than twenty percent, and most women hadn’t studied.

Later, Qin Country followed the Tang Empire’s lead in establishing newspapers, sending literate people to fixed points on streets to announce the news. These women and elders, with nothing else to do, found their biggest pastime in gathering to listen to these "stories."

The consequence was that people who originally understood nothing now grasped things only partly. When news was favorable, everyone united; when it grew slightly more complex, rumors would run rampant.

"Quit talking nonsense! This thing is called a missile... it can travel very far." The man working in a factory scolded, making several women nearby close their mouths.

However, he was feeling uneasy too, as the factory had started investigating each person’s work nature, and children were being brought in to learn already.

Simply put, the conscription order was being enforced more strictly, and the draft offices that used to have long lines began to empty, with military officers in recruitment departments now taking household registration books to investigate each household door-to-door...

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense, everyone was on edge, starting to question the war news in the papers: since the war was supposedly going well, why was there such an insane push for conscription?

"Dear, will those missiles come again?" The woman cared little for distant matters; she was more concerned about whether their future would be livable.

If these things kept falling, they would not have a good life ahead. Wuyang City of Qin Country hadn’t experienced warfare for a long time, and the so-called shelter defenses here were miserably inadequate.

Never mind underground defense constructions; with changing times, even the city walls have been badly neglected, with large portions dismantled.

After all, street development, city expansion, and factory rise have all rendered traditional defensive structures like city walls meaningless and unnecessary.

Yet while most of the city walls were removed, the construction of underground shelters like air-raid shelters had fallen behind: Such things were easily overlooked, as Ying Duo had never imagined his capital would one day be attacked.

The few underground air-raid shelters were constructed for the Nobility, but with advancements in war weaponry, standard shelters were no longer adequate for refuge.

Once hit, most shelters would be destroyed, and those inside would naturally face grim prospects. As for the common people, they had no places to hide at all.

With no place to hide and nowhere to go... the commoners in the capital of Qin Country finally experienced the tragedy the old Dahua people had. Watching the fire before them, an inexplicable emotion was spreading within their hearts.

...

"Investigate! Find out where that call came from!" In the makeshift command headquarters outside the city, Ying Duo angrily shouted at the intelligence commander before him.

The other party, keeping his head down, explained with difficulty: "Your Majesty! The missile attack just hit the telephone bureau, and the situation there is now terrible, with the fire still not extinguished; clues are certainly lost."

The Great Tang Empire’s ballistic missiles are far from precise, and their intelligence department had no intention to hide clues. This missile coincidentally hit the phone bureau, disrupting Wuyang City’s telephone system.

After all, out of 40 missiles, it’s quite possible for two or three to fortunately hit valuable targets. Besides this one, another missile landed in the Imperial Palace, causing negligible damage.

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Sorry, overslept.