CHAPTER 1425: 1342 CHAOTIC COURT

Despite most missiles only falling inside the city and hitting worthless residential areas, the impact they brought to the rulers of the Qin Country was tremendous.

Many people experienced the threat to their lives for the first time. If the Qin Emperor hadn’t been notified in advance this time, many might have perished in this attack.

This time someone alerted them, but what about next time? Would the Great Tang Empire kindly remind them once to ensure the Qin Emperor’s safety? The second time? The third time? Will there be a reminder on the fourth occasion?

Thus, all the ministers of the Qin Country in Ying Duo’s presence were very anxious, genuinely fearing the possibility of Tang Country suddenly launching hundreds of missiles at Wuyang City one day... Then, they would leave this world peacefully while sleeping at home.

The Air Force generals looked especially grim. They were responsible for Wuyang City’s air defense, but when Wuyang City was hit by missiles, they failed to detect them in advance.

Therefore, they had to explain, at least address the issue. So, Zhang Tuo stood up with reluctance and explained, "Radar did not detect any valid targets. Along the way, we had at least 30 radars operating, including some civilian navigation radars... But none found anything suspicious."

Each word he said made the Great Qin Empire officials’ expressions even gloomier: "Our early warning systems are virtually useless; even if a target is detected, we have no method to intercept, Your Majesty... Our aircraft simply cannot intercept this kind of weapon."

"We spent so much money! We built so many radar stations! And you’re going to brush it off by saying there’s no interception capability?" an official angrily accused.

"We don’t have the relevant technology, and the Great Tang Empire has never sold similar technology." Zhang Tuo was quite upset, as his radar early warning system—assuming one could even call that junk an early warning system—couldn’t detect Tang Army’s missiles.

This crap has too many echoes; if we adjust the signals, the radar screen is full of reflected echoes and it’s impossible to see clearly. But if we reduce the radar signal, we’ll overlook missiles with small reflective areas...

So, he could only complain, "Furthermore, the frontline just lost a large number of Type 183 jet fighter jets, and we are severely short of pilots. Under these conditions, the fighter jet patrol missions in the rear have been cut by half."

Feng Zhang’s offensive plan completely failed, and the Qin Country’s Air Force’s slight build-up of resources has been squandered... He truly had no means, after all, a skillful woman simply cannot cook without rice.

Honestly, he even wanted to resign from his Air Force Commander position. The Army could still barely put up a fight, but his Air Force had no capability to confront; whoever commands would still be blamed all the same, an object of public criticism.

"Just a dozen hours ago, Tang Army’s jet bombers bombed the Daxi Pass at night, dropping thousands of bombs, almost destroying our train station at Daxi Pass and the stockpiled materials." A minister continued mockingly from Zhang Tuo’s remarks, "Your frontline also didn’t do anything... Our ground troops suffered serious losses."

The Army officers didn’t shift the blame; they only complained, "The losses are quite severe, and our number of anti-aircraft guns is insufficient. Factories are working overtime, yet they are still not enough. The frontline needs them, the rear needs them... The demand for anti-aircraft guns has even exceeded that of fighter jets."

He didn’t directly criticize the Air Force but focused on "anti-aircraft guns." The logic here was simple: Since the Air Force doesn’t perform, we’ll handle air defense ourselves in the Army.

But those knowledgeable about the field knew that even if those outdated anti-aircraft guns were produced, they wouldn’t actually be useful at all.

Yet Zhang Tuo had no intention of power grabbing; he didn’t even want to serve as Air Force Commander, so he simply went along with it, directly suggesting, "I propose reducing fighter jet production... We can’t train that many pilots, whereas anti-aircraft artillery troops—even if the guns are damaged, generally the gunners can survive."

This time it was the Army officers’ turn to be unable to play their hand. They exchanged glances and suddenly felt like they had accepted a hot potato.

Without giving them a chance to shirk, Zhang Tuo bluntly stated, "Moreover, anti-aircraft guns can be used as anti-tank weapons at critical times, making them quite a versatile weapon."

"Shouldn’t we halt the Stuka production line? Without air superiority, planes like Stuka can’t be utilized at all," another minister straightforwardly asked.

The performance of the Stuka Dive Bombers is simply too poor; they can’t be used on the battlefield at all. As soon as they fly to the front line, they’re mercilessly shot down, rendering them virtually useless.

Before Zhang Tuo could respond, the army’s officers immediately waved them off, refusing, "We can’t halt production. While on the frontal battlefield Stukas don’t serve much purpose... in the coastal area of Shu Territory, there is still a shortage of such airplanes."

There’s no way around it; the current coastal defense pressure is too immense, requiring enough aircraft throughout the Shu Territory. Various types of airplanes that can fly far enough, can patrol and watch over the seas!

Apart from the DO-17 bombers, Qin Country can only use C-47 transport aircraft and the dual-seat Stuka.

Although the Stuka has limited range, it can carry two people—which is crucial for inadequately trained sea flight crews. Someone needs to look at the map, find the direction, right? On the sea, having one more person means extra assurance.

So, despite the DO-17 and JU-87 being unfit for front-line combat, they’re valuable in Qin Country, and every airplane’s production must be ensured as aircraft are needed everywhere!

But the Civil Ministers on the other hand didn’t care much; among them, someone immediately raised a sharp question: "Can we still afford to mind the coastal area of Shu Territory? Our Wuyang City has already been hit! We need to strengthen the defense of Wuyang City! No matter what, it must be strengthened! This is an attitude! What the civilians want is an attitude!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Works mocked with a sneer, "But what’s the use of producing anti-aircraft guns? Haven’t heard of anti-aircraft guns shooting down missiles."

Then another minister raised an even more crucial issue—the frontline’s radio communication problem: "First solve the communication issue, look at the frontline command... It’s a complete mess!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Works shrugged, helplessly: "Solve? How to solve? You think saying ’solve’ makes it solved? Our engineers have been working hard for over a month, and even now they hardly understand what technology the other side used."

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The second update will be delivered tomorrow.