Chapter 1515: Chapter 1432: Everything Will Be All Right

“The Tang people have reached Dingfengpo…less than 7 kilometers from the city outskirts.” A military officer brought the freshly received news to Zhang Xuan, reporting with a grim face, “Our patrols discovered a Tang Army unit; an intense battle broke out, resulting in 7 of our men dead, but the enemy retreated.”

“Just reconnaissance units, no need to panic.” Zhang Xuan, having dealt with the Tang Army before, knew that a large-scale reconnaissance unit would precede the main Tang forces.

These units are very agile, their combat highly elastic. Whenever they encounter the Qin Army, they probe with attacks, swiftly withdrawing once they’ve gauged something from the skirmish.

“Have the newly arrived troops been deployed properly?” Zhang Xuan, not overly concerned with the outer defensive lines, was ready to engage the Tang Army in earnest at Wuyang.

He deployed elite troops drawn from the Southern Region into the urban areas near the outskirts, preparing to engage the Tang Army in urban warfare.

As for those hastily constructed outer defenses, they are reserved for new recruits to clash with the Tang Army. Eventually, when the recruits become veteran soldiers, they can retreat into the city to continue the fight…this greatly trains the troops, helping the Qin Army regain some confidence.

“They have arrived, General An’s side sent over 3,000 veteran soldiers. I checked, they’re courageous fighters, according to your orders, I’ve stationed them near the 6th hospital on the outskirts.” The deputy answered Zhang Xuan’s question.

The so-called 6th hospital was actually constructed by Qin Country itself, based on Tang Country’s large comprehensive hospitals, but it was executed poorly, resulting in a dilapidated hospital used mainly by the poor unable to afford better healthcare.

Though small in scale and limited in medical skill, the hospital indeed played a role, such as now, its building serving as the best bunker for the Qin Army.

“Very good. Once the Tang Army enters the urban area, they will face obstruction here! Ensure the supply of ammunition there; I want these veteran soldiers to play their role, dropping at least 500 Tang bodies here!” Zhang Xuan tapped his finger on the map, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Since taking command of Wuyang, the maps he used only grew smaller. Previously, his command room housed district maps; now, he had switched to a city defense map.

The map was large enough for many buildings to be marked out. The Qin Army had concentrated heavy troops in the eastern urban area, waiting for the Tang People to charge into Wuyang City.

“General, the Tang Army often initiates attacks first on the flanks. Should we prepare some troops to prevent them from encircling us?” A concerned aide asked.

“There’s no need. We simply don’t have enough manpower to stop the Tang Army’s encirclement; sending insufficient numbers would be futile,” Zhang Xuan shook his head and continued, “Except for the west and south sides of the city, we will yield the north and east to the Tang people!”

He could not easily abandon the southern railways and highways, as they were vital for Liu Zhian’s troops advancing north. If they were cut off by the Tang Army, Wuyang City would lose external support.

Hence, his prior arrangements were to have the troops hold onto the southern city as much as possible, and even in the worst-case scenario of losing the south, make the greatest effort to hold the west.

Only by maintaining a corridor could the Qin Army reinforcements continue pouring into Wuyang, ensuring the defense of this capital of the Great Qin Empire.

“The southern troops are the main force, and my focus on constructing defenses is also there, which should sustain for a few days at least…Where are General An’s troops?” Zhang Xuan couldn’t find the trace of Liu Zhian’s forces advancing north on the map, which simply wasn’t large enough.

“General An’s forces are numerous and most are slow in movement, likely taking until next month to fully arrive,” the aide provided a rather hopeless answer.

This was indeed the fastest pace for Liu Zhian’s frantic advance north, given the Qin Army’s low mechanization level, unable to match the speed of the Tang Army.

During peak times, the Qin Army might manage a wild dash of over 100 kilometers a day without losing air superiority. But now, after losing most vehicles and control of the skies, even a daily crawl of 20 kilometers is considered swift.

Fortunately, the trains could be utilized; unfortunately, the train capacity also fell short, unable to quickly transport the Qin Army’s main forces north to Wuyang.

Thus, Liu Zhian could only rely on trains to shuttle back and forth, a dedicated train carrying three to five thousand men rushing to Wuyang to join the fight, while commanding the main forces to return north, trying to shorten the distance to Wuyang as much as possible.

But good luck is never endless: currently, Tang Army aircraft cannot keep pace with the ground advances, still unable to disrupt Qin Army maneuvers and transport. Once the Tang Army establishes frontline airports, the Qin Army can no longer brazenly let trains run rampant.

“Let him hurry then…once his troops arrive on Wuyang’s south side, things will be much better…as long as he launches a counterattack, everything will turn out fine.” Zhang Xuan murmured, unsure whether he was comforting others or himself, once again gazing at Wuyang’s map.

“One more thing, General…now the vanguard of the Tang Army has appeared 7 kilometers outside the city; they are indeed too close to Wuyang. If they bombard us, things could get very dire…should we notify Your Majesty and Prime Minister?” The aide cautiously reminded.

“Send someone to inform them then…advise His Majesty to temporarily retreat west…get some second-line troops to help at the fire station as much as possible…seek out elderly and children, understand?” Zhang Xuan couldn’t bear to use the main force for such tasks, thus selected some elders and children. From a certain perspective, his command indeed moved people.

“Yes!” The subordinates immediately complied. The command post was bustling with communicators relaying various messages; some dialed telephones, others stuffed envelopes into their satchels—Tang Army’s electromagnetic interference was still effective, forcing the Qin Army to resort to such hasty measures.

At this moment within Wuyang City, the craters from yesterday’s Tang Army bombings remained unfilled, black smoke still hung in the air, many civilians remained in chaos.

Near the Imperial Palace, a lockdown had been enforced, with the Imperial Guard controlling the surrounding streets and alleys. Some elderly and children conscripted temporarily wore ill-fitting uniforms, stacking sandbags and broken bricks around the barricades.

They were still unaware that the Tang Army had arrived, just outside the city. They also didn’t know their Emperor was currently unconscious due to excessive use of a peculiar drug called Black Crow.