Alien Arms Empire

 Chapter 554 554 Veteran Qin Xiong

When Jiang Xian transferred his 2nd Army back from the eastern front and prepared to strengthen the defense in the direction of the Royal City, the residents of Nanye City saw a scene that they would never forget.

Hiding behind the windows of their homes, they saw a Panzer IV rushing past a deserted street.

Immediately afterwards, there were cars filled with Tang Army soldiers and trucks pulling cannons. They did not stop and rushed through the streets of Nanye in a mighty manner.

The 4th Armored Division did not waste time on the Qi army on the periphery. After learning that Nanye's troops were empty, it immediately rushed into the city desperately.

 Although Nanye was defended by city walls, the commander of the only remaining garrison infantry regiment finally chose to surrender honorably.

To be honest, the few troops deployed here by Qi State are not enough even for street fighting.

What's more, with the combat effectiveness of the Qi army, if they really disperse and engage in street fighting, there is a big question mark as to how long they can last.

In order to increase their bargaining chips for surrender, Qi commanders and local officials handed over all the supplies hoarded in Nanye to the Tang army. They did not carry out any sabotage, not even the thought of sabotage.

By the time the 4th Armored Division entered the city, enough food was stored here to feed 100,000 people for four months, as well as a variety of ammunition, and the entire train station was fully preserved.

What surprised the Tang Army commanders even more was that because they were afraid of being attacked and bombed when heading to the front line, there were 20 locomotives parked here and more than 100 wagons stored there.

These trains suddenly filled the transportation gap of the Tang Army in Qi State, and also saved a lot of time and cost in transporting grain.

With the grain captured in Nanye, the Tang army could fight continuously in Qi for at least a month and ensure food supplies for its own troops.

Jiang Xian didn't know that Nanye had changed hands at this time, nor did he know that the tanks of the Tang Army had crossed Nanye at this moment and were heading towards his royal city.

The battle in Luozhen is still continuing under this situation. The Qi army, who does not know that Nanye has been lost, is still preparing to recapture the crucial Luozhen.

It was only after the loss of the 3rd Army that the Qi Army waited until General Qin Xiong arrived at the front line to regroup and start organizing a decent attack.

But at this time, the Qi army discovered that the Tang army in front of them had strengthened its defensive positions, replenished its troops, and deployed its armored troops on the flanks.

 At this state, Qin Xiong also knew that it was impossible to break through the defense line in front of him. So the first thing he did when he arrived at the front line was to send a telegram to the eldest prince, asking him to lead the troops to retreat from the eastern front.

"Today, it is futile to continue to increase troops to Luo Town. A position that cannot be recaptured by 100,000 people will not be recaptured by 150,000 people!" He said in the telegram: "Subsequent troops continue to pour in. , it will also bring logistical pressure, which is obviously unwise.”

Qin Xiong suggested to the eldest prince: "I will attack fiercely here. If I can get a breakthrough, I will just fight to Nanye and return to the royal city. Your Highness, if you take a detour on the east line, you will also return to the royal city. There is no difference."

After sending the telegram to the eldest prince, Qin Xiong learned in detail the whole story of the attack on the 3rd Army headquarters. Then, after he confirmed that the third prince, Tian Heng and his entourage should be gone, he immediately began to organize follow-up troops to launch an attack.

The two regiments of the Qi army once again tried to attack the Tang army's position, but after being greeted by Tang army's artillery fire for more than ten minutes, the two attacking regiments of the Qi army retreated.

Other than dropping more than two hundred corpses, this attack achieved almost no effect. Qin Xiong, who was watching the battle in a hidden trench on the front line, finally knew what kind of combat effectiveness the Tang army in front of him had.

"Well-trained..." He put down the telescope, looked at the Qi officers beside him, and gave his own evaluation: "Before we entered the killing area, they were very restrained, with almost no machine gun positions exposed and no rifles firing. , which is a performance of great experience.”

"Their artillery fire was very continuous, which shows that the other party has no logistical pressure. Their artillery shells are sufficient and they are not forced to exercise restraint." Qin Xiong rubbed the telescope in his hand, as if talking to himself.

 The telescope in his hand was imported from the Tang Dynasty and was considered an expensive military luxury item. It is much better quality and more accurate than the telescope aided by Cyric.

Qin Xiong liked this telescope very much and often hung it on his chest. Another thing he didn't want to leave was the collectible PPK pistol exported by Datang Group.

He is willing to carry these two things whenever he patrols his troops or participates in important activities.

“Let our tanks launch an attack?” A Qi general said anxiously: “We don’t have much fuel and time is very tight...”

"No matter how anxious you are, you can't just put your chips on the gambling table! My child." Qin Xiong smiled, shook his head and said: "Give the 3rd Army a chance for revenge! Inform them that all of them will be responsible for this morning. Responsible for the attack. If we can't capture it, we will deal with it according to the military law! "At least we should know the enemy's firepower deployment on the first layer of defense. Rushing in tanks will only increase losses." He said and picked up the telescope again, looking at the position where the Tang Army was being baptized. Qi State's artillery fire: "The impact points are too scattered, a waste of ammunition!"

The artillery currently being fired are all artillery pieces from Qi's second-line troops. The artillery training is insufficient, and the artillery models are also very old. Most of them are second-hand goods given away by Cyric for free. The quality can be imagined.

 But even these second-hand goods given by Cyric for free are already much more powerful than the Cyric muzzle-loading cannons previously used by the Qi artillery.

 A large number of 130mm caliber howitzers bombarded the Tang Army's positions on the battlefield, as if they were venting the hatred in their hearts.

 Qin Xiong is a veteran general. He is very experienced. He is an artilleryman himself and is very familiar with artillery operations. With the help of consultant Cyric, he also has a good understanding of modern artillery operations.

It can be said responsibly that among the generals of Qi State, Qin Xiong can be said to be the most capable in fighting, and the one who is even worse is Tian Heng. It's a pity that Tian Heng, who can fight, has now returned to the west, and he can no longer continue to fight for Qi.

Soon, Qin Xiong from the middle line saw what the troops on the western front called "the howl of death." Above his head, a heartbreaking whistle suddenly sounded.

"Woo...buzz..." The continuous, harsh sound made Qin Xiong frown. He subconsciously raised his head, only to find that above his head was a roof lined with logs.

But the next second, a huge explosion shook the roof, and wisps of dust fell down, making Qin Xiong squint his eyes.

"Hurry, come and help!" A guard took off his water bottle and began to help Qin Xiong wash his face. By the time these people helped Qin Xiong wash his eyes, the Stuka dive bombers raging overhead were gone.

"What the **** is that?" It was also a Qi officer whom he had met for the first time. He looked dissatisfied at the Qi regiment commander next to him.

The regimental leader looked embarrassed and quickly reported: "Sir, Tang's planes have always been like this. We are all used to it."

Fortunately, Qin Xiong had never met Stuka along the way. Only then did he realize that the reason why they could not take the Tang Air Force seriously was because the Tang Air Force had never regarded them as a key target.

If the howling sound just now appeared on the central battlefield, Qin Xiong did not think that his troops would be much better than the friendly troops on the western front.

"Seize the time to attack..." Qin Xiong spat out a sentence with an ugly face, paused for a while, and then continued: "Add another regiment! Next attack, at least 3 regiments! If you don't touch the Tang Army's position, you are not allowed to retreat!"

Soon, the Qi army began to attack again. The infantrymen climbed out of the simple trenches and began to move forward. They braved the continuous artillery fire of the Tang army and stepped on the corpses left behind. It was extremely tragic.

They had no other choice but to use their lives to test the strength of the Tang army. Soon they were covered by artillery fire, and the Tang Army's mortars joined the battle, making the artillery fire instantly airtight.

The battlefield was filled with fireworks, and even the figures of people could not be seen clearly. The artillery of the Tang Army obviously had very precise scale parameters, and could spread its firepower calmly according to the firing chart.

Compared to the Qi army, which has been harassed and is seriously lagging behind in training, the artillery unit of the Tang army is professional and advanced, and the combat effectiveness displayed is on a completely different level.

The Tang Army's long-range and powerful 155mm caliber howitzers were simply a nightmare for attacking the Qi Army.

With just three volleys, the Qi infantry on the battlefield lost the will to attack. The supervising team also fired a few shots casually and then withdrew. Once again, they failed to test the strength of the Tang army.

"The morale of the troops on the Western Front has collapsed. It is probably just a waste of time to rely on them." Qin Xiong's adjutant reminded him anxiously when he saw the retreating troops.

"You're right!" Qin Xiong also knew that relying only on these messed up guys wouldn't make it happen, so he had to readjust his deployment: "Let the tank troops come up and give it a try! At least, give the opponent Change things up.”

He pretended to be relaxed and made a joke: "If we keep fighting like this, these **** Tang people will probably get sleepy."

However, just as the Qi officers in the headquarters were preparing to cater to their superiors and laugh together to lighten the atmosphere, the untimely howling of the Stuka dive bombers was heard again.

 Then the ground trembled and a deafening explosion followed... Needless to say, another unlucky artillery position was probably sent into the sky by a 500 kilogram aerial bomb.

 (End of this chapter)