On the morning of January 16th, the sky was cloudless and the sun had just risen.
The neighing of warhorses echoed outside the tent. Qin Ze slowly pulled back the covers, a trace of drowsiness still lingering on his face. He rubbed his face and left the tent after a moment.
The biting wind that hit him immediately snapped Qin Ze back to reality. He looked around and saw that the soldiers had already packed their gear, and the warhorses were neighing in the cold wind. Compared to a few days ago, the number of troops had increased significantly, and the number of artillery pieces had even reached over a thousand. These were all heavy cannons, which would serve as the main means of attack in the upcoming battle.
"Your Majesty, we can set off now. The route ahead has been scouted, and no trace of enemy ambush troops has been found within a 30-kilometer radius of the main road. Even if we lay an ambush further away, it will be difficult for them to launch a surprise attack on our army."
“Therefore, Your Majesty, we can go directly to Heinrich,” Wu Sihai said respectfully.
Qin Ze nodded slightly: "It seems they have concentrated their forces there."
"This is an attempt to confront us head-on."
Wu Sihai nodded and said, "That seems to be the case for now, but we don't know how many enemy troops are there."
Qin Ze said indifferently, "Since we don't know how much, we need to be even more prepared."
"I think we need to keep increasing our troop strength..."
——
Salibia, inside the Royal Castle council chamber.
The pattering raindrops pattered against the window. The gloomy, rainy weather always put people in a bad mood, and Feng Palen, who was in a meeting at the moment, became increasingly irritable and restless as he listened to the noise.
"Put out your cigarette right now!" In the middle of the meeting, Von Palen suddenly roared at Wolfgang, who was sitting in his chair.
Wolfgang, who was smoking a pipe, was taken aback and quickly stubbed it out. This brief interlude did not halt the meeting. After reprimanding Wolfgang, von Palen continued angrily:
"Compared to the navy, the Empire's army has always been our pride! I can't imagine that our army would be so easily defeated by those damned Yan people after they entered the country!"
"But now you all know!"
"On the first day, the Yan people breached Foster Harbor, and less than three days later, they actually captured the Macedonian military factory!"
"And I! I only received the news today!! What were they all doing?!"
The angry questioning made the officers present look grim. In fact, they had not expected that news of setbacks would come from the front in such a short period of time.
Today, the communications officer brought news that the munitions factory had fallen and that the Brewster port forces had been almost completely wiped out.
This information was by no means a trivial matter for the Empire; the situation had developed to a troublesome point, because in the province of Jonham, only the Heinrich military base remained with troops, and Heinrich was located in the Enzos Mountains at the easternmost edge of Jonham province, which meant that Jonham province was almost completely lost.
“Your Majesty, it snowed in Jonham Province a few days ago, which delayed the signal corps on the road,” an officer said in a low voice.
No sooner had he finished speaking than Von Palen slammed his hand on the table in a fit of rage, roaring:
"We need to race against time! Do you understand?!"
"Dylan has already led the Sixth Army to provide support, but it will take them at least ten days. If Heinrichburg is captured by the Yan Kingdom during this time, then the entire Jonham Province will fall!!"
"Don't you understand what this means?!"
Wolfgang said with a grave expression, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Army is in Heinrichburg. The Yan people will not be able to break through there. In the meantime, Dylan's troops will arrive in time to provide assistance."
Von Palen's eyes widened, and he said, "I hope so too."
"But the current situation no longer allows us to be optimistic. If Heinrichburg falls, the Enzos Mountains will be controlled by the Yan people, and we will have to pay a huge price to recover them in the future!"
As he spoke, Von Palen shook his head and said through gritted teeth:
"Have Tamsin and Greg take the Fifth and Seventh Armies to the Nzoz Mountains immediately!"
"Fifteen days! I'm only giving them fifteen days. They must get here within fifteen days!!"
Upon hearing this, the officers exchanged glances, their expressions growing increasingly grim.
Wolfgang hesitated before saying, "Your Majesty, although the Fifth and Seventh Armies are in the south, they are in the provinces of Tefalen and Hossein respectively. If they were to march rapidly in spring or autumn, they might be able to arrive in fifteen days, but it is winter now, and I'm afraid..."
Before he could finish speaking, von Palen interrupted angrily: "Damn it! As a Field Marshal, don't you know what Enzos means to us?!"
"Come here! Explain yourself!"
Wolfgang's expression froze for a moment, then he said, "That is the vital transportation hub between Suenham and Pokamia provinces, our western gateway, and the fulcrum of the entire western front."
"As a hilly area, it is also the best bulwark of our empire, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The enemy will absolutely not be able to break through it without a million troops."
Before he could finish speaking, Von Palen rebuked him:
"Just say the first sentence!"
“Once we lose that place, it will become extremely difficult for us to send troops to Suenham Province to eliminate the Yan people. If the Yan people come out of the mountains, the entire Pokamia Province is a vast plain with excellent transportation. They can travel to various places without any restraint!”
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