Munitions Empire

Shenwu Sanlang sat amidst the ruins, watching his guards wipe down their Shireck automatic pistols.

These things were nothing more than "box cannons", classic Mauser pistols. Up to now, Qi Country still hadn't equipped any submachine guns, so they had to make do with these.

Theoretically, its combat effectiveness wasn't as good as a professional submachine gun like the Thomson. But having one was better than none, and in the hands of the Qi people, the Mauser pistol remained one of the most precious weapons.

Apart from this weapon, lever-action rifles, PPK pistols, Qi Country's troops also had a mishmash of rapid-fire weapons.

There was no choice, as due to a lack of similar weaponry, many countries used almost all channels to equip more automatic weapons to fill the void, which brought about many problems.

For instance, the PPK pistols sold to the civil and police markets by the Great Tang Group were not really suitable for battlefield requirements.

The caliber was too small, the stopping power insufficient, and the magazine capacity too low; aside from the occasional burst of fire in close combat, it was almost useless.

However, Qi Country's military still equipped a lot of PPK pistols, mostly acquired from other countries to arm officers and guards.

Lever-action rifles had similar issues; they could only use flat-nosed bullets, were prone to malfunctions, and were not suitable for battlefield use.

But there was no choice, since Qi Country didn't have any qualified submachine guns, so they could only procure a batch of such weapons in an attempt to bridge the gap in close-range rate of fire as much as possible.

Although lever-action rifles had a much higher rate of fire than bolt-action rifles, they still weren't as good as submachine guns, so they had to be used reluctantly.

These weapons might just about suffice under normal circumstances, but in the current state, all sorts of problems were exposed.

The chaotic battlefield caused the intricately built lever-action rifles with gaps to jam frequently, leading to the abandonment of most similar weapons.

After all, nobody wanted to fire a shot on the battlefield only to be greeted by a misfire that could easily cost them their life.

An even more lethal issue was that the bullets were not interchangeable, whether for the PPK, the Mauser pistol, or the lever-action rifle.

When used less often and with smooth supply, this wasn't too much of an issue. But now, having lost the supply, the various ammunition types rendered these weapons powerless.

A gun without bullets was no different than a fire stick—Qi Country's standard-issue Shireck Model 1 rifle was actually the Committee 1888 rifle, using 7.92mm standard rifle ammunition.

Apart from this ammunition, Qi Country soldiers could scarcely find any other types of bullets to use in Beiyuan City nowadays.

"They are looking for us…" Shen Wenxi slumped on a pile of rubble, like a lump of mud, "I thought you'd stay in command, calmly facing whatever is coming."

"No one wants to die, and I don't want to die either!" Shenwu Sanlang ignored Shen Wenxi's sarcasm and defended himself, "Why should I choose to die when I can live?"

He had gone mad, and before he left his covert command post, he had ordered the execution of all the women he had captured, not sparing a single one.

He could have let those abused women, some of them barely coherent, go. But he had still given the order to have his men execute all these miserable women.

"I want to live! Isn't it they who want to capture me? I will stay alive on purpose, and I will kill every human being I encounter…" With bloodshot eyes, Shenwu Sanlang revealed a deranged smile and clenched his fists as he spoke.

"What you're doing is pointless! And it will involve me! Kill me!" Shen Wenxi complained discontentedly to Shenwu Sanlang.

"Then leave by yourself!" Shenwu Sanlang said coldly, "Declare your identity, surrender to the Tang Country people! Perhaps, they might spare you a way out… Hahaha!"

His troops had scattered, gunfire was everywhere, and the docks had been lost, with several Tang Army tanks still parked on the open ground there.

From a distance, Shenwu Sanlang saw those heavy units, and only now did he understand how terrifying and oppressive they could be if they appeared in one's line of sight.
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Compared to the iron clunkers of Qi Country, the Tang Army's tanks were obviously stronger, Shenwu Sanlang could tell at a glance.

The Tang Army, having taken control of most of the city, was sweeping the streets, searching for survivors, and clearing out the remnants of the Qi Country military.

Overall, most of the fighting had ended, and the remaining small-scale battles could not affect the outcome of the campaign anymore.

All of this, both Shenwu Sanlang and Shen Wenxi were very clear about. They were finished; no one cared about their fate anymore.

Because just before they evacuated their secret command post, they had sent dozens of telegrams to headquarters using man-powered electricity.

They pleaded for help, cried out for rescue, and even at the end, when inquiring about their own fate, they received no response.

Yes, in order to engage in subsequent negotiations with the Great Tang Group and to quickly end the disadvantageous situation of their coastline being blockaded by the Tang Country's battleships, the Shenwu headquarters had sold out Shenwu Sanlang and Shen Wenxi.

Although they would not openly admit to giving up on Beiyuan City, everyone in Qi Country, including the ruler, had stopped mentioning the name of Beiyuan City.

Previously, when they held meetings, the majority of the topics had revolved around Beiyuan City.

But as the main fleet of Qi Country was decimated, Beiyuan City became a taboo, a Voldemort-like forbidden word that people dared not to mention.

"Following you, I might be able to live a few more days," Shen Wenxi knew that with his ability, it was nearly impossible to survive in this kind of environment without Shenwu Sanlang.

It was even possible that Shenwu Sanlang would order him to be killed during his attempt to leave, to avoid any subsequent trouble.

Shenwu Sanlang smiled, his smile resembling that of a scheming courtier whose plot had succeeded. Indeed, he had considered that if Shen Wenxi had the thought of leaving, especially with the intention of taking others with him, he would definitely eliminate him.

He already had too few guards in his hands; he couldn't allow Shen Wenxi to take people away. Right now, having more people was the basis for survival, even if surrounded, wasn't it possible to hold out a bit longer?

Please note that he had no courage to commit suicide; otherwise, he wouldn't be fleeing. Since they had arrived here, their thoughts had been the same: to live even one more second was good.

"General! There's one of our squads up ahead," a guard who had gone to scout crawled back, his joy apparent: "Over a hundred men, and the commander is still alive!"

"That's great!" Shen Wenxi immediately stood up, feeling as if he might be able to live a bit longer.

But soon, his hope was extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

Shenwu Sanlang glanced at the scouting guard and asked, "Did they escape over here, or have they been nearby the whole time and already clashed with Tang forces?"

The guard was taken aback, then answered truthfully, "General, they've been here all along and repelled an attack by the Tang forces once before."

"Then we won't go over there, let them keep holding their position," Shenwu Sanlang shook his head, dismissing the idea of joining them: "The Tang forces will soon encircle them and eliminate them. We must leave here quickly, it's not safe anymore."

Upon hearing Shenwu Sanlang's explanation, Shen Wenxi realized that the old ginger was spicier. He had only been thinking about joining up with a large force, forgetting the truly fatal factor: the Tang Army!

Gathering troops to protect oneself wasn't the key; the key was to avoid being found by the Tang Army as much as possible! If they were found by the Tang Army, how many troops could block their assault?

Just as he was admiring Shenwu Sanlang's shrewdness, a series of rapid gunfire erupted behind him.

A Tang search party had discovered the Qi troops hiding here, and in the process of encircling them, had been spotted by the Qi guards on watch.

Immediately there was an exchange of fire, and several of the perimeter guards of Qi were hit and fell, scaring Shen Wenxi so much that he immediately ducked for cover, while Shenwu Sanlang quickly hid among the crowd.

He grabbed his Guard Commander and yelled at him to hurry up and lead people to protect him as they fled. In order to break free from the pursuers, he decided to retreat in the direction of the routed troops they had just discovered.

You see, he was not willing to go and join up with the routed troops, but he was very much in favor of using them as shields.

At this very moment, he could not care less about Shen Wenxi's life or death. With a few people in tow, he turned and ran, abandoning those left behind in the blink of an eye.

On the other side, the Tang soldiers also sensed something different about this Qi military force during the firefight: the previous Qi Army used Shireck Automatic Rifles, which took a long time to fire a second shot after the first.

So in such close combat, after taking a shot, the enemy usually charged with bayonets.

But this unit was entirely different; they had many pistols, and their firepower was clearly higher, so they were likely either elites or the guards of some big shot.

So the Tang Army attacked even more ferociously; they also wanted to capture those Goblins who had ordered the massacre of the Qi Country civilians and let them taste the agony of living being worse than death.

"There's a big fish here! Don't let him get away!" the commander of the Tang forces yelled to his subordinates from the other side of the debris: "Killing him is fine too! It's a great achievement!"

Shen Wenxi, who had just taken a couple of steps before tripping on rubble, looked up to see one of the guards armed with a Mauser Rifle shot through the chest and falling nearby.

So frightened that his legs trembled and he couldn't even stand up straight, he started shouting loudly to save his life, to prevent someone from shooting him like a dead fish: "I'm Shen Wenxi! I'm a high official! Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I surrender! I surrender!"

The loudness of his voice was such that even Shenwu Sanlang, who had already run a good distance away, heard it…