Munitions Empire-Chapter 1054 - 976 Shen Chuan’s Guess

Chapter 1054: 976 Shen Chuan’s Guess

“Your Majesty. They have rejected our requests, it seems we can only think of other methods to transport this batch of goods to Qin Country,” reported the official in charge of commerce, standing anxiously before Tang Mo in the Dahua Empire’s response.

The Great Tang Empire hoped for a cessation of hostilities for fifteen days to facilitate the transportation of goods, but the Dahua Empire refused.

Sitting to the side, Nangong Hong chuckled as if he heard some good news. On the other side, Roger sighed and shook his head.

Tang Mo seemed unsurprised; he just moved his eyes before speaking, “Send another diplomatic letter to Zhao Kai. If they persist in their folly, we will sell to Fengjiang some weapons that the Dahua Empire would not want to see on the battlefield.”

“Just bluntly tell Zhao Kai that if he refuses our country’s request, then Fengjiang’s military will possess a long-range weapon capable of striking the Dahua Empire’s Capital! It would create an ugly scene,” Tang Mo said, then waved his hand to dismiss the official who had come to report.

“It seems the Dahua Empire still doesn’t appreciate what’s good for them,” Nangong Hong said with interest. “Qin Country must be crying now; if they had known Dahua would be so foolish, they might not have bothered to go through the trouble of fighting Shu Country.”

“Would our support to Zhao Yu attacking the Dahua Capital lead to an escalation of the war?” Roger was somewhat worried that the Great Tang Empire would be dragged into war.

He wasn’t afraid of the Great Tang Empire being disadvantaged in war; he was concerned that the war would hinder domestic economic development and affect the international reputation of the Great Tang Empire.

Sometimes, reputation is very important. The Lighthouse Country has become more passive in international affairs because it’s gone bankrupt more frequently.

“Don’t worry, the current Dahua Empire, even if they want to directly attack us, must pass through Fengjiang… do you think they have the capability?” Tang Mo said with a smile to Roger: “If they really have the guts to attack Great Tang, I would actually have to admire Zhao Kai.”

Now, he truly looked down on Zhao Kai, an emperor who was fierce in appearance but timid at heart, excellent in internal strife but a fool in foreign affairs, not a true competitor.

Frankly speaking, in terms of capability, Xiong Biao of Chu Country might have more experience than Zhao Kai. After all, such countries like Chu Country have always been in a weak position and have rich experience dealing with powerful nations.

…

“Weapons?” When the Ambassador from the Great Tang Empire uttered such a threat, the first reaction of the Dahua Empire’s ministers was confusion.

Tang Country actually threatened to sell a weapon that could strike at their Imperial Capital… this was simply a joke.

Great Tang Empire’s bombers had never flown such a long distance, and even if the Great Tang had developed a bomber capable of flying that far, it would hardly be safe to reach the skies above the Imperial Capital.

A joke, it’s nearly 1700 kilometers away! Flying this route over Dahua Empire’s territory, anyone could spot the planes with the naked eye, and makeshift planes could intercept.

Not to mention, at this distance, it’s already very challenging for bombers, let alone escort fighter jets.

“Are you threatening me?” Zhao Kai looked displeased at the Ambassador of the Great Tang Empire standing resolutely below, and coldly questioned.

“Not at all!” The Ambassador of the Great Tang Empire raised his head, chuckling coldly, “The foreign minister is merely stating a fact. If your country irrationally continues its hostile stance against the Great Tang Empire, we will increase our support for friendly forces.”

“Good! Very good! I would like to see your so-called new weapons!” Zhao Kai burst out laughing in anger: “I’ll be waiting here, waiting for Fengjiang’s planes to fly to the Imperial Capital!”

Chu Muzhou wanted to step forward to mediate and ease the situation but before he could speak, the Ambassador of the Great Tang Empire flicked his sleeves and walked out of the hall without looking back.

“Chief of Staff Shen, what do you think?” After the court meeting, Chu Muzhou pulled aside the worried Shen Chuan and asked in a low voice.

Shen Chuan was a professional, and he too lowered his voice to respond to the Prime Minister, “The technology of the Great Tang Empire has always been enigmatic, it’s hard to say whether they have bombers capable of flying such a distance.”

He was very cautious, considering many aspects: “If we go by the previous attack range of the Great Tang Empire’s bombers, the Imperial Capital is safe. But if the Great Tang Empire has more advanced bombers, it’s hard to say.”

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At this point, he paused for a moment, glanced at the approaching Chen Jing, and continued, “However, that being said, even if there were bigger bombers, it would not be possible for the bombers to have escort at this distance… Intercepting should not be a problem.”

Over the past two years, engineers of the Dahua Empire were not idle; they equipped their newly produced fighter jets with some gadgets allowing them to barely fly above 10,000 meters for combat.

These upgraded aircraft now possess certain high-altitude interception capabilities, which is why Zhao Kai is very confident about the air defense of the Imperial City.

“So, does that mean we are safe here?” Chen Jing, who leaned in closer, timidly asked on the side.

Chu Muzhou glanced at Chen Jing, did not speak, and then looked towards Shen Chuan.

Shen Chuan pondered for a moment and did not make an absolute statement, “If the enemy bombs at night, we would not be able to dispatch fighter jets for interception. However, there are hundreds of anti-aircraft guns deployed around the Imperial Capital, as well as a large number of searchlights, so it should…”

“Do they really have aircraft capable of flying this far?” At this moment, another minister leaned in and interrupted with a question.

Shen Chuan did not want to take the blame and emphasized again: “I can’t say for certain; Tang Country always has some new weapons, everyone knows this… If they say so, they probably really have new weapons. Moreover, even with existing weapons, Tang would have given Fengjiang some, and it’s not impossible for Fengjiang to find a few suicidal pilots to fly directly to the Imperial Capital to drop bombs.”

People find crazies to fly one-way; wouldn’t that solve the range issue? No need for advanced weapons, the existing bombers are enough.

“Hisss…” Hearing Shen Chuan say this, several ministers gasped. They had actually never considered Fangjiang using bombers for a one-way mission before.

Isn’t Shen Chuan professional? He can come up with such a perverse strategy all of a sudden. What they don’t know is that Shen Chuan is so familiar with this tactic because Zhao Kai had once asked him to plan a one-way bombing mission on Chang’an of the Tang Empire.

But because there were no escort fighter jets during the day, facing the Butcher Fighter Jets of the Tang Empire, a one-way mission of Dahua Empire’s bombers really had no chance of reaching over the sky of Chang’an.

As for bombing at night, organizing a bomber formation itself was an issue. Dahua Empire had conducted nighttime bombings before, but the success rate was almost zero. Thus, the plan for a one-way bombing on Chang’an was also shelved.

After everyone dispersed, Shen Chuan walked with Chu Muzhou for a while longer, and when Chu Muzhou saw there was nobody else around, he asked Shen Chuan, “Does Chief Shen truly believe that Tang Country has the capability to bomb the Imperial Capital?”

“With the existing technological conditions, bombing the Imperial Capital is tough. I’m more afraid that Tang Country really has some weapon, or they might find another way…” Shen Chuan earnestly replied.

“Find another way?” Chu Muzhou raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, cover 1700 kilometers, if this task was assigned to me, planting a bomb in the Imperial Capital by using spies would be easier,” Shen Chuan expressed his opinion.

Dahua Empire’s Imperial Capital was infiltrated like a sieve by the Tang Empire; they have stolen the families of ministers and even orchestrated the escape of a prince. Wouldn’t planting a bomb be like a piece of cake?

“This matter… I actually think the Tang Empire won’t do this.” Chu Muzhou shook his head and said to Shen Chuan, “The envoy from Tang promised me they would not do such a thing.”

“Do you believe him?” Shen Chuan curiously looked at Chu Muzhou.

“I do,” Chu Muzhou nodded firmly.

“Why?” Shen Chuan became curious.

“Because they are the dominant party. They don’t want us to do this, so they wouldn’t start such tactics…” Chu Muzhou said, “If they did that, wouldn’t they be giving us an opportunity to follow suit?”

“…” Shen Chuan indeed thought so. Everyone hesitates to employ tactics like poison assassination; even if it exists, it’s very low-key, isn’t it because such tactics could break the rules if used excessively?

So, it’s highly unlikely for Tang Country to use such lowly tactics to attack the capital of Dahua Empire; it doesn’t align with the interests of the Tang Empire.

Most likely, it’s some new type of weapon… Shen Chuan thought, filled with concerns, he parted ways with Chu Muzhou.