Munitions Empire

Leaving the Great Tang Empire nothing but ruins, a blank land... This seems to be a good idea. By then, the homeless civilians can only seek help from the Tang Army, which will undoubtedly halt the Tang Army's advance.

Moreover, a city with nearly a million people, without water and electricity, will immediately collapse. The Tang Army occupying such a city would inevitably have to find ways to restore order and appease the populace... They would not have the strength to hunt down the retreating Qin Army.

After all, the Qin Army would not destroy the cities under its control, they only carry out such crazed orders before retreating, so for the Qin Army, this is almost cost-free.

Emperor Qin Ying Duo looked at Liu Zhian, whose words were indeed cruel, but to him, they did seem somewhat feasible.

The effect, of course, goes without saying. As long as the Qin Army goes all out during the retreat, the Tang Army will surely be left with a mess.

Countless messes are bound to mire the Tang Army, slowing down their offensive, which effectively gives Qin Country a chance to recover.

"Then... General Liu Zhian... The front line is handed over to you." Ying Duo stood up and said, staring into Liu Zhian's eyes.

"I will not fail you!" Liu Zhian also looked at Emperor Qin Ying Duo, earnestly promising, "The Tang People will only get a blank land! A ruin!"

...

On the deck of the Dorne Empire's Forever Carrier, by a hole blown open by a massive explosion, a group of damage control personnel were extinguishing the fire.

They used pumps to draw seawater and sprayed it around the charred edges of the hole on the deck, trying to let the water into the hangar below to lower the temperature inside.

The carrier-based aircraft parked nearby were already damaged, a Stuka collapsed on the deck, one of its landing gears broken, and the folded wings were deformed, utterly unusable.

"Report to the General! The fire is basically under control." Hanging up the phone, the captain stood behind John Cleves, saluted, and reported the "good news."

"Of the carriers that can still launch aircraft... how many are left?" Almost having lost all energy, John Cleves looked at the Chief of Staff and spoke.

"Commander..." The Chief of Staff was overwhelmed, at least within his line of sight, almost all warships were on fire, and almost all had been hit by missiles.

The battleships were somewhat better, at least they were "thick-skinned," most would not sink immediately.

But the carriers were doomed, compared to battleships, their armor was thinner, and their insides were more dangerous.

The battleships' ammunition magazines and boilers were below the waterline, as long as they weren't involved in explosions, they were relatively safe.

Carriers contained aircraft munitions, aircraft fuel, as well as the carrier's own fuel and boilers, flammable, and explosive materials were almost twice that of battleships.

In addition to poor management, inexperienced damage control personnel, and unreasonable design, being hit by one missile could cause big problems.

The key issue now was that it's not about one or two missiles, but they could be attacked again at any time...

"Now, only the Wuyang Carrier and Winterless Carrier can still fight; they were lucky, not hit by missiles." After pausing for a moment, the Chief of Staff spoke heartbreaking words.

The entire fleet, 10 carriers, 10 battleships, now only two carriers remain intact, losses that no nation could bear.

Back then, the Japanese Combined Fleet lost four carriers at Midway, and basically, their national vitality was cut off.

It can be imagined, Qin Country and Dorne losing 10 carriers here in one go, what kind of a painful defeat this was.

"Boom!" While speaking, one of Qin Country's carriers experienced a catastrophic explosion, enormous flames shot up, illuminating the surrounding sea.

A small-sized destroyer was next to the carrier, its deck lit bright as day by the flames. This destroyer was valiantly rescuing the carrier's surrounding people in the water, a very tragic scene.

The previously lucky, only damaged Hilens Carrier did not continue to be lucky this time. It was hit by two more Harpoon missiles, turning directly into a powder keg.

The hangar exploded, the aircraft inside also exploded and burned consecutively, and eventually, the ammunition stockpile and fuel also exploded, and in just a few minutes, the carrier and over 1,400 officers and soldiers sank to the bottom.

The reason there were only over 1,400 people was that some pilots and officers had earlier been transferred to other carriers to serve as backup for aviation forces.

One after another, warships sank, and the Combined Fleet was now in complete disarray. It wasn't even dawn yet, and the previous counterattack plans were no longer possible to discuss.

John Cleves' plan to have the battleship turn around was actually one of the more reasonable options at the time. At least the sacrifice of the battleship fleet could potentially buy the carrier fleet a chance to escape.

But the Tang Army's attack was too rapid and the intervals too short. Before the commanders of the Combined Fleet could make up their minds, another round of the Tang Army's attack began.

As a result, what happened was: the battleships that originally had a chance to turn back and act as cannon fodder were hit by missiles along with the carriers they were supposed to protect.

Several of Qin Country's battleships were sinking, only the Courage Destroyer remained intact, rescuing people beside the sinking carriers.

By a stroke of luck, they had yet to be hit by an anti-ship missile; unknown to them, a Harpoon anti-ship missile had previously locked onto them, but it malfunctioned and fell into the sea midway.

"We will all become sinners." John Cleves sighed and his eyes lost their sparkle: "Since the two heroes of Dorne, General Strauss took command of the Dorne Navy fleet, the Dorne Navy has never faced defeat..."

"General..." The Chief of Staff had always addressed John Cleves as Commander, but seeing his current state, the Chief of Staff subconsciously called him General.

"The Combined Fleet is finished... We won't even see the sunrise... the entire fleet will sink here..." John Cleves leaned on the chart table, his body slightly shaking: "Listen to me... let the destroyers and cruisers immediately disperse and retreat... It's the only way to leave something for the navies of both countries."

The Chief of Staff knew as well, this might really be the only way left. Issuing the order for the fleet to scatter and flee at this time was actually beyond the Commander's will. Anyone with a calm mind would know that at this moment, the Combined Fleet no longer had any chance of victory.

"Let the Winterless Carrier and Wuyang Carrier immediately retreat at full speed! Hope the enemy doesn't spot them... Don't look back, retreat at full speed." John Cleves grasped the Chief of Staff's hand: "You must go! Immediately head to the Winterless! The remaining vessels will be in your hands!"