Alien Arms Empire.

Chapter 1698 1699 Everyone has a past

"What kind of crappy map is this? Don't they have a more detailed one?" Next to a self-propelled artillery, under the camouflage net, the artillery commander of the Tang army stared at the map on the table and couldn't stop complaining.

Although some accurate maps were mapped using satellites before the war, and although these maps were probably more accurate than the military maps used by the Dwarf Empire itself, they were still not enough for the Tang Army's artillery...

They were fighting away from home, and the landing points of the shells needed to be corrected repeatedly. Some coordinates were not accurate, so the efficiency of the support forces' combat was greatly reduced.

Sometimes, they had to organize artillery coverage tactics, which were not often used in the past, to ensure the destruction of dwarven fortifications within a range.

In the past, they did not need to do this. Just one artillery shell could accurately destroy the enemy's tactical fulcrum, ensuring that the troops could quickly break through the enemy's defense line.

"We can only make do with it. You've seen the captured maps, they're not as good as our own." Another officer smiled and consoled him, "Anyway, there's no problem with the ammunition supply. At most, we can just use a few more cannons."

"The gun barrels are free?" The officer said with a pained look at the hill built with artillery shells not far away.

Self-propelled artillery weapons also have a service life. If a gun fires too many shells, the barrel will naturally be scrapped. Those heavy armored vehicles that look majestic are not so majestic during use.

Any machine needs maintenance, and the more powerful it is, the more oil it burns… Those who think they are geniuses who can drive a large off-road RV in the end times have never considered the environment in which such vehicles are used.

It is very difficult to support the normal operation of such heavy vehicles. Parts need to be replaced and fuel needs to be replenished. Generally, temporary maintenance stations have to be established wherever the battlefield is fought.

This is another reason why during the war, weapons were produced in the rear but there was always a shortage of weapons on the front line: in addition to those lost, more weapons were probably consumed through normal use.

It looks magnificent when you assemble 1000 artillery pieces, and a salvo fires like a tidal wave. But after hundreds or thousands of shells have been fired, these artillery pieces will almost all reach the scrap line. Then you will realize how troublesome it is to replenish so many artillery pieces at once.

The larger the caliber of the artillery, the shorter the life of the barrel: the gun barrels on large battleships have a service life of only a few hundred rounds in total, and when they are used up, they have to return to the port for repair and replacement - yes, the scene imagined by laymen of battleships blocking other people's ports and firing rounds at will is actually very rare.

Basically, when a battleship supports a landing operation, each gun will only fire three or five shots to destroy the strongest permanent fortifications, and then it can go to the side to rest. The rest of the work is usually done by the small-caliber guns on destroyers and cruisers.

"We can't do anything about it. This is how an offensive battle is. We've fought it before." The officer on the side shrugged his shoulders and smiled awkwardly.

Their consumption was indeed much greater than before in the field, and as the battle continued, other miscellaneous supplies began to squeeze out precious front-line transportation capacity.

The troops had to prepare winter cotton clothes, and the troops in the field needed enough fuel to keep warm. Blankets and quilts became more important, and all troops had to prepare sufficient winter supplies. This was not enough, the Tang army had to prepare sufficient winter supplies for everyone in the occupied area, including the new subjects of the empire. Yes, including dwarves and elves and their prisoners of war.

It is not enough to just have winter clothes and bedding, you also have to prepare enough food and medicine... In short, a war now is no longer just a war.

When a country occupies a region, it will always transition to governance, unless it intends to plunder and colonize. Pirate-style plunder can indeed extract profits in the short term, but the conflicts and crises it triggers will make the cost of occupation continue to rise, which is completely not worth the cost in the long run.

Therefore, even if it means a larger investment and higher occupation costs at the beginning, Tang Mo will try his best to gain more bargaining chips for subsequent rule.

He has a typical Chinese way of thinking. He believes that conquest must be accompanied by rule and naturalization. After conquering a place, it must be governed, managed and assimilated, otherwise it would be a waste of time.

The policy of control can only be a compromise solution chosen when one is unable to do so. The worse colonial model is a chronic suicide that is a hidden danger. Only barbarians whose civilization level does not meet the standards would choose such a hopeless method.

"If you can survive the winter without wearing cotton clothes, then we can apply for one less piece and one more shell." An officer on the side said sarcastically, shutting up the complaining comrade.

Although many Qin, Shu, and Chu people did not quite understand why the Tang Empire invested so much in appeasing the dwarves and caring for the captives, they had to admit that they themselves were also beneficiaries of this idea.

It was with such gentle appeasement that they returned to their hearts' content. It was also because of these preferential treatments that they are now standing here, willing to fight for His Majesty the Emperor.

"In fact, there are only a few days left. I guess the dwarves can't hold on any longer." Seeing that his colleague was silent, the officer continued to comfort him: "Have you heard that the West Station has been occupied by us, and the dwarves have retreated, leaving behind thousands of civilians and prisoners."

"I heard about it." The officer who had complained just now was still very unhappy as he looked at the map spread out on the table.

"If they weren't short of medicine and food, they wouldn't have done this. It's very damaging to morale." A colleague explained: "Think about it, what was your state when you abandoned the wounded?"

  "……"The complaining officer was from Qin and was the former commander of Qin's artillery. When he heard this question, an embarrassed expression appeared on his face: At that time, he didn't even want his own artillery, and then he ran and hid all the way, and then surrendered with his troops. How could there be any wounded soldiers?

"Let's not talk about the past. Let's study some strike coordinates carefully." He changed the subject, looking like he had cheered up again.

The Tang officer from Zhengdi smiled, knowing that the other party did not want to talk about the past when he was beaten to the ground, so he did not continue talking about it.

Everyone has a past, but what is more important is the present. Now they are all soldiers of the Tang Empire, fighting for His Majesty the Emperor, and that is enough, isn't it?