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Chapter 1379 Red Sea
This hillside is actually the remnant of a mountain range extending from the inland. It gets lower and narrower from west to east, eventually plunging into the sea to form a natural cape more than ten kilometers long. This cape blocks most of the wind and waves from the sea, making the bay on the north side a good harbor.

Logically, to expand the observation range, the control tower should be built higher, at the very least higher than the mountaintop, so that the situation on the other side of the ridge can be seen.

However, the No. 3 command tower, which was built under the supervision of Yan Busi, was built in the middle of the north slope, neither up nor down. The south side was completely blocked by the cape, so no sea could be seen at all, but it was quite sheltered from the wind and warm.

However, anyone who thinks Yan Busi is indulging in pleasure or doesn't understand military affairs would be sorely mistaken. Having already possessed two command towers, the addition of a third, which offers no geographical advantage over the previous two, clearly indicates a ulterior motive; otherwise, the Naval Staff would not have approved it.

That's right, their real intention was not what it seemed. On the surface, they were building Command Tower No. 3, but in reality, they were digging the port area's largest armory, which was a cave beneath the mountain ridge.

Below this mountain ridge, which is less than 200 meters high, naval engineers spent more than five years carving out four tunnels using explosives and steel chisels, the longest of which is more than 1 kilometer long.

As for its use... Yan Busi has thoroughly learned Emperor Jingyang's cunning nature of having three burrows. Ever since he came to serve at Enbird Port, before even becoming the commander of the garrison fleet, he has already started thinking about how to deploy defenses.

Conventional methods such as bunkers, gun emplacements, trench networks, pre-set artillery sights, and drilling wooden stakes and pulling iron chains under the harbor entrance channels could no longer satisfy his ambitions, so he set his sights on the only cape that could be called a high mountain.

Being far from the mainland and any naval base is the biggest defensive weakness of Enni Port. To compensate for this deficiency, the Naval Staff has very high requirements for the military supplies stored here and has given it the highest level of treatment.

But how to store so many weapons and ammunition? Building warehouses in the port area is one way, and most naval bases have adopted this method. But Yan Busi believes there are better options, such as carving caves into the mountains, preferably several, to serve as different types of warehouses depending on the needs.

Besides the ease of controlling temperature and humidity and the protection from heavy winter rains and summer hurricanes, caves can also serve as last-ditch hiding places and fortresses. Even if the port and city fall, the terrain and ample ammunition supplies allow for a prolonged defense.

Without capturing the cape, the naval port below will remain under artillery fire, rendering it unusable and inaccessible to anyone. However, if reinforcements arrive, there is still a chance to retake the port.

The idea was approved by the Naval Staff, who immediately dispatched engineers to conduct an exploration. It was ultimately proven that the ridge's structure was relatively dense, with no major drawbacks except for the difficulty of drilling through it.

The cannon fire is coming from gun emplacements on the south side of the cape. It seems the defenders have spotted European coalition ships or personnel approaching the beach and are firing.

Judging from the sound of artillery fire, only a small number of artillery positions were firing, indicating it was a calibration firing exercise. It seems the enemy's landing operation wasn't large-scale and was likely probing. Both sides have been constantly testing each other these past few days, so there's nothing to worry about; I don't even bother to look closely.

"Are you going to lend it or not? You don't seem to be under much pressure here, and you won't be shortchanged with so many artillery pieces!" But Xiao Si couldn't take it easy. The situation in the city was much more tense than here. If they couldn't get enough heavy weapons support, they would have to think of other ways, such as demolishing houses to reinforce the city walls, or preparing for street fighting.

"...Even when begging, he's still so arrogant. It's only because His Majesty is wise that there are no more powerful clans in the army, otherwise you would have eaten me alive! Staff Officer Zhou, take my order to the armory and allocate 50 short-barreled artillery pieces from the spare artillery for Commander Xiao, plus 100 boxes of hand grenades. Give them to the 4th Thousandth Household and send them to the city."

"Please pass a message to Commander Sun: keep a close eye on the Khosa people, and try not to entrust them with important tasks. If necessary, use force to suppress them. I'll take full responsibility if anything goes wrong! Don't worry about Commander Xiao; they're not in our league. It's not worth ruining your future for something like this!"

Zhu Neng not only lent it the full amount, but also added small gifts. However, he didn't stop talking either, and in front of a group of advisors, he severely belittled Xiao Si and the traditional military family.

There's no way around it; this is class conflict. Even if you have a good personal relationship, the thought that some people are destined to become officers from birth, can easily enter military academies, and are likely to have higher ranks and positions than you in the future makes you feel uneasy.

"Come on, take the orders and hurry up. Don't listen to his complaints. If Commander Yan were here, would I have to put up with this humiliation? That's the difference!"

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Xiao Si regretted not going all out to compete with Zhu Neng for the port's defense. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to be so humble, giving gifts and smiling obsequiously.

But there's no going back now. I can only blame myself for being too calculating, thinking the port was a chore. If Yan Busi led the fleet away, the responsibility would be too great; it would be safer to stay in the city.

If something unexpected happens in the port area, I can lead the team to provide support, and the contribution will be not only significant but also particularly outstanding. If this attracts the emperor's attention and he says a few words, my later life will be much smoother.

However, instead of achieving any success, they encountered a major problem. Who knows how the Europeans managed to sneak in from the north, and Yan Busi hadn't shown up for several days. All signs pointed to a potentially large-scale battle, and ironically, their own territory was the most vulnerable to problems—how incredibly unlucky!
"Pah, what a damn bad luck! Someone, someone... Is anyone still alive? Anyone who can move, give me an answer!" At the same time, fierce fighting was also raging in Suez, a port city on the northern shore of the Red Sea, thousands of kilometers to the north.

A shell hit the watchtower at the corner of the city wall. The wall, which had been repeatedly bombarded, collapsed under the weight, and the rammed earth broke into hundreds of pieces of various sizes and scattered down.

As luck would have it, the Marine Corps Command's Tianquan Guard Command Post was located right below the city. Then, the simple roof was smashed through by a piece of rammed earth the size of a tabletop. In an instant, the building collapsed and the place was filled with smoke and dust. More than half of the staff officers were buried underneath, and at least two of them had already suffered head injuries.

Commander Gao Lie reacted quickly and was lucky enough to crouch down next to the table and escape unscathed. Although he wasn't hit by any clods of dirt, he was covered in dust from head to toe, mouth to eyes. If he hadn't been able to move and shout, he would have looked like a newly unearthed terracotta warrior, quite a sorry sight.

(End of this chapter)