Chapter 122: The Despicable Westerners

Shells rained down upon the fortress walls, exploding and sending shrapnel flying like snowflakes toward the defenders.

The garrison, never expecting the Daxia artillery to have such range, scrambled for cover. The commanding officer shouted repeatedly, "Pulan-bi! Pulan-bi!"

Hearing the order, the soldiers on the ramparts fled the walls, ducking behind buildings. The commander also bolted toward the side, intending to mobilize reinforcements for a counterattack.

Seeing the enemy retreat, Chen Mu did not order a ceasefire; instead, he commanded the heavy artillery to continue the bombardment. Since the enemy’s own cannons remained on the walls, destroying even a few was a tactical gain.

Moments later, the gates of the Black Earth Fortress swung open. Chen Mu was about to order the light artillery to fire when he paused in surprise.

Those charging out were neither steam-powered vehicles, nor cavalry, nor camels. They were not even musketeers.

They were simply a mass of "civilians" clutching hammers.

They wore no leather armor, yet their expressions suggested they were fearless—or perhaps, willfully marching to their deaths.

"Damn it! What kind of cult have the Westerners whipped up now?"

Chen Mu gritted his teeth and raised his arm, shouting, "Open fire!"

At his command, the one hundred light cannons of the Daxia army fired in unison. Explosive shells formed an iron curtain, shrouding the heads of the "civilians."

Even amidst the thunderous roar of the artillery, Chen Mu could hear the wretched wails rising from the battlefield.

But who was to blame for this?

Once civilians picked up weapons, they were no longer civilians. Even a common hammer could prevent Daxia’s artillery from firing or disrupt the formation of his troops.

Even if they were civilians, they were the civilians of an enemy nation, and their lives were far less important than those of his own soldiers. Chen Mu had no choice but to order their elimination.

It was not Chen Mu’s Daxia army that killed them, but the despicable Westerners.

The Westerners were using this tactic solely to waste Daxia’s ammunition.

After a while, the ten thousand "civilians" who had charged out were nearly wiped out, and the Daxia army had indeed burned through several rounds of shells. Seeing the number of targets dwindle, Chen Mu ordered the light artillery to cease fire and sent in the musketeers to finish off the remaining enemies.

Just then, another group emerged from the Black Earth Fortress.

This time, it was regular infantry. Musket cavalry.

They flanked the battlefield, charging directly toward the Daxia heavy artillery.

"Hmph, trying to seize our guns?"

"Retract the heavy artillery!"
"Light artillery, engage the enemy cavalry!"
"Musketeers, forward!"

Chen Mu issued a rapid succession of orders, and the Daxia war machine whirred into motion. Both sides traded fire, and the battlefield was soon choked with smoke.

These musket cavalrymen were Slavs. Previously, Daxia had maintained good relations with them, and Chen Mu had no idea what kind of brainwashing they had undergone to defect to the Westerners.

Once the heavy artillery was secured, Chen Mu ordered a slow withdrawal. This was part of the battle plan, so the Daxia forces remained orderly, retreating in staggered formations.

Casualties continued to mount on the field, but with one hundred light cannons, the Daxia army maintained a firm advantage.

When the front line had shifted twenty miles, the Western forces finally stopped their pursuit, perhaps fearing an ambush as they neared the mountains.

Chen Mu did not counterattack, choosing instead to continue his steady retreat. The Daxia army withdrew another thirty miles before making camp on the road.

After taking stock, the Daxia army had lost about a thousand musketeers, and the enemy’s losses were estimated to be similar. Fortunately, because the Daxia troops fought from steam-powered tracked vehicles, neither their bodies nor their equipment were left for the Western forces.

Chen Mu had his men bury the fallen in the mountains, then allowed the troops to rest and regroup.

The next day, the Daxia army began their return to the way-station fortress.

Currently, Daxia held only a marginal advantage. Even if they defeated the Westerners and retook the Black Earth Fortress, they could not hold it. They had to return and readjust.

This Black Earth Fortress, which was supposed to be Daxia’s bridgehead, had become a thorn lodged in its throat.

While they could take a detour through the Ross Empire, it was currently summer and the temperatures were high. That region was largely undeveloped, much like a desert.

A detour would require more supplies, making it cost-ineffective.

Traveling by steamship would be much faster, but the distance was several times longer, making it an equally poor trade-off.

The best solution was to increase transport capacity once more.

Once Daxia discovered oil and replaced the steam-tracked vehicles with electric ones, their transport capacity would triple. At that point, this stretch of desert would seem quite small.

In any case, the Westerners could not conquer them now. As long as the Is Kingdom was held, the Westerners would have no oil to use. Moreover, most of the Is Kingdom was desert; even Daxia had been unable to locate oil fields, so the Westerners could hardly scout them out while fighting a war.

In truth, no one in this world besides Chen Mu knew there was oil beneath this desert.

Chen Mu had no intention of digging here, instead placing his hopes on the Ross Empire and the Northeast region.

On the way back to Daxia, Chen Mu made a trip to China, acquired some crude oil samples, and sent them to the Ross Empire and the Northeast, ordering them to search for the same substance.

Chen Mu had no idea what kind of surface features indicated an oil field, so he could only have them dig at random.

Upon returning to the capital, Chen Mu began focusing on research.

Without oil, engines could not yet be applied, but having mastered electromagnetic induction, Chen Mu turned his attention to a major invention: the telephone.

To be precise, the wired telephone.

As a child, Chen Mu had dismantled an old-fashioned dial phone and remembered its general structure. The most critical component was the speaker, which required electromagnetic induction technology.

The other parts were much easier; with a few attempts, he could replicate them.

One day, Chen Mu summoned Long Xueyao to the Institute of Technology and pointed to the device on the table. "This is what I call a telephone. It allows for long-distance communication."

Long Xueyao did not yet understand. "How does this transmit speech?"

Chen Mu picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. "Just like this."

Long Xueyao mimicked him, picking up the receiver. Chen Mu cranked the handle on the phone, and the bell on Long Xueyao's side rang, giving her a start.

"Oh! Hahaha... how interesting. Is this how messages are sent?"

Chen Mu smiled faintly. "Not exactly. Listen."

Long Xueyao looked at Chen Mu in confusion, only to realize a moment later that Chen Mu's voice was coming directly from the receiver.

"How is this possible?"

Long Xueyao looked curiously between the receiver and Chen Mu.

Chen Mu explained, "This is an application of electromagnetic induction. Sound vibrates the diaphragm, which moves the coil. The coil and the magnet then create electromagnetic induction, releasing an electrical signal."

"The other end simply converts the electrical signal back into sound, and conversation is achieved."