April 13, 4363 (1666 AD).

Hongtuling Jishan Town.

This is a large town surrounded by several hills hundreds of meters above sea level.

Hills several hundred meters high are only considered hills in other places.

But in the plains of Western Europe, these hills stand out.

Peak No. 1, the highest point in Jishan Town, is the headquarters of the Shu Army and is also the location of six 350 mm caliber fortress artillery batteries.

Yan Baizhi, the commander-in-chief of the Shu army, stood under the fort, following the direction of the cannon and looking at the Swiss army in grass-green uniforms in front of them.

Two hundred thousand Swiss troops have been assembled and can launch an attack on Jishan Town at any time.

He could see through the telescope that the Swedish engineering troops were building a railway in the rear.

They prepared to transport large-caliber train guns and artillery shells via railway to break through the blockade of the Shu army's trenches.

Yan Baizhi lit a cigarette, took a puff of the cigarette, and while blowing out the smoke ring, he cut off the cigarette in his hand, threw it on the ground and crushed it several times with his military boots.

He slapped his hand on the wall of the fort: "I really want to order the cannon to fire and blow up the arrogant Swedish army until they cry for father and mother."

Chief of Staff Qiu Lushen immediately stopped him and said: "Old Yan, this is impossible.

Not only does this battle show no signs of stopping, but it is gradually escalating.

We are fighting happily on the front line, but we must also consider the affordability of the imperial court.

This cannonball is worth up to 10,000 taels of silver coins.

This fight is purely about money.

When the cannon goes off, there is a thousand taels of gold. This saying is not empty talk.

It's really a waste to use it to blow up big-headed soldiers.

You must hit high-value targets to achieve the desired effect.”

Of course Yan Baizhi knew this situation.

This was already the third line of defense he defended. The first two lines of defense were breached. It was not because the Shu army was not fighting bravely, but because the supply of ammunition was interrupted.

The Shu army was originally small in number, and it was impossible for Yan Baizhi to let the soldiers launch an attack when there was insufficient ammunition.

This means letting soldiers die and will cause a mutiny in the army.

This is not a war with a foreign tribe. It can be restrained by national justice. The soldiers are also worried about their treatment after surrendering.

They are both Han people. As long as they choose to surrender, they will only lose power, but they can still enjoy glory and wealth.

The situation at the beginning of the war was very brutal.

But most of the people who filled the trenches were natives of Shu.

Yan Baizhi didn't care at all how many of these people died.

It is impossible for these blond and blue-eyed people to receive the same treatment as the Han people.

He also noticed that the Swedish army on the opposite side also used these indigenous soldiers as consumables.

There will indeed be some who stand out among them and can be reused, but most of them are cannon fodder.

This is already the tacit practice of the militaries of various countries.

Yan Baizhi looked at Chief of Staff Qiu Rushen and asked: "How much ammunition is there in the military supply warehouse now?"

Chief of Staff Qiu Lushen took out a brochure from his jacket pocket. After flipping through it, he replied: "There is an adequate supply of all kinds of fats, and there are still two million fats in the warehouse.

The imperial court also continued to use military trains to transport them.

Since the tensions among the European vassal states became tense, the empire shipped all the ammunition that was about to expire in its inventory to Gufeng and dumped it on European countries.

Some of them are purchased by our country, which is billions of bullets, and the price is relatively cheap.

Even countries with extremely poor military production capabilities will not be short of bullets as long as they have money.

The price of a bullet is almost five cents.

Ordinary 75mm caliber artillery shells and 120mm caliber artillery shells.

Their inventory is about 10,000 rounds each, and there are only 500 rounds of 350 mm caliber fortress cannon shells left."

When Yan Baizhi heard the inventory of bullets, he still had a faint smile on his face.

When he heard the inventory of cannonballs, his face immediately turned pale.

Yan Baizhi said in surprise: "I have been dealing with the defense issue of Jishan Town during this period.

I remember that the inventory of this shell was almost the same as the inventory when we retreated last time.

Didn’t the imperial court replenish our ammunition?

There are not enough cannonballs, so I have arranged so many forts here just to set off fireworks to celebrate."

After Yan Baizhi said this, he quickly walked towards the room next to him.

This is a confidential telephone room, and the headquarters is issuing military orders to all armies to prepare for war.

Switzerland has completed its military arrangements and may launch an attack at any time.

Any misfire now will trigger the long-simmering war between the two countries.

Yan Baizhi picked up the direct phone call to Warsaw.

He yelled into the phone: "Get me the Governor."

The phone beeped several times. This was a call from the front line. It had a very high priority and would be answered soon.

"I am He Feng, Lao Yan, what happened?"

Yan Baizhi said angrily: "No matter how great the governor, the imperial court is unable to supply sufficient ammunition to the front line.

How to fight this battle?

Are we allowed to launch a desperate charge against the enemy's artillery fire?

There are 200,000 enemies and only 70,000 of us.

With a gap of more than three times, I still have a little confidence in defensive operations.

If we take the initiative to launch an attack, we people will not achieve much results.

Fifty kilometers behind Jishan Town is the Hongshanling Iron Mine.

Hongshanling Iron Mine is relatively close to the hinterland of my country, which is a good thing.

But if Jishan Town is lost, the Swiss army's tank troops can attack the Hongshanling Iron Mine in only one to two hours at a distance of fifty kilometers.

In this case, I cannot defend Hongshan Ridge.

Please ask the Governor-General to report to the King and remove me from my post."

The Grand Governor He Feng immediately consoled him: "General Yan, what are you in a hurry for?

Everyone knows that when there is insufficient ammunition, the front line cannot be held at all.

We, the Shu Kingdom, have already paid such a heavy price, how could we make such a low-level mistake?

The imperial court has purchased ammunition and will arrive at the front line in three days.

Even if a war breaks out today, the ammunition in stock will be enough for three days."

When Yan Baizhi heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as there is sufficient ammunition, the Swedish army cannot break through his defensive line without paying a huge price.

"Captain He, I'm offended."

"Everyone is doing this for state affairs, and we have no personal grudges, so there is no need to apologize."

Yan Baizhi put down the phone and issued a military order: "Instruct all artillery units not to save ammunition, but to use it as much as possible for me.

If the Swedish army really dares to attack, Jishan Town will become the burial place for most of their people."

When Chief of Staff Qiu Rushen saw General Yan Baizhi's high-spirited look, he knew that the imperial court had solved the problem of artillery supply.

The first two lines of defense were forced to abandon their previous positions due to the untimely supply of ammunition and reinforcements.

The Swedish army has now occupied a quarter of the Hongshanling area.

The imperial court still trusted General Yan Baizhi, which meant that everyone knew that General Yan Baizhi was not to blame for the loss of the front line.

As an army of an agricultural country, the Shu army suddenly adopted the fighting style of an industrial country to deal with the war, and it had to pay the price of learning.

…

There are some unimportant hills in Jishan Town.

Some people who looked at the badges were generals, and they were watching with binoculars.

General Su Zihai of Gui State looked at the tense confrontation between the two armies.

He told everyone: "The Shu army has already set up a complete defensive position in Jishan Town.

The Swedish army also invested heavily in preparing to capture Jishan Town.

Jishan Town holds a strategic position and is connected by railways.
To be continued...