Shadow Empire

Chapter 963 Attacks and Responses, and Supply Cuts

There must be someone around.

This method of blocking the road has been passed down in the world for who knows how long.

This method of transportation existed even before the advent of internal combustion engine cars and when people were still using horse-drawn carriages.

Not everything is like science and technology; the more advanced it is, the better it is.

Things like this, old and traditional, but still usable, are often the simplest and most efficient.

Some scientists have claimed that using man-made toys to satisfy personal physiological needs is a moral and spiritual advancement, but people are still using the most primitive methods to do so.

Just like these big tree trunks in front of you, if you want to get through, you have to find a way to move those things in the road.

Several huge logs, and it looked like even slowly pushing them up with a vehicle wouldn't be enough.

The tree trunks were intertwined, and it would be difficult to break them all apart in one go without applying a force of impact, so in the end they still had to come down.

Once the person leaves the car and comes outside, their scheme will succeed.

This is a straightforward conspiracy, but it is also the most effective conspiracy. The quality of a scheme is not judged by its complexity, but by its effectiveness.

The transport convoy on the road remained in an eerie state. They neither continued forward nor got out of their vehicles to remove the roadblocks. Each person gripped their weapon tightly, remaining vigilant about everything in the surrounding open field.

It's not that they don't want to get off the road and go around the roadblock, but they simply can't.

Whether it's the federal or Lapa, these highways outside the city limits are often higher than the surrounding ground.

This is to prevent rainwater from accumulating on the road and damaging it during rainy days.

Even to make the road more permeable, there is only one cross section between the road and the ground, instead of a slope. This is so that water that has seeped into the road can flow out directly from the cross section.

This leads to a common situation where the ground on both sides of the road becomes soft due to rain erosion and other reasons.

Once a vehicle runs over it, especially a transport vehicle fully loaded with supplies, there's a high probability it will get stuck in the mud by the roadside.

Things get more complicated when the tires get stuck or slip.

After all, to pull a truck full of goods out of the mud, the first thing they have to do is unload the goods from the truck, which is too much trouble.

In short, if they want to continue forward, someone has to get out of the car and move the tree, in addition to returning the way they came.

After a few minutes of silence, about seven or eight minutes later, the transport team officer ordered the soldiers to get out of the vehicle and move the tree trunk away, to which the soldiers responded with resistance.

The probability of being a target when exposed outside the car is much higher than when inside the car, and in this environment, in the open, there is nothing to provide protection.

If anyone truly wants to keep them here, they will be riddled with bullets.

An order is an order, and no one is allowed to disobey it. If they do, then the order is no longer an order.

More than a dozen soldiers got out of the vehicle, nervously holding their weapons and observing the surrounding open field. Everything seemed extremely quiet.

It was precisely this quietness that made them feel uneasy.

Now that the die is cast, they have no choice but to act or not.

Several men, carrying weapons, approached the tree trunks and tried to lift them, but they underestimated the trunks.

These tree trunks look to be no more than a foot in diameter, and seem like they could be lifted by three or five people, but in practice, seven or eight people can't lift a single tree trunk.

They can only seek help from more people.

After a brief moment of consideration, the officer ordered everyone to get off the vehicle, with some carrying the belongings and others remaining on guard.

Just as that group of people stood by the tree trunk, found a point where they could exert force, and began chanting slogans as they tried to lift the trunk, the sound of submachine gun fire erupted.

Some anti-government militants, camouflaged with grass and trees and lying prone in the bushes on both sides of the road, suddenly stood up and opened fire on the soldiers. The officers immediately lit signal flares and ordered the accompanying telegraphs to begin work.

The telegraph operators at the front lines began urgently recording the telegrams the moment they heard the beeping sound.

They were using plaintext telegrams, so there was no need to crack them.

When he handed a note to the officer at the front with the message “The convoy has been attacked, and the location is…”, the officer immediately issued an order to provide assistance.

The anti-government armed forces in the city have been almost completely wiped out. In fact, he knew that the rebels in the city were not true anti-government armed forces.

In this small city of only a few hundred thousand people, several gangs are entrenched.

Although Lapa is poor, there are still gangs here.

After the chaos ensued, these gangs started to have crooked ideas. They claimed to be anti-government armed forces, directly overturned the city's order, and then plundered the city's wealth.

These people didn't have many firearms, so dealing with them was like dealing with disobedient ordinary people; it was no challenge at all.

Now, those people are still hanging on execution racks in several squares in the city, swaying in the air with each gust of wind.

The officers and soldiers also benefited from the battle, so they were all very enthusiastic about the "bandit suppression" work.

Now they need to go to farther places and bigger cities, so they need more supplies and equipment, mainly food and ammunition.

If you run out of ammunition, you can think of other ways, but you absolutely cannot do without food.

These soldiers will mutinied. Diego recruited so many soldiers this time because he promoted the policy that "as long as you join the army, you can have enough to eat."

If these soldiers aren't fed properly, they'll definitely cause trouble.

If the army becomes unstable, it could lead to a terrible situation, such as mutiny or even defection!

The officer summoned a regimental commander and told him to make his own arrangements, dispatching a group of soldiers to the scene to resolve the issue.

He never thought it was a problem until more than an hour later.

A large group of soldiers who escaped told him that they had been ambushed on their way to support the transport team, resulting in heavy casualties.

This was clearly a premeditated and planned attack and ambush!

They were unaware of what was happening outside the city. After consulting with their superiors, the officers did not move out again but waited for new instructions.

When the new reinforcements departed from Zhuolan and arrived at the scene three or four hours later, all that remained were spent shell casings, blood, and some burned corpses...

The matter was quickly reported to the presidential palace in Lapa, and Diego couldn't help but show an annoyed expression upon hearing it.

Ever since the Federation people set their sights on the Alan region, the troubles here have been increasing!

He even had the idea of ​​going to the Federation to study.

At least after joining the Federation, I won't have to be as anxious as I am now.

He wanted to reach out and pull at his hair, but ultimately gave up.

Seeing President Diego in such distress, Fernandez said, "They have people in the presidential palace, or rather, the military... They have people in the Ministry of Defense."

As he said those words, Fernandez felt a slight, indescribable... awkwardness.

After arriving in Rapa and getting involved in the local government's work, he realized just how bad the situation was.

Previously, Diego only had an army of more than 30,000 men under his command. The so-called Ministry of Defense and military were actually just for show!
They had no training plans, no logistical support, never studied strategy and tactics, and were not even sure how to fight a battle or a war.

Perhaps their tactic is to rush forward in a swarm and fire their weapons.

Their daily routine consisted of sitting together and chatting, or going out to enjoy themselves, shopping, and visiting brothels.

He was referring to the officers here.

They were too undisciplined. They became generals and officers not because they were particularly outstanding, but simply because they had gained Diego's trust.

But even under such circumstances, there were traitors within the military, which was something he hadn't expected.

Diego didn't react at first, but he quickly realized what Fernandez was talking about. He held his head in his hands, a look of pain on his face.

His eyes were bloodshot. "What makes you say that?" Fernandez threw the simple report he was holding back onto the table. Their officers couldn't even write reports; these reports were written by officers he had brought back from Geed.

The above briefly describes what happened, the situation at the scene, and the methods used by the officers.

Everything is in order, and a new batch of supplies has begun to be transported, this time with more soldiers on board.

Diego wanted to know if Fernandez had any thoughts about the group that attacked the convoy, but Fernandez told him that there were anti-government armed people in the presidential palace or the military.

Fernandez shook his head. "These don't require evidence, Mr. President."

"What the transport team carried, where it was transported from and to, when it was transported, and how many people escorted it—all of this is kept secret from outsiders; only insiders know the details."

“The military, some people in the presidential palace, but look, those anti-government armed forces probably knew about their transport routes and times even before the soldiers in this operation. Do you still think this was just an accident?”

Fernandez shook his head. "This is not an accident!"

Diego listened to his explanation, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long pause, he asked, "Have you encountered such problems during your development process?"

Fernandez nodded. "Geddes also went through a similar period, and we resolved all the problems very well."

There was also a very intense ideological competition in the Republic of Germany, as the current and former presidents wanted to fully learn from the federal social system and decentralize some of the power that was tightly held by the privileged and ruling classes.

This harmed the interests of some people, and similar incidents occurred in other countries, though not as severe as those in Lapa.

Ultimately, the president's faction prevailed over the other, finalizing the reform plan for the Czech Republic and, in a sense, making it "great."

So when it comes to this kind of thing, Fernandez does seem to have a lot of experience.

"The most important thing now is to find as many defectors as possible who are hiding in the Presidential Palace and the military."

“Especially in some very critical departments, such as the Presidential Secretariat, you need to screen all the people you trust.”

"If they always have a grasp of our specific movements, then I can only say that even if the best general were to command this battle, the final outcome would be the same."

"While we are fighting them blindfolded, our opponents are competing with us with their eyes open."

"In a boxing ring, a blind person can never beat an opponent with no bottom line and good eyesight."

"Even if this blind person was once a professional boxer."

Even if his opponent is just an amateur boxer.

Diego understood. He rubbed his temples. Those who had gone to the Federation for study and inspection during this period were basically people who had already defected to the Federation.

The reason for not dealing with them now is to avoid greater internal strife.

These people are not just simple individuals; they often represent certain forces. If we deal with them now, it is very likely that the forces that forced them to their backs will stand together with the anti-government armed forces.

Therefore, Fernandez advised him to leave these people alone for the time being and to proceed step by step after achieving a partial victory in the civil war.

However, it seems that we can't leave them unattended.

They all knew that what appeared to be an incident of anti-government armed forces robbing a government transport convoy was actually directly related to the federalists behind them.

Without the Union, there would be no Civil War, and these anti-government armed groups wouldn't even exist.

Diego asked, "What are you planning to do?"

"Kill them?"

Fernandez shook his head. "No, we can't be so drastic. We need to find something for them to do so they don't have the opportunity to continue caring about our work."

"This way, we can avoid causing excessive resentment among them and internal turmoil at the higher levels, while also solving our current problems."

As he was talking to Diego, the phone suddenly rang.

"Sorry, I'll take a call."

This is Fernández's office. He invited Diego here because he needs Diego's authorization to reorganize the presidential palace.

Diego is a very emotional person, and the people in the presidential palace are all people he trusts.

When he can trust these people, he will show that unconditional trust, as if he doesn't believe these people can harm him.

For example, Gomez. So many of the funds and projects he had were completed through Gomez. When he didn't doubt Gomez, he completely trusted Gomez.

But once he starts to have doubts, he will try to kill them all, as long as he can prove that they really did something to wrong him.

Therefore, reforming the presidential palace might touch upon some sensitive aspects of Diego's personality, giving him a misconception—

Fernandez did it with some ulterior motive, so he had to explain it to Diego.

Diego nodded. He didn't leave; he just sat there and watched Fernandez answer the phone.

He was the supreme ruler of the country, and he felt there were no secrets he needed to keep from himself.

Fernandez glanced at Diego a couple more times, remarking that being born into the right family is indeed a skill.

He then focused his attention on the content being heard through the receiver.

The call was from Jiede, who told him something very important.

Effective immediately, the Federation will no longer sell standard-sized bullets to the Asian Union region, but will instead sell smaller-caliber bullets.

In other words, all of the Asian Union's weapons can no longer obtain matching ammunition from the Federation.

"When did this happen?" he asked in a low voice.

The voice on the other end sounded flustered. "It's been circulating for the past few days, but today the federal government has officially implemented this policy."

Fernandez took a deep breath, his face showing obvious discomfort.

He wasn't surprised, because that's the significance of technological monopoly, and one of the reasons why the federal government invests so much money in science and technology every year.

If something unpleasant happens, they can cut off supplies directly to increase pressure or even enhance their war potential.

"What was discussed in the office?" He couldn't help but take out a cigarette and glance at President Diego again.

President Diego was also looking at him, which made him feel a little awkward. He could only manage a weak smile before turning his head away.

"The President has convened experts from the domestic industry to explore the possibility of producing our own bullets."

Fernandez sighed when he heard this. "Okay, I understand. Call me anytime if you have any further news."

Although he was not in the Czech Republic, he knew that this discussion would not yield any positive results.

They can't produce it.

Diego saw him hang up the phone and asked curiously, "You look very upset."

Fernandez suddenly didn't know what to say to Diego. Arming 200,000 soldiers sounded like a very simple thing.

First, find 200,000 people, then give them a full set of equipment, weapons, and ammunition, and after some simple training, send them to the battlefield.

But it's not actually that simple.

Even if everyone only fired one shot, that's two hundred thousand bullets.

On the battlefield, soldiers cannot fire just one shot; they may very well use tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of bullets in a single battle.

Lapa's ammunition reserves were actually not very large, and once the fighting became intense, their bullets would soon be exhausted.

How will they fight the anti-government armed forces when that time comes?

The thought that the federalists would definitely continue to supply standard-sized bullets to the anti-government forces suddenly brought back the pained and frustrated expression on Diego's face.

Why are the federalists so fixated on this land?
(End of this chapter)