Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

December 12th, the tenth year of Yongsheng.

The Great Qian Empire officially and publicly announces the abolition of all unequal and hegemonic treaties signed between the Great Qian Empire and other powerful nations.

Effective immediately, all concessions within the territory of Daqian shall be abolished and all ceded lands shall be recovered.

He also warned the Sharo and Yi Kingdoms once again that any act of supporting the rebellion in the five provinces of Jizhou would be a provocation against the Great Qian Empire.

Immediately following the victories at Luyang and Fulong, the Daqian Zhenguo Army put forward its plan to advance into the five provinces of Jizhou.

The Imperial Supreme Command plans to assemble 100 million troops each in Luyang Province and Fulong Province to participate in the war to recover the five provinces of Jizhou.

The reason for deploying such a large force was that after recovering the five provinces of Jizhou, the Daqian Zhenguo Army might face a direct threat from the Saluo people.

Thanks to Zhuo Yongwang's efforts and lobbying, the Sharo side and the Yi Kingdom side ultimately decided to continue supporting the Yongchang Independent State.

Although Zhuo Yongwang said he wouldn't rely on the Salo people or the Yi people, he still didn't want to lose their support.

The strong statement issued by the Daqian government on December 12th became one of the important factors that led the Saluo and Yi people to continue supporting Zhuo Yongwang.

However, the performance of the Daqian Zhenguo Army in the Battle of Luyang and the Battle of Fulong greatly deterred the Saluo and Yi people.

Therefore, after careful consideration, although the Salo and Yi people still supported the independence of the five provinces of Jizhou, they changed their approach.

The Salo and Yi Kingdoms swiftly withdrew their troops stationed in the five provinces of Jizhou to the border region.

In other words, neither the Salo nor the Yi Kingdom will directly send troops to participate in the war in the five provinces of Jizhou.

However, according to the agreement reached between Salo, Yiguo and Zhuo Yongwang, Salo and Yiguo will provide maximum support to the Yongchang Independent Army in terms of military strategy and equipment supplies!

In this respect, the Salo people were quite "generous," leaving a large amount of weaponry and equipment to Zhuo Yongwang's troops when they withdrew from the five provinces of Jizhou....................

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Within the territory of Liaozhou Province.

Feng Dafei personally inspected the Liaofu defense line.

"Commander Feng, please rest assured!"

“We have thirteen divisions deployed here, five of which are fully equipped with Salo equipment.”

"All of the dozen or so hills around are heavily guarded."

"If the enemy wants to enter Liaozhou Province, they must first capture these high grounds!"

"We are positioned on high ground, taking advantage of the terrain, and all our firing positions and heavy artillery are in place."

"With me, Zhu the Madman, in charge of the Liaofu defense line, you can rest assured!"

Zhu Gaoqi, who had been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Liaofu defense line, pointed to the endless mountain range and confidently patted his chest to make a guarantee to Feng Dafei.

"With such a strategically advantageous location, coupled with such comprehensive fortifications and firepower, if we still can't hold this place, you can knock a hole in my head!"

"Our entire Liaozhou Defense Zone has a total of 70 troops."

While inspecting the defense deployment, Feng Dafei instructed the confident Zhu Gaoqi: "This time, in order to stop the Daqian Zhenguo Army from entering Honghai Province, we have deployed 13 divisions with 200,000 troops on the Liaofu defense line alone."

"Zhu Fengzi, I'm entrusting this defense line to you."

"I don't care how you fight, even if you wipe out all 20 troops, you must at least hold off Shen Moshen's troops on this defensive line for three months!"

"Please rest assured, Commander-in-Chief, with me, Zhu the Madman, here, the Liaofu defense line can hold for at least six months!"

Zhu Gaoqi said confidently, "The situation in Liaozhou is completely different from that in Luyang and Fulong."

"If the defensive and blocking plan for Black Mountain devised by the barbarians had been successfully implemented, the barbarians wouldn't have suffered such a disastrous defeat in Luyang!"

“Our defense line is even more treacherous than the Heidang Mountains in Luyang.”

"If the Daqian Zhenguo Army wants to break through from here, they'll have to ask me, the Madman Zhu, for permission first!"

"Great! Seeing how confident you are put my mind at ease."

Feng Dafeng nodded with satisfaction: "I gave the president my assurance."

"You know how much pressure I was under to put you in this position!"

"If you mess up, it'll be like slapping me, Feng Dafei, in the face!"

"Commander Feng, just you wait and see! I definitely won't let you down."

Zhu Gaoqi said solemnly, "From the moment I took office, I, Zhu the Madman, was determined to live and die with the Liaofu defense line."

“I have already sent my elderly mother and my two children to Jicheng.”

"In this battle, I am prepared to die trying, and I will certainly not let down Commander Feng's kindness in promoting me!"

It turns out that Zhu Gaoqi was originally just a brigade commander under Feng Dafei.

When it comes to fighting, he's an absolute daredevil, full of clever ideas and quick-witted; he's a valiant general with both wisdom and courage.

Such a character is extremely rare within the entire Independent Army.

However, Zhuo Yongwang's troops had a long-standing problem of nepotism in personnel matters.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoqi, who had no connections or background, was never given an important position.

If it weren't for Feng Dafei's appreciation, Zhu Gaoqi would probably have only reached the rank of battalion commander or company commander at most in the Independent Army.

This time, the goal was to keep the enemy outside Liaozhou.

Despite opposition from others, Feng Dafei insisted on appointing Zhu Gaoqi as the commander-in-chief of the Liaofu defense line.

For this reason, Feng Dafei personally approached Zhuo Yongwang.

Ultimately, at Feng Dafei's insistence, Zhuo Yongwang agreed to the matter.

To make it easier for Zhu Gaoqi to command, he was specially promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.

Furthermore, at Feng Dafei's request, Zhuo Yongwang personally issued a handwritten order—all units along the Liaofu defense line must obey all of Zhu Gaoqi's orders, and those who disobey will be severely punished!

It can be said that Feng Dafei did everything he could to allow Zhu Gaoqi to perform at his best.

Feng Dafei definitely had high expectations for Zhu Gaoqi.

Feng Dafei once said to Zhuo Yongwang, "Even if Zhu Gaoqi were placed on the Liaofu defense line, he wouldn't be able to stop the Daqian Zhenguo army."

Therefore, no one could hold the Liaofu defense line....................

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"The greatest advantages of the Daqian Zhenguo Army are nothing more than two things."

"Firstly, air superiority."

"Secondly, it's their heavy artillery and tanks."

"In order to avoid enemy air strikes, the defensive positions of the thirteen hills were all built with hidden fortifications dug inside the mountains to withstand air bombardment."

"Even if the enemy flattens the high ground with artillery shells, I can guarantee that when the enemy's ground troops come up, I will have enough troops to fight back."

Zhu Gaoqi introduced his masterpiece to Feng Dafei on Hill 341.

"This is also an idea you came up with?"

"The more I see along the way, the happier I get!" Feng Dafei exclaimed. "Everyone says you, Zhu the Madman, are full of clever ideas and quick-witted, and that's certainly true!"

"By the way, how many machine gun bunkers did you say you deployed along the Liaofu defense line?"

"Three thousand six hundred and seventy-three!"

"There are still 361 hidden artillery bunkers!"

Zhu Gaoqi was very familiar with these deployments.

The entire defense deployment along the Liaofu defense line was personally arranged by Zhu Gaoqi with great effort.

"Good! Excellent!" Feng Dafei patted Zhu Gaoqi on the shoulder with satisfaction: "If there's anything else the Liaofu defense line needs, just let me know."

"If it's possible, I'll definitely do it; if it's not possible, I'll find a way to make it happen for you!"

"Commander Feng, we have no other requests at the moment!"

"We have plenty of ammunition and food supplies now."

Zhu Gaoqi said confidently, "All the deployments have been arranged. Now we just need to wait for the Daqian Zhenguo Army to crash into our defense line!"

"What the Salo people and the barbarian people failed to accomplish, I hope the madman will set an example for them!"

"We need to set an example..." Feng Dafeng shook his head helplessly when the matter was mentioned: "Who would believe it if I told them?"

"The Great Qian Zhenguo Army defeated two powerful nations in a single battle, leaving them utterly humiliated! They were so frightened that they withdrew their troops."

"Even now, when I talk about it, it feels like a joke..."

"How exactly Shen Moshen's Great Qian Zhenguo Army grew up remains a mystery."

"I heard that the barbarian intelligence department sent their deputy chief of intelligence over here because of this incident."

"That Beicheng Xian who died in Luyang?"

"Yes! It's that Bei Chengxian..." Feng Dafeng chuckled, "The deputy intelligence chief of the foreign country who fell into a cesspool and drowned during the retreat..."