Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

8:33 AM.

A spirited Shen Moshen led his troops into Youdu City in a military jeep.

If someone were to ask how long it would take to take over a capital city, Shen Moshen's answer would be: two and a half hours!

Half an hour earlier, the 398th Regiment had already captured Youdu.

From the aerial bombing of Youdu by JU-87D bombers to the artillery preparations before the ground troops launched their offensive.

Then, the defending troops in Youdu City could not withstand the offensive and raised the white flag. The 398th Regiment successfully took control of Youdu in just two and a half hours!

Multi-service joint operations, air-ground coordination, rapid armored assaults, and artillery barrage were perfectly applied in the Battle of Youdu.

Facing the professional tactics and fighting style of the 398th Regiment, a force of nature, the 33rd Division's defeat was entirely justified.

This battle also clearly demonstrated the huge gap between the Daqian warlord forces and the forces of the great powers.

A common problem among the warlord armies of the Great Qian Dynasty was the severe lack of air power.

Of course, their naval strength is also about the same.

Moreover, in remote and underdeveloped areas like Youzhou, heavy weapons are also quite scarce.

Even those few wealthy and powerful warlords were throwing money at army equipment.

In their view, it would be better to use the money to build more infantry regiments than to spend it on buying airplanes and warships.

Therefore, during the many years of warlord conflicts in the Great Qian Dynasty, there were often no tactics to speak of; it was basically just about piling up men.

They crumbled with astonishing speed at the slightest disadvantage...

Therefore, most warlord wars followed the path of "quick victory".

Unfortunately, this is a major characteristic of the warlord conflicts in the Great Qian Dynasty: either the situation is favorable and they advance triumphantly, or the situation is unfavorable and they collapse at the first sign of trouble.

The warlords of the Great Qian Dynasty had only two words to their motto when they fought: randomness!

If you're looking for a protracted stalemate, with both sides locked in a stalemate, that's not so likely...

There is a serious generational gap between our tactical thinking and fighting style and that of the great powers!

Therefore, if we compare the current army of the Great Qian Dynasty with the regular armies of other major powers, its overall situation is equivalent to—a severely unbalanced force that only cares about internal strife…

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After a while.

Shen Moshen's jeep stopped in the mess of the 33rd Division headquarters.

Gu Xingbang, who had been disarmed and had bandages wrapped around his head and arms, along with a group of officers from the 33rd Division who had just escaped a disaster, were already waiting in the courtyard.

"The group is here!"

With a loud announcement from the adjutant.

Surrounded by his subordinates, Shen Moshen walked into the courtyard.

Inside the compound, many soldiers were still busy clearing the rubble...

"Commander Shen, please forgive me, I am injured and unable to perform the salute..."

Looking at the young Shen Moshen, Gu Xingbang couldn't help but feel indignant.

Gu Xingbang was considered a veteran general in the Youzhou army.

Having successfully dealt with Wu Zhiyi and Han Kenan, he was about to become the new military governor of Youzhou.

But unexpectedly, the young Shen Moshen snatched it away!

The key point is—he still had to admit defeat...................

There's no way around it, the 398th Regiment fought a truly brilliant battle.

Gu Xingbang was quite impressed with the performance of the 398th Regiment.

To be honest—it's not shameful to be defeated by such an army.................

However, on the other hand, seeing someone inexplicably pull away someone who was about to "get promoted, get a raise, and reach the pinnacle of life" would make anyone unhappy.

Therefore, it's perfectly normal to have emotions.

"Oh dear! General Gu, what happened? How did you get a head injury? Is it serious?"

"You too!" Shen Moshen then complained to the officers guarding Gu Xingbang and the others, "General Gu's head is cracked open, why didn't you send him to the hospital? What a mess!"

"Quickly, use my car to take General Gu to the hospital to recuperate. Give him the necessary injections and medication..."

"Commander Shen, there's no need to go to the hospital!" Gu Xingbang was speechless at Shen Moshen's exaggerated "acting".

Don't you know how I got injured and how I ended up looking like this?

"It's nothing serious, just some minor cuts and bruises that have been treated and bandaged."

"That's why you say General Gu is incredibly lucky!" Shen Moshen said to Ge Daqiang, who was following beside him, "This place has been bombed like this, yet General Gu only suffered minor injuries. His luck is much better than that of Dong Jiangong, the commander of the 'Number One Regiment of Youzhou'!"

"So you see—you really can't compare people..."

Ge Daqiang shook his head, "Who says otherwise... Commander Dong's luck was truly terrible. One shot, one kill, he was gone in a flash. It's so tragic..."

Hearing that his trusted lieutenant had died such a gruesome death, Gu Xingbang's expression turned even more grim.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain! Commander Shen, you've won!"

Gu Xingbang composed himself and steeled his resolve: "Since things have come to this, I have nothing more to say. Do with me as you please!"

"General Gu, what are you saying?" Shen Moshen smiled. "Now is a time when we need talented people. I wouldn't be willing to kill or torture someone as capable as General Gu..."

"I had long heard of General Gu's strict discipline and skill in training troops."

"Of the three brigade commanders of the 33rd Division, only General Gu is a decent man."

"Wu Zhiyi, a gambling addict, and I heard he also smokes opium; Han Kenan, nicknamed 'Han the Skinflint,' is always thinking about ways to make money, he's had seven or eight concubines, all of whom he forcibly took..."

"These two deserve to die!"

"General Gu, if you're willing, I'll become the commander of the 33rd Division, and you—you can continue as a major general brigade commander!"

"How about it?"

"Commander Shen still wants me to stay in the 33rd Division?" Gu Xingbang looked at Shen Moshen in disbelief upon hearing this.

Gu Xingbang never expected Shen Moshen's arrangement.

Because, in cases like Gu Xingbang's, the usual approach is either to eliminate him completely or to send him away.

The fact that he was entrusted with such an important task was indeed somewhat unexpected for Gu Xingbang.

"Commander Shen still wants me to stay in the 33rd Division?"

"Isn't Commander Shen afraid that I'll drag my old subordinates into trouble?"

"I'm really not afraid of that!"

"My principle in employing people has always been: if I doubt someone, I won't use them; if I use someone, I won't doubt them."

"I also believe that my judgment of people isn't that bad."

Shen Moshen smiled and said, "I can't say anything else, but there's one thing I can guarantee 100%."

"That means—if you follow me, Shen Moshen, your talent will never be buried!"

"As long as you work hard, I, Shen Moshen, will definitely give you a bright future..."