Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

August 19th, Yongsheng 9th year.

That is, one month after Xie Kangnian proclaimed himself emperor.

During this period, Zhuo Yongwang, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Anti-Rebel Army, issued multiple ultimatums and final ultimatums to Xie Kangnian, ordering him to step down and commit suicide as an apology.

The ultimatum, so harshly worded that it demanded Xie Kangnian pay with his life, clearly wasn't aimed at "settling the matter" at all.

Xie Kangnian, on the other hand, countered by defining the anti-rebel army led by Zhuo Yongwang as traitors to the Great Qian Dynasty as the fiftieth "legitimate" emperor!

Furthermore, in the name of the Great Qian Emperor, Zhuo Yongwang was stripped of his post as Grand Governor of Five Provinces.

In the meantime, they also sent a message to the anti-rebel army camp, saying that those who surrendered voluntarily would not be punished, and those who turned against the enemy would be richly rewarded and ennobled!

Of course, both sides know that the greatest significance of these verbal battles is merely to buy time for their own preparations for war.

After all, everyone knows that there is absolutely no possibility of peace talks and a ceasefire before a victor is determined in this great war!

Finally, after a full month of military preparations, the anti-rebel army led by Zhuo Yongwang chose to hold a rally on August 19th to demand Xie's return.

Zhuo Yongwang, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Army, officially ordered the campaign against Xie Kangnian.

With Zhuo Yongwang's five-province allied army as the main force, they advanced towards the capital in three routes.

Xie Kangnian's side had already made preparations for the response.

This time, the total strength of the anti-rebel army, composed of armed forces from sixteen provinces, exceeded 60.

Xie Kangnian mobilized 40 troops.

Therefore, this was definitely the largest warlord war in the Great Qian Empire in recent decades.

Both sides deployed more than a million troops.

Therefore, major newspapers referred to this campaign against the rebels as a "million-person war" in their news reports!

More than two-thirds of the Great Qian Empire's army participated. (Note: This does not include the Youzhou army, which was developing its power base in Youzhou.)

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"It seems that this battle against the rebels is far more intense than we imagined."

Shen Moshen, who was waiting in Youzhou to observe the situation, had just reviewed the intelligence summary from all over Daqian when he couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

"Zhuo Yongwang has really gone all out."

"Even his tank units were sent up."

"I heard that the army that went to punish the rebels also had military advisors from the Salo people and the Yi people accompanying them."

As Shen Moshen spoke, he stared intently at the battle sand table in front of him, carefully studying the situation.

The war sand table displays the military layout of both sides, marked according to the intelligence information obtained.

"They're coming on strong! It seems Zhuo Yongwang wants to crush Xie Kangnian's side from the start with an overwhelming advantage." Ge Daqiang said with the air of a bystander, "Obviously, Xie Kangnian thinks the same way."

"Xie Kangnian deployed heavy troops on all three main offensive lines of the punitive expedition."

"It has the momentum to confront them head-on."

"Both sides want to finish the first game with a great start."

"It seems there are still many variables in this battle..."

"I really didn't expect the two sides to be so fierce this time!"

"It is indeed somewhat unexpected." Shen Moshen stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the sand table, "I didn't expect that both sides would put on such a large show this time."

"A million-strong war..."

"However, for Xie Kangnian and Zhuo Yongwang, the outcome of this battle is basically determined by who can gain the early advantage."

This conclusion is a pattern and characteristic that Shen Moshen summarized after carefully studying the warlord wars that have occurred in the Great Qian Empire over the past few decades.

The pattern and characteristic is that in over 90% of the warlord wars that took place within the territory of the Great Qian Dynasty, the outcome was decided in a single battle.

If you take a good look at the battle records of the warlords of the Great Qian Empire, you will find a surprising pattern - the warlords of the Great Qian Empire fought each other for decades, and there were basically no cases of turning the tide of battle!

Of course, the idea that a single battle would determine the outcome does not mean that the warlord conflicts were always settled with just one battle between the two sides.

Rather, it refers to whichever side gains an advantage in the initial large-scale battle and the early stages, then the side with the advantage will basically have a smooth and easy victory.

Especially the side that wins the first battle.

Throughout the history of warlord conflicts in the Great Qian Dynasty, the side that won the first battle had an astonishingly high probability of achieving final victory: 85%.

If you win the first battle and maintain your early advantage, then it can basically be defined as a winning situation.

The side with the advantage has a 96% chance of winning!

Therefore, Shen Moshen also drew a conclusion—more than 90% of the warlord armies of the Great Qian Dynasty had virtually no ability to turn the tide in actual combat..................

To put it more bluntly, the current Daqian army is an army that is simply incapable of fighting tough battles.

There's no way around it, my mentality just breaks down too easily...

"When things are going well, you can fight anywhere; when things are going badly, you can't fight at all"—this is the most accurate description of the warlord conflicts during the Great Qian Dynasty.

"Secretary Ge, do you think the chances of victory for the anti-rebel army in the first battle are higher, or is Xie Kangnian's side more likely to win?"

"General, if it were in the past, I would definitely think that Xie Kangnian's side had a higher chance of winning."

"But judging from the current momentum of both sides..." Ge Daqiang stared intently at the battle sand table in front of him, shaking his head: "It's really hard to say..."

"This time, the central army of the anti-rebel force was personally led by Zhuo Yongwang to directly attack Quzhou, a key military town under the control of the Xie faction."

"Judging from the plans and routes of both sides, Quzhou is the first battleground that both sides have tacitly agreed upon."

Pointing to the location of Quzhou on the war sand table, Ge Daqiang continued his analysis: "As a military stronghold, Quzhou's defensive fortifications were built to be very solid."

"It is said that the defense system of Quzhou was designed with the help of the Dunli people."

"The general stationed in Quzhou is also a famous fierce general of the Xie faction—Gao Shengwu."

"More importantly, Gao Shengwu is not only highly regarded by Xie Kangnian, but the 1st Division of the Royal Guard Army led by Gao Shengwu is also known as the most capable iron army in the Great Qian Empire!"

Ge Daqiang pointed to the location of Quzhou again: "Xie Kangnian transferred Gao Shengwu all the way to Quzhou to garrison the city so that Zhuo Yongwang's anti-rebel army would run into a brick wall in Quzhou."

"But then again..."

"Zhuo Yongwang's team heading to Quzhou is no pushover either."

"In fact, the Battle of Quzhou may well have become the warlord war in recent decades that involved the largest number of heavy weapons."

“Yes!” Shen Moshen also felt the same way: “Zhuo Yongwang not only personally led the troops, but also brought the entire tank force of the five-province allied army.”

"Although Zhuo Yongwang's tank unit is equipped with light tanks, there are still over a hundred of them, which should be enough to give Xie Kangnian's side a hard time!"

"And then there are so many heavy artillery pieces..."

"In terms of firepower, Zhuo Yongwang's troops attacking Quzhou have an absolute advantage."

"Moreover, there is also a military advisory group composed of Salo people accompanying the army."

"The Salo people are incredibly skilled at using artillery tactics."

"Just wait and see—the Battle of Quzhou is about to begin..."