Just a few hundred miles west of the San Antonio Mission, on the other side of the Rio Grande, is the border town of Del Rio.

Strictly speaking, it is the Rio Grande that crosses del Río, half of which occupies half of the north and half of each other, across the river.

Westerners had long built a railroad between the two, and it was only a few hundred miles from San Antonio to transport troops by steam train.

After the two sides began the battle, the Holy See quickly assembled its troops by railroad and, as planned, crossed the Rio Grande and launched an attack on the defenders of Tawantin on the other side.

The two sides fought fiercely for three days and two nights, and finally the Tawantine army withdrew from del Rio.

The forces of the Holy See occupied del Rio, and the former command post of Tavantin became the command post of the Holy See.

Two steam wagons, not pulled by horses, drove into the gates of the command post. Can a carriage without horses be called a carriage? Of course you can, just as a road without horses can still be called a road.

Two officers dressed in general's gowns stepped out of the steam wagon, the badges on their chests gleaming in the sun.

The two obviously knew each other for a long time, and as soon as they got out of the car, they greeted each other enthusiastically, and they were suspected of touting each other.

"In this battle of Del Rio, your 1st Artillery Division is the first credit."

"Natives are natives, their brains are outdated, they are only worthy of fighting with bows and arrows, even with the help of the Orientals, they still don't understand the meaning of mechanized corps combat, their combat concepts are a whole era behind us, and the battle of Del Rio is an example."

Both generals were ambitious.

They entered the building of the command post and met Cardinal Robert Ya, the priest of the Holy See, who had summoned them in a room on the third floor

Braham.

Facing Robert, dressed in a clerical uniform, both generals became respectful.

"I have just arrived in office, and I am not familiar with the specific responsibilities yet, and the two of you are in charge of commanding the battle of Del Rio this time, and I am familiar with the combat situation, so I invite the two of you to come over and learn about the specific situation." Although Robert is a priest, he is more like a traditional military aristocrat, with an old-fashioned and resolute face and gray temples.

The two generals were like two soldiers, standing straight.

Robert folded his hands behind his back and looked out the window: "What are your respective casualties this time to take Del Rio?" ”

The two generals glanced at each other, and the general from the infantry division was the first to speak: "The full strength of one of our infantry divisions is 18,000 people, and the attrition in this battle is about 5,000 people. ”

Another general from the artillery division said: "The casualties of our artillery division are not large, but the consumption of ammunition is very large. ”

Robit's face reflected in the glass window didn't show much change in expression: "In your opinion, what are the casualties in Tawantin?" ”

The artillery general preemptively replied: "The casualties should be more than eight thousand." ”

Robert was noncommittal, and then asked, "Do you think Tawantine's abandonment of del Río is a passive retreat?" Or an active strategic retreat? ”

After all, the infantry general is fighting on the front line, and his cognition is still relatively clear: "We tried to pursue, but we encountered fierce resistance, so I think it should not be a passive retreat, but an active strategic retreat." ”

….

The artillery general was quite unimpressed: "Whether it is a passive rout or an active retreat, there is no need to worry." Our last careless defeat,

It gave Tawantin the wrong confidence, which is why he dared to provoke us without taking his own measure. But what they don't know is that after the steam revolution, our combat concept has undergone earth-shaking changes, mechanized warfare is by no means comparable to flesh and blood, and their self-proclaimed firm will will be ruthlessly crushed by our steel torrent. ”

Robert turned: "Good. ”

……

Tawantin's army retreated to Moncloix, where the defensive line was organized.

Qi Xuansu and Huangfu Ji also came here.

The two also met with the chief military officer who had just been withdrawn from Del Rio - because it was Xidaomen who reconstructed the military system of Tawanting, so he used the military system of the Central Plains, which was very similar to the Daxuan court.

The chief officer was also complaining: "If it is really a short encounter, the soldiers under my command are not only not afraid of those Westerners, but can even gain the upper hand, the key is that the Westerners' artillery fire is too fierce." An artillery division, his mother is fully equipped with 300 heavy guns, this is unreasonable, a salvo, 300 shells down, immediately a sea of fire, comparable to the camp of alchemists and priests. And their airship troops, condescendingly, first throwing bombs, and then strafing them with machine guns. Relying on these things, those young master soldiers dared to kick their noses in the face. ”

Another chief officer also said: "This kind of urban siege is not as good as field warfare, the power of artillery is infinitely magnified, and we can't hide if we defend the city." But our artillery can't compare to others, so it becomes passively beaten. We need artillery so much. And airships, too, are a problem, when will our airships be put into operation? ”

The emperor is extremely knowledgeable,

The two of them comforted: "The problem of artillery can be solved immediately, Gong Dazhen is already concentrating scattered artillery pieces everywhere to form a large-scale artillery group, unified dispatch, unified command, it is expected that there will be more than a thousand." As for the issue of the flying boat, we have to wait a little longer. ”

Seeing off the two chief officers, Huang Fu said to Qi Xuansu: "We don't have an advantage, we can barely calculate the balance of power, Huen Chavin also leaked the intelligence of the border army, and the loss of Del Rio is also expected." ”

Qi Xuansu said: "It's not that I increase the enemy's prestige, this kind of firepower, I'm afraid it's slightly better than the Daomen army on the battlefield of Fenglanzhou, no wonder the Holy Court is so unpopular, what do you say only consider the cost of the war, not the victory or defeat of the war." ”

Huangfu said: "The key is the problem of the cost of the war, the Holy Court fought so smoothly by pouring shells regardless of the cost, but these shells did not fall from the sky, they were produced by the factory, and they cost money." It is a question of how long the See's stocks and finances will be able to sustain it. Don't underestimate those Western businessmen, they don't care about the overall situation, if they really want to force them, they dare to rebel. Therefore, the Holy Court is thinking about a quick victory this time, and we will drag it out into a protracted battle. This is like two people running, the Holy Court runs very fast at the beginning, and the force is very strong, and it is inevitable that the follow-up will be weak. ”

Qi Xuansu nodded in agreement: "This is our business, figure out the financial reality of the Holy Court, and don't be bluffed by their three-plate axe." ”

….

Huangfu sighed: "It's a pity that Sun Zhongnu rebelled and let us be in the Northern Continent."

The intelligence network was greatly disrupted, and many things became troublesome. ”

Qi Xuansu said: "Things must always be looked at from two sides, we also caught the 'Ape God' and carried out a comprehensive investigation, and the Holy Court is now also in a black eye." ”

Huangfu Ji joked: "In the end, it is a talent from Vientiane Dao Palace, and the theory is very solid, unlike us wild people." ”

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but sigh when he heard this: "Vientiane Dao Palace." ”

"What, there is a grudge?" Huangfu was a little curious, "According to reason, this is your root, and it shouldn't be." ”

Qi Xuansu said: "My business, Chen Sesame is rotten, I don't care." The key is the child's thing. ”

"The child is being bullied?" Strictly speaking, Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu are quasi-Taoist couples, but from the perspective of the Southern Continent, the two are Taoist couples, so Huangfu Ji is not surprised that Qi Xuansu has a child.

Qi Xuansu nodded: "Let's just sort it out." ”

Huangfu became more and more curious: "As far as I know, that Zhang family brother and sister is not a soft character, the people in Yujing say that she acts domineering and never refuses to suffer, with her, can such a thing happen?" ”

Qi Xuansu said: "She, probably cares about chaos, the first time she is a mother, she is a little timid and out of proportion, plus she is also very busy, her energy is limited, and the pressure she is under is not small, so she finally lost her ground." At that time, my mother told me that a man can only handle it after he has a wife and children, and it seems that she is the same. I talked to her once, and she didn't think she could involve the child, for

The child considers, so take a step back. But in my opinion, in fact, it has been involved, and the more we retreat, the more others advance. Anyway, when the war is over, I'll have to go back and deal with it. ”

Huang Fu smiled and said, "If it is possible, I can go with you, I have long wanted to visit the famous Vientiane Dao Palace." ”

Qi Xuansu laughed at it.

While the two were talking, a head of the Absolute Holy Church walked in and reported to the two: "Huangfu Zhenren, Qi Zhenren, we have just intercepted the encrypted message sent by the San Antonio Mission to St. York. ”

Huang Fuji took the paper that was copied and deciphered, quickly scanned it, and handed it to Qi Xuansu: "What do you say, they really have a problem in terms of cost, San Antonio has begun to urge the supply of ammunition to St. York, it seems that their inventory is not sufficient." ”

Qi Xuansu took it and looked at it: "However, this also reflects from the side that the Holy Court wants to promote a strategic decisive battle as soon as possible and decide the outcome of the battle." ”

Huangfu smiled coldly: "Then we can't do what he wants." In the past, they could make up for the deficit by plundering, not only did they not lose, but they could even make a windfall, and their morale was naturally high, but now they hit our important towns, and everywhere they went were in ruins, leaving nothing left, and at the same time they also suffered heavy losses, as long as our side resolutely did not cut the land and did not pay compensation, it depends on how long they can hold on. ”

Xidaomen dared to expand the situation, not because he was overwhelmed, and naturally he had some confidence. Just carry the three of the Holy Court

Plate axe, you can have an advantage.

The key is how to stop this extremely fast three-plate axe. The Holy See fought the three major empires of the New World, and it didn't even use up the three axes, and generally one axe can end the war, which is also where the arrogance of the Holy See lies.

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