Chapter 74: The strength of the East is beyond your imagination

"On the battlefield, it's best for cannons to fire and then retreat; to achieve that, only the 2S1 self-propelled howitzers equipped in our Yituo Armored Division have played an important role on the battlefield, but unfortunately their numbers are too few to have a decisive effect." Wudai continued.

"Yeah, towed artillery has poor mobility, and self-propelled howitzers are too expensive to mass-produce, but…… we in the East actually have…… well, never mind, can't say, that's a top secret."

Wudai instantly became interested: "Could there be anything besides these two?"

"That's only natural!"

"What exactly is it?"

"Well…… well……"

"Qin, your background looks extraordinary at a glance; our Yituo army's offensive has already begun to encounter enormous resistance; if we could have a few hundred high-mobility cannons, they would surely play a decisive role on the battlefield! We Yituo established relations with the East in the 1950s, and we are both ancient civilizations……"

"All right, this was originally a high-level military secret of the East; the East has already mounted howitzers on truck chassis, turning them into wheeled self-propelled howitzers, which run fast, have strong mobility, and are also cheap……"

Wudai shook his head: "A truck chassis can at most mount a howitzer of a few tens of millimeters caliber; it's not very useful."

"No, a 155mm howitzer firing ordinary shells can reach over thirty kilometers; the last time I went to the firing range with the old man, I saw it—my goodness, that one shot could blast out a football field……"

Creak!

The vehicle suddenly stopped.

Wudai's body lurched forward, slamming into the front seat back; enraged, he raised his fist and rained blows on Kamail in front.

"Damn it, you idiot, you're not driving properly—do you want to kill us?"

Despite such a beating, Kamail didn't care; he covered his head with both hands, enduring Wudai's punches while looking at Qin Miao and saying: "You say the East really has this kind of weaponry? In the whole world, only Bu'er Boshi's 155mm howitzer can shoot that far."

"Bu'er Boshi?" Qin Miao's face showed a strange smile: "I might as well tell you some more news: Bu'er Boshi's 45-caliber 155mm howitzer has a major flaw—although its range is sufficient, its accuracy is poor and the warhead's power is insufficient; therefore, Bu'er Boshi secretly went to the East and commissioned the East to design the most advanced 52-caliber 155mm howitzer."

"How is that possible? Bu'er Boshi commissioned Easterners?"

"Mr. Kamail, do you know which country has the largest army in the world?"

Kamail hesitated for a moment: "The East?"

"That's right! The East's army numbers over four million! The East prioritizes the army above all, and the army prioritizes artillery above all! The East's howitzers are the most advanced in the world!"

Does a large population mean high combat strength? Of course not!

The army numbers over four million; the officer-to-soldier ratio is 1:2.45—put simply, one officer commands two and a half soldiers; the old Russians have one officer commanding five soldiers, France twenty, America twenty-five!

The army is bloated and inefficient, with many non-combat personnel—cultural troupes, propaganda departments, institutional staff, military-run enterprises—many of whom are just there to be supported, and these people all have connections……

However, saying this out loud can scare people.

Yituo, which is claimed to be the world's fourth military power! Its army numbers only one million!

Kamail was stunned.

"Over four million?"

"Exactly, just the various cannons number in the hundreds of thousands. Especially large-caliber howitzer technology, which has been researched these years; Bu'er Boshi is just one person—how could he compare to the East's national artillery experts? Of course, if you don't believe it, forget it!"

Kamail didn't disbelieve; he just couldn't imagine how powerful such a country would be.

"Such cannons have strong recoil—how could they possibly be mounted on a truck?"

"Well…… this is a secret……"

"Qin, we just said we were good friends, right? When we get to Petra Ancient City, I'll take you around to have fun! All expenses are on me!" Hasan said.

"Well…… huh, looks like we're about to leave the desert?"

The desert gradually faded away; ahead appeared peak after peak, the vehicle drew nearer and nearer, and finally, up ahead on the road, a canyon appeared.

At the canyon entrance, there were over a dozen donkey carts and several dozen camels, waiting quietly.

"Qin, are you taking a donkey cart or riding a camel?"

"Riding a camel, my wife and I just need one!"

Donkey carts are nothing special, but camels are absolutely rare!

Petra Ancient City lies hidden in the deep mountain canyon connecting the Dead Sea and the Aqaba Strait; its entrance has only a three-li narrow canyon passage, at most seven meters wide, and at its narrowest only wide enough for a horse carriage to pass, so motor vehicles are forbidden entry.

Qin Miao had no intention of letting his Land Rover go in and frolic; what if it got stuck at the narrowest point of the canyon?

Chu Miaomiao carefully mounted the camel, Qin Miao sat behind her and naturally put his arms around her.

At this moment, Chu Miaomiao's smile blossomed like a flower.

This time, we really are traveling together with Brother San Shui! The fake marriage is just for the honeymoon.

Inside the canyon, winding and twisting, perilous and secluded, lifting one's head reveals a line of blue sky; in ancient times, this was a place easy to defend but hard to attack!

After passing through the slit of sky, one enters Petra Ancient City.

The whole city is built into the mountain; many structures are directly carved out of the mountainside, especially that Roman open-air theatre that can seat over two thousand, with its stage and audience seats all hewn from the rock!

Seeing all this in person, Chu Miaomiao was deeply shocked; the scale of the engineering here is unbelievable!

Night gradually fell over the land; everyone left the ancient city through its sole passage; hotels and restaurants are all outside, while the inside is merely a tourist attraction.

Riding out on the camel, Qin Miao saw a bonfire burning on the distant hillside.

"What is that?"

"Roasted whole lamb is our dinner tonight; I've already called the Capital to have them cure a camel, which will take several days to roast, so when we're worn out from playing here, we'll just in time eat roasted camel!" Hasan said.

Although we've already had a few skewers domestically, they can't compare to roasted whole lamb; smelling the fragrance wafting through the air, Qin Miao's index finger twitched.

TheOldVillageResort Hotel, an establishment with over six hundred years of history, has just a single gate; after entering, the rooms are built into the mountain, continually ascending; in front of the highest rooms, several servants are busy.

Wudai took out a bottle of red wine.

"Qin, thanks to your passing by today, otherwise we'd still be in the desert; tonight we'll drink heartily!"