Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

[The First Modern War: The Gulf War Explained!]

The caption included a picture of tracer bullets streaking across the night sky, densely packed and illuminating the entire night.

"Modern warfare..."

Li Shimin stood with his hands behind his back, carefully pondering these words.

Three thousand cavalrymen defeated Dou Jiande's army of one hundred thousand at Hulao Pass; that was his proudest achievement.

The title of General of Heavenly Strategy, every single word of it was earned through real battles.

Upon seeing the sky and hearing about war, one naturally feels a sense of comparison.

"Fuji, Xuancheng, look at this sky; it's about to announce the war."

"I wonder, in this so-called modern warfare, how does it compare to the charging of my Great Tang Xuanjia Army? Which is stronger?"

Fang Xuanling didn't reply, but just stared at the picture on the sky.

Those bright lines in the darkness...are they arrows?

No, that trajectory is too long, and its brilliance never fades.

Du Ruhui poured a cup of tea and handed it to Li Shimin, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't be impatient. This is just the beginning."

As the emperor and his ministers pondered the situation, a clear voice rang out from the sky.

This was the first large-scale, modern war in history, and a war that shocked the world!

Before the Gulf War, everyone believed that the outcome of a war depended on ground forces. However, the United States showed the world how modern warfare is fought!

In just forty-two days, the United States achieved an overwhelming victory!

[With only a hundred or so casualties of its own, it completely crushed an oil-producing nation with a million-strong army!]

"A hundred casualties defeated an army of one million?"

Li Shimin suddenly stood up from his seat, his mind buzzing.

This number isn't just a war figure, it's a myth! Even harvesting wheat with a sickle couldn't be done this fast!

And in just over a month, the million-strong army was wiped out?

Are the soldiers sent by the United States all heavenly warriors, invulnerable to swords and spears?

Li Shimin found this somewhat absurd and looked at his ministers: "What do you all think?"

Changsun Wuji stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "In my opinion, this is an act of falsely reporting military achievements."

Throughout history, in order to bolster morale, it was common for an army of 50,000 to be called 500,000.

"The so-called million-strong army of this oil-producing country might just be like that."

Li Shimin stroked the teacup, not quite agreeing with this statement.

If a battle that can be called a world-shaking event is fabricated in terms of data, what's so shocking about it?

But do wars also occur in the celestial realm?

Before we begin the explanation, let's review the troop deployments of both sides.

Let's start with the oil-producing country, which at the time was known as the world's fourth strongest military power, equipped entirely with Soviet-made weaponry, and its combat strength should not be underestimated.

The country has a population of approximately 18 million and a standing army of over one million, most of whom are veterans of the Iran-Iraq War.

-

"A standing army of over a million?!"

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, who had been feeling listless, suddenly brightened up upon hearing these words.

He stared at the words on the sky, his hands unconsciously rubbing together a few times.

"Good heavens, can they really support a million-strong standing army out of 18 million people?"

He turned to Wei Qing, who remained silent beside him: "Zhongqing, tell me—how many standing troops does our Han Dynasty have now?"

Wei Qing lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, the garrison troops in various prefectures and kingdoms, plus the Northern and Southern armies, number around 300,000."

Three hundred thousand.

Liu Che clicked his tongue; the number made him feel uncomfortable all over.

They only have half the population of the Han Dynasty, how can they raise so many soldiers?

Does that mean the food in oil-producing countries just falls from the sky?

Wei Qing noticed the burning desire in Liu Che's eyes and quickly advised, "Your Majesty, I believe that this oil-rich country maintaining a million-strong standing army is absolutely an act of militarism and exhaustion."

"Millions of people do not engage in production, and their daily food, clothing, and other necessities are all provided by the national treasury. The consumption is simply astronomical."

"I dare to say that this government cannot last long."

He was afraid that Liu Che might act impulsively and also build an army of a million.

Three hundred thousand was already the limit that the Han Dynasty could maintain by exhausting its national strength.

If we really wanted to emulate oil-rich countries, the Han Dynasty would collapse on its own even before the Xiongnu attacked.

Liu Che didn't care about any of that; he only knew one thing.

If I had a million soldiers, why would I fear the destruction of the Xiongnu? Why would I fear unrest throughout the land?

However, upon thinking of this, Liu Che suddenly calmed down.

That's a million people! Even if it were a million pigs, it would be a lot of work to catch them.

How exactly did the United States win?

This is a question that not only Emperor Wu of Han (Liu Che) wanted to know, but also that every person who has led troops in battle throughout history has wanted to know.

The scene on the screen shifted.

The United States, on the other hand, united 39 countries, mobilized a total of 80 personnel, and deployed six carrier strike groups, announcing that it would launch an attack on oil-producing countries.

The multinational forces jointly developed the "Desert Storm" plan, which consists of four parts. Here we will only explain the air combat part.

The operation is divided into three phases. The first step is to render the oil-producing countries deaf and blind.

As the explanation reached this point, a burst of urgent music came from the sky.

The drumbeats were dense, and the rhythm grew faster and faster, like a thousand troops galloping in the distance.

This unprecedented sound rushed into the eardrums, making countless hearts race.

Something is coming—everyone has this feeling.

Immediately afterwards, a huge map unfolded on the sky.

Mountains, rivers, deserts, and oceans are depicted with a detail a hundred times greater than any map.

The positions of both armies are marked with red and blue, making troop deployments and marching routes clear at a glance.

In the first wave of air strikes, the United States launched 700 sorties, carrying out a terrifying bombing campaign against oil-producing countries and destroying strategic targets.

In just a few hours, the integrated air defense system that oil-producing countries are so proud of has been cut into pieces.

Oil-producing countries don't even know where the attack is coming from or who they should retaliate against, because they can't see anything on their radar.

[The United States gained air superiority overnight, but this was just the appetizer.]

As dawn broke, the oil-producing nations began to understand what true despair was.

-

"What an exquisite map! It captures the entire landscape of this vast country!"

Ying Zheng stared intently at the sky, his eyes wide, afraid of missing any detail.

Is this what modern warfare is?

There was no clash of swords, no galloping of horses, and the soldiers on both sides didn't even meet.

All the battles were fought by iron birds in the air.

Moreover, Ying Zheng grasped an extremely unfamiliar term—warplane.

It seems that all of the United States' strategic policies are accomplished through this.

"I see."

By observing the images, Ying Zheng quickly grasped the key points.

"So-called modern warfare relies on flying iron birds to destroy the enemy's command system."

"Without unified command, even a million-strong army is just a disorganized mess, lambs to the slaughter."

"Iron Bird..."

Ying Zheng seemed to be deep in thought, vaguely recalling that many years ago, a disciple of the Mohist school had presented a similar wooden bird mechanical beast.

Although the sizes are slightly different, the core idea is exactly the same.

If the Qin warriors had this, wouldn't they be even more powerful?

"Your Majesty, this strike was indeed extremely fierce."

Li Si's heart was pounding, and his voice was hoarse: "But can a million-strong army be annihilated simply by throwing fireballs from the sky?"

"Perhaps the US has other weapons?"

Ying Zheng shook his head slightly, feeling somewhat puzzled himself.

While aerial bombardment is powerful, a million-strong army is not an inanimate object.

If we break up the whole force and disperse them to hide in the mountains and cities, how can we possibly bomb them inch by inch?

Even a celestial being couldn't do that, right?