[center][img]https://guideimg.alibaba.com/images/shop/2016/02/28/9/blue-ground-white-sun-and-moon-the-flag-of-the-republic-of-taiwan-temporary-government-in-tokyo-flag-20x30cm-8x12in-for_18231909.jpeg[/img][/center]
[center][b]8th Republican Sovereignty Army
[i]Siege of Kiefeng - Third Week[/i][/b][/center]


The sounds of gunfire still echoed in the night air. The sky was bright with orange flashes from distance explosions. The smell of cordite filled General Chang Tian's nostrils as he strolled behind the lines at the edge of Kaifeng's western district. 

"These night sorties have been effective enough lately." Colonel Xieufeng said. "Fewer plane losses this week than last, at the very least." The colonel said, pacing alongside his boss. 

"For us, our dear allies have been having some trouble however." Brigadier General Tian said, stepping over the corpse of a fallen Royalist. "Half of Kaifeng is ours, mostly in tact as well. If we stay the course we can seize the rest as well." He said, no doubt thinking of the latest staff general staff meeting. The Pilots of the 27th had advised General Hao Lin to allow for indiscriminate bombing in the city center. Along with that worthless maniac Ma Auriot. Fortunately for the citizens of Kaifeng, and for the cities industry Lieutenant General Hao had turned them down in no uncertain terms. 

"The Black pigs can't sustain these kinds of losses for long, sir." The Colonel said of the royalists, almost ignoring his commanding officer's comment. The Colonel had finished the estimates only a few hours before and delivered them personally. The 8th Army had suffered light casualties in all of it's engaged units. Zhan Tou's 17th Division took the brunt of the losses being at the front of the attack, and suffered nearly three-hundred men killed, wounded or captured. Included five Medium-Tank's from the 12th's Armoured's medium tank Battalion. But for every one Republican killed, a score of Royalists fell. 

"Hm." Chang grunted. Preoccupied with the knowledge that the fallen royalists which scatter the rear of the now Republican lines, and the horde of captured defenders come from the untrained, and levied portions of the Royalist force. "The foreign dogs, and the real Royalist Army still lay ahead of us." The colonel nodded, true enough it was that the Royalists would let their poor, untrained, and ill-equipped citizens be the first line of defense against the two Republican Armies.

"Soon we'll find ourselves pushing into the city center, the Royalists will either toughen up or break then. I don't know about you colonel.." He paused as he jumped a top one of Mo Tao's tanks, and extended his hand down to the colonel who joined him. "But I don't expect they will break that easily." The head of a tanker popped out of the turret, no doubt wondering what idiot would disturb his few hours of sleep at this hour. He groggily noted that the two men far outranked him and begrudgingly popped back into his tank without being able to chastise the men who woke him.

"The only easy day was yesterday." The Colonel added conclusively. A prophetic statement if ever there was one.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[i]A few days earlier, near Kaifeng:[/i] 

"General Zhou, news from Zang-Quin!" Shouted the orderly over the sound of the tank's roaring engines. Earlier this week Zhou had mobilized the 8th Armoured Division which had since been rushing to participate in the siege of Kaifeng. "You're going to want to read it, sir!"

"Hand it over, Soldier!" He grabbed the sheet of paper from the orderly and quickly read the newsprint words:

[b][center]Zang-Quin Offensive![/center][/b]
Zhou Jin’s eye brows raised slightly, the news of the attack in the capital struck him as a surprise. Though, not an entirely welcome one. Zhou wished more than anyone for the foreign invaders to be removed from Zengravi soil, but the time was not right. His facial features twisted in a scowl as he finished reading the article. 

“Rebellion in Zang-Quin.” He said finally, handing the paper over to another senior officer. “Some unknown elements seek to oust the Commonwealth forces from our fallen cities.” He sighed, brusquely. A goal that he surely could get behind, but the methods employed were less than savoury. “The Commonwealth will surely not like this new development.” He added. As much as he despised the Commonwealth invaders, and wanted nothing more than to see their corpses heaved into the sea after they seized the capital, he knew that until the Republic had defeated the Royalists, and established a firm hold of Zengrav, they stood no chance at removing the invader from their soil. 

“General, will the Commonwealth retaliate?” A young officer on the Generals staff spoke over the engines of the idling tank.

“Of course, they will, they have to or they will appear weak. If not to show the attackers that they are the power here, they must show our neighbours as well. I expect that we shall receive news of their retaliatory efforts in the coming days.” The general shrugged as he said it. People would die, but it was not his attack that brought about their deaths. All who would read the news would know that the Commonwealth could not simply accept an attack that left their soldiers dead on foreign soil. All they simply needed to ask themselves is “Would Zengrav allow such an attack to go unpunished?” He shook his head at his own thought, “Of course not.” He whispered, though no one heard him.

He waved his hand forward in a gesture to advance, and gave the order over the Company radio for the division to continue its advance to Kaifeng. The dust clouds of the armoured vehicles, and their Armoured Infantry cohorts stretched for miles. They would link up with the rest of the 8th Army within the week, and set to finishing the siege of Kaifeng. He pushed away a pang of worry over what the Commonwealth’s next course of action may be, as for the time being Zhou and his men had more pressing concerns.