Eternity RPC Board
Huê Trâng, Hôinôm | Dein 8, 1595
The village of Huê Trâng had become one of the most prosperous of the province during the 1580s. As its economy consisted mostly on agriculture, the village was severely affected by the famine and the ongoing conflict. Since them, many of their inhabitants had left. However, Huê Trâng remained an important center under the control of the Tay Lahn government -officially known as Democratic Republic of Hôinôm- as it was close enough to the Tieguonese border in eastern Hôinôm, and it was crossed by the old highway to Vin Xuyên. Although since Tieguo did not recognize Tay Lahn as the legitimate government of Hôinôm anymore, the Tay Lahn forces were facing pressure by the Hoinomese army in the northeastern provinces, forced to withdraw toward the south - and the only controlled a few kilometres along the border in the Bùc Trâng and Chiên Châm provinces, included the mentioned highway.
Tieguonese assistance to Tay Lahn government had not stopped, however, and they helped them to be better supplied than the rival rebel government forces based in Quang Cai and Hoa Làk. While the Hoinomese army had been able to advance toward the east and south in the last months, fighting between the two main rebel forces had increased, specially since Hoinomese government and Quang Cai signed a ceasefire and entered in negotiations. Better armed, Tay Lahn forces -which included Tieguonese advisors and so-called volunteers- were able to produce a high amount of losses to their rival revolutionary forces, although they could only gain territory in a few counties.
Since Tieguo intervention, Hûe Trâng was mostly unaffected by the war, and the remained inhabitants found able to survive -even to prospere-, only affected by the arrogance and eventual extortion by the militias and local officials, loyal to Tay Lahn government. That morning, however, a sudden and unexpected noise woke up the population, as several projectiles impacted the village. One of them hit a nearby settlement while at the same time another missile destroyed several buildings nearby the local headquarters of the Tay Lahn government.
Only a minute later, a third missile caused a huge explosion, as it impacted in an old warehouses where Tay Lahn militias stored many kind of weaponry, including explosives. A large number of vehicles -both military and civilian- were destroyed in the attack as well. At least two missiles impacted nearby Huê Trâng in the middle of such chaos, while the rest of missiles would impact a few kilometres on the north along the border.
It had been a long time since Hoinomese government was able to launch an attack against rebel territory that far away from the front, so it was unclear where the attack had come from. A few bridges and roads were severely damanged by the attack, and telecommunications had been damanged as well, so Tay Lahn could only be properly informed two hours after the attack. Although unconfirmed until six hours later, Tai Zedong Wong -a Tieguonese official who had intense contacts with the Tay Lahn government- had died during the attack, as an unconfirmed number of Hoinomeses militiamen and civilians. Many civilians were forced to leave Huê Trâng, as a chemical plant had been damaged by one of the missiles.
Lâ Vân Quân, the President of the Democratic Republic of Hôinôm, was furious. It had not been a good year for Tay Lahn government. After the fall of General Lê Công Thuân's government in Hôi Luỳên, and after the Hoinomese government entered negotiations with Tieguo, things started to get worse for Tay Lahn as the Hoinomese government entered in some kind of de facto alliance with the Quang Cai forces. Tay Lahn forces had lost most of its territory in the northeast, and while Tieguo still supported -at least economically and militarily- the eastern rebels, any chance of the Tay Lahn government to win the war seemed gone - Tieguonese help in the last months seemed to reduced to help them to resist in Tay Lahn, and become an nuisance for both Hôi Luŷên and Kanjong. Since Muong Còng Ngôc took over in Quang Cai, President Lâ's influence in the revolutionary movement seemed almost gone in the rest of the country. But Lâ resisted to play such secondary role, even if his government was a vulnerable as ever.
President Lâ Vân Quân immediately called Tô Quang Quang, General Secretary of the Nationalist Party of Hôinôm -the de facto ruling party in Tay Lahn- and Vice-President and Minister of Defense Cao Dùc Trai to his residence in Tay Lahn. He informed then that it was already confirmed that the attack had not come into Hôinôm, and although Tieguonese sources did not confirmed him, it was likely that the attack was likely related to the recent confrontation between Tieguo and Singan.
"This is our chance", Lâ Vàn Quân told them, although he rather assented as Cao Dùc Trai claimed that it was unlikely that a Tieguonese response was coming soon - not at least until the situation was clear enough.
"Anyway, anything may happen now", Là Vàn Quân said before ending the meeting. "Despite our efforts, maybe our struggle is about to end. We won't surrender without a fight".
Two days later, Phò could see the southern Singanese border for first time in his life. When the conflict started, Phò was only a teenager, and he had not left his village until then. In the last three years, many things had changed in Phò's life.
Hidden in a hill, Phò could see as Captain Thao confirmed him that the time has arrived with a move of his hand.
Phò took his rifle and looked through his rifle telescopic sight. At the other side of the border, one Singanese seemed to look bored at the Hoinomese lands on the top of the border tower.
For a second, it was as Phò and the Singanese soldier could look at the eye. It was probably just an illusion. Before a second thought was able to appear on his mind, Phò shot.
It was a good shot. The bullet entered directly into the Singanese soldier's right eye, penetrating in his skull. His body immediately fell.
"Nô!", Thao ordered. Immediately, other snipers and machine guns along the hill shot against Singanese positions at the other side of the border.
Not far from there, hundreds of homemade rockets -along a few decades-old Oslanburgan-made projectiles- were immediately launched into Singanese territory. Their aims were diverse: Singanese border positions, military barracks, and airdromes and government buildings on the territory around the valley north to the province of Wuiso - but they were not very precise, so it was unclear where they could end.
After several minutes of fighting, Thao ordered Phò and his friends to withdraw immediately, before Singanese forces were able to prepare a proper defense. While Phó left the hill, he was able to hear the noise of machine guns and Hoinomese rifles shooting at the other side of the border, not far away where they were, following the same plan.
The village of Huê Trâng had become one of the most prosperous of the province during the 1580s. As its economy consisted mostly on agriculture, the village was severely affected by the famine and the ongoing conflict. Since them, many of their inhabitants had left. However, Huê Trâng remained an important center under the control of the Tay Lahn government -officially known as Democratic Republic of Hôinôm- as it was close enough to the Tieguonese border in eastern Hôinôm, and it was crossed by the old highway to Vin Xuyên. Although since Tieguo did not recognize Tay Lahn as the legitimate government of Hôinôm anymore, the Tay Lahn forces were facing pressure by the Hoinomese army in the northeastern provinces, forced to withdraw toward the south - and the only controlled a few kilometres along the border in the Bùc Trâng and Chiên Châm provinces, included the mentioned highway.
Tieguonese assistance to Tay Lahn government had not stopped, however, and they helped them to be better supplied than the rival rebel government forces based in Quang Cai and Hoa Làk. While the Hoinomese army had been able to advance toward the east and south in the last months, fighting between the two main rebel forces had increased, specially since Hoinomese government and Quang Cai signed a ceasefire and entered in negotiations. Better armed, Tay Lahn forces -which included Tieguonese advisors and so-called volunteers- were able to produce a high amount of losses to their rival revolutionary forces, although they could only gain territory in a few counties.
Since Tieguo intervention, Hûe Trâng was mostly unaffected by the war, and the remained inhabitants found able to survive -even to prospere-, only affected by the arrogance and eventual extortion by the militias and local officials, loyal to Tay Lahn government. That morning, however, a sudden and unexpected noise woke up the population, as several projectiles impacted the village. One of them hit a nearby settlement while at the same time another missile destroyed several buildings nearby the local headquarters of the Tay Lahn government.
Only a minute later, a third missile caused a huge explosion, as it impacted in an old warehouses where Tay Lahn militias stored many kind of weaponry, including explosives. A large number of vehicles -both military and civilian- were destroyed in the attack as well. At least two missiles impacted nearby Huê Trâng in the middle of such chaos, while the rest of missiles would impact a few kilometres on the north along the border.
It had been a long time since Hoinomese government was able to launch an attack against rebel territory that far away from the front, so it was unclear where the attack had come from. A few bridges and roads were severely damanged by the attack, and telecommunications had been damanged as well, so Tay Lahn could only be properly informed two hours after the attack. Although unconfirmed until six hours later, Tai Zedong Wong -a Tieguonese official who had intense contacts with the Tay Lahn government- had died during the attack, as an unconfirmed number of Hoinomeses militiamen and civilians. Many civilians were forced to leave Huê Trâng, as a chemical plant had been damaged by one of the missiles.
Lâ Vân Quân, the President of the Democratic Republic of Hôinôm, was furious. It had not been a good year for Tay Lahn government. After the fall of General Lê Công Thuân's government in Hôi Luỳên, and after the Hoinomese government entered negotiations with Tieguo, things started to get worse for Tay Lahn as the Hoinomese government entered in some kind of de facto alliance with the Quang Cai forces. Tay Lahn forces had lost most of its territory in the northeast, and while Tieguo still supported -at least economically and militarily- the eastern rebels, any chance of the Tay Lahn government to win the war seemed gone - Tieguonese help in the last months seemed to reduced to help them to resist in Tay Lahn, and become an nuisance for both Hôi Luŷên and Kanjong. Since Muong Còng Ngôc took over in Quang Cai, President Lâ's influence in the revolutionary movement seemed almost gone in the rest of the country. But Lâ resisted to play such secondary role, even if his government was a vulnerable as ever.
President Lâ Vân Quân immediately called Tô Quang Quang, General Secretary of the Nationalist Party of Hôinôm -the de facto ruling party in Tay Lahn- and Vice-President and Minister of Defense Cao Dùc Trai to his residence in Tay Lahn. He informed then that it was already confirmed that the attack had not come into Hôinôm, and although Tieguonese sources did not confirmed him, it was likely that the attack was likely related to the recent confrontation between Tieguo and Singan.
"This is our chance", Lâ Vàn Quân told them, although he rather assented as Cao Dùc Trai claimed that it was unlikely that a Tieguonese response was coming soon - not at least until the situation was clear enough.
"Anyway, anything may happen now", Là Vàn Quân said before ending the meeting. "Despite our efforts, maybe our struggle is about to end. We won't surrender without a fight".
Two days later, Phò could see the southern Singanese border for first time in his life. When the conflict started, Phò was only a teenager, and he had not left his village until then. In the last three years, many things had changed in Phò's life.
Hidden in a hill, Phò could see as Captain Thao confirmed him that the time has arrived with a move of his hand.
Phò took his rifle and looked through his rifle telescopic sight. At the other side of the border, one Singanese seemed to look bored at the Hoinomese lands on the top of the border tower.
For a second, it was as Phò and the Singanese soldier could look at the eye. It was probably just an illusion. Before a second thought was able to appear on his mind, Phò shot.
It was a good shot. The bullet entered directly into the Singanese soldier's right eye, penetrating in his skull. His body immediately fell.
"Nô!", Thao ordered. Immediately, other snipers and machine guns along the hill shot against Singanese positions at the other side of the border.
Not far from there, hundreds of homemade rockets -along a few decades-old Oslanburgan-made projectiles- were immediately launched into Singanese territory. Their aims were diverse: Singanese border positions, military barracks, and airdromes and government buildings on the territory around the valley north to the province of Wuiso - but they were not very precise, so it was unclear where they could end.
After several minutes of fighting, Thao ordered Phò and his friends to withdraw immediately, before Singanese forces were able to prepare a proper defense. While Phó left the hill, he was able to hear the noise of machine guns and Hoinomese rifles shooting at the other side of the border, not far away where they were, following the same plan.