Building a Conglomerate in Another World

The early morning mist over the Liaodong Peninsula was thick, almost suffocating, as Chinese troops fortified their positions near a small village overlooking a strategic river crossing. General Wei Zhang, a seasoned commander in the Chinese Army, stood on a ridge surveying his lines. His forces, weary but resolute, had spent weeks digging trenches, setting up artillery positions, and preparing for the inevitable Japanese assault.

Uncertainty loomed among the ranks. The Japanese had been uncharacteristically quiet in the past few days, their movements shrouded in mystery. But Wei Zhang knew better than to take this as a sign of retreat. His instincts told him that an attack was imminent, and he was determined to hold the line.

Just as the sun began to rise, breaking through the haze, the faint rumble of engines echoed in the distance. At first, it was barely perceptible—a low, guttural sound carried by the wind. Then it grew louder, unmistakable. The Chinese soldiers tensed, their eyes darting toward the horizon.

"What is that?" a young lieutenant asked, his voice trembling.

General Zhang raised his binoculars, scanning the terrain. His breath caught as he spotted the source of the noise: a column of armored vehicles, their angular designs and metallic sheen unlike anything he'd ever seen. These were no ordinary machines. These were the Hesh M-87 Armored Vehicles, now bearing the Rising Sun of Japan.

"Prepare the artillery!" Zhang barked, his voice cutting through the rising panic. "Focus fire on those vehicles!"

The Chinese artillery crews scrambled to their positions, loading shells into their aging cannons. Moments later, the ground shook as the first salvo was fired. Explosions erupted across the battlefield, but the Japanese vehicles pressed forward, their reinforced plating shrugging off the shrapnel.

The Hesh vehicles returned fire with precision. Their turret-mounted cannons unleashed a barrage of armor-piercing rounds, tearing through the Chinese defenses. Trenches were obliterated, and soldiers scattered, their cries drowned out by the deafening roar of battle.

Behind the armored vehicles, waves of Japanese infantry surged forward, their movements coordinated and efficient. Armed with semi-automatic rifles from Hesh Industries, they outgunned the Chinese soldiers, whose outdated bolt-action rifles left them at a disadvantage.

Sergeant Takashi, a young but determined leader in the Japanese Army, led his squad through the chaos.

"Stay close to the vehicles!" he shouted, his voice steady despite the cacophony. "Use them as cover and keep moving!"

The Japanese troops advanced relentlessly, their superior firepower cutting through the Chinese lines like a blade through paper. Mortar fire rained down on the defenders, each explosion scattering dirt and debris. The Chinese tried to regroup, but their positions were rapidly being overrun.

Lieutenant Wu Jian, one of the younger officers under General Zhang's command, shouted orders to his men.

"Hold the line! Do not let them break through!"

But it was a losing battle. The Hesh vehicles, with their near-impenetrable armor and devastating firepower, were a force the Chinese had no answer for. One by one, their defensive positions fell, and the soldiers who survived were forced to retreat.

General Zhang watched in horror as his carefully planned defenses crumbled. He grabbed a field radio and barked into it, his voice raw with desperation. "Pull back to the second line! We cannot hold them here!"

As the Chinese forces began a hasty retreat, the Japanese pushed forward, their momentum unstoppable. The Hesh vehicles rolled over trenches and barricades with ease, their turrets swiveling to fire at any resistance. The once-organized Chinese lines descended into chaos, soldiers scattering in all directions.

Amid the retreat, General Zhang spotted a group of his men trapped in a trench, pinned down by Japanese fire. Without hesitation, he grabbed his rifle and charged toward them, shouting for others to follow. He reached the trench, pulling the soldiers to their feet.

"Move!" he yelled, covering their retreat as bullets whizzed past.

One of the men, a young private, looked at him with tears in his eyes. "General, we can't win this…"

Zhang's jaw tightened. "We fight to the last man if we must. Now go!"

As the day wore on, the battle spread across the countryside. Chinese reinforcements arrived, but they were no match for the Japanese forces, who now deployed rocket launchers from Hesh Industries. These devastating weapons destroyed Chinese artillery positions from a distance, leaving the defenders with no means to counterattack.

At the river crossing, the final stronghold of General Zhang's forces, the situation was dire. The Japanese had surrounded the area, and their vehicles were advancing across the bridge. Zhang ordered his men to detonate explosives to destroy the bridge, but before they could act, a Hesh vehicle fired a precision shot, hitting the explosives and rendering them useless.

With the bridge intact, the Japanese forces poured across, overwhelming the Chinese defenders. General Zhang, bloodied but unbowed, rallied his remaining troops for a final stand.

"For China!" he shouted, raising his rifle. His men echoed the cry, their voices filled with defiance.

The last stand was brief but fierce. The Chinese fought with everything they had, but the odds were insurmountable. One by one, they fell, their resistance crushed under the weight of superior technology and firepower.

As the smoke cleared and the battlefield fell silent, the Japanese soldiers surveyed the carnage. General Arakawa arrived at the scene, his face stoic as he stepped out of a command vehicle.

"The Chinese fought bravely," he remarked to Sergeant Takashi, who stood nearby. "But bravery alone cannot win a war."

Takashi nodded, his gaze lingering on the fallen soldiers. "Their general… he was a formidable leader."

Arakawa placed a hand on Takashi's shoulder. "Victory is ours, but this is only the beginning. We must press on." Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

News of the battle spread quickly, shocking the world with the brutal efficiency of the Japanese forces. In Washington, D.C., Matthew Hesh read the reports and was a bit satisfied that they are working as he had expected.

In Beijing, the Chinese leadership grappled with the reality of their situation. They had underestimated the Japanese, and now their very sovereignty was at stake.

And in Tokyo, the Japanese military celebrated their triumph, their confidence bolstered by the power of Hesh Industries' technology. They knew that with such weapons at their disposal, their ambitions in East Asia were no longer a dream—they were a reality.