Chapter 1264 The more they fight, the poorer they become?

"Artillery ammunition consumption is the most prominent, including long-range rockets, various types of howitzers, and cannon shells. Due to the huge metal casings and explosive charges, and the large weight of each shell, the cumulative consumption is estimated to be around 250,000 tons. This is the main means of carrying out fire coverage against the enemy, destroying fortified nodes, and blocking the zombie horde."

"Aerial bombs, mainly heavy bombs and cluster bombs dropped by bomber groups in the early stages of the campaign, amounted to about 25,000 tons. They were mainly used to carry out preliminary devastating strikes against strategic targets such as suspected mother nests, giant mutants, and super-dense hordes of zombies."

"Approximately 20,000 tons of various missiles and man-portable rockets, including anti-tank missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and rockets used by infantry for assault, were consumed. They were mainly used for precision strikes, countering heavy mutants, and close air support."

"The consumption of light weapons ammunition was also extremely large. Although each bullet was light in weight, the estimated weight of bullets and grenades consumed during the campaign reached 80,000 tons, corresponding to about 200 million bullets of various types. This was a continuous consumption during infantry clearing and defensive operations."

After reporting on the ammunition, Jia Sanniu softened his tone and continued:

"The second largest consumption item is fuel, totaling about 100,000 tons. This includes aviation fuel to keep bombers and attack helicopters running continuously, diesel fuel to ensure the high-intensity operation of tanks, armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and various transport and engineering vehicles, as well as gasoline and lubricating oil required by other special equipment. Fuel is the 'blood' that keeps the entire war machine running non-stop."

"In terms of personnel rations and drinking water supply, approximately 5,000 tons were consumed. This ensured the basic physical strength maintenance of hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers on the front line under high-intensity continuous combat."

"Finally, there is the total consumption of materials, estimated at around 50,000 tons. This mainly includes: engineering explosives used for breaching obstacles, demolishing buildings, and clearing roadblocks; spare parts and maintenance equipment used to replace key components of battle-damaged equipment and to carry out emergency battlefield repairs; as well as a huge amount of medical supplies, individual soldier clothing, various batteries, communication equipment parts, and so on."

"Although these supplies do not directly cause casualties, they are the cornerstone for maintaining the combat effectiveness, survivability and smooth command of the troops."

Finally, Jia Sanniu concluded:

"Overall, this campaign was a typical, high-intensity, and high-consumption modern joint firepower strike and armored assault operation."

"The total consumption was huge, but it was basically within the limits of the logistical plans before and after the war, and it brought about the victory in the decisive stage of the campaign."

"Currently, the logistics supply lines are open, and the rear of the theater is making every effort to organize the production and forward delivery of subsequent materials to ensure the needs of the final clearing phase of the campaign."

Upon hearing Jia Sanniu's astronomical figures on the cost of living, Gu Chengyuan, who was sitting upright on the sofa, leaned forward almost imperceptibly. Although he maintained a calm and attentive expression on his face, his heart was like a deep pool where a boulder had been thrown, stirring up waves of shock that were hard to calm down.

Total consumption: 500,000 tons! Ammunition consumption: 350,000 tons!

Although it was anticipated before the battle, he was still inevitably shocked when the actual losses were tallied.

Because just as Jia Sanniu was reporting, his brain had already instantly completed the calculation:

Three hundred and fifty thousand tons of ammunition... If we rely entirely on system exchange... Based on the current average exchange rate, this would require at least... 175 million system coins!

This number made his eyelids twitch slightly.

Thank goodness… Gu Chengyuan breathed a long sigh of relief, a mix of fear and relief welling up inside him.

Fortunately, I had planned ahead and concentrated my resources to build and expand the Night Market 001 Joint Military Factory and the Zhanjiang Military Industrial Production Zone, which is based in the Zhanjiang base city of Chongqing!

These two military-industrial complexes, which he spearheaded and which incorporated the most advanced production technologies and resources in the theater of operations, not only had stockpiled a considerable amount of ammunition supplies beforehand, but also operated at full capacity during the campaign, producing massive quantities of ammunition, spare parts, and some equipment.

They act like two giant blood pumps, providing a significant portion of the "blood" for this "war behemoth" on the front lines.

Otherwise, even though he had already invested as much as 120 million system coins in the "Clean Night" operation to exchange for various combat materials and equipment, there would still be nearly 55 million system coins of materials with nowhere to go in the face of the terrifying shortage of 350,000 tons of ammunition!

And this doesn't even take into account the daily expenses of maintaining hundreds of thousands of dispersed troops throughout the theater!

Indeed, behind every victory lies a massive investment of money...

'Damn it!'

'Why does it feel like the more this war goes on, the bigger the hole gets, and the poorer we become?'

'What happened to the plan of using war to sustain war? Damn it!'

Recapturing Chongqing requires money, opening the Yangtze River waterway requires money, building settlements requires money, maintaining a massive army requires money... Right now, even raiding night markets is a money-devouring beast... Won't attacking Chongqing in a while make it an even bigger money-devouring monster?

Not to mention, they also promised routine combat material support to the three major theater commands...

The collection speed of crystal cores seems to be unable to keep up with the pace of this crazy expenditure. The balance of system money is like sand in an hourglass. It looks like a lot, but the speed at which it disappears is alarming.

This paradoxical pressure of "the more victories one wins, the poorer one becomes" weighed heavily on Gu Chengyuan's mind like an invisible shackle.

But he knew that this was the inevitable growing pain of development, the pain of taking too big a step and tearing his balls when he was expanding wildly. But even though he understood it, personally experiencing the feeling of having a constantly tight cash flow was definitely not pleasant.

However, all the pressure and murmurs existed only in a fleeting thought; Gu Chengyuan's face showed no sign of it. He simply remained silent for a few seconds, as if processing the numbers, then slowly nodded, refocusing his gaze on Jia Sanniu, and calmly spoke:

"350,000 tons of ammunition, 100,000 tons of fuel... What we lost was supplies, but what we gained was the initiative on the battlefield and the safety of our soldiers. This expenditure was worthwhile."

His voice was steady and powerful, carrying a reassuring strength:

"Wang Tiefeng and his colleagues in the logistics system deserve much credit for achieving this level of logistical support at the front lines. It seems that the production capacity of Factory 001 and Zhanjiang District has withstood the pressure."

"Continue your report. The logistical issues are a matter for me and the committee to consider. You soldiers on the front lines only need to focus on how to fight!"

"Yes!"

"Regarding personnel losses..." Mentioning the losses, Jia Sanniu's excitement faded, and his voice became lower and more subdued:

"The 1st and 2nd Army Groups and their attached units suffered a total of 3,217 direct casualties and more than 5,800 casualties from infection."

"The losses of technical equipment include 47 main battle tanks that were destroyed or seriously damaged, 89 infantry fighting vehicles or armored personnel carriers that were destroyed or seriously damaged, 23 artillery pieces of various types that were destroyed, and 9 helicopters that were lost."

"The above losses are all within the expected range, and some of the damaged equipment can be repaired. Personnel replenishment and equipment resupply are proceeding in an orderly manner."

"The 1st Special Operations Brigade of Yezhou played a key role in the assault on the ant nest and the raid on high-risk areas, with a total of 1732 casualties, of which 1238 were confirmed dead or could not be recovered, and 494 were seriously injured and lost their combat capability."