Empire Conquest
Chapter 108 - 104: The Shift from Offense to Defense

Chapter 108: Chapter 104: The Shift from Offense to Defense

After the argument, the quasi-cabinet members calmed down.

Although they were all confidants of Wen Wei and had already secured their seats in the Cabinet, it was only after receiving the Imperial Decree from the Emperor Xia that they truly became Cabinet Ministers.

It was not a matter of reaching a consensus, but rather that aimless arguments could not solve the problems and would only make them more complicated.

The flames of war had just ignited, and the events of this day had highlighted many issues worth serious reflection for those who were usually haughty proponents of war.

Of course, it also quashed many unrealistic fantasies.

All of these things could definitely not be explained simply by saying "a lean camel is bigger than a horse."

There were many reasons involved.

The first was that the Liangxia Empire might have received the news early and therefore had made preparations in advance, otherwise, there wouldn’t have been so many coincidences.

In the afternoon, after receiving the news and confirming that the surprise attack on Chengjiang Port had not achieved the expected results, Wen Wei contacted several confidants who held positions in the intelligence agencies to start an investigation. Subsequently, the Navy Order Department also conducted a probe into the leakage of intelligence.

However, it was meaningless, merely a formality to facilitate the shifting of blame later.

The operational plan for the raid on Chengjiang Port had been drafted months ago and had even been disclosed to the Bulan Royal Navy and the Newland Navy.

That is to say, the operational plan might not have been leaked from the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

There was another problem here.

Could it be that the Bulan Kingdom or the Newland Federation had betrayed the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom?

Although this sudden thought startled him, Wen Wei had to believe that it was indeed possible, and the likelihood was not small!

Wen Wei was not a military man, and he looked at problems from a completely different angle from that of a soldier.

In his view, pushing the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom into the pit was seemingly a method used by the great powers of the West, like the Bulan Kingdom and the Newland Federation, industrial powerhouses, to deal with and erase economic crises – at the very least, it could greatly alleviate the social crises caused by the economic downturn and cool down the tense international situation.

Even if they could not solve the problem at its root, they could extend peace for a few more years, or even a decade or more.

For the Bulan Kingdom and the Newland Federation, sacrificing an insignificant ally to enjoy another decade or more of peace was a worthwhile deal.

Especially for those politicians who could crack jokes while eating bloody human flesh without even spitting out the bones – they wouldn’t care about the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

What was the key point?

Whether the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom was crippled or the Liangxia Empire was bled, it meant that the factory owners of the Western Powers could secure a large number of orders for the next few years.

With these orders, who needs to worry about an economic crisis?

Wasn’t the "Golden Decade" after the war built upon the ruins of a great conflict?

To make an inappropriate analogy, if all the Great Powers were described as beasts, the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom was the weakest among them. All the beasts were already ravenous, their eyes gleaming green with hunger. Even if they fought to the death in the end, only one would survive, and the strong had to fight desperately for survival; it did not prevent them from filling their bellies with the weakest before regaining their strength for the impending mutual bloodshed.

Of course, these were just Wen Wei’s concerns,and might not reflect reality.

Another issue was adjusting the military strategy.

Since the situation had completely diverged from the initial expectations, regardless of whether the Bulan Kingdom and the Newland Federation joined the conflict, unless they surrendered to the demands of the Liangxia Empire by 8:30 AM tomorrow – which was actually 7:30 AM, as Saiyi Imperial Kingdom’s standard time was an hour earlier – they would need to consider the forthcoming operations and adjust their military strategy based on the new circumstances.

The key point was, they would need to switch from offense to defense!

According to the previous plan, after a successful raid, the Saiyi Navy would have gained the initiative, then, with the help of the Bulan Royal Navy and the Newland Navy, captured control of the seas to complete the strategic encirclement and distant blockade of the Liangxia Empire; there was no need to strengthen defense.

The current situation was obviously the opposite.

Because the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom launched a surprise attack, they could no longer rely on the Newland Federation.

As for the Bulan Kingdom, as long as the Liangxia Empire could control the pace of the war, such as temporarily not expanding into the Fan Flame Ocean, it was unlikely to deploy troops to join the war.

The most these Allies could give was indirect support.

If not well managed, they could perhaps only offer moral support.

Thus, they needed to switch from offense to defense and strive to hold out until their Allies joined the war.

Continuing the offense, even if they achieved temporary victory, would result in a crushing defeat once the situation reversed, leaving no chance for them to adapt.

So, how should they defend?

There was no dispute on this issue.

Both the Army and the Navy believed that they must first staunchly defend the Sado Islands and then emulate the tactics of the last great war, using the Watcher Strait to counter the formidable Liangxia Navy.

Interestingly, this was precisely the main reason the Navy strongly advocated for the surprise attack on Chengjiang Port!

Only by annihilating the Southern Fleet was there hope to block the Liangxia Navy at the Watcher Strait and leverage their exceptional geographical advantage to win a battle against the odds!

But the problem was, the defense of the Sado Islands and the blockage of the Watcher Strait would not be the responsibility of the Army but of the Navy, the Fleet!

Despite using "completely transform" to describe the changes to the Saiyi Navy being no exaggeration, with an increase of five Main Battle Ships and all four battlecruisers upgraded to Fast Battleships, they still seemed considerably weaker compared to the powerful Liangxia Navy.

Additionally, the ten Main Battle Ships were scattered.

In the East Ocean, they could only mobilize four battleships that were accompanying the Fifth Air Corps, all older models from before the treaty.

The Liangxia Navy’s Domestic Fleet also comprised four old battleships and two Fast Battleships that had yet to be commissioned.

Therefore, no matter how they fought, it was essential for the Permanent Fleet under Takano’s command to return to the East Ocean as soon as possible and secure the crucial Watcher Strait.

If the Domestic Fleet invaded the East Ocean, it would have grave consequences.

This was why, upon Wen Wei’s arrival, the first issue discussed was how to adjust the Navy’s deployment.

Having no alternative, after a brief discussion, Wen Wei had the Military Command Department draft a telegram to issue orders to Takano immediately.

Of course, the Army was not idle either.

Following Wen Wei’s arrangement, after the Navy adjusted its deployment, the Army was to reinforce the Sado Islands and quickly complete the occupation and control of the main islands.

If possible, this needed to be done simultaneously.

Don’t forget, after the great war, the Sado Islands had become a demilitarized zone.

As for sending more troops to the Ice Storm Peninsula, there was no need to discuss it yet since even Yingxi believed that the Liangxia Empire would not launch a ground offensive until after achieving a naval victory, that is, cutting off the sea route from the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom to the Ice Storm Peninsula.

Repeat the same mistakes and let history repeat itself by fighting another terribly costly war of attrition like in the last great war war!?

That was absolutely impossible!

Besides, as long as they seized maritime supremacy and controlled the sea routes, the Liangxia Empire could subdue the opponent without a fight, even capturing the entire Ice Storm Peninsula without bloodshed.

Moreover, no matter how the battle unfolded, they first had to determine the winner on the sea and seize maritime supremacy.

Given that, why should they make the needless effort of sending thousands of soldiers to face enemy trenches and bunkers, becoming targets for machine guns?

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