Empire Conquest
Chapter 130 - 126: Using Oneself as Bait

Chapter 130: Chapter 126: Using Oneself as Bait

Main Battle Corps, "Damen" Battleship.

Although the message from Lan Yun aboard the "Jingang" had been received at noon, it wasn’t until the operation began, close to two o’clock, that many combat-related messages were finally confirmed after receiving the reports from the two destroyers left behind for cleanup.

The "Jiahe" and "Feilong" both sank in battle, and the ship-borne air force was completely annihilated.

From start to finish, the Liangxia Navy’s ship-borne air force did not attack any battleships other than the carriers. The second attack aircraft group turned back home after an unsuccessful search to the east. According to the time it took for the plane group to fly over the destroyers twice, their turnaround point was about fifty kilometers west of the Main Battle Corps. This allowed for an estimate that the Liangxia Navy’s Special Mixed Fleet was roughly three hundred kilometers west of the Mobile Fleet.

This conjecture happened to confirm the intelligence previously received.

Before one o’clock, the Mobile Fleet had sent word that among the seaplanes deployed before ten o’clock and headed west, one lost contact before noon and was suspected to have been intercepted by the Special Mixed Fleet’s fighters, having been shot down before completing its telegram.

According to the well-planned reconnaissance route, The area where the seaplane was shot down was about three hundred kilometers west of the Mobile Fleet.

This distance could be said to be very ideal.

If among those reconnaissance aircraft launched before dawn, even if just one had flown west, they might have been able to discover the Special Mixed Fleet that was doggedly pursuing them from behind.

Then, would the result have been different?

All through noon, Takano remained silent until the communications officer delivered the "final report" telegram from the destroyers. Then, he issued his first order.

He commanded Major General Sawa, commander of the Fifth Air Corps, to immediately head north to rendezvous with the Third Air Corps. While operating southwest of the Third Air Corps, deploy ship-borne aircraft to monitor Two-car Strait, provide cover for the Third Air Corps, and support the Second Main Battle Corps in blockading Watcher Strait.

What was this for?

When Takano gave the order, Kuroshima was startled but did not speak out against it, as Takano’s most trusted staff officer had just returned.

If there was to be any questioning, it should have come from Tanimoto.

However, Tanimoto likewise didn’t voice any objections.

After the communications officer had noted down the entire content of the telegram, Takano left the Command Bridge. Tanimoto immediately followed, while Kuroshima stayed behind.

After getting his lunch from the cafeteria, Tanimoto went to the Commander’s quarters.

"Commander..."

"Put it over there."

Tanimoto hesitated, unsure whether he should speak out. Questioning the commander’s decision was no small matter.

"You’re worried about the orders I started giving, to be precise, the telegram to the Fifth Air Corps, which could reveal our position and then lead to us being surrounded by the enemy fleet."

Tanimoto didn’t speak up. Indeed, he was somewhat worried, but that wasn’t his greatest concern.

"If that’s the case, that would actually be just what we want."

"But..."

After uttering the first word, Tanimoto closed his mouth again.

In fact, as soon as Takano made his decision, or to be precise when he had directed the communications officer to send the telegram, Tanimoto had guessed that Takano planned to sacrifice the Main Battle Corps.

Why?

Indeed, to preserve the Fifth Air Corps, commanded by Major General Sawa.

Although the Third Air Corps still had two smaller fleet carriers and the Fourth Air Corps had two small carriers, after the destruction of the Mobile Fleet, the only carriers left in the Saiyi Navy were the two belonging to the Fifth Air Corps, the "Xianghe" and the "Ruihe."

"If the Fifth Air Corps experiences any mishaps, what will we use to fight against the Liangxia Navy in the future?"

Of course, speaking gravely, if the Fifth Air Corps meets the same fate as the Mobile Fleet, the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom might as well consider surrendering.

Despite Takano being an absolute proponent of the battleship and big gun doctrine, after these two days of battle, he undoubtedly recognized the immense value of aircraft carriers.

So far, besides using high-altitude guns for anti-aircraft defense, the battleships haven’t done anything else.

Even in anti-aircraft defense, they are there to cover the carriers!

Furthermore, the several consecutive attacks launched by the Liangxia Special Mixed Fleet all had one clear objective: not to waste ammunition on any other battleships before taking out the carriers.

Since carriers are so important, they must be protected at all costs.

But does that mean the Main Battle Corps and the flagship of the Permanent Fleet aren’t important?

The Liangxia Navy had certainly activated all their radio surveillance stations deployed in the southern region. As soon as the "Damen" sent out a signal, it would be intercepted immediately, taking just a few minutes to a few dozen minutes to triangulate and roughly calculate the position of this battleship using triangulation techniques.

Without a doubt, the Liangxia Navy had long since mastered the signal characteristics of the "Damen’s" long-wave radio station.

Don’t forget that after commissioning, the "Damen" served as the flagship of the Permanent Fleet and went to sea for several months each year, regularly sending out radio signals.

Here, a critical issue comes into play.

Up to now, the ones attacking the Mobile Fleet were two Aviation Mixed Fleets that had entered the Flame Sea at the beginning of the month; the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had yet to show itself.

Where are those two "Imperial Capital"-class carriers!?

Lan Yun mentioned in the telegram this morning that reconnaissance aircraft found the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet to the north, and he subsequently organized ship-borne aircraft to launch an attack. However, by noon, Lan Yun telegrammed again, saying that wasn’t the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet; the reconnaissance aircraft had spotted a fleet oiler.

Moreover, the enemy planes that attacked the Mobile Fleet at noon came from the west.

Could it be that the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had already headed west yesterday, hurrying to meet up with the other two Aviation Mixed Fleets?

If so, the enemy planes that attacked the Mobile Fleet at noon would not just be in the tens but in the hundreds.

With four carriers in action, and assuming thirty planes per carrier in a single sortie, that would be a total of one hundred and twenty planes, and at most up to one hundred and sixty planes.

Or, had the two Aviation Mixed Fleets that engaged in battle yesterday already withdrawn, and the ones pursuing the Mobile Fleet from the west were the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet?

Clearly, that’s not very likely.

Because if they really let the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet deal with the Mobile Fleet, they should have stayed south of Zu Island to lie in wait and moving west overnight would have been superfluous.

Besides, the timing wouldn’t fit.

Even if the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet sailed west at full speed all night, they would not have reached the area where the seaplanes were shot down.

Furthermore, the Liangxia Navy’s top brass would never pass up the opportunity to annihilate the Mobile Fleet themselves.

Yesterday’s battle, even if it could be called a draw, was a surprise attack right outside their doorstep, their lair was nearly breached—it would certainly be seen as a great shame by Liu Xiangzhen and the Bai Zhizhan. For military personnel who value honor more than life, how could they bear it?

Where exactly is the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, equipped with two fleet aircraft carriers and over a hundred and sixty ship-borne aircraft?

Takano, breaking radio silence at this time and exposing the Main Battle Corps’ whereabouts, most likely aimed to lure out the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

If fortune favors them, it might even create an opportunity for Major General Sawa to accomplish a remarkable feat.

Don’t forget, the Fifth Air Corps had already turned north last night, and by dawn, they had reached the northern waters of the Nanzhu Sea, able to dispatch ship-borne aircraft to strike at the enemy Fleet in the Two-car Strait.

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