Empire Conquest
Chapter 135 - 131: Dare to Think, Dare to Speak

Chapter 135: Chapter 131: Dare to Think, Dare to Speak

At that moment, chaos reigned on board the "Imperial Capital".

Within five minutes, two reconnaissance reports from Zudong Port had completely bewildered the staff officers on the "Imperial Capital".

Even Bai Zhizhan was a bit unsure.

Of the two reconnaissance reports, one could be confirmed. In the direction 15 degrees southeast of Zu Island, about 400 kilometers away, a main battle corps of the Saiyi Navy was spotted. The patrol plane pilot visually identified four former Treaty Type battleships—there was no possibility of misjudgment.

The other report was not so credible.

This was an indirect reconnaissance report. A patrol plane claimed to have spotted the Fifth Air Corps and, while attempting to close in for reconnaissance, it encountered an interception by fighters. The issue was, the patrol plane pilot had not seen the carrier, only making inferences based on the fighters and a "Ligen" class heavy cruiser. More importantly, the patrol plane did not send the report directly but relayed this discovery to another patrol plane nearby through a radio broadcast.

Which reconnaissance report should be trusted?

Or should that indirect report be trusted at all?

The second main battle corps?

Takano’s first main battle corps wasn’t even taken seriously by Bai Zhizhan, would he regard the second main battle corps with just those four former Treaty Type battleships?

So, what was Bai Zhizhan hesitating about?

Isn’t it obvious?

Insufficient forces!

Two carriers, over one hundred and sixty shipborne aircraft—without even considering air defense—could only deal with one battle corps, not two simultaneously.

Moreover, there was the issue of time.

Now, it was already 2:30 in the afternoon. As it was winter, there were at most four hours until dark. Taking into account the launch time, meaning the more than an hour it would take to fly over the enemy fleet, even without considering the time for the attack, the attack aircraft group had to set off before 5 pm. Factoring in preparation time, it had to begin before 4 pm. Clearly, even if the aviation servicemen had the power of multi-limbed deities, they could only launch two rounds of attacks. The crux was, preparation for the first round of attacks had to begin before 3 pm; otherwise, it would be impossible to initiate the second round in time.

Should he race against time or wait a bit longer?

Bai Zhizhan clearly leaned towards the latter as his ultimate target had always been Sawa’s Fifth Air Corps.

More than ten days ago, when he was still in the Imperial Capital, Bai Zhizhan told Liu Xiangzhen that no matter who went to Cizhou, they must keep a close eye on the Saiyi fleet active in the East Ocean, especially the air corps, and make the utmost effort to ensure the Saiyi Navy’s air combat capability was utterly eliminated after the war began.

Of course, the other task was to deal with the Saiyi Fleet entering the Flame Sea with full strength.

Liu Xiangzhen had already completed his mission; now it was up to Bai Zhizhan.

In terms of time, it all came down to this afternoon.

If this opportunity were missed and a night were to pass, the Fifth Air Corps would certainly take flight.

The East Ocean was not like the Flame Sea.

In a semi-enclosed sea like the Flame Sea—already a rarity—it was impossible to replicate the battle precedent of the Special Mixed Group chasing the Mobile Fleet.

There was also the matter that the distance was a bit far.

The sea area mentioned in that indirect report, or rather the precise coordinates, was 400 kilometers away from the "Imperial Capital", and the actual distance was definitely a bit further.

The combat radius of the "Flying Fish" and "Wasp" when fully laden was only 400 kilometers!

The additional tens of kilometers meant that the attack aircraft group might not be able to return.

Of course, this issue was not unsolvable, like having the fleet continue to advance after the attack aircraft group had deployed, shortening the returning distance for the planes.

"Commander Bai."

Hearing the call, Bai Zhizhan finally looked up.

It was Zhou Yongtao, standing on the other side of the nautical chart table.

"I have a guess, I’m not sure if I should say it."

"Speak up. It’s not like anyone will die. What’s there not to say?" Bai Zhizhan started to smile.

Despite Zhou Yongtao’s brave front at the beginning, boldly questioning them in front of everyone, deep down, he still severely lacked confidence.

Of course, that’s not surprising.

Zhou Yongtao, now, is just like Bai Zhizhan twenty years ago, a newcomer just graduated from the Naval Academy.

If anything, Zhou Yongtao was even more remarkable. Not only did he specialize in aviation advising, but he was also a bona fide ship-borne aircraft pilot.

But fundamentally, he was not much different from Bai Zhizhan, also coming from the civilian class, hoping to realize ambitions and ideals through military service. To put it selfishly, it was to change his destiny, like the legendary figures in history who rose to prominence by serving bravely on the battlefield.

"I think we may have overestimated the opponent."

"Be more specific," said Bai Zhizhan as he gestured Li Mingbo over with a wave and then pointed at the coffee cup sitting beside the commander’s seat.

Li Mingbo was speechless, but he dared not say much.

At this time, Zhou Yongtao had already circled around and began to explain using the nautical chart.

The key really laid in one question, whether the Fifth Air Corps was in the sea area reported by the patrol aircraft.

According to Zhou Yongtao’s estimate, the likelihood was greater.

So, how should they respond?

Zhou Yongtao had a plan.

Sail eastwards, to be precise, towards the area where the Second Main Battle Corps was spotted.

As for this, Zhou Yongtao’s reasoning was: The Second Main Battle Corps would continue to head north, that is, towards the Watcher Strait, and would not linger, hence no fear of encountering them; if the Fifth Air Corps were behind, in the area reported by the patrol aircraft, heading east would allow them to intercept the return flight of the Attack Aircraft Group; even if the patrol aircraft’s report was wrong, such as the distance being over four hundred kilometers, they could still launch an attack at the break of dawn the next day.

His suggestion was extremely bold, even bordering on insane.

To be blunt, it was like treating the carrier mixed fleet as the main battle fleet, charging the carriers directly towards the enemy battleships’ guns.

The crucial point was, what if the Second Main Battle Corps did not head north?

If they encountered the Second Main Battle Corps at night, the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet might be pounded into submission by the main guns of four battleships within minutes.

However, Zhou Yongtao believed that if even Bai Zhizhan thought it too insane and dared not adopt it, then Liu Xiangbin, who was originally in command of the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, would be even less likely to consider it, and the same would go for Saiyi Navy officials like Sawa and Takano; they would also not expect the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet to intentionally close in.

This move had one very, very prominent advantage.

No matter the outcome of the ensuing battle, by tomorrow, at the latest by tomorrow afternoon, the Third Air Corps could be brought within striking range.

The key was, the commander of the Third Air Corps would absolutely not guess the direction of the incoming attack!

If their luck was good enough, there was even a chance to catch the First Main Battle Corps fleeing from the Flame Sea by tomorrow afternoon and achieve a decisive victory.

This guy, he really dared to think big.

Of course, all young people have a surge of energy. Wasn’t Bai Zhizhan the same, twenty years ago?

Moreover, what Zhou Yongtao said was really everything Bai Zhizhan had been thinking himself; every word hit right to Bai Zhizhan’s core.

Twenty years ago, Bai Zhizhan was the same, which is how he won He Yongxing’s admiration.

But, Bai Zhizhan was also well aware that Zhou Yongtao was merely making a suggestion, not responsible for it. The responsibility for making decisions fell upon the commanding officer.

Clearly, this was not an easy decision to make!

Right at this moment, the communications officer hurried over, bringing a telegram that had just been received.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.