Empire Conquest
Chapter 146 - 142: Fortune or Misfortune

Chapter 146: Chapter 142: Fortune or Misfortune

After releasing the pent-up words in his heart, Bai Zhizhan felt suddenly refreshed and much more comfortable.

Of course, complaining doesn’t solve the problem.

When Bai Zhizhan and Li Yunxiang returned to the command bridge, Li Mingbo was just about to look for them.

A telegram had just been sent from the Navy headquarters.

Due to the transport fleet encountering issues and not arriving at the rendezvous area on time, the operation to land on Guard Island and Wang Island would be delayed by a day. Accordingly, the Domestic Fleet would adjust and postpone their time to reach and pass through Watcher Strait to the night of the 28th, remaining on standby in the eastern waters of Xu Sea beforehand.

Simply put, everything was delayed by a day.

But that wasn’t all.

Since the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had not been in contact with the rear, nor had it acted according to the original plan, the two fast battleships that were to move south from Xu Sea to rendezvous with the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had turned back after dark and returned to Xu Sea along the original route.

These two fast battleships would meet with the Domestic Fleet in the early hours of the 28th and proceed to Watcher Strait.

However, if needed, Bai Zhizhan could send a telegram to the Navy headquarters at any time, and the Navy headquarters could adjust the operations of the two fast battleships based on the situation, such as allowing them to enter East Ocean through Watcher Strait ahead of schedule or to carry out other tasks.

There was nothing surprising about this; the two fast battleships had originally been assigned to the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet to serve as escorts for two "Imperial" class carriers. If Bai Zhizhan had not adopted Zhou Yongtao’s suggestion, they would have met with these two fast battleships by evening.

At the end of the message, another matter was mentioned.

While the two fast battleships were traveling north at full speed, they were suspected to have been ambushed by Saiyi submarines. Importantly, the word "suspected" was emphasized.

This meant that the credibility of this information was not very high, and the commander could adopt it at his discretion.

Bai Zhizhan was quite moved by this, yet he could not show it.

"It’s getting late; except for those on duty, everyone else can go rest. Only with a full spirit can we continue to fight against the enemy tomorrow!"

Under Li Mingbo’s call, the staff officers on break took their leave one after another.

Since ship-borne aircraft could not be deployed at night, compared to the Main Fleet, the carrier mixed fleet had a very leisurely night.

Of course, they definitely had to keep watch.

"Damn, this is harsh; it’s like pulling the rug out from under us!"

"You can’t say that, and moreover, the responsibility is on us," Bai Zhizhan glared at Li Mingbo, who was full of complaints. "This afternoon, we didn’t think to send planes to Zu Island to report the change of direction; otherwise, those two fast battleships wouldn’t have returned."

"But now, we don’t even have one decent anti-air warship here, and we were originally hoping for the protection of those two fast battleships!"

Indeed, Li Mingbo’s complaints were not without reason.

Don’t forget, in the evening, Bai Zhizhan had dispatched four heavy cruisers and four light cruisers to Two-car Strait, leaving only six destroyers to cover the carriers. Since two destroyers had to scout ahead to search for submarines possibly lurking in the course, only four destroyers were left to accompany the carriers. In reality, the anti-air firepower of the destroyers was almost negligible.

If anything, they were temporarily safe from bombing after taking out two Xianghe.

At the time of making this arrangement, Bai Zhizhan had not expected that the two fast battleships would turn back to return home in the evening.

"I think this may not necessarily be a bad thing."

Upon hearing this, several people all looked towards Zhou Yongtao.

Since he was the lowest in rank, Zhou Yongtao had been the only one seriously reading the telegram while Li Mingbo was complaining.

Under everyone’s gaze, Zhou Yongtao didn’t offer much explanation, but quickly walked over to the nautical chart table and pulled out a map of the West East Ocean.

After staring at the chart carefully for a while, he nodded thoughtfully.

Li Mingbo was already very impatient, and even Li Yunxiang was a bit irritated, but Bai Zhizhan looked calm and confident, as if he had already guessed Zhou Yongtao’s thoughts.

"The telegram mentioned one more thing."

"The suspected submarine attack," Bai Zhizhan blurted out.

Zhou Yongtao paused for a moment, then said, "We have always used Fast Battleships as Anti-Air Warships, specifically to provide air cover for carriers. But what if it wasn’t just a suspicion, and it was an actual ambush? What if we just got lucky and avoided the torpedoes launched by the Saiyi submarines?"

"Are you saying that the Saiyi Navy might believe that we had sailed northward back to the Xu Sea overnight?"

Zhou Yongtao didn’t say much more, just nodded to show that Li Yunxiang was correct.

"Those were just two Fast Battleships that hadn’t yet been commissioned. The submarine didn’t detect any carriers. Could that convince Takano that we had sailed back like this?"

"It’s not about sailing back, but rushing back to support the Domestic Fleet."

Li Yunxiang furrowed his brows, still finding it unlikely.

"There’s another key point." At this moment, Bai Zhizhan spoke up. "Up until now, the Saiyi Navy doesn’t know that Liu Xiangzhen has already returned home. If the Special Mixed Group returns to Chengjiang Port at cruising speed, they would arrive at the earliest by the night of the 27th."

Li Yunxiang’s gaze turned to Bai Zhizhan, and Zhou Yongtao appeared to have an epiphany.

Clearly, he hadn’t initially considered this.

"What if the Special Mixed Group didn’t sail back? Then on the 28th, they would definitely enter the East Ocean through the Two-car Strait. Since we have destroyed the Fifth Air Corps and the Third Air Corps couldn’t arrive in time, the Saiyi Navy can’t stop the Special Mixed Group from cutting into the East Ocean. With the Special Mixed Group here, our return to the Xu Sea to support the Domestic Fleet and provide air cover for them makes sense. Timewise, as long as Takano doesn’t receive news that the Special Mixed Group has sailed back tonight, he will make such an inference."

"From the perspective of capturing the North and South Sado Islands, this deployment is foolproof," Zhou Yongtao added.

"Don’t forget, the landing on Guard Island and Wang Island has been delayed by a day, so by tomorrow night at the latest, Takano will piece these things together," Li Mingbo realized at this moment. "As soon as he has suspicions, the first thing he’ll do is to rush full speed towards the Watcher Strait."

"There’s no need to wait until tomorrow night; he’ll make that decision by tomorrow noon."

"Before noon?"

Bai Zhizhan smiled and said, "Don’t forget, our cruiser squadron will arrive at the Two-car Strait tonight and will surely encounter the First Main Battle Corps. If our ship-borne aircraft don’t appear above the First Main Battle Corps tomorrow morning, Takano would deduce that we had already returned to the Xu Sea."

Now, Li Mingbo understood.

As long as the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet held position in the eastern side of the Two-car Strait, it made no sense not to strike after detecting the First Main Battle Corps.

"Zhou is right; this might not be a bad thing," Bai Zhizhan laughed and then added, "Next, we just need to see if Takano will take the bait."

"I think we should immediately send a plane back to reassign the cruisers,"

Upon hearing Zhou Yongtao say this, Bai Zhizhan laughed immediately, pointing at him.

This kid, he’s not just mischievous; he is downright diabolical.

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