Empire Conquest
Chapter 161 - 157: Settle Personal Grudges

Chapter 161: Chapter 157: Settle Personal Grudges

"I’ve long said that none of the Lius are good people!"

Although Li Mingbo had heard it from a distance, he didn’t turn around until Bai Zhizhan approached.

"See for yourself."

Actually, Bai Zhizhan hadn’t asked anything at all, nor had he said a word. Li Mingbo’s furious look was mostly for show.

A communique forwarded from Navy headquarters.

Liu Xiangbin, the commander of Zu Island, had gone to the Lotus Military Port Naval Air Station and ordered that all aircraft be grounded. The First Shipborne Air Force Wing had failed to deploy reconnaissance aircraft by three p.m. as planned. Although the Navy headquarters had already sent a return message demanding the unqualified support of the Zu Island garrison for the combat operations of the First Shipborne Air Force Wing, and that arrangements at Lotus Military Port be swiftly made, there was no guarantee that the reconnaissance aircraft could take off on time.

It could all be summed up in a single phrase.

The local officials defy the central authority.

After the orders from Navy headquarters, Liu Xiangbin could still find plausible excuses to carry out perfunctory compliance and create other troubles for the First Shipborne Air Force Wing.

Was this man a spy sent by the enemy?

If he hadn’t been a Liu or a direct descendant of Sea Kun Duke Liu Zhentang, one really would have suspected he was a spy who had taken benefits from the enemy and was serving their purposes from the shadows.

After reading the communique, Bai Zhizhan was fuming as well.

If Liu Xiangbin were here, he would definitely throw a punch with all his might, not stopping until a few teeth were knocked out.

However, Bai Zhizhan didn’t show his anger.

Having spent twenty years in the Navy, particularly frequently dealing with high-ranking officers and having role models like Zhu Shijian, He Yongxing, and Gui Boyong, Bai Zhizhan had long mastered the skill of keeping his emotions off his face. Even if he hadn’t reached the level of saying one thing and meaning another, he had no problem controlling his feelings.

Was this Liu Xiangbin settling personal scores?

Obviously, it wasn’t just that!

Bai Zhizhan had been worried about this since yesterday.

On the 25th and 26th, Liu Xiangzhen, commanding a Special Mixed Group with four Fleet carriers, had gone through two tough battles. After paying a heavy price of one sunken and one damaged, they had finally managed to annihilate a Mobile Fleet, specifically sinking four Fleet carriers, whereas yesterday, Bai Zhizhan, with just one strike and at the minor cost of a dozen shipborne aircraft, had taken down two Fleet carriers of the Fifth Air Corps.

Even if one could not say Bai Zhizhan was more formidable than Liu Xiangzhen, they were certainly well-matched.

More importantly, the Special Mixed Group had already returned to base on the night of the 26th, effectively withdrawing from combat, while Bai Zhizhan’s Third Special Aviation Mixed Fleet was still engaged in battle.

Furthermore, the Third Special Aviation Mixed Fleet was neither in the Flame Sea nor the Xu Sea but had entered the East Ocean!

What did this imply? The sky’s the limit for birds; the ocean’s vastness for the dragon!

Given the performance of the Third Special Aviation Mixed Fleet on the 26th, if Bai Zhizhan really went all out, he might just overturn the entire Saiyi Navy.

Besides, the First Shipborne Air Force Wing had gone to Zu Island.

Do not forget, both the First Special Aviation Mixed Fleet and the First Shipborne Air Force Wing were Bai Zhizhan’s direct units, wholly obedient to him.

Putting it bluntly, the First Shipborne Air Force Wing on Zu Island was essentially Bai Zhizhan’s reserve force, ready to replenish his shipborne air force losses at any time. If he encountered a formidable enemy, such as Takano’s Main Battle Corps, it could also serve as a main attacking force.

With this reserve power, Bai Zhizhan feared nothing; who could stop his advance!?

All of this was perceived as a threat.

Yes, it was a threat to Liu Xiangzhen!

Even if Liu Xiangzhen hadn’t been involved, with his proud nature, he surely disdained to stoop to underhanded tactics, but the Liu Family could certainly not be absolved of involvement.

Moreover, Liu Xiangbin already had a conflict with Bai Zhizhan and was well-known as a troublemaker.

Letting him take the lead, and after the explosion only to pull back to his personal conflict with Bai Zhizhan, allowed Liu Changxun an opportunity to mediate should the situation spiral out of control.

Looking at it from another angle, this was essentially laying a trap for Bai Zhizhan.

To neglect the bigger picture over personal grievances?

If Bai Zhizhan brought this up, he would be seen as lacking a strategic vision, hence no matter how furious he was, he had to endure it until after the battle had concluded.

Thinking of all this left Bai Zhizhan feeling turmoil in his stomach.

But what could he do?

"Report!"

The communications officer shouted, but was immediately stopped by Li Mingbo.

After handing over the telegram to Li Mingbo, the communications officer tactfully ran off.

Two telegrams received at the same time.

One came from Lotus Military Port, sent using the resident army’s radio station but employing the Fleet’s communication code. The signatories were Zhu Huasheng and Shen Pu.

Obviously aliases, but it was definitely them.

As for the content, it was not good news.

They had arranged for six "Flying Fish" to carry out reconnaissance missions. Unfortunately, due to a malfunction in the refueling equipment, other ship-borne aircraft could not be deployed temporarily. What was even more critical was that Lotus Military Port had no repair technicians, so they might not be able to prepare for an attack before dark.

However, the two made a promise.

They would definitely solve the problem tonight and leave Lotus Military Port with the Plane Group early tomorrow morning.

The other telegram was still from the Navy headquarter.

It began with the deployment of an Empire-based radio monitoring station, which intercepted a signal that seemed to be from the "Damen" long-wave radio station. Because the duration was too short, besides triangulation, it was temporarily impossible to confirm that the signal was indeed from "Damen."

It could also be its sister ship, "Luo."

Of course, the telegram mentioned the area where the signal was detected.

Bai Zhizhan did not ask further questions but went directly to the nautical chart table.

As Li Mingbo was following, he also had a staff officer go down to summon Li Yunxiang and Zhou Yongtao, who were arranging tasks for the pilots.

The place mentioned in the telegram was east of Zu Island.

To be precise, it was ten degrees northeast of Lotus Military Port, about four hundred kilometers away.

This position and the time of signal emission perfectly matched Bai Zhizhan’s earlier speculation on the shortest route taken by the Main Battle Corps.

Since they took the shortest route, they were definitely moving at full speed.

According to the maximum speed attainable by the "Damen" class, the Main Battle Corps is expected to reach Watcher Strait around 1 a.m. on the 28th.

A bit late, but still timely.

Nevertheless, for the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, it was still too far.

The linear distance exceeded six hundred kilometers!

Even if they changed course immediately and closed in at full speed, setting the attack time at dusk, the striking distance of the Attack Aircraft Group would still be over five hundred kilometers!

Don’t forget that during the strike phase, it’s heavy-load flying, which consumes much more fuel.

Furthermore, even if they flew to Zu Island after completing the mission, the return journey would be nearly five hundred kilometers, not much closer than returning to the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

That said, it would avoid the trouble of landing on the carrier at night.

Regardless, it meant that, after launching the attack, except for a small number of air defense fighters, the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet would have no ship-borne aircraft available.

If they needed to replenish ship-borne aircraft, they would have to break radio silence.

Is it worth it?

The ten or so hours of night would definitely not be easy to get through, and no one could guarantee they would be completely safe.

What if there is a more important task tomorrow?

Lastly, why did Takano choose this moment to send out the telegram?

He could not possibly be unaware that this move would reveal their location; otherwise, he would have maintained radio silence prior to this.

So, what crucial reason made him send the telegram?