Empire Conquest
Chapter 188 - 184: The Unsolvable Situation

Chapter 188: Chapter 184: The Unsolvable Situation

Li Yunxiang intentionally stayed behind, waiting until Shen Pu and the others had left before he closed the cabin door.

Everyone was busy, and within the Command Bridge, only a few duty staff officers remained.

"When convenient, tell Zhou for me. After we return, I’ll personally apply for his exceptional promotion opportunity," Bai Zhizhan guessed the reason for Li Yunxiang’s staying behind. "The war has just broken out, and it’s far from over. There will be plenty of chances in the future; there’s no need to compete for momentary advantage."

"He can figure it out, and even if he can’t, he must."

Bai Zhizhan was momentarily stunned and shifted his gaze.

Clearly, Li Yunxiang hadn’t stayed behind to discuss Zhou Yongtao’s matter, nor would he approach Bai Zhizhan over an issue concerning a minor Lieutenant staff officer.

Moreover, Bai Zhizhan’s appreciation and high regard for Zhou Yongtao were evident to all. He certainly wouldn’t shortchange Zhou.

"Do you think we’ll be able to sleep soundly tonight?"

"Are you worried about..." Bai Zhizhan began but then stopped mid-sentence, following up with a smile and a head shake that took on a profound expression.

Li Yunxiang just smiled.

"Don’t worry, the battle is over," Bai Zhizhan walked over to the Nautical Chart Table. "Think about it, if Takatoku wasn’t worried about being intercepted by us, would he have let his four precious Battleships sink themselves? Since he fears interception, the fourth Cruiser Corps wouldn’t come seeking trouble."

"That’s exactly what concerns me."

Hearing Li Yunxiang speak, Bai Zhizhan immediately furrowed his brow.

Clearly, Li Yunxiang was thinking long-term.

In order to attack the transport convoys, the third Aviation Mixed Fleet had traveled north for an entire night, and now it was actually located to the east of Watcher Strait. This meant that if the fourth Cruiser Corps returned to Saiyi’s homeland, they would enter the third Aviation Mixed Fleet’s striking range by tomorrow morning.

With an entire day and enough ship-borne aircraft at their disposal, the third Aviation Mixed Fleet could play with those four Heavy Cruisers like a cat with a mouse. With a bit of luck, they might even force the four Heavy Cruisers to follow in the Battleships’ footsteps and collectively scuttle themselves in the face of hopeless breakout.

That being said, they wouldn’t need to wait until tomorrow morning.

Tonight, the Liangxia Navy’s submarines would arrive to greet the four Heavy Cruisers with torpedoes.

The fourth Cruiser Corps would likely not head towards the homeland but instead sail south in the evening, avoiding the east where the third Aviation Mixed Fleet was located. Since the third Aviation Mixed Fleet had once again entered a radio silence state, by tomorrow, the fourth Cruiser Corps might continue to head south.

Afterward, with the arrival of the Domestic Fleet of the Imperial Navy, the fourth Cruiser Corps would proceed to Tuk Fortress.

The key point was that the Mobile Fleet would not risk returning to West East Ocean through the Two-car Strait and would also detour from the south of Nanzhu Country within a few days, then move to Tuk Fortress.

If this were indeed the case, by that time, Tuk Fortress would have four Fast Battleships and at least seven Heavy Cruisers.

No matter where that power was placed, it would be a formidable naval adversary.

Tuk Fortress is the Saiyi Navy’s main base in the Southwest East Ocean, not only boasting comprehensive infrastructure but also storing massive combat supplies.

With that said, the Mobile Fleet could hold out there for a year with no problems.

Even without Battleships, Saiyi’s Navy personnel could land and defend, relying on strong defensive fortifications to resist attacks from the sea.

So then, to attack or not to attack?

Thinking this far, Bai Zhizhan couldn’t help but rub his forehead vigorously.

Here, it involved the second stage of operational actions.

Actually, Gui Boyong’s outburst at Li Jie and Jin Hong was also related to this.

It wasn’t because a few battleships were sunk, but because the commander of the Saiyi Navy’s Permanent Fleet, Takano, was killed!

What would have happened if Takano had survived and returned to the Domestic Fleet with his fleet?

Even if the Saiyi Navy had already been defeated, Takano’s influence was undeniable, and he would certainly have some warships remaining, such as several battleships, a sufficient number of cruisers and destroyers, and the not-to-be-underestimated shore-based air force. Therefore, directly attacking and blockading the Domestic Territories of Saiyi, let alone attacking islands near the Domestic Territories, would be very difficult, requiring the assembly of enough military forces as well as a considerable amount of time for preliminary preparations.

This meant that the Imperial Navy needed to find an easier target in the near future.

Relatively speaking, the isolated Tuk Fortress overseas was an "easier" target.

Actually, that was the crux of the matter.

Before this, led by Gui Boyong, the generals of the Domestic Fleet had been advocating that the attack on Tuk Fortress should be the main objective of the second phase, and then, using this as a base, to advance into the Southwest West East Ocean, cutting off the sea lanes from the Domestic Territories of Saiyi to the Southwest West East Ocean, which is to say, to the Ao Country on the southern continent.

The Southern Fleet, on the other hand, advocated for an advance into the Volcanic Islands first and the capture of Liuhuang Island, which also held tremendous strategic value.

Because no one expected Takano to die shortly after the war began, the proposition of the Domestic Fleet was given more weight when planning.

Now everything had changed.

With Takano gone, Lan Yun became the top commander of the Saiyi Navy, and the strongest Mobile Fleet he commanded had gone to Tuk Fortress. Adding to this the possible arrival of the Fourth Cruiser Corps, the difficulty of attacking Tuk Fortress had obviously increased.

On the night of the 25th, which was when the Special Mixed Group turned to return, Bai Zhizhan had already thought of this.

Liu Xiangzhen was neither afraid of battle nor scared of suffering unnecessary losses, and it had nothing to do with insufficient fuel; he deliberately let Lan Yun escape. More importantly, he understood Bai Zhizhan too well and knew that after he "let it slide," Bai Zhizhan would not just consider personal gains and losses but would do his utmost to fight the subsequent battles. Even if Liu Xiangzhen did not expect Takano to die in battle, he could guess that the Permanent Fleet would take severe damage in East Ocean.

In short, the current situation was this.

The main force of the Saiyi Navy was at Tuk Fortress, and there wasn’t much to gain from the Southwest East Ocean section, so there was no reason not to attack Liuhuang Island.

Then, it would be a matter of surrounding and blockading the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, followed by forcing the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom to surrender.

Was this the best choice?

Whether the southern strategy or the eastern advance strategy was better had been discussed countless times within the Imperial Navy and even within the Domestic Fleet.

There’s nothing more to say, and there’s no need for Li Yunxiang to remind Bai Zhizhan.

By raising this point, Li Yunxiang was actually telling Bai Zhizhan that if nothing was done, the operational actions of the second phase would be determined before they returned. If the Southern Fleet’s proposal was adopted, since Bai Zhizhan had always opposed it, his position would become very tricky.

Here, another issue involved.

When making plans, no one considered the loss of two carriers, even if only one was sunk and the other merely heavily damaged.

What does it mean?

Currently, the Imperial Navy only has four carriers that can be deployed.

No matter which strategic plan is chosen, all four carriers are needed.

If the eastern advance strategy is chosen, then Liu Xiangzhen would definitely be leading the team. Unless Bai Zhizhan served under Liu Xiangzhen with all his might, he would have to hand over command of the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, or at least the actual command of two carriers, retaining only a titular commander’s position without real power.

Have Bai Zhizhan play second fiddle to Liu Xiangzhen?

Even if he himself doesn’t object, Gui Boyong, He Yongxing, and the generals of the Domestic Fleet would never agree!

Without fleet command, what would Bai Zhizhan have left, and how could he continue to compete with Liu Xiangzhen?