Empire Conquest
Chapter 229 - 225 This Place Hides No Silver

Chapter 229: Chapter 225 This Place Hides No Silver

On the afternoon of the 14th, the Saiyi Navy, in conjunction with the Army Air Force, launched a reprisal operation against the Imperial Navy.

Within just a few hours, the Saiyi Navy and Army deployed hundreds of fighters and bombers to repeatedly search the northeastern sea area of the Xu Sea.

Without a doubt, their target was the Special Mixed Group.

By around five o’clock in the afternoon, when the search had yielded no results, a group of Type 96 Saiyi naval bombers bombed the airfield on Jeju Island.

Although the battle report from the Navy headquarter did not mention any losses or other details, it was clear that the Saiyi Navy had grown suspicious.

Not finding the Special Mixed Group wasn’t the real issue.

After all, the Special Mixed Group had been engaged in battle for several days, and the fighting near Buju was close to ending; it was possible that they had withdrawn to the rear to resupply fuel and ammunition the previous day.

Having dozens or hundreds of ship-borne aircraft deployed at land airfields would be highly unusual.

Moreover, that morning, the ship-borne aircraft stationed on Jeju Island had, as per routine, bombed the western airfields and ports of the Saiyi main land.

Actually, it’s very likely that it was that morning’s bombing which led the Saiyi Navy to conclude that the Special Mixed Group was still active in the Xu Sea, which is why they coordinated with the Army Air Force to organize and launch that day’s attack operation. By the afternoon, to show they had done something, they shifted their target to the airfield on Jeju Island.

The reason, as stated earlier, was that the ship-borne aircraft on Jeju had been deployed at high intensity for several days.

Previously, the primary target was Buju, supporting the Imperial Guard Army in combat. It was only in the past two days that they had adjusted and began bombing Saiyi’s mainland military bases.

Combining these factors, it wasn’t difficult to deduce that the Special Mixed Group had long left the Xu Sea, leaving only the ship-borne aircraft behind.

Does the Imperial Navy lack ship-borne aircraft?

What’s lacking is not the aircraft, but the carriers!

As one of the countries with the most advanced aviation industry, the Empire also has the world’s largest number of pilots, with at least a hundred thousand civilians holding flight certificates. In wartime, these individuals only need simple training to become qualified pilots.

As for ship-borne aircraft, that was even less of a problem; they would certainly have enough.

So, where did the Special Mixed Group go?

If the Saiyi Navy had a slightly intelligent head or a calm and thoughtful general, such questions would arise.

In fact, there was one, Tanimoto, who had just been promoted to Major General.

Over ten days ago, when Tanimoto appeared at the Navy Order Department, it startled the higher-ups from the Sixth Bureau like Wang Kaiyuan, as they believed that Takano had not died and had returned alive to the Saiyi Imperial Country.

Don’t forget, Tanimoto was one of Takano’s most trusted confidants, almost always by Takano’s side.

If Takano had been determined to die for his country, Tanimoto would have followed without hesitation, never opting for a meager existence.

Fortunately, they soon determined it was a misjudgment because on the day Tanimoto appeared, the Saiyi Imperial Country held a grand state funeral for Takano.

Shortly thereafter, Tanimoto was exceptionally promoted to Major General and appointed as the commander of the Saiyi Navy’s Domestic Fleet.

Although Saiyi’s mainland had few battleships to speak of, with the rest being almost all small boats under a thousand tons, Tanimoto put these unimpressive vessels to good use, like the "Midnight Express" from the western ports of the mainland to Buju each evening.

Within just a few days, under Tanimoto’s arrangement, the Saiyi Navy used destroyers and other small vessels to transport tens of thousands of troops and several thousand tons of ammunition and other resources to Buju at night, and on their return journey, they brought back a large number of wounded soldiers, as well as tens of thousands of strong and military-aged immigrants.

Could Tanimoto guess where the Special Mixed Group had gone?

Bai Zhizhan did not know, after all, he did not have much understanding of this "Takano’s favorite pupil" nor could he afford to pay attention to a mere Major Staff Advisor.

Obviously, if Tanimoto had guessed it, he would have made defense adjustments.

Even if he did not strengthen the defense of Liuhuang Island, he would certainly heighten the vigilance and caution, such as deploying a few more patrol planes to the Volcanic Islands.

Then, could the Special Mixed Group still launch a surprise attack on Liuhuang Island according to plan?

Another matter was that, on the night of the 14th, which was actually just a few hours ago, the Domestic Fleet under the command of Gui Boyong bombarded Long Sorrow.

Indeed, they gave the order for battleships to bombard!

According to the battle report received, this operation was in retaliation for the Saiyi Navy’s bombing of Jeju Island.

The bombardment lasted about two hours. Guided by seaplanes, four battleships, four heavy cruisers, four light cruisers, and eight destroyers fired tens of thousands of shells at Long Sorrow Port, including over a thousand 400-mm colossal shells and as many as three thousand 200-mm shells.

It seemed they went to clear out the main gun ammunition stores of the battleships and heavy cruisers.

After the bombardment, Long Sorrow Port lay in ruins.

As Gui Boyong said in the battle report, for the next half a year, Saiyi would no longer have a military port usable in the Xu Sea.

Long Sorrow Port was Saiyi’s sole military port on the Xu Sea.

Clearly, Gui Boyong took great pride in the decision to bombard Long Sorrow Port.

Yet Bai Zhizhan could find no joy in it at all.

After Jeju Island was bombed, sending the fleet to bombard Long Sorrow Port, wasn’t that directly telling Tanimoto that the Special Mixed Group had long since left the Xu Sea?

If the Special Mixed Group were in the Xu Sea, why would there be a need to risk the Domestic Fleet?

They were four old-style battleships with a top speed of only 25 knots, which had been active at sea for most of the month. By dawn, they were still within the strike range of the Saiyi Navy’s shore-based air force. Even with fighter cover, the Domestic Fleet could very easily have suffered severe damage.

By comparison, the best choice would have been to bomb Long Sorrow Port with ship-borne aircraft.

Moreover, the Saiyi Navy had few battleships left at their disposal. The vessels supporting Buju were deployed in ports facing the High Narrow Sea, not in Long Sorrow Port.

What other reasons were there for bombarding Long Sorrow Port?

In the past ten days or so, there had been no large-scale bombing of Long Sorrow Port because such actions were of no help to the operations on Ice Storm Peninsula.

Just for retaliation?

This excuse was too far-fetched.

If Liangxia Empire had already achieved strategic victory and had more troops than it could ever use, and if the fleet’s servicemen had absolutely nothing to do, if the battleships were to merely burn fuel and the produced shells had already filled the arsenals to the brim, then it might be reasonable to strike randomly out of revenge against the adversary.

But at that time, Liangxia Empire had not yet secured a strategic victory, and there was no surplus of troops to spare.

The operation by the Domestic Fleet the previous night was not only superfluous, it also smacked of giving away the game unwittingly.

That was precisely why, after receiving these reports before dawn, Bai Zhizhan was worried and contemplating whether he should send out a warning to Liu Xiangzhen.

After hours of thought, Bai Zhizhan had yet to make a decision.

It wasn’t out of fear of revealing his location.

His relationship with Liu Xiangzhen had greatly deteriorated, and since Liu Xiangzhen was not privy to the situation here, it was possible that a warning from Bai Zhizhan might end up doing more harm than good.

Having learned that Bai Zhizhan had led the "Heng River" into West East Ocean, Liu Xiangzhen might hasten to move, and in his hurried state could make missteps.

Perhaps, Liu Xiangzhen would be able to see the consequences of these actions clearly.

"Commander, they’re coming!"

Hearing the alert, Bai Zhizhan picked up his binoculars and stepped out of the Command Bridge.

To the north, a dark mass of fighters was flying toward them.

Indeed, those were the first Shipborne Air Force Wing, arranged by Li Yunxiang. In truth, it was the first Shipborne Air Force Wing, only with a new designation and a different name.