Empire Conquest
Chapter 232 - 228: The Exiled War General

Chapter 232: Chapter 228: The Exiled War General

Volcanic Islands, Liuhuang Island.

Just like always, Major General Li Zhong arrived at the garrison headquarter before dawn and, after making inquiries, took a few senior staff officers to inspect the construction of the defense positions.

This had been a daily occurrence for months.

Not to mention the officers and soldiers below, even the staff at the garrison headquarters were feeling overwhelmed.

Everyone was angry but dared not show it, because Li Zhong was not only the commander of the garrison troops but also came from the Army Headquarter, which meant he had connections above. Not just the officers and soldiers on the offshore island, but few in the Imperial Capital of the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom wanted to provoke Li Zhong.

Three months ago, before coming to Liuhuang Island to take up defense, Li Zhong already had an ominous premonition.

It was this premonition that made Li Zhong feel it was necessary to strengthen the defense of Liuhuang Island, as a result, he was also assigned here.

Volunteering to come to Liuhuang Island as the commander of the garrison troops?

Li Zhong wasn’t that enlightened.

Why would anyone willingly leave the comfortable life at the headquarters to suffer on an offshore island thousands of kilometers from the mainland?

When Li Zhong suggested fortifying Liuhuang Island’s defenses, he never intended to personally come here as the commander.

Li Zhong’s concerns were related to his experiences.

Twelve years ago, he served as an Army School Officer at the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom’s embassy in the Liangxia Empire, a position he held for four years until he returned to the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom eight years ago.

During those four years, not only did Li Zhong attend Qing University in the Liangxia Empire to study and earn an honorary doctorate, but he also frequently participated in international friendship gatherings hosted by the Liangxia military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, making acquaintances with many Army generals including Lian Xusheng and Navy generals like Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen. However, as an Army officer of the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, his interactions with the Navy were limited.

After returning to the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, he wrote a report about this.

In the Saiyi Army, he was among the few who had a deep and comprehensive understanding of both the Liangxia Army and Navy.

For the following years, Li Zhong stayed at the Army Headquarter, mainly involved in the formulation of war plans and coordinating with the Navy.

Li Zhong firmly believed that, once war broke out, the Liangxia Empire would immediately surround and blockade the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

According to his prediction, after achieving initial victory and gaining naval superiority, the Liangxia Navy would seize control of the North and South Sado Islands, controlling access to the West East Ocean; next, they would attack the Volcanic Islands and conquer Liuhuang Island; then use Liuhuang Island as a base to strategically blockade the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom; severing the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom’s shipping routes to the Ao Country and the Newland Federation, preventing any assistance from allies.

Several years ago, Li Zhong had suggested gifting the North Ma Islands to the Newland Federation in exchange for them building a military base, preferably a port or at least an airport, on the northernmost island to protect Liuhuang Island.

Regrettably, this suggestion was vetoed as soon as it was proposed.

Moreover, because of this, Li Zhong was implicated and remains a Major General to this day.

His classmates from the Army School, almost all became Vice Admirals.

Li Zhong was convinced that, should a war with the Liangxia Empire commence, Liuhuang Island would be the first to be attacked and its defenses must be strengthened.

Regrettably, his suggestions had never been taken seriously.

It’s no surprise, really.

The North and South Sado Islands had become a demilitarized zone, nominally belonging to the Liangxia Empire, and the Watcher Strait remained highly vulnerable to blockade during war. Therefore, in recent years, both the upper and lower echelons of the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom felt confident that, no matter how formidable the Liangxia Empire might be, they could not bypass the North and South Sado Islands and directly attack Liuhuang Island.

First attacking the North and South Sado Islands?

According to pre-war assessments, it would take several months and require immediate naval dominance after the outbreak of war.

For months, had there been any need to worry about the defense deployment on Liuhuang Island?

As a result, the last time Li Zhong proposed to strengthen the defense of Liuhuang Island, those at the headquarter, already impatient with him, bluntly assigned him over there, appointing him as the garrison commander, personally responsible for the defense of Liuhuang Island, specifically speaking, the Volcanic Islands.

Of course, only Liuhuang Island was worth defending.

Geographically, Liuhuang Island seemed like an offshore island among the Volcanic Islands, hundreds of kilometers away from the dozens of islands to the north of the archipelago.

Besides, there were no large islands near Liuhuang Island.

It was this unique location, formed through underwater volcanic eruptions, with a still-active crater intermittently erupting brownish-yellow magma, resembling flowing egg yolk, that earned the island its name and immeasurable strategic value.

Nearby, there were no islands that could replace Liuhuang Island.

To put it bluntly, Liuhuang Island was the stepping-stone located between the Northern Ma Islands and the Saiyi mainland.

From a military perspective, whether attacking the Saiyi mainland or implementing strategic blockades, this island served as a crucial foothold.

Geographically, the islands to the south were too close to Guan Island, and those to the north were too close to the Saiyi mainland, making neither an ideal choice.

Thus, even if losing the northern islands, Liuhuang Island must be held.

Conversely, the Imperial Navy had no other choice but to launch a strong attack on Liuhuang Island.

On the day the great war broke out, Li Zhong had written his will and sent it back home.

The subsequent course of the war perfectly validated Li Zhong’s initial concerns. The Liangxia Navy not only seized strategic initiative but also crushed the Permanent Fleet and swept through the North and South Sado Islands. To Li Zhong’s surprise, the Liangxia Army even launched a lightning attack on the Ice Storm Peninsula, sweeping the entire peninsula in twenty days, with the frontline commander being Lian Xusheng, whom he knew.

Over a decade ago, Li Zhong proposed to the Saiyi Army headquarter to develop armored forces.

Regrettably, like his other suggestions, it received no attention from the headquarter and was mocked as a coward’s fear of death.

The headquarter couldn’t be blamed, though, for the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom simply didn’t have the capital to develop armored forces.

The steel production was insufficient.

After the Navy consumed most of the steel production capacity, it was impressive enough for the Saiyi Army to ensure the regular supply of ammunition and procure some heavy artillery.

Manufacture tanks and armored vehicles?

Don’t joke, even the steel for building carriers and battleships was refined from scrap metal reclaimed from abroad.

Saiyi was a resource-scarce island country, lacking not only steel but almost every resource. Hence, the Saiyi Army couldn’t afford to be extravagant like the Liangxia Army and has always promoted the brave spirit of bayonet fighting fundamentally to conserve ammunition.

If there were enough bullets, who would want to engage in bayonet fighting with the enemy unless absolutely necessary?

If there was any good news, it was that the Liangxia Navy had suffered huge losses and had to concentrate resources to support the Army, leaving them temporarily unable to advance into the West East Ocean.

However, Li Zhong felt this situation wouldn’t last long.

Just yesterday, Admiral Niuman, defending Buju, had already surrendered to the Liangxia Army with hundreds of thousands of troops.

This meant, it wouldn’t be long before the Liangxia Navy could free up forces to launch an attack in the West East Ocean, inevitably targeting Liuhuang Island first.

So, was there still time to strengthen the defensive deployment now?

Or, could three months of effort still be of value?