Empire Conquest
Chapter 245 - 241: With Fear and Trembling

Chapter 245: Chapter 241: With Fear and Trembling

Saiyi Domestic, west coast of East Capital Bay, southern suburbs of East Imperial City, Navy headquarter.

When the duty secretary brought the late-night snack, dawn was almost breaking. Tanimoto had stayed up all night without receiving any news, but no news was the best news.

Was there a problem with the intelligence, or was it all too worrisome?

While eating, Tanimoto was still deep in thought.

The object of Tanimoto’s attention was not the carrier that had been severely damaged and was still unrepaired, but Bai Zhizhan, who had gone to Puzhou Port before and then disappeared along with the carrier!

Returning to Saiyi Domestic had actually been several days ago when Tanimoto got reliable information.

Initially, it was Bai Zhizhan who commanded the third Aviation Mixed Fleet at West East Ocean, because just before that, Liu Xiangbin had already gone to Zu Island. Bai Zhizhan went directly to Cizhou Port where he boarded the "Imperial Capital" and secretly replaced the utterly useless Liu Xiangbin.

This explained the previous events.

Tanimoto was very annoyed and even extremely remorseful because as early as when the fifth Air Corps was annihilated, he should have guessed that the commander of the third Aviation Mixed Fleet was absolutely not Liu Xiangbin. It wasn’t just a matter of capability; Liu Xiangbin simply didn’t have the nerve to lead the fleet into West East Ocean.

With a bit of thought, one could guess it was Bai Zhizhan.

This audacious tactic was clearly Bai Zhizhan’s style!

The Liangxia Fleet operating in the Flame Sea had been overly cautious on the 26th or rather not very aggressive, and this was clearly Liu Xiangzhen’s style.

If Bai Zhizhan were in the Flame Sea, even if he could only mobilize one carrier, the scene would have been entirely different.

Unfortunately, at the time, even Tanimoto hadn’t thought of this and had naturally assumed that Bai Zhizhan had to follow Liu Xiangzhen’s commands.

With Liu Xiangzhen’s clan uncle Liu Changxun assuming the position of Navy Commander-in-chief and Bai Zhizhan’s supporter He Yongxing lacking real power, Liu Xiangzhen definitely held the initiative in operational command, putting Bai Zhizhan in a secondary position. Simply put, it was similar to the relationship between Lan Yun and Yamaguchi.

Furthermore, Liu Xiangzhen and Bai Zhizhan were key research subjects for the Saiyi Navy before the war.

It must be said that Tanimoto had always considered these two as idols and opponents.

Over the past years, Tanimoto had read all the available materials related to Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen and had applied multiple times to serve as a Navy military attaché in the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom. Unfortunately, while he still had time, his fame was not great enough. By the time he gained Takano’s favor and had enough renown, he no longer had the time. It was also because of this that he had never been to the Liangxia Empire, not even for tourism.

This was Tanimoto’s greatest regret.

In the Saiyi Navy, surely no one understood Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen better than Tanimoto.

Indeed, Tanimoto’s ability to enter Takano’s "Dharma Eye" related to his studies of these two men.

Three years ago, during the wargame simulations, Takano posed a question related to Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen that was actually not very profound. It was about the differences in their command of fleet operations and how these differences could influence the outcome of a fleet decisive battle.

Takano didn’t let the staff answer in detail, merely asking everyone to share their opinions.

As a result, not a single staff member at the Permanent Fleet Headquarters came up with an answer or, to put it another way, no staff member offered a valuable insight.

When Takano was enraged, Tanimoto seized the opportunity.

According to Tanimoto’s understanding, there was a significant difference between the two men.

Simply put, Liu Xiangzhen leaned towards conservatism, while Bai Zhizhan was more aggressive.

Although both were formidable, especially in commanding carrier operations, absolutely top-notch today, if Tanimoto had to choose an opponent, it definitely would not be Bai Zhizhan.

Carriers themselves are offensive platforms, their value is reflected in the attack, or, it can only be through attack that the value of carriers is fully exploited. Even if defense is required at the strategic level, active offense is necessary in tactical actions rather than passive defense.

Moreover, the Navy has always been an offensive military branch. All naval strategic and tactical writings unanimously advocate offense. Historically, all formidable navies have achieved their glory through offense, and not a single navy has dominated the Four Seas by defense.

In the hands of an aggressive leader like Bai Zhizhan, the carrier is the sovereign of the sea.

In the hands of Liu Xiangzhen?

At most, it is merely a tool capable of defeating the enemy, far from reaching the level of a sovereign.

It’s not that Tanimoto looks down on Liu Xiangzhen, after all, Tanimoto himself is not sure he could defeat Liu Xiangzhen, but in Tanimoto’s view, Liu Xiang is unable to maximize the value of the carrier.

The subsequent battles just validated Tanimoto’s judgment.

In the battles in the Flame Sea, Liu Xiangzhen had four fleet carriers, and although he ultimately defeated the Mobile Fleet, he suffered huge losses. In the West East Ocean, Bai Zhizhan annihilated nearly the entire Permanent Fleet with just two fleet carriers and suffered no losses. Crucially, during that period, he also battled with the equally formidable Fifth Air Corps and annihilated it in just two waves of attacks.

This is why Tanimoto had always paid close attention to Bai Zhizhan.

Upon receiving the news that Bai Zhizhan had gone to Puzhou, Tanimoto had a very bad feeling, sensing that something terrible was about to happen.

Of course, that sounds a bit sensational.

Even before that, Tanimoto knew that the Hengjiang had left Chengjiang Port and the Domestic Fleet’s floating dock had also departed from Mast Harbor.

With this intelligence, it’s not hard to infer that Bai Zhizhan going to Puzhou Port was likely in charge of the repairs for the Hengjiang.

If that’s the case, it would be strange!

A general who had just won a battle being sent to repair a carrier!?

If the Liangxia Navy really planned that, Tanimoto would laugh himself awake even in his sleep.

At the time, Tanimoto felt that Bai Zhizhan’s visit to Puzhou was probably a cover, that the Liangxia Navy must have had other plans but did not associate them with the Hengjiang.

That’s also normal, for Tanimoto knew the Hengjiang was severely damaged.

Unable to undergo repairs in Chengjiang Port, it likely would not be quickly fixed at Puzhou Port either.

At that time, the battle report of "sinking the Hengjiang" was sent back by Genda, mentioning it was You Yong’s accomplishment, although it later turned out it was the Ling River that was sunk, You Yong’s desperate attack on the Hengjiang hadn’t resulted in its sinking but it was certain the Hengjiang had been severely damaged.

Logically, the carrier definitely had to stay in the dock for several months.

Even if it could still barely sail, it lacked combat capabilities and had many safety hazards. Even without considering the carrier, they couldn’t joke around with the lives of more than two thousand officers and sailors.

According to Tanimoto’s judgment, Bai Zhizhan was most likely using this as cover and then making his way to Jeju Island.

He was responsible for commanding the shore-based air force to bomb the Saiyi mainland, preparing for the inland landing operations of Saiyi.

Although Jeju Island is not a carrier and its roads and ports and other infrastructure are not sufficient, its proximity to Saiyi mainland is close enough, and its area is large enough to build enough airports. If the Liangxia Empire is planning to attack Saiyi mainland soon, they need to make full use of this island.

Moreover, unless Shuangma Island is captured, Jeju Island remains an ideal starting point for the Landing Forces. In that aspect, the Saiyi military is completely unaware of the situation on Jeju Island.

But now, it seems like Bai Zhizhan never went to Jeju Island and stayed on the Hengjiang instead!

Where the hell is that damned carrier!?