Empire Conquest
Chapter 269 - 265: Appropriate for the Occasion

Chapter 269: Chapter 265: Appropriate for the Occasion

Wang Kaiyuan wasn’t talking nonsense.

Other negotiation representatives had read the relevant materials on the way to Baku, but only Bai Zhizhan was sound asleep.

Although a few hours isn’t a long time, it’s enough to achieve a lot when used effectively.

It’s not too late for a refresher now.

This secret negotiation was divided into four parts, strategic planning and military cooperation, battle results and post-war benefits distribution, army coordination, and navy cooperation.

Bai Zhizhan was responsible for the navy cooperation and was also the full authority negotiation representative.

The main negotiation partner was the Tiaoman Empire.

According to the agreement, all negotiations were tripartite, even if the navy of the Luosha Federation was insignificant, they still had to participate in the naval discussions.

The negotiations were not just about technology exchanges, but also included joint operations.

When it comes to technology exchanges, that was actually a secondary issue.

As for technology exchange, that was what Wang Kaiyuan had mentioned during the meal.

The Imperial Navy wanted to acquire those advanced long-range submarines from the Tiaoman Navy. If an agreement could be reached, it would be best to have the Tiaoman Empire provide technical assistance, such as sending a group of designers and engineers to the Liangxia Empire’s shipyards to offer on-site guidance and hands-on instruction.

Moreover, there was an aim to achieve military-level cooperation, sending submarine officers and sailors to the Tiaoman Navy’s submarine forces for training.

The Sixth Bureau had made predictions about what the Tiaoman Empire might ask for in return.

What the Tiaoman Navy wanted most from the Liangxia Empire in military technology was neither the "Imperial Capital" class design blueprints nor related to aircraft carriers.

It was three things.

The design plans for the "Xu Sea" class, the matching naval guns with a 50-caliber 400mm diameter, and the production technology for the latest 400mm heavy armor-piercing bullets.

Tiaoman Navy’s "Prime Minister" class had a displacement exceeding 50,000 tons, which was 15% higher than the "Xu Sea" class, yet it was inferior to "Xu Sea" class in all aspects.

The key point was that this battleship, which had been proposed by the Tiaoman Navy, had been in development for ten years now.

Even though it had been launched, it would still be several months before it could be completed and put into service.

In contrast, it took less than four years for the Liangxia Empire’s "Xu Sea" class to go from design to active service.

Based on the principles of warship design, if the "Xu Sea" class increased its displacement by 15%, its combat power would be able to obliterate the "Prime Minister" class.

Such tenacity for a battleship that was already obsolete before being completed indicates how much the Tiaoman Navy valued it.

This was due to objective reasons.

On the battlefields faced by the Tiaoman Navy, fast battleships still held immense value, while aircraft carriers, relied upon by the Liangxia Navy, were constrained everywhere.

To say nothing of other factors, just the severe weather conditions made those carriers, which freely roamed the East Ocean, unable to even navigate properly in the North Sunset Ocean.

During winter, amid constant storms, ship-borne aircraft had no way of taking off.

And in adverse weather conditions like thick fog, even if the ship-borne aircraft did manage to fly, they could be aimlessly circling, and whether they could return and land on the carrier was another matter.

That’s why, not just the Tiaoman Navy, but even the Royal Bulan Navy placed a high emphasis on battleships.

The Royal Bulan Navy’s understanding of aircraft carriers was fundamentally different from the other three carrier powers, also influenced by the terrible climate of the North Sunset Ocean.

The Imperial Authority was not only unopposed to providing the technology for fast battleships but was actually very keen on it.

There is nothing surprising about this, the "Xu Sea" class is a typical Treaty Type fast battleship with many issues, which is why only two were built.

The construction of post-treaty type fast battleships had already started, and this time, four were being built at once, right on the shipyards of Puzhou and Cizhou.

So, what’s the harm in giving the "Xu Sea" class design blueprints to the Tiaoman Empire?

If needed, technical personnel could even be sent to provide support and reorganize the Tiaoman Empire’s shipbuilding plants as well as the accompanying enterprises.

The stronger the Tiaoman Navy becomes, the greater help it will provide to the Imperial Navy.

Technical cooperation was difficult to yield immediate results.

Even without considering the inevitable issues present in reality, starting construction now and proceeding at wartime pace, it still took three years to build a battleship.

By then, the war would probably be nearing its end.

The urgent matter was actually military cooperation, or rather, joint operations.

At this point, Bai Zhizhan realized that he was just a minor character.

Strategically, military cooperation wasn’t much related to the Navy. The Tiaoman Empire was a land power on the West Continent with a not-so-strong navy.

As Wang Kaiyuan said, the short term focus would definitely be on the Army.

The Navy?

It was only there to make an appearance.

The real issue Bai Zhizhan needed to discuss was just one thing.

The Tiaoman navy would send out those few large cruisers to patrol the South Sunset Ocean before joining the war and attack Bulan Kingdom’s maritime supply lines to force the Bulan Kingdom to dispatch its fleet to the South Sunset Ocean, thereby temporarily preventing the Bulan Royal Navy from taking action in the Fan Flame Ocean.

The Imperial Navy could promise to send oil tankers to the South Sunset Ocean to ensure fuel supply for the Tiaoman cruisers when needed.

According to the development of the war situation, the Imperial Navy would enter the Fan Flame Ocean when necessary.

In short, the Tiaoman navy must take action to tie down the main forces of the Bulan Royal Navy, preventing them from causing significant disturbance in the Fan Flame Ocean.

However, this involved the Army, so it might not be possible to reach an agreement.

For this reason, an alternative plan had been prepared.

After the outbreak of the war, the Tiaoman navy would not only send large cruisers to operate in the South Sunset Ocean and the Fan Flame Ocean but would also deploy battleships including the "Prime Minister" in the North Sunset Ocean to threaten the Bulan Kingdom’s homeland and distract the Bulan Royal Navy.

The Liangxia Empire would provide shore-based combat aircraft and, if necessary, dispatch pilots to support the Tiaoman navy’s operations in the North Sunset Ocean.

Battleships?

Those that could be sent were useless, and the useful ones couldn’t be sent.

However, it was possible to agree to help the Tiaoman Empire build battleships corresponding to their war losses with material and financial aid during the war.

To put it bluntly, if the "Prime Minister" was sunk, the Liangxia Empire would help the Tiaoman navy build a battleship of the same type.

If really needed, existing battleships could be considered when the time was right.

To use the language of card games, as long as the Tiaoman Empire was willing to exert effort, then the winnings were theirs, and the losses would be on the Liangxia Empire.

A no-lose deal, why not go for it?

Of course, it was necessary to provide combat materials like ammunition and fuel, and even supply the Tiaoman Empire with weapons and equipment such as bombers.

As long as the Bulan Royal Navy could be tied down, the Tiaoman Empire would get whatever it needed.

Of course, that was provided the Liangxia Empire could offer it.

According to this plan, the Tiaoman Empire had to hold out in the West Continent for at least one year, or rather, fight alone for one year before the Liangxia Empire could lend a hand.

The reason was, the Liangxia Empire needed one year to defeat the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

Due to political and diplomatic considerations, the Liangxia Empire might not declare war on the Bulan Kingdom within that year, hence a precaution needed to be taken in advance.

By the beginning of the New Calendar year 101, once war mobilization was essentially complete, even if at war with the Newland Federation, the Liangxia navy would still be able to send forces to the Fan Flame Ocean.

Thus, it was clear the Navy wasn’t the main focus of this secret meeting.

At best, it was a long-term plan.

Bai Zhizhan didn’t feel discouraged but relaxed quite a bit, as this meant there was no need to spend too much effort or risk offending anyone.

Speaking of which, the last time he went abroad was more than a decade ago, to the Bulan Kingdom for negotiations on naval armament restrictions.

Having come out for the first time in a while, he might as well relax a bit.