Empire Conquest
Chapter 290 - 286: Private Discussion

Chapter 290: Chapter 286: Private Discussion

Social obligations are inevitable, but at the front line, everyone exercises moderation.

After asking Li Qing to take the other officers, Lian Xusheng personally escorted Bai Zhizhan to his lodging. Just like in Jeju Island, it was merely a barracks.

"Brother Lian, if there’s nothing urgent, can we talk some more?"

"Sure, let’s have a good chat."

As he spoke, Bai Zhizhan had already taken off his coat.

Lian Xusheng didn’t refuse, as he had been followed all afternoon during the inspections and there was a banquet in the evening, so he hadn’t found a chance to speak freely.

He had been holding back for a long time, and even if Bai Zhizhan hadn’t brought it up, Lian Xusheng would have mentioned it.

In fact, he brought Bai Zhizhan here to have a serious talk with him.

Lian Xusheng knew that Bai Zhizhan must have guessed his intentions.

In the morning, when they encountered those two escort fighters, Bai Zhizhan had figured things out, knowing that not only had Lian Xusheng learned of his visit to the front lines but also likely received Situ Jingde’s trust to use personal connections to probe deeper into Bai Zhizhan’s intentions.

Knowing that Lian Xusheng was a straightforward person, Bai Zhizhan didn’t hide his thoughts.

What is the likelihood of attacking the Saiyi mainland?

Or rather, is there any chance of conquering the entire territory of Saiyi within half a year?

Clearly, this wasn’t a question to be answered lightly.

"What kind of answer do you want?" Lian Xusheng didn’t directly answer but started with a jest.

Bai Zhizhan didn’t respond, as he knew Lian Xusheng was joking.

"If you want the truth, there’s not much hope."

"Why?"

Lian Xusheng sighed deeply and then said, "Young Brother Bai, I’m only saying this because it’s just us here, and I wouldn’t admit this anywhere else."

Bai Zhizhan nodded, urging Lian Xusheng to speak his mind.

He was telling Bai Zhizhan that this was a private discussion, one he would never acknowledge publicly.

"After capturing Gaozhou, the Imperial Guard Army conducted several battle-level wargames in private. Due to the pessimistic conclusions, the results weren’t published or reported to the Army Headquarter. It’s not that the Armored Forces aren’t strong enough, but that the Saiyi mainland isn’t an ideal battleground."

"How so?"

"Armored units must adhere to a fundamental principle of centering operations around transportation lines, railways, and highways—at least one must be reliable."

"What about ports?"

"Ports and airports are somewhat valuable but mainly serve supplementary roles. The last mile still has to rely on land transport, which makes roads most critical."

Bai Zhizhan furrowed his brows; this was Army tactics, and he was no expert.

"Despite the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom being a strong nation just behind us in the West East Ocean and claiming to be industrialized, they are far from it. Based on pre-war surveys, the road conditions on the Saiyi mainland are very poor, and the roads themselves are not extensive. The key issue is the high population density on the Saiyi mainland. Simply put, on the narrow islands, Armored Forces can’t deploy effectively; tanks would get stuck in urban warfare before they even get a chance to mobilize."

"Must we attack the towns?"

"We can’t just bypass them all, can we? If we attack the towns, it means committing troops and then dealing with the civic issues of the town residents. Furthermore, those few crucial roads and railways that connect the major Saiyi cities cannot be circumvented. If we opt for sea transport, not only would we need to seize the ports along the way but also plan several landing operations, both of which are daunting in terms of difficulty and required time."

"This..."

"If we fight in the city, it means huge losses and consumption, and the advance will slow down. I’m not hiding this from you; in the battle on the Ice Storm Peninsula, we’ve always tried to avoid attacking cities. It was only in Gaozhou that we almost overturned."

As Lian Xusheng said this, Bai Zhizhan understood it all.

Shen Pu and Zhu Huasheng had mentioned before.

When advancing to Buju, the Army Air Force launched a full attack, bombing almost all major cities along the way with incendiary bombs.

This was to avoid urban warfare and slow advancement in the cities.

The Lower High Kingdom is poor and backward, with not many big cities, so this approach was unproblematic.

The Saiyi Imperial Kingdom has a higher level of industrialization and more cities, so the method of bombing with incendiary bombs to clear the way might not work.

"Not even in half a year?"

"Young Brother Bai, that’s a full eighty million people. Even if the Saiyi military doesn’t resist, accommodating and managing eighty million people would take a lot of time. Could that be done in half a year?" Lian Xusheng paused briefly and then continued, "Besides, why keep eighty million Saiyi people? Although in peacetime the Empire’s food production not only sustains itself but also has a surplus, during wartime, the production of fertilizers will definitely decrease, and food production may not hold steady. Suddenly adding eighty million people is no joke."

Bai Zhizhan didn’t respond because he had nothing to say.

The Empire’s food production could sustain itself and had extra for export, mainly because the Empire was the world’s largest producer and consumer of fertilizer.

Producing fertilizers requires importing oil and various chemical materials!

In wartime, considering import restrictions, if there had to be adjustments in the chemical industry, it would definitely be the fertilizers that were restricted, not the explosives.

Since the food export market no longer existed, there was no need to produce more food for export.

Once in a wartime rationed state, food production would definitely decline, and many in primary industries would shift elsewhere.

In the last great war, those in primary industries were the main source of soldiers.

As for the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom’s food production capacity, it was clearly insufficient.

After being ravaged by war, it would become even more problematic.

Like Lian Xusheng said, occupying the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom meant unnecessarily adding eighty million mouths to feed.

This was also mentioned by Shen Pu and Zhu Huasheng.

Emotionally, not just Lian Xusheng, but nearly all of the Empire’s military and civilians would not feed their own food to sworn enemies and traitors.

"Brother Lian, if we do not attack Saiyi’s mainland, how can we end the war with the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom? Or at least, how can we eliminate the threat from the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom?"

Bai Zhizhan tentatively asked.

"There is certainly a way," Lian Xusheng said with a smile as he noticed Bai Zhizhan’s flickering gaze.

Bai Zhizhan smiled, knowing his ploy had been seen through by Lian Xusheng.

"If you ask me, we have always overestimated the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom. Many people, based on the last great war’s battles on the Ice Storm Peninsula, identify the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom as a formidable foe. But how many considered that at that time our main forces were in the Northwest and Southwest, and not many expected the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom to suddenly turn traitor. If we had been prepared, the fighting would not have been so fierce. Although we should not underestimate the enemy, we also have no reason to overestimate this foe," Lian Xusheng exhaled and then continued, "If you ask me, the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom is just asking for a thrashing, not being beaten enough, or else they wouldn’t continue to serve as the vanguard. Since that’s the case, they should suffer more."

"You mean..."

"The Navy captured a few Saiyi generals, right? On our side, the Army also has quite a few prisoners. Organizing them wouldn’t be a waste of all the food and drink we provided for so long."

Bai Zhizhan paused for a moment, then could not help but give a bitter smile.

Hearing Lian Xusheng’s words, it was as if he was talking about domesticated animals.

Indeed, this was a feasible method, one that could be implemented with bearable costs and risks!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.