Empire Conquest
Chapter 292 - 288 The Number One Uncertainty Factor

The Tiaoman Navy had indeed dispatched three armored cruisers, but the given reason was to conduct a military visit at the invitation of a friendly nation.

There were indeed a few countries in the Nangu Continent that had friendly relations with the Tiaoman Empire, such as Eting Country, which had absorbed more than a million Tiaoman immigrants.

Of course, this was just a pretext.

The military operation would proceed according to plan. The Tiaoman Empire would ignite the flames of war as per the agreement, at the earliest on April 1, and at the latest by April 30.

The specific day would be determined by the Liangxia Empire.

In other words, it depended on the arrangements on the Liangxia side.

How long would it take for the Liangxia Empire to conquer the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom?

As for the matter of dispatching oil tankers for support, Liu Changxun had already made arrangements.

The Empire’s Navy would send four fast oil tankers that had completed retrofitting to the South Sunset Ocean and would deploy warships, tentatively two heavy cruisers and four light cruisers to accompany them, previously utilizing ports on the Fan Flame Ocean to resupply and support the Tiaoman Fleet after the outbreak of hostilities.

Regarding the commander of this "Expeditionary Fleet," Liu Changxun had also made his choice, and it was related to Bai Zhizhan.

Yes, it was Li Mingbo.

Liu Changxun had already signed Li Mingbo’s Brigadier General promotion order. According to Liu Changxun, upon completing the mission and returning home, Li Mingbo would be promoted to Major General.

The risk was significant, but the gains after completing the mission were even greater.

Having been exceptionally promoted to Colonel shortly after the war began, if he missed this opportunity, given Li Mingbo’s current situation, it would be good enough to be promoted to Brigadier General in the next ten years.

Moreover, this would allow Li Mingbo to be transferred out of the 21st Special Mixed Fleet.

The 21st Special Mixed Fleet was the Special Mixed Group.

According to the revised organizational system, the fleets facing the East Ocean were given even numbers, from north to south, these included the Second Fleet responsible for the Northeast East Ocean, the Fourth Fleet facing the West East Ocean, the Sixth Fleet operating in the Southwest East Ocean, and the Eighth Fleet that would in the future advance into the Middle East Ocean.

The fleets operating in the Fan Flame Ocean were assigned odd numbers: the First Fleet facing the Flame Sea and the Northeast Fan Flame Ocean, the Third Fleet expanding towards the Land Heart Sea in the northwest, and the Fifth Fleet heading towards the Southwest Fan Flame Ocean, which would later advance into the South Sunset Ocean.

Below each fleet, there were Special Mixed Fleets, also numbered.

The 21st Special Mixed Fleet was the first such fleet to be established, operating in the Northeast East Ocean.

Interestingly, the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, a nation in the West East Ocean, was included in the Northeast East Ocean domain, so the fleet facing the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom was the Second Fleet.

The Fourth Fleet was primarily responsible for the waters between Nanzhu Country and the North Ma Islands.

According to Bai Zhizhan’s understanding, Liu Changxun’s arrangement effectively made the Fourth Fleet focus on domestic defense, solidifying the peripheral defense line centered around the North and South Sado Islands.

Evidently, this was aimed at the Newland Federation.

It also reflected from one aspect that even Liu Changxun lacked the confidence to defeat the Newland Navy and was not assured of maintaining initiative after the clash.

Under the new system, Special Mixed Fleets did not have permanent headquarters; they would establish headquarters only temporarily during operations.

Furthermore, both fleets and Special Mixed Fleets fell under the command of the Navy Commander.

Regarding the former Domestic Fleet and Southern Fleet, they were renamed the East District Fleet and Western Region Fleet, with only administrative jurisdiction.

On the matter of going to the South Sunset Ocean, Liu Changxun had asked for Li Mingbo’s opinion, and Li Mingbo was very happy about the possibility of being transferred away from the 21st Special Mixed Fleet.

These details were conveyed to Bai Zhizhan by Liu Changxun on the way to the Prime Minister Mansion.

To save time, Liu Changxun had specially gone to the airport to pick up Bai Zhizhan and then took him to the Prime Minister Mansion.

The reason was straightforward: Xue Yuanzheng personally convened a war conference, determined to end the endless bickering and settle the strategy for attacking the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

The meeting had already lasted for an entire day, and the Grand Secretary hadn’t announced its adjournment, which meant a result was expected.

Clearly, if it were just to pick up Bai Zhizhan to bring him to the Grand Secretary’s Mansion, there was no need for Liu Changxun to make a special trip; anyone could have been sent to the airport.

Liu Changxun’s personal arrival to fetch Bai Zhizhan indicated the intention to inform Bai Zhizhan of these matters.

In addition, Liu Changxun had brought along a document.

A battle plan personally submitted by Peng Huaisong, from the Army.

According to the most optimistic estimate, only half a year was needed to end the ground war and enter the occupation phase focused on maintaining order.

However, that was just the most optimistic estimate.

In this plan, the demands on the Navy were too high, requiring concentrated naval firepower support in the early stages, which would inevitably impact the Navy’s operational deployment in the West East Ocean. To put it bluntly, with the current naval strength, it was impossible to attend to both fronts. If support was given to the Army for the assault on the Saiyi homeland, it might create an opportunity for the Newland Federation, and could even lead to the Newland Federation entering the war ahead of schedule.

The crux of the issue was one point.

The Imperial Navy currently had only four carriers it could deploy!

Across the East Ocean, the Newland Navy had no fewer than five fleet carriers!

How could just four carriers deal with the Newland Navy, let alone the Bulan Royal Navy that was about to enter the war? Where was the capacity to support the Army’s attack on the Saiyi homeland?

"What about the ’Heng River’?"

"The inspection report has come out; there’s a problem with the main structure of the ship, and it presents serious safety hazards, preventing it from sailing at high speeds for extended periods."

"Can’t it be fixed?"

Liu Changxun shook his head and said, "The repair isn’t cost-effective. It would be better to build a new one, and besides, there are no docks available right now, and we are short on workers. According to the shipyard’s report, even under the most optimistic estimate, after repairs it could only be used as a training carrier at best. The risks are too great to send it into combat."

After Liu Changxun finished speaking, Bai Zhizhan sighed and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

There wasn’t much to regret, really.

Even counting the ’Heng River’, the Imperial Navy had only paid the minor price of losing two carriers to wipe out the Saiyi Navy that had six fleet carriers.

The battleships that were sunk in Chengjiang Port?

They were all outdated battleships.

Six of them had been salvaged and could definitely be repaired. Aside from the three that had capsized, the other three were also being salvaged and would rejoin the fray after being fixed.

The key point was that the value of those old battleships was limited.

Even in good condition, pre-treaty era outdated battleships could only serve as gunboats, providing artillery support for the Marine Corps during landing operations.

By this exchange rate, the remaining four fleet carriers could take on the Newland Navy and Bulan Royal Navy.

Of course, this was only theoretical.

Even if Bai Zhizhan were to command the battle against the Newland Navy, he had no guarantee of victory. It would be quite an achievement to ensure a no-loss situation or manage a draw.

"What about the Tiaoman Empire?" Bai Zhizhan brought the topic back around.

"That’s exactly the problem," Liu Changxun paused briefly, waiting for Bai Zhizhan to look his way before he continued, "According to the latest information we have, the secret talks between the Tiaoman Empire and the Locke Republic have not made any substantive progress, and the Locke Republic will be an unpredictable uncertainty."

"What do you mean?"

Bai Zhizhan was a bit confused because what Liu Changxun said was rather vague.

"Before I came out to meet you, I was waiting for final confirmation. There’s a possibility we might have to initiate the backup plan."

Upon hearing Liu Changxun’s words, Bai Zhizhan suddenly understood.

This wasn’t unpredictable—it was a complete mess!