Empire Conquest
Chapter 295 - 291: Bestowing Upon Another’s Body

Chapter 295: Chapter 291: Bestowing Upon Another’s Body

To get to the bottom of it, whether the Tiaoman Empire could defeat the Locke Republic within three months, and whether it could capture the Kingdom of Viking according to plan, had nothing to do with Bai Zhizhan.

That was a matter of ground warfare. Not to mention that Bai Zhizhan might not understand it, even insiders had no room to intervene.

What Bai Zhizhan needed to consider was another issue.

Although open strategies were considered the just path, and covert strategies were viewed as crooked, and evil cannot prevail over good, the biggest problem with an open strategy was that it left no room for secrets.

As mentioned before, once the Tiaoman Empire initiated its lightning strike, the alliance among the three giants could no longer be concealed.

The question was: Would the Newland Federation still sit back and watch?

If not, then when would the Newland Federation enter the war, how would they participate, and how would they plan their two-ocean strategy after joining?

From the perspective of the Empire Navy, it was about how to handle the threat from across the East Ocean.

This wasn’t a single problem but a series of them.

When it came to the Newland Federation’s participation, the Army generals tended to be optimistic.

In fact, during the secret talks in Baku, General Li Qing repeatedly emphasized that the Newland Federation might not join the battle right away, and even if they did, they would prioritize the Bulan Kingdom.

The reason was very simple: The Saiyi Imperial Kingdom was a lost cause.

The Saiyi Imperial Kingdom was just one step away from defeat. Not to mention that the Newland Federation could hardly reach so far, and after entering the war, they would still need time to mobilize. Even if mobilization was completed in advance and mental preparation for the sacrifice of a million soldiers was made, it might not change the fortune of the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

Compared to the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, the foundation of the Bulan Kingdom was much more substantial.

After all, the Bulan Kingdom was once The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets, whereas the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom was merely a nouveau riche.

Moreover, the Liangxia Empire was simply too powerful, and the Tiaoman Empire was clearly inferior, so it made sense to first deal with the weaker opponent.

Another key point was that the Bulan Kingdom had a sufficiently strong Navy.

Although with this Navy, after establishing confidence in victory, the Bulan Kingdom could ensure its own defense, until it defeated the Tiaoman Empire, the Navy could only keep the Bulan Kingdom safe, unable to play a larger role, such as going to fight in the Fan Flame Ocean and East Ocean.

First defeating the Tiaoman Empire, or at least stabilizing the situation in battle, was needed to activate the Bulan Kingdom’s trump card.

With such clear interrelations, why question the Army’s view?

When encouraging the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom to send a Permanent Fleet to launch a surprise attack on Chengjiang Port, Rofuss had already made a choice, or else they wouldn’t have remained indifferent after the war broke out.

However, the Army generals overlooked the most crucial issue.

Who was the Newland Federation’s number one enemy?

Clearly, not the Tiaoman Empire!

Over twenty years ago, on the day they sent troops to join the last great war, Wilkins declared to the world that the Liangxia Empire was the source of evil, the enemy of the free world, and that the Newland Federation would lead the strongest armed forces of Western civilization to defeat this eastern demon.

Regarding the Liangxia Empire as the number one enemy, why would the Newland Federation focus on the second-rate opponent?

This was not a game of matching horses!

Would defeating the Tiaoman Empire end the war?

Without the support of the Newland Federation, would the Bulan Kingdom be defeated?

After rallying the Bulan Kingdom, would they be more confident in defeating the Liangxia Empire?

Obviously, the answers to these three questions were all negative.

It wasn’t that the Army did not understand the critical implications; rather, they pretended to be naive.

Speaking of which, Situ Jingde and Peng Huaisong still hadn’t given up the idea of attacking the Saiyi mainland.

If it were determined that the Newland Federation would join the battle immediately and that they were focusing on the East Ocean, then decisions had to be made regarding strategic options.

This was the first question Xue Yuanzheng posed to Bai Zhizhan.

Was there a need to attack the Saiyi mainland?

After pondering for a while, Bai Zhizhan finally said, "I personally believe that we must attack Saiyi’s homeland, and the sooner, the better."

"Why?" With no outsiders present, Xue Yuanzheng was quite direct.

"From a strategic perspective, even if Rofuss finds a panacea and successfully convinces the stubborn isolationists at home, it will take several months before they could possibly take action in the West East Ocean. If you include mobilization, it will take even longer."

Xue Yuanzheng did not speak, but his brows furrowed tightly.

Bai Zhizhan did not hold back and articulated his thoughts.

Firstly, the Tiaoman Empire won’t join the fight until next month at the earliest, and then it will take three months to deal with the Locke Republic. The Newland Federation isn’t likely to dispatch troops before the Locke Republic is defeated—or at least before there are signs of their defeat—after all, Rofuss isn’t focused on the Locke Republic.

The Locke Republic, having reconciled with its former enemies after the war, isn’t worth the effort to rescue.

Secondly, the Bulan Kingdom won’t be swiftly defeated; even if its homeland is bombed and blockaded, it can hold out for a while.

Based on the last war, even if all maritime shipping routes are cut, the Bulan Kingdom could last more than half a year relying on its strategic reserves.

The Tiaoman Empire, however powerful, cannot initiate unrestricted submarine warfare against the Bulan Kingdom right after the start of hostilities.

The key point is that the Tiaoman Navy doesn’t have that many ocean-going submarines!

Lastly, the Newland Federation also needs time to complete the necessary mobilization efforts.

Even limited military mobilization, like recalling all Navy personnel on leave and completing maintenance on battleships, will take several months.

Taking all this into account, Bai Zhizhan roughly surmised that the Newland Federation would join the fight in the second half of the year, with the third quarter being the likeliest.

But there was no way it would drag on until next year.

No matter what happens, the Liangxia Navy would have four large carriers by next year, while the Newland Navy would only get one, and not until the year after that.

Based on this, there was little more than half a year left.

However, Xue Yuanzheng didn’t plan on letting Bai Zhizhan off the hook just yet.

"So you’re saying you have found a feasible way?" he asked.

"Not exactly."

Xue Yuanzheng smiled and encouraged Bai Zhizhan to continue.

"I started thinking about this problem after visiting the Ice Storm Peninsula. We have always aimed to defeat the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, but do we really need to?"

"Not defeat them..."

"After the last war ended, the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom set up puppet governments in the occupied territories. Why can’t we use their own methods against them?"

Hearing Bai Zhizhan put it this way, Xue Yuanzheng immediately furrowed his brows.

Bai Zhizhan didn’t continue, as such matters of statecraft were not for a mere Navy Major General to discuss cavalierly, especially considering the topic itself was not exactly honorable.

Let’s not forget, Bai Zhizhan was at this time the Empire’s Quasi Prince Consort.

For decades, the Imperial Family had always stood for greatness, righteousness, and legitimacy, never associating with negative matters.

"This indeed is an option," Xue Yuanzheng mused for a while before saying, "However, no matter how we fight, we can’t avoid going to war with the Newland Federation. If I were Rofuss, I would definitely take action while the Liangxia Empire attacks Saiyi’s homeland, and we obviously cannot delay until next year."

Bai Zhizhan internally sighed with relief.

In fact, this was the second subtlety of the current situation.

In contrast to the situation over in the North Sunset Ocean, in the West East Ocean, the one who couldn’t afford to delay was the Liangxia Empire, while the Newland Federation was the one hoping to drag things out.

At least in the short term, during the first half of the year, the Newland Federation would hope to delay.

What could be done in just a few short months?

If a decisive victory was not achieved on Saiyi’s homeland, and it turned into a war of attrition, then the Liangxia Empire would face complete destruction!

So, to fight or not to fight?