Empire Conquest
Chapter 316 - 312 No Longer Waiting

Chapter 316: Chapter 312 No Longer Waiting

Unknowingly, several hours had passed.

When the secretary came in, it was already the early morning.

However, what the secretary brought was not a late-night snack but a telegram from Treasure Harbor.

Although Nizi was still only a Major General of the Navy, meant to replace Admiral Kimmel after the outbreak of the war to become the commander-in-chief of the East Ocean Fleet, he had gone to Treasure Harbor with several senior staff members a month earlier, right after the battle plan had been finalized.

He was now effectively the highest commander of the East Ocean Fleet.

Moreover, the commanders of the three Special Mixed Fleets were also appointed by him, two of whom were his confidants, and the other was a newly promoted Colonel.

The telegram from Nizi was asking whether to call a halt.

Hale didn’t have much to say. He made a call in front of Rofuss, inquiring from the Ministry of Navy whether there was any intelligence related to the Liangxia Navy.

"Alright, understood."

As Hale hung up the phone, Rofuss finally looked up at him.

Hale said nothing, just shook his head.

There was no new news, what was there to say?

Rofuss’s expression immediately darkened.

"Regardless, we need to make a decision whether to fight or not."

"How much longer till the final deadline?"

Hale first glanced at his watch, calculated for a moment, and then said, "About one more hour, if we don’t give the order..."

Rofuss raised a hand, and Hale closed his mouth.

Although he had already resolved to do so, when formulating the war plan, Rofuss had included a safeguard for unexpected situations.

If he did not issue a formal combat command twelve hours before the trigger point of the war, commonly referred to as "the final deadline," all ships on the mission, including the three Special Mixed Fleets of the East Ocean Fleet, would have to turn around and return.

Only this way could they ensure the transport fleets turned before entering the blockaded area.

That was over a hundred ocean freighters totaling more than 1.5 million tonnes!

But now, could they instruct the fleet to turn around, could they have the fleet return?

To say nothing of the Saiyi Imperial Country’s fate, just ending the long-planned combat operation and having the fleet at the edge of the battlefield return would be a tremendous blow to the morale of the Navy officers and men; they might feel that they were utterly incapable of defeating the powerful Liangxia Empire.

As the saying goes: Morale can be boosted but not leaked.

That was exactly the point.

In the past six months, especially after the Tiaoman Empire suddenly declared war and launched a blitzkrieg on the Locke Republic and the Kingdom of Viking, and initiated unrestricted submarine warfare against the Bulan Kingdom, some within the federal authorities had already raised doubts to the President, with the militant faction suspecting whether the President was too fearful to enter the war or was worried about losing to the Liangxia Empire, thus staying out of the battlefield and failing to provide support to the allies.

Even the isolationist-leaning leftists were questioning the President’s strategy.

According to the latest opinion polls, Rofuss’s approval rating had dropped by fifteen percentage points, and he was temporarily trailing behind the Republican presidential candidate.

Continuing this trend, Rofuss’s chances of losing the election were very high.

If a Republican President were elected, in addition to entering the war, he would certainly make the West Continent the main battlefield, first aiding the Bulan Kingdom against the Tiaoman Empire.

That meant surely abandoning the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

Even if he were successful on the West Continent and defeated the Tiaoman Empire, the Liangxia Empire would have already swept through the entire East Ocean and completed comprehensive wartime mobilization.

Strategically, whether they could seize the initiative before the Liangxia Empire completed its wartime mobilization would be the first critical turning point in the grand war. If they could, the future was bright. If not, they’d better make long-term plans. Whether they could or not depended on the first year after entering the war.

The Republican presidential candidate hadn’t been involved in formulating the strategic plan and thus was unaware of the urgency of the situation, let alone understanding the intricate implications.

Moreover, the Republican President’s appeal definitely couldn’t match Rofuss’s.

Thus, the Newland Federation might lose its most vital foreign support.

In fact, even if Rofuss won the election, if he chose to retreat at this time, it would certainly have had a destructive impact on military morale and spirit.

Not to mention, the Bulan Kingdom might end up negotiating peace with the Tiaoman Empire!

Last month, after the battle plans were finalized, Rofuss personally called Chur, emphasizing the participation in the war in October.

At that time, Rofuss told Chur over the phone that after the Newland Federation participated in the war and achieved a great victory, it would unconditionally increase its aid to the Bulan Kingdom.

The key point was to send fleets to escort the transport convoys.

Between the lines, it meant that once the Newland Federation entered the war, the hard days of fighting alone for the Bulan Kingdom would be over.

Inspired, Chur explicitly stated that the Bulan Kingdom would declare war on the Liangxia Empire immediately after the Newland Federation entered the war and blockade the Throat Strait, send several carriers to the Fan Flame Ocean, and with the fastest speed control or sink the Liangxia vessels navigating there.

Basically, it was to immediately choke the Liangxia Empire.

In the call, the two talked very amiably.

Rofuss called Chur a great fighter, who never bowed to the evil empire in the battle to defend democracy and freedom, deserving respect from everyone.

Chur said Rofuss was the savior of Western civilization, the morning star in the eastern sky at dawn.

The crucial point was that both sides had painted a big picture for each other.

Now tell Chur that it was just a pie in the sky?

Moreover, it wasn’t feasible on a military level.

Although Rofuss had no military experience, he had served as the assistant to the Minister of the Navy, so he understood the Navy well and knew that missing this timing would no longer allow for a better, or even similar, opportunity, at least not in terms of fleet operations.

Either give up, or start fighting now!

But what was the use of thinking so much?

The arrow was now on the string.

To be precise, in sending Nizi to Treasure Harbor last month and deploying the three Special Mixed Fleets, it was as if the crucial arrow had been shot.

Since the arrow had been shot, there was no turning back!

After pondering for a while, Rofuss finally sighed deeply.

"Have you made a decision?" Hale had been watching Rofuss’s changing expressions carefully and knew when Rofuss sighed.

Having known Rofuss for decades, Hale understood him too well.

If he hadn’t made a decision, Rofuss definitely wouldn’t have sighed.

"Go and give the orders, everything proceeds as planned. If the contingency plan is to be adopted, there’s no need for approval, report the situation after the battle begins."

"This..." Hale was surprised, or rather, hadn’t reacted yet.

This arrangement meant delegating the decision-making power to Nizi, allowing a Navy Major General, who would soon be promoted to Admiral, to decide the fate of the Newland Federation.

To say it, this definitely was not Rofuss’s style.

"We’ve already waited for half a year, missing too many opportunities. Continuing to wait might not bring better opportunities, so we won’t wait anymore."

Hearing Rofuss say this, Hale also sighed.

"Come here later, a few parts of the declaration of war need to be rephrased, help me review them."

"Okay, I’ll go send Nizi the message now."

After Hale left, Rofuss sighed softly again, but quickly calmed down and picked up the document that had been on his desk.

It wasn’t just a document, it was the declaration of war he had written himself.

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