Empire Conquest
Chapter 323 - 319 The First Unforeseen Event

Chapter 323: Chapter 319 The First Unforeseen Event

Seeing the change in Li Mingbo’s expression, Bai Zhizhan knew it wasn’t good news.

However, Li Mingbo didn’t offer any explanation and after reading the message, passed the telegram to Bai Zhizhan.

Just one line.

Provided by the Sixth Bureau.

Major General Hal wasn’t with the fleet, but in the Navy hospital at Treasure Harbor. Intelligence personnel have confirmed his presence there, and the credibility of the information is very high.

"Major General Hal stayed at Treasure Harbor, the one who went to the fleet is..."

Bai Zhizhan glanced at Zhou Yongtao but said nothing more.

"This intelligence might have some problems," Li Mingbo said at this moment. "Not sooner, not later, why did it arrive precisely at this time?"

"If the intelligence is accurate, then who could be impersonating him at the Special Mixed 16th Fleet?"

As Li Mingbo and Zhou Yongtao spoke these words, Bai Zhizhan had already walked over to the Nautical Chart Table.

The two didn’t dawdle and followed him.

"Commander Bai..."

"If the intelligence is correct, Major General Hal’s place commanding the Special Mixed 16th Fleet is very likely taken by his close friend, the cautious yet bold Spur."

"Are you talking about that old Major?"

"Perhaps he’s already a Brigadier General or even a Major General."

"This..." Li Mingbo immediately furrowed his brows.

This Spur was known not just to Bai Zhizhan, but Li Mingbo as well.

In the year 96 of the New Calendar, during the negotiations on whether to extend the "Treaty on the Limitation of Naval Armaments," Li Mingbo followed Bai Zhizhan to the Newland Federation for the discussions and met Spur during this period. Strictly speaking, it was through Major General Hal’s introduction that he met Spur, who was still a Major at over forty years old.

It should be mentioned that Major General Hal and Spur used to be fierce rivals.

Li Mingbo knew a bit about the two men, not thoroughly, since he was just a junior officer who was assisting Bai Zhizhan at that time.

What left a strong impression on Li Mingbo was Bai Zhizhan’s very high evaluation of Spur.

At that time, Bai Zhizhan told Li Mingbo that if he were to confront Major General Hal in the East Ocean, he was quite confident of victory, but against Spur, he didn’t hold as much certainty.

If Major General Hal was likened to a headstrong bull, whimsically called "Barbarian Bull," then Spur was a cunning fox, or a savage wolf, or perhaps a combination of the two.

Very patient, yet also knew when to advance and retreat, doing anything with a clear purpose.

This exterior gentleness coupled with an inner ferocity, or say underhanded character, actually led to Spur facing obstacles everywhere in the Newland Navy, stuck at the rank of a Major well into his forties.

If it weren’t for meeting Major General Hal and becoming his close friend, it would have been hard for him to ever stand out.

All in all, Spur was much more difficult to handle.

According to Bai Zhizhan’s assessment, Spur’s capability was not only far superior to Major General Hal’s but also surpassed that of the Saiyi Navy’s Takano, it was just that his fame came too late.

"It could also be some other Navy Major General," Bai Zhizhan heaved a sigh before continuing, "One thing is certain, if this intelligence is correct and Major General Hal is indeed recuperating in the rear, then the one likely in control of decision-making could very well be Major General Fley."

Hearing Bai Zhizhan say this, Li Mingbo immediately locked his brows in a frown.

"You mean..." Zhou Yongtao also showed a puzzled expression.

"If Hal were in charge of the overall command, then the Newland Fleet would be very proactive, and they might even take the initiative to seek out an opportunity for a decisive battle. If it were Fley, he would focus solely on fulfilling the established operational tasks and would not do anything unrelated to the tasks, let alone take risks."

This statement took several turns, and Li Mingbo and Zhou Yongtao did not immediately grasp its meaning.

"What is the task of the Newland Navy this time?" Although he was asking, Bai Zhizhan’s statement also served as a reminder to the two.

"To eliminate us?" Li Mingbo tentatively replied.

Bai Zhizhan smiled and turned his gaze to Zhou Yongtao.

"If the operation were planned by Admiral Kimmel, he would focus on us and aim to eliminate us. If it’s planned by Nizi, the goal would certainly not be so simple or direct. The fleet is just a tool for combat, or rather, a necessary means to an end. Just as Commander Bai mentioned earlier, even if they eliminate us, the Newland Navy will still face four large carriers next year."

"But if they don’t eliminate us, then we still have to count the four fleet carriers."

"Compared to a few carriers, a revitalized Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, even if only half its former self, holds far greater value."

Li Mingbo was stunned for a moment, but he couldn’t close his mouth.

Although the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom had already fallen and split into East and West regimes, as long as the East Saiyi regime remains, it is not completely dead.

A centipede dies but never falls down, let alone a vast country.

Isn’t the East Saiyi regime still refusing to surrender and barely surviving, just waiting for the Newland Federation to join the war and then for Rofuss to prolong its life?

"Zhou is not wrong; the key lies here," Bai Zhizhan said at this moment, "If it’s just to lure us out, is there a need to mobilize hundreds of transport ships? All of them are deep-sea cargo ships; in the North Sunset Ocean, just last month, more than twenty cargo ships were sunk by the Tiaoman Navy’s submarines. Moreover, they’re all fully loaded. I dare say that only fifty ships would be enough to make us leave the nest."

"According to you, the purpose of the Newland Navy is to ensure that the transport fleet reaches Saiyi?"

Bai Zhizhan smiled, and Zhou Yongtao nodded, indicating Li Mingbo was not wrong.

"Because the 21st Special Mixed Fleet is already heading north, and the 42nd and 43rd Special Mixed Fleets have also set out, the 16th and 17th Special Mixed Fleets of the Newland Navy should be to the south of the transport fleet, one in front of the other. The one in front is slightly north, closer to the transport fleet. The one on the south is slightly more to the south, farther from the transport fleet. According to this deployment, the fleet in front should be engaging Liu Xiangzhen, while the one on the south is responsible for covering, only joining the attack on the 21st Special Mixed Fleet if necessary."

While he said this, Bai Zhizhan also picked up several markers and placed them on the Nautical Chart Table.

"And because the 21st Special Mixed Fleet’s location is exposed, there’s reason to believe that the fleet in front is the 17th Special Mixed Fleet. The 16th Special Mixed Fleet, equipped with three ’York’ class fleet carriers, is covering from behind, focusing on monitoring the west and southwest directions."

"So we should continue maneuvering southeast, to put some distance between us and the 21st Special Mixed Fleet."

After Li Mingbo said this, Bai Zhizhan simply nodded slightly.

"All these speculations are correct, but there’s a precondition," Zhou Yongtao spoke at this time, "Indeed, it’s Major General Fley commanding, and the commander who replaced Major General Hal is obedient to Fley. The question is, if it’s Spur, would he be obedient to Fley?"

Not only Li Mingbo, but also Bai Zhizhan frowned tightly at this point.

Spur made a name for himself and was valued by Hal for being rigid yet flexible, very opinionated.

As for Fley, he certainly didn’t count as outstanding.

Spur didn’t take Hal seriously; how could he possibly be obedient to Fley?

Disunity between generals is a significant taboo in military strategy.

When making these personnel appointments, didn’t Nizi and Hal consider or understand the critical implications?

If so, Nizi is not to be feared.

If they did recognize it, how would he manage the relationship between the two?