Empire Conquest
Chapter 331 - 327: Backup Plan

Chapter 331: Chapter 327: Backup Plan

Hale hurried over, and by the time he explained the situation, it was already the afternoon.

Over at Treasure Harbor, Nizi was waiting for Rofuss’s orders.

Since the Liangxia Navy hadn’t fired the first shot, Nizi could only issue orders to the front-line troops after receiving permission from Rofuss.

Strictly speaking, it was actually Rofuss who issued the order to start the war.

From a military perspective, this wasn’t a difficult decision to make.

The 42nd Special Mixed Fleet was there, and the fighters from the 21st Special Mixed Fleet had already appeared in the battlefield area—they must be nearby as well. The 43rd Special Mixed Fleet was also not far away, either behind the 42nd Special Mixed Fleet, to the south, or in the southwest direction.

If they could annihilate the 21st Special Mixed Fleet in one fell swoop, there was a great chance of destroying the other two as well.

Expanding the search range, they might even find the fourth Special Mixed Fleet.

Even if only the 42nd and the 21st Special Mixed Fleets were eliminated, they could still seize the initiative and gain a tremendous advantage in the subsequent battles.

The key was timing.

It was already morning in the Northwest East Ocean. If they waited until the afternoon to attack, they might not be able to wipe out all the discovered Liangxia Fleets.

If they didn’t have enough time and were forced to choose between the 21st and the 42nd Special Mixed Fleets, no matter the choice, the outcome wouldn’t be good.

In short, if they were going to fight, it was better to do it sooner rather than later.

That was also why Hale had come in such a hurry.

On the political level, however, it was not a simple matter.

Rofuss was not hesitating; he was waiting for news.

"I personally called to ask, and until the last piece of intelligence, about an hour ago, there was no unusual movement in the Liangxia Empire. Xue Yuanzheng did not convene an emergency meeting, the Prime Minister Mansion was still very calm, and the Naval Intelligence Bureau was the same."

As Hale said this, he went to pour himself a glass of water.

"Everything is normal?"

Hale nodded, took a sip of water, and then said, "It’s very unusual; Xue Yuanzheng probably anticipated these events and was mentally prepared. In my opinion, the intelligence previously obtained by the Naval Intelligence Bureau was not groundless—Liangxia Empire was well prepared."

Rofuss’s brows were deeply furrowed.

In late September, the Naval Intelligence Bureau intercepted a message stating that the Liangxia Navy had already prepared for war with the Newland Navy before the Double Ninth Festival and had even arranged several long-range patrol planes to ensure that key commanders could be rushed to the front line when necessary.

This "key commander" referred to Bai Zhizhan.

The so-called "when necessary" was the wedding day of Bai Zhizhan and the Little Eldest Princess.

However, the source of the message was very suspicious, so the credibility of the intelligence wasn’t high.

When making this report, the Naval Intelligence Bureau also specifically mentioned that this might be a tactic played by the Liangxia Navy to prevent an attack before the Double Ninth Festival. In short, it was to release the information in advance to make the Newland Navy hesitate and thus abandon initiating a war on the wedding day of Bai Zhizhan.

This speculation seemed sound at the time.

The key was, the intelligence came from the Liangxia Empire’s Sixth Bureau, which was under the Imperial Guard Army loyal to the Imperial Family, so it was certain to protect the Princess’s marriage.

Anyway, including Rofuss, no one took this piece of intelligence seriously.

Only now did it seem that there was some truth to it.

The key was, after such a serious incident had happened, Xue Yuanzheng was still able to stay calm and did not immediately convene an emergency meeting.

The ones getting married were Bai Zhizhan and the Little Eldest Princess of the Empire, not the Imperial Chief Minister.

Besides, the wedding was over. Could it be that the senior officials who went to the wedding were just hanging around outside the bridal chamber to watch the excitement?

If all this was arranged in advance, and Bai Zhizhan was not in the Imperial Capital for the wedding but had already gone to the front line and was with the 41st Special Mixed Fleet.

What else was there to worry about?

The two able leaders of the Liangxia Navy were all at the frontline. If a fight were to start, the Newland Navy would probably be the one to suffer.

Even if it were Rofuss, he would be able to stay calmly at the fishing platform.

Would Bai Zhizhan give up his grand wedding to go to the frontline?

Actually, the question should be asked the other way around: why wouldn’t he?

Although he had never been to the Liangxia Empire, since becoming President, Rofuss had spent a lot of time understanding his future rival: Xue Yuanzheng.

During this period, Rofuss gained a relatively comprehensive understanding of Liangxia’s culture and traditions.

In the ancient country of the East’s thousands of years of civilization, there were always patriots who loyally served their country.

Liangxia culture has always placed "loyalty" and "filial piety" at its core.

Moreover, "loyalty" definitely comes before "filial piety."

Serving one’s country with loyalty is the highest moral realm. For able men and patriots, to say nothing of sacrificing the self, even giving up their families is not too steep a price to pay.

So, what is a grand wedding in comparison?

If Bai Zhizhan had learned beforehand that the Newland Federation was preparing to enter the war at this time, he would certainly give up the grand wedding to the princess.

When he returned from the battlefield victorious, not only would he not face blame or difficulties, but he would also become a hero of the Empire.

Even if he did not return, as long as he died for his country, he would be remembered for eternity.

Isn’t that what soldiers aspire to, to be immortalized in history?

Thinking this, Rofuss couldn’t help but sigh.

To say the least, he had underestimated his opponent, or perhaps he did not understand them, always measuring them against his own values.

In the last century, first the Luosha Empire and then the Bulan Kingdom were successively defeated by the Liangxia Empire, all because of being too self-righteous. By contrast, in the last war, the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, another country from the East, seized the opportunity and achieved consecutive victories at the Ice Storm Peninsula and West East Ocean.

"What should we do now?" Hale asked.

"The situation has developed to this point; there is definitely no turning back," Rofuss said, while taking off the glasses perched on his nose. "Send a message to Nizi to act according to the contingency plan. We’ll issue the ultimatum as soon as possible, so he can take the opportunity."

"The contingency plan?"

Rofuss nodded his head, confirming that Hale had heard correctly.

Hale bit his teeth, but held back nonetheless.

According to the original plan, a military operation would be launched immediately after the cargo ships were attacked, but on the condition that the Liangxia Empire’s battleships and fighters fired the first shot, and the Newland Federation’s battleships and fighters were forced to retaliate. In other words, the Liangxia Navy had to fire the first shot.

This would link the attack on the cargo ships with the Liangxia Navy and claim it was a Liangxia battleship that sank the cargo ships.

However, the Liangxia Navy did not fire the first shot.

And crucially, there was no evidence that the Liangxia battleships sank those cargo ships.

Making baseless claims could end up embarrassing themselves in the end.

Missing this point in time, they would probably not have such a good opportunity again in the future.

Therefore, an ultimatum had to be issued.

Following the method Liangxia Empire used against the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom, Rofuss intended to give only twenty-four hours to hand over the submarines responsible for the attack and for the Fleet to withdraw from the area where the incident occurred, moving to the nearest harbor for unconditional cooperation and assistance with the Newland Federation’s investigation.

It was a series of harsh demands that the Liangxia Empire would definitely not agree to.

However, this would at least delay for twenty-four hours.

If Bai Zhizhan were in the Liangxia Empire, then this twenty-four-hour delay could be fatal.

But now it seems that Bai Zhizhan probably went to the 41st Special Mixed Fleet early, and the grand wedding held in the Imperial Capital was just to deceive the Newland Authority.

This was also the main reason why Rofuss decided to implement the contingency plan.

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