Empire Conquest
Chapter 376 - 372: Delay as the Main Strategy

Chapter 376: Chapter 372: Delay as the Main Strategy

If one were to say that the major factor affecting combat operations in the northwest direction was the weather, then in the southwest direction, it was primarily the geography.

Horizontally positioned between the Wuji Plateau and the Gangaro Plain, the Cangqiong Mountains proved an insurmountable barrier.

Although the Cloud Mist River cut through the Cangqiong Mountains, the gorge was far too steep; across a mere few dozen kilometers, the elevation dropped several thousand meters, making the journey not only difficult for armored forces equipped with tanks and heavy artillery but even for infantry troops.

Moreover, transporting equipment and supplies to the Wuji Plateau was an extremely arduous task.

From the Empire’s heartland to the Wuji Plateau, the only two highways available could only be accessed during the spring, summer, and autumn seasons, and the maximum transport capacity was severely limited.

It was for this reason that, prior to the last outbreak of the war, the Empire had spent a vast sum of money constructing a railway in the northern part of the Toe Peninsula that led to the eastern part of the Gangaro Plain.

Regrettably, that railway no longer belonged to the Empire.

Peng Huaisong specifically emphasized that naval forces still needed to spearhead military operations facing the Fan Flame Ocean, especially in the Fanluo region.

The navy was needed to capture ports and establish landing bridgeheads.

Advancing from sea to land was easier than pushing westward from the Toe Peninsula.

As for scaling the Wuji Plateau and then charging out from the great gorge of the Cloud Mist River, this was not at all feasible and had never been considered by the Imperial Army.

Historically, especially during the period of Chen Bingxun, the Empire had advanced into the Gangaro Plain via sea and land.

That railway also served the navy, helping to consolidate the Empire’s military presence in the Fanluo region, especially in the inland areas far from the coast. After entering the Gangaro Plain, the railway branched into several lines leading to major ports in the eastern part of the plain.

For the time being, the Imperial Navy was unable to advance into the Fan Flame Ocean.

Thus, the Army had to advance on the ground.

Regarding this, Peng Huaisong only made one demand; do not hold too high hopes for the Army.

According to the battle plan he brought, even without considering the resistance encountered during the offensive, merely restoring that railway would take a sizable part of the year.

Additionally, the Army had brought more than one plan.

After emphasizing that a traditional ground attack was not feasible, Peng Huaisong proposed an entirely new battle plan which, it seemed, was spoken on behalf of Li Yunxiang.

Relying on the Empire’s airports and bases in the southwest region, strategic bombings would be launched on the large cities of Fanluo, especially those ports that could support the Bulan Royal Navy.

At a glance, this actually seemed like a solution.

But Xue Yuanzheng, without even thinking, dismissed the idea.

The reason was quite simple.

There weren’t many airports in the Empire’s southwest homeland!

Another key point was, even using four-engine heavy bombers departing from airports in the Empire’s southwest, it was possible to pose a threat only to the eastern areas of the Gangaro Plain, while the ports relied upon by the Bulan Royal Navy were in fact in the western part of the Fanluo region, mainly on the west coast of the Fanluo Subcontinent.

Those ports were over 3000 kilometers away from the Empire’s southwest region!

In theory, deploying the bombers on the southern plateau of the Empire’s northwest region might just enable them to fly across, but it was still unachievable in reality.

There were also no airports there, and neither railways nor highways to transport supplies to the front line.

Deploying bombers on the Wuji Plateau, specifically in the upper valleys of the Cloud Mist River?

It was just a thought, clearly unrealistic.

The key issue was that the average altitude of the Cangqiong Mountains exceeded 6000 meters, while the cruising altitude of most bombers was less than 6000 meters.

Loaded with several tons of bombs, there was no type of bomber capable of flying over the Cangqiong Mountains.

One might say, Peng Huaisong was setting up Li Yunxiang, or perhaps shirking responsibility.

If Xue Yuanzheng adopted his suggestion, then in the event of a failed strategic bombardment, the blame would have to be borne by Li Yunxiang.

Xue Yuanzheng did not deny the difficulties of conducting operations in the tropical rainforest in the northern part of the Toe Peninsula and the river network region in the eastern part of the Gangaro Plain.

Even during Chen Bingxun’s era, the Imperial Army had bypassed these two areas. The complex geographical environment, the harsh climate, the disease-spreading mosquitoes, the crocodiles lurking in the marshes, and the venomous snakes hidden in the jungle, all were natural enemies of the invaders.

Let alone the military, even professional exploration teams faced more danger than luck upon entering.

In the end, Xue Yuanzheng emphasized only one point.

The Bulan Kingdom had declared war on the Empire, so no matter how difficult, it was necessary to organize an expeditionary force to advance from the northern part of the Toe Peninsula toward the Gangaro Plain.

There was no need for rapid advancement or for capturing territories.

As Peng Huaisong said, the plan was to repair the railway and advance steadily westward, just enough to pose a threat to the Bulan troops.

Once the Bulan Kingdom deployed troops, it would not only be the Imperial Army facing the daunting terrain and harsh conditions.

Lastly, they discussed the additional topic proposed by Situ Jingde.

Should they send an expeditionary force to support the Tiaoman Empire?

According to the plan, the Tiaoman Empire was soon to launch an assault on the southern region of the West Continent, specifically the northern shore of the Land Heart Sea, which would definitely require support from the Liangxia Empire.

If all went well, the Tiaoman army might even cross the Land Heart Sea, attack the northern shore of the Xuan Continent, and then advance to the crucial Xifan Canal.

If they could capture the Xifan Canal, the battles over the Fan Flame Ocean would be of little concern.

From the current situation, this was even the Tiaoman Empire’s top priority.

However, the problem was, if the reliability of the Luosha Federation was in question, and the Tiaoman Empire felt the threat from the east was not eliminated, they might not commit enough troops to the south.

Essentially, the Tiaoman Air Force’s strategic bombing of the Bulan Kingdom had not achieved the expected results, and the Bulan Kingdom had not collapsed under the bombings and blockade.

Moving south now was effectively opening a second front.

If the Luosha Federation turned against them, they would face a predicament of fighting on three fronts.

It was for this reason that Situ Jingde proposed sending an expeditionary force to the Tiaoman Empire before the Luosha Federation could turn against them, to urge the Tiaoman Empire to proceed with its southern advance as planned.

On the surface, Situ Jingde’s suggestion made sense.

The key was capturing the Xifan Canal.

But the problem was, even if the Tiaoman army made smooth progress, it would still take at least a year or even two to hope to sweep through the southern regions of the West Continent.

As for attacking the Xifan Canal, that was even more elusive.

Sending military personnel alone was not a major issue, but transporting main battle equipment like tanks through the Luosha Federation to the Tiaoman Empire was too overt.

As Xue Yuanzheng put it, doing so would force the Luosha Federation to immediately turn against them.

Thus, Xue Yuanzheng vetoed Situ Jingde’s suggestion, or rather, put it on hold for the time being.

Regarding the attitude toward the Luosha Federation, Xue Yuanzheng’s stance had never changed: delay one day if possible. After all, the Imperial Army was already fighting on three fronts, and the Navy also needed time to recover. It was not advisable to fall out with the Luosha Federation in the short term, even if it meant delaying the Tiaoman Empire’s southern advance.

For this reason, Xue Yuanzheng also emphasized another point.

In the Empire’s strategic plans, the Tiaoman Empire was not a necessary condition for victory.

In other words, they could consider sacrificing or abandoning the Tiaoman Empire.

As selfish as it sounded, everyone understood the reasoning.

Without the Tiaoman Empire, the Liangxia Empire could still continue to fight. Conversely, if the Liangxia Empire were defeated, the Tiaoman Empire would likely not last even a month.

By the time they reached this point in the discussion, it was already evening.

Since most of the proposals had been rejected, several Army generals took their leave and left after the meeting.

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