Empire Conquest
Chapter 402 - 398: All Feints

Chapter 402: Chapter 398: All Feints

At last, government representatives from both sides, under the witness of the Emperor’s eldest son and Emperor Xia, signed the "Liangxia Empire and Saiyi Imperial Kingdom Eternal Friendship Treaty."

Arranging all these affairs was simply a way to delay time.

Regrettably, up until the signature ceremony concluded at 5:30 PM, the sky remained tranquil.

Less than an hour remained till dusk.

Clearly, the Newland Fleet didn’t come at all!

The reasoning was also simple: even the fastest ship-borne fighters would need over two hours to fly 1000 kilometers, and bombers would require three hours.

Since no enemy aircraft had been spotted by now, it was certain they couldn’t reach here before nightfall.

When the secretary came to inquire if a dinner should be arranged, Liu Changxun flatly refused since he had not planned to linger here another night.

Afterward, the Captain of the "Longxing" sent away Emperor Xia and officials like Niu Man from the Saiyi government.

As for Army Generals like Peng Huaisong, they had already taken a patrol plane arranged by the Land Air Force to Long Sorrow in the west before 4 PM.

Liu Changxun would proceed with the Fleet to Daban Port and wait there for news.

According to the alliance treaty signed with the Saiyi Imperial Country, the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom had already leased ports like Long Sorrow, Shrimp House, Daban, Hengbin, New Xie, and Genshi to the Liangxia Empire, rent-free for 99 years. Unless the Liangxia Empire opted to return them, the lease would be automatically renewed for another 99 years upon expiration.

For this reason, the Imperial Navy temporarily designated Daban Port as the home port of the Second Fleet.

Although its geographical location was slightly off, Daban Port’s infrastructure was relatively well-preserved, and it was also the second-largest city and shipbuilding base in the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

With quite comprehensive shipbuilding facilities, the port could provide maintenance services for all the battleships of the Imperial Navy.

Given its millions of residents, it could also provide comprehensive services and support for the Imperial Navy, allowing navy officers and sailors to receive the most complete services locally.

Having spent several months at sea and in battle, the officers and sailors of the Navy had exceptionally high demands for services.

What’s more, the compensation for the Navy was very high; even the lowest-ranking sailors, including deployment and combat allowances, earned several times more than Army soldiers of the same rank.

As long as the service was thoughtful, the officers and sailors of the Imperial Navy were willing to pay.

In addition, the operational front-line headquarters for this mission was established in Daban.

This was a suggestion by Bai Zhizhan with the intention of deceiving the enemy, because no matter what, the Newland Navy would never expect the Imperial Navy to place a front-line headquarters in a newly occupied Saiyi port.

Around 6 PM, before the "Longxing" set anchor, Liu Changxun instructed the Communication Advisor to send a telegram.

Sending the telegram was actually the same as not.

Because no telegram had been sent about being bombed, Bai Zhizhan knew early on that the Newland Fleet had not attacked East Capital Bay.

As the 41st Special Mixed Fleet was located to the east, the time zone of their sea area was one hour ahead. When "Longxing" sent the telegram, it was already night there.

Receiving the telegram from the "Longxing", Bai Zhizhan and others were dining in the officers’ mess.

After the duty communication officer brought the message, Li Mingbo handed a hundred-yuan bill to Zhou Yongtao, as a result of their bet.

Bai Zhizhan did not bet with Zhou Yongtao but was not surprised by the outcome.

"Order a course change at 7:30 as planned, make sure to report our whereabouts to Navy Headquarters, and besides that, arrange tomorrow’s reconnaissance mission in advance."

"Okay, I’ll arrange it now," said Li Mingbo without delay.

Although he had lost the bet, he didn’t feel annoyed because he had always thought that the risk of attacking Wei Island was too high and not proportional to the potential rewards.

He had made the bet with Zhou Yongtao simply as a hedge—losing didn’t dismay him, and winning wasn’t much to celebrate.

Actually, Zhou Yongtao felt the same way.

"Just like that, we’re going back?" After Li Mingbo left, Zhou Yongtao finally asked, and his tone clearly expressed reluctance.

He had never thought that attacking Wei Island would be easy; rather, he hoped to engage in a decisive naval battle with the Newland Navy.

According to his analysis, if Spur headed to the Northwest East Ocean and attacked East Capital Bay, after the surprise attack on Wei Island—possibly on the 27th or 28th—they might encounter Spur-led Newland Fleet and fight a decisive maritime battle north of Wei Island.

Of course, Zhou Yongtao was confident of victory.

The 41st Special Mixed Fleet had two fleet carriers, while Spur only had one.

A few days before, the Sixth Bureau had sent intelligence that the "Lek" had returned to Noke Naval Base, where it would spend a good half a year under repair.

Even though the Newland Navy still had two small fleet carriers, they certainly couldn’t compete with a full fleet carrier.

Moreover, if the "Fenjin" carried more than ten B-25 bombers, it wouldn’t be able to carry many ship-borne aircraft, and its combat power would surely be very limited.

All in all, if they could catch Spur at this time, Zhou Yongtao was very confident of winning the battle.

But now, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

If Spur hadn’t attacked East Capital Bay, then it was likely the "Fenjin" hadn’t been loaded with B-25s, meaning it could have full air combat capability.

In that case, the 1-plus-2 Newland Special Mixed Fleet could also annihilate the 41st Special Mixed Fleet in one fell swoop.

In a real battle, it was still uncertain who would be the prey.

Zhou Yongtao wasn’t backing down, seeming to think that a battle of evenly matched forces was more meaningful.

As he put it, a noble navy should fight like knights, for only defeating the enemy with honor brought glory.

Of course, he was joking.

But Bai Zhizhan didn’t see it that way, and he snorted at Zhou Yongtao’s "knightly spirit."

Finishing his meal unhurriedly, Bai Zhizhan eventually said, "Although I don’t know where Spur is, I bet that the next clash will be either on Sai Island or Guan Island, resulting in a very bloody and brutal battle that might last for months, or even a year."

"How is that possible?"

"How is it not possible?" Bai Zhizhan wiped his mouth, then looked at Zhou Yongtao. "In devising our strategic plan, we have always emphasized the importance of multi-pronged attacks. It’s not because we think we can break the Newland Navy in one stroke and seize the strategic initiative, but rather to force the Newland Navy to engage us. To put it more bluntly, since we don’t know where the Newland Navy’s defensive focus lies, or which places they must defend, we have to spread our attacks widely. There’s bound to be a spot that the Newland Navy will have to defend at all costs, and they must battle us there."

"This..." Zhou Yongtao sighed inwardly, not voicing the thoughts that had reached the tip of his tongue.

"In the upcoming year, we will have a nearly overwhelming force advantage over the Newland Navy. However, the achievements of this year will determine if we can secure final victory. The real battlefield for the decisive battle isn’t here—it lies in a different direction."

"The Fan Flame Ocean?"

Bai Zhizhan nodded, then continued, "Our oil reserves will last us at most a year and a half. To maintain sufficient attack strength, maybe only a year. By this time next year, if we still haven’t been able to sweep through the Fan Flame Ocean, if we haven’t captured Boss Bay, we may have to consider our retreat."

Zhou Yongtao already knew these things.

According to what Bai Zhizhan said, the actions on the East Ocean side were all strategic feints to cover for the operation against the Fan Flame Ocean!

Actually, that was also the core of the entire offensive plan—treating the feint as the main attack!

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