Empire Conquest
Chapter 423 - 419: Flame Sea Front Line

Chapter 423: Chapter 419: Flame Sea Front Line

After hearing Chur finish speaking, Cunningham’s expression didn’t change at all.

That’s just the kind of person he is.

While Chur spoke confidently and painted an alluring picture of how to design Isenway, Cunningham was distracted, as he was pondering a more important issue.

"Is this intelligence reliable?"

"You’re talking about the news that Bai Zhizhan is heading to the Flame Sea?"

Cunningham didn’t utter a word; he always felt that Chur was not a qualified politician, due to a severe lack of coherence and logic in his speech.

When it got to the exciting parts, he even stuttered a bit!

"It came straight from Isenway himself, so there shouldn’t be any issues."

"That said, we might need to start earlier."

"Is that necessary?" Chur obviously hesitated when posing this question.

"Since the Damman Kingdom has already shown its stance, allowing Liangxia troops to pass through and station, it’s certain that Lion Spring City will fall within a few months." Cunningham paused briefly before saying, "Since we haven’t deployed a carrier to the Fan Flame Ocean, and Newland’s garrison in the Nanzhu Country has already been defeated, there’s every reason to believe that the Liangxia Navy will seize the opportunity to deal us a heavy blow in the Fan Flame Ocean."

"You mean..."

"Decades ago, Chen Bingxun took the risk of leading his fleet into the Fan Flame Ocean, blockaded the Throat Strait, and not only took Lion Spring City in one fell swoop but also defeated the Expeditionary Fleet in the subsequent Andaman Sea battle. According to Liangxia Navy propaganda, Bai Zhizhan is the closest one to Chen Bingxun’s caliber."

"It’s not the same as before."

"There are a thousand reasons for victory, but only one for defeat."

Chur was taken aback but didn’t continue the conversation.

The phrase came from the Royal Bulan Navy’s War God, Nelson—the only undefeated commander before Chen Bingxun—but it was only the first half.

The second half read: It’s because of arrogance and underestimating the enemy.

Initially, the Royal Bulan Navy lost Lion Spring City because of their arrogance, not taking the Liangxia Fleet seriously, and believing that they wouldn’t dare venture into the Fan Flame Ocean.

If they had strengthened their defenses and discovered in time that the Liangxia Fleet had entered from the eastern strait into the Fan Flame Ocean, the Bulan Royal Navy might not have lost Lion Spring City. If they had dispatched a fleet to guard the Throat Strait in time, they could have held Lion Spring City for several more months, which would have given them a chance to turn defeat into victory.

At that time, the Royal Bulan Navy decided to abandon Lion Spring City because they didn’t fully understand the Liangxia Fleet’s situation, such as the number of transport ships. If they had known that the Liangxia Fleet had only a few transport ships with supplies lasting only six months, they would have fought to the death in Lion Spring City.

"When do you plan to depart?" After some thought, Chur accepted Cunningham’s suggestion.

"In the next few days," Cunningham glanced at Chur and then said, "We’ll still proceed with the plan in the initial phase, and after completing the planned raid, I’ll bring the main battle fleet back to Nara Fortress, and we’ll set off a half month early. This means the Domestic Fleet will need other arrangements."

"Who do you think is best suited for the task?"

"General Saville."

"Him?"

"Just for search and destroy missions targeting the ’Prime Minister’, General Saville is fully up to the task."

Chur furrowed his brows and, after pondering for a moment, quietly nodded, signaling his approval of Cunningham’s recommendation.

"The Domestic Fleet’s operations should be delayed a few more days. Before I return to Alexandria, I’ll have a talk with General Saville to make sure he understands the significance of this operation. As long as the ’Prince of Wales’ is in service on time, the Domestic Fleet will have three fast main battle ships. Even if the Tiaoman Navy’s entire main force comes out, the problem won’t be too big. At least we can be confident in driving the Tiaoman Fleet back."

"Then it couldn’t be better."

"Don’t worry, from what I know of him, even though he is indeed a bit conservative and lacks initiative, he’ll have no problems executing this kind of defensive mission."

"Is there anything else we should be alert to?"

Cunningham hesitated for a moment before saying, "After completing the task of encircling and destroying the ’Prime Minister’, we must make Saville leave with the fleet immediately, without any delay. Simply put, the faster and more decisive his actions, the more it helps my side."

"I will personally urge him on."

"That’s settled then."

"Do you want to stay for breakfast?" As he asked this, Chur had already stood up, clearly not intending to invite Cunningham to stay for breakfast.

"No need, I have a lot of work to deal with."

Cunningham was a straightforward person and had known Chur for over twenty years. He was well aware of Chur’s true colors and didn’t fuss over small matters with him.

Besides, he wasn’t missing out on just one breakfast.

At this moment, above the southern waters of the Flame Sea, the transport plane carrying Bai Zhizhan had already entered the landing pattern, with the Land Air Force’s field airport directly ahead.

Since the Navy’s shore-based air force had not participated in the operations here, the airports were completely controlled by the Army Air Force.

Though called a field airport, its infrastructure was quite complete, with three runways and at least four high-altitude gun positions around the perimeter.

Additionally, the runways were lined with various combat aircraft of all sizes.

Mainly twin-engine long-range fighters and medium bombers.

As for the mainstay of the Land Air Force, the heavy bombers that Li Yunxiang held in high esteem, there were only a few.

With a combat radius of less than 1500 kilometers, there wasn’t a need for heavy bombers. Twin-engine medium bombers were sufficient.

Of course, this was also due to the scarcity of heavy bombers.

Almost all of the heavy bombers had been sent to the Northwest to perform strategic bombing on the Luosha Federation, so only medium bombers had been deployed here.

Before the transport plane landed, Bai Zhizhan also noticed several construction sites outside the airport.

After landing and disembarking from the transport plane, Bai Zhizhan met an old acquaintance who had come to receive him.

Land Air Force Major General Du Kang.

Before returning to the Land Air Force with Li Yunxiang, he had also served in the Navy, participating in several battles after the outbreak of the war, then as the commander of the Third Shipborne Air Force Wing.

It should be said, he owed Bai Zhizhan a huge favor.

Had it not been for Bai Zhizhan’s help in erasing a few blemishes from his personal record, he might have been sent to the Naval Aviation School after Li Yunxiang returned to the Land Air Force.

Compared to his time in active Navy service, Du Kang seemed like a changed man.

The phrase "like a fish in water" was in fact more appropriate in his case.

It was understandable, as pilots like Du Kang, who originally came from the Land Air Force, had difficulty finding a sense of belonging in the Navy and only by returning to the Land Air Force could they find a position that suited them.

It also had to do with being heavily relied upon.

Although Li Yunxiang had many capable subordinates, Du Kang was just one of them, yet now he was the highest commander of the Army Air Force in the Flame Sea direction. Li Yunxiang trusted Du Kang because he had served in the Sea Air for more than a decade and he had vowed never to drink again.

In Li Yunxiang’s words, he was the local tyrant here.

In front of Bai Zhizhan, Du Kang didn’t dare to misbehave.

On the way to the command center, Du Kang roughly briefed him on the situation.

Just yesterday, Sharp Bamboo Pattern Airport was officially completed.

Sharp Bamboo Pattern Airport was located next to the port, which made transporting ammunition more convenient. They were also going to build a dedicated oil pipeline, and in the future, the forward headquarters would be set up there.

The move had not taken place yet mainly because essential facilities like barracks were not yet completed.

As for military strength, that could be summed up in a few words.

So far, in the southern region of Flame Sea, there were over 1,500 combat aircraft, with the majority being bombers. At an 80 percent sortie rate, theoretically, it was possible to deploy a maximum of 800 bombers and 400 fighters at one time, but actually, the number of sorties was limited by the airports.

Though it couldn’t compare to the Northwest Battlefield, it was certainly more than enough to attack Lion Spring City.