Empire Conquest
Chapter 425 - 421 "Prime Minister" Strikes

Chapter 425: Chapter 421 "Prime Minister" Strikes

When he had seen off several Damman Navy generals who had come to pay their respects, it was already the wee hours of the next morning.

The banquet, which had gone on all night, left Bai Zhizhan speechless; he felt that he was not cut out for this kind of social interaction and needed an adjutant who was good at it.

The key point was that the Damman Navy generals had come specifically for him.

As Du Kang put it, in terms of fame, Bai Zhizhan was definitely among the top three in the Kingdom of Damman, with the other two being Lian Xusheng and Li Yunxiang.

Not to mention anything else, the Kingdom of Damman regarded Bai Zhizhan as the contemporary Chen Bingxun.

Decades ago, it was only after the fleet commanded by Chen Bingxun had captured Lion Spring City that the Kingdom of Damman became the Empire’s number one ally on Toe Peninsula.

Even after the last war had ended, the Kingdom of Damman maintained a good relationship with the Empire.

Even after the war, the Kingdom of Damman did not completely lean towards the Western Powers; nominally it remained neutral but, in reality, it had a tendency to curry favor with the Empire.

Not to mention anything else, the Empire’s imported quinine, natural rubber, and other tropical products mainly came from the Kingdom of Damman.

Of course, Bai Zhizhan’s widespread fame had something to do with another one of his identities.

At least, for the Royal Family of Damman, Bai Zhizhan, as the Imperial Prince Consort, was someone they needed to flatter.

Among the visiting Damman Navy generals, one was the King of Damman’s cousin, who had also received the title of Prince not long before.

Naturally, with a Prince acting as an intermediary, it became much smoother to make requests.

So-called cooperation was, simply put, about seeking aid from the Empire.

The Kingdom of Damman hoped the Empire could provide a batch of warships to create a powerful fleet. In return, the Damman Royal Navy would be responsible for controlling Damman Bay and the northwestern waters of Throat Strait, offering cover for the ships passing through there and ensuring that the shipping route was unobstructed.

The problem was, couldn’t the Imperial Navy use the aid warships to form an escort fleet?

If it was just about providing some smaller-sized warships, the issue wouldn’t be so big.

So far, the Imperial Navy had not had many sea transportation routes that needed to be protected.

Only after the Empire marched into Fan Flame Ocean and seized Boss Bay would it be necessary to consider escorts. By then, the Imperial Navy would certainly obtain enough escort warships, so the destroyers and light cruisers built before the war might not be useful, not to mention the warships replaced by the main battle fleet.

If it would strengthen relations, it wasn’t impossible to donate some old warships to the Kingdom of Damman.

But the Kingdom of Damman made a rather excessive demand.

They hoped the Imperial Navy would provide an aircraft carrier!

It didn’t have to be a fleet carrier; a smaller carrier would do.

In simple terms, it was a matter of face.

It seemed the King of Damman felt that an aircraft carrier was a totem and symbol of national strength; having a carrier would elevate the Kingdom of Damman to the status of a Great Power.

And the King was not the only one with similar thoughts.

Previously, when the Crown Prince of the Gaoju Kingdom visited the Imperial Capital on a pilgrimage, he too had expressed the desire to acquire a carrier; more precisely, he wanted to pay for the Empire to help build one. According to the agreement reached, the Empire would assist the Gaoju Kingdom in building two small carriers, with the Gaoju Kingdom agreeing to provide the two carriers for the Imperial Navy’s use during the war. Later on, the Gaoju Kingdom actually only paid for the construction costs of one small carrier.

As expected, probably a similar negotiation would appease the King of Damman’s carrier sentiments.

The King of Damman being willing to pay for the construction of a carrier wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Besides, the carriers built during wartime would definitely be more than sufficient after the war; donating some to allies would also save a fair amount of maintenance costs.

After returning to his residence, Bai Zhizhan received a telegram sent by Zheng Jiangming from the Navy headquarter. Lian Xusheng had just been appointed commander of the Southwest battlefront, and together with Li Yunxiang, had departed the Empire by plane last night, expected to arrive at the front by this morning.

In addition, Zheng Jiangming also mentioned another important matter in the telegram.

Similarly, last night, the Tiaoman Navy’s "Prime Minister" had rendezvoused with two large cruisers and then entered the North Sea from the Skagerrak Strait. Accompanying them were four large destroyers and three fast oil tankers, which would follow the plan to head north along the coast of the Kingdom of Viking.

However, the Bulan Royal Domestic Fleet had long been ready for battle.

According to earlier intelligence, the Bulan Royal Domestic Fleet included dozens of battleships of all sizes, such as the "Hude," the "George V," and the "Prince of Wales." Among them was one carrier, but the ship-borne air force might not be able to function due to the weather conditions.

Because the content of the telegram was limited, other news wasn’t mentioned.

Thinking of the battle about to ignite in the North Sea, Bai Zhizhan was particularly anxious, even his desire to sleep had faded.

Could the "Prime Minister" break through the encirclement?

Or rather, how long could this lone giant warship persist surrounded by formidable enemies in the North Sunset Ocean?

Bai Zhizhan felt worried and anxious, not out of sympathy for the Tiaoman Navy, but because the "Prime Minister’s" foray into the North Sunset Ocean would influence the Empire Navy’s assault on Lion Spring City.

The key point was that the "Prime Minister" was the number one enemy of the Bulan Royal Navy.

Before the super battleship was destroyed, the Bulan Royal Navy would not dispatch forces elsewhere, and only after that would they reinforce the Fan Flame Ocean.

The longer the "Prime Minister" held out, the greater the chances of the Empire Navy capturing Lion Spring City and advancing into the Fan Flame Ocean.

Regardless, with the "Prime Minister" entering the North Sea, a new round of strategic battle had officially begun.

It wasn’t until noon that Bai Zhizhan finally saw Lian Xusheng and Li Yunxiang.

The actual situation was worse than what he knew, which was what Zheng Jiangming had mentioned in the telegram.

It wasn’t that the "Prime Minister" had revealed its course, but rather on the day the "Prime Minister" set off, the Bulan Royal Land Heart Sea Fleet had left Nara Fortress and Alexandria.

Two sub-fleets, each with several battleships, had vanished simultaneously!

The Bulan Royal Navy was certainly up to something major in the Land Heart Sea.

As for the North Sea, there was actually little cause for concern.

Affected by the adverse weather, the Domestic Fleet’s carrier might not be able to be fully operational.

If the ship-borne aircraft couldn’t safely take off and land, the carrier would merely be a spectator.

Moreover, the Tiaoman Air Force had deployed hundreds of combat planes in the Kingdom of Viking, capable of providing cover for the fleet, further diminishing any worries.

As long as the bad weather persisted for three days, there would be a chance for the "Prime Minister" to break out of the North Sea.

Once into the North Sunset Ocean, everything would be easier to handle.

The Tiaoman Fleet had provisions enough for three months; along with the fuel carried by the three fast oil tankers, the fleet’s range exceeded 15,000 nautical miles.

This meant that the Tiaoman Fleet could head south if necessary, entering the South Sunset Ocean, the East Ocean, or the Fan Flame Ocean.

Of course, the Empire Navy would need to make arrangements in advance and dispatch a fleet for rendezvous.

Whether to go south or to circle the North Sunset Ocean a few times before breaking through to return home, it was all the same.

As long as the "Prime Minister" remained active in the North Sunset Ocean without being discovered, the Bulan Royal Navy would have to find and sink her at all costs.

To put it more seriously, as long as the "Prime Minister" remained operative at sea, no transport ships would dare to leave port.

Two months would be sufficient, not needing three.

This was also the key reason Lian Xusheng and Li Yunxiang had come to the front lines together.

Xue Yuanzheng had already approved a new operational plan to attack Lion Spring City in a joint operation between the Navy and the Army, and Liu Changxun had ordered Li Mingbo to lead the 41st Special Mixed Fleet south.

The campaign against Lion Spring City would commence around January 15th.

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