Empire Conquest
Chapter 77 - 73: Indecision

Chapter 77: Chapter 73: Indecision

Circling the harbor several times and rounding the nearby reservoir once more, it wasn’t until the navigator in the rear issued another warning—stating that the remaining fuel was barely sufficient for a reluctant return to the fleet—that You Yong begrudgingly altered his course, while instructing the navigator, who also handled communications, to send out a telegram.

At this time, it was already 10:15 a.m.

Four hundred kilometers away, on the Mobile Fleet carrier "Chicheng."

When the Communication Advisor arrived, Tanimoto rushed forward, eagerly receiving the telegram.

After a quick scan, Tanimoto turned around and handed the message to Vice Admiral Lan Yun, who was watching him.

Though he was quite shocked, it was entirely within expectations; they had been mentally prepared for this, so there was no sense of panic.

Liangxia’s Navy’s four carriers were not in Chengjiang Port!

Neither were the Fast Battleships that accompanied the carriers’ operations.

The only consolation was that, following the second wave of bombings, all twelve Battleships in Chengjiang Port had been severely damaged, and four had sunk.

There was no need for a third wave of bombing as per the plan.

Because the Special Mixed Fleet’s carriers were not found, and the airports near Chengjiang Port did not have any carrier-based Air Force planes, even if some Battleships were not bombed and sunk, a third wave of bombings could not be launched. Not to mention an attack to destroy the infrastructure of Chengjiang Port.

The primary mission now was to locate the Special Mixed Fleet!

Where the hell were those four damn carriers!?

Without consulting Tanimoto, Lan Yun instructed the advisor to summon Colonel Genda.

Tanimoto hesitated, unsure whether he should remind Vice Admiral Lan Yun.

In the telegram sent back by You Yong, or more precisely, at the end, it was clearly mentioned that Chengjiang Port’s fuel reserves had not been bombed and remained intact.

That was the Southern Fleet’s main fuel depot.

At any time, the heavy oil stored there was no less than one million tons, in addition to one hundred thousand tons of high-grade diesel and a comparable amount of aviation gasoline. If the Liangxia Navy had already been preparing for war and had increased the fuel reserves, then the fuel stored there could be double that amount.

What did that imply?

Destroying the fuel depots could completely paralyze the Southern Fleet.

Not that a single bomb could obliterate the entire depot—military fuel depots were highly secured, with oil tanks deeply buried underground and dispersed to require concentrated bombing to achieve destruction—but in the long run, the value of destroying the fuel depots would be immense.

To say nothing of other considerations, just destroying the depots could significantly reduce the Southern Fleet’s operational efficiency.

Moreover, twenty ship attack planes could complete the mission.

Tanimoto hesitated to voice this, for a simple reason. He was sent by Takano, not of Lan Yun’s direct lineage, and Lan Yun had always been on guard against him, or at least treated him differently.

Clearly, suggesting such an untimely proposal was sure not to win him any favors.

While Tanimoto was pondering how to offer his suggestion, Colonel Genda hurried over.

As Tanimoto had guessed, Lan Yun assigned Colonel Genda a new mission—to adjust the shipborne air force and promptly dispatch additional Fighter planes for air defense.

Additionally, it was to coordinate with the escorting Fast Battleships and Heavy Cruisers, making preparations to deploy Seaplanes.

However, Lan Yun didn’t specify the direction of the search.

There was no need to rush; it would take more than ten minutes just to ready the Seaplanes for takeoff. In the meantime, it was good enough to plan the search mission.

Genda, being an honest man, left after receiving his orders.

"Major, what’s your view?"

Tanimoto was slightly startled, probably not expecting Lan Yun to actively seek his opinion.

Before launching the attack, Tanimoto had suggested using the Seaplanes carried by the Fast Battleships and Heavy Cruisers to search the eastern and southeastern seas. He proposed setting the search radius to five hundred kilometers, avoiding several strategically important islands, thus ensuring the operation was flawless.

Unfortunately, this valuable suggestion was vetoed by Lan Yun.

Lan Yun’s reason was very simple: expanding the search range could alarm the enemy unnecessarily, and at the moment, there was no intelligence indicating a threat outside Chengjiang Port.

Regardless, Lan Yun was the Commander of the Mobile Fleet, and Tanimoto was merely a guest advisor.

In the traditions of Saiyi Navy, Tanimoto could offer suggestions, but they had no binding power, and his opinions would not be included in the operation report.

In his role, a guest advisor primarily oversaw subordinate commanders.

"I know you have opinions about my command. However, right now we should prioritize the Navy, the Imperial Country, rather than personal prospects," Lan Yun said calmly, his underlying threat and warning very clear, leaving little room for Tanimoto to maneuver.

"The top priority is to find the Special Mixed Fleet," Tanimoto sighed and continued, "Regardless, having already destroyed twelve battleships of the Southern Fleet, the only threat left for us now is the four carriers of the Special Mixed Fleet. Finding those four carriers, even if they are too far away to attack, will let us know what to do next—whether to continue seeking an opportunity to fight or retreat back home."

"Send out seaplanes?"

"It would be best to use a ship attack."

Lan Yun frowned, apparently not quite understanding Tanimoto’s point.

"First, deploy some ship attacks for reconnaissance missions. Once Lieutenant Colonel You Yong’s Plane Group returns, we will have enough power to launch an offensive."

"What if we discover the Special Mixed Fleet before that?"

"We still have dozens of ship bombs; even if they’re not enough to annihilate the Special Mixed Fleet, they can hold it back and buy time for the next wave of attacks."

"If we do that, we can only launch one full-force attack."

"General!"

Tanimoto suddenly became anxious.

That Lan Yun was suspicious had long been an open secret.

A suspicious person inevitably acts with excessive caution, hesitating when faced with decisions.

But at this critical moment, the fact that Lan Yun was still indecisive was unacceptable.

Tanimoto only hesitated for a moment, no more than half a second, before he continued, "General, it’s possible that the Special Mixed Fleet’s reconnaissance aircraft are currently heading our way. If we do not deploy our reconnaissance aircraft now, we won’t be able to prepare enough fighters to take to the skies before You Yong’s Plane Group returns. Even if we’re not attacked, waiting for You Yong’s Group to come back will cost us at least an extra hour to organize an offensive!"

Lan Yun’s brows were tightly knit as he stared intently at Tanimoto. Though he didn’t ask aloud, his expression clearly questioned: Is it that serious?

What on earth was he thinking?

What Lan Yun was contemplating now was certainly whether to issue the order to turn back and retreat.

The reason was very simple.

After two rounds of bombing that had crippled the Southern Fleet, even a withdrawal now could be considered an adequate report to superiors. By pulling back, the precious fleet could be preserved to continue vying with the Liangxia Navy, maintaining the chance to hold the strategic initiative in the ongoing war.

If the fleet was exhausted now, what would they do next?

Actually, Tanimoto had known all along why Takano had sent him to the Mobile Fleet, but he could never have imagined that Lan Yun would be so cautious.

Of course, calling it cowardice wouldn’t be wrong either.

Interestingly, it was because of his indecision that Lan Yun had been valued and reused by Takano, becoming the Commander of the Mobile Fleet after Takano became the Permanent Fleet Commander.

Perhaps what Takano needed was exactly this kind of indecisive subordinate.

"Wuu—"

Just as Tanimoto was preparing to continue his vehement persuasion, an alarm sounded.

It was a prolonged blaring.

That was the air-raid alert!

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