Empire Conquest

Chapter 450 - 446: Good News from Lion Spring City

"I just received this."

When Zhou Yongtao approached with the telegram in his hand, Bai Zhizhan then turned his attention to it.

"The confirmation has been received, Commander of the garrison in Lion Spring City has ordered the troops to stop resisting, and they will officially surrender no later than tomorrow morning."

Bai Zhizhan was stunned at first, then quickly took the telegram and read it carefully.

Sent by the Navy headquarter, the beginning of the telegram was: a great victory at Lion Spring City.

Subsequently, the communications officer continued to deliver detailed battle reports.

The efficiency of long-wave radio transmission wasn’t high, and sending and receiving telegrams was inherently troublesome; a detailed battle report was often sent in several parts.

To be honest, Lian Xusheng was really ruthless.

Last night, the entire Army Air Force was mobilized, with nearly 2000 bombers and long-range fighters forming approximately 20 different plane groups. They conducted indiscriminate carpet bombing over the enemy-controlled areas in Lion Spring City at half-hour intervals.

The bombers dropped 1000-kilogram special incendiary bombs.

These incendiary bombs used reinforced steel casings, that is, shells, which could effectively slow down the release of the incendiary agents and prolong the burning time.

According to the Land Air Force’s tests, under ideal conditions, they could burn for 4 hours with a spread reaching 10,000 square meters.

Furthermore, Lian Xusheng also arranged for the Marine Corps and the Fleet to control and blockade the beaches, preventing the military and civilians of Lion Spring City from accessing water to extinguish the fires!

To complete the mission, the supporting Fleet even risked having several destroyers enter the Lion Spring Strait, using gunfire at close range to blockade the beaches controlled by Bulan troops.

In a word, the fire burned all night long!

So to speak, Lion Spring City had become a volcano.

When daylight came, two fire support fleets took the stage to perform.

To improve the effectiveness of the artillery barrage, Lian Xusheng had the Fleet and the Land Air Force deploy a large number of patrol planes and adjusted the artillery tactics.

Simply put, it was the patrol planes that guided the battleships’ artillery targets.

The standard for artillery strikes was to destroy everything still active within the enemy-controlled area!

In one day, more than 20 cruisers and destroyers from the two firepower support fleets had nearly used up all their ammunition!

Additionally, on the 23rd, "North River" and "Nanjiang" joined the battle in the evening, firing several hundred 400-millimeter shells at the Bulan-controlled city district.

To put it plainly, it was this last round of artillery fire that completely broke the Bulan troops’ morale.

Lion Spring City was a super-fortress that the Bulan military had painstakingly managed for decades, constructing a vast array of underground defenses, all to exceptionally high standards.

Underground facilities, like ammunition and fuel stores, could even withstand battleship main gun fire.

However, those were standards from 20 years ago.

Defending against 400-millimeter shells, especially the heavy armor-piercing bullets capable of piercing several hundred millimeters of armor, was definitely impossible.

To put it bluntly, as long as there was enough ammunition, the sixteen massive guns of the "North River" and "Nanjiang" could destroy all the defensive works of Lion Spring City.

At most, it would take a few days.

So, was there any point in continuing to hold out?

The key point was that during the evening’s bombardment, the central ammunition depot of the defenders was destroyed by a 400-millimeter shell.

At that time, the huge fireball from the explosion could be seen from dozens of kilometers away.

The officers and soldiers fighting on the front line even suspected that an earthquake had occurred.

It was this very shot that caused the defenders to lose 80% of their ammunition!

Although they were not yet at the point of running out of food, they were nearly out of bullets.

Indeed, not long after nightfall, Vice Admiral Pasival, the commanding officer of the defenders, ordered the troops to temporarily cease resistance; he then contacted the frontline commander of the Imperial Army via a public frequency, offering to order his forces to disarm and surrender after several conditions were met.

The primary demand was to ensure humane treatment.

Additionally, there was the matter of aiding wounded soldiers.

The personal safety of prisoners of war is protected by international conventions and the laws of international warfare, even if Pasival had not mentioned it, the Imperial Army would act according to the rules.

The Liangxia Empire was both the initiator of the "War Conduct Convention" and an original signatory of the "International War Laws".

For decades, in terms of treating prisoners of war well, the Liangxia Empire could be said to be a global model, an example for all the great powers, and has never been subjected to censure or criticism.

Before surrendering, Pasival undoubtedly made a report to the Bulan Authority.

This meant that Cunningham would definitely not be heading to the Northeast Fan Flame Ocean.

Up until this point, the "Royal Ark" had not appeared, nor had it participated in the battle at Lion Spring City, so this carrier must still be in the Mua Sea.

Would Cunningham head north?

As Bai Zhizhan pondered this question, Zhou Yongtao pulled out a map of the Fan Flame Ocean and spread it on the nautical chart table.

"I dare say, Cunningham certainly did not expect that we would take Lion Spring City in just a few days."

"So what if he didn’t expect it?" Bai Zhizhan asked, glancing at Zhou Yongtao as he did.

"Because he didn’t anticipate it beforehand, he must be in complete disarray."

This time, Bai Zhizhan did not question further, allowing Zhou Yongtao to continue.

"Although the Bulan Kingdom controls the Fanluo area and nearly the entire North Fan Flame Ocean, there are not many places that truly count as military strongholds west of Lion Spring City, until you reach Jibu Fortress," Zhou Yongtao said while marking several locations on the map. "Our goal is very clear, which is to advance into Boss Bay, so there’s no need to waste time and force on the fortresses along the northern coast of the Fan Flame Ocean."

Bai Zhizhan just nodded his head. What Zhou Yongtao said was not a secret.

As for the locations Zhou Yongtao marked, such as several ports to the north of Bengal Bay and the ports and cities in the western part of Fanluo, they all had considerable strategic value. However, they were not essential strategic locations that had to be captured for the march into Boss Bay.

"Among these, only Sri Lanka has sufficient strategic value. If the defenders of Lion Spring City could have held on for a few more months, the Bulan forces would have committed more troops to Sri Lanka, or at least had enough time to reinforce Sri Lanka, to continue resisting us there."

"Are you saying Cunningham might go to Sri Lanka?"

"It’s a strong possibility. The key is, if he doesn’t go to Sri Lanka, where else could he go?"

Bai Zhizhan did not respond, clearly not agreeing with Zhou Yongtao’s analysis.

"By giving up Sri Lanka, the Bulan forces would only be able to retreat to defend Jibu Fortress. With such a short amount of time, it would be impossible to strengthen the defense of Jibu Fortress properly. Holding out in Sri Lanka, fighting for a few months, strengthening the defense of Jibu Fortress, and then having a decisive battle with us—that’s the strategy."

Zhou Yongtao was clearly trying to persuade Bai Zhizhan, or rather, striving to prove his own conjecture.

This was also the fundamental job of a combat staff advisor.

After pondering for a good while, Bai Zhizhan finally said, "Your analysis indeed makes some sense, but there’s a question that can’t be explained."

"What’s the problem?"

Looking at a somewhat puzzled Zhou Yongtao, Bai Zhizhan said, "What do you think, how many more times can the Bulan Royal Navy afford to make a play?

"This..."

"If they can only afford to play once more, is the chance of winning backed by Jibu Fortress greater, or is the chance of isolated struggle in Sri Lanka greater? If the defense arrangements of Jibu Fortress are not in place, then in Sri Lanka, the Bulan Fleet can forget about receiving any support."

This time, Zhou Yongtao immediately furrowed his brow.