Empire Conquest

Chapter 468 - 464: The First Difficult Problem

If anything, the celebration event was simplified due to the circumstances.

It was an unavoidable situation, as the Imperial Army had taken Lion Spring City last month, and prior to that, they had conducted large-scale bombings and artillery strikes targeting the port and airport. So even though the engineering troops worked intensively, they only cleared a large open space within the port.

Actually, the main purpose was to let the officers and soldiers reunite with their families earlier.

Bai Zhizhan felt it was an unnecessary effort, especially when he saw Zhang Xiaoqing’s pregnant belly, and he felt it was merely fussing over nothing.

Fortunately, it was just for one day.

The next morning, Bai Zhizhan and Zhang Xiaoqing boarded a plane to return to the Empire, with Zhou Yongtao and several other key staff members following them back.

As for the Fleet, it remained under the charge of Li Mingbo.

Bai Zhizhan was unwilling to stay in Lion Spring City, not just because he didn’t want to waste time, but also because the living conditions were poor, with hundreds of thousands of refugees just outside the port.

After returning to the Imperial Capital, Bai Zhizhan first visited the Empress Dowager with Zhang Xiaoqing.

Regarding the promotion and advance in nobility, Bai Zhizhan was actually not very interested, as after all, being a Prince Consort was more useful than any noble title for him.

The next day, February 11, Bai Zhizhan reported back to the Navy headquarter.

After seeing Bai Zhizhan, the first thing Liu Changxun did was to personally bestow upon him the rank of Vice Admiral.

According to Liu Changxun, the Promotion Order had been approved last month, and he hadn’t sent a telegram about it because he wanted to give Bai Zhizhan a surprise.

However, Bai Zhizhan didn’t feel surprised.

Not because he didn’t consider the promotion important, but because it should have been granted to him much earlier.

Logically, after the Northwest East Ocean Battle at the end of last year, Bai Zhizhan should have been promoted to Navy Vice Admiral.

However, at that time, Liu Changxun had not applied for Bai Zhizhan’s promotion.

The reason was simple: the Mo River had sunk, and both the Longjiang and the Imperial Capital suffered severe damages, leaving both Fleet Commanders responsible.

Although the Imperial Navy never offset merits with faults, mistakes would definitely negate achievements.

Of course, fundamentally, it was related to Liu Xiangzhen.

If Liu Xiangzhen didn’t get promoted due to the sinking of the Mo River, and Bai Zhizhan did, Liu Changxun would certainly face difficulties.

Bai Zhizhan understood this well.

"You’ve come back just in time; Lian Xusheng also returned today."

"Has the attack on the Fanluo area been postponed?"

"Not yet, but his presence there isn’t necessary. According to the Army headquarter’s arrangement, he’ll be sent to the Northwest as the frontline Commander-in-chief."

Bai Zhizhan was startled and furrowed his brow.

"Don’t overthink it; it’s not bad news."

Liu Changxun smiled, explaining the situation and context.

Bai Zhizhan indeed had overthought.

Despite troubles due to weather, geography, and the Luosha Army’s scorched earth tactics, the Army was encountering some issues in the Northwest, but it wasn’t as severe as imagined, and many previously unsolvable problems were being resolved.

The key, actually, was the millions of Saiyi laborers progressively deployed.

This upcoming winter, the Saiyi laborers had already repaired several bridges that had been destroyed and constructed pontoon bridges in several river sections.

Even more importantly, supply points had been established every 50 kilometers.

Additionally, the Imperial Army had deployed dozens of armored trains specifically to engage Luosha cavalry.

To protect the railways and maximize the value of armored trains, the Army had also built airfields at the front, using reconnaissance aircraft to locate hidden enemies along the way.

In the previous months, the Army had annihilated tens of thousands of enemies using armored trains.

Indeed, the artillery mounted on armored trains had played a significant role in combat.

Many times, just by continuous bombardment, the Luosha cavalry preparing to ambush cargo trains could be completely collapsed.

In the words of the Army, as long as the enemy is within the range of heavy artillery, there is no safe hiding place for them.

The advance speed of the Army wasn’t fast, but it was very steady. The strongholds established along the way provided powerful support for the frontline troops.

Additionally, the construction of roads and railways effectively solved the problem of logistical support.

According to the comments from the Empire’s news outlets, the Empire Army’s operations in the Northwest direction could fundamentally eliminate the historical unresolved issues after the Atai Battle, bringing long-term stability to the vast, desolate inland and transforming it into fertile land for the Empire.

The key was the transportation lines that followed the Empire Army’s westward advancement.

Long before the outbreak of the great war, during the Great Depression, Xue Yuanzheng had proposed building a transportation network in the Northwest to develop the local area.

Since then, the Empire had been heavily engaged in infrastructure development in the Northwest.

Unfortunately, less than a decade was indeed too short.

From a strategic perspective, if the great war had erupted a few years later, even just five years, the situation in the Northwest for the Empire would have been very different.

Fortunately, the current situation wasn’t too bad.

According to the plan of the Army Headquarter, after the onset of spring, the Armored Forces would be able to launch an offensive relying on the railway lines, and they were expected to capture Leaf Castle this year.

This was also a strategic target set by the Army.

If they could capture Leaf Castle within the year, there was hope to capture Baku next spring, gaining a second major oil-producing area outside of Boss Bay.

It holds that if Baku could be captured, combined with the Navy capturing Boss Bay, the Empire would be able to secure an invincible position.

Precisely because of this, Peng Huaisong decided to send Lian Xusheng to the Northwestern Front, where he would command this year’s offensive operations, aiming to decisively defeat the Luosha Federation.

Of course, this was also related to the Tiaoman Empire.

In the words of Liu Changxun, if the Empire Army could launch a strategic offensive according to plan, then the Luosha Army was likely to be forced to switch from offensive to defensive on the Western Front.

As long as the Luosha Army stopped their offensive, the Tiaoman Empire would definitely be able to hold on.

Indeed, the Tiaoman Army even had the capability to launch a reprisal.

If the Tiaoman Empire intended to deal with the Bulan Kingdom, they also needed the Empire Army to restrain the Luosha Army and reduce the threats faced by the Tiaoman Empire.

Overall, the Army needed to accomplish something in the Northwest direction.

As for the actions in the Fan Flame Ocean direction, after taking Sri Lanka, unless there was a need to storm the Jibu Fortress, it wasn’t much related to the Army.

According to Liu Changxun, advancing into Boss Bay was not very difficult.

In other words, at least at the campaign and tactical levels, advancing into Boss Bay was not the main problem anymore.

So, what was the main problem?

This was the current challenge facing the Imperial Navy.

Was it necessary to double down and launch a strategic offensive in the East Ocean before initiating another attack in the Fan Flame Ocean, capturing a port in the Fanluo region?

Liu Changxun hadn’t decided, which was precisely to seek Bai Zhizhan’s opinion.

In his words, it was Bai Zhizhan who had won the victory there and knew the Fan Flame Ocean situation best.

This was also the challenge Liu Changxun posed to Bai Zhizhan.

Of course, Liu Changxun made it clear that regardless of whether they fought or not, he would support Bai Zhizhan unconditionally and help him secure resources.

Bai Zhizhan had his own views on this.

In front of Liu Changxun, Bai Zhizhan didn’t hold back and spoke his mind directly.

Actually, it could be summarized in one sentence.

Having swiftly captured Lion Spring City and won the fleet decisive battle, crushing the Newland Navy and the Bulan Navy in one fell swoop, the Imperial Navy had lost its direction.

To put it bluntly: happiness came too abruptly.