Empire Conquest

Chapter 513 - 509 Clear Objective

When the discussion reached this point, Zhou Yongtao was the first to suggest that the Newland Navy was likely targeting the Joint Fleet.

The key point was, if a new enemy appeared on the Fan Flame Ocean, the Navy Commander’s first thought would definitely be the Joint Fleet.

The 11th Special Mixed Fleet was responsible for monitoring the Bulan Fleet near Jibu Fortress and also for the military operations advancing into Boss Bay, clearly overwhelmed.

If anything were to happen to the Joint Fleet, there would be big trouble!

Though within the Joint Fleet, the two "North River" class ships provided by the Empire’s Navy were absolutely the main force, no one could deny the Joint Fleet’s value to the Tiaoman Navy.

In some ways, the Joint Fleet was all of the Tiaoman Navy’s hope.

According to the strategic plan, after taking Jibu Fortress and the Xifan Canal, the Empire’s Navy was to advance to the Land Heart Sea to rendezvous with the Raleigh Navy.

At that time, the Joint Fleet would be the spearhead!

If successful, the next move would be to advance on the Nara Fortress.

In fact, according to the guarantees given by the Tiaoman Empire, as long as the Consortium Alliance could seize control of the sea in Land Heart Sea and annihilate the Bulan Royal Navy’s Land Heart Sea Fleet, there was a very strong possibility of persuading the Sban Kingdom to join the Consortium Group and achieve a land-based encirclement and blockade of the Nara Fortress.

Of course, as long as they could seize control of the sea in Land Heart Sea, taking the Nara Fortress would be easy.

At this step, the Empire’s Navy would, according to the agreement, transfer the command of the Joint Fleet to the Tiaoman Navy and help the Tiaoman Navy seize control of the sea in the North Sunset Ocean.

Overall, by that time, the Joint Fleet would become the absolute main force of the Tiaoman Navy.

It’s clear, to the Tiaoman Navy, the Joint Fleet was nearly all they had.

Another crucial point was that the "Prime Minister" and the other four Tiaoman battleships, with about 5,000 officers and sailors altogether, were the backbone in rebuilding the Tiaoman Navy fleet.

Describing the Joint Fleet as the lifeblood of the Tiaoman Navy was even more apropos.

This was also the key reason why the Newland Navy had their sights set on the Joint Fleet.

Politically speaking, if the Joint Fleet were to suffer a major blow or even be annihilated, the Empire’s Navy would necessarily have to make adjustments.

Would the operation to attack Transfer Island be unaffected?

According to Zhou Yongtao’s analysis, under tremendous political pressure, Liu Changxun would first consider reallocating a special mixed fleet from Transfer Island.

The key was, this must not affect the operation advancing into Boss Bay.

To placate the Tiaoman Empire, there might even be a need to start attacking Jibu Fortress sooner to quickly open up the maritime route to the Xifan Canal and seize control of the sea in Land Heart Sea.

Here, Zhou Yongtao made a specific point.

The operation to attack Transfer Island was going too smoothly!

So far, there hadn’t been any real challenges.

Once the landing forces secured a foothold, consolidated the beachhead, and even expanded the landing area, there would be no need to keep two special mixed fleets active here.

Leaving one special mixed fleet, along with four small carriers from the support fleet, would be more than sufficient.

Clearly, this was also a point of concern for Zhou Yongtao.

According to his analysis, Newland’s small carriers were still in the East Ocean, likely on standby in the waters east of the Howay Islands.

All these actions were meant to divide the Empire’s forces.

If only one special mixed fleet were left to cover the landing fleet, and the support fleet mainly assisted the Marine Corps, the Newland Navy would have a chance for a surprise attack.

Seizing the opportunity, a single strike could take out two large carriers!

While explaining the situation, Zhou Yongtao continually emphasized that if it were necessary to divide forces, then a way to accelerate the ground offensive needed to be found.

Or alternatively, open up a second front.

The method was simple, attack and occupy a small island to the east of Transfer Island and deploy shore-based air force there to provide cover for the Marine Corps on Transfer Island.

Naturally, it could also provide cover for the fleet.

However, this proposal clearly failed to convince Bai Zhizhan.

If they could seize other islands, would there still be a need to forcefully attack Transfer Island?

In this vicinity, Transfer Island is the easiest to attack.

Moreover, if they haven’t even conquered Transfer Island, is it not too much to divide forces to attack other islands?

Even if they were fully prepared, they should not act recklessly!

The key issue is, who can guarantee that the Newland Army has not deployed heavy forces on other islands?

If they were to be drawn into a tough battle again, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Furthermore, the closest islands are hundreds of kilometers to the east, if they were to send the Marine Corps to land, they would need to dispatch the Special Mixed Fleet for protection.

Isn’t this exactly the division of forces they have been striving to avoid?

However, the issues Zhou Yongtao worried about were acknowledged by Bai Zhizhan.

The maneuvers by the Newland Navy were meant to target the Expeditionary Fleet, aiming to sow discord between the Tiaoman Empire and the Liangxia Empire by striking at the Expeditionary Fleet first.

If the Liangxia Empire had any concerns, it was that they needed to cooperate wholeheartedly with the Tiaoman Empire.

Even if they could defeat all the Great Powers alone, it did not mean they didn’t need allies.

Among all allies, the most important and valuable was the Tiaoman Empire.

Even before the outbreak of the war, the Imperial High Command had made estimates.

Without the support of the Tiaoman Empire, or if the Tiaoman Empire were to be quickly defeated, the Empire would need at least an additional two years and suffer between three to four and a half million more casualties to possibly achieve a final victory, but more likely, they would end up only managing an armistice with the Great Powers after exhausting all efforts.

Therefore, after the discussion ended, Bai Zhizhan immediately instructed the Communication Advisor to send a telegraph to the Navy headquarters, specifying that the recipient was Liu Changxun.

The message was to have the Joint Fleet operate under the protection of shore-based fighters as much as possible and absolutely not venture into the distant sea.

As for the Newland Commerce Raiding Fleet, even if it slipped away, it did not matter.

In both the North Sunset Ocean and the Southwest East Ocean, transport ships from the Alliance Group were sunk by submarines daily, averaging a loss of several tens of ships each month.

Comparatively, the losses of the Empire in the West East Ocean and the North Fan Flame Ocean were minimal.

Shortly after the meeting, a reply was received from the Navy headquarters.

The Joint Fleet had entered a radio silence state and was commanded by the Chief of Staff, Admiral Lutians of the Tiaoman Navy.

Liu Xiangzhen had always been with the 11th Special Mixed Fleet, so Admiral Lutians was essentially the actual commander of the Joint Fleet.

The Navy headquarters had already sent a telegraph to the Joint Fleet, reminding Admiral Lutians to avoid the distant sea as much as possible while carrying out the search mission.

Additionally, Liu Changxun had ordered the shore-based air force stationed in Sri Lanka and Lion Spring City to intensify their sorties.

However, Liu Changxun did not make any promises about finding the Newland Commerce Raiding Fleet in a timely manner.

On the contrary, he hinted in the telegram to Bai Zhizhan that Bai Zhizhan should accelerate the attack on Transfer Island to cope with any potential contingencies.

As for what those contingencies were, Liu Changxun did not specify.

It was too sensitive a matter to be discussed over a telegram.

Upon receiving the reply, Bai Zhizhan grew even more worried.

However, he did not call a staff meeting, nor did he even inform Zhou Yongtao. Instead, he confided in Li Mingbo to make him aware of these matters.

After all, Zhou Yongtao was still too young.

Moreover, he often interacted with junior officers and troops and was a leading figure among the younger staff members; there was no guarantee he wouldn’t accidentally reveal details during casual conversations over meals.

Never mind what there might be to worry about, merely such rumors had a negative impact on the morale of the troops.

Right now, what could least be afforded was a wavering in the troops’ morale.