Empire Conquest

Chapter 564 - 560: Feint Shot

"It was described as a temporary adjournment, but everyone saw through it—Bai Zhizhan was overwhelmed with doubts and had no intention of continuing the discussion in the afternoon."

The staff were all tactful; some quickly finished their lunch while others found excuses to go to different restaurants.

"What do you think?"

Bai Zhizhan didn’t distrust the other staff officers, but he felt it unnecessary to burden others with his concerns or provoke rumors.

This expedition, being under the Twelfth Special Mixed Fleet, had already generated unpleasant rumors.

Although it hadn’t reached the point of panic, it would definitely impact the lower ranks and show at some point.

"I think this isn’t over."

Bai Zhizhan remained silent, just shifting his gaze.

Li Mingbo did the same.

After some thought, Zhou Yongtao continued, "As discussed this morning, given the current situation, the Newland Navy can no longer afford any losses. Moreover, even if Spur personally commanded, he couldn’t engage us in a decisive death battle with their last three small carriers. Perhaps the three small carriers can’t change much, but their officers, ship-borne aircraft pilots, all are invaluable."

"There’s also the impact another defeat would have on morale and confidence," Li Mingbo muttered.

Bai Zhizhan nodded slightly but didn’t hasten to speak.

"However, the key lies in the military aspect," Li Mingbo picked up on Zhou Yongtao’s point, "The Newland Federation hasn’t reached its end yet. In a few months, they could acquire a few small carriers and there’s hope to get the first ’Ethe’ class large carrier next year. From a strategic perspective, at least until we capture the Howay Islands, there’s no need for them to fight desperately against us."

Li Mingbo’s analysis had Bai Zhizhan viewing him in a new light.

"The key is, we currently cannot attack the Aus continent. Even if we sent a fleet, it would only be to bomb and suppress the Newland shore-based Air Force deployed in Northwest Aus," Zhou Yongtao took over the topic, "Even if we had enough manpower and supplies to initiate a campaign against the Aus continent, we wouldn’t land in its Northwest area. Looking further ahead, once the airport on Bali Island is operational, not only would it allow us to suppress Newland bombers with our shore-based air force, but also to deploy more fighters and strengthen our air defense intercept capabilities."

"Do you mean to say, we can disregard this telegram from the Navy headquarter?"

Zhou Yongtao just shrugged his shoulders, and Li Mingbo looked away.

They were both staff officers, merely providing advice and opinions; whether to accept them and how to act accordingly was the commander’s decision.

Noticing both of their expressions, Bai Zhizhan couldn’t help but laugh.

Li Mingbo was okay; he was famously amicable. Zhou Yongtao was different; known as a headstrong man, yet now he had also learned to avoid improprieties.

Clearly, after such a long period of training, Zhou Yongtao had indeed made significant progress, at least knowing to maintain silence at critical moments.

However, this was a very significant improvement.

Bai Zhizhan had been the same when he was younger, knowing when to keep his mouth shut was itself a sign of maturity.

"Given the current situation, we indeed don’t need to rush," Zhou Yongtao added, Bai Zhizhan’s meaningful smile making him somewhat restless.

"If that’s what you all think, let’s proceed that way."

Bai Zhizhan agreed so readily, it even made Zhou Yongtao hardly believe it.

However, Li Mingbo immediately nodded at him.

Zhou Yongtao was sharp; without asking further, he got up and left directly.

Adjusting the Fleet’s course was Li Mingbo’s responsibility, not related to Zhou Yongtao and not his area of expertise either.

"Are you not very reassured?"

After Li Mingbo asked, Bai Zhizhan paused for a while before nodding slightly.

In fact, after receiving the telegram, Bai Zhizhan immediately thought it must be related to the domestic situation and not necessarily to suppress the Newland Air Force in the Northwest of Aus.

However, Bai Zhizhan could never completely fathom the real reason.

A feint?

That was possible, as the operations to attack Socotra Island, bomb Jibu Fortress, and advance into Boss Bay had all gone smoothly. The troop strength utilized, especially the Marine Corps, had not been as much as expected, with two marine divisions acting as a campaign Reserve Team still standing by in the Maldives.

As for the Landing Fleet used to deploy the Marine Corps, it had already returned to Gwadar, and the transport fleet was in Colombo.

This meant that it would only take about ten days to organize the Marine Corps for a landing operation, such as attacking Jibu Fortress.

Moreover, there was a strategic necessity to attack Jibu Fortress.

This was related to the battles near the Xifan Canal.

To support and coordinate with the Imperial Army, the Tiaoman Army had launched an attack without sufficient preparation and had committed more troops than planned.

As a result, the Tiaoman Army’s offensive toward the Xifan Canal could only be maintained until late November. If they ended the meaningless offensive early and adjusted their deployment appropriately, they might be able to prolong their resistance by another month using the saved supplies.

However, they could only hold out until the end of the year maximum, then the Tiaoman forces in the North Xuan region would be out of ammunition and provisions!

The situation in Malta was also not very hopeful.

Even though the Tiaoman garrison fought fiercely and managed to receive airdrops at night, without air superiority, the Tiaoman forces wouldn’t be able to maintain their positions.

In short, the Imperial Navy must consider speeding up, advancing their timeline, and initiating the operation to attack Jibu Fortress.

As for the difficulty, that was a secondary issue.

From previous battles, there was reason to believe that the difficulty of attacking Jibu Fortress would not be excessive, especially since they had already occupied Socotra Island.

But the problem, according to Bai Zhizhan, wasn’t so simple.

Even if they intended to stage a counterattack, there was no need to make such a fuss about it.

To put it bluntly, the Bulan military was now in dire straits on all fronts, finding it very tight, and they were simply unable to send reinforcements to Jibu Fortress.

To say nothing of the difficulty of transporting supplies for combat to Jibu Fortress.

So, how difficult could it be to mount a strong attack on Jibu Fortress?

Since a strong attack wouldn’t be challenging, they might as well directly dispatch the Fleet to support a Marine Corps landing there.

As for the Newland Navy, they were across the entire Fan Flame Ocean; even if there were threats, they wouldn’t be substantial.

With prior arrangements and strengthening watchfulness and vigilance, they would surely detect any impending threats in time, ruling out the possibility of abandoning the attack on Jibu Fortress due to the Newland Fleet.

Even if the Navy now went ahead and attacked Jibu Fortress and the operation went smoothly, it might still not open the naval route to the Land Heart Sea in time.

Simply put, it wouldn’t resolve the Tiaoman Empire’s urgent crisis.

According to Bai Zhizhan’s judgment, what could be achieved was to stabilize the North Xuan region and capture the crucial Xifan Canal within a few months.

However, Malta might likely change hands again.

Therefore, Bai Zhizhan was worried that the arrangement made by the Navy headquarter, even if they subsequently ordered the two Special Mixed Fleets to head to Jibu Fortress and start the operation to attack it earlier, the real purpose might not be to assist the Tiaoman troops struggling on the western side of the Xifan Canal.

Then, what was it for?