Empire Conquest

Chapter 597 - 593 Another Encumbrance

News is just news, and turning it into fact still takes some time.

Using Zheng Jiangming’s words, the Sban Kingdom is actually not much better than the Raleigh Kingdom. Merchandise en route would definitely not miss the last chance to jump on the bandwagon of victory, but would likewise find every possible way to reel in the most benefits for themselves, so one shouldn’t hold too high hopes for the Sban army.

To be direct, the best outcome would be for the Sban Kingdom not to slow others down.

In the end, it will probably still be necessary to let the Tiaoman army pass through the Sban Kingdom and then launch a strong attack on Nara Fortress under the cover of the Imperial Fleet.

Moreover, the true capacity of the Sban Kingdom is well understood by Bai Zhizhan.

In a certain sense, the current Sban Kingdom is actually a vassal state of the Tiaoman Empire, a result of the Tiaoman Empire’s full support and nurturing.

About ten years ago, civil war broke out in the Sban Kingdom. The present King of Sban was then a general in the Sban army, stationed on the other side of the strait, tasked with guarding the Western colonies of North Xuan, with only a colonial garrison under his command.

Under the full support of the Tiaoman Empire, General Franco led a ragtag group back to his homeland.

Afterwards, it took several more years of civil war to defeat the Republican army, which was supported by the Luosha Federation and Newland Federation, and fought under the banner of democracy and freedom.

Having won the civil war, Franco became the king, and thus the Sban Kingdom was born.

During these years of civil war, the Tiaoman Empire not only provided money and effort, supplying Franco with equipment and materials, but also sent troops to participate in the combat directly under the guise of advisers.

According to Tiaoman statistics, approximately 50,000 Tiaoman soldiers died in the Sban Kingdom.

From this perspective, calling the Sban Kingdom a vassal of the Tiaoman Empire is not at all incorrect.

Of course, when supporting Franco, the Tiaoman Empire didn’t intend to develop the Sban Kingdom into a vassal state, but rather hoped to gain a reliable ally on the other side of the Locke Republic, thereby making the Locke Republic more dependent on the alliance with the Tiaoman Empire in terms of security.

Simply put, it was to consolidate its hegemonic status on the West Continent.

Although the Tiaoman Empire was the defeated side of the last great war, in the golden ten years after the war, the Tiaoman Empire’s comprehensive strength once again surpassed that of the Locke Republic. By the time of the Great Depression, when restrictions on the defeated began to loosen, the military power of the Tiaoman Empire had once again overtaken the Locke Republic.

Before the outbreak of the great war, the Tiaoman Empire had already become the uncrowned overlord of the West Continent.

Yet, this does not change the fact that Franco relied on the full support of the Tiaoman Empire to put on the crown.

However, after the outbreak of the great war, the Sban Kingdom repeatedly refused the requests made by the Tiaoman Empire, namely to participate in the war as a member of the Consortium Group.

In addition, the Sban Kingdom repeatedly proclaimed its permanent neutrality.

The greatest convenience the Sban Kingdom provided to the Tiaoman army was allowing Tiaoman civilian ships to dock and turn a blind eye to the Tiaoman Navy’s use of these ships to support submarines operating in the Sunset Ocean, acting as submarine support vessels.

As for anything beyond that, it’s not up for discussion.

Clearly, the aid provided by the Sban Kingdom is not sufficient to repay the cultivation from the Tiaoman Empire.

However, this is also understandable.

At least prior to this, especially after the entry of the Newland Federation into the war, the Tiaoman Empire did not have an absolute strategic advantage in the direction of the Land Heart Sea.

Not to mention on the Sunset Ocean side.

Since the Tiaoman Empire couldn’t deploy troops in the Sban Kingdom, let alone provide sufficient military support, the Sban Kingdom had to first consider whether it could withstand an attack from the Alliance Group, especially the Bulan troops stationed at Nara Fortress, should it choose to enter the war.

Undoubtedly, there is no confidence in this regard throughout the Sban Kingdom.

The Sban Kingdom had long since ceased to be the old Sban Empire, lacking not only the once "Invincible Fleet" that commanded the Four Seas but also the haughty spirit that had looked down upon all contenders.

Over 200 years ago, after being defeated by Queen Victoria’s Bulan Kingdom, the Sban Kingdom had fallen to a second, even third-rate nation.

Even now, the most famous aspect of the Sban Kingdom was its bullfighting.

Had the fighting strength of the Sban Army been powerful enough, they wouldn’t have needed the Tiaoman Empire to provide military support in the first place.

In the words of Zheng Jiangming, the combat effectiveness of the Sban Army was only slightly better than colonial resistance forces, akin to the Empire’s Military Police.

It was precisely for this reason that they had delayed until now, waiting for the Imperial Fleet to invade the Land Heart Sea, secure maritime dominance, and force the surrender of Bulan military forces in Malta before the Sban Kingdom finally resolved to enter the war.

Of course, a long period would certainly be needed to complete the preparatory work before joining the battle.

The most crucial aspect among them was actually getting the Tiaoman Army stationed there.

Fortunately, Liu Xiangzhen was still there, and with 4 small carriers soon to arrive, the Tiaoman Army could be transported by sea to the Sban Kingdom, hence bypassing the need to cross the Pyrenees on foot and avoiding the Locke Resistance Organizations lurking in the mountains.

In fact, this was a naval arrangement by the Empire.

The day they reached Colombo, the Navy headquarter sent a second piece of good news.

After a fiercely challenging battle, the Marine Corps, having taken over from the Army mid-way through the siege, finally annihilated the last of the enemy within Jibu Fortress under the roar of heavy siege cannons.

This had been the most difficult battle fought against Bulan forces thus far in the war.

In the end, fewer than 3,000 Bulan soldiers were captured, and almost all were severely injured and incapacitated combatants; virtually no Bulan soldiers surrendered voluntarily.

As for organized surrender, that was even less apparent.

This was exactly why the Army was replaced by the Marine Corps in the middle of the siege offensive.

It wasn’t that the Army no longer wanted to fight, but a strategic adjustment by the Imperial High Command had the Army moving north to attack and eradicate colonial Bulan military points along the Nile River.

Clearly, manoeuvers in the hinterland of the continent were the Army’s forte.

Such an arrangement indicated that the Empire’s High Command planned to reclaim overseas territories lost in the previous great war and return to the area south of the Saha Desert in the Black Xuan Region.

Although the Black Xuan Region was vast, most of it was uncivilized, with only colonial troops and not-very-fortified military strongholds to face.

However, to Bai Zhizhan, the Empire’s colonial strategy was of little interest.

In the battle for Jibu Fortress, the combined casualties of the Empire’s Army and Marine Corps exceeded 28,000, with approximately 7,500 killed in action.

Of course, whatever the case, after a grueling fight, the strategically crucial Jibu Fortress had been captured at last.

From now on, there would no more concerns over maritime routes from the Empire’s homeland to the Land Heart Sea.

In light of this, the Navy headquarter had also made adjustments.

The Landing Fleet in the Fan Flame Ocean, along with the accompanying transport ship fleet, all headed to the Land Heart Sea, temporarily standing by in Alexandria port.

The Marine Corps at Jibu Fortress would return to Sri Lanka and Lion Spring City for rest and rehabilitation with the transport ships.

To boost morale and reward the valiant soldiers, the Empire’s Navy had also specially arranged for several commandeered luxury cruise ships to go Colombo and Lion Spring City, providing services for the triumphant Marine Corps, including bringing back those officers and soldiers injured in battle to the Empire’s homeland.

The key was that in the military operations facing the Sunset Ocean, the Empire’s Navy would only provide ships; ground troops would all be arranged by the Tiaoman Empire.