Empire Conquest

Chapter 601 - 597: The Value of Allies

"If we speak of it, whether or not the Newland Federation could be completely defeated had always been a major disagreement among the Imperial High Command on the issue of ’whether a complete victory could be achieved.’"

"This issue was also the main cause of internal conflict within the Empire."

"As mentioned earlier, the difficulty of completely defeating the Newland Federation was simply too great."

"Before the outbreak of the great war, especially after the Great Depression, the Imperial High Command organized the Army and Navy each year to carry out strategic-level military simulations. The goal was to find a foolproof strategy to completely defeat the Newland Federation with limited resources and within a limited timeframe."

"Although the results of the simulations were invariably similar, they had a significant and decisive impact on the Empire’s overall strategy."

"Of the utmost importance was that these simulations led the Imperial High Command to strengthen their relations with the Tiaoman Empire, considering it once again as an indispensable ally."

"The reason was simple. Even if the Empire could clinch a final victory single-handedly, even by means of military occupation to annex the Newland Federation, the price would be terribly severe and altogether not worth the cost, also forfeiting the opportunity to dominate globally."

"In one simulation, the Empire even descended into civil unrest due to military occupation of the Newland Federation, ultimately disintegrating amid large-scale internal wars."

"Though these were merely simulations, they were by no means alarmist."

"Paying a huge price for a war that, even if won, would be meaningless, let alone beneficial, would certainly not be accepted by the Empire’s military and civilians."

"Clearly, having allies would make a difference."

"More importantly, if attacks could be launched simultaneously from two, or even three directions, the difficulty of assaulting Newland’s homeland would be greatly reduced."

"According to the simulations, under certain circumstances, it could even force the Newland Federation to surrender unconditionally."

"However, no matter the strategy, the key lied with the Tiaoman Empire."

"Looking globally, only the Tiaoman Empire has the capability and sufficient strength to cooperate with the Liangxia Empire."

"Moreover, after securing dominance over the West Continent, the Tiaoman Empire could advance from the eastern coast of the Sunset Ocean, using Bulan Kingdom, Snow Island, and other islands as springboards to march into Gu Continent and attack the eastern coastal regions of the Newland Federation, such as conducting large-scale strategic bombings."

"As for the necessary troops, that clearly was not too big of an issue."

"With the strength of the Tiaoman Empire, after sweeping the West Continent and defeating strong enemies such as the Locke Republic, Luosha Federation, and Bulan Kingdom, it could mobilize about 10 million troops to attack the Newland Federation. If vassal states like Raleigh Kingdom and Sban Kingdom could provide sufficient logistical support, even if only handling logistics, it would allow the Tiaoman Empire to deploy more troops in direct assaults."

"For what the Tiaoman Empire lacked, such as battleships and cargo ships needed for troop deployment and material transport, the Liangxia Empire could provide."

"After defeating the Bulan Kingdom, they could not only control Bulan Kingdom’s shipyards but also seize its fleet."

"This, in turn, might enable the Tiaoman Empire to hold their own."

"Moreover, the Tiaoman Empire’s influence in the Gu Continent region also held immense value."

"The Tiaoman Empire maintained good relations with Mexico to the south of the Newland Federation and might be able to persuade Mexico to join the war."

"In terms of influence among Western countries in the Latin linguistic sphere, the Tiaoman Empire’s influence far exceeded that of the Liangxia Empire and was irreplaceable."

"So far, getting relatively strong countries such as Raleigh Kingdom and Ter Republic to join the war has almost entirely been due to the Tiaoman Empire’s efforts."

"If they could get Mexico to join the war, it would equate to opening a third front against the Newland Federation."

Mexico is also a two-ocean country, therefore the Imperial Army could land on Mexico’s west coast, avoiding a direct assault on Newland’s homeland.

If they could land in Mexico and then head north to attack Newland’s homeland, the difficulty of the operation would greatly decrease.

Of course, there are Mexican ports and airports.

In short, if Mexico could be persuaded, then it would definitely be Tiaoman Empire, not Liangxia Empire.

Additionally, Sban Kingdom still has some influence on Nangu Continent and can at least provide some help.

For example, Cuba Island, which is likewise south of Newland and across the sea from the Florida Peninsula, though no longer a colony of Sban Kingdom, still speaks the language of Sban.

Indeed, even within Newland Federation, particularly in the southern region, there are numerous immigrants from Nangu Continent.

Persuading Sban Kingdom to participate in the war and play an active role in the expeditionary war on Nangu Continent would also depend on Tiaoman Empire.

For this reason, the Empire had always maintained a good relationship with Tiaoman Empire and allied with it once again.

Moreover, the Empire’s strategies implemented beforehand, such as stabilizing the situation in the East Ocean after attacking Jibu Fortress to advance into Land Heart Sea, and under immense pressure, sending Expeditionary Air Force Squadron to Tiaoman Empire to fight, unconditionally providing support to Tiaoman Navy, all served the strategic purpose of enabling Tiaoman Empire to achieve more in the direction of Sunset Ocean.

From another perspective, this also serves itself.

Interestingly, in the years just after the previous great war and before the outbreak of the great war, the entire Empire had not considered allying with Tiaoman Empire again.

According to the views at the time, the main reason for the Consortium Group’s defeat in the previous great war was Tiaoman Empire doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Among these, the most serious mistake was allowing Newland Federation to abandon neutrality and participate in the war as a member of the Alliance Group.

In the words of the time, if Newland Federation had joined the war a few months later, the Consortium Group would have been able to defeat Luosha Empire and Locke Republic and achieve complete victory.

Of course, this is all hindsight.

In the current situation, the greater the threat Tiaoman Empire poses to Newland Federation in the Sunset Ocean, the lesser the resistance the Empire encounters in the East Ocean.

In fact, the related impact had already shown.

To support Bulan Kingdom and weaken Tiaoman Empire, Newland Federation had sent a large number of pilots to Bulan Kingdom on a voluntary basis before joining the war, and afterwards, under the guise of leasing, supplied thousands of combat aircraft to Bulan Kingdom, including more than 4000 heavy bombers, and provided a large amount of materials mainly used for manufacturing combat aircraft, including electrolytic aluminum considered strategic material.

Without Newland Federation, Bulan Kingdom would have been flattened by Tiaoman Empire long ago.

The problem is, continually transfusing Bulan Kingdom, along with later Luosha Federation, prevented Newland Federation from committing sufficient forces in other directions.

The most typical of which was strategic bombing.

To put it bluntly, if they hadn’t deployed thousands of bombers to Bulan Kingdom, losing thousands of bombers in strategic bombing operations against Tiaoman Empire, but instead had deployed these bombers in Aus or other directions, such as Saiyi Imperial Kingdom before it surrendered, the situation of the war would not be what it is now.

Deploying bombers to mine the Lion Spring Strait a year in advance, and even if it couldn’t completely blockade the strait, would certainly have crippled it, causing the Empire Navy to spend more time taking over Lion Spring City, and then they would have to delay the operation against Transfer Island or temporarily abandon the plan to advance into Boss Bay.

These all underline the importance of Tiaoman Empire.

But, it’s not to say that with Tiaoman Empire’s support, victory is assured.