Empire Conquest

Chapter 640 - 636: An Imperfect Ending

He waited until the afternoon to receive definite news.

Nizi was dead.

According to the official news released by the Huacheng Authority, Nizi was killed by rebelling Navy officers and men during arrest. Along with him, more than a dozen senior officers who had resisted in the headquarters were killed, including the seventh most wanted Frey, and the well-known General Clark and others.

However, it was more likely that Nizi chose to end his own life at the last moment.

Along with the news came the highest directive from the Grand Secretary.

Launch a full-scale assault operation on the Howay Islands to take control of the entire archipelago.

Since places like Treasure Harbor had already been controlled by the rebels, there was no need to consider collateral casualties.

In addition, the Navy headquarters also sent the latest briefing.

The 22nd Special Mixed Fleet had already moved to the northwest of Treasure Harbor and was expected to reach the attack area early the next day to participate in the assault operation on Honu Island, alongside 3 other Special Mixed Fleets from Bai Zhizhan. However, from its deployment position, the main task of the 22nd Special Mixed Fleet was to provide cover for the three islands to the west, strengthening the force in that direction and not participating in the operation against Treasure Harbor.

The 8 small carriers that had retreated near Transfer Island would arrive at the latest the day after tomorrow.

If needed, more than 20 fast escort carriers from the support fleet can be mobilized to join the bombing on the 27th.

Starting tonight, the Land Air Force would focus on bombing key military bases such as Treasure Harbor.

Since the shipborne air force provided air defense cover, the pressure of air defense combat on the shore-based air force was greatly reduced. Therefore, the Navy was preparing to withdraw the long-range fighters deployed on Leysan Island and hand over the precious forward base to the Army Strategic Air Force to deploy more heavy bombers.

This way, in at most one month, the number of heavy bombers the Land Air Force would put into service would exceed 800.

Additionally, the Marine Corps had already taken Wei Island bloodlessly before this, gaining a foothold between the Volcanic Islands and Transfer Island.

Relying on the airport on Wei Island, bombers would be able to travel conveniently between the front and rear, thereby greatly improving combat efficiency.

Still, the assault on the Howay Islands depended on the ground troops.

If all went well, by May 10 at the latest, the Marine Corps would be able to put 8 divisions into combat and arrange another 8 divisions as a Reserve Team.

If mobilization was timely, 8 more Army divisions could be available by late May.

In fact, if the battle dragged into the second half of the year, that is, by July, not only would there be more than 30 divisions of ground combat troops, but 3 newly formed Special Mixed Fleets would also be available.

By then, the available forces would include 6 large carriers, 2 fleet carriers, and 20 small carriers.

Clearly, to assault the Howay Islands alone, there was no need for such a massive military force.

The key lay here.

These forces were originally prepared for the invasion of Gu Continent.

According to the original plan, after successfully taking the Howay Islands, the next step was to consider an invasion of Gu Continent, which meant attacking the Wangxi Canal.

As for Newland itself, the initial phase was focused on a naval blockade.

Only when it was necessary would the shipborne air force be arranged to strike the port cities on the west coast of Newland.

Due to preparations for the invasion of Gu Continent, a total of 32 divisions, amounting to 600,000 ground forces, had been mobilized!

The current issue was that there was no longer a need to force an assault on the Wangxi Canal, at least not for the time being.

Moreover, it was essential to capture the Howay Islands as quickly as possible, and at the very least Honu Island, to ensure the legitimacy of Wallace’s regime.

As a result, the Navy headquarters had sent up all the Reserve Teams.

Looking at this preparation, as long as logistics could keep up, several amphibious landings would be launched simultaneously, and the islands in the eastern part of the Howay Islands would be attacked.

As for the difficulty of the operation and potential resistance, they were not major concerns.

However, the battle of Bai Zhizhan had already ended.

In the telegram from the Navy Command, a specific order was issued for Bai Zhizhan, directing him to escort Wallace and Spur along with other Newland military and political officials back to the Empire’s mainland.

For this purpose, the Navy Command also specifically issued an order to Li Mingbo of the 21st Special Mixed Fleet, instructing Li Mingbo to dispatch battleships to escort the "Qinling".

Moreover, the "Qilian Mountain" had already reached the vicinity of Transfer Island and would meet with the 22nd Special Mixed Fleet in three days.

This ship was the sister ship of the "Qinling" and the lead ship of the second batch, which had officially been commissioned two months ago and had been conducting performance tests ever since.

According to the arrangement of Navy Command, after Bai Zhizhan’s return to the country, Li Mingbo would temporarily assume the role of frontline Commander-in-chief, with Wei Jun serving as Deputy Commander-in-chief, jointly commanding the operation to attack the Howay Islands. Li Mingbo was responsible for fleet operations, while Wei Jun was responsible for coordination with the Marine Corps.

Additionally, Zhou Yongtao would proceed to the "Qilian Mountain" on the return journey, collaborating with Li Mingbo as a Combat Staff Advisor.

The Commander-in-chief of this military operation, in name, was still Bai Zhizhan.

As things stood, it was also the most appropriate arrangement following Bai Zhizhan’s recall.

Although the Navy Command did not mention it in the telegram, Bai Zhizhan’s return to the country at this time was related to the 5th Fleet of the Newland, which was not yet fully controlled.

It was crucial to stabilize the 5th Fleet and ensure that all of its battleships remained at the disposal of the Empire.

Obviously, if the 5th Fleet were to stay on the front line, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Since there were no military ports near enough that could accommodate the 5th Fleet and were controlled by the Imperial Navy, it was not possible to disarm the 5th Fleet on the front line.

It was necessary to return to the rear as soon as possible, with Liuhuang Island being the closest.

That very night, Liu Changxun personally sent a telegram explaining the situation to Bai Zhizhan.

Just as Bai Zhizhan had feared, the Imperial High Command was now worried about a mutiny within the 5th Fleet of Newland.

After all, that was dozens of large battleships!

Not to mention the value of these battleships, if a mutiny occurred among the 5th Fleet and the Imperial Navy were forced to intervene, what hope would there be of getting other Newland troops to surrender?

Clearly, the impact of such events was beyond estimation.

In the telegram, Liu Changxun specifically mentioned one point.

Days before, when Wallace left Gold Bay for Treasure Harbor, the Empire had already begun propagating the matter, with a focus on the surrender of the 5th Fleet.

Of course, Wallace was also of great importance.

According to Liu Changxun, after capturing the Howay Islands, it would still be necessary to send Wallace back to ensure he remained the President of the Newland Federation.

The reasoning was equally simple, only in this way could large-scale military operations be concluded without attacking the Newland homeland.

As for the blockade and bombing of Newland, that was another matter.

Moreover, the Imperial High Command had already made arrangements for the next phase of operations.

Led by Liu Xiangzhen, a Sunset Ocean Fleet reinforced with ships from the Tiaoman Fleet and the Raleigh Fleet—in strict terms, a Joint Fleet of the Consortium Group—would head for the Bermuda Islands.

As soon as conditions allowed, they would launch an attack to capture the Bermuda Islands.

Should the Bermuda Islands, or even just a few of its islands, fall, the subsequent invasion of Cuba and Newfoundland Island could be achieved with half the effort.

It was evident that the siege against the Newland Federation was taking shape.

This was to inform Bai Zhizhan that large-scale military operations were drawing to a close.

Yet, Bai Zhizhan did not feel jubilant, nor was it a time to celebrate with glee.

None of these successive telegrams mentioned the state of the Army, that is, the military operations against the Luosha Federation on the Giant Continent.