Empire Conquest

Chapter 650 - 3 Confluence of Events

The preparation meeting continued until evening before it was temporarily adjourned following a proposal by Admiral Shi Shouliang, the general commander of the "Westward 150" exercise and the Battle Zone Commander of the Liangxia Empire’s Northwest War Zone.

Everyone was hungry. No matter how busy, dinner was necessary.

After Admiral Shi Shouliang left, young military officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, none stood up to leave the command center.

Just before the break, Admiral Shi Shouliang announced that the exercise planning had officially escalated to pre-war deployment.

A war was coming?

For the day-long dull preparation meeting, this statement was like a bombshell.

Only when the cleaning staff came in did a few Marine Corps officers leave first.

At that moment, Lian Mingyang suddenly snapped awake. Noticing the gaze from the Navy Colonel standing at the door, he quickly walked over.

The Navy Colonel was Bai Huawei.

Furthermore, Bai Huawei was Lian Mingyang’s senior by relation. Bai Huawei was the youngest son of Bai Zhizhan, while Lian Mingyang was the grandson of Lian Xusheng.

However, Lian Mingyang’s cousin, Li Tianling, had married Bai Huawei’s sister.

According to the Empire’s custom of prioritizing paternal lineage, Bai Huawei was considered Lian Mingyang’s distant cousin.

In reality, Bai Huawei was only four years older than Lian Mingyang.

Moreover, in the military, relationships are based on hierarchy, not familial ties.

Arriving at the cafeteria, the two chose a table in the corner.

Regarding what Admiral Shi Shouliang had mentioned, there was really no need for alarm.

Over the past ten-plus years, the "Westward" exercises were always scheduled for the end of the year and spanned into the new year, relating both to their symbolic bridging role and the climatic conditions.

Winter combat had always been a weak point for the Imperial Army but a strength for their foes.

Holding large-scale joint military exercises in deep winter could serve to deter the enemy.

This year, however, was an exception.

The exercise was pushed forward by a full four months!

Now, in the peak of summer with half a year till deep winter, it was clear that this was not a rash decision and was greatly influenced by the current tense situation.

At the end of last month, the Iraq authorities suddenly announced that they had crushed a military coup and thwarted an assassination attempt against the country’s supreme leader.

All fingers pointed towards the neighboring Kuwait.

By the beginning of this month, July 7, Iraq, using unverified unilateral evidence, issued an ultimatum to Kuwait demanding an unconditional opening of its borders and permission for Iraqi forces to enter to search and arrest those suspected of involvement in the coup and assassination.

That day, the Imperial Authority expressed serious concerns about the tension in Boss Bay.

Although three superpowers intervened, leading Iraq’s authorities to extend the ultimatum to August 1, no substantial concessions were made.

On July 11, the Imperial Authority made necessary adjustments to their military deployments, including dispatching an additional Tactical Air Force Wing to the Kingdom of Saudi.

Subsequently, they began evacuating expatriates from nations along the coast of Boss Bay and arranged for six carriers to be sent back early to the shipyard for mid-term maintenance.

Since these were emergency repairs, all six carriers could re-enter deployment in August.

Through this arrangement, by the end of the year, the number of carriers the Imperial Navy could deploy in Boss Bay would increase from five to nine.

This is why outsiders asserted that should the tense situation in Boss Bay not be alleviated, the Liangxia Empire would likely intervene militarily by the year’s end.

Clearly, everyone had overlooked a critical issue.

Whether a military intervention was necessary was not for the Liangxia Empire to decide, but for Iraq, or rather the Tiaoman Empire and Newland Republic backing Iraq behind the scenes.

If it was unavoidable, there was no need to wait until the end of the year.

Currently, three Imperial Navy carriers were patrolling Boss Bay and the Mua Sea, and two more could be added within 15 days after the outbreak of war.

Five carriers might not be enough to protect Kuwait but could prevent Iraqi troops from moving south from Kuwait.

Furthermore, the annual "Westward" joint military exercise had been moved up to August.

Clearly, this was an unmistakable warning signal.

If a war truly broke out, the troops involved in the exercise could directly head to Boss Bay!

Half a month ago, when Lian Mingyang received the transfer order from the Battle Zone headquarter informing him that the "Westward" exercise would start early and that the newly formed 771st Land Air Force Assault Brigade would be the first to participate, he immediately realized that the Imperial High Command hoped that through the military exercise, Iraq’s military dictator Hussein would understand the risks and costs of initiating a war, recognize the gap with the superpowers, and abandon his destined-to-fail military ventures.

In this era where the size of one’s fists dictates the power of their voice, nothing was more persuasive than military strength.

At that time, Lian Mingyang didn’t think much more.

Nor did he have the energy to speculate wildly.

During the past half-month, Lian Mingyang had not had a moment of leisure, spending all his time, except for eating, drinking, and the necessary, busily engaged.

In his words, he wished he could have three heads and six arms.

Fundamentally, the audacity of Iraq’s military dictator to challenge the Liangxia Empire at this time was not unrelated to the covert support from the Tiaoman Empire and the Newland Federation.

Indeed, just a few years earlier, the relationship between Iraq and the Liangxia Empire was quite close.

Even if not allies, they were friendly nations.

The reason was that the assistance provided by the Liangxia Empire, in fact, came through indirect support from a third party, helping Iraq turn defeat into victory in the Iran-Iraq War.