Empire Conquest

Chapter 669 - 11 Hurrying Horse With Added Whip_2

This is just the budget, actual expenses will definitely exceed it.

Even without going over budget, it is an unbearable burden.

The Air Force’s total development investment in the "War-11" and "War-10" projects is less than 10 billion Gold Yuan, while the Navy’s development investment in two types of third-generation ship-borne fighters is only 7 billion Gold Yuan. Even including procurement costs, the total investment for the four third-generation fighters is just 1,000 billion Gold Yuan.

To date, the most eye-catching aspect of the "War X" project is its comprehensive stealth capability.

In summary, with the advent of fourth-generation combat aircraft represented by "War X" and "Attack X," warfare will enter the era of stealth.

It is only at this time that the Empire will have a sufficient chance of victory.

Of course, that’s not all.

According to last year’s wargame simulation, if the Empire can successfully complete the development of fourth-generation combat aircraft like "War X" and "Attack X," the technological advantage over the Tiaoman Empire will extend to 10 years, and the technological advantage over the Newland Republic will reach 5 years.

In theory, the Empire could rely on a military system centered on fourth-generation combat aircraft to achieve a decisive victory before the two formidable enemies could fully mobilize for war!

According to the strategic plan personally approved by Zhou Yongtao, the Air Force and the Navy of the Empire are to complete the third round of military technology reforms by the year 160 of the New Calendar.

Furthermore, the stealth bomber known as "Bomb X" is expected to be commissioned by the year 155 of the New Calendar.

At the strategic level, it will not be until New Calendar year 155, when the Empire has a reliable strategic strike capability, that it will be capable of winning the Third Global War.

This is also the basic condition of all strategic plans.

But as it looks now, it seems unlikely to be delayed that long.

Of course, from another perspective, this is precisely why the Tiaoman Empire is inciting Hussein to act at this time, and why the Newland Republic, despite Boi Country’s interests, tacitly consents to Hussein’s troops swallowing up Kuwait—in essence, forcing the Liangxia Empire to ignite the flames of the Third Global War.

Otherwise, it is likely that the Tiaoman Empire would not be able to hold out for another 10 years.

From this, it’s not hard to understand why Iraq would send attack aircraft to stealthily attack the Navy’s battleships.

Put simply, if the Imperial Authority determines that the "Panzhihua" has been attacked, they must act and make Iraq pay for the attack.

Initially, after the "Zhaotong" was attacked, the Navy bombarded Iraq for 24 hours straight.

If the Liangxia Empire strikes back, the Third Global War will erupt.

Generals like Niu Zhengshen obviously won’t consider this issue, but as the Imperial Chief Minister, Zhou Yongtao definitely needs to seriously contemplate it.

Inside the study, Zhou Yongtao made more than ten phone calls within an hour.

Although before the deployment of Iraqi troops, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had already called the Allies and friendly nations’ foreign ministers one by one to explain the Empire’s stance on defending Kuwait’s sovereignty—effectively a preventative measure—at this critical juncture, it is still necessary for the Grand Secretary to step in personally.

More than a dozen Allies without exception mentioned that they hope the Imperial Authority can handle the current situation calmly.

Implicitly, no one wants to go to war.

This is understandable, after all, peace has been more or less maintained for over 40 years after the war. Not just the Allies, the situation is about the same for the Empire.

Of course, these Allies’ leaders all expressed they will stand firmly beside the Empire and fight alongside it.

After Zhou Yongtao finished his calls, Lin Shiping, who had been on the balcony, returned to the room.

The night was rather cool, only there were more mosquitoes outside.

Lin Shiping wasn’t idle either; he also made a few calls.

"Abbas III has arrived and, after meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia, will appear before reporters. All related arrangements have been made. He will make a formal request to us for assistance in expelling the invading Iraqi troops after holding a press conference."

As Lin Shiping briefed him, Zhou Yongtao poured two glasses of water.

"Our first ’Expeditionary Mixed Wing’ has already arrived in Saudi Arabia. By tomorrow, the number of fighters ready for deployment at forward bases will exceed 100, enough to stop the Iraqi troops from heading south." Lin Shiping continued after catching the glass of water Zhou Yongtao handed to him: "The Navy has found the parachuting pilot, but his condition is not good. He suffered serious injuries during ejection, and it’s uncertain whether he can pull through."

"Is there any news from Baghdad?"

Lin Shiping pursed his lips and shook his head.

Had there been any news, he would have mentioned it earlier.

However, Zhou Yongtao’s mind was clearly elsewhere. After Lin Shiping finished, he asked, "What’s your take on this?"

"It should be an isolated incident."

Zhou Yongtao didn’t respond, waiting for Lin Shiping to continue.

"Based on the intelligence we currently hold, neither the Tiaoman Empire nor the Newland Republic really has a reason to launch a major war over this incident. They are more interested in understanding the progress of our military reform and the actual value of these improvements. It’s not just us; neither the Tiaoman Empire nor the Newland Republic are prepared either, hence they wouldn’t incite Hussein to do such a foolish thing."

"That’s just your conjecture."

Zhou Yongtao didn’t doubt Lin Shiping; he was simply discussing the facts of the matter.

Lin Shiping was keenly aware of what Zhou Yongtao meant. After all, making strategic decisions that would affect the future of the Empire required more than just the guesswork of an intelligence chief.

"I’m just worried that if we make an issue of the attack, the situation could spiral out of control."

"There is indeed that possibility."

Zhou Yongtao sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead vigorously before he spoke, "But the problem now is, if we act as if we’ve seen nothing, it might give our opponents the wrong impression of weakness. If the Tiaoman Empire and the Newland Republic misinterpret this signal, the situation could equally spiral out of control."

Lin Shiping was taken aback, then sighed.

Obviously, this was something many people had overlooked.

What Zhou Yongtao feared wasn’t the immediate outbreak of a global war but that, after making this misjudgment, the Tiaoman Empire and the Newland Republic would offer Iraq even more support.

Letting the situation develop in this direction, a global war would still be inevitable!

Looking at the current situation, the most worrying scenario would be Hussein taking the raid as a carte blanche and the Iraqi forces continuing south after occupying Kuwait.

If that truly happened, the strategic plans of the Empire would be completely disrupted.

This was also the outcome the Tiaoman Empire and the Newland Republic were most eager to see.

In simple terms, if they could turn Iraq into another Boi Country and have the Liangxia Empire fight a region-specific war like the Boi War where the losses greatly outweigh the gains, then there wouldn’t even need to be a third Global War for the Liangxia Empire to hand over the baton of global dominance within a few years.

In addition, internal factors within the Empire could not be ignored.

The reason Zhou Yongtao didn’t have Qin Fenglie bring the military generals over was related to this.

Generals only think about war and obviously would not consider the long-term implications.

Given the chance, they would treat Iraq as another Boi Country and deploy a million troops to fight a disastrous war that brings nothing but harm.

After much contemplation, Lin Shiping spoke with a long sigh, "At present, it seems that the only solution is to accelerate our strategic plans."

"You mean..."

"Make an issue out of the oil tanker attack, warn the Baghdad authorities, issue an ultimatum if necessary, and deploy additional combat troops to Saudi Arabia in advance to ensure the Iraqi army doesn’t dare to move south. As long as we can stabilize Saudi Arabia and prevent an invasion, then what follows should be manageable."

Zhou Yongtao pondered briefly, then asked, "Whose oil tanker was it?"

"The shipowner is our national shipping enterprise, but the tanker is registered in Lion Spring City, so you could say it’s ours or it’s Lion Spring City’s."

"That’s good."

"Do you want me to make arrangements?" Lin Shiping had already seen Zhou Yongtao make his decision, which was to adopt the suggestion he put forward.

This was the only viable option right now.

Zhou Yongtao nodded, and as Lin Shiping stood up, he added, "When you go out, let Qin Fenglie and the others come in."

"Alright, I’ll call you after I have made the arrangements."

Lin Shiping knew well that when Zhou Yongtao asked him to inform Qin Fenglie rather than arranging for Luo Youbin to go, it was because he wanted him to brief Qin Fenglie in advance.

Indeed, Lin Shiping explained the situation straightforwardly to Qin Fenglie.

The key was to speed up the deployment of military forces to provide enough security for Saudi Arabia and to keep Iraqi troops beyond their borders.

Qin Fenglie’s task was to ensure this arrangement would be executed, keeping Army and Air Force generals from complicating matters.

As for the Navy generals, with Zhou Yongtao around, there was no need to worry.