Empire Conquest

Chapter 679 - 15 All Set_2

After that, the Liangxia Empire launched a price war on oil aimed at Iraq.

Simply put, they suppressed oil prices in the international market through spokespersons like Kuwait, making it impossible for Iraq to profit from oil exports.

As a result, Iraq’s domestic contradictions intensified due to the imbalance of international payments.

Iraq invaded Kuwait not only to divert its domestic issues, but also to drive up oil prices.

However, many people overlooked Boi Country.

In the past two years, Boi Country had managed to hold on, unlike Iraq, which had to resort to war to divert its domestic contradictions. This resilience was largely due to the inability to directly sell oil in the international market, and significant support from the Newland Republic.

According to intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau, in the past two years, the Newland Republic had supplied tens of millions of tons of food to Boi Country under the guise of aid, essentially filling its food gap. It was because of this ample food supply that the situation in Boi Country remained relatively stable.

Boi Country’s foreign exchange earnings also relied heavily on exporting oil to the Newland Republic.

Clearly, Boi Country’s economic lifeline was actually in the hands of the Newland Republic.

And that wasn’t all.

After an eight-year-long war, apart from a few pieces of equipment, nearly 60 percent of Boi’s Army’s main combat equipment came from the Newland Republic.

Moreover, Boi Country could only buy advanced weapons and equipment from the Newland Republic and relied on these to modernize its national defense.

Obviously, Boi Country’s national security was closely linked to the Newland Republic.

To put it bluntly, the lifeline and lifeblood of Boi Country were in the hands of the Newland Authority!

That’s exactly why Zhou Yongtao was worried.

If the Newland Authority exerted influence, Boi Country might not be able to withstand the pressure.

Could Boi Country still remain neutral?

Of course, Boi Country would certainly not fight for Iraq.

But the problem was, as long as Boi Country slightly raised its combat readiness level or created issues in the Hormuz Strait, it could force the Imperial Authority to hesitate.

Indeed, since Boi Country had no diplomatic relations with the Liangxia Empire, it completely justified banning Liangxia ships and combat aircraft from passing through its territorial waters and airspace, even using this reason to blockade the Hormuz Strait—at least as a bargaining chip against the Liangxia Empire, such as demanding that the Liangxia Empire lift the strategic blockade that had been in effect for over a decade.

So, would Boi Country pull chestnuts out of the fire for Iraq?

Actually, Zhou Yongtao only waited for about ten more minutes.

When the phone rang, Zhou Yongtao was startled at first, then quickly grabbed the receiver.

"It’s me..."

After listening carefully for a while, Zhou Yongtao let out a long sigh of relief.

"Alright, got it."

After responding, he hung up the receiver and slumped down into his chair.

It was Nong Chengpei who had called from Riyadh, sharing two pieces of good news.

Bai Huamin had already negotiated with Boi Country’s envoy, agreeing that as long as the Liangxia Empire guaranteed not to infringe on Boi Country’s sovereignty and lifted financial sanctions against it within six months, Boi Country would strictly maintain neutrality, tacitly approving the actions taken by the Liangxia Empire to restore Kuwait’s sovereignty.

The other piece of news was that the King of Saudi Arabia had agreed to personally intervene, uniting countries in the New Moon Region to impose sanctions and an embargo on Iraq.

Moreover, the King of Saudi Arabia had in principle agreed to place the Royal Army under the Joint Headquarters during the war, unconditionally following orders. If necessary, the King of Saudi Arabia would also step forward to organize the New Moon Countries Alliance within the framework of the Joint Headquarters.

Simply put, led by Saudi Arabia, countries of the New Moon Region, especially those along the southern coast of Boss Bay, would fully support the restoration of Kuwait.

This was also a huge burden.

According to Nong Chengpei, the King of Saudi Arabia had clearly stated that the fundamental objective of this war was to restore Kuwait.

As for whether to overthrow the Baghdad regime, that would be discussed later.

When Luo Youbin brought freshly brewed tea, it was already 12:30 p.m.

In fact, he specifically chose this time to bring the tea to remind Zhou Yongtao that there was only half an hour left until the ultimatum expired.

"Has there been any news from the Sixth Bureau?" Though the Sixth Bureau had long been reorganized as the Military Intelligence Bureau, veterans like Zhou Yongtao still used the old name.

"Not yet."

Zhou Yongtao simply nodded, and Luo Youbin offered no further explanation.

Despite Lin Shiping being able to visit Zhou Yongtao at any time, he understood protocol well and always called Luo Youbin in advance whenever he wanted to come over.

In Lin Shiping’s words, no matter how powerful he was, he was just an intelligence officer.

No news at this time actually meant the worst news!

Apart from arranging for Bai Huamin to secretly negotiate with Boi Country’s envoy, Zhou Yongtao had also asked Lin Shiping to find a way to stir up trouble inside Iraq.

It wasn’t that Zhou Yongtao was fearful of battle, or that he still harbored fantasies.

If one could win without fighting, what was wrong with that?

Obviously, Lin Shiping’s efforts had not paid off.

After Luo Youbin left, Zhou Yongtao didn’t delay any further and made a phone call to Shi Shouliang, who was far away in King Khalid’s Military City.

However, the command Zhou Yongtao issued wasn’t one of war, but of battle readiness.

After making the call, Zhou Yongtao set off for the Great Hall.

Because the operation involved the Army, Navy, and Air Force, according to the Empire’s laws, Zhou Yongtao had to secure the support of both Senate and House before issuing combat orders.

To put it precisely, it was actually about war authorization.

Of course, over the past three days, Zhou Yongtao had persuaded most of the members, and conservatively estimated that he would obtain at least two-thirds support.

Actually, a simple majority of more than half was only necessary.

Since it was a partial war, only military mobilization was needed, not a war mobilization, so obtaining a majority of more than two-thirds wasn’t necessary.

Anyway, he had to deliver a speech at both Senate and House and then initiate the vote.

That was what Zhou Yongtao hated most.

Like the previous military-born Grand Secretaries, Zhou Yongtao always felt that dealing frequently with those old fellows in the Senate and House, even intelligence could diminish!

But what could be done about it?

...

King Khalid’s Military City.

After speaking with Zhou Yongtao, Shi Shouliang issued an order for battle readiness.

As per the plan set earlier, the Air Force was first to deploy!

At 7:45 local time, Li Tianling climbed into the cockpit of the "War-11B".

Compared to three days ago when he arrived, his fighter had a not very obvious but particularly eye-catching change.

On the left side of the cockpit, a kill mark symbolizing combat achievement had been painted.

It was a pattern resembling a fighter jet.

After the combat plan was finalized last night, Li Tianling drafted a tactic and communicated it with other pilots.

After that, he rested for four hours.

When he returned to his post, the ground crew had already completed the pre-flight preparations, including painting the envious symbol.

During the suppression in Sri Lanka, no aerial battle erupted, so Li Tianling was the first pilot in the Empire’s Air Force to achieve aerial combat success after the Boi War ended.

To this, Li Tianling was rather speechless.

In his view, shooting down that "Super Flag" was mainly luck and had little to do with his own abilities.

But then, what could be said?

According to the ground crew leader, the battle was about to begin, who cared whether there was a kill mark on the Wing Captain’s personal aircraft?

As usual, "War-11B" was configured for air superiority.

What was different this time was that it was fully loaded. Eight medium-range air-to-air missiles plus two combat missiles, along with 180 rounds of 30mm machine gun ammunition.

However, of the eight medium-range air-to-air missiles, only four were "KK-12A"; the other four were "KK-6M".

The ground crew leader specifically mentioned that this was a decision from above, mainly because the "KK-12A" stocks were low and they needed to use up the "KK-6M" which were nearing retirement.

Li Tianling didn’t rebuke the ground crew leader, but thought those in charge of supplies were really stingy.

After completing the inspection, Li Tianling gave the all-clear signal to the guide officer.

Then, with the help of the tow tractor, "War-11B" taxied to the take-off point.

To the left and rear, the partner’s wingman was already in position.

In addition, two "War-11B" and two "War-10B" would participate in the first round of combat operations, including the aircraft of the Daxiao Ershuang duo.

To secure the mission, the duo had even presented Li Tianling with a military pledge, guaranteeing they would follow command.

Actually, even if the duo hadn’t made a military pledge, Li Tianling would have given them a chance, because according to the plan, two fearless young hotshots were needed to lead the charge.

In the entire wing, Daxiao Ershuang were famously headstrong.