Empire Conquest
Chapter 73 - 69: The Last Chance

Chapter 73: Chapter 69: The Last Chance

To attack?

Or not to attack?

"Commander, do we need to send a response?" Kuroshima reminded Takano once again.

"There’s no need." Takano let out a sigh and waved his hand, indicating there was nothing else, and Kuroshima could stay inside the command bridge.

Being tactful, Kuroshima had already noticed that Takano’s mood had been rather sour since entering the Flame Sea.

In fact, the plan to assault Chengjiang Port was proposed and drafted by Kuroshima, and Takano was only responsible for reviewing and making the final approval.

As a result, Kuroshima became one of Takano’s most trusted advisors.

Once Kuroshima left, Takano’s gaze returned.

That ominous premonition became even stronger.

But what could be done about it?

According to the combat plan, before dawn, the Mobile Fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Lan Yun would reach the attack position approximately four hundred kilometers to the southeast of Chengjiang Port and complete the preparations for the assault, including lining up the ship-borne aircraft on the flight deck of the carriers. As long as they received the final notice from the Military Command Department and did not receive a stop order from Takano, they would immediately launch the attack.

Had there been any mishaps?

So far, no telegrams from the Mobile Fleet had been received, indicating that everything was proceeding according to plan without any unexpected occurrences.

Therefore, it was very likely that Lan Yun had already started the assault, which was to say, at the time when Kuroshima brought the telegram, the first wave of ship-borne aircraft was ordered to take off.

Was it still possible to stop the operation now?

The key issue was that the risks of suddenly ordering Lan Yun to stop the operation were simply too great.

Even if the Communication Advisor was called over now and a telegram was sent immediately, it would take at least a few minutes for the order to be implemented. During these minutes, the four carriers of the Mobile Fleet could deploy dozens of ship-borne aircraft. However, there would still be hundreds of aircraft waiting on the flight deck to take off.

Halting the operation abruptly would inevitably cause chaos and could lead to disastrous consequences.

Take the carriers, for example, they would have to first move the aircraft that had not yet taken off to the front end of the flight deck, preferably back to the hangar below, to clear the deck for the returning aircraft. Because they would be over the maximum landing weight, the ship-borne aircraft would have to jettison some fuel and possibly even ditch their bombs and torpedoes near the carrier. Otherwise, they would have to linger in the vicinity of the Fleet.

If the aircraft waiting on the flight deck for takeoff were already fueled up and armed, it would be even more troublesome.

For safety reasons, it was absolutely unacceptable to take aircraft filled with fuel and armed with bombs into the hangar. They had to be dealt with on the open deck, that is, the flight deck.

As a result, for the next tens of minutes, or even a few hours, the Mobile Fleet’s four carriers would be unable to deploy fighters.

If they were attacked, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Don’t forget, the Mobile Fleet was only four hundred kilometers away from Chengjiang Port and even less than four hundred kilometers from the military base on Foot Island.

Of course, if the Mobile Fleet immediately turned to retreat, the threat could be much reduced.

But was it really okay to give up the chance to take on the heavily armed Liangxia Navy?

Don’t forget, there were twelve battleships and four Fleet carriers in Chengjiang Port, and perhaps four Fast Battleships, which was nearly half of the entire Liangxia Navy. To sink these warships in one fell swoop, or even just a portion of them, would be a significant victory.

And, would there be a better opportunity in the future?

Since a battle with Liangxia Empire was inevitable, if they didn’t act now, they would surely have to face these formidable battleships on the battlefield later.

After all, if a fight was unavoidable, a surprise attack would certainly be more advantageous than a head-on battle.

That’s exactly why Takano had not told Kuroshima to call it off.

After about the time it took to brew a pot of tea, Takano returned to the Command Bridge.

At this time, it was exactly 7:00 a.m. on the 25th.

Meanwhile, inside Chengjiang Port.

When a few intelligence officers brought out that unfortunate soul, Wang Kaiyuan tossed away his cigarette butt. He stepped on it a few times before going upstairs.

This was a half-century-old red brick tubular building, with more than a dozen households on each floor, and the suspect lived on the top floor.

After climbing up, Wang Kaiyuan understood.

The view was extremely open, with most of the harbor in sight, and it happened to overlook several deep water piers, as well as the military camp on the opposite side of the harbor.

Next to the bedroom window of the suspect’s residence, there was a high-powered monocular telescope.

A thorough search had been conducted; cabinets and drawers were turned upside down—They had stopped short of smashing open the walls and floors, but that wasn’t necessary.

The suspect was a local bought by spies from the enemy state, responsible only for observation, and reporting back when something was found.

Those who could be bought with money certainly knew very limited information and often only contacted enemy spies unilaterally, lacking any real loyalty.

Of course, these people were expendable.

As for intelligence validation and delivery, the enemy spies were in charge.

After making a round in the room, Wang Kaiyuan walked over to the window to look out over the harbor.

Actually, he came to help.

Although nominally under the Imperial Guard Army, the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau, also known as the famous Military Intelligence Bureau or the Imperial Guard Sixth Bureau, was responsible for the entire military’s intelligence security, the specific division of labor was not like that. The Navy’s intelligence work was managed by the Navy Intelligence Security Bureau.

Fortunately, several military intelligence agencies didn’t have so many sectarian views.

To put it another way, all other intelligence agencies were branches of the Sixth Bureau, all of which had split from the Sixth Bureau, and their founders had all worked in the Sixth Bureau.

Wang Kaiyuan came here not at the invitation of the Navy but uninvited.

He had accompanied the Imperial Guard to the northeast, where he cracked a spy network of the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom. One of the leads pointed to Chengjiang Port. Knowing Liu Xiangzhen, and having a previous acquaintance, Wang Kaiyuan volunteered to come to Chengjiang Port to follow this lead.

Where would he have thought that he’d actually catch a big fish?

Strictly speaking, it was more of a discovery; it hadn’t reached the "capture" stage yet.

With hurried footsteps, a Naval intelligence officer ran up.

"Just got a call, the target is locked down. The higher-ups are asking if we should net it now."

"Where?"

"In the next county, the radio signal has been locked down, confirmed to be using the Saiyi Navy Intelligence Agency’s code. We preliminarily judge it to be a senior spy."

"Then let’s wait a bit longer."

The intelligence officer was quite puzzled and didn’t understand Wang Kaiyuan’s reasoning.

The big fish had been found; what else was there to wait for?

"The war hasn’t started yet; if we reel in the hook now, will other fish dare to come? Have a little patience, there might be a need for this big fish in the future."

"You mean..."

"Trust me, just have someone keep an eye on it. Even if it’s not spot on, it’s not too late to net it in a few days, right?"

The intelligence officer didn’t ask any further questions and nodded in agreement.

In any case, Wang Kaiyuan was a Senior Intelligence Officer sent by the Sixth Bureau, and also a Major. Even Liu Xiangdong, the newly promoted Commander of the Southern Fleet, needed to show him some respect.

How the superior gave orders, the subordinates just needed to follow them, no need to ask too many questions.

Wang Kaiyuan had no intention of throwing his weight around.

The key lay in the current situation.

With the great war looming, it is definitely not the right time to move on the senior spies from the Saiyi Navy.

After all, it was just a matter of a few days.