Empire Conquest
Chapter 76 - 72 Civilized Beast

Chapter 76: Chapter 72 Civilized Beast

Don’t be fooled by how calm Liu Xiangzhen appeared on the surface; unflustered by chaos, his heart was cursing up a storm.

Using Bai Zhizhan’s words, Liu Xiangzhen was a textbook example of a "Civilized Beast" – outwardly courteous and composed, but inwardly harboring a ferocious beast, rearing its fangs and claws.

Ever since he received the telegram yesterday afternoon, Liu Xiangzhen had been cursing, starting from the newly appointed Navy Commander-in-chief, denouncing all the bigwigs of the Navy headquarters and the Domestic Fleet, and probably still not feeling relieved, he went on to curse the bigwigs of the Southern Fleet as well.

What was he doing this for?

The reason was simple; this critical telegram – accurately speaking, intelligence – had been delayed for an entire day!

And it was an entire day.

On the battlefield, let alone a day, even a few hours could determine victory or defeat.

After conducting Fleet exercises for over a decade, especially in recent years, without exception, the outcomes were decided within mere hours. Each year’s exercises proved that intelligence was crucial, and whoever gained accurate intelligence first would win.

Yet, those in charge still didn’t take heed!

Liu Xiangzhen didn’t sleep all night.

As a result, first thing in the morning, the Communication Advisor delivered the latest intelligence. Strictly speaking, it couldn’t be considered intelligence, at best it was a discovery with questionable credibility.

On the 24th, the Domestic Fleet’s sea patrol planes encountered the Saiyi Navy’s ship-borne aircraft multiple times over the Nanzhu Sea.

Sadly, that was all there was to it.

No one could be blamed for this, since only seaplanes could fly out to the Nanzhu Sea to conduct search missions, and naturally, seaplanes couldn’t catch up to ship-borne aircraft.

Moreover, these discoveries didn’t explain much.

The key issue was, there was no way to prove whether those ship-borne aircraft were from land-based airfields or had taken off from carriers, and if so, which carriers they were.

Let’s not forget, the Saiyi Navy also has a small aircraft carrier similar to the "Sea Dragon."

What now demanded attention was actually the Saiyi Navy’s Permanent Fleet, or more precisely, the whereabouts of the three Air Corps under its jurisdiction.

How many Air Corps had entered the Flame Sea?

Two, or all three?

Although there were already reports that the two "Ruihe" class carriers hadn’t completed their sea trials and were included in the battle order because of the need of the situation, forming no real combat power, Liu Xiangzhen always believed that launching a surprise attack into the Flame Sea to strike the Southern Fleet was an all-in gamble, and the Saiyi Navy had no reason not to mobilize all its forces.

After all, the Permanent Fleet Commander was the gambling-addicted Takano.

That madman was ruthless enough to cut off his own fingers!

Bringing two extra carriers meant having over a hundred more ship-borne aircraft at disposal. With sufficient forces, whether attacking or defending, things would be much more manageable.

From another angle, if it were Liu Xiangzhen, he would definitely bring all the Air Corps.

However, Bai Zhizhan didn’t think so.

During the last discussion, Bai Zhizhan specifically emphasized this point – the Saiyi Navy would likely only deploy four carriers.

For this, Bai Zhizhan highlighted three considerations.

First, although Takano was willing to gamble and dared to bet big, he wasn’t the kind of reckless gambler who couldn’t weigh the pros and cons. He usually only made bets he was confident in.

Were four carriers enough to ensure a large margin of confidence?

The answer was clearly affirmative.

If the primary tactic was to surprise, then the key wasn’t the number of carriers, but stealth and surprise. As long as the attack could achieve surprise, the three hundred plus ship-borne aircraft on the four carriers could launch at least two waves of strikes, and with rotation, a possible third wave.

Three waves of strikes would be enough to destroy the entire Southern Fleet!

Secondly, it may not be within the Saiyi Navy’s capabilities to simultaneously deploy six carriers, or more precisely, to utilize the full potential of six carriers at the same time.

What does that mean?

The Saiyi Navy didn’t have that many ship-borne aircraft pilots!

The two "Ruihe" carriers were only delivered at the beginning of the year. Even if the Saiyi Navy trained intensively, it would be very difficult to train a sufficient number of skilled pilots in just a few months.

"Withdraw pilots from the other two air corps?"

Clearly, that was a mess!

In high-intensity combat, it only took one newbie, along with a trivial mistake, to paralyze a carrier for several hours.

In fact, this was also a distinguishing feature of the shipborne air force.

Even the worst among them were elite because, when landing on a carrier, they could only rely on themselves.

Without enough pilots, what was the use of adding the Third Air Corps?

The last, and most crucial, point.

The strategic objective of the Saiyi Navy might not be to annihilate the Liangxia Navy completely; they might just be aiming to seize the initiative in the early stages of the war, which meant they needed to hold back.

Leaving two carriers behind, there would still be play if the surprise attack failed.

But if they bet it all, then it was truly an all-or-nothing gamble, succeed or die trying.

Even Takano, brazen as he was, might not go against the strategic objectives and wager the fate of the Navy, let alone the entire country.

To quote Bai Zhizhan, if that were the case, it would be a blessing from heaven for the Empire!

Although Liu Xiangzhen was not entirely convinced, he knew that Bai Zhizhan wasn’t one to speak without cause—he emphasized these points because he surely had his concerns.

However, at this point, what Liu Xiangzhen needed to consider was not how many carriers had entered the Flame Sea.

What was the number one issue?

After the Saiyi Fleet had moved into the Flame Sea, where had they gone?

Were they lingering near Nanzhu Country, or had they come charging over with great force, or were they already at the gates?

Although the Flame Sea had almost become an inland sea of the Empire over the past few decades, the Flame Sea was the second largest sea in the world, with an area of nearly 3.5 million square kilometers—it was impossible to fully control. Importantly, apart from the two large islands to the north, the other islands were mainly scattered in the central and southern parts. In the northern sea area of about one million square kilometers, there were very few islands, let alone large islands capable of building runways.

Furthermore, the Empire’s Navy did not have many large patrol planes.

Out of the more than twenty patrol planes purchased before the war, only four were assigned to the Southern Fleet, with the rest with the Domestic Fleet.

To find a fleet in a sea area of one million square kilometers with just four patrol planes, the difficulty was nearly equivalent to finding a needle in a haystack.

Even if the search area was narrowed, it would still take several days.

That was exactly why Liu Xiangzhen had kept the Fleet south of Foot Island, or more accurately, between Foot Island and the Lixi Islands. More than two hundred kilometers to the southeast lay Yongyue Island, the largest island in the Lixi Islands. Crucially, there was a runway on Yongyue Island that stretched to two thousand meters in length.

Last night, the Southern Fleet had temporarily dispatched thirty fighter jets to Yongyue Island.

According to the plan, these fighters would take off after dawn, operate to the east of the Special Mixed Group, and provide vital peripheral cover for the Special Mixed Group.

It appeared, then, that the current position of the Special Mixed Group was relatively safe.

But was it too safe?

Safety also meant a more rearward position.

If the Saiyi Fleet had already closed in and planned a surprise attack on Chengjiang Port, the current position of the Special Mixed Group would hardly allow for an immediate counterattack on the Saiyi Fleet.

Why?

Launching an attack beyond the operational radius of the ship-borne aircraft meant there would be no return!

Until the Communication Advisor hurriedly ran in.

"Report, an urgent communique from Chengjiang Port."

Liu Xiangzhen trembled slightly before reaching out to take the telegram handed to him.

In fact, he didn’t need to look; the Communication Advisor had made it clear from the start.

This was a battle report!

What was bound to come, had come!