In war, the role of intelligence is obvious.
Almost as soon as the British Royal Navy began to implement the "South Pacific Plan", the Imperial Investigation Bureau obtained this intelligence through the "submarine" installed within it, and then the intelligence was passed on to the Navy through the intelligence liaison agency.
Looking at the nautical chart on the wall next to him, Zhang Guoyong, Chief of the Navy General Staff, said to his colleague: "Okay, the Royal Navy has set out. They plan to sail from the North Atlantic to Canada first, and then to the Bay of Fundy on "X" day between August and October..."
He pointed to the chart and said:
"Right here."
"They will meet up with the US Navy in the Bay of Fundy and conduct comprehensive training..."
Standing next to the Chief of Staff, Qiu Zhenzhi thought for a while and said:
"We can now determine that they will most likely launch an attack on the Empire's homeland as early as November."
“Yes, the South Atlantic Operation Plan is an extremely bold plan. Although it faces greater risks and difficulties, in the eyes of the British, if this plan is successfully implemented, it will force us to withdraw from the war!”
The Chief of Staff continued.
"They may even enter the empire after the naval battle. If we cannot keep the enemy out of our country, then we may face unprecedented threats."
“This is really a big deal.”
Qiu Zhenzhi said.
"But isn't this kind of decisive battle exactly what we are looking forward to?"
Speaking of expectations, Qiu Zhenzhi knew very well that the Imperial Navy had been waiting for the opportunity for a decisive battle. Because so far, the only fleets that could freely sail on the ocean were the Imperial Navy, the Royal Navy, the United States, and the Roman Fleet, but the latter two had limited strength and were not to be feared.
It is for this reason that the Imperial Navy has always hoped to defeat the Royal Navy in a decisive naval battle, completely gain control of the sea, and thus win the war.
But the British did not give them this opportunity - the main force of their navy has always stayed in their homeland, and even until now, the Royal Navy, that is, the Indian Ocean Squadron, has fought several limited-scale naval battles with the Roman Empire Navy, or the Mediterranean Fleet has acted as a gatekeeper and prevented the French fleet from breaking out of the Mediterranean several times.
In a word, the Imperial Navy has not found an opportunity yet, but now the opportunity is right in front of them.
"The opportunity has come, but the only problem is..."
Zhang Guoyong slowly pointed from one point to another on the nautical chart with a pencil, and began to speak:
"The Royal Navy did dispatch... but it happened at a very bad time. But I think, maybe that's not right. Because the enemy will never discuss their plans with us: when is the most convenient time for us to dispatch. You know, such a chance for a decisive battle is rare. How should we seize this opportunity and inflict the greatest damage to them? My idea is still the same as before, to inflict the greatest damage as possible, preferably a devastating blow. Only in this way can we force them to face reality!"
Qiu Zhenzhi twirled the pencil between his fingers, thought for a moment, and then said,
"Chief of Staff, it is almost impossible to achieve such a blow with just one naval battle. I think we can achieve our strategic goal through three consecutive naval battles here, here, and here."
"But we don't have so many warships to implement this plan, and the French fleet is being watched by the Germans, and half of it is trapped in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is France's lifeline, and they will not deploy the Mediterranean fleet. As for the Russians, they can't even deal with an Indian Ocean squadron, so they certainly don't have time to help us."
Listening to the chief of staff's words, Qiu Zhenzhi said.
"Oh, teacher, I remember when we were in the Naval Academy, you said that the only thing the Empire can trust is the Empire's Army and Navy. We can only rely on ourselves! We can't rely on others."
"What are your plans?"
"It's the plan I proposed earlier."
"That plan? That plan is too risky. We must know which route the British and American fleet will take. Not only when they come, but also when they leave. Which route will they take? There are thousands of kilometers of sea that need to be guarded, but there are only a few ships that can carry out this mission..."
"But nothing is more important than this battle plan, sir."
Qiu Zhenzhi argued with reason.
"If we succeed, we can target New York and London in the next battle and end this war! My idea is still the same as before. We should mobilize all our forces to lure them into our trap, and then use this trap to completely destroy this behemoth!"
"That's the truth, but the risk..."
Zhang Guoyong frowned, and just as he was hesitating, a voice came over him.
“Can war be fought without risk?”
As he was speaking, Admiral Lin Yuehu walked in and said.
"If the plan succeeds, the empire can save at least 1 million soldiers! You know, in human history, the navy has never achieved such a brilliant achievement, saving 1 million people and ending the war two years ahead of schedule! Okay, Chief of Staff, Staff Officer Qiu, you guys take a look at the plan. As for the ships... we can mobilize all the ships in the Ming Dynasty. If there are not enough ships on the sea, then we can mobilize the airships in the sky. We want to make the entire Atlantic our eyes. Well, we don't have enough airships, so we can ask the French, Russians, and Austrians for them, and exchange them with bombers. Our navy has ordered a batch of bombers, and we can exchange them for airships. I believe that as long as we invest enough manpower, no matter how big the Atlantic is, we can turn the Atlantic into our inland sea. The British said that their blockade line is an iron wall on the sea. Even if a fish wants to swim into the Atlantic, it has to report to me and explain where it came from, where it is going, and why it wants to go... So now, this is our goal. We want to turn the entire South Atlantic into our iron wall!"
Commander Lin's suggestion made Qiu Zhenzhi's eyes light up. Three-dimensional and all-round monitoring from the sea to the air seemed to be a solution!
"But, Commander Lin, exchanging bombers for airships... this seems a bit difficult. The National Defense Committee may not agree."
Although the Empire does not have a parliament, it does have a Noble Senate, which exists as the Empire's advisory and supervisory body. Of course, it is also to give full play to the role of the nobility - the responsibility of supervising the imperial government and the military. It has many committees, and the National Defense Committee is one of them. Although they cannot influence the military's decision-making, their questioning reports will be sent to the emperor. In other words, they have the power to demand "holy judgment."
Exchanging advanced bombers for backward foreign airships would certainly be questioned by the National Defense Committee.
"I will go and speak to the committee in person. If that doesn't work, I will go to His Majesty."
After saying that, Lin Yuehu walked straight to his office and said finally.
"No matter what, our goal is to win! As long as we can win this war, we can do it at any cost!"
The old group is down, so I created a new book club group: 739209015. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss and deduce the plot together.
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