Munitions Empire-Chapter 633 - : Fleet 592 returns

Chapter 633: Fleet 592 returns

“Dong dong dong!” Just as Tang Mo finally finished one blueprint and was ready to replicate a second, someone knocked on his door.

“Come in!” Tang Mo casually commanded, then saw a tall and burly bartender walk in, standing by the door.

The guards knew Alice was visiting Tang Mo, so unless there was urgent intelligence, they would not have allowed the bartender to knock on Tang Mo’s door.

What they didn’t know was that Tang Mo was a normal man and couldn’t squander his resources without pressure as some novels might suggest.

Everything that needed to be done had been completed; he even had time to draw blueprints for over an hour under Alice’s watchful eye.

...

“What’s the matter?” Tang Mo no longer cared much about the frontline situation, as he believed victory was already assured, leaving nothing to worry about.

Unless the Dahua Empire or Chu Country could declare war on Tang Country immediately, there wouldn’t be any significant changes on the battlefield.

Hoping that troops from Shen Country would break out and crush the encircling Tang Army, or expecting the First Prince of Qi Country to rally a counterattack, was utterly unrealistic.

The First Prince was running low on ammunition; the main reason he had held out this long was that the Tang Army hadn’t gone all out to attack him.

As for Shen Country, being shelled and bombed daily, they were too frightened and preoccupied to even consider mounting a counterattack.

The bartender spoke up, “Your Majesty! We’ve received reports of sighting a large number of airships in the southern waters of the Endless Sea.”

“Airships?” Tang Mo was slightly taken aback; he truly hadn’t expected Shireck to have the courage to use such outdated and expensive yet largely ineffective weapons.

For him, these weapons were pure scams; the only reason he’d use airships was to advertise them.

“Yes, a sailor from a merchant ship spotted the airship fleet. They’ve reported the situation; dozens of airships are now not far from Dragon Island.” The bartender briefly summarized the situation.

Upon hearing this, Tang Mo could barely suppress a laugh. “Well now, are they targeting Dragon Island?”

“Yes! Clearly, their plan is to launch a surprise attack on Dragon Island and destroy our industrial facilities there,” the bartender nodded and informed Tang Mo.

Hearing this news, Tang Mo began to wonder if the Shireck decision-makers had lost their minds.

Knowing full well that the Tang Army had new weapons like fighters, yet still daring to deploy airships, transcended courage, verging on recklessness.

“The Air Force estimated their speed and determined that they would approach Dragon Island at night! Our fighters simply cannot intercept them,” the bartender added.

“Oh,” Tang Mo nodded slightly, “I see! They plan to use the cover of darkness to sneak attack Dragon Island!”

“That seems to be the case,” the bartender quickly agreed with Tang Mo’s assessment.

Tang Mo nodded again, “They can’t possibly believe that my fighter squadrons can’t find those fools’ airships at sea, can they?”

“…” The bartender didn’t respond.

Tang Mo narrowed his eyes and called his secretary, “Secretary! Come in! Send my orders to Harry, have the Air Force fighters stationed on Dragon Island take off, and intercept any aircraft attempting to approach!”

“Yes!” The secretary saluted behind the bartender, then turned and left the room.

“A surprise attack on Dragon Island, they really are quite imaginative!” Tang Mo pondered a moment, then added, “Since they’ve sent airships, might they also have dispatched warships?”

“Very likely!” The bartender had come to deliver this message, and did not leave immediately after doing so, intending to remind Tang Mo that the enemy might fully assault Dragon Island.

In his mind, Tang Mo silently calculated the forces on Dragon Island: With a population surpassing 2 million and two divisions stationed, the shore was incredibly secure.

On the Endless Sea, Tang Mo couldn’t think of anyone capable of transporting so many troops for a long-range landing operation, not even himself.

If the enemy only landed a few thousand men, they wouldn’t be enough for the Tang Army to fight. Dragon Island housed the Tank Instructor Brigade and the Air Force Academy; just the students there for further training could almost repel an enemy force of a few thousand.

Beyond these forces, Tang Mo had also left behind an Air Force squadron on the island, equipped with fighters, tasked with ensuring absolute security over Dragon Island’s airspace.

There was no other way, Tang Mo, in order to support the frontline combat, had relocated all the Stuka Dive Bombers he could to the front, along with the Flying Fortress bomber squadrons.

The remaining Butcher Fighter squadrons, though not as effective in ground support, were excellent for taking down Shireck’s airships.

Tang Mo even doubted whether the fleet of airships amassed by Shireck would be enough for even two Butcher Fighters to engage.

Therefore, Tang Mo had no doubts about his absolute superiority in the air and on land, and hence he began to ponder over his naval fleet.

The fleet remaining at Dragon Island was not the main fleet of the Great Tang Kingdom but a subdivision of it. As such, this fleet’s combat effectiveness wasn’t particularly formidable, and it did not have an absolute advantage compared to the navies of other countries.

Nowadays, each country had dozens of Ironclad Warships; some were purchased from the Great Tang Group, others from Shireck, all in significant quantities.

If these warships were indeed to be rallied together, without deploying Dongwan-class Battleships, the Tang Country Navy would not have the upper hand.

The 3 Weigang-class former Wolf-class Cruisers stationed at Dragon Island, along with the 9 hastily constructed Fengshun-class Destroyers (previously the simplified Destroyers), indeed had average combat effectiveness.

Picking up the telephone on the table, Tang Mo ordered, “Have Luff and the Naval Liaison come to my office.”

Soon, Luff entered with the Naval Liaison Officer and stood firm in front of Tang Mo. Tang Mo gestured for them to take a seat while he tidied up the blueprints and set them aside.

“Bartender, share the news with them,” said Tang Mo as he sat next to Alice, grabbed a glass of boiled water from the coffee table, and took a sip.

Before long, those who arrived late were apprised of the situation. Luff’s expression became grave, and the Naval Liaison Officer furrowed his brows.

“Your Majesty, if Shireck indeed deploys their navy, we might very well fall into a passive posture near Dragon Island,” Luff said to Tang Mo after carefully choosing his words.

The Naval Liaison Officer also contributed, “Your Majesty, if the enemy forces bombard our harbors, we will lose our shipyards and docks, which would severely affect the production capacities of Dragon Harbor and Weigang.”

What Tang Mo was most concerned about was exactly this: that the enemy was just creating chaos, not intending to land on Dragon Island. They only needed to smash the bottles and jars on Dragon Island, and it would take Tang Mo considerable time and effort to restore production capacity.

The most frustrating part was that Dragon Harbor hosted more than just shipyards and docks, holding the most critical facilities: the oil refinery and pipelines.

If these were damaged, Tang Mo would no longer guarantee his energy supply. All his advanced troops were oil guzzlers, and if the energy supply was disrupted, the Tang Army would end up as tragically as the German Army in 1944.

“I suggest we recall Bernard’s fleet! At least that can stabilize the situation on Dragon Island,” Luff said to Tang Mo, “Oil is of utmost importance, not to mention Dragon Island also has various factories. If the docks are destroyed, we’d have no shipping for at least a week, which is frightening.”

To him, the oil supply was of the greatest importance. The people of Beiyuan City from the Qi Country didn’t even bear comparison.

The Naval Liaison Officer nodded, “Your Majesty! I also think that without General Bernard’s main fleet, relying solely on the subdivision fleet won’t ensure the safety of our ports. Moreover, if the enemy attacks Weigang and Dragon Harbor at the same time, the subdivision fleet wouldn’t be able to secure both ports concurrently!”

“Ha! Shireck really has made a good deal out of this! They used a bunch of obsolete airships to force my main fleet to turn back…” Tang Mo lamented reluctantly.

Locating the enemy’s fleet in the vast ocean is not an easy task; therefore, it’s still uncertain whether the enemy has warships involved in this attack on Dragon Island.

However, to prevent the situation from worsening, Tang Mo’s side could only assume that the enemy fleet was nearing Dragon Island. To ensure no mistakes, Tang Mo’s side would have to recall their main fleet.

After his sigh, he had to admit a reality, “It seems our enemies are smarter than we thought!”

“Your Majesty,” Luff started to advise again, thinking Tang Mo was reluctant to give up the excellent opportunity to severely damage the Chu Country.

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But Tang Mo stopped him, “Let Bernard return! Securing Dragon Island is of paramount importance! We cannot afford any mistakes! He will surely be frustrated, but there is no helping it.”

After ordering his fleet to turn back south, Tang Mo continued, “They’ve pulled this stunt; surely they have something else planned! Order the Navy’s Patrol Ships… to keep a close eye on Chu Country Navy fleet movements!”

“Now, we must consider something else…” After issuing the command, Tang Mo looked at Luff, “If Chu Country’s Navy moves southward, attempting to cut off transport from Linshui to Dongwan, and from Dongwan to Dragon Island, what should we do?”

Originally, the Tang Country Navy was prepared to completely annihilate the Chu Country Navy, but now, the tides of offense and defense seemed to have turned. The hamstrung Tang Country Navy was lured to the south, and Tang Mo felt the pressure of a blockade for the first time.

Annoyed, he added, “Since they’ve sent an airship fleet to pose us a tough question, don’t expect that bait to make it back! Order the Air Force on Dragon Island to strike! Shoot down all the airships! Leave not a single one!”