On the way back to the empire, on the third day after leaving Shiquan City, the fleet had already reached the west side of the Shuangche Strait and was about to leave the Yanhai, Bai Zhizhan received the latest news from the Navy Command that the battle on the Zhiluo Fortress had ended.

As he expected, the special mixed fleet commanded by Liu Xiangzhen first raided the direct-down fortress and Tangier, seizing the sea and air supremacy of the battlefield.

However, unlike Bai Zhizhan's expectations, the first to break out of Lu Xinhai was not the special fleet, nor the assault formation composed of escort warships, but the Raleigh fleet.

On the night of the attack, the Raleigh fleet passed through the direct fortress under the cover of the Special Mix fleet.

Strictly speaking, it is actually a minesweeper sent by the Imperial Navy to open the way and forcibly clear out a waterway.

The Raleigh fleet was very lucky. There was no accident when they passed through the Zhiluo Strait. On the contrary, when the minesweepers carrying out the mission returned, three of them touched mines, two of which were directly sank, and the other one sank to the bottom of the sea after the destroyer that was rushed to the reception arrived.

Under the threat of the Raleigh fleet, Bran's fleet was unable to go directly to the Zhilu Fortress.

As long as the Raleigh fleet is still moving west of the Zhiluo Strait, the Bran transport fleet will not be able to reach the Zhiluo Fortress in any case.

As for sending a fleet to regain control of the sea, it is obvious that I have thought too much.

Before the 31st Special Mixed Fleet arrived, the Thuman Air Force had sent an air brigade to the Balearic Islands and launched an operation.

If you want to say it, it was that the Torman Air Force took active action and the Imperial Fleet successfully launched the attack.

Without sea and air supremacy, what will the Bran army use to deal with the Raleigh fleet?

The key is that the Imperial Navy's special-mix fleet is located east of the strait, and the combat radius of carrier-based aircraft is as high as 800 kilometers. It can provide cover for the Raleigh fleet, attack any ships and ships approaching or trying to approach the strait, and eliminate ships that go to attack the Raleigh fleet.

If you want to say it, the Raleigh fleet entered Xi Luoyang, which was actually a reconnaissance mission.

In Zhou Yongtao's words, even if he gave the commander of the Raleigh fleet a day, he would not dare to lead the fleet out of the cover of the Imperial Special Mixed Fleet.

In fact, it is reflected in the combat plan.

If encountering the Bran fleet, the Raleigh fleet will retreat directly to the Zhiluo Strait and wait for the convergence fleet to join.

To this end, Liu Xiangzhen made special arrangements to form an assault formation for two "South Zhuhai" class ships to leave the east of the strait in the evening to ensure that they can quickly fight out and fight side by side with the Raleigh fleet at night, especially in the event of an outbreak of an encounter.

Strictly speaking, it is actually to prevent the collapse of the Raleigh fleet.

Perhaps worried that the Royal Bran Navy would send a fleet to fight to the decisive battle, or to increase its troops to the Beixuan area, especially Casablanca, which was outside the strike range of the carrier-based aviation force, so after the Raleigh fleet entered Xiluo Ocean, it did not immediately launch a combat operation to attack Zhiluo Fortress and Tangier.

But, not only that.

According to the news sent by the Navy Command, there were serious differences between the two sides in the direction of the attack.

The Thuman army felt that the first thing to do was to attack the Zhiluo Fortress was not only to take care of the Sban Kingdom, but also had a lot to do with the difficulty of fighting.

Simply put, with the support of the fleet, attacking Zhiluo Fortress can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

In addition, it is related to the next stage of combat operations.

After taking down the Zhiluo Fortress, you can control the Zhiluo Strait and launch a combat operation to attack Tangier, and your dependence on the fleet will be greatly reduced.

But the Imperial Navy doesn't think so.

Although the area of ​​the Zhilu Fortress is much smaller, the Bran army guarding the fortress may not have enough morale, but the fortress is certainly extraordinary, not to mention that the Bran Kingdom has been working hard here for hundreds of years. In contrast, Tangier is a small port city that is not as good as the fortress in all aspects.

Obviously, it will be easier to attack Zhiluo Fortress after defeating Tangier.

In addition, taking Tangier can also block the retreat of the alliance forces in the Beixuan area, which will avoid the problem of having to attack the Beixuan area after attacking the Zhiluo Fortress.

The biggest problem is actually delaying the recovery of the Zhiluo Fortress.

At that time, Liu Xiangzhen felt that this was not a big problem.

The reason is that according to the previous agreement, Tangier and Tellow Fortress belong to the Sban Kingdom, and the location where they attacked first is actually the same.

Obviously, Liu Xiang really thought it was a bit simple.

According to the previous agreement, after the war ended, the Sban Kingdom would unconditionally lend Tangier to Liang Xia Navy, and the Zhiluo Fortress was loaned to the Tsuman Navy, and the lease period was 49 years, so as to ensure that the two empires of the Allied Group could freely enter and exit Lu Xinhai.

Then, the first attack on Tangier will inevitably make the Thuman authorities suspicious.

To put it bluntly, will the Imperial Army still attack the Zhiluo Fortress when it gains a foothold in Tangier?

Even if it goes according to the plan, it is not just a strong attack on the fortress.

With the power of the Imperial Navy, it is completely possible to destroy the fortress of the Giror in the next few decades.

If so, by the end of the war, the Imperial Navy would be the one who controls the Zhiluo Strait.

The key is that the Imperial Navy has mastered the Xifan Canal.

In other words, relying on Alexandria and Tangier, the Imperial Navy can not only enter and exit the sunset, but also prevent other forces from entering the Luxinhai.

The Imperial Navy can completely control the entire Lu Xinhai.

At that time, not only will the Kingdom of Rale and the Republic of Ter fall on Lu Xinhai turn to the Liangxia Empire, but even the Kingdom of Sban and Rock will be affected.

The key is, after losing the land-locked sea area, what relies on to dominate the Western Continent?

No matter how much the Tyman authorities looked down on the Kingdom of Raleigh and Sban, how arrogant the Tyman soldiers were, the north shore of Lu Xinhai was equal to half of the Western Continent.

For any country trying to dominate the Western Continent, it is necessary to control the land-locking and sea area.

For thousands of years, without exception!

Not to mention the Roman Empire, even the Kingdom of Bran had mastered the control of Lu Xinhai through the Zhilu Fortress and the Xifan Canal.

Can the Tyman Empire be an exception?

After suffering for several years in the war, millions of soldiers were killed and killed, but in the end they were serving the Liangxia Empire, and they did not get any benefits!

Obviously, no matter who is commanding the Tauman Empire, he cannot accept this result.

After seizing sea and air supremacy, the landing battle was not launched immediately.

However, not all of them are bad.

The reason is also very simple. Neither the Imperial Navy nor the Torman army are ready to attack the Zhiluo Fortress.

Not to mention anything else, the two special mixed fleets of the Imperial Navy are not in good condition, especially the 31st special mixed fleet, and the maintenance work of many warships has not been completed.

If the Bran army guarding the Fortress is unwilling to surrender and must attack forcefully, it will take some time to prepare.

Of course, the Imperial Navy also needs to mobilize landing fleets and hoard combat supplies in the Balearic Islands.

As for combat operations, the Tsuman army is entirely responsible for it.

A few more days will also facilitate communication between the generals of both sides to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings due to insufficient communication.
Chapter completed!