Chapter 772 If you want to deceive your opponent, you must first deceive yourself.
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North Island Naval Command.
There were hurried footsteps and conversations, and the place was crowded and busy.
Since the Shazhou Island incident, a fuse has been inserted into the powder keg in the southern seas, and now all it takes is a spark to ignite it.
This "quiet" war has entered the most critical stage. The chips on the table are getting higher and higher. Both sides have tightened their nerves and gathered the cards in their hands.
Especially in the command center of the entire federal navy, many people have been working overtime for a month. Charas even moved his office here from the presidential palace, leaving some complicated and irrelevant daily chores to him.
Appointed puppet vice president.
No matter how bad his governance is, it will not affect his position as president, but if he loses, everything will be lost. He knows very well what is more important.
Time passed from September to October, and in a few days the new destroyer will be launched.
That will be the latest and most advanced destroyer in the history of the Federation. Although it is not enough to affect the entire war situation, it can still add a bargaining chip in his hands.
Just as Charas was patiently waiting for the opportunity for the decisive battle, the situation suddenly took a new turn.
And it’s in a direction beneficial to the Federation!
The Reef, which was previously captured by the South China Sea Alliance, suddenly sent a telegram. In the telegram, it not only disclosed its patrol route and the relevant situation of the South China Sea Alliance, but also expressed its dissatisfaction with the South China Sea Alliance's extreme distrust of itself and its desire to return to the Federation.
.
Here we have to mention the South China Sea Alliance's strategy towards this "captive ship".
Because the South China Sea Alliance has insufficient officer reserves and no experienced sailors can completely replace the crew of the Reef, the South China Sea Alliance authorities have retained 80% of the original staff and replaced the remaining 20% with South Sea Alliance monitors.
, controlling the destroyer's communications, radar, daily security, etc.
Currently, the Reef is under surveillance, like a blindfolded donkey. It can only receive combat orders from the Anle Island headquarters unilaterally. It can neither participate in the discussion of combat plans nor have any involvement in the operations.
The right to speak at meetings.
The life safety of all officers and soldiers on the entire destroyer could not be guaranteed. Even the "monitors" monitoring the destroyer Reef felt deeply uneasy and dissatisfied with the arbitrary Commander Li Minghui.
After all, they are all alone, why not choose a stronger one?
Zhang Ruowen, who was still the captain of the destroyer Reef, successfully bribed a radio monitor and sent this sealed message to Bei Dao during a break in duty.
Logically and rationally, it makes sense.
The captain of the destroyer Reef did not surrender voluntarily, but was captured by the Alliance's frogmen. Although he still sat in the captain's position, he was forced to do so, and it was normal for him not to be trusted.
Whenever the Confederate Alliance had a substitute general who could hold the position of captain, they would definitely replace him without hesitation.
Maybe he will be sent to a military court for trial.
Of course, the Beidao Command did not immediately reply to the secret message. Instead, it waited patiently for a few days to confirm that the destroyer Reef was indeed patrolling according to the route map in the secret message, and then made contact based on the contact information mentioned in the secret message.
The two sides communicated in the communication a series of operational details, including the rescue route and even blocking the pursuers, to ensure that the destroyer Reef could return to the North Island military port intact.
Once this is successful, it will undoubtedly be a huge boost to the morale of the North Island military and civilians!
It can be said that Charas personally handled the entire rescue plan and reviewed every detail of the plan in detail, striving to make it foolproof.
However, at the moment when he was about to take action, he still felt a little uneasy in his heart. He looked at the staff officer standing aside and repeatedly confirmed.
"Is the information reliable?"
The staff officer replied immediately.
"It shouldn't be wrong."
Charas nodded, but felt his eyelids twitching so much that he couldn't help but ask again.
"Could it be a scam?"
"Probably -" the staff officer wanted to say "probably not", but after being asked too many questions, he couldn't help but doubt himself. He hesitated for a while and said, "This possibility is very small."
Charas said suddenly.
"In other words, it's not nothing."
I am very sure of that.
A meal can make someone choke to death, let alone an action plan with such complicated steps.
"Yes." The staff officer nodded, looking at him intently, waiting for his order.
Charas frowned, lost in thought, and suddenly became undecided.
Things were not going well during this period.
First the Shazhou Island was lost, and then the Reef was lost. The entire Northern Commonwealth was in panic.
What's even more terrible is that the various forces in the wasteland that had never interacted with each other suddenly united. I heard that even the natives of Borneo Province went to Shifeng Mountain to join in the fun. The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable to the Torch Church.
Already.
Although we don’t know what the fighting situation is like in the north, the war has already spread to the far reaches of the sea. No matter how we interpret it, it is difficult to understand this as an advantage.
The Torch Church is waiting for change, trying to increase its power in the southern seas and open up strategic space to the south.
The same strategy applies to the South China Sea Alliance.
Although their fleet strength is slightly inferior, they can completely hold themselves back and maintain the situation. When the Torch War is over, everything will naturally be over.
The pressure on the South is entirely on its side...
Even for himself, he must help the Torch Church open strategic space to the south.
Only when he was about to make a decision, a deafening voice suddenly came from his ears.
"Idiot! That's a trap!"
Arzu suddenly appeared next to Charas, startling the latter.
Only he could see the pale golden figure, while others cast confused glances at him, wondering what happened to him suddenly.
Charas suddenly woke up, a drop of cold sweat slowly sliding down his forehead.
so close!
I almost got fooled!
In fact, he should have reacted long ago. He faintly sensed something was wrong before Arzu opened his mouth.
During the previous landing operation on Shazhou Island, the captain of the Reef, Zhang Ruowen, clearly refused to carry out his orders. Instead of bombing the settlement, he dropped the shells on the suburbs outside the settlement.
The mutants who landed were met by concentrated fire from the Alliance's airborne troops, and an entire team of thousands was wiped out.
That guy has already had a precedent of disobeying his orders, so how could he change his mind now?
He is afraid of going to the military court of the South China Sea Alliance, but isn't he afraid of facing his own accountability?
Seeing that Charas didn't speak, Arzu, who was standing beside him like a ghost, slowly spoke.
"I planted the Holy Land in Zhang Ruowen... He has already defected to the South China Sea Alliance. The so-called defection is just a bait. They plan to lure your battleship Haiya out of the port, and then use it with their new equipment - a
Build a giant submarine that can take off and land carrier-based aircraft and sink it."
The sanctuary and the sanctuary are independent of each other, but information exchange will occur when the network is open and is not controlled by the host.
Just now, when the Beidao Military Base was in regular contact with the destroyer Reef, he sensed the message from the chip on Zhang Ruowen——
The so-called defection is actually a bait.
The South China Sea Alliance fleet is ambushing not far away!
Charas narrowed his eyes and glanced at Arzu.
"When did this happen?"
Arzu replied calmly: "Just recently."
Charas continued to ask word by word: "What I'm asking is, when did you plant the holy realm in my officer's head?"
Facing the questioning look, Arzu chuckled, with a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth.
"He was already an apostle of the Torch before the Federation fell apart...Why do you question me in such a tone? And if I hadn't made arrangements in advance, you and your fleet would have collided like a headless fly.
You fell into the trap of the South China Sea Alliance fleet, you should thank me for saving your life."
Charas sneered.
"You don't need to remind me, I can guess that this is a trap."
"Really?" Arzu smiled noncommittally and quietly disappeared from the command table, as if he had never been there before.
Pairs of eyes were fixed on Charas, and all the officers were waiting for the boss's order.
After calming down his fluctuating emotions, Charas cleared his throat, looked around at the people standing in front of the table, and spoke in a slow voice.
"This is a trap!"
There was a commotion in the command room, and all the officers looked at each other, exchanging astonishment in their eyes.
"This possibility cannot be ruled out..." The fleet commander touched his chin, his expression gradually becoming serious.
The staff officer on the side also nodded.
"I feel so too……"
Everyone who was discussing the details of the battle a second ago suddenly made another 180-degree turn. They all felt that there might be fraud in this, and their analysis was sound and well-founded.
Seeing these guys turning around like the wind, Charas' eyebrows twitched fiercely, but he didn't say anything.
He is actually quite sober in his mind. This is a problem that almost all single men inevitably encounter.
Once a person is stamped with the ideological stamp of "not disobedient", he is destined to lose the ability to think reversely. It is impossible to say that while maintaining unity like a worker bee, he can express different opinions from the queen bee on the issue of casting the hive.
opinion.
Even if it is an opinion in a professional field.
As a single man, he is destined to hear only what he wants to hear.
People will just follow his words, whether consciously or unconsciously, even in the "professional field" where he hopes to get different opinions.
Therefore, when he said that he wanted to save the Reef, even the most experienced officers did not dare to think against his direction. They only thought about how to save the ship, not whether it could be saved.
Fortunately, he found it in time, otherwise he would have almost fallen into the pit dug on the opposite side.
"Are you going to abandon the Reef?" The commander looked at Charas and cautiously asked the boss for his opinion.
Just like when we wanted to save him, now "The Reef is a trap" has become something new and undisputed.
"Give up? Why give up." Charas smiled faintly and continued slowly, "In order to make the attack more convenient, the fleet of the South China Sea Alliance must be ambushing somewhere near the Reef, including the one that appeared in the intelligence and was capable of launching an attack.
Submarines that land carrier-based aircraft.”
The officers exchanged glances and discussed in low voices.
This is indeed not impossible.
In other words, it is almost certain.
After looking around at his generals, Charas clenched his right fist, placed it heavily on the command table, and said excitedly.
"Everyone! This is a trap, but it is also an opportunity! The traitors in the south don't know yet, but we have seen through their tricks and our daggers are already at their throats!"
"New combat plan, codenamed 'Strike on the Rocks'! It is being carried out at the same time as 'Tropic'!"
"Respond to the Reef! Tell them that we are ready! Let them go to our designated coordinates to rendezvous!"
All the officers stood at attention and performed a military salute.
"yes!"
…
On the rough sea, a lone ship was slowly heading northwest.
Zhang Ruowen suddenly felt that this ship looked very much like him, or maybe he looked very much like this ship.
He didn't know where he should go.
This confusion is even more true after Chalas issued a new declaration.
In the past 200 years, the survivors in the southern seas have done many things, but it seems that everything is in vain. In the end, they are still repeating the mistakes of 200 years ago.
The Federation was born in flames, and fell apart in even stronger flames.
They turned to the torch because of the enemy's opposition, but the too hot energy burned them all.
So what is all this for?
"...Your confusion is normal. The root of all mistakes lies in the human species itself. This is a physiologically determined limit. Old humans only belong to the earth and are only suitable for living on the earth. Fish must evolve if they want to go ashore.
We need to develop limbs, and only limbs are not enough to move towards the more distant starry sky. We still lack a revolution in our own life form."
The peaceful voice came from the depths of the sea of consciousness, like the gospel from heaven, giving him a moment of tranquility.
Zhang Ruowen glanced slightly sideways, looked at the old man standing in the captain's room, and said with a dull smile.
"Then why don't you just give up your body like your kind?"
He knew that this guy was a senior member of the Torch Church.
And he is the only apostle who has obtained the authority of the Holy Domain without becoming a forerunner.
"That's too extreme." Arzu shook his head and said slowly, "They rush to draw a clear line with others, but instead put themselves in a disadvantageous position. If it were me, I would take advantage of the person's identity
, recycle the legacy of the old civilization to the maximum extent, and then implement the final change."
If he follows his method, although Torch cannot deceive the academy, it can still deceive the enterprise.
The residents of Ideal City still feel a little guilty about what happened 150 years ago, otherwise they would not throw money into the wasteland, let alone try to correct the mistakes made in the past.
As for the Legion, they can be bought with the technology that the Wilantians desire and the promise of their rule over the Great Rift Valley. Even if the Eastern Expansion Faction fails, there are still a considerable number of Wilantians outside the Eastern Legion who are eager to fight against the Construction Committee.
"revenge".
Subverting the Great Rift Valley and getting rid of the shackles of the overlords is also what the Free State desires. They can form a tacit community of interests just like they did during the Bone Chewing Rebellion.
As a result, no matter how hard the alliance tries its best, it will be difficult to build up the encirclement network like now.
However, what is helpless is that those pioneers regard themselves too noble and believe that "advanced ideas and concepts" will definitely defeat the old things, but mistakenly regard things that have not yet become history as historical inevitability.
And the final result is this.
In the end, it was up to him, a human being who still had a physical body, to turn the tide.
Arzu sighed softly in his heart.
Thanks to him using some tricks, otherwise the situation would probably be irreversible.
The self on the other chip should have warned Chalas, and now the North Island side should have known that the whole operation was a scam.
The South China Sea Alliance probably wouldn't have thought that the captain of the Reef was actually its apostle. And this apostle probably wouldn't have thought that he knew all his secrets.
The two of them were silent, each with their own thoughts, looking at the turbulent waves outside the bridge.
At this time, footsteps were heard outside the corridor. The adjutant opened the door and came in, gave a military salute and said with a serious expression.
"Reporting to the commander! As per your instructions, we have sent out a 'signal'... Beidao Naval Base responded to us that they have received the request and the destroyer Feiyu is moving to the designated area coordinates for reinforcements."
"Yeah." Zhang Ruowen nodded, "Just follow the plan."
The decoy program is highly confidential.
Except for him, no one on the entire destroyer knew the code name "Laken", let alone that he was a decoy.
The cronies around him only knew that he was going to defect to the north, and most of the grassroots sailors didn't even know that the ship had deviated from the patrol channel, let alone that the ship's whereabouts had been exposed to the sight of the Northern Federation Fleet.
Down.
Everything is part of the plan.
Looking at the expressionless Zhang Ruowen, the adjutant hesitated slightly and said in a low voice.
"Sir..."
Zhang Ruowen said nonchalantly.
"What's wrong."
The adjutant was silent for a while and then continued.
"Is this... really appropriate?"
Zhang Ruowen looked at him and raised his eyebrows slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't think Charas will trust you more than General Li Minghui... After returning to Beidao, we may receive a nominal welcome, but the actual situation may be worse. And..."
The adjutant hesitated for a moment, as if wondering whether this was what he should say.
But after a moment of silence, he finally gritted his teeth and expressed his thoughts.
"And I think...more than Challas, the declaration advocated by the Confederacy is what we really need."
What they need is not false peace and unity, but real unity!
After hearing these words, Zhang Ruowen was silent for a while, as if waiting for something.
And at the same time when the hour hand and the minute hand coincided, he suddenly laughed twice and said in a very soft voice.
"Yes, that's good."
The adjutant was stunned for a moment.
"very good?"
Zhang Ruowen nodded, smiled calmly and continued.
"It's good that you have started thinking about our future...Although I haven't decided where to go in the future, at least someone is thinking about it. Maybe my confusion is only temporary."
Looking at the confused adjutant, he continued.
"The reason why I chose Charas is largely because I don't know what to do. Maybe a tough enough and capable guy can think for everyone...at least he won't
He is as indecisive as Mongo, and like our cabinet, arguing from dusk to dawn, but unable to come up with a solution."
"Maybe that guy isn't bad either... I thought so at first. He might be able to lead us to a brighter future."
"But I suddenly discovered... that was actually just my laziness and illusion. That idiot was not smarter than any of us. He would also make the same mistakes we made because of our quarrels, and he would make them again and again.
Those who committed the crime were silent."
I heard that the survivors from the southern seas have also been leaving one after another recently, taking the legacy of the Prosperous Era to change other people in the wasteland and unite more people.
If it were Charas, they probably wouldn't allow them to do this.
That guy also attempted to build a huge maritime empire after resolving the alliance, using the biological technology provided by the Torch to compete with legions, companies, and colleges, and treating the survivors in the southern seas as pawns and bargaining chips in his chess game.
It's so small...
Whether it's ability or ambition.
He has become the President of the Federation, but he doesn't even dare to dream big!
There was obviously a wider sea of stars above their heads, but that guy could only see the pond at his feet.
If they follow that guy, they will never be able to go back to the place they have set foot on!
The corner of Zhang Ruowen's mouth curled up into a smile. He was extremely glad that he made the right choice at that time, that is, hesitating for two seconds when receiving Chalas' order.
However, looking at the smile on his face, the adjutant asked with a wry smile.
"Since you think Charas is unreliable, do you still want to choose him in the end?"
He didn't agree with the commander's defection, but it seemed it was too late to say anything now.
The Reef has entered radio silence, cutting off all communications with the South China Sea Alliance.
No matter how slow Commander Li Minghui was, he should have realized by now that the Reef had rebelled.
At present, only the Beidao command post knows their location and heading, and they can only walk in the dark.
At least that's how he sees it.
"You have only seen the surface... It is normal to think so," Zhang Ruowen took out the telescope, glanced in the north direction, paused and said, "There is no need to keep secrets now... I can tell you clearly,
We are just bait, a decisive battle codenamed 'Laken' has already begun!"
"Pass my order! The entire ship has entered the first-level combat readiness state! Prepare to fight and respond to our ships!"
As he expected, the adjutant had a look of astonishment on his face with his bright eyes.
Including the other officers on the bridge, they were not prepared for the sudden change. They never thought that a routine patrol or defection would turn into a final decisive battle with the Northern Federation!
Except for one person.
That is Arzu who only Zhang Ruowen can see.
The latter's facial muscles gradually distorted, revealing a ferocious smile like the sea beast Laken.
really!
This guy is really pretending to surrender and really leading the way!
This guy finally showed off his cards!
Before entering radio silence, he had already informed the North Island Naval Command that as long as these guys continued to move forward along the original route, what was waiting for them would not be the Flying Fish destroyer, but the Laken cruiser!
That's an anti-ship ship designed specifically to target destroyers!
In the past century, Vault 70 was not only afraid of the legions that subverted the War Construction Committee, but also the survivors in the southern sea. For this reason, it designed a series of mutual checks and balances to prevent them.
Use the technology brought by Sanctuary to oppose Sanctuary.
At the same time, the battleship Haiya, under the cover of the destroyers Feiyu and Defiant, will simultaneously face the ambush forces of the South China Sea Alliance at sea and under the sea!
No matter how powerful the submarine carriers and carrier-based aircraft are, they cannot be rivals of destroyers designed specifically for anti-submarine warfare.
Of course, it would be even worse if it floated to the surface!
As for the cruiser Harpoon and the other two destroyers that provided cover for the submarine, they were a joke in front of the main gun of the battleship Haiya!
Arzu looked at Captain Zhang Ruowen with a smile, but did not expect that the latter was also looking at him.
There was nothing wrong with that expressionless face.
However, at this moment, Alzu noticed an unusual smile curling up at the corner of his calm mouth.
This guy is laughing!
He can still laugh?
Suddenly, Arzu suddenly thought of something, and the empty childish hole shrank suddenly.
etc--
Codename Laken!?
The operation codename of the South China Sea Alliance decoy plan is actually called Laken!
This is no coincidence!
There is only one explanation. These people were heading for the cruiser Laken in the first place!
They predicted their own predictions and those of Charas, they were sure that Charas would not trust the Reef, and they were even sure that they could read the thoughts in the apostle's mind and leak the secret...even if this secret torch had never been revealed to the Reef.
Anyone revealed!
Even Charas doesn't know!
"I guess you must be surprised now, how did I hide the code name of the operation from you, right?" Looking at the smile that gradually turned from ecstasy to fear, Zhang Ruowen said in a very soft voice.
Without disconnecting his consciousness, Arzu's Adam's apple moved and he nodded slowly.
Zhang Ruowen didn't take it seriously and continued casually.
"If you want to deceive your opponent, you must first deceive yourself... To be honest, I only just found out what the code name of this operation is."
"How is that possible!" Arzu stared at him, but mistakenly realized that he didn't panic.
A terrible suspicion appeared in his mind, and at the same time, there was a drop of cold sweat that did not exist.
Zhang Ruowen continued.
"You already know that this is an ambush, so the one that came to 'response' me must not be another destroyer. Neither the Flying Fish nor the Defiant are possible. It will take a while to get results, and it cannot be a battleship... Chara
That guy isn't going to take the risk of letting his only treasure escape the protection of the fleet just to destroy a destroyer."
"In this case, it can only be the Laken. After all, you have clearly declared that the one coming to 'receive' me will be an anti-submarine destroyer, and we will not let any submarine follow us when we are sure that the plan has not been exposed.
Not near the Reef, but will definitely ambush further away."
"In this way, even if the Laken's anti-submarine capability is weak, it will have enough time to turn around immediately after sinking us, rendezvous with your fleet ambushing nearby, and attract the surface and underwater fleets of the South China Sea Alliance to you
In the ambush circle."
If that were the case, it would undoubtedly be a disaster.
The South China Sea Alliance's submarines were helpless against the Northern Federation's destroyers, and the South China Sea Alliance's only cruiser, the Harpoon, was no match for the battleship USS Haiya.
The whole battle will end as cleanly as rock-paper-scissors, without any suspense.
However, it is precisely because of this that they can take advantage of this and use Charas's prediction of the "South China Sea Alliance's prediction"!
If he guessed correctly, there must be a South China Sea Alliance submarine ambushing near him at this moment, and it has already targeted the "Laken" that pretended to be the Feiyu and was approaching this area!
"Li Minghui did not tell me the code name of this operation, so all this is my guess. If the code name of the operation is actually Feiyu or something else, it proves that I was wrong in my bet."
Looking at Arzu with a look of fear on his face, Zhang Ruowen looked through that empty face to the rolling waves outside the bridge and "Laken" hidden behind the waves, with a faint smile on his face.
.
"But your reaction tells me that I probably guessed it right!"