The purpose of the sacrifice of the Shadow Fleet was to send a strong signal to the Tiberians, that is, the determination and will of the people on earth to maintain the "strategic mutual trust" agreement between the two parties, in order to deceive the Tiberians.
At the same time, Cleaver will be beaten from the side to make him speed up his defection plan and act in accordance with the results expected by Miyazawa and his party.
In this way, while it is building fortifications, the ocean-going fleet can use its cover to exploit the red soil resources along the Congo River on a large scale.
After the ocean-going fleet led by Cleaver penetrated about 100 kilometers into the Congo River, an intelligence ship dispatched by Cleaver reported to him the news that the shadow fleet had been annihilated.
The furious Clifford immediately connected to Li Jianfeng. On the surveillance screen inside the flagship, Li Jianfeng's calm face appeared. He was quietly waiting for Clifford to report on the fleet's situation as if nothing had happened.
"How long will it take to reach the area where red soil is collected?" Li Jianfeng asked.
"Chief of General Staff, please answer me a question." Cleaver said, suppressing his anger.
Li Jianfeng raised his hand, indicating for him to continue.
"Why do you want to annihilate the fleet behind you that didn't catch up in time?"
"It's not that they didn't catch up in time, but they mutinied!"
"Rebellion?" Clifford said in shock.
"Yes! The 44 ships led by Captain Redes deliberately broke away from your fleet. They wanted to wait for an opportunity to escape to Dark River Company. Fortunately, we discovered it early, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."
Li Jianfeng's words shocked Clifford, but he also felt deeply afraid. Rebellion meant being ruthlessly eliminated.
If they insisted on going their own way and fled to Dark River Company according to the strategy discussed in the conference room, they would be greeted by ruthless artillery fire, and their fate would be the same as Redes's.
But after carefully going through the ins and outs of the matter, he suddenly had a deep doubt in his heart: when Redes was discussing the defection plan in the conference room, Redes clearly supported him, but why did he do it without informing him? Next, launch a rebellion in advance?
"After interrogation, we learned that the people involved in the defection are direct descendants of Redes. They want to take advantage of you to enter the Congo River and have no time to take care of it, so they can quietly return to the Dark River Company."
Li Jianfeng's words shocked Clifford's heart again. Redes' defection would most likely involve him!
Reminiscent of the fact that Redes had a disagreement with him as early as when they were at Dark River Company, it was already an open secret, and his early defection seemed to be reasonable.
If he were captured alive, it would definitely be a matter of minutes to reveal his defection plan.
Thinking of this not only made Clifford break into a cold sweat.
"Where's Redes?" he asked anxiously.
"He was killed during the encirclement and suppression!"
Clifford took a deep breath, and his face turned from pale to a little blood.
"You haven't answered me yet, how long will it take for the fleet to reach the area where the red soil is collected?" Li Jianfeng said seriously.
Clifford woke up from the panic, and he quickly answered: "There are still 50 kilometers."
"After the fleet entered the red soil collection area, it immediately started excavation and loading work without any delay!"
"yes!"
Li Jianfeng disappeared from the big screen, and Clifford sat back heavily in his chair. He held his chin with his hand and looked at the red soil-rich area with flashing red dots on the big screen, falling into deep contemplation. ...
"Did Li Jianfeng know about our defection plan?"
A voice came from behind Clifford. He did not turn his head, but still looked at the big screen quietly like a sculpture.
The person coming was none other than Chance, he sneered.
(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)
With a sound, he sat next to Clifford.
"I guess he must have more or less known our plan." Chance spoke eagerly as soon as he sat down.
"Then we will have no choice but to die." Clifford lamented.
"not necessarily!"
"Not necessarily?" Clifford turned his head and stared at him with surprised eyes.
Qian Si smiled secretly, leaned in front of him and said, "I would like to ask you, what does Li Jianfeng want most?"
"Red soil resources." Clifford blurted out.
"Isn't that right?"
"What's the meaning?"
Chance straightened his body and said with a slanted face: "If we follow Li Jianfeng's previous order and ship out all the red soil resources along the Congo River, if you were Li Jianfeng, would you care about where we go? Or would you care more about the red soil? ?”
Clifford seemed to be waking up from a dream, he nodded heavily, his helpless face immediately relaxed, he patted his shoulder, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.
The smile is mysterious and confident.
Fifteen minutes later, this large-scale ocean-going transport fleet arrived at the red soil collection area and stopped one after another at the temporary artificial docks. The entire fleet stretched for tens of kilometers, like a giant dragon across the Congo River.
A large number of excavation equipment has been unloaded from nearly 800 engineering ships. Some are large excavators operated manually, and some are small excavators equipped with artificial intelligence.
The total number reached nearly 20,000.
At the same time, more than 200 dredgers sailed into 5 or 6 tributaries from the main channel and started operations on the tidal flats. In addition to excavating the red soil deposited by floods on the river bed, they also sent numerous excavation equipment into the tributaries. Excavate at depth.
For a time, the entire Congo River and its tributaries became a large construction site. The roar of excavation equipment and the shuttle of transportation vehicles formed a magnificent picture.
Although noisy, it is orderly.
This scene lasted for 4 days and 4 nights.
Naturally, such a large-scale collection of red soil cannot be hidden from the eyes of the Taibo people.
Li Jianfeng had no choice but to repeat his old tricks and took off hundreds of fighter planes from the three aircraft carriers in the pursuit formation. Their target was a fleet of 20 ships of various types that had long been deserted and were acting as target ships.
Of course, this task was assigned to Clifford by Li Jianfeng, and he had to evacuate the people on the target ship as soon as possible.
The bombing also lasted 4 days and 4 nights, almost simultaneously with the operation of collecting red soil.
In order to buy as much time as possible for the collection work, the combat robot troops on the target ship were temporarily changed in program, and they became an effective force guarding the target ship.
Also participating in the battle are the alert formations that provide escort for the ocean-going fleet, and they work together with the combat robot troops to counterattack the attacks from the pursuit formations.
The battle was extremely fierce. Although the target ship had no air superiority, the combat robot troops performed extremely bravely. Facing repeated bombings from hundreds of fighter planes, they fought until the last moment when the ship sank, and lived and died with it.
The alert formations also acted in earnest. In addition to intercepting the intensive anti-ship missiles of the pursuing fleet, their anti-air missiles also caused considerable casualties to the invading carrier-based aircraft.
The four days and four nights of fierce fighting were very tragic in terms of intensity and intensity, but this war was completed under the arrangement of the Supreme Military Executive Committee of the Crisis Planning Agency.
It is a scripted war and a controllable war.
There is only one purpose, which is to buy more time for the ocean-going fleet while collecting red soil.
(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)
In this battle, 15 large ocean-going transport ships, 22 ocean-going tugs, 9 engineering ships, 3 dredgers and 1 life support ship serving as target ships were all sunk.
More than 30,000 combat robots responsible for escort missions were wiped out, and four destroyers and three conventional submarines in the alert formation also sank to the bottom of the river in flames.
Of course, all the people on the ship abandoned the ship and escaped at the last moment before the ship sank, and the casualties were controllable. Except for a small number of personnel who were injured due to combat, only one crew member died due to an accident.
More than 20 of the hundreds of carrier-based aircraft responsible for the attack were also shot down, but all pilots successfully escaped.
Although people on earth have paid a heavy price, this price is negligible in the face of irreplaceable soil resources.
Li Jianfeng's bitter trick successfully deceived the Tiberians. As bystanders, they quietly watched the "cannibalism" contest between the Earthlings and watched with gusto.
In the flagship of the ocean-going fleet, Clifford stared at the bustling construction site outside the porthole, and then at the four destroyers and three conventional submarines that were gradually sinking, feeling anxious...
The work of collecting red soil resources is nearing completion, and 80% of nearly 1,500 large ocean-going transport ships and nearly 2,000 ocean-going tugboats have been loaded.
In just one day at most, all the collection work will be completed.
It's time to launch your escape plan.
In a sealed cabin, Chance came uninvited. He seemed to have already understood Clifford's mind and pushed the door in anxiously.
Before he even sat down, he eagerly revealed a very favorable news to Cleaver, that is, the morale of the alert formation under attack was low. From the commander in chief of the formation to the ordinary crew members, they all expressed their disapproval of the Crisis Plan's armed attack. Indignant.
They couldn't figure it out. Their formation was escorting the entire ocean-going transport fleet, so how could they be attacked by themselves for no reason?
Moreover, the attack was so violent that it almost caused the entire security formation to lose about one-third of its combat effectiveness.
"Is the news reliable?" Clifford touched his lips and asked thoughtfully.
Chance stretched out his hands and clapped them together three times. After a while, there was a rapid knock on the door outside the cabin. Chance stood up and opened the door.
A man with the rank of major on his shoulders stood at the door. He glanced left and right at the corridor, and then walked quickly into the cabin.
"Let me introduce you. This is Major Zhang Puqiang of the security formation. He currently serves as the deputy commander-in-chief of the security formation."
"Hello, Major Zhang." Clifford extended his hand in a friendly manner.
"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Cleaver."
After the two shook hands, Zhang Puqiang saluted Clifford with a standard military salute.
"Sit down and talk."
Zhang Puqiang nodded, and then told everything about the current situation of the warning formation.
His statement was basically the same as Chance's description. The only difference was that the commander-in-chief of the alert formation seemed to be sullen but not angry. He did not mean to blame the Crisis Planning Agency, but instead tried his best to defend it.
He made a lot of efforts to resolve the crisis by calming the crew's emotions.
But in the face of the attack, the crew's emotions were like a volcano that had been suppressed for a long time, on the eve of erupting.
This eve is also the result that Cleaver wants. Once the warning formation chooses to defect with them, then they can take advantage of the opportunity for the ocean transport fleet to return and sneak away quietly.
As for how to deal with the stronger pursuit fleet, he had free choice, and he was sure of victory.
But now, how to integrate this warning formation is the first problem he has to solve.
(End of chapter)
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