While Yang Tianyi was leisurely wandering around the world of Elysium, the war situation between the Qien Empire and the Human Federation in the world of stars quietly underwent some changes that ordinary people could not detect.
After the Empire held its second imperial meeting regarding the security of the Cross Nebula, Emperor Sazha XXII personally made the decision to dispatch the Royal Squadron code-named "Sunfire Review" to support the weak foreign forces inside the Cross Nebula. Ring patrol fleet.
Although the Central Council was reluctant, it still dispatched part of the fleet under the supervision of the royal family to complete the handover of the escort mission with the Outer Rim fleet responsible for supply line defense, so that these freed Outer Rim fleets could enter the Cross Nebula from the side. Rendezvous with the Sun Review fleet led by Imperial Viscount Irina Sirigosa.
The handover of the escort mission and the long journey from the inner ring to the outer ring were obviously not problems that could be solved in a short time. Therefore, even with the strength of the Qien Empire, it took nearly a month to complete all preparations before the fleet attack. The work allowed the well-prepared warships to enter the Cross Nebula in batches and carry out the task of encircling and suppressing the People's Alliance assault fleet in the best condition.
But as the fleet gradually penetrated into the nebula, the fleet commander responsible for commanding several strangulation fleets, Royal Navy Advisor Sirigosa, gradually felt a haze in his heart.
More than a month has passed since the fleet entered the Cross Nebula from all directions. He is sure that with the powerful intelligence capabilities of the Human Federation, he has definitely cracked the intelligence that the empire sent elite forces to participate in the encirclement and suppression, and then entered a dormant state. Otherwise, there would be no way. It may take more than a month of searching but no valuable clues can be found.
Although the empire's mining bases and refining facilities in the nebula can maintain a certain degree of security under the increasing patrol density of the fleet, most people do not have to worry that the space station they are in will be destroyed or destroyed by the sudden appearance of the human fleet again. Harassment, but His Majesty the Emperor did not send him to declare the sovereignty that should belong to the empire.
What Sazhar XXII wanted was a great victory that had never been seen since the war broke out, a victory that could be compared to the annihilation of hundreds of thousands of Imperial Army troops by the People's Alliance on Krohoka. Boost the sluggish morale across the empire.
If, after spending countless manpower and material resources, the only result of three fleets with more than 500 warships in the end is to protect a few space stations, then even if His Majesty the Emperor does not trouble him, he will take the initiative to resign as a royal adviser. Retirement at home after work.
Sitting on the bridge of the fleet's flagship "Eternal Corona" battleship, Sirigosa, wearing gorgeous light armor, looked out at the boundless starry sky outside the window. In his opinion, the magnificent and dreamy scene inside the nebula now became an obstacle to his success. the biggest obstacle.
Siligosa was sure that during the days when he led the fleet to cruise, he might have passed by the People's Alliance Fleet several times. If these damn stardust air masses hadn't blocked all the fleet's cross-system reconnaissance methods, maybe he would have already bitten the tail of a People's Alliance assault fleet, and even caused considerable losses to the opponent.
However, after a long period of search and analysis, he and a group of Imperial Navy officers also roughly judged the possible area of action for the People's Alliance Fleet in the near future. And through repeated deliberation, Sirigosa believed that unless the Human Federation had given up its intention to continue fighting in the nebula, he could even reduce the opponent's scope of action to within fifty star systems.
But the opportunity was fleeting. If he could not complete the investigation of the suspicious star field before the opponent's large force moved its position, then the next time it captured the whereabouts of the People's Alliance Fleet might not be known when and where.
Without staying in the bridge for too long, the worried Siligosa quickly returned to the heavily armored command room inside the battleship to discuss the next step of action with his most valued senior officers.
Touching the solid gold medal on his chest armor, Siligosa took the lead and asked: "Where are the two fleets in the outer ring now, and what is the status of their supplies and crews?"
Soon the officer in charge of fleet dispatch marked the location information of his three fleets on the star map, and the ship's combat computer also began to report to him word for word.
"The Outer Rim Fleet 'Nevermore' is patrolling in the Oplinda star system. The next jump point is the Tilg star system. The Outer Rim Fleet 'Great Drought' is replenishing fuel and living supplies in the Orzamam star system. , the next jumping point is the Serkes star system.”
"The fleet strength has not been lost, the crew and supplies are in good condition, and they are ready to participate in the battle at any time."
With the thick but rigid voice of the combat computer ringing in his ears, Siligosa's eyes quickly swept back and forth over the positions of the three fleets, using his naked eyes to search among hundreds of star systems for what he alone could. A "fighter" that you can understand.
Soon he stuck out his bright red tongue, grinned and said: "Very good, they have been patrolling according to the action route I planned, and there has been no deviation. It seems that the quality of the outer ring navy is higher than I thought." .”
Guquan ordered the officers to gather around him. Siligosa raised his scaly big finger and pointed at a star system named "Zorn" on the star map. He confidently said: "If nothing unexpected happens, continue according to the planned route. One day forward, if the reconnaissance force has not encountered a large human fleet, there are only two possibilities."
"The first possibility is that humans have withdrawn most of their attack fleets from the nebula on the Empire side, leaving only a small number of warships to go around in circles with us to delay, test whether the power sent by the Empire to encircle and suppress them is enough, and collect information about us. Information for future return.”
"But judging from past experience, I dare say these crazy guys don't intend to just leave."
The scales on Siligosa's face were slightly distorted with his expression - yes, both the army and the navy of the People's Federation are a bunch of warlike and war-savvy war madmen, but how could Siligosa have earned his reputation in vain? Generations!
In his opinion, the other party's strategic intention was the same as his own, which was to use the perfect environment in the nebula where no one could detect anyone to fight a battle of annihilation against the main force of the enemy fleet. Especially after learning that the People's Alliance Fleet had hardly carried out large-scale attacks on the empire's space stations recently, Siligosa's premonition became stronger.
Humans are by no means cowarded, they are just preparing for the coming war.
Moving his sharp eyes away from the Zorn galaxy coordinates that were highlighted on the star map, Siligosa glanced around the officers in the command room who were still chewing on his previous words, and said confidently: "The outer ring fleet is in Kremlin." The pressure on the Human Federation from the direction of Rohoka is increasing day by day, so it is impossible for the other side to put all their elites into the nebula to fight guerrillas against us."
"I believe you have all seen the intelligence department's predictions. The human fleet deployed in the nebula is about 400 to 500 warships. Although the number seems to be similar to ours, I dare say that if it is a head-on battle, They are no match for the Imperial fleet."
Sirigosa’s words are not without purpose. Due to the different naval combat concepts between the Qin Empire and the Human Federation, almost all of the Human Federation’s defense-in-depth strategy is more robust and more suitable for wide-area defense compared to the Empire. Naval warships are designed for rapid deployment and one-hit retreat.
And this is also the result of the different national conditions of the two countries - the Qin Empire has a vast territory, with its inner, middle and outer rings spanning tens of thousands of star systems, and hundreds of colonial planets need the protection of the imperial fleet.
Due to the resources that could not be pooled for various reasons and the never-ending wrangling at the top, the Imperial Navy, which was stretched thin with its fleet, had to adopt a less efficient defense-in-depth strategy, choosing to trade space for time when its own forces were at an absolute advantage. Fight the enemy again.
Take this Battle of Tianxi Star as an example. If the Human Federation chooses to directly invade the empire this time, then there is a high probability that several or even a dozen colonial planets on the outermost edge of the outer ring will have been abandoned, and the outer ring fleet will be abandoned. They will also retreat to the rear to rendezvous with the reinforcement fleet and then engage in a decisive battle with the People's Alliance.
The Human Federation, on the other hand, is far inferior to the Empire in terms of territory and the number of colonies that need to be protected. In addition, the design concepts are different. As a result, the naval warships of the Human Federation focus on strong maneuverability and absolute firepower, rather than the heavy armor and shields pursued by the Imperial warships. , which also resulted in differences in the requirements and configuration of capital ships between the two countries.
Take, for example, one of the most powerful active battleships in the Qian Empire and Siligosa's current ship, the Alkarak-class battleship.
As the flagship of Sunfire's review fleet, the Eternal Corona's nearly two-kilometer-long hull is almost twice as long as the Human Federation's strongest battleship, the Roger-class battlecruiser, but its firepower is only comparable to that of the opponent. A draw shows the lack of firepower of the Imperial warships.
But in terms of the thickness of armor and shields, the Human Federation cannot compare with the Imperial battleships. According to estimates by naval designers, the armor of the Alkalak-class battleship is one and a half times thicker than that of the People's Alliance battle cruiser of the same class, and the damage that the shield can withstand before being destroyed is two to three times that of the People's Alliance battle cruiser. .
Therefore, the vast differences in warship styles between the two countries gave Sirigosa ample confidence. He believed that in a frontal battle, the battleships of the Imperial Navy would definitely be able to survive the extremely cruel and violent battle between battleships, while the thin-skinned battlecruisers of the other side would become the first battleships he had ever fought since he became the commander of the navy. A commendable achievement.
And after he eliminates the People's Alliance fleet in the Cross Nebula, he can immediately lead the rested fleet to join the confrontation on the Krohoka front line. By then, the People's Alliance Navy, which has suffered heavy losses due to the attack on the fleet, will be severely weakened. It will no longer be difficult to compete with the Empire.
In addition to surrendering Krohokar, these war madmen must pay a heavy price for their offense against the supreme majesty of the empire!
