Chapter 1458: Chapter 1375: Sun Guang’s Speculation

In the command center of Qingluan Port in the Shu Territory of Qin Country, Sun Guang was listening to reports from his subordinates. His assistant presented clear observational data that indicated the Tang Army’s attack was weakening: “The Tang Army’s aircraft are spending more time reconnoitering in the vicinity… but the number of bombings is decreasing.”

For the Qin Army, this was a very normal phenomenon: as logistical support gradually wanes, the intensity of the frontline offensive will also decrease, without a doubt.

However, Sun Guang did not think so. He knew that the Tang Army, especially the Tang Country’s navy, had the best logistical support in the world, and to say that the Tang Army was struggling was simply a joke.

Thus, he offered his own judgment: “I estimate that their fleet is returning to the replenishment area for resupply, and it should be a very important replenishment.”

The Tang People’s fleet must have left, with most likely resting. The bombing of the coastline was indeed reducing, but a large-scale assault would soon follow.

The assistant confidently made a judgment: “Based on the intensity, the opposing side has at most two, perhaps even only one aircraft carrier hovering near our coastline…”

Another officer offered a navy report: “The information brought back by submarine 917 also confirms that the size of the enemy fleet does not appear to be as large as previously estimated.”

The sea remained the best cover for the Qin Country navy’s submarines; they hid beneath the surface, and as long as they did not approach the Tang Country’s fleet, they had some safety assurances.

And these submarines occasionally gathered the courage to conduct reconnaissance. Many times they returned empty-handed, but once in a while, a successful case occurred.

In reality, they had no opportunity to launch an attack. They could only glance at the Tang Army’s fleet from a distance and then immediately turn and flee. As for how far they could run… that depended entirely on luck.

If they managed to escape, they could report some useful intelligence; if too slow, they would be sunk by the arriving shipborne helicopters or destroyers, becoming part of the Tang Army’s achievements.

Mike Ravel, the Dorne Navy’s chief of staff who had stayed nearby all this time, breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It looks like they’re going to abandon the assault on our coastline. For them, this is a futile choice.”

“That’s truly good news,” echoed several other navy officers as they breathed a sigh of relief. They were genuinely frightened by the terrifying Tang Army fleet, whose aircraft had been attacking their positions strongly over the past few days.

Whenever Qin Army aircraft appeared near the coastline, Tang Army planes would be dispatched to attack. The Qin Army lost dozens of DO-17 bombers, as well as dozens of P-40 and P-36 fighter jets, which was quite painful.

As for why the precious type 183 jet fighters weren’t dispatched by Qin Country, it’s because these jets were reallocated elsewhere.

The situation near the Shu area kept escalating, and Qin Country’s air force had to allocate forces to fill that gap. As for where the aircraft and pilots came from, naturally, they were diverted from several fronts.

Sun Guang sighed and shook his head as he expressed his opinion: “None of these are good news.”

“Not good news? General, the enemy’s aircraft carrier fleet seems to have retreated. Isn’t that good news?” Mike Ravel was taken aback, as he was not an army person but a navy officer and naturally didn’t understand the thinking of a commander like Sun Guang.

Sun Guang was originally an army general for the Qin Army and was later dispatched to the navy, being something of a versatile talent in both land and sea. He himself also had a knack for combining naval and army strategies to think through problems.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Sun Guang opened his mouth to explain: “We haven’t made any counterattacks affecting their attack rhythm. The sudden retreat of the enemy’s aircraft carriers is most likely for resupply… on this, we can almost be sure.”

Mike Ravel confidently offered his judgment: “That’s correct, they should have returned for resupply.”

Following the other’s thinking, Sun Guang provided an answer that made everyone’s face look awful: “So, the next attack will come after they have resupplied… the assault will be more intense… which for us, is absolutely not good news.”

No one spoke in the command center. After pausing for a few seconds, Sun Guang continued analyzing the intelligence from the army: “There is intelligence indicating that a large unit of the Tang Army is moving south; they appear to be heading south into Nanshan Port.”

He asked, while looking at Mike Ravel: “If this unit isn’t used in battle against General Zhang Xuan’s troops, where do you think they will go? To Dorne?”

“This…” Mike Ravel naturally didn’t dare to believe the Tang Army would be arrogant enough to fight on two fronts, with one front across the Endless Sea.

Therefore, after thinking for a few seconds, he offered a more reasonable answer: “Of course, they wouldn’t go to Dorne. Crossing the Endless Sea is still too far; they want to attack the coastline we are defending.”

“So what should we do?” Sun Guang continued to question.

His adjutant naturally answered his question: “What should we do? It’s nothing more than the usual: judge where they will land, and how much force they will commit…”

Sun Guang pointed to the long coastline on the map and said: “Qingluan Port is the main point of defense. However, according to information from Mirage Country, the Tang Army doesn’t seem to be in any rush to rely on the port for landing operations. Therefore, we don’t actually need to overly strengthen the defense of Qingluan Port.”

“Conversely, if they do enter Qingluan Port, then we have the upper hand. Using the city and the fortress as a backdrop, we have some barriers to fight with, which is much easier than setting up defenses in the wilderness.” In Sun Guang’s view, if the Tang Army were to immediately surround Qingluan Port for battle, it would actually be to his advantage.

As long as he persisted in urban warfare and held out long enough, the suddenness of the Tang Army’s cross-sea landing would lose its advantage. The Qin Army could fiercely defend Qingluan Port, at least delaying them for more than ten days.

With that time, Sun Guang was confident he could deploy reinforcements, mount layered defenses, and hold out until reinforcements arrived or until Zhang Xuan retreated behind his position.

By that time, the greatest significance of the Tang Army’s landing attack—to encircle Zhang Xuan’s unit—would be gone, and although the situation would still be difficult, the Qin Army at least had the means to continue holding on.

What he feared was the Tang Army repeating their old tactics by not landing at Qingluan Port! In that scenario, he would have no recourse: the combat power of the Qin Army’s defensive units along the long coastline was simply insufficient to stop a Tang Army landing.