Chapter 99: A Pretext for Sending Troops!

Only then would the army and its officers have any chance of promotion.

“Your Excellency, you may rest assured. The warriors of the dynasty are fully prepared!”

The head of the army department spoke with confidence.

“As soon as we declare war on the North, victory will be ours and ours alone!”

“We already crushed our enemies in the civil war; we can do the same again!”

As soon as he finished, the head of the navy department frowned and said,

“But the North of today is no longer what it was decades ago.”

“Just their total strength alone now runs into the millions.”

“Although they are torn by constant internal strife and in utter disorder, they still possess elite formations such as Jiang Bai’s Seventh Front Army.”

“If we cannot defeat them completely in a short time, we will be dragged into a long war.”

“For a dynasty short on resources, that would be disastrous.”

At present, the navy was in the midst of rapid expansion.

In particular, the many newly launched battleships now entering service required enormous sums for equipment upgrades and the construction plans that would follow.

If the island dynasty’s army were to launch a full-scale offensive at this moment, it would inevitably consume vast amounts of war funds.

That was a prospect the navy had no desire to see.

For that reason, from every angle, the navy chief firmly opposed the army’s policy of aggression.

This was the true source of the fierce conflict between the island dynasty’s army and navy: their goals were not the same.

When the greater interests could not be reconciled, mutual accusations and nitpicking were common.

Faced with obstruction from his old rival, the army chief was instantly enraged.

“What do you mean by this, Navy?”

“Are you going to let this rare opportunity slip through our fingers?”

“Have you forgotten the enormous profits we gained the last time we defeated the North?”

“They were even greater than what we earned after twenty years of hard work!”

“For the overall interests of the dynasty, the navy should give its full support to our operation!”

“For you, it may be nothing more than a few fishing boats and a holiday on a small island!”

The army chief’s mockery was met with an angry retort from the navy chief.

“Then what if the army fails? How much money will be lost? How many warriors will die?”

“Not only that, we may even face a full-scale counterattack from the northern warlords. Are you really willing to gamble the fate of the dynasty?”

At that, the other senior officials in the hall fell silent.

An assault on the North was indeed an alluring chance to seize wealth.

But for the moment, they were more inclined to side with the navy chief’s judgment. After all, the fate of the dynasty might be gambled once, but if one gambled it every time, sooner or later there would be a loss so complete it would ruin everything.

Especially now that they had already built a formidable industrial foundation, no one could easily accept the losses that a war might bring.

When the two sides were again locked in a heated dispute, the ever-silent Prime Minister Tian Zhong finally spoke at last.

“The current international situation does not support a large-scale war against the North.”

“Especially if a full war breaks out, even while Eagleland is fighting other hostile dynasties, it still has the ability to send fleets northward and intervene militarily.”

The finance chief slowly gave his opinion as well.

“The dynasty’s finances are only suited to focusing on one undertaking at present.”

“We have two choices: first, devote ourselves entirely to developing military industry and selling weapons to the western dynasties, thereby securing handsome profits; second, support the army in a large-scale war of aggression whose outcome is uncertain.”

“In my view, naturally we should choose the safer, lower-risk option.”

Although the finance minister did not state it outright, his position was already perfectly clear: he did not support the army’s plan.

This left the army chief extremely dissatisfied, convinced that the other officials were all trying to obstruct their scheme.

As the army chief’s expression grew darker, the foreign affairs chief smiled and said,

“Even if we cannot move troops for the moment, that does not mean we cannot expand our influence in the North.”

“For example, the southern islands and Church Bay now controlled by Yan Sang are precisely the territories we need.”

“Blue Land must also be brought within our sphere of influence.”

“Considering the strong support we gave Yan Sang before, now is the time to reclaim our reward.”

To help Yan Sang win the civil war, the island dynasty had once sent four divisions to assist in combat.

With their help, Yan Sang’s forces advanced successfully and continued pushing south, while those divisions were stationed in Blue Land to recuperate.

Even if Yan Sang understood that the island dynasty had its own agenda, faced with his external difficulties he could only accept the reality helplessly.

“But the problem is, given Yan Sang’s temperament, he will certainly not hand these territories over to us easily.”

Prime Minister Tian Zhong frowned.

He believed that once this precedent was set, the army’s ambitions would become impossible to restrain.

That would push the next developments beyond his control.

Sure enough, the army chief said indifferently,

“If Yan Sang is unwilling, then we break with him directly!”

“In that case, we can even take the Chahar region controlled by Jiang Bai while we are at it.”

“We can join forces with the Little Devils’ army and strike Chengyun from both sides!”

“If we do not seize the chance to eliminate Jiang Bai before he grows stronger,”

“then once Jiang Bai is fully mature, he will be far harder to deal with!”

“By then, if the dynasty wants to defeat him, the price will be much greater!”

After hearing this, Prime Minister Tian Zhong could not help but knit his brows.

Although the island dynasty had succeeded in keeping the North in a prolonged state of decline,

there was no denying that its decision-makers still remained deeply wary of the North, afraid that it might seize the chance to rise again.

This was unavoidable, after all, since the North possessed advantages in every respect.

Given even the slightest breathing space, it could quickly develop into a powerful regional dynasty.

That was also one of the main reasons the island dynasty had always exerted all its strength to suppress the North.

After a long moment of thought, Tian Zhong finally looked up and said slowly to the army chief,

“If we truly mean to occupy Chengyun and defeat Jiang Bai’s Seventh Front Army, how many troops and how much time will we need?”

Seeing that Tian Zhong seemed to be wavering, the army chief was delighted inwardly and immediately said with solemn assurance,

“If the old marshal does not take part and we are dealing only with Jiang Bai’s forces, then five elite divisions will be more than enough!”

“As for time, at most three months. I will personally bring Jiang Bai before you!”

As the military operation against Jiang Bai gradually unfolded, the Sixty-Second Division under Wang Jinshan’s command, along with the First New Division and the Second New Division, began arriving one after another at Wangkou, while large quantities of supplies were continually being transported in.

This aroused the vigilance of the island dynasty’s intelligence services.

After all, the island dynasty’s army was preparing to launch military operations against Blue Land.

And judging from the movements of Jiang Bai’s Seventh Front Army, they too clearly intended to advance toward Blue Land.

If the island dynasty were met with an attack from the Seventh Front Army while landing, it would become a major problem.

But at this moment, the island dynasty still lacked a reasonable pretext for sending troops against the Seventh Front Army.