Chapter 663: Assembly

Zhou Zhen guo took a telegram from his briefcase: "Just received news, at Yokosuka Port the first batch of 50,000 people have boarded. Expected to reach Borneo the morning after tomorrow. The remaining 50,000 will be in two groups, all to arrive within five days."

Chen Feng looked at him: "Have you ever met Shanben Yifu?" (Couldn't think of a name for Sakura Nation, just put something up)

"Not yet. He's still in Yokosuka, waiting for the first batch of ships to come together. But the telegram contact was made, his attitude was clear: Sakura Nation soldiers will obey Lanfang's command."

Chen Feng was silent for a few seconds.

Sakura Nation. Ten years ago they were enemies. Now they are allies.

History really is a strange thing.

"Tell Shanben Yifu," he said, "Sakura Nation soldiers' equipment, provisions, medicine—Lanfang will cover everything. But there is one condition: they must obey orders. On the battlefield, units that don't follow command are scarier than the enemy."

Zhou Zhen guo nodded: "I will convey it."

Chen Feng tapped the position of Singapore on the map again.

"Let the Zhenyuan and Jiyuan depart first, patrol the sea between Borneo and Singapore, so the Yingguo see them. Make them lose sleep, make them guess when we will strike. But remember, until I give the order, no real attack is allowed."

Zhou Zhen guo asked: "What about the landing troops?"

"Also waiting. Waiting for my command."

"Fifth front: the oceanic fleet."

Chen Feng's pencil drew a line along the Red Sea, pointing to the entrance of the Suez Canal.

"General Li."

Li Te stood up.

"You will also serve as commander of the oceanic fleet, leading the Dingyuan, Zhiyuan, and Nagato into the Red Sea, cooperating with Zhao Dengyu to deter the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt."

Li Te looked at the map: "What is the specific mission?"

"Deterrence, not war," Chen Feng said. "Let the Yingguo garrison in Egypt see our warships, make them lose sleep. But do not fire proactively. Your guns may aim at their positions, but your finger must not pull the trigger."

Li Te nodded: "Understood. But what if they fire first?"

Chen Feng looked at him, silent for a second.

"Then we return fire. But do not initiate."

"Sixth front: the guerrilla fleet."

Chen Feng's pencil pointed toward the deep Indian Ocean.

"Over at Sher, they've already set out."

He looked at the naval staff officer: "Where are they now?"

The staff officer stood up: "A telegram at 3 a. m. said the Bismarck and Tirpitz have left the Persian Gulf, entered the Arabian Sea. Expected to reach near the western coast of India this evening."

"What about Jieli Ke's fleet?"

"Still in Mumbai. Intelligence shows three Revenge‑class and two Elizabeth Queen Class ships are under repair. The fastest they can set sail is in a week."

Chen Feng nodded.

"Tell She Er, his mission is to keep an eye on Jieli Ke. When the Yingguo fleet appears, bite them, but do not engage in decisive battle. Wear them down, stall them, and when our main force arrives, finish them together."

The staff officer recorded: "Understood."

"Seventh front: the Australian reserve."

Chen Feng's pencil finally rested on the huge landmass of Australia.

"The Fourth Division and Fifth Division, from now on, enter first‑level combat readiness. All equipment, supplies, personnel, ready to board at any time."

He looked at the army staff officer: "Where are they now?"

"The Fourth Division is in Borneo, the Fifth Division in Kuwait. Both have received orders and are gathering at the port."

"Training?"

"Landing operation training is underway. Daily drills; the soldiers are already familiar with boarding, disembarking, and beach‑seizing procedures."

Chen Feng nodded.

"Tell them, once we achieve decisive victory in the Indian Ocean, it's their turn. Australia is the Yingguo's last foothold in the Pacific. Capture it, and the Yingguo will withdraw from Asia completely."

He set down his pencil, walked back to his seat, and sat down.

The conference room was quiet for three seconds.

Li Te was the first to speak: "President, this is… total war."

Chen Feng looked at him, nodded.

"Yes. Total war."

He stood up and walked to the window. Outside, the sky had begun to lighten, the outline of Dubai Port becoming clearer in the dawn.

"The Yingguo think that killing 127 of us and paying a bit of compensation ends it. They are wrong."

He turned, looking at each person present.

"This battle is not for revenge, but to ensure that for the next hundred years, no one dares to move against Lanfang people."

"When we fight, we must make them hurt. Fight until they kneel, until they beg for mercy, until they never dare to bring warships into Asia again."

His gaze swept over every face.

"You all, are you ready?"

Everyone stood up together.

"Ready!"

The voices echoed through the conference room.

Chen Feng nodded.

"Then let's begin."

9 a. m., 300 km east of the Sinai Peninsula, Huo Er Da Sa.

Zhao Dengyu stood outside the temporary command post, watching the steel long dragon moving in the distance.

That was the tank unit of the First Mechanized Infantry Division. More than fifty Type‑2 tanks, arranged in a single Column, were rolling toward the assembly point. The engines' roar could be heard for several kilometers, and the dust kicked up by the tracks blotted out the sky like a yellow giant dragon crawling across the ground.

Chief of Staff Li Tiejun stood beside him, holding a folder in his hand.

"Division commander, the vanguard of the Second Division has already arrived and is setting up camp on the east side. The Third Division is expected to arrive at three o'clock in the afternoon. The Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Divisions are still en route; at the earliest they will all be in place by tomorrow morning."

Zhao Dengyu nodded, saying nothing.

He watched the tanks, the armored vehicles, trucks and supply trucks trailing behind them, and the soldiers seated in the vehicles. The soldiers were sun‑tanned, their faces covered in dust, yet their eyes shone— the look that only those about to go into battle possess.

"Old Li," he finally spoke, "tell me, what are the Yingguo people doing now?"

Li Tiejun thought for a moment: "They should be reinforcing the defenses of the Suez Canal. With all this activity on our side, their reconnaissance aircraft must have seen it."

"Good that they saw it," Zhao Dengyu said. "Let them see it, let them get nervous, let them move all their troops to the canal. When we actually launch the attack, they will have been waiting for several days, tired and scared; it will be the best time to strike."

Li Tiejun smiled: "Division commander, this is psychological warfare."

"Any kind of war works, as long as we can win."

In the distance, a jeep sped up and stopped at the entrance of the command post. A signalman leapt from the vehicle and ran over to salute.

"Division commander, the President has sent an urgent telegram!"

Zhao Dengyu took the telegram, glanced at it, and then handed it to Li Tiejun.

Li Tiejun read it, his brows slightly furrowing: "'Before I give the order, do not cross the canal.' …Division commander, does this mean we are to wait?"

Zhao Dengyu nodded.

"We wait. But not in vain."

He turned, walked into the command post, and stood before the massive Sinai map. On the map, the Suez Canal appears as a thin blue line, dividing the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.