Ding Zhennan really guessed correctly, but it was not comprehensive enough.

According to the information obtained by Bai Huawei, the Imperial Navy Command will make adjustments to the strength of the two fleets in the near future, focusing on strengthening its presence in the southwestern and eastern guiats.

If nothing else, an additional task force with three aircraft carriers as the core will be sent to the southwest and east.

In addition, it will first strengthen the deployment of troops in the South and Sunset.

For example, sending the 11th Task Force to Table Bay will also send 20 large attack submarines and several submarine support ships.

Obviously, the Imperial Navy's stimulus was to intensify the operation of breaking diplomatic relations in the setting ocean.

It is unlikely that the 11th Task Force will be sent to block the sea routes, and it will still have to rely on submarines, and the deployment of aircraft carrier battle groups will mainly provide cover for submarine support ships. After all, to allow submarine support ships to penetrate deep into the ocean and provide support for large attack submarines, a strong backing is definitely needed.

If this is the case, maybe the entire sunset ocean will become a hunting ground for the Imperial submarines.

With the support of submarine support ships, even if they go to the North and the Ocean to carry out the task of breaking diplomatic relations, the deployment rate of large attack submarines such as the "Nanjiang" class can reach one-fifth, that is, for every 10 submarines, two can be guaranteed to be in a state of operational deployment.

This ratio is definitely not low.

The point is also that if you just block the route from the east coast of the North Lonely Continent to the West Continent, only 6 to 10 submarines in a deployed state will be enough. You must know that in the broader Guia Ocean, the Nuland Navy has only about 20 large attack submarines, and no more than one-third of them are in a state of operational deployment, which already poses a serious threat to the route to the Howaii Islands.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with the performance of the submarine.

In the case of the Nanjiang class, its latest modification is capable of carrying 16 missiles with a vertical launch system, in addition to 36 mine-bombs in the bow torpedo compartment. If it is a mission to break diplomatic relations, it is usually carried with 36 heavy torpedoes and 16 long-range anti-ship missiles.

As far as specific tactics are concerned.

In the case of operations in the far sea, it is common to attack the escort ships with anti-ship missiles at a greater distance, then approach the convoy as quickly as possible, and then end the battle with torpedoes. Because the speed of the freighter is not fast enough, usually only more than 10 knots, it is difficult to escape even if you know that there is a submarine nearby. The point is that escort warships are generally frigates, and in the event of a saturation attack by anti-ship missiles, they will definitely be more than lucky. Even if there is an escort aircraft carrier, because it is converted from a civilian cargo ship, it may not be able to withstand the saturation attack of anti-ship missiles.

Of course, if it is offshore, the submarine will directly attack the transport ship with anti-ship missiles. The main thing is that even if the escort warships are killed, they may not be able to catch up with the transport fleet before the shore-based anti-submarine patrol planes arrive, let alone spend a lot of time dealing with the transport ships that are scattered and fleeing.

On the whole, the combat efficiency of submarines has long been unprecedented.

Theoretically, a single "Nanjiang" class can send a convoy of about 30 transport ships to the bottom of the sea.

It is precisely in this way that in the usual operation of breaking diplomatic relations, only 2 to 3 submarines are needed to cooperate, and there is no need to invest more submarines at all.

In the entire North Sunset, only 3 or 4 sea areas can be carved out for the operation of breaking diplomatic relations.

According to this calculation, 6 to 12 submarines are enough to blockade the entire North Sunset Ocean.

As for the search convoy, with the help of advanced passive sonar, large attack submarines are able to spot convoys hundreds of kilometers away and determine their general direction. The key is to also rely on the intelligence provided by the rear, especially the reconnaissance satellites deployed in space.

Crucially, more large attack submarines could be sent to Table Bay if needed to ensure that enough submarines could be operationally deployed.

It can be seen that the Imperial Navy really intends to do things in the sunset.

However, it is more likely that it is pressuring the Nuland authorities to increase the cost of sending troops to the Western Continent, so that the Nuland authorities can sign an armistice agreement as soon as possible.

This also reflects from one side that the secret negotiations have not yet ended, and there are still many issues that have not yet been discussed.

As for sending the fleet to the southwest and the Guia Ocean, it may not be directly related to the negotiations, and it can also be said that it is not quite the same as Ding Zhennan's speculation.

The point is that the Nuland Navy may not have the ability to go to the South and the Ocean to do things.

Do not forget that after the offensive and defensive battle of the Khowaii Islands, even if you count the "Kenny" in poor condition, the Nuland Navy has only 4 aircraft carriers available. In contrast, at the end of last year, with the addition of the first mothballed aircraft carriers to the combat sequence, the number of aircraft carriers available to the Imperial Navy has reached 15, returning to the pre-war level. The key is that because there is no need to protect Lu Xinhai, it is theoretically possible to deploy six aircraft carriers in the southwest and the Guia Ocean. If necessary, it is also possible to urgently send 3 additional aircraft carriers, increasing the number of aircraft carriers put into this direction to 9.

And that's just the fleet.

In the decades after the war, the Imperial Navy had been painstakingly managing the Southwest and Eastern Gaze, building military bases on hundreds of islands, including more than 10 military ports and as many as 36 naval air stations, and a maximum of 5,000 combat aircraft of various types could be deployed at these bases. The Imperial Navy could deploy up to 500 shore-based aircraft in any one area, and twice as many in critical waters such as the Tasman Sea.

If shore-based forces are included, the gap is even greater.

It can be seen that even if the second batch of 6 "Niz" class ships is obtained, and the number of aircraft carriers reaches 10, the Nuland Navy does not have the capital to enter the southwest and eastward sea.

Even if the Imperial Navy stands still, there will always be only 15 aircraft carriers available, and the Nuland Navy will not be able to sweep the southwest and eastward seas until 154 of the new calendar, that is, the third batch of 15 "Nitz" class ships in the plan are all completed, and the total number of aircraft carriers will reach 25.

Obviously, even if the Nuland authorities have a plan, they will at best make a small fuss in the periphery.

From this point of view, the Imperial Navy's increase in troops to the southwest and the east is actually an active act, and it is also through this move to put pressure on the Nuland authorities.

Of course, it can also be said that the Nuland authorities should not play the abacus of the southwestern and eastern.

Either way, it shows that the secret negotiations are far from over.

The inside information obtained by Bai Huawei proves Ding Zhennan's inference.

The negotiations are still ongoing, and there will be no substantive results in the short term, but they have made phased progress, or the two sides have reached an agreement on the most critical issue, whether to achieve an armistice through secret negotiations, and on this basis, they have conducted in-depth consultations.

If anything, this result is really important.

In Bai Huawei's words, as long as it can be discussed, then everything is easy to say.

Crucially, however, the two sides have set the tone on the scope of the talks.

As for the specific situation, Bai Huawei did not make it clear, or the information he heard was not very reliable, so he could not explain it.

If he could find out reliable inside information, Bai Huawei would not let Ding Zhennan and Li Tianling come to Silan.

"What do you think?"

After asking, Bai Huawei turned his gaze to Ding Zhennan.

Li Tianling didn't speak, because he knew that Bai Huawei was asking Ding Zhennan, and in terms of vision, they were not as good as Ding Zhennan.

"If you want me to say, it's all smokescreens."

Hearing Ding Zhennan say this, Bai Huawei immediately tightened his brows.

"You're saying that the negotiations have yielded significant results?" Li Tianling asked directly, and what he hated most was playing dumb riddles.

Ding Zhennan nodded first, and after thinking for a while, he said: "We proposed to hold armistice negotiations, and we must be sincere in sending the first and auxiliary envoys to the country of Paxi. Then in the negotiations, especially after entering the substantive stage, the most critical bargaining chip will be used, the Howai Islands. Even if the Nuland authorities initially had the mentality of giving it a try, they will take it seriously by this time. ”

"This is inevitable, after all, the number one purpose of the Nuland Republic to enter the war is to take back the Howaii Islands." Bai Huawei said at this time: "If you can negotiate the islands, it will naturally be great." What's more, after losing the offensive and defensive battle of the Khowaii Islands, the Nuland Republic has lost the ability to retake the Khowaii Islands by military means. At least for the next few years, don't think about it at all. ”

"So negotiation is the only option." Li Tianling also followed.

Bai Huawei pursed his mouth, indicating that Li Tianling was not wrong.

"The problem is that the Nuland authorities are definitely going to get more than just the Howaii Islands, and we may not be able to swallow all the benefits in the current situation."

"You mean the Westriku Group?"

Ding Zhennan just nodded at Bai Huawei's question, and then said: "From another point of view, if we sign an armistice agreement with the Nuland Republic now, even if it is a secret, how much benefit do you think we can gain from the armistice?" ”

Bai Huawei didn't say anything, because this question is really not easy to answer.

"If that's the case, the Republic of Nuland won't take advantage of it."

"That's why it's the current situation."

After Ding Zhennan said this, Li Tianling's expression also became very serious.

"As you ...... will"

"It's not time yet."

Although he was robbed of words by Ding Zhennan, Bai Huawei was not angry, but nodded thoughtfully.

"Don't forget, what is still unresolved now is not only the Southern Subcontinent on our side, but also the continental battlefield that is temporarily in a state of truce."

"The key is the Empire." Li Tianling followed.

Ding Zhennan nodded, and then said: "If we declare a truce at this time, the only result will be to force the Riman Empire to take a risk. ”

"The question is, with the current situation, what else can the Empire do?" Bai Huawei has obviously not turned the corner yet.

"Do you think it's better to have a fragmented Western Continent, or a relatively intact Western Continent, even if it's divided into two parts?"

"This ......" Bai Huawei was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood.

If the Empire suddenly declared defeat, even if it joined the armistice negotiations, the only result would be that the Western Continent would immediately fall apart.

If anything, as long as the news of the secret negotiations between the Liangxia Empire and the Nuland Republic spreads, there is a high probability that the Western Continent Group will disintegrate immediately, because in addition to the Riman Empire, several other major member states have already secretly fallen to the Nuland Republic.

Ding Zhennan shook his head with a wry smile, and then said: "Now it's clear that neither we nor the Nuland Republic have counted the Empire. To put it more bluntly, the benefits we gained from the armistice with the Nuland Republic all came from the sacrifices made by the Empire, or the Western Continent group controlled by the Empire. Obviously, if the Empire were to be included, one side would have to make sacrifices, and it certainly wouldn't be us. Do you think the Nuland authorities would make such sacrifices? ”

After Ding Zhennan said this, Bai Huawei also understood.

"If that's the case, I'm afraid the war will last for several more years." Li Tianling also figured it out, or he had figured it out before Bai Huawei.

"One year if it's fast, two to three years if it's slow."

"How long is it going to take?"

Ding Zhennan nodded, and then said: "Even if everything goes well, it will be April before you can launch a counterattack on the mainland battlefield." As far as I know, the supplies we have prepared will only last half a year at most, so the large-scale offensive operation will definitely end in October. Obviously, the climatic factors that were the main consideration in the preparation of the plan did not occur to the fact that the climatic factors would gradually weaken as the front advanced westward. It is precisely because of this that it is very good that we can capture West Luosha this year and push the front beyond the borders of the Empire. ”

Bai Huawei didn't say anything, but turned his gaze to Li Tianling.

Li Tianling didn't answer, but shrugged his shoulders and said that it was indeed as Ding Zhennan said.

"It's just that after the strategic counterattack achieves a phased victory, there will definitely be big problems with the Western Continent Group, especially the internal contradictions against the Manman Empire. If the Nuland Republic can seize this opportunity and control the countries at the western end of the Western Continent, such as the Kingdom of Bran, the Republic of Locke and the Kingdom of Span Kingdom, there will be a great chance of dismembering the Western Continent Group, and the war will hopefully end early. ”

"What if not?"

Ding Zhennan smiled bitterly and sighed. "Otherwise, the great war will continue for a while until we completely defeat the Empire on the battlefield."

"It's more likely that this will happen."

After Li Tianling spoke, Ding Zhennan just nodded.

Bai Huawei didn't say much, and directly turned his gaze to Li Tianling.

"In any case, the Nuland Republic will not declare war on the Empire, at most it will behave in a negative way. More importantly, in order to ensure post-war hegemony in the Western Continent, even on the West Coast, the Republic of Nuland will have to use this war to weaken our influence and create new contradictions. Obviously, the most effective, and the only way, is to force us to fight to the death against the Empire. Even if we win in the end, we will lose the support and recognition of the people because of the heavy casualties. Don't forget, the Empire is the overlord of the Western Continent, and all the members of the Western Continent will inevitably participate in our war with the Empire. What's more, as long as the war is not over, we will not only target the Empire. ”

"This ......"

"It is not difficult to conclude from this that no matter what we think, this war is unlikely to end in the way that is best for us, or what we are most willing to accept. Even if it does not turn into a long-term war of attrition, we must prepare for the worst and be prepared for a protracted war. ”

After Li Tianling said this, Ding Zhennan couldn't help but smile bitterly.

However, Li Tianling has already explained the truth so thoroughly, so there is no need for him to make additional explanations.