Yan Fu got up and took the whip that Su Sanling had put down, and pointed at the vast blue section on the left side of the map.

"Lieutenant General Yuan Feng's reconnaissance unit passed through the Malacca Strait yesterday and headed for the Andaman Sea, and is now heading to the Bay of Bengal via the northern Andaman Islands."

"Admiral Liang Shuming's mobile unit also sailed into the Indian Ocean through the Sunda Strait yesterday and is now bypassing Sumatra and heading for the scheduled interception position."

"The main force led by General Sa Zhenbing set sail from the port of Singapore yesterday, and today it has successfully passed through the Strait of Malacca, advanced to the Andaman Sea, and is following the reconnaissance unit to the Bay of Bengal."

"Admiral Ma Shengyu's support unit and landing force set sail from Yangon Port yesterday and have now sailed into the Bay of Bengal and are heading towards the area where they are scheduled to land."

"Vice Admiral Ho Kai's alert force successfully completed the arrangement of four submarine cordons before yesterday, and the four cordons are: outside the port of Mumbai, between the Amindivi Islands and the Lakshadweep Islands and the west coast of India, between the northern tip of the Maldives Islands and the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent, and between the Strait of Ceylon. In addition, there is a mobile cordon that will be deployed in the central part of the Bay of Bengal by 5 September. ”

"Lieutenant General Ling Yi's base aviation unit is still ordered to hide in various bases along the coast of Burma, not to participate in the operations of the army aviation group for the time being, to recuperate and recuperate, and to wait for a decisive battle-above, my report is over."

After nodding his head to signal Yan Fu to sit down, Qian Hua, who was sitting firmly on the throne at one end of the oval conference table, turned his head slightly to face Su Mengxin, the director of the Intelligence Division of the General Staff: "Report to the Counsellor's Office, what is the situation on the British and Indian sides?" ”

Su Mengxin rose up in response and unfolded the folder in his hand: "Yes - first report on the movements of Britain and India." According to information compiled by the Department at the end of August, there were 20 to 24 infantry divisions, a number of cavalry brigades and independent garrison battalions stationed in British India. The total strength was 400,000 to 500,000 men, with most of the officer positions held by the British, and the vast majority of soldiers being indigenous to India. Its officers come from a complex background, mainly all kinds of reserve officers and cadets who graduated ahead of schedule, and cannot be compared with our elite officer corps after long-term training. Soldiers were forced to contribute to the feudal states, or were requisitioned and hired in the direct territories, and the sources were more complex, with different ethnicities, beliefs, and customs, and the level of education was not high, and most of them were undertrained. As the object of enslavement in the colony, there was a particular lack of war identity, and morale was not easy to maintain. ”

"However, after hundreds of years of colonial rule and slavery education. The Anglo-Indian army, with the Indian army as the main body, was still an effective war machine, especially when it was defending a favorable front and carrying out well-supplied defensive operations. It is reported that the Anglo-Indian army deployed in echelons on the Indo-Burmese border should be between 12 and 15 divisions. The most well-equipped, the most well-trained, backed by rail lines of communication, easy to replenish, and making the most of the quiet period of recent months. Favorable terrain was occupied, and a large number of strong fortifications were built. Our army will face insurmountable difficulties when it has to cross hundreds of kilometers of uninhabited mountains and forests in western Burma to attack a well-fortified enemy who is ready to work and well-fortified......"

"Since the British and Indian armies were forcefully swept away by our army in July, they have taken the initiative to give up the struggle for air supremacy on the Indo-Burmese border, and most of them have withdrawn to western India for reorganization, and it is estimated that the various units of the British and Indian forces have recovered to the scale of about 300 combat planes of various types, including some advanced interceptor fighters and long-range patrol planes."

"As for the combined fleet of the Entente in the Indian Ocean, it has been constantly replenished by new forces since June, a rough estimate. By the end of August, its main combat ships had increased to more than 30 warships of various types, 5 to 6 battle cruisers, 3 to 4 fleet aircraft carriers, more than 15 other cruisers, and more than 70 destroyers. Above-

Qianhua waved his hand and motioned for him to sit down.

"Premier Yang, how much role do you think the Indian National Liberation Army (INA) led by Tirak and Gandhi will be able to play in the early stages of the war?"

Yang Zhengjin, one of the five elders of the wartime cabinet who presided over the Foreign Affairs Committee and was also the prime minister of the wartime cabinet directly in charge of the affairs of the Indian National Liberation Army, only nodded slightly to Her Majesty the Empress from his seat, which was his exclusive prerogative. Unhurriedly responded: "I think." Limited role, to the Indian land strategy. Although it can be said that it is seven parts political and three parts military, if we fail to concretely reflect our superiority militarily and fight one or two wonderful decisive battles, the political operations behind this will be like water without a source and grass without roots, and it is bound to be difficult to continue. ”

"That's fine, anyway, the early role of the Burmese Front is just to drag down the enemy forces on the India-Burma border, and it is the landing operation of the Indian Front that really plays a decisive role, right?"

Yang Zhengjin took the opportunity to continue: "The emperor is wise, but the most decisive role is to lure out the Entente Combined Fleet with landing operations and deal annihilating blows on the battlefield that is favorable to us. ”

Qianhua is of course aware of this, but in order to show her importance for Yang Zhengjin, who gave her key support (or rather, stood in the right position in the first place) when she launched the coup d'état a month ago, she deliberately asks him a knowing question from time to time, which is a kind of support that helps to maintain his prestige for His Excellency the Prime Minister, who voluntarily relinquished most of his legal power after the coup.

"As the report of the Counsel Department says, the strength of the Combined Fleet of the Entente has increased a lot compared to a few months ago, and even if it does, is the Navy sure of victory?" The new Chief of Staff of the Army, Senior General Gu Yingyang, asked Yan Zheng repeatedly - the blazing sun in the outer South Seas had tanned his originally fair skin into a conspicuous tan.

"Honestly, there's no certainty of victory." Yan Fu replied without hesitation.

Gu Ying raised his eyebrows and frowned: "The navy itself has no confidence, how can the emperor let it go."

Qianhua immediately raised his hand to stop Gu Yingyang's aggressive accusation against Yan Fu: "Chief of Staff Gu, that's enough, no matter whether Chief of Staff Yan answers with confidence or not, I can't put my mind at ease." If we analyze the strength of the troops participating in the battle alone, we can conclude that our army will win, and I think that there is no reason why the other side will not come to the same conclusion, so that they will choose to avoid the battle and not come out, so that our army's attempt to seek a decisive battle will be in vain, right? ”

Yang Zhengjin nodded respectfully and said, "The emperor is wise, this is exactly the truth." If the Combined Fleet of the Entente does not avoid the war, although our army can take India lightly, it will have to gather heavy forces in the Indian Ocean in the future and continue to confront the Combined Fleet of the Entente with complete strength. For most of the past six months, the United States' military mobilization has been paying off day by day, and if it does not annihilate the Combined Entente Fleet in the Indian Ocean before the U.S. Navy recovers its strength, it will inevitably find itself in a two-front predicament -- you should be well aware that the relative calm in the Pacific brought by the Battle of Hawaii cannot be maintained forever. ”

Qian Hua played with the white gloves on his lap and continued seemingly casually: "In this case, please ask the Intelligence Department to report on the latest movements of the enemy forces in the Pacific." ”

Su Mengxin straightened up like a spring again: "Yes - according to the latest intelligence compiled by this department, the U.S. military has assembled a strategic fleet including a number of new and old warships and a large number of transport ships in the Seattle area on the west coast, and the target is likely to be the Alaska stronghold occupied by the Japanese army, and the Japanese naval forces deployed in this area are extremely weak, only 4 old armored cruisers, light cruisers and 4 destroyers, and the army has only deployed 8,000 troops on Kodiak Island and Unaskala Island due to insufficient supply capacity......"

"In the Trans-South Seas, there is intelligence that a strategic fleet of old warships and a large number of transport ships is massing towards the New Hebrides or the Solomon Islands, and it is not yet possible to determine whether the target of the attack is the Bismarck Islands or New Guinea. However, the strength of the Southeastern Front Fleet stationed there was also very weak, and since the Second Fleet's Outer South Seas Task Force returned to its original belongings, the fleet's basic combat strength consisted of only 4 old armored cruisers, 10 old light cruisers, and 22 old destroyers. The strength of the army stationed in New Guinea and the Bismarck Islands is mainly four under-staffed light infantry divisions of the South-Eastern Front, about 40,000 people, but they are scattered and seriously lack technical equipment......"

"What to do? Do you really want to watch these places fall into the hands of the enemy? Gu Yingyang was very unwilling.

Yang Zhengjin spread his hands and said: "Once the decisive battle in the Indian Ocean is decided, our combined fleet will really win a big victory, and the enemy forces that counterattack Alaska and the Outer South China Sea will naturally flee from the wind. On the contrary, if our army, in order to temporarily secure these strongholds, distributes troops to protect them, weakens the forces participating in the decisive battle in the Indian Ocean, and leads to the defeat of the decisive battle, then we will have nothing. ”

Qianhua began to put gloves on his hands: "That's the reason, so, let the Japanese and Zhang Yiye hold on to it, let's ...... See. "Di.

"Attack! Jericho must strike now! ”

Churchill, the forty-year-old Admiralty Chancellor, shouted in front of his cabinet members with a fist in disregard.

"Is it really the time?"

Prime Minister Asquith propped his elbows on the table, his hands clenched into fists, and his cloudy blue eyes flickered uneasily under his frowning brow......