Empire Conquest-Chapter 710 - 29 The Overall Situation is Determined_2

Chapter 710: Chapter 29 The Overall Situation is Determined_2

In these few days, nothing of great significance occurred.

If anything, it was the aerial combat during the day of the outbreak of war and the ground combat at night. Moreover, the ground combat was not widely publicized.

As for diplomatic mediation, it obviously ended without bearing fruit.

With regard to the demands set forth by the oil-producing countries, Hussein flatly rejected them and claimed that Kuwait was originally a province of Iraq, a sacred and inviolable territory of Iraq; therefore, his deployment of troops to Kuwait was in reclaiming lost land, not an invasion of a sovereign nation.

Following the failed mediation, this very morning, the oil-producing countries announced the expulsion of Iraq from their group.

Subsequently, led by Saudi Arabia, the members of the oil-producing country group announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Iraq, one after another.

At this point, the path to a diplomatic resolution was completely blocked.

Due to the time difference, it was in the evening when Zhou Yongtao received the news of the diplomatic mediation’s failure, then he signed the Prime Minister order for the second round of military action before dinner.

Although he had never held out hope for diplomatic negotiations, knowing that he would eventually sign the authorization, and having even instructed Luo Youbin to prepare the relevant documents and pen for signing in advance, there was still a complexity of emotions in Zhou Yongtao’s heart when he signed his name.

That was the main reason he had come to the garden.

Was this just a localized war?

Actually, just before receiving the last piece of news, Zhou Yongtao signed another Prime Minister order, appointing the former Chief of Staff of the Northwest War Zone as the Acting Commander.

This appointment was related to the combat readiness order issued by the General Staff Department.

Under the current command system, only the Commander has the authority to issue combat readiness orders, while the authority of the Chief of Staff of the battle zone is very limited and cannot exceed their role.

After becoming the Acting Commander, there would no longer be an issue of insufficient authority.

In any case, this was only a limited-scale regional war, so there was no need to break the rules.

Besides, Shi Shouliang, at the Joint Force Headquarter, could not manage affairs of the Northwest War Zone.

The key was the combat readiness order issued by the General Staff Department.

The General Staff Department is the highest military command institution of the Empire, thus orders related to combat and training must be issued by the General Staff Department.

At this very moment, millions of Imperial soldiers deployed around the world had entered combat readiness.

This marked the first time since the end of the Boi War that all the Empire’s armed forces had been put on combat readiness.

In Qin Fenglie’s words, it was a precautionary measure.

Zhou Yongtao didn’t object because that was also his intention.

If elevating the army’s readiness level could generate enough of a deterrent effect to discourage the Tiaoman Empire and the Newland Republic from taking military risks, it would be possible to control the scale of the war or, rather, to prevent this decidedly unambiguous regional conflict from escalating into a global war.

Did the Empire’s military deployment produce a significant deterrent effect, then?

To be candid, Zhou Yongtao hadn’t given this issue much thought; speculation was of little value after all.

When Lin Shiping arrived, he was trimming the orchid that had been transplanted earlier that spring.

"Have you had dinner yet?"

Zhou Yongtao didn’t turn around. Hearing the footsteps, he knew it was Lin Shiping, as only Lin Shiping could deliberately control his footsteps while walking quickly.

"I ate on the way here."

Zhou Yongtao waited until Lin Shiping approached before setting down the scissors in his hand.

"I just received a message. Norman has returned to Tehran, and today the Newland Air Force sent another batch of support military planes to the Central Battle Zone."

Zhou Yongtao nodded slightly, then pointed to the water cup on the stone stool, signaling to Lin Shiping to take a drink.

This Norman had always been a key surveillance target of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Not just because he was the Commander of the Newland Central War Zone, but also because he was one of the most talented senior generals within the Newland Army.

In the past few years during the Newland Army’s joint exercises, Norman had always commanded the opposing force, and for several consecutive years, he had achieved victory in the confrontation phases.

The opposing force under Norman’s command portrayed the Liangxia Army!

Simply put, Norman was the general within the Newland Army who had the most comprehensive understanding of the Liangxia Army.

In fact, this was also why he had become the Commander of the Central War Zone.

The term "Central War Zone" of the Newland Army actually refers to the central region of the World Island, the New Moon Region.

To the north of the New Moon Region is the West Continent, the west faces the Land Heart Sea, the southwest connects to the Xuan Continent, the southeast borders the Fan Flame Ocean, and to the east is the Giant Continent.

Geographically speaking, the New Moon Region is positioned at the center of the World Island, at the crossroads of civilizations.

Since ancient times, this region has always been a coveted strategic location.

It is for this reason that the importance of the Central War Zone in the Newland Army is very high, second only to the East Ocean Battle Zone, which directly faces the Liangxia Empire.

Additionally, the Central War Zone is a classic example of a multi-service battle zone.

In contrast, the East Ocean Battle Zone has always been predominantly naval.

This means that only the most outstanding Army generals are qualified to become Commanders of the Central War Zone.

Since secretly forming an alliance with Boi Country and establishing the Central War Zone, all past Commanders of the Central War Zone have been admirals in the Newland Army.

Because of this, past Commanders of the Central War Zone have always received special attention from the Imperial Military Intelligence Bureau.

Three days ago, Lin Shiping brought news that Norman had secretly returned to Huacheng and immediately went to the Grey Palace.

At that time, Lin Shiping told Zhou Yongtao that the Newland Republic might be preparing for war.