Empire Conquest-Chapter 880 - 110: Remaining Above the Fray

The President Mansion in the capital of Boi Country.

After sending off the Newland Republic ambassador, who visited as a special envoy, Jialazad returned to his study and instructed his secretary not to let anyone disturb him.

The Newland Republic ambassador’s visit addressed only one issue: when would Boi Country be ready to prepare for war.

As in previous times, Jialazad did not give a clear answer, only stating that more time was needed.

As for how much time was needed, Jialazad also did not clarify.

In fact, since a month ago, ever since Iraq annexed Kuwait, Jialazad had been closely following this war.

Initially, particularly in July, Jialazad believed at one point that Hussein would make the Liangxia military suffer.

Regarding Hussein, his adversary of eight years, Jialazad knew him well.

Although he also knew that the Iraqi military could not possibly defeat the Alliance Army led by the Commander of the Liangxia Empire, as their combat capabilities were on completely different levels, he still thought that just leveraging the relentlessness from the Iran-Iraq War, even if defeated by Liangxia’s forces, could cause considerable trouble for the Liangxia Empire.

No need to maintain this for years, dragging it on for a few months would certainly be possible.

Who would have imagined that less than half a month later, Jialazad’s fantasies would be entirely shattered.

In just over 10 days, the Iraqi Air Force was crushed, with almost all air force bases destroyed and the air defense systems completely annihilated.

In the end, over 100 remaining combat aircraft fled to Boi Country for refuge!

Initially, the Boi Air Force, with support from the Newland Republic, had acquired advanced fighters like the F-14A and took a full eight years to fail in defeating the Iraqi Air Force, suffering quite a loss instead. Yet the Liangxia Empire destroyed the Iraqi Air Force in just over ten days.

How powerful their combat capabilities!

If it were Boi Country in their place, how long could they hold out?

By August, Jialazad had come to a clearer understanding.

The Liangxia Empire’s strength was not just about the Air Force, or air strike capabilities, but a complete tactical system and the military theory built upon it.

To put it simply, the Liangxia Empire had already acquired the capability to destroy a nation through air strikes!

In just a month’s time, Iraq was bombed into ruins, with not only all industrial cities bombed but also almost all industrial production capability lost.

To prevent Iraq from reinforcing the southern regions and to restrict and undermine the mobility of the Iraqi army on the battlefield, the Alliance Army focused on bombing the transportation system, mainly highways and railways. Most bridges on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers were destroyed by the Alliance Army.

Under the assault of the Alliance Army, Iraq was entirely paralyzed.

Could Boi Country perform better than Iraq?

The answer is evidently no.

At the end of July, Jialazad had the military organize strategic wargaming, simulating a full-scale war with the Liangxia Empire.

As for the wargaming results, there was not much to say.

Based on the Liangxia Empire’s displayed strike capabilities in the Boi War, especially their air strike force, Boi Country could withstand at most 3 months.

The crucial aspect was that under the loss of air superiority, launching a ground war was almost meaningless.

Simply put, unless the enemy invaded the homeland of Boi Country and fought a homeland defense war, the mobilization of up to a million regular troops would be utterly ineffective.

After enduring three months of relentless bombing, how many of the million troops would be combat-ready?

The conclusion is also straightforward.

In the context of high-intensity modern warfare, especially total warfare, Boi Country could never replicate the miracle of that past battle.

Just a few months of intense air strikes could send Boi Country back to the Stone Age.

If it were during peacetime, or at least a limited war, through fighting a homeland defense war, they could inflict enough casualties on the enemy to make them concede defeat.

More than 20 years ago, Boi Country had used homeland defense to defeat the mighty Liangxia Empire and gained independence.

However, the issue was during the Boi War, the Liangxia Empire exercised restraint and never used their full strength, not to mention attacking the Newland Republic, who supported Boi Country from behind the scenes.

In the context of total warfare, that condition simply does not exist!

Even if the Liangxia Empire was unwilling to get bogged down in the quagmire of a Boi Country war, they could dispatch a Vassal State to fight.

Under such circumstances, risking trouble for the Newland Republic?

Jialazad certainly would not agree.

In essence, Boi Country and the Newland Republic were merely allies of interest.

Although during Boi Country’s struggle for independence, the Newland Republic provided tremendous support and played an irreplaceable role, they never provided direct assistance and often deliberately kept their distance from Boi Country.

This stance of the Newland Republic was very evident during the Iran-Iraq War.

For example, when selling arms, the Newland Republic consistently required Boi Country to pay in full with cash, and moreover, it had to be in Newland Dollars.

The result of this was that Boi Country could only accumulate Newland Dollars and had to acquire foreign reserves for arms purchase by liquidating overseas assets and other means.

By the time the Iran-Iraq War ended, Boi Country was impoverished, whereas the arms dealers of the Newland Republic were extremely wealthy.

Additionally, because they insisted on using Newland Dollars for trade settlements, especially for oil exports, throughout the eight years, Boi Country’s financial lifeline had already fallen into the hands of Newland banks, with the entire nation’s economic and financial system controlled by Newland financial capitalists.