Empire Conquest-Chapter 882 - 111: A Matter of Vital Interests

Jialazad was unwilling to get involved in the Boss Bay War, or rather, did not want to pull chestnuts out of the fire for the Newland Republic, but nevertheless had to be fully prepared.

The key is, will the Liangxia Empire withdraw in time?

Although two months ago, when the Joint Forces were established, the Liangxia Empire clearly stated that the primary goal of this war was to liberate Kuwait, expel the invading Iraqi forces, and impose necessary punishment on Iraq, without mentioning counterattacking Iraq, let alone occupying Iraq.

Since then, the war situation has indeed developed in this direction.

The high-intensity air strikes and relatively few ground forces used indicate that the Joint Forces had no plans to attack Iraq’s homeland.

At least there is no possibility of implementing a military occupation of Iraq.

With the outbreak of the Global War, will the Liangxia Empire still keep the liberation of Kuwait as its main objective?

The answer is clearly no.

Although the ground forces the Liangxia Empire deployed in Boss Bay only consist of three divisions, one of which is a Marine Division, the Alliance Army does not have many troops either, and the only truly combat-capable one is the Gaoju Kingdom’s Armored Division. It is clearly insufficient to attack Iraq, which has over a million troops, but everyone has overlooked one issue, which is that the strong air strike capability of the Alliance Army can make up for the lack of ground forces, and after achieving a breakthrough on the ground, the task of occupying Iraq can be shifted to Saudi and other Mua countries.

One might say that the combat capability of the Alliance Army’s ground forces should not be underestimated.

More than a month ago, an armored battalion of the Liangxia Empire’s Marine Corps gave the Iraqi army a lesson, causing the Iraqi Army’s elite armored forces to suffer.

That small-scale armored battle was enough to prove that, in the case of a significant technological gap, the advantage in troop numbers becomes insignificant!

Technology replacing manpower has become the top factor in deciding the outcome of wars, precisely shown in this war.

There is enough reason to believe that the ultimate goal of the Alliance Army is not just to liberate Kuwait, but also to capture all of Iraq, opening a path northward to the Ter Republic.

Arguably, after the Tiaoman Empire attacked the 51st Special Mixed Fleet of the Liangxia Navy, this has become a foregone conclusion!

The current problem is, after occupying Iraq, will the Liangxia Empire send troops to attack the Boi Country to protect this transportation line?

It is also possible to eliminate potential military threats through air strikes.

This is a problem that must be clarified.

Throughout August, one of Jialazad’s confidants, his most trusted female diplomat, has been conducting secret negotiations with the envoy from the Liangxia Empire.

The main discussion was whether the Liangxia Empire would provide relevant security assurances.

After a month of talks, although no substantial progress was made, it was not entirely fruitless.

According to the information Jialazad has, the Liangxia Authorities are willing to make necessary security assurances, but given the current situation, they will not sign any written agreements.

In fact, by late August, the Liangxia Authorities had already made substantial concessions, indicating that as long as the Boi Country could remain neutral, they could provide security guarantees. To be precise, based on the Boi Country’s neutrality, the Liangxia Empire promises not to wage war against it.

More specifically, it involves signing a legally binding peace treaty with the Boi Country.

After the Boi War concluded, the Liangxia Empire not only did not sign any treaties with the newly established Boi Country, but even now has not established diplomatic relations with them, meaning they have not recognized the Boi Country. For more than a decade, the primary diplomatic purpose of the Boi Country was to restore normal diplomatic relations with the Liangxia Empire. Only with the recognition of the global hegemon can the Boi Country truly integrate into the international community.

Not to mention the Boi Country, even the powerful Newland Republic was not accepted by the international community until its diplomatic relations were normalized with the Liangxia Empire.

Unfortunately, just as both parties were about to reach an agreement, the Global War broke out.

Evidently, during wartime, not even the Liangxia Empire, let alone the Boi authorities, would sign any written agreement of any kind.

If they leave an opening for criticism, they might end up satisfying neither party.

So far, the biggest guarantee the Liangxia Empire can offer is only a verbal promise. If the Boi Country stays out of it, they will not launch military strikes against it.

At first glance, it does not seem very different from the previous statement.

But in reality, it is worlds apart.

Maintaining neutrality does not mean not directly participating in the war, so it can also render indirect support to the belligerents, such as allowing combat aircraft from certain participating countries to fly over its airspace, or providing assistance in intelligence, and can even offer necessary discounts when selling resources.

All these actions do not break neutrality.

An ambiguous statement like the latter is not that simple.

The key is, the Liangxia Empire can, at any time, use the excuse that the Boi Country has not fulfilled its promise, for instance, exporting oil to the West Continent Group, to nullify this verbal commitment.

Can such a demand be accepted?

Jialazad is very aware that if he were to accept such terms, it would be equivalent to submitting to the Liangxia Empire, equivalent to abandoning his country’s armed forces.

Evidently, even if Jialazad wanted to compromise, the military and civilians of the Boi Country would not agree.

From this perspective, war with the Liangxia Empire is inevitable.

What Jialazad has to consider now is how to gain as many benefits as possible for the Boi Country before the war breaks out.