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Chapter 1214: Taking Advantage of the Situation 2
"Is that so..." Captain Sun was somewhat tempted by what he said, and he also felt that Settle's method might be useful, but he couldn't express his opinion due to his status and authority. Since Settle was the combat commander and was willing to take responsibility, it shouldn't hurt to help him.

However, before expressing his opinion, he turned his attention to Tao Daxiang. Among the four people, this commander held the highest position. With his consent, it would be like having an extra layer of insurance.

"According to the order of the Navy General Staff, Commander Ma and I are only responsible for the fleet's supply and base protection. We cannot interfere with combat operations, nor do we have the authority to issue orders to combat commanders. Sorry."

In stark contrast to Setel's adventurous personality, Tao Daxiang's style of doing things is much more calm. He does everything he should do, and does not even express his attitude towards things he should not do. He acts strictly according to military law.

"Captain Sai said that we have the authority granted by His Majesty to act at our own discretion. I think that is enough. As for the effect, I don't know much about naval warfare, so I can't offer any more suggestions."

Ma Lun was a little more radical than Tao Daxiang, but he was unwilling to overstep his authority. He was not timid, after all, he was a descendant of a general, so he had some responsibility. It was a pity that he was the commander of the Marine Corps, and he really didn't understand naval warfare, let alone the details of this operation, so he had no place to make comments.

"Then I will go there myself, using only the personnel and ships from the Statistics Department. If Captain Sai has no other questions, I will go and prepare first. See you at the dock!"

Captain Sun did not expect Tao Daxiang and Ma Lun to step forward and take responsibility for him. The Navy Statistics Department was directly under the Navy General Staff and was not under the jurisdiction of any fleet, so there was no need to seek the opinions of the fleet commanders on anything.

The reason why I wanted these two generals to express their opinions, in addition to attracting more allies, was mainly to buy time and think carefully about whether they should agree. The result was that they cooperated.

Settle was right. The emperor's consistent style was to encourage frontline generals to have ideas and not just wait for orders from their superiors. As long as this operation was not completely messed up, even if there were some procedural errors, they would not be investigated deeply and might even be praised.

Even if verbal praise cannot be counted as military merit, Jian is more important to the emperor than any reward, so this account can still be settled.

The replenishment work lasted until the evening, when the two battleships and a brigantine communication ship sailed out of the Pearl Harbor waterway, circled halfway offshore, adjusted the sails, plunged into the pale yellow sea, and headed southwest in the afterglow.

"Oh, it would be nice if we could go together. I'm almost like a rat hiding in the bunker all day. Commander, did the General Staff say how to fight this war? Why do I feel like there's no role for the Marines anymore?"

Standing on the highest observation tower in the port area, Ma Lun put down the telescope, looked at the sea outside the port reluctantly and began to complain. The emperor went west to attack the Ottoman Empire with the army but not the navy. The General Staff and the Naval Staff gave an explanation, which sounded reasonable.

But the expedition to the American continent shouldn't include the army! This is a standard transoceanic landing operation, almost a task tailor-made for the Marine Corps. But with the war imminent, there is no news of preparing the army.

"You guessed it right. The Marine Command has nothing to do this time. Just dig the hole honestly. We need to build a secret observation post on the top of the east mountain. We don't have enough craftsmen. I will use five of your men to help blast the rocks tomorrow."

Tao Daxiang pursed his lips, his tone full of sarcasm and cynicism, and he wanted to rub salt into Ma Lun's wounds. "You should practice your land operations at the dock. Two ships have delayed you for most of the day. If the main fleet comes, it will take until the end of the year! If the chief of staff is in charge, you will be in trouble."

Ma Lun was not ambiguous and immediately retorted, even bringing up Zhu Haiou to scare people. Why are you pretending? If the Wenjia Guards can't get any merit in the war, you will just have to watch. What's worse, watching the fun also has responsibilities.

"It's just a waste of time. Things will work out when the time comes. But I'm afraid the chief of staff won't be able to come. Even if he does, his words won't count."

Tao Daxiang didn't care at all. In order to prevent possible damage, all the supplies in the port area were packed into and sealed in the cave, leaving only a small part in the warehouse, which prolonged the supply time.

The arrival time of the main fleet is fixed, neither too fast nor too slow. There is also a communication ship ahead to transmit the message, so if we move out of the cave one day in advance, nothing will be delayed.

As for whether the Chief of Naval Staff and the astronaut would follow, it no longer mattered, because someone more difficult to deal with was about to arrive at Pearl Harbor.

As the saying goes, too much debt is no worry. The port area is now just a large construction site with a group of incomplete works. Even if you work yourself to death, you can't change much. Let it be.

"The admiral wants to command the operation personally? He's at his age and hasn't been to the high seas for many years. Is it possible?" Since the Navy Chief of Staff is not coming, the Navy Admiral will definitely have to take charge. It is impossible for both of the two main generals to not show up for such a large military operation.

But Ma Lun was even less optimistic about Huang Nanping's appearance. He believed that Huang Nanping must have better abilities, experience and qualifications. Unfortunately, time was merciless. The pirate leader who roamed Southeast Asia in the past was now very old. Could he still make a living?
"General Huang is in poor health and has been staying in the capital." Tao Daxiang was a little impatient. Look at Setel, and then look at you. You both grew up eating grains, so how come your brain capacity is so different!
"Chief of the General Staff? That's not right. They will be vomited into jerky along the way. Why should they suffer this?" Ma Lun was indeed not smart enough. He didn't think of it even after the words were so clear.

"Didn't Settle just say that he was escorting His Majesty back to Manila from the Persian Gulf? Think about it yourself. I haven't had lunch yet, and I've been so exhausted."

Tao Daxiang didn't want to give too many instructions for this situation, so he turned around and left. Wisps of smoke were floating in the port area, and the fragrance of dinner seemed to be smelt from a few kilometers away.

It would be better if we could avoid eating whale meat. In order to save supplies over the past year, the garrison fleet specially converted a brigantine communication ship into a whaling ship. In addition to whale meat, it also has various seafood.

This archipelago is truly a treasure land, with abundant seafood, more than in the South China Sea. Just find a reef and put a cage down, wait an hour or two and you will find crabs, lobsters, sea urchins and sea cucumbers filling half a cage.

If these things could be sent back to the country, they would definitely be sold at a high price in a big restaurant. But now, from soldiers to craftsmen, if possible, they would rather eat biscuits than eat braised whale meat, and they don’t want to touch seafood stew.

(End of this chapter)