Starting with the smashing of Dunkirk

Chapter 244 Lelouch: Hipper is using all my words
Duke Rupprecht's rambling, half-true and half-false story immediately left Emperor William completely bewildered.

However, if we examine the details closely, there are actually some flaws in the Duke's lines, but the Emperor simply couldn't possibly notice them.

When Lelouch was making plans for the Duke that day, he instructed the Duke to send two airships to Batumi, but in reality, the Duke did not board either of them; he remained in Odessa the entire time.

In his reply to Batumi via radio (the fake telegram used to deceive the Burkina Faso people), the Duke only mentioned that he would be traveling by airship, but did not specify the number of airships.

Therefore, the escort fighters and support personnel on the front lines in Batumi did not know how many airships would ultimately go; they assumed there was only one.

In reality, the Duke had the two airships spaced several tens of kilometers apart and arrive in Batumi one after the other. If the first one was intercepted, the second one would quickly return; if the first one was not intercepted, the second one could delay for another hour or so until it reached Batumi, giving the enemy an opportunity and revealing more weaknesses.

However, the enemy was too eager to defend, and the first airship arrived in time to intercept it. Therefore, the spare second airship did not need to be shown and immediately chose to return to base.

Lelouch's plan even included deceiving the captains and crew of both airships. He instructed the Duke to tell the captain of the first airship that the Duke's adjutant was on their airship, while the Duke himself was on the second airship.

As for the captain and crew of the second boat, it was the other way around; the Duke himself was aboard the first boat.

So in reality, even the captains of the two airships mistakenly believed that the Duke had actually boarded an airship, but that he was on another one, not theirs.

In this way, when the Duke finally returned to Berlin and tried to evade the Emperor, he could vaguely portray it as, "I really did board the airship, and I was indeed assassinated, but the airship the enemy used to assassinate me was not the one I was on, which is why I didn't die."

As for external relations... for the time being, it's best to keep it completely secret for now, letting the Duke remain hidden and allowing the enemy to speculate. Only when the enemy truly suspects the Duke is dead can the Duke "reluctantly and forcefully" show his face to dispel the rumors. Before showing his face, it's best to apply makeup to make his complexion appear pale, leading the enemy to believe, "So he really isn't dead, just seriously injured." The truth will then be revealed later.

In any case, even the airship captain didn't know that the Duke wasn't on the airship. Only a very small number of the Duke's closest confidants knew about this, and these people were so loyal that they would lie to the Emperor for the Duke's sake.

Future history books will only say that the duke was lucky and blessed by God, thus escaping assassination.

The conspiracies orchestrated by Lelouch are always meticulous to this extent. An enemy who is not paying attention will be killed by his schemes.

The Baria clan's preparations were so thorough that the emperor couldn't help but believe that Duke Rupprecht had truly escaped with his life.

Of course, the Barea faction's actions weren't intentionally "deceiving the emperor." It's just that Lelouch clearly already knew that the Kingdom of Burgundy had deciphered their code for 15 months, yet he chose to reveal it only now. If the performance wasn't convincing, it would seem like "knowing but not reporting, deliberately using this loophole to gain military merit for himself, without reminding his allies."

Now, by using a fake self-inflicted injury, we can completely eliminate any suspicion of "failure to report," making it seem as if we have only just confirmed the case.

Since the other party had just suffered hardship and fright, the emperor naturally wanted to comfort the war hero and be as lenient and agreeable as possible to his demands.

So even though William was originally very resistant to the interference of other factions in the naval intelligence system, at this moment he could no longer care about such sectarian differences.

If it's ultimately proven that the naval intelligence department was indeed incompetent, failing to notice the code had been broken for so long, then the head of the code department will definitely be dismissed. At that point, whoever Duke Rupprecht and Lelouch recommend can take the position; it's a way of appeasing the assassination victim.

……

If the emperor wanted to verify this question, his first instinct would naturally be to seek out Admiral Franz von Ritter Hippel, who was now the commander of the High Seas Fleet.

After all, Admiral Hipper was a key contributor to the two major naval victories achieved last year by leveraging intelligence advantages, so his analysis is naturally very authoritative.

Because Hipper was not in Berlin, the Emperor spent a day urgently summoning him from Wilhelmshaven, and it wasn't until April 20th that this very high-level closed-door imperial meeting was finally held.

At the meeting, the Emperor got straight to the point and asked Hipper to review the gains and losses of the previous year's Battle of Ostend and the Battle of Dunkirk.

After some analysis, everything turned out exactly as Duke Rupprecht had predicted:
If Hipper hadn't been able to adapt and be flexible in carrying out the Navy Department's orders, but instead had followed the plan rigidly and in a rigid manner, they might have suffered a crushing defeat long ago!
Moreover, as the analysis progressed and everyone's thinking broadened, they found even more evidence, both positive and negative.

For example, Hipper mentioned the battles with the Lusa Navy in the Baltic Sea later last year, as well as the subsequent shore bombardment missions.

If the artillery is always executed strictly according to plan, the results of the artillery battle are actually worse; but if the artillery is carried out on the spot and the situation is not planned, the results are better—this can be proven not only by the navy itself, but also by the army's Mackensen Group Army, which is supported by the navy.

Because Field Marshal Mackensen was a direct beneficiary of the naval shore artillery support, he was the one who felt best whether the shelling was effective or not.

With increasing evidence, the case finally became irrefutable: the Naval Intelligence Department's cryptography team was utterly useless! Its top decision-makers should be replaced immediately! As for the technical staff, they should certainly be retained, but the bureaucracy must be replaced and temporarily placed under secret control, only allowed to contact the outside world after several months of review.

Before the handover is completed, the navy should not conduct any new combat operations. The submarine force that has already launched anti-commerce operations should be left to find targets on its own; there are no new missions expected for the next month or two.

"From today, April 20th, until June 20th, the Navy is tentatively prohibited from undertaking any new major projects for the next two months. However, all routine work should proceed as usual on the surface, without alerting the enemy to any changes! Whether the restrictions can be lifted ahead of schedule will be announced later!"

Furthermore, once the Caucasus campaign is over, that is, after Tbilisi and the Baku oil fields have fallen, immediately send Lelouch back to report for duty! He won't need to personally remain in the Middle East for the subsequent mopping-up battles, the attack on Tabriz, or the support for Baghdad!

During a break in this closed-door, top-secret meeting on the morning of April 20, the emperor issued these two edicts.

The overhaul of the intelligence and cryptography department would take time; until the overhaul was complete, the best course of action was to avoid unnecessary trouble. However, after the emperor set the tone, Duke Rupprecht quickly came up with a new idea, and he opportunely seized the opportunity to offer his advice:
"Your Majesty, the enemy has actually cracked our naval code, but they don't yet know that we know they have cracked our code. This information gap can be taken advantage of, and we can use it to deceive the enemy before the mystery is revealed!"
Moreover, this counter-deception can only be used once, because once the enemy falls for it, they will realize we know they've cracked the code. Therefore, this crucial vote must be won decisively, crippling the Royal Navy!

Emperor William frowned for a long while upon hearing this: "You know about naval matters? You've never been involved with the navy before, have you?"

Duke Rupprecht, knowing the importance of specialization, quickly and aptly took a half-step back.
"I don't really understand the details of the navy, but the principles of military strategy should be the same. I'm just used to Lelouch often using this kind of strategy of turning the tables on the country, and I thought I could give it a try. The specific details will definitely require his and the other admirals of the navy to work together."

Upon hearing this, the emperor instinctively looked at Hipper on the other side.

When Hipper rushed back to Berlin last night, he had already had a private talk with Duke Rupprecht. The Duke had also shown Hipper some of Lelouch's ideas in writing, so Hipper knew exactly how to cooperate.

Little did Emperor Wilhelm know that his most decorated admiral had long been subservient to Duke Rupprecht and admired Chief of Staff Lelouch's brilliant strategies, and was willing to cooperate unconditionally.

Hipper's cooperation was not out of disloyalty to the Emperor or the Empire. Rather, it was precisely because he knew that only by following the prescient Chief of Staff Lelouch's line of thought could the Empire be saved in this protracted war.

Hipper then chimed in, "Marshal Rupprecht's proposal is very constructive, and our navy could certainly give it a try. For example, in the early stages of the war, Commander Ingnauer and later Commander Hugo von Pohl both conceived a set of operational strategies..."

That is, under the unfavorable objective condition that the enemy's main fleet is significantly stronger than our high seas fleet, could we devise a plan to use some of our advance small fleets as bait to carry out some attack missions, thereby forcing the enemy's fast reaction battlecruiser fleet to become enraged and lose its composure, actively pursuing and killing our advance attack fleet, thus causing the enemy's fast fleet to become separated from the main fleet...

If our main fleet can seize the opportunity to ambush the enemy, using an advance strike fleet to lure the enemy's rapid reaction fleet into a trap, and then concentrate our superior forces to fight a smaller enemy force and annihilate a portion of the enemy, then if we can fight several such annihilation battles, the gap in strength between our fleets and the enemy's could potentially be closed or even reversed.

Unfortunately, our radio codes had been cracked by the enemy, so every time we tried to set up a trap, they evaded us. Only on two occasions, when we improvised and followed orders, did we unexpectedly achieve some small victories.

Now that we know the code has been broken, subsequent operational plans should not be transmitted via radio, but rather through other means of communication to ensure absolute secrecy. Furthermore, creating false intelligence to lure the enemy into a trap is entirely possible.

Upon hearing this, the emperor finally found it interesting. He stroked his long beard and gestured for Hipper to continue: "Tell me more details."

Hipper then pretended to rack his brains for a long time before offering a detailed suggestion: "Perhaps, after the Caucasus campaign ends and the main force of the Empire is about to enter the Middle East, we can send the Black Sea Fleet to solve the logistical difficulties in the Middle East theater and operate in the Eastern Mediterranean."

In the future, Lusa will only have two maritime lifelines: one is through the Persian Gulf in the Middle East to reach the Caspian Sea coast, and the other is through the Norwegian Sea to reach Murmansk. The Bretonnians must try to preserve both routes to ensure that Lusa's continuous supply of manpower continues to serve the country. If both routes are cut off, Lusa's pool of tens of millions of people will no longer be available to the country.

Therefore, whether our navy assists the army in fighting in the Middle East or heads north to cut off Norwegian shipping lanes, the Royal Navy of Britannia must fight back, or at least fight back in one of them. It is absolutely impossible for them to cower in both.

If the Britannian home fleet is partially drawn to the eastern Mediterranean, and we create an opportunity in the North Sea that they seem capable of salvaging, and this objective is important enough, it is entirely possible to lure out the enemy's fast vanguard fleet and severely damage or even annihilate it!

If we sink just a few enemy battlecruisers or new, fast battleships, the naval strength of both sides could potentially be even! To this end, we can deliberately feign weakness, pretending that the 'Baden,' which is about to enter service and is still undergoing its final sea trials, has suffered a barrel explosion in its main gun due to its overly radical technical design and the use of new technologies and materials, requiring major repairs, and that the 'Baria,' a ship of the same class, also needs to be refitted, to further lull the enemy into a false sense of security..."

General Hipper said quite a few more things afterward, but those in the know understand that there's no need to go into too much detail.

Because Hipper was using Lelouch's words.

However, Lelouch's status and position made it inappropriate to discuss this part in too much detail, lest the Emperor suspect, "That kid Lelouch is clearly an army general, so why is he so deeply involved in naval affairs? What has he been planning all along?" Therefore, the credit for this preliminary draft can be given to Hipper for now.

Anyway, Hipper will owe Lelouch a favor, and even if he becomes the top Marine in the future, he will continue to support Lelouch.

Moreover, what Lelouch gave up was only a "draft," not a detailed battle plan that could actually be implemented.

There are still many ingenious schemes and tricks to be revealed at the implementation level, which Lelouch himself can only reveal after he takes up the position of "Director of the Joint Operations Liaison Office of the Army and Navy".

Even this small, fragmentary explanation that could be presented at the moment was enough to amaze Emperor William.

He hadn't expected that his army and navy commanders contained so many geniuses: Field Marshal Rupprecht was so adept at strategic vision, and Hipper was so skilled in naval decoy tactics.
No wonder these two have performed so many great feats in the past year and a half. They didn't rely entirely on Lelouch; they are also very intelligent and quick-witted!

The emperor realized he had underestimated these two important officials from the army and navy.

"You two are truly pillars of the nation. With the army and navy in your ranks, the empire will surely achieve final victory! However, isn't it a bit too much of a stretch to act out the 'Baden's' main gun exploding so hastily?"

General Hipper was slightly taken aback by the question, but quickly echoed the emperor's view: "Your Majesty is wise! I was just giving an example. In practice, we must proceed slowly. We can't have our guns explode right after the Britannians carry out the assassination..."

How about this: it's only late April now, and things are still going strong. Let's hold back for a couple of weeks, until early May, when things have calmed down, and then pick a day to say that the 'Baden's' main gun exploded.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the Navy will make this performance absolutely realistic. I believe the situation in the Caucasus will be clear by early May, and once Rear Admiral Lelouch returns, he will surely come up with an even more detailed follow-up plan."

The emperor nodded with satisfaction: "This matter will be settled in principle for now. As for the specifics of how to deceive the people of Bu, you can report back with a detailed plan later."

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Rupprecht and Hipper both replied.

(End of this chapter)