What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 556 War Commander
Throughout history, people have always noticed a peculiar phenomenon:

Civil servants with no military knowledge are often particularly radical, while those from the military are quite the opposite, silent and reserved, rarely making harsh statements and even advocating for de-escalation.

Only by getting closer to war can one truly feel the weight of iron and blood, and be more cautious in assessing the risks.

Band was the same; with extremely tight budgets, he remembered every single ship in the navy perfectly, and every mission required careful budgeting to maintain the Royal Navy's reputation without spending too much.

War? The Battle of the Falklands was only a few years ago. That localized battle, which was theoretically a stomp on weaker opponents and a way to gain experience, had already made the Chancellor of the Exchequer want to quit. The losses of personnel and warships have had an ongoing impact to this day. From top to bottom, everyone avoids the word.

In just over a year, the Empire lost two battleships and one nuclear aircraft carrier. The loss of auxiliary warships, aircraft, and personnel was largely due to their own superior parameters. Any casualty figure could easily shock the British.

But what's the point of fighting to the death with some lost empire, Blair?
Is it about having endless compensation, irreparable equipment losses, or watching others bleed themselves dry and sink into a quagmire, never to recover?
In fact, even the Royal Air Force had not yet been fully mobilized at this time—with the polar bear down, Britain was no longer able to maintain the highest level of combat readiness and had long lost the ability to order all its fighters to rush to the runway and take off to fight the enemy to the death.

The two ultimately came to the same conclusion: to avoid giving others ammunition and to maximize the efficiency of negotiations, Blair directly appointed Band to act as his agent and immediately take the British to contact the Lost Fleet to reach a ceasefire agreement!
No matter the cost, no matter how we negotiate, those hundreds of warships and submarines must not advance another step. Everything else is negotiable. We'd even allow Dai Ying to betray intelligence on allies or provide the voiceprint data of the Empire's main nuclear submarines!

Even admitting to its occupation of Iceland and Greenland is not out of the question, since we certainly won't be the ones who suffer the most in the end!
So Band found a Nimbus anti-submarine aircraft (only this type of auxiliary aircraft has sufficient loiter time and range, and the British do not have long-range heavy fighters), took off immediately and headed north, and soon encountered a swarm of Gnats.

After strongly expressing goodwill and non-harm, Band, who knew that the Lost Empire could not be treated as an ordinary force, immediately stated on the radio that Britain had no intention of getting involved in any war. If the Lost Empire had any needs, they could raise them and discuss them slowly. If all else failed, as long as they bypassed the three islands, Britain would absolutely not send a single plane or submarine and would not participate at all!

Then he directly sold out all the information he had obtained from Blair about the movements of the allied nations under the treaty, both "stating his position" and subtly warning them:
Don't be fooled by your seemingly weak empire; the real empire has already taken notice of you. I'm offering friendly contact now to give you a chance; otherwise, the heavenly army will arrive and everything will be over!

Logically, negotiations involving war shouldn't be this simple. However, the Lost Empire is not one to follow the rules. Moreover, it's well known that Hans isn't very bright, comparable to the Shiraz. If he were to be hesitant and indecisive, it would only provoke the other party to anger, which would be truly troublesome.

However, to everyone's surprise, Tang Wen, overcome with drowsiness, only glanced at it before tossing it aside, and then he heard the reply:
I, Lütjens Horus, Commander-in-Chief of the Lost Empire Navy, respond on behalf of the Third Fleet of the High Seas:

We are a lost empire, an unsinkable fleet, the most legitimate successors of the Second and First Fleets, representing the indelible glory of the Hans.

Seventy-eight years ago, the great First Fleet was destroyed in Sparca Bay by the incompetent old emperor, but we are about to lead the Third Fleet under the guidance of the new emperor to wash away the past humiliation and proclaim the rebirth of the High Seas Fleet in Wilhelmshaven!
We reject all so-called peace talks until the Royal Navy surrenders and scuttles itself in Wilhelmshaven! If the Royal Navy is still the same fleet that confronted us head-on in Jutland 80 years ago, then let's have a long-awaited decisive battle!

This reply was not only relayed via submarine, but was also simultaneously sent to the world!

After receiving all the information on the plane, even the well-traveled and knowledgeable Bander couldn't help but look puzzled:
What is Horus, the warlord? What is an emperor?

Scuttling the Royal Navy? In preparation for the final battle?
Band was momentarily stunned by this incredibly childish response, but he quickly realized that they had also simultaneously sent out a global telegram, which practically announced the secret contact and negotiations with Britain. Damn it!

But he had no time to get angry. The "Mystery Hunter" suddenly made a sharp turn, almost causing him to fall. He then realized that a Gnat had just flown less than 10 meters above the anti-submarine aircraft, clearly trying to drive them away. If they didn't leave, they would be shot down!
The anti-submarine aircraft was almost immediately forced to turn around and flee at full speed, fearing that it would be taken away by a burst of machine gun fire.

Meanwhile, on the plane, Band was still trying to find a way to contact "War Commander," but the latter ignored him and even the entire submarine went into submersion!
It was nearly 10 o'clock when the anti-submarine aircraft landed. The officer who greeted him looked as if he had lost his father, and immediately said upon meeting him:
"General, the Third Fleet has been deployed! The mainland is about to fall!"

"Where did this news come from!"

Band was stunned, but the officer only said sadly:

"Satellite photos have been circulated widely. At least half of the hundreds of ships assembled by the Third Fleet in Greenland are landing ships. They must be heading for us!"

Bander was more surprised, but not by the intelligence:
This information was analyzed by working overtime until the early hours of the morning, but there should have been strict information control in the country. Besides, how could satellite images be easily transmitted in the 90s?!

"Where is the satellite image from?"

"Bloomberg, Bibi C, and Hershey have all reposted it, and there are also high-resolution images online that anyone can download and view."

"Bullshit, they're all bastards who just want to destroy England!"

Bender couldn't help but shout angrily, and then rushed to Downing Street, where countless people had already gathered. The crowd was scrambling to break through the flimsy blockade and trying to get in, and the shouts of protesters could be heard everywhere.

The military vehicle he was in quickly attracted a lot of attention, but the driver managed to break out of the encirclement. Under the sneaky guidance of other guards, he entered a small alley and went through a side door into the villa of a congressman, only to find Blair and a group of ministers inside!
They clearly knew what had happened, and Band's appearance did not interrupt their discussion. The topic at this point was Air Force Secretary Terren speaking:

"...We already have 12 'Nirvana' anti-submarine aircraft capable of carrying out anti-submarine strikes. Today we can organize 19 Tornado attack aircraft and 22 Harrier fighters. Within 24 hours, we can deploy a maximum of 26 Tornadoes and 28 Harriers. This is all the Air Force can do. With the support of the Navy, we can increase our strength considerably."

The first wave of Holland Air Force reinforcements has arrived, and the USS Kennedy and the Imperial Sixth Fleet are mobilizing. If we can hold out for 24 hours, everything will be alright!

(End of this chapter)