February 9, Lion Springs City.

Before entering the port, the cruiser leading in front sounded its whistle, followed by several signal flares.

It was so grand that Bai Zhizhan was speechless.

No one thinks it's too much, though.

Not only the White Stop, but all the officers and men of the 11th Task Force, as well as the 1st and 2nd Carrier Air Wings, were all heroes of the Empire.

Just yesterday, the Emperor issued an edict on the radio, conferring on Bai the title of "Protector of Zhenhai" and the rank of First Class, and all the officers and men of the 11th Task Force and the Air Wing were awarded first-class military merit. Subsequently, through the decree of the Privy Council, the Imperial Chiefs and Auxiliaries gave corresponding rewards to all officers and soldiers.

This "Zhenhai Protector" is not a fiction, but a real hereditary title.

In addition, it has nothing to do with Bai Zhizhan's status as a colt.

To say, the colt is a false lord, and it cannot be hereditary.

After obtaining the hereditary title of "Zhenhai Protector", Bai Zhizhan became a real nobleman, and his descendants were all nobles.

If you want to say, Bai Zhizhan was the first hereditary duke to be canonized after the Eight Great Pillars.

The point is that he is only a rear admiral.

Perhaps, in the future, it will never be possible for a rear admiral to receive a hereditary knighthood.

Of course, after going back, he will definitely be promoted to vice admiral.

As for the reason for this honor, it is not only the defeat of the Bran fleet and the Nuland fleet in the Guia Ocean, but also the collateral effect.

On the last day of last month, unrest broke out in Sri Lanka, with princely forces taking control of major cities such as Colombo and declaring independence from the kingdom of Buran.

Subsequently, the Imperial Army dispatched airborne troops to take control of airports in Colombo and other places, and with the assistance of the princely state forces, occupied and controlled several ports guarded by the colonial troops of the Kingdom of Buran. After the air force was stationed, the main forces of the Marine Corps and the army also arrived one after another.

By the afternoon of 5 February, the last of the Bran troops trapped in Jaffna had surrendered with no hope of retreating.

It took only 5 days to take Sri Lanka.

Although it is said that it is mainly the defection of the princely states, it is still fundamentally related to the Imperial Navy, especially the victory of the 11th Task Force in the southwestern and eastward guiats.

As early as late January, when the imperial ** team began to storm Lion Spring City, the eldest son of the chieftain of the princely state of Sri Lanka secretly arrived in the imperial capital from the Daiman Kingdom.

Initially, the princely states hoped to be completely independent with the support of the Empire, at least on par with the Daiman Kingdom, and were not willing to give the Empire anything in return.

According to the arrogant prince, the establishment of Sri Lanka as an independent state was the greatest reward for the Liangxia Empire, so the empire had unconditional support.

Feelings, the princely states of Sri Lanka are already strong enough to be on an equal footing with the Liangxia Empire.

By January 29, the situation had taken a 180-degree turn.

For the same reason, the 11th Task Force annihilated the Bran Fleet and the Newland Fleet in the southwest Fanyan Ocean, and the Imperial Navy's domination of the Fanyan Ocean was just around the corner.

In the evening of the same day, the princes of the princely states promised that after gaining independence, they would provide the empire with military bases including military ports and airports by lend-lease, join the Entente group as an ally of the empire, obey the command unconditionally, and seek military protection from the empire.

There is only one point: Sri Lanka wants to become an independent state.

The imperial authorities never refused the request for the establishment of a princely state, but they were very disgusted by the empty attitude of the princes.

The empire has always encouraged and supported the independence of its colonies.

At the beginning, the independence of the Daiman Kingdom was to gain the support of the empire, defeat the invading enemy army, and become the only kingdom in the entire Toe Peninsula to defeat the Western powers.

That is why the riots that took place on 31 January.

It can be seen that the key to taking Sri Lanka almost bloodlessly without using the fleet is the great victory of the 11th Task Force.

Otherwise, a strong attack on Sri Lanka would definitely require the use of a task force.

If you don't have the support of the princely states, you need to invest enough troops and spend a lot of time.

The key, in fact, is at the strategic level.

According to the original plan, with the loss of one fleet carrier by Task Force 11, the attack on Sri Lanka had to be postponed until the second quarter, and the start could not begin until the return of the "Imperial Capital". Next, the strategic offensive operation in the Guia Ocean will also be postponed.

Affected by this, at least in the first half of the 101st year of the new calendar, the Imperial Navy had to focus on Fanyan Yang.

If the attack on Sri Lanka runs into trouble, then the advance into Posha Bay will certainly be affected, further affecting the overall strategy.

The successful capture of Sri Lanka is equivalent to bringing the overall strategic progress forward by at least three months.

From Colombo, the Imperial Navy was able to advance smoothly into the Mua Sea.

The key is also to deploy strategic aviation in Sri Lanka to bomb the Bran army in the Van Roe area and reduce the difficulty of frontal combat.

According to the report submitted by Li Yunxiang, 1,500 long-range bombers will be deployed to Sri Lanka by the end of June.

By the end of the year, after the mass production of new bombers with a combat radius of 2,500 kilometers, it will be possible to even carry out de facto strategic bombing of the Kib fortress.

In addition, it was also very helpful in attacking the island of Socotra in the southwest of Muahai.

Even if it's a little farther away, you can start from Sri Lanka and attack the Maldives in the west, and then use one of the islands in the Maldives as a springboard to attack Socotra.

The next step, of course, is to capture the port city to the north.

According to the plan of the Imperial Navy, if you take another port city, you can establish a route to Posha Bay, and there is no need to storm the Kib fortress.

The focus remains on the march into Posha Bay.

If you want to say that, if you don't plan to enter Lu Xinhai, you can even ignore the Kibu Fortress.

As Liu Changxun mentioned in the telegram, as long as the oil in Posha Bay can be obtained, then entering Lu Xinhai is no longer a necessary option.

Even if there is such a need, there is an option to attack the Kibu fortress from the north, that is, from the Wild Sands Peninsula.

If the island of Socotra can be captured, then attacking from both directions at the same time and taking the Kibu fortress is basically a sure thing.

All in all, the successful capture of Sri Lanka was a great victory for the Imperial Navy in Fanyanyang after taking Lion Springs City.

At the same time, a big thing happened.

On February 6, he went to pick up the 11.3rd Detachment of the 11th Task Force and successfully returned to the division with the Manmen Fleet in the southwest Fanyan Ocean.

Now, on its way back to Lion Springs, the fleet is expected to arrive on February 14.

According to the arrangement, the three "Zerman"-class armored cruisers arrived at Shiquan City on 14 February and formed a fleet with the "Prime Minister".

In order to show support for the Empire, the Liang Xia Navy will hand over a number of light cruisers and destroyers.

These warships will form the "Far East Fleet".

In addition, the Imperial Navy left more than a dozen warships, including the "North River" and the "South River", to form a joint fleet with several Horman warships, and operated together on the Fanyan Ocean, responsible for countering and containing the Bran fleet deployed at Kib Fortress and the Nuland fleet stationed in Perth.

Of course, these have little to do with the White Stop War.

In addition, the great victory of the 11th Task Force in the southwest Fanyan Ocean did not bring all the benefits.