Chapter 163 The Battle of Lagrange Begins_1

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Crisis Era Year 78, early September.

20 minutes before the outbreak of the Lagrange battle.

Earth Alliance Headquarters, Combat Command Hall.

Military Advisory Group: "In 40 minutes, Mars and Mercury will both be positioned on the same side of Earth, and the satellite ports of Mars and Mercury will also be within our attack range.

"The latest 10th generation 'Emperor-class' warships at the Moon Base, as well as the advanced 10th generation 'Emperor-class' warships, totaling 16 vessels, are also traveling along their usual patrol routes. They are currently on the line between the front and back of the Moon, providing us with the best opportunity to deal them a major blow.

"It is difficult to imagine that the Moon Base's sensitivity to warfare would become so dull. This is a godsend opportunity."

Ye Chen was anything but optimistic and instead appeared extremely grave, "Everything is going too smoothly. Never before has our approach to a do-or-die operation been so uneventful.

"We all grew up reading 'The Legend of Lin Sen.' Anyone could grow complacent, but not Lin Sen. When you think you hold all the winning cards, that might just be what the enemy wants you to see.

"It's our arrogance—that we, having endured half a century of warfare in the Underground City, have looked down upon the Moon Base.

"Perhaps we are the clowns, with countless traps laid out by them, waiting for us to fall into.

"Perhaps they have even calculated the timing of our attack. This battle... we have no chance of winning..."

The military advisors were filled with trepidation; everything seemed too easy. They might have been cautious, but humans tend to believe what they wish to.

These days, intoxicated by the joy of the Alliance's establishment, they had lost their proper vigilance. Now, reflecting on it, they were seized with fear.

Military Advisory Group: "Commander, are you saying all this is Lin Sen's scheme? That he has calculated all of this, then what do we do?

"Should we continue with our plan?"

Ye Chen: "The operation must go on; war never changes according to one's wishes. War... must be cruel to the enemy and even crueler to oneself.

"Our chances of winning are slim, but can they be slimmer than our war with the Trisolarans?

"Moreover, Lin Sen is not without weaknesses; his understanding of war is not deep enough.

"Lin Sen's schemes are unmatched, but his understanding of war is only on the level of strategy and tactics. The true essence of war is 'confrontation,' like two chess players facing off. The situation that arises after the confrontation is what war seeks to achieve.

"Real-life chess pieces are not so easily controlled. 'Confrontation' requires not only deceiving the enemy but more importantly, deceiving your own people."

Military Advisory Group: "Commander, are you planning to change the combat plan? But there's not enough time now."

Ye Chen: "The plan remains unchanged. The more critical the moment, the more composed we must be, but we can move up the Thunderstrike operation."

Military Advisory Group: "What arrangements shall be made?"

Ye Chen: "Advance the timing of the Thunderstrike fleet's movement. 160 Thunderstrike warships will make a beeline for the 16 'Emperor-class' warships, accelerating quickly to 90 times the third cosmic speed.

"Using a cone-shaped fish scale formation, they will carry out a kamikaze attack to break through the 'Emperor-class' warships' defense zone, then proceed to attack the military bases on the far side of the Moon.

"Our Spaceport's exterior fixed defenses will, immediately following the Thunderstrike ships' action, attack the Lagrange Point on the front side of the Moon, which is also where the war will begin."

Military Advisory Group: "Such a plan dooms the Thunderstrike Fleet's hope of survival. Although 160 Thunderstrike warships might succeed in breaching the 'Emperor-class' warships' defense zone, very few will remain.

"Moreover, this will reveal our intentions immediately; the Moon Base, if prepared, might be able to strike first."

Ye Chen: "I have an intuition that those 16 'Emperor-class' warships are deliberately placed there for us to attack. It's too unusual.

"My intuition has saved me many times. I choose to believe it. War is all about confrontation, and I choose to send the 160 Thunderstrike warships to test the reality of the 'Emperor-class' warships.

"We have been preoccupied with the integration of the Underground City and have not taken the time to probe the true state of the Moon Base; otherwise, we could have deduced their strategies."

Military Advisory Group: "Indeed, we too find the presence of the 'Emperor-class' warships unusual and likely to be a trap.

"Our trump card lies in those 88 turrets. Using the Thunderstrike Fleet for reconnaissance is costly, but we have no other choice.

"Besides, if prepared, the Moon Base would likely attack our standard Space Fleet first, not the 88 hidden turrets within the Starport."

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"In other words, in this 'duel,' we need to take the risk of sacrificing most of the Thunderstrike Fleet along with the regular Space Fleet to probe the true capacity of the 'Emperor' class warships,"

"Our final hope is that the 88 turrets make a desperate turnaround – if the strength of the Moon Base can destroy more than half, even if our space forces are completely depleted, they won't think of blockading Earth."

"In a decade or so, we'll have hope of defeating them, and then, the dynamics of attack and defense will shift!"

Ye Chen, "By comparison, these are trivial matters.

"If those 16 'Emperor' class warships are a bluff, where are the real 'Emperor' class warships?"

Military Advisory Group, "Yes, with the power of the 'Emperor' class, their appearance anywhere would be a disaster for us."

Ye Chen, "The arrow is on the string and must be sent.

"You have only 20 minutes to prepare.

"In 20 minutes, the Thunderstrike Fleet will launch first.

"In 40 minutes, if our starport hasn't been attacked, fire the 88 turrets according to the original plan.

"For the future of the Earth Alliance!"

...

Almost simultaneously, at the Moon Base headquarters, the Holographic Projection Combat Command Hall.

Military Advisory Group, "Commander, we are monitoring the Earth Spaceport's movements through remote surveillance satellites.

"There's been a significant increase in personnel and material mobilization recently. We predict that as soon as the Earth Alliance's latest 22 warships are completed, they will suddenly launch an attack on us.

"The Earth Alliance might even skip the naval trials and go straight into combat. We suspect that their warship construction might be completed even earlier than expected, perhaps the war will begin by the end of next month."

Last month, Xiang Gaofeng and the Trisolaran Military Counsellor Group conducted a similar battle simulation.

The Trisolarans played the Earth Alliance, possessing sophons to monitor, and consequently knew all the Earth Alliance's deployments, giving Xiang Gaofeng a tough start.

The Moon Base was being steadily beaten back, but in the middle and latter stages, Xiang Gaofeng still managed, through some early arrangements that the Trisolarans couldn't understand, to defeat the Earth Alliance played by the Trisolarans.

Apart from greater losses to the Moon Base than expected, the Trisolarans didn't achieve much.

This simulation made Feng Zi realize the terrifying potential of the Earth Alliance. If the Earth Alliance hadn't been played by Trisolarans, who are rather rigid in their habits, it would be hard to predict the outcome of the battle. Even if Moon Base had won, it would have been a pyrrhic victory.

It also made the Trisolarans fully aware of the gap between themselves and humanity. Even when presented with a clearly flawed trap, the Trisolarans would jump in without hesitation, showing they still had a long way to go in their development.

Compared to the master strategists of humanity, the Trisolarans are currently at the level of ordinary people.

Trisolarans can calculate everything on the battlefield, but humans can also calculate everything about the Trisolarans.

Currently, neither Xiang Gaofeng nor the Trisolaran Military Counsellor Group was monitoring the Earth Alliance in real time, so they didn't know the attack was going to happen sooner.

But they had deduced from various signs that the Earth Alliance's attack would likely occur in 40 minutes. However, after understanding the Earth Alliance's deployment, any change in their plans wouldn't be enough to affect the outcome of the battle.

Xiang Gaofeng, "Gentlemen, abandon any hope of chance. The war is not in two months, but now.

"Half a year ago, we secretly recalled all military personnel to their posts, and the war mobilization was completed a month ago.

"Now, the war begins!

"In 20 minutes, order the disassembly of the Lagrange L1 Spaceport. Starting now, evacuate the last batch of personnel from the spaceport.

"Simultaneously, initiate 'Counter Incline' plan, initiate 'Dandelion' plan.

"All personnel, enter first-level battle readiness!

"This war, starting from the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point, shall be known as the Lagrange Campaign."