Naval battle first

After thinking for a while, Victor stood up and walked to the map. It was a map of Suffolk County, drawn by the Golden Sunflower Territory surveying team. Victor had also improved it using data from the Number One, so it was quite accurate.

Victor took out several markers and placed them on the map. Red represented the army of the Grand Duchy of Vera, and yellow represented Victor's troops.

After setting everything up, Victor saw the red marker surrounding the yellow marker on the map and grinned.

"This feeling is really bad. Although war is not a simple matter of addition and subtraction, the disparity in troop strength is so great that it is really painful."

If only I had a few more years to develop, ten years, ah, no, five years would be great.

I am confident that I can expand the Golden Sunflower Family's territory and population three to four times, and increase its total military strength to at least three legions, all built to my standards. The entire Grand Duchy will then be at my disposal.

Victor shook his head, putting those thoughts out of his mind, and began to seriously observe the battlefield situation.

"We shouldn't let our minds wander; we need to make a plan now."

With the help of Count Black and his allies, I have a clear understanding of the enemy's troop deployment and marching routes. My priority now is to find a way to gain more initiative.

The Coalition of Nobles forces that were already in position have, due to the impact of my elimination of Blacklin's army, gathered together and voluntarily abandoned their current camps, retreating to nearby noble territories to join other noble forces. They still possess three regiments and the defensive fortifications of the noble territories, making it difficult to continue attacking them.

Victor shook his head at the red dot on the map that wasn't far from him, then turned his gaze to a more distant location where a troop was advancing towards them.

"The vanguard of these two regiments of Great Oak Territory will probably join up with these Coalition of Nobles. Is it possible for the Great Oak Territory's army to lure them out, and then I can annihilate them in one fell swoop?"

Victor quickly dismissed the idea.

"This is too deliberate. It would be a shame if it exposed the relationship between Count Black and me. It seems we can only give up on this for now."

Victor continued to examine the map, searching for an opportunity to strike, but he found that although the size and marching speed of the troops from these duchies varied, he found it difficult to take action against them due to his logistical supply lines.

"Rotten Tree Beach is indeed a suitable place for landing, but there are no large waterways nearby, so we can't use water transport for supplies. This is a real pain point for my troops."

Victor's troops were more effective because they were better equipped, but this also brought new problems. The army's supply consumption was high, and the transportation capacity of the supply lines was very demanding.

Victor prefers to use water transport for efficient resupply, but if water transport is not available, he has a fully mule-drawn logistics convoy to help him.

However, this time, the fleet's transport capacity was limited, and it was impossible to carry a large number of horses and vehicles, which directly affected the army's offensive capabilities.

With the sea at their backs, they could use ships for supplies. But once they left this place, they would really have to rely on people and horses to carry everything. For Victor's troops, this method was simply not enough to support their operations.

If possible, Victor would also like to take advantage of his superior Cavalry force and send Cavalry out to attack smaller Coalition of Nobles, such as the three regiments of Boler County.

However, the Cavalry force under Victor's command can only support one horse per person, which is not enough for long-distance raids. If the horses are forcibly gathered together for raids, they can only meet the horse requirements of 5 detachments.

With such a small force, it's a pipe dream to wipe out so many noble troops, no matter how elite they are.

"In the end, the final battlefield can only be here. With limited resources, even if we wanted to use ingenious schemes, we couldn't. Let's fight head-on."

Victor ultimately decided to set up the battlefield near his current camp, where there were thousands of square kilometers of saline-alkali land, all of which were endless barren beaches, making it suitable for large-scale troop deployments.

"It seems we still have to follow Viscount Sonanda's advice and take action against the Coastal Defense Fleet!"

Viscount Sonanda also included his own suggestion in the intelligence: he hoped that Victor would send a fleet to fight the Coastal Defense Fleet directly, and together they could wipe out the entire noble fleet of Suffolk County.

Victor was initially reluctant to do this, as it might expose Count Black's position. However, after looking around, he realized that the most suitable target was the Coastal Defense Fleet, which would at least allow them to gain the upper hand.

Furthermore, information flows at sea are not as efficient as on land. With the cooperation of Viscount Sonanda, the details of the fleet's defeat can be completely sealed off.

Having made up his mind, Victor summoned Sodoma and Captain Jack.

"... That's how it is. We don't have many targets to take action against right now. In order to eliminate the enemy's forces as soon as possible, attacking the Coastal Defense Fleet is indeed the first priority."

Sodoma looked at the map without answering, while Captain Jack quickly offered his opinion.

"I think there's no problem, Your Excellency. With the cooperation of the Great Oak Territory fleet, our strength far surpasses that of the enemy. If we still suffer too many losses, we will have no complaints no matter how you punish us."

Right after Captain Jack finished answering, Sodoma simply tapped a spot on the map with his finger.

"Your Excellency, if you're going to make your move, then choose this place!"

The three people gathered around and saw that Sodoma was pointing to a reef about 20 kilometers away.

"The land portion of this map is indeed very accurate, but the sea portion is only so-so."

The reef is quite large, but only a small portion protrudes above the water, and it's likely more than 20 kilometers from the shore; the map scale is somewhat inaccurate.

Victor nodded. He knew this was true. The surveying team mainly focused on land-based surveying, and the accuracy of maritime and hydrological information was certainly limited by the current level of technology.

"Why choose this battlefield, Sodoma?"

"There are many reefs here, and they are also full of hidden reefs. Large ships usually prefer to go around here. Because it is too far from the shore, even fishing boats will not fish here, so it is easy to block the news."

However, once when I followed my father to wipe out a pirate group disguised as a noble private army of the East Sea Alliance, we discovered that the pirate group had a map about this reef.

Because of their past frequent raids on the eastern coastal areas, the East Sea Alliance fleet had conducted very detailed surveys of the coastal hydrological information. They even sent skilled swimmers to dive and explore this reef, and specially drew up a nautical chart.

That nautical chart is currently in my father's possession. It has never been published, and only my father, I, Count Black, and several senior captains from Great Oak Territory have seen it.

We can use the geographical advantage here to set a trap for the noble fleet, especially here..."

Sodoma addressed the two men directly and began to explain his battle strategy, noting that the two fleets had roughly the same draft.

During the battle, Sodoma will voluntarily cede its advantageous positions, Viscount Sonanda will certainly allow the noble fleet to occupy the advantageous positions and the upwind side.

Sodoma can then use its geographical advantage to lead its fleet to the designated position, luring the noble fleet to attack. In order to maintain its advantageous position, the noble fleet will inevitably enter this Reef Zone, and a considerable number of its warships will run aground.

In this way, Sodoma could readjust its formation and use the long-range advantage of the Golden Sunflower fleet to attack the stranded ships and achieve its operational objectives.

"... After we destroy this fleet, we can join forces with Father to wipe out the remaining noble fleets."

Furthermore, my father and I had previously conducted naval warfare simulations around this area. We didn't need much communication before; as long as I brought the fleet here, he would understand what to do.

After listening to Sodoma's words, Victor was very satisfied with his plan. Apart from being relatively time-consuming, it had no other problems and could also block the news to the greatest extent.

"Let's do it this way, but just to be on the safe side, Sodoma, you should contact Viscount Sonanda and bring Ron back for me."

"Yes."