Empire Conquest
Chapter 64 - 60: Gemini

Chapter 64: Chapter 60: Gemini

The meeting had already reached the halfway point, and it was time for the Domestic Fleet to present its views.

This had nothing to do with Bai Zhizhan.

Don’t forget that he was now the Chief of Staff of the First Aviation Special Mixed Fleet, and the "Special Mixed Fleet" was all directly under the Navy headquarters.

The report was not started by Liu Xiangdong and others but by Major General Guan Zhenping of the Southern Fleet.

Indeed, it was Major General Zhang Guozhu who spoke on behalf of the Domestic Fleet.

That’s right, it was Zhang Guozhu who had been the Captain of the "North River" during the naval battle at Watcher Strait and had been seriously injured. He now held the position of Chief of Staff of the Domestic Fleet.

Because of a very noticeable scar on his face, he had been nicknamed the "Scar General."

What surprised Bai Zhizhan was that Zhu Shijian, He Yongxing, and Liu Changxun, among others, were all absent.

The latter currently held the position of Commander of the Southern Fleet, having taken over from Liu Changhe, who resigned due to illness more than three years ago.

Moreover, he was Liu Changhe’s cousin.

Not long after sitting down and merely taking a few sips of water, Yu Zhixing rushed over.

Leaving the conference center, Bai Zhizhan ran into Liu Xiangzhen.

Over these twenty years, Bai Zhizhan had come to truly understand the influence of the Liu Family in the Imperial Navy.

Strictly speaking, the Liu Family was actually the foremost naval lineage of the Empire, especially in operational command. Their connections were deep and intricate; no other family could match their reach.

The He Family?

They didn’t compare either!

The key was that the He Family’s foundation lay in the production arm, controlling the shipbuilding industry and related sectors such as steel and chemicals. Within operational command, the only notable figures the He Family could boast of were He Yongxing and the likes of Gui Boyong, all of whom actually belonged to He Yongxing’s lineage.

Bai Zhizhan admired only three people with the surname Liu.

Liu Xiangzhen was one of them.

Strictly speaking, it was through Liu Xiangzhen that Bai Zhizhan had changed his view of the Liu Family, acknowledging that not all who emerged from a distinguished lineage were idle progeny.

This was also very simple; in the past twenty years, the only one who could contend with Bai Zhizhan was Liu Xiangzhen.

One could say that the two men were equals in their own right.

Although Bai Zhizhan’s side had won eleven out of the previous seventeen confrontations, and Liu Xiangzhen’s side only six, in the seven fleet exercises where Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen played the leading roles, Bai Zhizhan won four times and Liu Xiangzhen three times.

Had the exercises not been suddenly interrupted, it was very possible that the two men’s overall records could have been evened out this year.

In Bai Zhizhan’s own words, it was perhaps the luckiest thing in his life that Liu Xiangzhen was not an enemy.

Of course, Liu Xiangzhen had also given Bai Zhizhan the same high regard.

Within the Navy, the two were known as the "Twin Stars."

Of course, to those who disliked them, those jealous incompetents, they were called "bluster and blunder."

Why?

They were both disciples of Zhu Shijian, following and supporting him loyally, carrying out Zhu’s orders without any hesitation or vagueness.

Arriving at the Commander-in-chief’s office, Bai Zhizhan found that the three big shots who had left partway through the meeting were all here, and the Principal had obviously aged further.

Had it not been for the imminent outbreak of war, Zhu Shijian would have retired after his longevity celebration.

In his own words, he was the most hard-working Commander-in-chief since the birth of the Imperial Navy, unable to retire and return to his hometown even at the age of eighty.

Ironically, not one of his predecessors as Navy Commander-in-chief had lived to the age of eighty!

Actually, He Yongxing and Liu Changxun were not young either.

He Yongxing was already sixty-one years old, no longer the ambitious and enterprising leader of the Young Turks, and Liu Changxun was also sixty today.

After Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen entered, Yu Zhixing finally closed the door.

At this time, Zhu Shijian, who had been lying in the rocking chair and seemed to be asleep, sat up straight, his bright eyes indicating that he had not been sleeping at all.

"Principal!"

"Principal!"

Before sitting down, both Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen greeted Zhu Shijian.

"You’ve just arrived, haven’t you? The journey must have been tough."

As Zhu Shijian spoke these polite words, He Yongxing and Liu Changxun each took out a folder and handed it to the Colonel sitting next to them.

Glancing at it, Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen frowned at the same time.

"This is what we’ve just received; below it is yesterday’s intelligence report. Take a good look at both."

Reminded by He Yongxing, Bai Zhizhan first flipped through the documents underneath.

The intelligence, related to the current tense situation, came from the Luosha Federation. Their regular army had already received combat orders and were expected to be in a battle-ready state within two days. The intelligence agencies of the Empire thus inferred that the Luosha Federation would not wait three days and would launch a surprise attack before the arrival of the third day.

Issuing high-profile ultimatums was merely intended to deceive the opponent, to let them become complacent.

Another piece of intelligence pointed to the Tiaoman Empire.

While Bai Zhizhan and his party were on their way back to the Imperial Capital by plane, an Envoy from the Tiaoman Empire had visited the Prime Minister’s Mansion of the Locke Republic. Six hours later, a telegram was sent out from the Imperial Embassy, and the Emperor of the Tiaoman Empire subsequently convened an imperial meeting. At the same time, the Prime Minister of the Locke Republic announced his intention to mediate.

What play was this?

According to intelligence agency estimates, the mediation by the Locke Republic was also a deceptive tactic, designed to cover for the Tiaoman Empire’s completion of its war mobilization.

The logic was simple: the Locke Republic and the Tiaoman Empire had already secretly signed a "mutual offense and defense treaty," there was no reason for only the Locke Republic to mediate.

If it was truly mediation, then after consulting with the Tiaoman Empire’s Envoy, a joint statement should have been issued.

The voices of two powerful countries together would definitely have a far greater impact than actions taken by one alone.

If these intelligence reports and the deductions made from them were correct, war was inevitable!

More than thirty hours had passed since the Luosha Federation had issued its ultimatum, meaning the war would break out in a little over ten hours.

Having finished reading, Bai Zhizhan let out a sigh.

His feelings were extremely complicated, like a mishmash of flavors tumbling out of a spice jar, mixing together to create an uncomfortable sensation.

What surprised Bai Zhizhan was that he didn’t feel excited—not in the slightest!

For the past twenty years, hundreds of thousands of officers and men of the Imperial Navy had expended all their efforts for this moment, to seize the initiative when the next great war broke out. Bai Zhizhan certainly included himself in this. In fact, Bai Zhizhan had remained single to this day, unwilling to entertain personal matters precisely because he knew war could break out at any moment, and he would certainly be one of those leading the charge, potentially meeting his end wrapped in horsehide.

Having heirs or not was of no consequence.

Though Bai Zhizhan had no brothers, he had more than a dozen paternal and clan cousins—the Bai Family lineage would certainly not die out because he had no children.

He did not want to let down those he loved or who loved him!

However, now, upon learning that the war was unavoidable and would break out in just over ten hours, Bai Zhizhan felt no trace of excitement.

In his heart, there was only resolve and determination, only calm and coldness.

Not just him, but Liu Xiangzhen as well.

As Bai Zhizhan sighed, he noticed Liu Xiangzhen showing his characteristic bitter smile, expressing the same mood as his own quiet sigh.

Regardless, the long wait was finally coming to an end.

After twenty years of preparations, it was like building a cart behind closed doors—one would soon find out how it fares!