Empire Conquest
Chapter 138 - 134: An Opponent Who is Both a Teacher and a Friend

Chapter 138: Chapter 134: An Opponent Who is Both a Teacher and a Friend

Before four o’clock, as the Air Corps personnel were preparing to launch the second round of attack aircraft, Bai Zhizhan had already left the flight deck.

Not even the Fleet Commander, let alone the Emperor, could be on the deck during aircraft take-offs and landings.

Of course, the Fleet Commander definitely had to lead by example in adhering to military rules and regulations.

Bai Zhizhan went to the flight deck not to trouble his subordinates, nor to breathe some fresh air, but rather because he didn’t want to listen to Li Mingbo’s nagging.

Although Li Mingbo only nagged in front of him, the undercurrent hidden behind the complaints sent a shiver down Bai Zhizhan’s spine!

Three years earlier, on his fortieth birthday, under the guise of celebrating, Bai Zhizhan sought out Zhu Shijian and proposed teaching at the Imperial Naval Academy, even if just as an ordinary instructor. It wasn’t that he was tired of life within the Fleet, nor was it that he was afraid to compete with Liu Xiangzhen; rather, it was the impact of their rivalry that frightened him and led him to foresee a dire outcome.

Eventually, the Navy of the Empire would split into factions of common people and noble warriors.

Indeed, if that happened, in the next war, the Imperial Navy would certainly taste bitter defeat again.

At the time, Bai Zhizhan thought it was simple, believing that if one party withdrew, such a situation wouldn’t occur, and he could be the only one to make that choice.

Bai Zhizhan’s thought was also related to Zhu Shijian.

Back when he was competing with Zhou Kuande, Zhu Shijian had chosen to boldly retire. Subsequently, under the command of Zhou Kuande, the Navy was invincible in the initial stages of the great war. Otherwise, Zhu Shijian wouldn’t have been able to emerge and lead the Navy out of the post-war predicament.

In Bai Zhizhan’s view, as long as he provided a valid reason, Zhu Shijian would agree.

Little did he expect that this conversation with Zhu Shijian would completely change Bai Zhizhan.

Could his relationship with Liu Xiangzhen be compared to the relationship between Zhu Shijian and Zhou Kuande?

Back then, both Zhu Shijian and Zhou Kuande were civilian officers, while the two great families that had ruled the Navy for decades, having not fought for nearly twenty years, were already in decline. Otherwise, Zhu Shijian and Zhou Kuande wouldn’t have become sought-after personalities at the age of just over twenty. Clearly, no matter who left and who stayed, the ultimate result would be the same; there was essentially no difference.

Post-war, the belittling of Zhou Kuande and the exaltation of Zhu Shijian was actually a demand of the situation, which could also be seen as flattery to the new Navy Commander-in-chief.

To quote Zhu Shijian himself, commanding the Imperial Navy wouldn’t necessarily guarantee a more glorious victory.

Zhou Kuande carried the burden of defeat because he was sitting in the position of Navy Commander-in-chief, not because the Navy was defeated under his command.

Bai Zhizhan’s relationship with Liu Xiangzhen, obviously, wasn’t that simple.

In other words, could Bai Zhizhan boldly retire?

According to Zhu Shijian: If it had been ten years earlier, when Bai Zhizhan was thirty, no one would have stopped him from going to the Naval Academy. But now, choosing to retire abruptly, what would those young people think, who joined the Navy inspired by him and were full of ambition?

For Bai Zhizhan, now a forty-year-old Navy Brigadier General, he represented more than just himself!

Hundreds of thousands of young officers and soldiers, born of humble origins, hoping to change their fate through military service, hoping to serve the Empire with their actions, hoping to fight for their nation and brethren, all looked up to Bai Zhizhan, all considered him as a role model, all proud to wear the same uniform as Bai Zhizhan.

With hundreds of thousands of soldiers behind you, where could you retreat to!?

In the end, Zhu Shijian also told Bai Zhizhan: to do the right thing, not what he thought was right.

After being "scolded" awake by Zhu Shijian, Bai Zhizhan dismissed the idea of a bold retirement.

However, unlike the viewpoint of "confidants" like Li Mingbo, Bai Zhizhan more often considered Liu Xiangzhen as both a teacher and a friend, as well as a rival.

Over the past few years of fleet drills, Bai Zhizhan had gained a clearer understanding of this "friend and foe."

To put it plainly, there is no harm without comparison.

No matter how others judged Bai Zhizhan or viewed Liu Xiangzhen, their evaluations were actually based on each other.

Simply put, the method the outside world used to evaluate them was to compare one to the other.

Not to say who was the flower or the green leaf, the two of them together were like twin stars; devoid of either one, the other would lose their luster.

Over these years, Bai Zhizhan, with his aggressive tactical ideas and imaginative command artistry, had earned extremely high reputation within the Navy. In contrast, Liu Xiangzhen was more stable and even more ruthless, and with the backing of his family, he had attained a level of influence comparable to Bai Zhizhan.

As a result, Bai Zhizhan had earned the nickname "Mad Bai," while Liu Xiangzhen was known as "Stable Liu."

But now, what Bai Zhizhan was most worried about was actually "Stable Liu."

Sometimes, especially when the battle was deadlocked, stability might not yield a good outcome.

But what could be done?

After twenty years of acquaintance with Liu Xiangzhen, Bai Zhizhan had long realized that his classmate, born into a powerful family, had an extraordinarily high level of ambition.

In this regard, Liu Xiangzhen was completely different from another "Liu" Bai Zhizhan knew, Liu Xiangdong.

Simply put, Liu Xiangdong was the type who was carefree; as long as the relationship was good, he wouldn’t mind or take things to heart. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have yielded his position as the supervisor of the "Longjiang" to Bai Zhizhan years ago, opting instead to start anew in Cizhou.

That was why, when dealing with Liu Xiangzhen, Bai Zhizhan was extremely cautious and never joked around.

Last night, or to be precise, in the early hours of this morning through the telegrams sent from Zu Island, Bai Zhizhan had been advising Liu Xiangzhen on how to act. Not only was the wording very careful, but in many aspects, he didn’t state things explicitly, just hinting, relying on Liu Xiangzhen’s ability to understand the implications.

If he spelled things out clearly, Liu Xiangzhen might likely do the opposite or at least ignore it.

Often, pride could unpredictably affect decision-makers, causing them to make decisions that were out of character.

The two fleets were now several hundred kilometers apart, and the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had not yet been exposed; it was certainly inappropriate to break radio silence just to remind Liu Xiangzhen.

Remind him of what?

Continue the pursuit, don’t stop at all!

Only if the Special Mixed Group continued to chase and keep pressuring the opponent could they drive the Saiyi fleet out of the Flame Sea and into the forming pocket.

If Liu Xiangzhen stopped, once the threat lessened, the Permanent Fleet might not charge forward recklessly.

But to send a telegram reminding him, Liu Xiangzhen might think that Bai Zhizhan was being malicious.

Following Liu Xiangzhen’s style, he would probably do the exact opposite.

That is to say, sending a telegram now might produce the completely opposite effect!

So, could Liu Xiangzhen guess Bai Zhizhan’s intention?

Bai Zhizhan didn’t know, and he hadn’t thought much about it, because the urgent priority now was to eliminate the Fifth Air Corps commanded by Sawa before nightfall.

As for tomorrow, it could be considered after today’s battle was over!