Empire Conquest
Chapter 201 - 197: Discussing Merits and Rewards

Chapter 201: Chapter 197: Discussing Merits and Rewards

Bai Zhizhan arrived just as the meeting was about to start, in fact, he was the only one missing.

Zheng Jiangming did not go to the meeting center. Although his personnel file remained at the Navy headquarter, and he was considered part of the Navy, his actual work unit was the Military Intelligence Bureau, which is the Sixth Bureau of the Imperial Guard. He was only stationed at the Navy headquarter for intelligence liaison and thus was not accountable to the Navy headquarter.

Moreover, intelligence personnel were never welcomed.

Not just in the Navy, but in the Army as well.

The reason was simple: the precursor to the Empire’s military intelligence agencies was the military law department, which had a nature similar to the Western military police, also known as the gendarmerie.

Obviously, no troops or officers liked dealing with military police.

Bai Zhizhan’s seat was between He Yongxing and Li Yunxiang, on the right side of the Chief’s position at the circular conference table, with Liu Xiangdong, Liu Xiangzhen, and Li Hengjia among others on the opposite side.

Gui Boyong had not arrived since the Domestic Fleet was carrying out tasks in the Xu Sea, supporting ground forces in controlling the islands of North and South Sado Islands.

Bai Zhizhan took Gui Boyong’s seat, situated opposite Liu Xiangdong, which meant he was implicitly ranked half a level higher than Liu Xiangzhen.

The atmosphere was obviously tense, charged with the smell of gunpowder, but it had nothing to do with the seating arrangement.

Nothing surprising, since the main, if not the only, topic of this evening’s meeting was the discussion of credit and rewards.

Whenever credit and rewards were on the line, the officers from the two major factions would become highly explosive, and it would be miraculous if no issues arose.

Just like when Zhu Shijian was around, the meeting was initiated and chaired personally by the Commander-in-chief.

There was no other way; such matters, which concerned the personal interests of the officers and soldiers, could only be managed by the Commander-in-chief.

Anyone else would definitely fail to command respect.

Before arriving at Zheng Jiangming’s, Bai Zhizhan had already learned that a bunch of idiots, primarily Liu Xiangbin, had lodged a complaint against him a few days earlier. They claimed Bai Zhizhan hadn’t followed the battle plan, had led his fleet deep into East Ocean on his own initiative, and should be responsible for the losses suffered. It sounded as if Bai Zhizhan, had he not taken the Third Special Mixed Fleet into West East Ocean, could have won the battle without any losses.

In contrast, Liu Xiangdong’s Southern Fleet hadn’t stirred up any trouble yet.

Once the meeting started, it immediately became lively.

On the first issue, there was little disagreement over who should receive the primary credit. However, divergences grew when it came to calculating the main battle credits.

Really, it boiled down to one point.

Which Fleet would be credited with annihilating the Second Main Battle Corps?

The Domestic Fleet or the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet?

In the past, this would have been a non-issue.

The Third Aviation Mixed Fleet was commanded by Bai Zhizhan, so regardless of where the credit was allocated, it had nothing to do with the officers from the Southern Fleet faction.

Now, however, it was a different story.

Interestingly, He Yongxing believed that the credit should go to the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet because it was only after the appearance of the reconnaissance aircraft from the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet that Takatoku ordered the four battleships to scuttle themselves, allowing thousands of officers and sailors to transfer to cruisers to avoid perishing with their battleships.

On Liu Xiangdong’s side, or more accurately, the officers of the Southern Fleet, they insisted that it was the Domestic Fleet’s credit and should be counted towards the Domestic Fleet. The reasoning was straightforward: if the Second Main Battle Corps hadn’t been severely damaged by the Domestic Fleet, the four battleships would never have sunk themselves. They would have returned with the Fourth Cruiser Corps, and the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, especially with its ship-borne aircraft, might not have been able to sink the four battleships in the attack launched at dusk, let alone at night.

Clearly, both sides had their reasons.

The squabble was, in fact, irrelevant to the Domestic Fleet; the real question was who should be credited for the main achievement—the Special Mixed Group or the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

If the credit for annihilating the enemy’s Second Main Battle Corps had gone to the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, then, without a doubt, the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, and thus Bai Zhizhan, would own the main achievement. Conversely, if the Domestic Fleet were given credit, then the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet would fall slightly short, and by that measure of battle achievements, the main credit would have to go to the Special Mixed Group, that is, to Liu Xiangzhen.

To put it bluntly, it was a dispute between Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen.

According to the battle results, the Special Mixed Group sank four Fleet carriers, one Heavy Cruiser, and several medium and small warships with a displacement of less than ten thousand tons; in addition, they severely damaged one Fast Battleship and three Heavy Cruisers, shot down and destroyed over two hundred enemy aircraft, and killed or wounded several thousand enemy troops.

On the side of the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, they sank two Fleet carriers and two small Fleet carriers, six Heavy Cruisers, and several small warships, along with eight transport ships; in addition, they damaged two Battleships, severely damaged several small warships, shot down and destroyed over two hundred enemy aircraft, and killed or wounded tens of thousands of enemy troops.

Truthfully, Bai Zhizhan was only short by two Fleet carriers, to be precise, the difference between two small Fleet carriers and two full-sized Fleet carriers.

In other regards, the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet had surpassed the Special Mixed Group in battle achievements.

The crux of the matter lay here.

The Special Mixed Group had four Fleet carriers and four Fast Battleships, with twice the total strength of the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, yet their battle results were nearly indistinguishable.

Moreover, the sinking of the "Ling River" and the severe damage to the "Heng River" were undeniable stains.

Furthermore, the "Heng River" had previously been Liu Xiangzhen’s flagship, and the "Ling River" belonged to the Second Aviation Mixed Fleet under Liu Xiangzhen’s command.

The Third Aviation Mixed Fleet’s losses amounted to just a few dozen ship-borne aircraft, without a single warship sunk or even stripped of its fighting capability due to damage.

When compared this way, Liu Xiangzhen was considerably lacking.

If the main credit had been given to Bai Zhizhan, how would Liu Xiangzhen be able to continue mixing in the ranks?

In the next phase of military operations, what reason would there be to send Liu Xiangzhen to command on the front lines instead of the more capable Bai Zhizhan?

The second phase of military operations would certainly involve rallying all Fleet carriers, hence only one commander would be needed.

According to the Imperial Navy’s standards for evaluating battle achievements, Fleet carriers and Battleships are considered Main Battle Ships, while small Fleet carriers are ranked with Heavy Cruisers as large warships. Moreover, a top-down, tiered comparison approach is used, first comparing the quantity of Main Battle Ships, and only then, if equal, comparing large warships.

Evidently, the four Battleships of the Second Main Battle Corps were extremely important.

Furthermore, the achievement of sinking two Main Battle Corps Battleships had been attributed to the two Fast Battleships, which had yet to join the fleet and were thus not included in the battle credit comparisons. However, the officers and crew, including the captains, would all receive corresponding rewards and honors.

And so, as long as the credit for sinking the Second Main Battle Corps’ four Battleships was given to the Domestic Fleet, then the Special Mixed Group under Liu Xiangzhen’s command would be recognized for the main achievement.

The Third Aviation Mixed Fleet would then come in third, placing them in last position.

Although Bai Zhizhan was considered half a member of the Domestic Fleet and indistinguishable from Gui Boyong, when it came to rewards on the basis of merit, there would definitely be a distinction in calculation.

When Bai Zhizhan switched over to the First Aviation Mixed Fleet, his records had been transferred to the Navy headquarter, severing his personnel association with the Domestic Fleet.

With this development, who else could compete with Liu Xiangzhen for command?

Gui Boyong?

That obviously wouldn’t be possible; he remained with the Domestic Fleet, while the command of the Special Mixed Fleet was up to officers from the Navy headquarter.

Clearly, the so-called evaluation of battle achievements was actually a maneuver to seize command authority to lay the groundwork for the upcoming second phase of military operations!

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