Empire Conquest
Chapter 204 - 200 Heart-to-Heart Talk

Chapter 204: Chapter 200 Heart-to-Heart Talk

Li Yunxiang didn’t bring a driver, instead, he drove his own sedan.

Twenty years ago, owning a sedan was something beyond imagination. Even within the Empire, only a very few wealthy individuals could afford and maintain a sedan, and most vehicles belonged to government agencies for official use. Even the Imperial Chief Minister often had to walk when going out.

Now, sedans had begun to be promoted and popularized among the public.

Although they were not exactly cheap and had not yet reached the point where every household owned one, in cities, especially large ones, most families could afford one. Even a worker, by taking on extra jobs and saving diligently for a few years, could buy a low-end brand sedan without much trouble.

It must be said that all of this was thanks to the assembly line.

This innovative method of industrial production significantly lowered the difficulty of manufacturing cars, increased output, and brought prices down to a level affordable for the average citizen.

Of course, assembly lines were used to produce other things as well.

"Has He Pengfei talked to you?"

"What about?"

Li Yunxiang, driving, suddenly asked, leaving Bai Zhizhan puzzled.

"His company, within the mobilization range, has received an unrestricted military order from the Army. This time he came back actually to sort out the production line issues."

"What issues with the production line?" Bai Zhizhan’s eyebrows twitched a few times, deliberately avoiding the key topic.

"From what he told me, he wants to make major changes to the production line. After completion, it could increase production efficiency several times over, capable of manufacturing thousands of bombers a year."

"A single production line?"

Li Yunxiang nodded, confirming that Bai Zhizhan had heard correctly.

Bai Zhizhan was even more astonished.

We’re talking about bombers, not fighters!

As far as Bai Zhizhan knew, Chengfeng Company manufactured heavy bombers equipped with four engines, which were many times more difficult to produce than fighters.

Not to mention anything else, a four-engine heavy bomber’s factory price was around 500,000 yuan, while a "Typhoon" class fighter was less than 40,000 yuan.

A single production line manufacturing over a thousand four-engine heavy bombers a year meant roughly a hundred per month, or three a day!

It wasn’t just bombers; even fighter production rates weren’t this high.

And then there was the "unlimited military order" Li Yunxiang had mentioned.

Typically referred to as an "unlimited order."

Simply put, it specifies only the purchase price for each batch but doesn’t explicitly limit the quantity to be purchased – everything produced would be bought. Prices were renegotiated only when major changes were made, that is, when there was a shift in production batches.

Contracts with no limits on purchase quantities only appeared during wartime and were mainly used for procuring ammunition.

Using it to procure combat weapons, and heavy bombers at that, was no small matter.

What exactly did the Army Air Force plan with so many heavy bombers, and what were they intending to do with them?

"He Pengfei said that in the future, when you go to Puzhou, you’re welcome to visit his factory."

"Speaking of which, he’s finally made it," smiled Bai Zhizhan, sincerely happy for He Pengfei, because, after enduring over a decade and missing so many opportunities, he finally saw a sunny spring day, an order that could make the salted fish turn over.

Originally, it was not only Zhao Yu but also Bai Zhizhan who had encouraged He Pengfei to focus on developing large aircraft.

As a result, He Pengfei perfectly missed the international aviation race of the past dozen years, not to mention winning prizes – he didn’t even have the qualifications to participate.

He also suffered from ridicule and sarcasm, and even the elders in the He Family thought he was messing around.

"There’s one more thing," Li Yunxiang paused slightly before speaking, "The former superior from the Land Air Force came to me and said that the Land Air Force is planning to establish a bomber squadron. He asked if I was interested, and even said they would reserve the position of Commander for me, asking for a prompt and clear answer."

"Brother Li, what are you hesitating about?"

Li Yunxiang was visibly taken aback.

Clearly, he hadn’t expected Bai Zhizhan to react like that.

In any case, Li Yunxiang had spent almost twenty years in the Navy Air Force, and the shipborne air force unit was one he had personally brought up; he felt some attachment to it, however slight.

His relationship with Bai Zhizhan had always been like that of brothers.

So, it hadn’t crossed his mind that Bai Zhizhan wouldn’t even utter a word to persuade him to stay.

"Brother Li, isn’t this your dream and ideal?"

"This..." Hearing this, Li Yunxiang’s expression visibly improved, as he realized that he had misunderstood Bai Zhizhan, who after all, was considering his best interest.

His initial reaction had indeed been petty.

"An opportunity to fight for your ideals is right in front of you, why reject it? Look at it from another perspective, if it were me, you would definitely tell me to go for it, right?"

Li Yunxiang let out a heavy sigh, clearly at a loss for words.

Perhaps it was a touch embarrassing, as he had kept this from Bai Zhizhan for half a month and was only now, compelled by circumstances, forced to bring it up. To think that Bai Zhizhan not only didn’t oppose it but also encouraged him to return to the place that once dismissed him to pursue his cherished ideals.

That magnanimity put Li Yunxiang to shame.

"Brother Li, I too have something heartfelt to say," Bai Zhizhan sighed privately before speaking, "You saw it at the initial meeting. Before the meeting started, I met Zheng Jiangming and learned something from him. The Eldest Prince is at the frontlines, stationed with Lian’s unit."

Li Yunxiang’s brows twitched rapidly, his expression growing much more solemn.

"With the current situation, we are definitely helpless. It won’t be long before Liu Xiangzhen leads the fleet on an expedition. If I don’t go to the Navy’s General Staff Department, then the most likely place for me might be Puzhou Shipyard. Anyway, I can no longer stay with the fleet."

"Young Brother Bai..." Li Yunxiang sighed inwardly.

With that level of disclosure, Bai Zhizhan laid all his cards on the table without hiding anything.

"While it’s not to the extent of ’when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter,’ for a considerable time to come we’re likely to go our separate ways and fight our own battles. Brother Li, we are comrades-in-arms; your success in the Land Air Force would be of great help to me."

"That’s true." Li Yunxiang didn’t deny it; in fact, when Bai Zhizhan first mentioned leaving the fleet, he too had thought about this.

"But for me, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. This morning at the airport, Zhao was talking to me about matchmaking again, and I should really start thinking for myself."

"You should’ve thought about yourself a long time ago." Li Yunxiang replied very solemnly and then turned his head to give Bai Zhizhan a quick, evaluative glance.

Bai Zhizhan just smiled and didn’t continue the conversation. It was just an offhand remark he hadn’t taken seriously, and further discussion may lead Li Yunxiang to misunderstand.

In fact, Bai Zhizhan regretted saying it immediately after it slipped out.

There were plenty of ways to diverge from the topic; why on earth bring up a personal matter?

Among the acquaintances who had been trying to set Bai Zhizhan up with someone was Li Yunxiang.

Because they spent more time together, Li Yunxiang was more proactive than others, often inviting Bai Zhizhan over for meals without reason.

But those meals were purely a front for matchmaking.

That feeling was like being led to a livestock market, where the traders – in this case, the matchmakers – evaluated you head to foot.

Clearly, better to avoid the topic altogether.