Empire Conquest
Chapter 211 - 207: The Best Candidate

Chapter 211: Chapter 207: The Best Candidate

Because he was still the commander of both the First Aviation Mixed Fleet and the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet, Bai Zhizhan remained under the jurisdiction of the Fleet Operations Division when it came to personnel affairs.

Upon arriving at the division, he immediately received some good news from the duty officer.

The ground troops had already stationed and taken control of Nagiu Port, and had even leveled a piece of land, where the shore-based air force units from Zu Island would be dispatched in the next few days.

If nothing went wrong, the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet should be able to be reassigned by January 5th at the latest.

However, as of now, the Navy Headquarters had not yet specified the destination for the Third Aviation Mixed Fleet.

According to the duty officer, the decision was stuck with the Commander-in-chief. Although the Fleet Operations Division had submitted the dispatch plan earlier, Liu Changxun had yet to issue a reply.

Since the Third Shipborne Air Force Wing had already received reinforcements, the First Shipborne Air Force Wing returned to the Qianyu Islands yesterday, before Bai Zhizhan went back to the Imperial Capital. According to higher instructions, the First Shipborne Air Force Wing would undergo maintenance and training there.

Following the principle of stationing allegiance, the First Shipborne Air Force Wing would temporarily be under the command of the Domestic Fleet before returning to the fleet.

Now, there were only four carriers available, requiring just two Shipborne Air Force Wings.

Despite the Third Shipborne Air Force Wing’s illustrious battle achievements under Bai Zhizhan in the West East Ocean, when it came to relationships, the First Shipborne Air Force Wing was Bai Zhizhan’s direct lineage unit. Within the Third Shipborne Air Force Wing, there were many officers promoted by Liu Xiangbin. If assigned to the Special Mixed Group, these officers would certainly side with Liu Xiangzhen, at most they would only be grateful to Bai Zhizhan for leading them to great victories.

In the future, once they achieved greater victories with Liu Xiangzhen, they would forget Bai Zhizhan.

Decades of painstaking efforts could not be surpassed by just one battle.

By noon, Bai Zhizhan received the second piece of good news of the day.

The battleships "Xu Sea" and "Flame Sea" had returned to Mast Harbor, accompanied by two destroyers. According to the schedule, they were set to depart for Puzhou tomorrow.

If all went well, these two battleships would undergo final checks at Puzhou Shipyard and would be officially delivered to the Navy by January 10th.

Which fleet or special mixed fleet they would ultimately join had not yet been determined.

After having lunch, the secretary of Liu Changxun came looking for Bai Zhizhan and took him to the Commander-in-chief’s office.

"Is everything okay since you’ve been back?"

"Thank you for your concern, Commander-in-chief. Everything is fine," Bai Zhizhan noticed upon entering the room that the portrait on the wall he faced had been changed to that of Zhu Shijian.

Hanging the portrait of a former Navy Commander was a naval tradition that signified the strong Navy of today was the inheritance of generations of soldiers.

When Zhu Shijian worked in that office, it was the portrait of Zhou Kuande that hung there.

"That’s good to hear. However, even if you’re relaxing, don’t drink too much," Liu Changxun scrutinized Bai Zhizhan and added, "I don’t want to delve into the decisions made at last night’s meeting. Since Lian Xusheng and the others have already returned to the Imperial Capital, it’s only a matter of a few days. We can’t keep delaying the next phase of the operation plans. I have a very important assignment for you to handle before the new arrangements are made."

Bai Zhizhan was taken aback; he couldn’t think of anything more important than the second phase of the offensive.

"According to the plan, we need to start the fleet reforms ahead of schedule."

As Liu Changxun spoke these words, Bai Zhizhan froze, staring intently at Liu Changxun for a while before suddenly snapping back to reality.

"Commander-in-chief, this..."

"I’ve discussed it with the Principal, and he agrees. He also recommended you to take charge of this matter, and, Liu Xiangzhen has already returned to Chengjiang Port."

"When did he leave?"

"After last night’s meeting concluded."

Bai Zhizhan nodded slightly to indicate he understood.

Liu Xiangzhen’s rush to return must be related to the second phase of the offensive, and it also showed that the Navy Headquarters had reached a conclusion regarding personnel arrangements.

This meant that He Yongxing had not spoken up for Bai Zhizhan.

With this realization, Bai Zhizhan couldn’t help but feel a sense of melancholy.

"It must be said that He Yongxing’s mindset is somewhat narrow, even if he is on par with Liu Changxun, he definitely can’t compare with Zhu Shijian."

Perhaps this was also why Zhu Shijian didn’t let him ascend to the throne of the Navy Commander-in-chief.

"You and Liu Xiangzhen were both involved in the Navy reform and are both favored students of the Principal; with Liu Xiangzhen absent, the duty falls onto you to push the reform forward."

"Commander-in-chief..."

"First, take a look at this."

As Liu Changxun passed over the folder, Bai Zhizhan closed his mouth.

Although he felt uncomfortable, Liu Changxun had said that this was Zhu Shijian’s arrangement, and there must be some very important reasons behind it.

Upon opening it, Bai Zhizhan immediately furrowed his brows.

The Navy reform had been underway for nearly twenty years, which could be said to be Zhu Shijian’s number one achievement during his time as Navy Commander-in-chief and also the largest legacy left to his successors. Regrettably, until the day Zhu Shijian left the Navy headquarters, many reform measures had still not been implemented.

The two major Fleets still existed, each operating independently as before.

Only the carriers had been reassigned from the Fleets to form a Special Mixed Fleet directly subordinate to the Navy headquarters, indirectly weakening the two major Fleets.

What needed to change next was a thorough transformation, ideally a complete abolition of the Fleet system continued from Chen Bingxun’s time.

Fundamentally, it was about reclaiming command authority, centralizing control, and dispatch within the Navy headquarters, transforming the two major Fleets into administrative institutions.

Firstly, the numbering of Fleets had to be changed.

And this was the most challenging step.

"Domestic Fleet" and "Southern Fleet" are not just names; they are the crystallization of several generations of Navy personnel’s efforts and the spiritual pillars countless Navy soldiers swore to follow unto death. To say they are like totem symbols might be even more apt. Abolishing them would certainly not be an easy task.

Moreover, it was to use cold, emotionless numbers to name the Fleets.

According to the original arrangement, Fleets facing East Ocean would be assigned odd numbers, and those facing Flame Sea and Fan Flame Ocean would receive even numbers.

The key point is that the numbering of Fleets does not carry any heritage, causing the Fleets themselves to lose their sense of lineage.

And this is the hardest point for people to accept.

A century-old Navy is not just an empty slogan.

In both past and present, across the world, strong navies have always had a profound sense of heritage, the hard-won fruits of generations of sailors’ struggles, and the final abode for naval officers and soldiers.

What would a Navy without a sense of lineage look like?

No one can imagine, and no one dares to imagine.

In addition, the Domestic Fleet would be renamed East Ocean Fleet, and the Southern Fleet would become Fan Flame Ocean Fleet.

In short, after such changes, both the Domestic Fleet and Southern Fleet would become history, and the factions rooted in the two major Fleets would become rootless duckweed.

After this, all warships would be under the dispatch of the Navy headquarters.

As for personnel appointments and dismissals, even if temporarily in the hands of the two major Fleets, because officers are bound to their warships, they would ultimately depend on the mood of the Navy headquarters.

Undoubtedly, this was a necessary step to take.

However, Bai Zhizhan was very clear about the intense implications involved.

While reviewing the documents, Bai Zhizhan had already thought it through.

Zhu Shijian had specifically named him for this task, and Liu Changxun had even actively sought him out to discuss it for one key reason—he was an officer who had emerged from the Domestic Fleet!

After the battles over West East Ocean, Bai Zhizhan’s prestige in the Domestic Fleet was second only to He Yongxing.

But the problem was, this was definitely not a coveted assignment.

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