Empire Conquest
Chapter 267 - 263: Old Acquaintance

Chapter 267: Chapter 263: Old Acquaintance

"I just said, which young and promising naval general of the Liangxia Empire could it be, if not you?"

At the sound of the voice, a large hand heavily patted Bai Zhizhan’s shoulder, and then a distinct scent of perfume wafted over.

Poor Liangxia language, the dense hairs on the back of the hand, and that unique men’s cologne—who else could it be?

Of course, it was Dunz from the Tiaoman Empire.

Bai Zhizhan and this man were not just old acquaintances; they could also be considered old friends.

To say the least, their friendship had almost spanned twenty years.

After the last war ended, according to the agreement reached during the Seba Conference, the Bulan Kingdom transferred a group of Tiaoman Empire’s military personnel captured in the Fan Flame Ocean to the Liangxia Empire, or more accurately, sent them back through the Liangxia Empire. Dunz, who was a lieutenant at the time, was among them.

Bai Zhizhan was one of the people responsible for taking over and settling these Tiaoman Empire prisoners of war.

Mainly because the ship transporting the prisoners went to Puzhou, and Bai Zhizhan was in charge of building the "Longjiang" in Puzhou, he was also sent there by chance.

As for Dunz, he had already spent over two years in a Bulan Kingdom prisoner of war camp before being released.

At the time, the two had only met briefly; at least Bai Zhizhan didn’t remember this dejected Tiaoman naval lieutenant, nor had he any reason to give him special attention.

However, Dunz remembered Bai Zhizhan.

Several years later, during negotiations in Huacheng, they met for the second time, and it was Dunz who recognized Bai Zhizhan.

Bai Zhizhan didn’t recognize Dunz, not just because he didn’t remember him, but also because Dunz had changed so much, he seemed like a completely different person.

Although the Tiaoman Empire was a defeated nation and not a signatory to the Huacheng Treaty, during the negotiations in Huacheng, at the invitation of the Newland President, the Tiaoman Empire sent a naval officer as an observer to participate in the negotiations, and the appointed officer was Dunz, now a captain.

It was then that Bai Zhizhan learned Dunz was a submarine officer.

To speak of it, this guy was definitely a legendary figure.

In the year 75 of the New Calendar, the second year of the war, he led a submarine south to Far View Cape, bypassed the Xuan Continent into the Fan Flame Ocean, and then took part in the operation to besiege Jibu Fortress. Two years later, in the summer of the New Calendar year 77, his submarine encountered an armed merchant ship of the Bulan Kingdom in the Magas Strait, and as a result, the submarine was sunk, and dozens of officers and sailors, including him, were taken prisoner.

After that came the long two-plus years as a prisoner of war.

The Tiaoman Empire arranged for him to come to Huacheng because of his experience being repatriated by the Liangxia Empire after his release.

It could be said, he had a connection with Bai Zhizhan.

After being repatriated to the Tiaoman Empire, Dunz mentioned in his report that he had received warm hospitality from the Liangxia Navy officers and soldiers, represented by Captain Bai Zhizhan, and hoped to serve as a naval officer in the Liangxia Empire in the future, actively promoting exchanges between the navies of the two countries.

As a result, before the Huacheng negotiations, this report made its way into the hands of the Tiaoman Navy Commander.

During the Huacheng negotiations, although Bai Zhizhan was only a major in the navy, being one of the main participants, he certainly grasped the core content of the negotiations.

It was through this event that the two forged a deep friendship.

It’s not to say that Bai Zhizhan leaked a lot of valuable information to Dunz, but during the negotiations in Huacheng, the two had very in-depth discussions about naval development. Although they each held their own opinions, both deeply respected each other and recognized the validity of each other’s views.

Simply put, Bai Zhizhan insisted on a "Big Navy" centered on carriers, while Dunz was committed to a "Small Navy" centered on submarines.

After the Huacheng negotiations, Dunz served as a naval officer in the Liangxia Empire for several years.

Dunz returned home at the beginning of the New Calendar year 88 after his assignment ended, and they had not met since.

They exchanged a few letters over the years, but it was only to exchange season’s greetings, nothing more substantive. After all, both were limited by their official positions.

The last time they sat down for a drink and a chat was before Dunz left the Liangxia Empire, celebrating his promotion to naval major.

In the blink of an eye, that was already twelve years ago.

Bai Zhizhan felt very emotional, and so did Dunz.

Before they could exchange a few words, their stomachs began to protest.

The Luosha Federation was very generous, not only offering meals completely free of charge but also providing a variety of delicacies, such as the world-famous caviar.

The policy was eat as much as you want, with no limit.

However, apart from caviar and a few other specialties, the Luosha Federation didn’t really have any culinary delights worth mentioning.

In Bai Zhizhan’s view, the Luosha Federation’s diet was similar to that of the northern regions of the Empire, characterized by coarseness rather than refinement.

In short, it was heavy in quantity and oily, with bold flavors—one meal could last you a day.

The dining room was large, with plenty of private rooms available.

Additionally, there was a buffet-style setup where a variety of tasty dishes were laid out on tables in the middle of the hall for guests to choose from at will.

Bai Zhizhan and Dunz selected a few dishes each and then retired to a secluded private room.

As they offered tribute to their "five internal organs temples" (a humorous Chinese way to refer to eating), they couldn’t help but become emotional again, though this time it was mainly Dunz who was moved.

According to him, it reminded him of the time he had visited Puzhou and stayed in a hotel arranged by the Liangxia Navy, seeing the table full of food.

During his more than two years in the POW camp, he had always been hungry and had suffered a great deal.

In the POW camps of the Bulan Kingdom, submarine sailors like him, especially captains, were the least welcome. Many captured submarine sailors committed suicide secretly due to the torture, but Dunz had survived until the end of the war not just by luck but also by extraordinary resilience.

By the time he left the POW camp, he had been tortured to a state that was barely human.

Dunz vividly remembered weighing only 53 kilograms when he arrived in Puzhou, stepping off the boat, and undergoing a medical examination at the dock.

He was a standard Tiaoman strongman, whose normal weight should have been 80 kilograms.

Just over 100 jin, after subtracting the weight of the bones, he was left with nothing but skin.

Being so emaciated, he stayed for a few months in the Liangxia Empire after regaining his freedom.

During this period, he learned the Liangxia Language.

It was this experience that made him quite fond of the Liangxia Empire.

In his words, the Liangxia Empire not only sheltered him but also gave him a second chance at life, allowing him the opportunity to get back on his feet.

"I really need to thank you for this."

"General Dunz, you don’t need to be so formal with me," Bai Zhizhan felt a bit embarrassed since this was the seventh time Dunz had mentioned "thanks" since they had met.

As for the reason, Bai Zhizhan was well aware.

Initially, when arranging for Tiaoman Navy POWs, Bai Zhizhan had casually marked Dunz as one of the wounded who needed to stay in the Empire for convalescence.

Otherwise, Dunz would have been sent back directly to the Tiaoman Empire.

Given the Tiaoman Empire’s situation at the end of the war, even if he wasn’t discriminated against or mistreated upon returning, he would certainly have gone hungry.

In the post-war years, the majority of Tiaomans were in a state of starvation.

Not to mention the civilians, even the Imperial Family went through extremely tough times, missing meals regularly.

Bai Zhizhan’s decision was an unintentional act; after all, he didn’t know Dunz at the time.

To him, Dunz was just a skinny Navy officer.

However, Bai Zhizhan also understood that Dunz’s repeated emphasis on their personal relationship was an attempt to ingratiate himself, laying the groundwork for the discussion that was to follow.