Empire Conquest
Chapter 414 - 410 Imperial Capital Intrigue

Chapter 414: Chapter 410 Imperial Capital Intrigue

Upon leaving the Prime Minister Mansion, Bai Zhizhan realized that Zhao Yu had not left and was waiting for him outside.

Since they were departing early the next morning, Bai Zhizhan didn’t go home and took Zhao Yu to the Navy headquarter’s guesthouse.

In addition, he found the guesthouse manager and arranged for a chef to prepare a late-night snack.

Bai Zhizhan knew why Zhao Yu had stayed, so during the late-night meal, he shared with him the information revealed by Xue Yuanzheng.

Fortunately, Zhao Yu didn’t take things too seriously with Bai Zhizhan.

Upon hearing that the Newland Federation was already building the "Yihua" class Battleships, he also understood and didn’t dwell on it.

It wasn’t about whether Battleships were valuable or how valuable they were.

Since the Newland Navy was building Treaty Type Battleships, the Imperial Navy could not just stand by and watch.

There was an unwritten rule in the Navy’s shipbuilding: if your number one opponent has it, regardless of its value, you have to build several of your own.

This is the root of the "naval arms race".

Of course, this also meant that the construction of the next large carrier would definitely be affected, and at least the number of carriers in the first batch would not possibly reach eight.

After chatting about various things related to Battleships, they finally got around to Bai Zhizhan’s impending trip to the Toe Peninsula frontline.

"There’s no need for that, right?"

"Old Brother Zhao, don’t you think the Imperial Capital is not quite suitable for people like us?"

"What do you mean..."

Bai Zhizhan gave a bitter smile and shook his head before saying, "Not managing to launch a surprise attack on Wei Island, and what was meant to be an easy capture of Sai Island turned into a battleground. Our entire strategic plan has been compromised. Don’t be misled by how smoothly the Navy is doing in Nanzhu Country, and the Army is fighting on the Toe Peninsula; the overall strategic situation is very dangerous for us. According to the news leaked by the Grand Secretary, the Bulan Royal Navy will soon reinforce the Fan Flame Ocean. If the information Zhao Jiangming provided before is true, the Newland Navy might even send Battleships to the Fan Flame Ocean. Ultimately, the enemy wants to block us, preventing us from gaining access to the oil in Boss Bay and forcing us to declare defeat by the end of next year."

"This..."

Zhao Yu looked extremely shocked. As a typical engineer, although he designed several Main Battle Ships, he was clueless about strategy.

"The strategic plan definitely needs adjusting, and there’s bound to be great trouble. I originally thought the Grand Secretary would pour out his grievances to me and ask me to work with Liu Changxun."

"What sort of work?"

"To adjust the strategy, the first to be affected will be the Army, especially military operations in the Northwest. If the Grand Secretary intends to forcefully implement a new plan, then he will definitely need the Navy’s support. The best way for the Navy to provide support is to compromise with the Army at a strategic level. To put it more bluntly, building a few less Main Battle Ships and saving those resources would be enough to let the Army build thousands of tanks."

"Did the Grand Secretary tell you this?"

"If he had, I wouldn’t be so worried."

"He didn’t say?"

Bai Zhizhan nodded and replied, "The Grand Secretary didn’t even mention the situation in the Northwest. If I’m not mistaken, there must be strong opposition within the Army, and perhaps someone is secretly scheming, targeting the Grand Secretary himself, as attacking Baku could also solve the oil problem."

Zhao Yu was taken aback again but this time held back from saying anything.

"The Grand Secretary agreed to let me go to the Flame Sea; he is actually getting me out of the way, so I won’t get involved in the upcoming strife."

"That’s just your guess."

"Even if it is a guess, it’s a strong one, not unfounded."

Zhao Yu let out a sigh and then said, "Your relationship with Lian Xusheng is so solid, and he has always been in charge of the battles in the Northwest, why not ask him?"

"Has he returned to the Imperial Capital?"

"How would I know, why don’t you just call and find out?"

Bai Zhizhan slapped his forehead and gave an embarrassed smile.

Obviously, his worry had clouded his judgment.

Moreover, if Bai Zhizhan’s speculation was correct, Lian Xusheng would certainly hope to gather news about the Navy from him.

Since Bai Zhizhan had just returned to the Imperial Capital with Zhao Yu and directly went to the Prime Minister Mansion, then to the hotel, without going home, even if Lian Xusheng had already returned to the Imperial Capital, he might not know that Bai Zhizhan was back. Even if he had heard the news, he would have called Bai Zhizhan’s home.

After Zhao Yu reminded him, Bai Zhizhan immediately went to make a call.

Sure enough, Lian Xusheng was in the Imperial Capital, having rushed back a few days earlier.

Because the Luosha Empire had turned traitor, Lian Xusheng didn’t proceed with the earlier arrangements to go to the Tiaoman Empire. Instead, he sent a subordinate through the Ter Republic to the Tiaoman Empire.

After that, he had been active in the Northwest.

It was exactly because of this that Situ Jingde had returned to the Imperial Capital from the Northwest ahead of time.

Obviously, if there wasn’t something important, Lian Xusheng wouldn’t have a reason to rush back.

On receiving the call from Bai Zhizhan, and learning that Bai Zhizhan hadn’t gone home and was staying at the Navy Commander’s hotel, he didn’t beat around the bush and said he would come over immediately.

Many things could only be discussed in person.

Even though it was an internal military call, there was no assurance that the operator wouldn’t eavesdrop.

Moreover, the operators in the Empire’s military phone system were actually all from the Fifth Bureau, and they had all been trained in counterintelligence and intelligence security.

These operators were all intelligence personnel.

To speak the truth, Lian Xusheng’s return to the Imperial Capital confirmed Bai Zhizhan’s speculation.

The problem might not be limited to the Army.

The current Imperial Capital could be described as turbulent. A year after the outbreak of a major war, Xue Yuanzheng’s leadership was being questioned, and something significant was bound to happen soon.

Although his mood was quite heavy, thinking that Lian Xusheng would soon arrive, Bai Zhizhan went to find the hotel manager. He dug into his own pocket to buy a few bottles of fine liquor and had the chef prepare several intensely-flavored stir-fries, as well as a few standard snacks to accompany the drinks.

By the time the waiter brought the drinks and dishes, Lian Xusheng had arrived.

He had driven himself over.

Perhaps not wanting to be recognized, he had put a plain coat on over his military uniform. If Bai Zhizhan hadn’t alerted the hotel manager in advance, and if the manager didn’t recognize this top war general of the Army, the guards at the door might have mistaken him for a spy from an enemy country.

After entering the room where Bai Zhizhan was staying, Lian Xusheng finally took off his overcoat, revealing his true self.

Seeing this, Bai Zhizhan instructed the hotel manager who had brought Lian Xusheng over.

The manager was a shrewd character and understood the ways of the world. After getting the hint from Bai Zhizhan, he indicated that he wouldn’t mention Lian Xusheng’s visit to anyone.

Still, Lian Xusheng’s secretive behavior caused Bai Zhizhan’s heart to be in turmoil.

In his perception, Lian Xusheng was always open and honorable, the kind of tough man who wouldn’t dodge even if he was getting hit, and he would definitely not indulge in anything underhanded.

If it weren’t for something extremely urgent, he wouldn’t be so cautious.

Of course, to say he was sneaky was also true.

To speak the truth, if the person who had come was Wang Kaiyuan, Bai Zhizhan wouldn’t have found it strange at all—after all, that guy always moved mysteriously without a trace.

When he saw Zhao Yu, Lian Xusheng was also surprised.

However, he quickly understood why Bai Zhizhan hadn’t gone home and instead was spending the night at the hotel.

Additionally, he knew what the relationship between Bai Zhizhan and Zhao Yu was.

What Bai Zhizhan hadn’t expected was that just five minutes later, Li Yunxiang rushed over.

It must have been Lian Xusheng who called Li Yunxiang, telling him to come directly to the hotel without notifying Bai Zhizhan before leaving.

With even Li Yunxiang back, it seemed a major event was indeed about to unfold in the Imperial Capital.

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