Empire Conquest
Chapter 54 - 50 Quick Return

Chapter 54: Chapter 50 Quick Return

"Just brewed, want to take a couple of sips to wake up?"

Hearing the call, Bai Zhizhan turned around and caught the thermos cup that Li Mingbo had handed over. Inside was indeed tea—and a strong brew at that.

Li Mingbo was now a Major, serving as the Nautical Advisor for the First Aviation Mixed Fleet.

In the year 87 of the New Calendar, the year Bai Zhizhan was promoted to Major, he used Bai’s recommendation letter to attend the Naval Academy for a three-year capability training program. Since he had served eight years as a noncommissioned officer in the Navy, he was given the rank of Lieutenant upon completion of his training and returned to his original unit.

Afterwards, he transferred to Bai Zhizhan’s Air Sub-fleet and had been following Bai ever since.

The year before last, after Li Jie returned to the Domestic Fleet to become a Captain, Li Mingbo temporarily assumed the role of Nautical Advisor and was officially appointed last year.

Perhaps due to starting his military career later, Li Mingbo’s abilities were somewhat inferior to the formally educated Li Jie. However, in the Aviation Mixed Fleet, the workload for a Nautical Advisor was not very heavy, and the demands for timeliness were not very high, so he was able to fulfill his duties despite his lesser abilities.

Interestingly, after becoming an officer, Li Mingbo became a teetotaler and a good man.

In his own words, that sense of crisis could only be understood by a middle-aged man who had married, become a father, and had a whole family to support.

"I’ve asked around, and within half an hour, the last of the reconnaissance planes will reach their turning points. To maintain the strike posture, we’ll need other battleships to send out seaplanes," Li Mingbo paused briefly before continuing, "If we’re making adjustments, it’s best to arrange them now."

Bai Zhizhan didn’t respond, instead, he lifted his binoculars and looked towards that majestic battleship several kilometers away.

After three rounds of modernization, it had been upgraded to a Fast Battleship—but it belonged to the Domestic Fleet and was temporarily attached to the First Aviation Mixed Fleet: the "North River."

She served as the armed escort for the "Longjiang," acting as the last line of anti-air defense.

Over the past decade of fleet exercises, especially in recent years, it had been proven time and again that in high-intensity combat, a fierce anti-air warship can often determine the survival of a carrier and even have a decisive impact on the outcome of a naval battle.

The ideal anti-air warship needs a vast deck, high speed, and good stability.

This was describing the battlecruisers and Fast Battleships.

For this reason, in the third round of modernization, the "North River" and three other newly upgraded Fast Battleships had all their anti-air firepower significantly enhanced.

Moreover, within the Aviation Mixed Fleet, Fast Battleships also serve as the command flagship, more accurately, command ships.

According to the unwritten rules, the Fleet Commander would be stationed on the command ship, while the Commander answering to the Navy headquarter, namely the Commander of the Special Mixed Fleet, would be on the carrier.

"What’s the weather forecast?" Bai Zhizhan asked, then finally lowered his binoculars.

"The meteorological reconnaissance aircraft hasn’t returned yet, but judging by the sky, it’s definitely going to rain tonight. It’s winter now; it could well rain continuously for several days."

Bai Zhizhan glanced at his watch, then rubbed his forehead.

It was already past two o’clock.

For over a decade, climbing from a junior officer to the position of Fleet Chief of Staff in the Special Mixed Fleet, there was only one person that Bai Zhizhan truly admired.

Yes, his arch-rival and nemesis, Colonel Liu Xiangzhen, the Fleet Chief of Staff of the Second Aviation Mixed Fleet.

Although both were just Chiefs of Staff and not Commanders, in the years of fleet exercises, it was the two of them who played the lead roles, while everyone else was just a supporting actor.

Last year, after three rounds of fierce battles, the First Aviation Mixed Fleet under Bai Zhizhan’s command won by a slender margin.

Since the decision was made by the adjudication panel, and there was an unavoidable bias, the exercise results were not recorded in either of their files, as per Zhu Shijian’s view.

This year, almost half a month had gone by, and the two sides had not even engaged—or seen each other for that matter!

Bai Zhizhan had two carriers at his disposal, and so did Liu Xiangzhen. Moreover, both sides were playing the role of two Aviation Mixed Fleets, doubling the air force’s strength.

Such a scenario was actually to mimic a hypothetical enemy.

However, this also meant that whoever was exposed first would inevitably suffer a devastating blow, and might not even have a chance to counter-attack.

Utterly brutal!

However, this is precisely a major characteristic of modern naval warfare that primarily involves carriers and the Air Force.

That’s why Bai Zhizhan was exceptionally cautious.

Without a doubt, Liu Xiangzhen was the same.

The problem now is that the cold air from the north has already moved southward and is expected to arrive tonight, with the possibility of rainy weather lasting for several days.

Engage in combat during cloudy and rainy weather?

It’s not impossible, just that it would significantly reduce operational efficiency.

Not to mention, due to reduced visibility, three times the number of reconnaissance aircraft are needed to carry out search missions within the same area during rainy weather.

Move southward to avoid the rolling thunderclouds?

Possible, but that’s exactly what the enemy would hope for, because it’s all too predictable.

Bai Zhizhan was waiting for this.

For this reason, he had specifically inquired about the weather forecast.

But as it stands, if the rain starts only in the evening, we might need to reconsider, namely whether to arrange a reconnaissance mission in the afternoon.

Also, should we deploy seaplanes or ship-borne aircraft?

If nothing is discovered, it’s not a big issue; we can simply turn to evade after dark, using the cover of the thunderclouds to leave the dangerous waters.

The key is, if we find them, how should we respond?

Don’t forget, this is a live-fire exercise, not merely theoretical strategizing.

In the First Shipborne Air Force Wing, which is part of the First Aviation Mixed Fleet Air Force, only less than one third of the pilots have mastered the skill of landing at night, and not a single pilot was completely confident, with a successful carrier landing rate at most thirty percent.

Retrieving ship-borne aircraft at night was tantamount to joking with the pilots’ lives.

Moreover, there is the time difference that cannot be ignored.

Put simply, if Bai Zhizhan’s Plane Group launches an attack in the evening, Liu Xiangzhen can wait leisurely and use all his forces for anti-air combat. Regardless of the outcome of the attack, the ship-borne aircraft that Bai Zhizhan sent out would have to return after dark, and a large proportion of them would crash during landing. Although for safety reasons these aircraft would all return to the Domestic Airport, for the purposes of the exercise, they would still count as combat losses.

This means that Bai Zhizhan must go all in.

On the ocean battlefield, which commander has the courage to go all in?

Unless it’s a last resort, or if there’s absolute certainty, let alone Bai Zhizhan, even War God Chen Bingxun wouldn’t take such a risk.

So how should we fight?

Not wait until we find the opponent to decide but to make a decision now, because it relates to whether to use ship-borne aircraft for reconnaissance missions.

Seaplanes are too slow.

Just at this moment, the door leading to the Command Bridge opened, and a young staff officer hurried out.

"Report!"

As the young staff member passed the telegram, Li Mingbo grabbed it and then gestured for the staff to return to the Command Bridge.

After a quick glance, Li Mingbo’s expression changed.

Has something bad happened?

Bai Zhizhan didn’t ask further, taking the telegram.

Just one sentence: The exercise has ended, return to headquarters immediately.

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