CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 39 DEATH EXEMPTION TOKEN

In the meeting room, the scene was extremely heated, and Liu Chengbin’s side clearly had the upper hand.

It wasn’t that their arguments were better, but that they had more people.

On Bai Zhizhan’s side, there were only six people, and Zheng Jiangming had quietly slipped away after the argument started, while the officers from the Southern Fleet numbered nearly twenty.

If a verbal dispute turned into a physical one, Bai Zhizhan and his group would quickly be beaten down.

Fortunately, this was the Navy headquarter.

No matter how bold Liu Chengbin was, he knew the consequences of starting a fight at the Navy headquarter. The key point was that Zhu Shijian had not yet intervened, forcing Liu Chengbin to be cautious.

The critical issue was that he was Liu Changhe’s nephew.

If Zhu Shijian wanted to make an example of Liu Changhe to ensure the Southern Fleet followed his commands, he might very well start with Liu Changhe’s nephew.

However, it takes two to clap hands.

Bai Zhizhan also had his own difficulties.

Although he hadn’t gotten drunk the previous night, by the time the gathering ended, it was already midnight. On his way to the headquarter in the morning, Bai Zhizhan had only looked over the tactical part of the scenario setting. It was indeed a bit exaggerated, but in Bai Zhizhan’s view, it was not a problem, as it was aimed at wars decades into the future.

He had placed full trust in Zhao Yu regarding the technical content.

But this was exactly where the problem lay!

Take the airplanes for example, the performance specifications set by Zhao Yu were such that not to mention existing planes, they might not even be feasible in the foreseeable future.

Carrying a thousand pounds of bombs, flying at a speed of over four hundred kilometers per hour, to a destination a thousand kilometers away, bombing enemy ships, and then flying back?

Was that a joke?

Even the best-performing current aircraft, under ideal no-load conditions, couldn’t fly that fast or that far.

Furthermore, planes that can take off from a battleship don’t even weigh a thousand pounds!

As a result, faced with scrutiny from Southern Fleet’s staff, Bai Zhizhan and his team simply couldn’t provide straightforward answers and ended up beating around the bush.

Nevertheless, continuing the noisy debate wasn’t a solution.

Not to mention anything else, it was already noon, and everyone still had to eat lunch.

Arguing on an empty stomach made it even easier to lose control of emotions.

"Everyone, shut up!" Liu Chengbin first stopped his own people, and then addressed Bai Zhizhan, "Captain Bai, we all know the rules. Let me be clear, if you can’t prove that these settings are feasible, or practical, they must be modified. If you’re unwilling to make changes, then we proceed with the second phase of the war game according to our method."

"What makes you think it isn’t feasible?"

"And what makes you think it is?"

Bai Zhizhan was furious. He was merely a Captain, whereas Liu Chengbin was a Brigadier General. Although Bai Zhizhan didn’t work directly under Liu Chengbin, the rank difference was significant. If this bickering continued, not only would Bai Zhizhan’s side lack strong arguments, even if they were right, they might not gain any advantage.

"On this basis."

Suddenly, from outside the crowd, a voice intervened, followed by a person walking over and slamming something onto Liu Chengbin’s chest.

Zhao Yu?

Seeing Zheng Jiangming following behind, Bai Zhizhan realized what was happening.

Zheng Jiangming had not run away out of fear at the beginning but had realized the situation was getting out of hand and had hurried back to seek help—which was why Zhao Yu had promptly arrived.

Catching the badge Zhao Yu slapped over, Liu Chengbin immediately froze.

What could frighten Liu Chengbin?

Bai Zhizhan was surprised and leaned over to take a look, and he too was shocked.

The "Death Exemption Token" bestowed by Emperor Shiwu to the Eight Pillars!

Although it lacked the legendary "exemption from death" feature, there were only eight of these medals in the whole world. Not to mention a mere Navy Brigadier General, even the Holy Emperor himself would treat it with the utmost respect. Without the support of the Eight Pillars, Emperor Shiwu would never have been able to found today’s Empire.

Eight gold medals, almost identical in size and appearance, differed only in the engravings on each side.

The one belonging to Zhao Yu has "Great Country Maker" engraved on the front, and "Hereditary First-Rate Count" on the back.

Great Country Maker was an official position personally established by Emperor Shiwu to oversee scientific research and engineering development, ranking alongside the Three Ministers, equivalent to a Cabinet Minister.

However, after the Constitutional Amendment, the role of Great Country Maker was abolished, to be exact, replaced by the departments of education, science, and industry.

Even Liu Chengbin, as foolish as he was, recognized the medal, as the Liu Family also possessed one.

Moreover, Liu Chengbin knew Zhao Yu.

Each being descendants of the Eight Pillars, they were considered talents among their peers, at least Zhao Yu was, and though not intimately acquainted, they were familiar with each other’s faces.

"Chief Engineer Zhao, what is this..."

"What you’re calling nonsense, I created it myself. All the technical settings within it came from my own hands, do you think there’s a problem?"

Liu Chengbin clearly did not react immediately.

Had it been created by Bai Zhizhan, all would be agreeable.

The problem now, however, was that the technical aspect of the situation setup came from Zhao Yu.

Not just Liu Chengbin, even if Liu Changhe were here, he might not quarrel with Zhao Yu, especially when discussing engineering technology, as there were likely very few in the entire Empire who could rival Zhao Yu in that aspect.

But, to just accept it like that?

"Zhao has arrived, huh."

"Uncle Zhu."

As Zhu Shijian approached, even Bai Zhizhan was stunned.

Hearing this address, it was clear Zhu Shijian had known Zhao Yu for a long time, and their relationship was like that of an uncle and nephew. Of course, not by blood, and surely Zhu Shijian’s relationship with Zhao Yu’s father was out of the ordinary.

Of course, this wasn’t surprising.

Meanwhile, a young officer whispered something into Liu Chengbin’s ear.

Bai Zhizhan saw it, and so did Zhu Shijian and Zhao Yu, but all three remained silent, waiting for Liu Chengbin to smoothly handle the situation.

"Commander Zhu."

Zhu Shijian smiled, appearing to understand the whole matter.

"It’s indeed my fault for causing trouble. However, the situation setup for this simulation is too advanced. There are many technical challenges which are currently unrealizable, perhaps even in the future. Thus, our side needs more time, and we hope to postpone the simulation date."

"No problem."

Zhu Shijian answered very straightforwardly, much to Liu Chengbin’s surprise.

"General Liu, it was our lack of consideration. After making such significant adjustments, indeed, time is needed to adapt. We can discuss the specifics when we have time," Zhu Shijian’s secretary stepped forward. "Regardless, the simulation should proceed once both sides are thoroughly prepared."

"That would be best."

Having been offered a way to gracefully exit, Liu Chengbin did not linger.

When Liu Chengbin turned to walk away, Zhao Yu gave Bai Zhizhan a meaningful look.

"Principal, if there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave."

"Don’t take today’s events to heart. Such scenarios, you get used to over time."

Bai Zhizhan, without further ado, gathered a few colleagues and after saying goodbye to Zhu Shijian, turned and left.

As for Zhao Yu, Bai Zhizhan obviously didn’t need to worry.

Actually, from the beginning, Bai Zhizhan had heard clearly. Liu Chengbin backed off knowing the difficulty and even took responsibility for it. After Zhu Shijian stated his stance, his secretary offered Liu Chengbin a way out, not allowing the situation to escalate further. After all, neither side wanted to lose face by severing ties publicly. Zhu Shijian’s final remark was particularly meaningful, both comforting Bai Zhizhan and his group and reminding them not to be careless.

Apparently, the whole affair was far from over!