CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 40 NINE DAYS OF THUNDER

Unbeknownst to them, it was already February.

Although the Empire had abolished the Old Calendar and adopted the Western Public Calendar after the Constitutional Amendment, February remained a very special month for the citizens of the Empire.

Most of the time, the Spring Festival would arrive in February.

After a few days of delay, the Southern Fleet responded on the first day of February regarding the war-game exercise, suggesting it be conducted after the Spring Festival.

This time, the opposition came from Zhu Shijian.

His reason was simple: After the Spring Festival, a ceasefire agreement with the Alliance Group would need to be signed, so the strategy must be set before the Spring Festival.

In his reply to Liu Changhe, Zhu Shijian made it clear that if the Southern Fleet could not prepare in time, the results of the first phase of the war-game exercise should be used to ensure that the Navy’s development plan could be submitted to the Cabinet and the Privy Council before the Spring Festival.

This left Liu Changhe with no room to object.

On February 10, personnel from the Southern Fleet arrived in the Imperial Capital.

After two previous preliminary consultations, the Domestic Fleet also made concessions, agreeing to only run one round of simulation to let everyone enjoy the Spring Festival.

Moreover, the time for the simulation was set twenty years in the future.

This was not a decision made on a whim.

Following a major disruption at the Navy Headquarter by Liu Chengbin, Liu Changhe personally visited and, upon hearing Zhao Yu’s report, gained a deeper understanding of the scenario setting.

Zhu Shijian could suppress Liu Chengbin, but he had to convince Liu Changhe.

According to Zhao Yu’s explanation, the weapons and ammunition mentioned in the scenario settings, whether they come in twenty or at most thirty years, will definitely be realized.

At that time, Zhu Shijian also used his connections to bring in a host of technical experts and engineers.

Having been the principal of the Naval Academy for over twenty years, Zhu Shijian knew many expert scholars and was very well-connected, so getting a few to play their parts was not a problem.

According to these experts, nobody can stop technological progress, so the Imperial Navy must accept and face the upcoming new era. Only by occupying the technological high ground and leading the tide of military development, could the Imperial Navy achieve a resounding victory in the next war.

This was how Zhu Shijian successfully convinced Liu Changhe.

Afterwards, they were busy for another three days, finalizing tactical issues, mainly establishing the criteria for judging the simulations, so as to avoid any extraneous issues during the simulation.

On February 14, the day of Western Valentine’s Day, the second phase of the war-game exercise, codenamed "Nine Days of Thunder," was held at the Imperial Navy Headquarter.

It was only then that the Southern Fleet revealed its hand.

Playing the hypothetical enemy, the Southern Fleet also chose a special mixed formation with the mother ship at the core, just differently composed compared to the Domestic Fleet’s portrayal of the Imperial Fleet.

Evidently, this was both expected and surprising to Bai Zhizhan.

Aerial combat was a completely new and unfamiliar field, with the timeline set twenty years in the future. Bai Zhizhan and his team, having Zhao Yu, a technical genius, still had many unresolved questions, such as the tactical application of new technological equipment, and in many respects, they could only rely heavily on their imaginations.

Could it be that the Southern Fleet also had an expert of Zhao Yu’s caliber?

After obtaining the personnel list, Bai Zhizhan and his team understood.

One person was added to the Southern Fleet’s participant list.

Liu Xiangzhen.

For Bai Zhizhan and the others, this Captain named Liu Xiangzhen was not only familiar but also very well-known, as he too had graduated from the Imperial Naval Academy the previous year.

Still the top of the class for the entire grade!

Of course, this first place was somewhat inflated.

Originally, Liu Xiangzhen had no intersection with Bai Zhizhan because he studied the major of Artillery, with minors in Navigation, Communications, and Engineering. A typical all-rounder, he was headed for the throne of the Imperial Navy Commander in thirty years, a stark contrast to a common military officer like Bai Zhizhan. However, in his last year, he took up an elective in Aerial Reconnaissance and completed the three-year coursework in just one year. In the graduation assessment, he ranked second in professional grades, surpassing everyone except Bai Zhizhan.

His professional score actually surpassed Bai Zhizhan’s, because he had passed the flight qualification assessment before graduating. It was just that it was past the deadline for reporting grades, so it wasn’t included. If the credits for the flight qualification had been included, he would have been the top student in Aerial Reconnaissance.

Moreover, Liu Xiangzhen was entirely different from other scions of prominent families.

Besides being hardworking and resilient, he possessed many exemplary qualities, such as humility and amiability, and he was extremely optimistic.

Simply perfect!

Frankly speaking, if he were a bit more handsome, he would be the knight in shining armor in the dreams of thousands of young girls.

Additionally, he was one of the outstanding graduates who left the Naval Academy last year.

Unlike Bai Zhizhan, he joined the Southern Fleet after graduating.

Perhaps, joining the Southern Fleet was not his own choice but arranged by his family.

If the Liu Family intended to groom him as the future Navy Commander, they certainly wouldn’t have sent him to the Domestic Fleet in the middle of last year.

In the battle at Watcher Strait, apart from the 13th Sub-fleet’s six Dreadnoughts, the Domestic Fleet’s main battle ships were all involved in the combat, with the 21st Sub-fleet’s six battlecruisers seriously damaged or sunk; additionally, twelve Super Dreadnoughts also suffered varying degrees of damage during the battle.

Importantly, after successive defeats, the Domestic Fleet was no longer under the control of the Liu Family.

Don’t forget, Liu Xiangdong was sent to Puzhou Shipyard to be the supervisor, and it’s feared that he might not return to his position as a ship captain until the end of the war.

What Bai Zhizhan hadn’t expected was that this guy was also a Captain.

What merits did he have?

Was it because he performed exceptionally in the academy and graduated as the top student that he was promoted twice within just a few months?

If that were the case, the Imperial Navy was probably beyond saving.

Of course, this didn’t hinder Liu Xiangzhen from participating in the war game simulation as a key member.

Since not many were versed in aerial combat, Zhu Shijian proposed that the rules and regulations be simplified as much as possible to give participants enough room to maneuver.

Simply put, it involved choosing weapons and ammunition within a set limit, forming a fleet, and engaging in combat on a hypothetical battlefield until one side was completely annihilated or surrendered. To ensure fairness and impartiality, the rules of blind engagement were adopted, where the outcomes were only revealed after the battle.

Brutally harsh, but very fair.

Besides having the referees to determine the battle damage, all other aspects were nearly identical to commanding a fleet in combat, with participants acting as fleet commanders.

Moreover, Zhu Shijian also brought in ten tactical instructors from the Naval Academy to form the panel of judges alongside him.

These instructors, all with over twenty years of teaching experience, had students spread across both the Domestic Fleet and Southern Fleet, ensuring there would be no favoritism or corruption.

According to the rules, each side could have up to ten participants, with no minimum limit.

Bai Zhizhan’s side had only six people, and he felt that six were enough.

After meeting the opposing participants, Bai Zhizhan and his five companions went to the "Imperial Fleet Headquarter," which was actually just a room with all the windows sealed, equipped with several telephones, a large sand table to simulate the battlefield, and some essential tools.

The "Nine Days of Thunder" war game officially began.