Empire Conquest

Over the following days, Zhu Shijian, the chief judge himself, organized the first phase of the battle simulation exercise codenamed "March to Victory" at the decision-making command center of the Navy headquarters.

Bai Zhizhan did not participate but observed the entire process as an alternate staff officer.

The Domestic Fleet, or rather the Young Turk faction, was led by Gui Boyong as the overall commander, and his adversary was Liu Xiangbin, the second-generation heir of the Liu family.

According to the rules, the simulation consisted of five rounds, using a best-of-five system.

As the exercise was at the operational level, each round took one day.

On the night of the third day, after the third round had concluded, the winner had been decided, rendering the subsequent two rounds unnecessary.

The first three rounds of the simulation adhered to current tactics, each predicting war with the Western Powers in five, ten, and fifteen years, with both parties entering a state of war in advance and deploying heavy troops in an effort to achieve swift victory upon the outbreak of hostilities.

The outcome was unsurprising.

In the first two rounds of simulation, the Imperial Navy failed to break out of the Xu Sea, suffering a heavy blow while advancing towards East Ocean, and another defeat en route to Fan Flame Ocean. Although in the third round, the Imperial Navy, adopting the tactic of waiting at ease for an exhausted enemy, inflicted heavy damage on the invading Enemy Fleet at their doorstep, the final verdict was still defeat because during that period, the Great Powers completed their war mobilization.

To put it simply, the Imperial Navy achieved victory at the tactical and operational levels but failed comprehensively on a strategic level, missing the opportunity for a breakthrough. As long as the Great Powers had completed war mobilization, it would be impossible for the Imperial Navy to win the decisive battle by traditional methods.

Actually, this underlined the key importance of seeking a "swift victory."

Yet the problem was that relying on a Fleet centered on Battleships, it was simply not feasible to achieve comprehensive victory in a limited timeframe.

However, the Conservative Faction was not yet discouraged.

In the last two rounds of the simulation, Zhu Shijian agreed to Liu Changhe's special request and modified the rules. It permitted the Imperial Navy to adopt an aggressive offensive strategy, including tactics of surprise or even sneak attacks, to ensure seizing the initiative upon the start of hostilities.

Furthermore, Liu Changhe personally entered the fray.

To balance, He Yongxing replaced Gui Boyong.

The following two rounds of the simulation were absolutely thrilling, arguably the most sophisticated armchair strategizing of the time.

Fundamentally, battle simulations are armchair strategizing.

First, Liu Changhe seized the initiative through surprise attack right after the commencement of hostilities and maintained it until the end, ultimately achieving a Pyrrhic victory with massive casualties and losses. In the subsequent final round, He Yongxing learned from the previous mistakes and through thorough pre-battle preparations, as well as more comprehensive authorization, allowed each Sub-fleet ample opportunity to perform. Not only did he successfully thwart the opponents' sneak attack, but he also curbed the momentum of the Reprisal. In the end, the Joint Fleet commanded by He Yongxing won a major strategic victory with minimal cost.

Zhu Shijian ruled it a draw between the two, but such a ruling was actually in deference to Liu Changhe.

The crux of the issue was that in the round where Liu Changhe's forces "won," the Imperial Navy still failed to turn the tide, showing no improvement at the strategic level.

In Zhu Shijian's words, what's the point of a Pyrrhic victory?

Since the battle at Nanjiang Port, when had the Imperial Navy ever needed to pay a bloody price for victory?

Inflicting a thousand casualties on the enemy at the cost of eight hundred of one's own was never the Navy's way; the doctrine of the Navy did not entertain the concept of Pyrrhic victories.

During these five days, the friends of Bai Zhizhan also gradually arrived in the Imperial Capital.

The last to arrive was surely the one with the most prestige.

Indeed, it was Zhao Yu, who had just acquired the nickname "Mount of Christ."

Being a Hereditary Count, and with a Western novel called "The Count of Monte Cristo" popular before the war, He Pengfei conveniently coined this nickname for him.

In truth, he was only a few hours late due to train delays.

Out of respect, Bai Zhizhan personally went to the station.

With a dispatch order from the Navy headquarters and arrangements by Liu Xiangdong, Zhao Yu's military train also enjoyed the treatment of a Hereditary Count.

The war had not officially ended, and the Empire was still in a state of war, with military personnel still enjoying privileges.

At night, only military vehicles were permitted to enter the station.

"Engineer Zhao!"

As for addressing him, that indeed gave Bai Zhizhan quite a headache.

"Sir" was definitely inappropriate, "Your Excellency" had a sarcastic ring to it, "Count" was even more blatant, and "Senior Engineer" following the surname Zhao could easily lead to misunderstandings.

To call him by his name outright?

Clearly, the relationship between Bai Zhizhan and Zhao Yu had not reached such an intimate level!

"Just call me old Zhao," perhaps due to the cold weather, Zhao Yu seemed quite normal, a stark contrast to their last meeting.

"Get in the car, it's cold outside," He Pengfei called out.

As they had known each other for a long time, he behaved quite casually in front of Zhao Yu, without so many concerns. However, this was also related to status.

"Am I the last to arrive?"

He Pengfei had already gone over to open the car door. The car's heater was on, making it much more comfortable inside.

After getting into the car, Zhao Yu continued, "I heard that you guys had a few war games these past few days, and the Southern Fleet was utterly defeated, leaving the Liu Family barely able to save face."

Bai Zhizhan felt speechless; although Zhao Yu was only in his thirties, he spoke with an air of elderly frailty.

"If you ask me, they had it coming. After Marshal Chen Bingxun, the Liu Family controlled the Navy's strategic units for decades, almost running them into the ground."

Zhao Yu's words were somewhat reassuring to Bai Zhizhan.

Clearly, Zhao Yu also had a poor view of the Liu Family.

"How did you come to know this?" He Pengfei steered the conversation elsewhere.

"You think I only have connections with you guys?"

"Did someone from the Liu Family approach you?" Bai Zhizhan had clearly not kept up with Zhao Yu's train of thought.

"To be honest, I used to think you were smart. But it seems now that's all there is to it." Zhao Yu scrutinized Bai Zhizhan carefully before saying, "I'm not saying I'm disappointed, but haven't you thought about what could be more important than the core interests of a family?"

At this, Bai Zhizhan finally understood.

Zhao Yu was referring to Liu Xiangdong, and it was very likely that Liu Xiangdong had let the information slip, allowing the Liu Family to reach out to Zhao Yu.

Even if the Liu Family had not considered winning over Zhao Yu, who was a Hereditary Count and not so easily swayed, they surely wanted to probe for information through him.

"Old Zhao, you didn't speak out of turn, did you?"

"As for me, I've got a big mouth. I say things as they are and never learned how to lie."

He Pengfei rolled his eyes and even pulled a face at Bai Zhizhan, indicating that Zhao Yu was just that kind of person and not to take it to heart.

Was he telling the truth, or was he deliberately speaking in irony?

Bai Zhizhan was equally unsure, but he felt there was nothing to worry about because Zhao Yu was famously insane, leaving the Liu Family equally unable to be sure of his words.

Of course, one couldn't be complacent.

The Liu Family sending someone to find Zhao Yu showed that they had started to take Bai Zhizhan seriously and would do everything in their power to win in the upcoming second phase of the war game.

Now, there would be a good show to watch.