Chapter 1 Civilian Officer

Xu Sea, Watcher Strait.

From a purely geographical standpoint, the midpoint of the Strait—the shortest line between Guard Island and Wang Island—is the boundary separating the Xu Sea from the East Ocean. But traditionally and customarily, the geographical boundary between Xu Sea and East Ocean is drawn to the east of the Watcher Strait.

Therefore, the entire Watcher Strait belongs to the Xu Sea.

Aboard the flagship "North River" of the 21st Sub-fleet, within the lookout post at the mainmast.

Bai Zhizhan blew on his hands twice, vigorously rubbed his face, and quickly stomped on the spot to feel a bit warmer, then finally took out his pocket watch.

It was already 9:25 am.

"Damn!"

He cursed quietly, put away his pocket watch, and put his gloves back on.

He wasn't just a bit regretful, he was deeply regretting.

More than two hours earlier, around 7:30 am, when the 21st Sub-fleet charged into the Maze Channel, the assistant to the Nautical Advisor had to go to the medical room due to eating something wrong and was diagnosed with acute enteritis. Bai Zhizhan seized the opportunity to volunteer himself and became the temporary assistant to the Nautical Advisor.

As long as nothing went wrong, Bai Zhizhan's career as a strategist would thus commence.

Unfortunately, he was too eager to prove himself.

During the discussion of combat operations, when Major General He Yongxing, the Sub-fleet Commander, gathered the main strategists after the 21st Sub-fleet had passed through the secretly diver opened by frogmen into the North Channel, Bai Zhizhan proposed in front of many senior strategists that they would definitely encounter the first Battle Patrol Squad, which had been observed earlier moving on the east side of the Strait and then lost contact, before 9:30 am.

If it had only been this statement, there would have been no issue.

Discussing tactics necessarily involves diverse viewpoints, and strategists have the right to speak.

The problem was, he also said that they could let four battlecruisers raise the "Sunrise Shining Sea" flag, impersonate the Joint Fleet's second Battle Patrol squad, and thus seize a favorable position, such as taking the T-position, and deliver a head-on blow to the first Battle Patrol Squad, perhaps even defeating them.

After the meeting, the Nautical Advisor assigned Bai Zhizhan a new task: to prove the bold assertions he had made before the Commander.

In reality, Bai Zhizhan could not be blamed.

A young naval officer like Bai Zhizhan, who came from the civilian class and had toiled at the Naval Academy for years before serving on a warship, wanted an opportunity to showcase their talent.

Moreover, Bai Zhizhan's major was in aerial reconnaissance!

This was a specialty that had only been established for five years, and Bai Zhizhan was one of the first batch of students in that program. Those with a bit of connection wouldn't major in such an obscure field. Among the dozens of specialties at the Naval Academy, the most sought-after were artillery, navigation, and engineering, followed by communications and medical. Not to mention others, the students Bai Zhizhan knew from prominent families all majored in artillery or navigation.

Unable to rely on his family, he could only rely on hard work.

In five years, Bai Zhizhan not only completed his major with top grades, but he also passed the final exams for three minor subjects, earning top grades in artillery and navigation, and the second highest in communications, ranking in the top ten among the more than two thousand students of his class.

It was because of this that he came to the Domestic Fleet with a letter of recommendation from the Principal, to join Major General He Yongxing.

He Yongxing was the first disciple of Admiral Zhu Shijian, the Principal of the Naval Academy; thereby, Bai Zhizhan could be considered his elder school brother.

Unfortunately, that was not very useful.

Below He Yongxing, 80 percent of the officers in the 21st Sub-fleet were graduates of the Naval Academy, and the remaining 20 percent had also studied there.

Speaking of connections, they were all He Yongxing's juniors.

With abundant talent, young officers like Bai Zhizhan in the 21st Sub-fleet were as common as carp crossing a river, one could grab a handful at once. Zhu Shijian's personal letter, combined with four excellent academic results, was merely a stepping stone to entry at the 21st Sub-fleet Headquarter. To achieve greater success, one had to not only work hard but also have a bit of luck, as well as the vision and courage to spot and seize opportunities.

Bai Zhizhan had found an opportunity and had grasped it, but unfortunately, he was too inexperienced and acted too hastily.

Thinking of all this, Bai Zhizhan could not help but sigh to himself.

Don't talk about youthful recklessness, many times you really have to accept your fate.

Five years before, full of ambition as he entered the Imperial Naval Academy, Bai Zhizhan had a clear life goal: to become like Marshal Chen Bingxun, a War God commanding the Fleet that sweeps the Four Seas. Only after stepping out of the Naval Academy did he realize how big the gap was between ideals and reality.

Upon arriving at the 21st Sub-fleet, the first lesson Bai Zhizhan learned was to face, accept, and adapt to reality.

In this moment and situation, it was like the final exam for that first lesson.

"Lieutenant Bai, want a sip? It's warm." The Lookout Chief nudged Bai Zhizhan and handed him a velvet-wrapped flask.

Although bearing the title "Chief", the Lookout Chief was a non-commissioned officer, ranking below commissioned officers.

Bai Zhizhan did not stand on ceremony, standing dozens of meters above the sea surface, being blown by the cold sea wind for more than an hour, no one could resist the temptation of hot tea.

Perhaps because his nose was frozen stiff, it was not until the liquid reached his mouth that Bai Zhizhan realized it was not tea in the flask.

It turned out to be liquor, and high-proof spirits at that!

"How about that, warming isn't it?" Watching Bai Zhizhan's contorted face, the Lookout Chief started laughing, as if taking delight in teasing the officer.

Of course, it was indeed warming.

Suppressing the burning sensation in his throat, Bai Zhizhan swallowed the liquor. After a moment, feeling slightly more comfortable, he took another sip.

"Let it sit in your mouth for a while before swallowing, less chance of getting too tipsy."

Bai Zhizhan took the lookout chief's advice, but did not take a third sip.

The Navy was not like the Army; not only was drinking during wartime strictly prohibited, but even in peacetime there was no culture of heavy drinking, with even banquets favoring champagne and other low-proof dinner wines.

"Where did it come from?" Bai Zhizhan handed back the flask to the Lookout Chief.

"If it tastes good, that's enough, right?"

Noticing the Lookout Chief's sly expression, Bai Zhizhan did not inquire further, knowing that if this matter were to be investigated, someone would definitely be in trouble.

Indeed, lax military discipline had become a big problem within the Imperial Navy.

In the past two-plus years, the Domestic Fleet launched dozens of times, fighting numerous large and small battles without ever seizing the opportunity to turn the tide of war. The officers were somewhat better off, but the rank and file were already completely exhausted. Were it not for the thoughts of revenge, driven by a tenacity rooted in vengefulness, morale might have collapsed long ago.

With victory nowhere in sight and meager provisions barely sufficient for subsistence, strict military discipline would only push the lower ranks towards unrest.

The Lookout Chief, a sensible man, put away the flask and took hold of the high-magnification telescope mounted on the circular rail, seriously scanning the southern horizon where the sea met the sky.

Bai Zhizhan also put away his thoughts, picking up his binoculars to search the southeast horizon.

It was a bit blurry, as if the lenses had fogged up.

No, that's wrong!

It wasn't condensation!

It was a few faint, straight plumes of smoke rising into the air, and the Battleships emitting them were still beneath the horizon, certainly more than thirty kilometers away.

"Old Li, to the southeast!" Bai Zhizhan immediately alerted the Lookout Chief, who he knew only as Mr. Li.

That was definitely black smoke billowing from Battleship smokestacks, but they were too distant for further judgment, and even how many smoke plumes there were was unclear.

As the Lookout Chief turned the specialized forty-times magnification telescope towards the direction mentioned, Bai Zhizhan had already grabbed the telephone handset.