When He Yongxing stood up to speak, Gui Boyong, who was sitting next to him, turned around and gave Bai Zhizhan a look, asking Bai Zhizhan to get ready.

Because the time was too tight, before coming to the Navy Headquarters, Bai Zhizhan only roughly browsed the materials given by He Yongxing, had an understanding of the current situation, to be precise, the topics discussed at this meeting, and figured out the reason why He Yongxing asked him to attend the meeting.

The reason is that Bai Zhizhan made a suggestion to He Yongxing through Gui Boyong.

During the armistice negotiations, the Allies demanded that the limitation of naval armaments be a condition of the armistice, which could be included in the armistice agreement. The imperial side was resolutely opposed, emphasizing that this was only an armistice negotiation, not a surrender negotiation, and that the navy was related to the empire's national capital, and if it could not be negotiated, it would be discussed after the war was over.

In the end, both sides made concessions.

After the armistice came into effect, the two sides negotiated the limitation of naval armaments. The Allies promised not to make additional demands on the Empire, and the Empire pledged to abolish the two-power standard that had been in place for half a century, and no longer seek to build and maintain a super-powerful navy capable of sweeping the seas.

In essence, it was the Empire that made concessions at the strategic level in order to keep the navy.

Don't forget that what determines the attributes of a country, or whether a country is a powerful empire, depends on whether it has the ability to project military power abroad. For the most part, it is only the navy that expands overseas, seizes overseas territories and defends overseas interests.

It is precisely for the past half century that the Imperial Navy has pursued a basic strategy of the two-power standard in order to defend a wide range of overseas interests. The overall strength is more than the sum of the two most powerful opponents, and it is capable of winning two large-scale wars at the same time at any time.

The Imperial Navy also dominated the world for fifty years.

Abandoning the two-power criterion now is actually giving up the hegemonic strategy, which is equivalent to giving up many overseas interests to other powers.

In a sense, this is precisely the purpose of the Western powers in waging a great war.

Among other things, military scientists of some Western powers refer to the First Global War as the War of the Fallen Beams.

Without the lure of global interests, it would not have been possible for all the Western powers to unite and work together to deal with the Entente led by the Liang Xia Empire.

But just give up the hegemony that has been in the hands of fifty years?

Separate negotiations do not mean that there are no restrictions on naval armaments.

As a matter of fact, after the devastation of the Great War, limiting naval armaments has become the consensus of all countries.

If naval armaments are not restricted, it will not be long before the great powers will tear up the armistice agreement that was born with great difficulty under the stimulus of the arms race, either in order to seize their own interests or in order to cope with the threat from a powerful enemy.

At that time, how many more lives will be used to satisfy the greedy appetite of the beasts of war?

Herein lies the contradiction!

This is also the reason why Zhu Shijian convened this meeting immediately after he became the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy and let the two major factions discuss it together.

No matter what method is adopted, this contradiction must be resolved!

Under the premise of limiting armaments, let the Imperial Navy quickly recover, continue to maintain first-class strength, and ensure that when the flames of war are ignited again, it can still sweep the seas, defeat all powerful enemies, maintain the security of the Empire, and seize the global interests belonging to the Empire.

To put it bluntly, it is to use limited resources to create unlimited possibilities!

Is this possible?

What's impossible!

In the first few hours, it was mainly the officers of the Chengwen faction, that is, Liu Changhe's side, who spoke to explain and explain the correctness of adhering to the original line.

Nothing new.

In the words of the Cheng Wen faction, as long as you build enough and advanced enough capital ships, you can crush your opponent in the next war.

Interestingly, the Chengwenists deliberately ignore a crucial precondition: the abolition of the restrictions created by the two-power standard.

As long as the agreement is implemented and becomes a treaty after it comes into force, even if the empire has sufficient resources, it will not be possible to build a fleet according to the routine of the Chengwen faction.

A flagrant violation of the sabotage agreement is tantamount to a declaration of war on the Great Powers.

The great powers, which had already tasted the sweetness of the war, would never give the Liang Xia Empire a chance to make a comeback, and would definitely start a war before the imperial navy regained its strength.

It can be seen that making a fuss about the size of the fleet will not work at all.

During these few hours, Zhu Shijian did not speak, and only occasionally asked questions for the officers of the South China Sea Fleet to make necessary answers.

Seeing Gui Boyong's eyes, Bai Zhizhan took a deep breath.

In the afternoon, Bai Zhizhan made some preparations, although it was not sufficient, but he was able to talk about it at the meeting, and he could barely cope with it.

"We all know that an armistice will not bring permanent peace, it will only temporarily extinguish the flames of war, and after the contradictions have gathered, the war will break out again. We also have reason to believe that the tragic lesson of tens of millions of casualties will be remembered by the world for decades. When the war breaks out again, it will no longer be us old bones who will lead the naval fleet to go out and write the chapter of victory. ”

Speaking of this, He Yongxing also deliberately looked at Liu Changhe opposite.

It's also too explicit.

Even if it is not explicitly stated, everyone knows that He Yongxing is ten years younger than Liu Changhe.

"If it's up to the next generation, or even the next generation, to charge into battle, why don't we listen and ask for their opinions?"

After speaking, He Yongxing turned his head and looked at Bai Zhizhan.

Bai Zhizhan was stunned for a moment, and then thought that it was his turn to speak.

Although he had been mentally prepared, Bai Zhizhan obviously didn't expect that He Yongxing would just say a few words, and he didn't talk for half an hour like Liu Changhe began.

Bai Zhizhan was very big, because he hadn't sorted out his thoughts for his speech.

It's just that now, I can only bite the bullet.

When Bai Zhizhan stood up, Gui Boyong beckoned to him, moved to the next position, and motioned for Bai Zhizhan to go to the front to speak.

This is the main conference room that can accommodate several hundred people, and those in front of the speakers in the back row may not be able to hear clearly.

Sighing secretly, Bai Zhizhan simply put down the messy manuscript in his hand.

Just improvise!

Obviously, the White Stop War was not a little nervous, but very nervous.

Although he walked smoothly to the front row, he accidentally touched the microphone when he was about to speak, and a sharp noise resounded throughout the conference room.

"Captain Bai Zhizhan, if I'm not mistaken, you are among the top ten among the cadets who graduated last year, and you are the home fleet that I recommended you to go to."

"Headmaster...... Commander-in-chief, you are not mistaken. ”

"Just think of me as your headmaster."

Hearing Zhu Shijian say this, Bai Zhizhan breathed a sigh of relief, and his emotions gradually calmed down.

That's right, it's a report to the principal.

At last year's graduation ceremony, Bai Zhizhan took the podium on behalf of the graduates of the aviation reconnaissance major to address the officers and men of the whole school, including the president.

At that time, he was not nervous at all, but very excited.

So, let's take this as another graduation ceremony on the big stage of life!