On the other side of the world, the Republic of Newland, the city of New Zealand.

As the host of the multilateral negotiations, the Nuland administration not only leased the entire Empire State Building, but also provided attentive services to the negotiators of all parties.

However, these measures have not contributed to a change of heart on the part of the Iraqi authorities.

The final round of negotiations has been going on all day, and due to the time difference, an agreement must be reached before the early hours of the morning, otherwise the last chance will be missed.

Afternoon consultations continued until after 7 a.m.

Because the night consultation was scheduled to start at 8:30, there were many documents that needed to be processed in time, so Bai Huamin didn't bother to eat dinner at all.

After sorting out the relevant information, she went to the envoy's office.

Seeing the look of Nong Chengpei, the plenipotentiary envoy who came to negotiate on behalf of the Imperial Shoufu, to be precise, the special envoy, Bai Huamin realized that the result had come out.

"Special Envoy ...... Agriculture"

"Just received it."

Nong Chengpei didn't say much, pointed to the document on the desk, took out his cigarette, and walked to the window.

Bai Huamin hesitated slightly, but then walked over and picked up the document whose ink had not yet dried.

Just a message, just a few words.

Roughly speaking, the Iraqi army has completed its offensive deployment, and the war will break out in a few hours, so there is no need to continue to waste time on negotiations.

"Is that the end of it?"

"Go get ready." Nong Chengpei sighed heavily, and then snuffed out the cigarette that he had only smoked twice. "Hopes are on the verge of being dashed, but we have one last effort to make. I'll go to the Iraqi negotiators, if only to have a clear conscience. ”

Bai Huamin nodded, indicating that he understood what the envoy meant.

When Nong Chengpei went to find the Iraqi envoy, Bai Huamin called the embassy's liaison staff and asked the embassy to arrange a diplomatic plane.

According to the previous arrangement, whether the negotiations fail or the ultimatum expires, the imperial negotiating team will immediately take a diplomatic plane back home.

Bai Huamin is the chief assistant to Nong Chengpei, mainly responsible for chores and coordination.

Half an hour later, Nong Chengpei rushed back.

The result did not exceed Bai Huamin's expectations, and the Iraqi plenipotentiary rejected Nong Chengpei's alternative and extended the ultimatum for 72 hours.

Although the deadline is still a few hours away, diplomatic efforts have failed.

After making a phone call to Assistant Secretary of State Nuland, who organized the negotiations, Nong Chengpei took the Imperial Negotiating delegation and set off for Kennedy International Airport.

Over there, the diplomatic plane was ready to take off.

No one mentioned the negotiation along the way, and the atmosphere was very gloomy.

Although the result was predicted, but after working hard for so long, the result was empty-handed, and it was difficult for anyone to accept, and the mood would definitely be affected.

After getting on the plane, they all closed their eyes and recuperated.

In the past three days, the imperial negotiating delegation, more than 20 diplomats from Nong Chengpei onwards, have not even had a moment of respite.

In Nong Chengpei's words, if you can prevent the outbreak of war and save innocent civilians, it will be worth three more days and three nights.

Maintaining world peace and stability is the sacred duty of diplomatic workers.

Bai Huamin didn't sit down immediately to recuperate, she first went to the captain to talk about the return trip, and then found the waiter to arrange a supper for everyone.

Because the deadline has not yet arrived, this temporarily chartered civil airliner with a maximum range of 14,000 kilometers and a direct flight from New York to the imperial capital has to wait for several hours at JFK Airport before taking off and leaving when everything is irretrievable.

In the meantime, supper must be arranged.

When she finished her busy work and came back to sit down and rest, Nong Chengpei was flipping through a copy of today's "New City Times".

The front-page headlines are editorials about the current tensions.

Of course, in Nong Chengpei's eyes, those nonsense editorials are more like thrillers written by third-rate writers.

"You can rest for a while, maybe you'll be busy tomorrow."

"Don't say tomorrow, you'll be able to sleep in a few hours." Nong Chengpei put away the newspaper in his hand and took out an encrypted handheld phone from the briefcase next to him. "These days, the hardest person is you. Give home a call and tell you if you're safe. ”

After being stunned for a moment, Bai Huamin took the phone, got up and walked towards the front hatch.

It's just that she didn't call.

It's not that I don't want to fight, but it's not necessary.

If the negotiations have broken down, then the family member, that is, Li Tianling, must have received an order, and I am afraid that he will return to the army a few days ago.

Maybe in a few days, he will be flying to the battlefield in a warhawk!

…………

At this time, it was the official residence of the first assistant of the imperial capital.

The meeting was still going on when the secretary brought in the breakfast, which had been warmed for the third time.

By reporting the news, the secretary reminded Shousuke that it was almost 10 o'clock in the morning, and the cabinet ministers and generals attending the meeting had not eaten breakfast.

"It's not early, let's have breakfast first."

After Shousuke said this, everyone got up.

It's just that Zhou Yongtao has no appetite at all.

After the ministers and generals went out and the secretary closed the door, he pushed away the bowl of rice balls in front of him.

Five years ago, on his 66th birthday, the former top boss and the commander he admired the most, the former commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy, Generalissimo Bai Zhizhan, put a choice in front of him.

Or after Li Mingbo's retirement, he became the chief of staff of the Imperial Navy.

Either retire early to compete for the throne of the Empire's first assistant.

The former must be ten out of ten.

As for the latter, Zhou Yongtao needs to fight for it with all his might.

It was on that day that Zhou Yongtao made a decision to change his fate.

As a result of this decision, he became the first admiral in the history of the empire to live in the residence of the first assistant.

Of course, according to the practice started by Lian Xusheng, Zhou Yongtao obtained the rank of marshal when he retired, not the rank of generalissimo.

It's just that this decision is not entirely for himself.

As early as more than 10 years ago, in order to let him return to the naval command and promote naval reform, Bai Zhizhan took the initiative to give up the opportunity to enter the residence of the chief and auxiliary officials, and also retired as generalissimo of the navy ahead of schedule, giving up the position of commander-in-chief of the navy to Li Mingbo, whose talent was obviously a big difference.

After that, the navy, driven by the military reforms initiated by Zhou Yongtao, almost changed its appearance and re-emerged as a strong branch of the empire.

It's just that, under the impetus of the then first assistant, the Ministry of Defense grew rapidly.

To put it simply, these arrangements made by Bai Zhizhan, especially the compromise and concessions, were all aimed at letting Zhou Yongtao live in the Shoufu Mansion one day in the future.

As for why Bai Zhizhan did not serve as the first assistant.

The reason is also very simple.

In his time, there were also Lian Xusheng and Li Yunxiang, and Lian Xusheng took the lead, and it was Bai Zhizhan's turn, he was in his 80s.

It can be seen that Zhou Yongtao is protected because Zhou Yongtao is more than 20 years younger.

In the words of Bai Zhizhan, only by having a chief assistant can the Imperial Navy change the fate of being held back by the army and obeying the army's dispatch everywhere.

As for why Bai Zhizhan had such thoughts, Zhou Yongtao couldn't be clearer.

That's right, it has to do with the Polish-Iranian War.

In this large-scale local war that changed the global pattern, the Imperial Navy can be said to be conscientious, and the number of troops invested in the war at its peak accounted for seventy percent of the total strength. In June 134 of the new calendar, there were as many as 22 aircraft carriers deployed in Posha Bay and Mua Hai alone.

The cost paid by the Navy was also extremely heavy, with the loss of thousands of carrier-based aircraft alone.

However, after the war, the top brass and people of the empire actually attributed the cause of the defeat to the navy, and Bai Zhizhan resigned angrily.

Although judging from the situation at the time, the main reason for letting the navy take the blame in public opinion propaganda was to maintain the majesty of the imperial family, that is, the last commander-in-chief of the front was the imperial crown prince who worshiped the army general, but Bai Zhizhan insisted that this was actually forcing the navy to comply.

To put it simply, it is to force the Navy to drastically reduce the size of the fleet.

After the end of the Polish-Iraqi War, the Imperial Navy still had more than 1,000 fleets, 6 percent of which were old warships built and designed during the last war.

Just maintaining these warships takes up nearly 30% of military spending.

Worse still, both Bai Zhizhan and Li Mingbo opposed reducing expenses by reducing the size of the fleet, and have been trying to maintain the size of the fleet.

Replace the old battleships that are about to be decommissioned with new ones one to one!?

It was an unbearable burden for the post-war empire.

If this is the case, the Army and Air Force, as well as the Marine Corps, will have to go hungry!

Within five years after the end of the Polish-Iranian War, nearly 600 warships built in World War II, including 12 "provincial" class aircraft carriers, were decommissioned one after another.

The point is that replacement ships were not built.

As a result, by the end of Li Mingbo's tenure as commander-in-chief of the Navy, the number of aircraft carriers had plummeted from 37 before the outbreak of the Polish-Iranian War to 15, and only 7 large aircraft carriers were built after the war, and the first ship of the 100,000-ton supercarrier was still under construction at that time.

In the year 141 of the new calendar, when it fell to the bottom, there were only 383 warships in the Imperial Navy!

This number is 30% less than the 545 ships needed to maintain global hegemony.

In addition, both houses of the Imperial Council passed a bill that appeared to protect the interests of the navy, but in fact limited the size of the navy.

Limit the number of aircraft carriers to 15!

That is, only in the event of a full-scale war, repealing the act, the Imperial Navy will have the right to procure the 16th aircraft carrier.

Otherwise, for every new aircraft carrier in service, an old aircraft carrier will have to be decommissioned.

For this reason, Bai Zhizhan also did not attend the enthronement ceremony of the current saint on the grounds of ill health.

Don't forget, he is the husband of the little eldest princess, the concubine of the empire, and according to the kinship of the people, he is the uncle of the current saint.

It is precisely in this way that Bai Zhizhan hopes that the navy can give birth to an imperial chief assistant.

Obviously, the most suitable candidate is Zhou Yongtao.

It's just that Zhou Yongtao also knows that some of Bai Zhizhan's views are outdated, or too biased.

Limiting the size of the navy is actually inevitable.

Moreover, it is not the Army that benefits, it is the Air Force.

To a large extent, restricting the army and navy and increasing investment in the air force can be said to be the main theme of military reform after the end of the war.

Although the navy has not withdrew, and will not withdraw, from the stage of history, in the context of the new era, it is the air force that determines the outcome of the war and holds the initiative in the war.

It is a strategic air force with global strike capabilities!

In fact, Bai Zhizhan also understands the truth of this.

The most representative thing is that in the year after the end of the war, Bai Zhizhan, who served as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Navy, approved the construction of the "Imperial" class supercarrier.

A few months later, the "Imperial" began construction in Puzhou.

Compared with the previous aircraft carriers, the most striking feature of the "Empire" is that all prominent objects, including the ship island, that hinder the take-off and landing of aircraft have been eliminated.

Even the chimneys are designed to curve down to the side.

It's so extreme, it's just for one purpose.

It is equipped with heavy bombers with a combat radius of more than 2,000 kilometers and can carry out strategic bombing missions, thus giving carrier-based aviation a powerful strategic strike capability.

It can be seen that the White Stop War is also clear that the future will be dominated by strategic strikes.

It is a pity that less than a year after the start of construction of the "Imperial", it was forced to dismount due to military adjustments.

At that time, a group of admirals led by Wei Jun also threatened to resign and demanded that the construction of the "Imperial" continue, which ultimately backfired.

In fact, it cannot be said that there is no result.

After the indignant resignation of a dozen highly decorated admirals, including Wei Jun, the imperial authorities relented and approved a few years later the application for the construction of the "Chen Bingxun" class, the first large aircraft carrier after the war, and built two more than the navy hoped to obtain.

The standard displacement of the "Chen Bingxun" class is up to 64,000 tons, while the "Imperial" is only 60,000 tons.

However, in order to cater to the bigwigs responsible for appropriation in the two houses of the debate, and in order to avoid being constrained by the Air Force, the "Chen Bingxun" class adopted the traditional ship type.

As for the strategic strikes insisted on by the White Stop, in the jet age, especially after the birth of tankers, it was no longer the exclusive capability of heavy bombers.

In addition, the collective retirement of Wei Jun and other naval generals is equivalent to putting Zhou Yongtao on top.

Don't forget that throughout the war, Zhou Yongtao served as a staff officer.

Although he has always followed Bai Zhizhan and made great achievements, in terms of popularity, he obviously cannot compare with the Wei Jun who has always served as a commander.

Besides, in terms of qualifications, Zhou Yongtao is also a cut worse than Wei Jun.

If the guards do not retreat, it will not be Zhou Yongtao's turn to stand up for the navy in any case.

Of course, Zhou Yongtao did not disappoint Bai Zhizhan.

Less than a month after living in the Shoufu Mansion, Zhou Yongtao did a big thing vigorously.

This is what was mentioned earlier, the suppression of the rebellion in Sri Lanka.

In the following years, under the command of Zhou Yongtao, the empire gradually came out of the shadow of defeat in the Polish-Iranian War, and launched a new round of military reform through the explosion of science and technology.

If anything, promoting military reform has always been Zhou's number one mission.

In fact, only he can do it.

The reason is also very simple, the navy is a typical high-tech service, and the admirals are more sensitive to emerging technologies and are more willing to provide support for technical equipment.

What is driving this round of military reform is electronic technology represented by integrated circuits!

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Defense, the significance of this round of military reform is no longer under the mechanization revolution, and it will definitely completely change the face of war!

Zhou Yongtao did not doubt this.

Of course, if he had known five years ago that he would face the most serious challenge since World War II during his term of office, and might even have personally lit the fuse of World War III, it would not have been to say that he would have made another choice, but to promote military reform as soon as he took office, and to adjust the basic strategy of the empire at the same time.

Prepare 5 years early, at least not as passive as of course!