Ding Zhennan didn't want to say more, and Shi Zhiliang didn't ask much. Ding Zhennan can see the powerful relationship thoroughly, and Shi Zhiliang needless to say.

But whenever it comes to entanglements of interests, a young officer like Ding Zhennan, who has no background, will definitely stay away.

It's not that there is a lot of corruption within the Imperial Army, but where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and smart people will definitely not put themselves in the position of cannon fodder.

After that, I didn't say anything all the way, and I came to the Shoufu Residence.

Although it was called a military conference, it was attended not only by military generals, but also by some high-ranking government officials, as well as more sophisticated intelligence officials.

To Ding Zhennan's surprise, he met Bai Huawei's sister in the pantry.

That's right, it's Bai Huamin.

This unexpected encounter made Ding Zhennan very embarrassed.

The reason is also very simple, before marrying Li Tianling, Bai Huamin once had plans to regret his marriage, and it was Ding Zhennan who acted as the "third party". To put it simply, shortly after she got engaged to Li Tianling, she met Ding Zhennan through Bai Huawei and was attracted by Ding Zhennan's talent. Because of this incident, Ding Zhennan had to give up the opportunity to serve in the General Staff Headquarters and went to the grassroots units for several years to train. After Bai Huamin married Li Tianling and had a child, he returned to the imperial capital and got the opportunity to go to the army headquarters for exercise.

For Bai Huamin, Ding Zhennan didn't have any wrong thoughts.

It's not that he has already got married, but it is also related to Bai Huawei.

Of course, Ding Zhennan also knew that even if he was only eight years old, he was not qualified to act as a third party in the marriage of the two major military families of the empire.

Thankfully, time can change everything.

In any case, more than 10 years have passed, even if Bai Huamin still has a trace of thought in his heart, he will not ignore his family.

Because he knew the past of Ding Zhennan and Bai Huamin, after seeing Bai Huamin, Shi Zhiliang slipped away.

"General Ding."

"Ms. White......

Just looking at her appearance, Bai Huamin has not changed much, she is the same as Bai Huawei, she is not too old by nature, and the special nature of her work also requires special attention to her personal image.

"We haven't seen each other in over a decade, haven't we?"

"Almost."

"I started to hear that there was a General Ding coming to the meeting, but I didn't expect it to be you."

"It's just a matter of luck."

"You're still so humble."

Ding Zhennan was speechless, and he didn't know what to say.

In the midst of small talk, the two came to the terrace outside.

The pantry is on the second floor, facing the back garden.

Although it is not yet dawn, the garden is brightly lit, and under the illumination of high-power magnesium lights, the carefully cultivated golden silk chrysanthemum looks particularly enchanting.

"When did you come back?"

"You actually want to ask, why did I come to the Chief's Mansion to attend a military meeting?"

Ding Zhennan smiled reluctantly, Bai Huamin was still so sharp and direct, and her diplomatic work for more than ten years had no impact on her.

"I'm not here for a meeting."

"This ......"

"I'm going to the airport later, and I heard that you were coming, so I delayed for a while."

At this time, Ding Zhennan was even more speechless.

"Don't think about it, after all, I haven't seen you for more than ten years, and Hua Wei rarely mentions you in front of me." Bai Huamin smiled before continuing: "Although I am not a soldier and I am not clear about the things of the battle, the current situation cannot be completely blamed on the front-line commander."

Hearing Bai Huamin say this, Ding Zhennan understood.

Obviously, she was speaking for Bai Huawei.

learned from Shi Zhiliang that Bai Huawei stayed in Zhenbao Harbor and did not return to China, and Ding Zhennan realized that Bai Huawei's situation was very bad.

Even if Zhou Yongtao will not target Bai Huawei, someone needs to be responsible.

At this time, the one who can stand up and speak for Bai Huawei has enough weight, in fact, it is Ding Zhennan.

In order to avoid suspicion, Zhou Yongtao must remain silent.

Don't forget, he was personally cultivated and promoted by Bai Zhizhan, and he can be regarded as Bai Zhizhan's confidant, and he is still Bai Huawei's elder in terms of personal identity.

Almost all other admirals, especially senior ones, have similar problems.

In terms of the Air Force, there are only a handful of generals who can speak for Bai Huawei because of the relationship between the Li family.

On the army's side, Shi Zhiliang will definitely not be able to.

Other generals, trustworthy and influential enough, will not be gossiped about in personal relationships, and only Ding Zhennan is the only one.

Don't look at Ding Zhennan's personal relationship with Bai Huawei, but there is no stake between the two.

If anything, it's a friend at most.

In times of war, the soldiers of the empire are all robes, let alone friends!

"Don't worry, I'm measured." Ding Zhennan also sighed, this matter was so troublesome that Bai Huamin had to come forward, and the situation was definitely not ordinarily complicated.

"I'm just saying it casually, don't take it to heart."

Ding Zhennan nodded, and Bai Huamin didn't say much.

Those spearheads aimed at Bai Huawei are likely to use this matter to deal with Zhou Yongtao.

The relationship between Bai Huawei and Zhou Yongtao naturally goes without saying. The point is that Task Force 41 did achieve a tactical victory, while it was Task Force 61 that suffered defeat. Even if this tactical victory is more than worth the loss, it is a gold medal of exculpation, so even if there is accountability, the commander of Task Force 61 should go to him. deliberately targeted Bai Huawei, making it clear that he was finding fault with Zhou Yongtao.

From this point of view, Zhou Yongtao will definitely not go into battle in person, nor will he let the senior generals of the navy and the generals who are close to the Bai family in other branches of the military come forward.

Obviously, this is what Bai Huamin wants to convey.

After talking about some other things, Bai Huamin said goodbye and left.

She came to the Shoufu Mansion not only to meet Ding Zhennan, but also to have other things.

Although she didn't say it explicitly, the meaning revealed in the conversation was also related to the naval battle that had just ended, and it was a diplomatic activity personally appointed by Shousuke.

Unsurprisingly, it is likely that he was secretly in contact with the Nuland authorities through a neutral third country in the capacity of a special envoy.

Soon after Bai Huamin left, the secretary of the first assistant rushed over and informed the arriving generals that the military meeting would be held in 10 minutes.

There were more than 30 generals attending the meeting, except for a few chiefs of staff and a few senior generals represented by Shi Zhiliang, all of them were young generals like Ding Zhennan. Government officials and intelligence officials are basically unfamiliar faces, and there are less than 10 names of Ding Zhennan.

As for the content of the meeting, it was the same as Ding Zhennan guessed.

The battle on the Guia side has come to an end, and to be precise, it has entered a stage of strategic stalemate, and there will be no change in the short term except for strategic bombing of limited significance.

To do this, it is necessary to determine the main strategic offensive directions.

Northwest, or Southern Subcontinent?

If anything, the atmosphere of the meeting was rather dull, probably because of some concerns, and even a high-ranking general like Shi Zhiliang behaved more conservatively. Only a few generals expressed their opinions, and all of them were conservative, or rather ambiguous, and did not give a clear statement.

Needless to say, those government officials.

As for the intelligence officers, most of the time they are making factual statements and are not involved in decision-making discussions. Even the director of the Military Intelligence Agency did not express an opinion, but only emphasized the great significance of determining the direction of the strategic offensive as soon as possible and opening up new main battlefields.

As a result, until Zhou Yongtao announced the temporary adjournment of the meeting and asked everyone to go to breakfast, he did not discuss a famous name.

In fact, at the beginning of the meeting, that is, when he saw Zhou Yongtao, Ding Zhennan noticed that Shoufu's demeanor was obviously several years old.

Not to mention anything else, even the gray hair has increased a lot.

Perhaps, it's just that he hasn't dyed his hair, after all, an old man of Zhou Yongtao's age has long since turned white.

Of course, this outfit is sending a very clear signal that Shousuke will be so haggard after working day and night for the benefit of the empire.

This speculation was quickly confirmed.

After the adjournment, Ding Zhennan went to solve the internal emergency. When he came out of the bathroom, Shousuke's confidential secretary, Luo Youbin, was already waiting outside.

When I arrived at the study, Zhou Yongtao was on the phone.

"You can do this first. When the situation is clear, we will discuss countermeasures. After putting down the phone, Zhou Yongtao nodded towards Ding Zhennan.

"Shoufu ......"

"Sit casually, I asked Xiao Luo to prepare rice balls, noodles and buns, which are a little simpler, but they all taste good."

Shoufu was so enthusiastic, Ding Zhennan looked a little embarrassed.

In addition, he speaks with a lot of energy, indicating that he is in good spirits.

"I also recently heard others mention that Hua Min's girl had an awkward relationship with Li Tianling at the beginning, and it has something to do with you."

"This ......"

"Young man, understand."

Shousuke's words scared Ding Zhennan out of a cold sweat.

"Don't think about it too much, that girl has been willful since she was a child, and she is very emotional. In this situation, it makes sense for her to look for you. ”

"I didn't think much of it, I just felt that no matter what, the front-line commander should not be blamed."

Zhou Yongtao smiled before saying, "You don't have to worry about this matter, otherwise, I, the first assistant, will be too incompetent." Anyway, it's a time of war, and those bulls, ghosts, snakes, and gods outside can't make any waves. I'm looking for you alone, but it's actually for another thing. ”

Ding Zhennan nodded, but he didn't answer.

"I know, you must have concerns."

"Shoufu ......"

"You don't have to explain, and you don't have to worry." Zhou Yongtao pressed his hand and said with a smile: "Including you, I must think that I will insist on focusing on the Northwest Battlefield, after all, in the past few decades, our efforts for the ground war have all been aimed at defeating the Western Continent Group in a global war, sweeping the entire world island, eliminating the most serious threat, and becoming the only super hegemon on the world island."

Ding Zhennan smiled reluctantly, Zhou Yongtao's words were too direct, so he couldn't intervene at all.

"There is no need to deny that this is indeed our strategic purpose. It's just that there must be a very huge gap between the ideal and the reality. I'm not afraid to tell you that I left the camp of idealism and became a realist in the true sense of the word before I took off my uniform. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in a position to sit here and talk to you. I'm telling you this, I just hope you can understand that even the first assistant of the empire has unspeakable troubles. In fact, it had something to do with arranging for you to go to the Southern Subcontinent in the first place. ”

Ding Zhennan was stunned for a moment, but then reacted.

"Surprised?" Zhou Yongtao shook his head with a smile, and said, "You and Shi Zhiliang, there must be someone who goes to the Southern Subcontinent to preside over the overall situation. Just a few hours ago, I signed General Shi Zhiliang's promotion order. After completing the necessary procedures on the Privy Council's side, he became the Imperial Army General. If nothing else, he will be promoted to marshal before the end of the war, and possibly generalissimo. It's just that Shi Zhiliang has always lacked the desire for this. Otherwise, he would have taken the position of Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army. The point is, he's very self-aware. In his words, he is more suitable to be a stepping stone for others, or more like a Bole who discovers Maxima. ”

"General Shi has always been humble and easy-going."

"I am not telling you this to belittle Shi Zhiliang, but I hope you can understand that in the army, the most important thing is ability. You should know that during the last war, I was able to be reused by the Generalissimo of the White Stop War, not because of how noble my background was. In the same way, the fact that Generalissimo Bai Zhizhan was able to become the god of war of the Imperial Navy was not because he came from a certain naval family. ”

"Shoufu ......"

"That's why I repeatedly emphasize to you, don't take it to heart. You can obtain the importance of Shi Zhiliang's military weapon, relying on your own ability. I believe that General Shi Zhiliang has given you so many opportunities, that is, I hope that you will become the pillar of the Imperial Army one day. ”

Shoufu's words made Ding Zhennan feel embarrassed, and he was even more ashamed.

Obviously, he attaches too much importance to personal gains and losses, or rather takes simple things too complicated, and treats others with an attitude of rejection of people thousands of miles away.

Of course, this also has something to do with his early experience.

"Well, can we talk openly and honestly now?"

Ding Zhennan let out a long breath and pondered for a while before saying, "If it were up to me to decide, I would first pick the closest fruits of victory."

"Why?" Zhou Yongtao asked very directly.

After pondering for a while, Ding Zhennan said: "Aside from the fact that there is a controversy in itself, or that it is not an immutable strategic purpose at all, just as the current battlefield situation is concerned, no one dares to guarantee that the Western Continent Group will hold out until the day when the Nuland Republic sends troops, and no one dares to guarantee that after the defeat of the Van Luo Kingdom, the Nuland authorities will support the Western Continent Group at any cost, rather than giving up halfway."

"You mean the war will end soon?"

"There is such a possibility, but there is no way to say for sure, and when it will end depends on how much we are willing to give up the benefits that have already been received or are about to be received."

Zhou Yongtao nodded, and after thinking for a while, he said, "If you provide enough support, how fast can you sweep the Southern Subcontinent?"

"It depends on how you define 'sweeping'. If it is only to defeat the kingdom of Van Luo, a few months will be enough. To achieve a higher purpose, it takes more time. ”

"Looks like you're prepared."

Ding Zhennan smiled reluctantly, and came back to participate in the military meeting chaired by Shoufu himself, and it was strange that he was not prepared.

"You let it go, and I'll take care of the rest. Later Meetings...... Don't waste time, just let Luo take you to the airport later. ”

"This ......"

At this time, Luo Youbin came to the study and sent breakfast.

Ding Zhennan is a smart person, and it immediately occurred to him that Shoufu had already made a decision, so there was no need to talk nonsense.

:。 :