Chapter 70: Chapter Seventy: Second Lesson

Heaven only knows what mood Qin Ge was in as Belfast served him to put on the training uniform, but from his uneven breathing rhythm during his morning run it was clear.

So his usual long-distance run, because his breathing rhythm was very hard to regulate today, turned into a short-distance sprint.

But when he returned to the washroom with heavy panting, he found his tooth cup already filled with water and toothpaste squeezed onto the toothbrush, ready to use.

Seeing this, Qin Ge felt a bit helplessly amused; this was originally something he should do himself, but now being served by another left him with an indescribable feeling.

Thinking that from now on he would have to be like this, and seeing Belfast's tearful expression, he could only slowly accept it.

Thus he picked up the prepared tooth cup and toothbrush, and Qin Ge began his morning washing up.

After finishing his wash and just returning to his room, Belfast was already standing there elegantly, holding Qin Ge's commander's uniform in her hands—naturally to serve him in changing clothes.

Evidently, compared to the first time changing clothes, Qin Ge's body was less stiff this second time. Yet after Belfast tidied his collar and smoothed his hem, he still couldn't help letting out a heavy sigh.

Meanwhile, Belfast acted as if she hadn't seen it, continuing to focus on her own tasks.

After changing clothes, Qin Ge took his textbook and preparation materials together with his three shipgirls to the cafeteria. Under Belfast's service, after they finished breakfast, they proceeded to the preparation room beside the Grand Lecture Hall to get ready for the next lesson.

The preparation room was where the instructor rested; since they arrived early, Qin Ge had ample time to review the tactics manual he had organized the day before. While he was doing so, Belfast brewed red tea for the group, prompting Qin Ge to marvel again at her professionalism.

As the preparation bell rang, Qin Ge and his three shipgirls left the preparation room and entered the Grand Lecture Hall.

Compared to the Grand Lecture Hall for the first period, the second period's hall had far fewer people, because second-year students weren't always staying at school; they mainly increased their experience through commissioned missions, so those who remained on campus were relatively few.

Most of those present were first-year students, and the most eye-catching were the front row, where the officers' ranks showed lieutenants and colonels.

They gave off a sharp feeling; at a glance they were people who had undergone life-and-death battles. As Qin Ge observed them, they too were observing him on the podium.

When Qinglong first returned, he summoned the commanders of several grand fleets near Shenhua City to a meeting, whose agenda was to discuss participating in the Strategy and Tactics Course held by the Commander Academy.

This move left the grand fleet commanders and vice commanders utterly puzzled. After all, they too were graduates of the Commander Academy and were very familiar with its Strategy and Tactics Course, yet now the Maritime Affairs Bureau's chief, Qinglong, was having them take part in learning that very course, which truly baffled them.

However, after Qinglong's explanation, they roughly understood. The Commander Academy's Strategy and Tactics Course instructor had now been joined by a newcomer—a private‑ranked acting commander—whose lecture content had been endorsed by the Front Line's supreme commander Enterprise and the Maritime Affairs Bureau's chief Qinglong.

Furthermore, only after Qinglong and Enterprise negotiated with the Commander Academy's Dean, Prince of Wales, was this opportunity granted. Moreover, attending one lecture required paying a fee of 500 units of supplies.

All of this made the grand fleet commanders and vice commanders feel eager; they also wanted to see just what kind of Strategy and Tactics Course a private‑ranked acting commander could deliver that would earn such high praise from those two.

Thus, aside from the commanders and vice commanders stationed at headquarters, everyone else paid the supplies fee and, today, all gathered to attend this Strategy and Tactics Course.

At first sight of Qin Ge, their impression was that he was very young, just like when they first arrived at the academy. But they quickly noticed something different about him—his bearing.

Although he lacked the bloody aura they carried, his sharp gaze, clean and decisive movements, and his constantly upright posture all highlighted his extraordinariness.

This time they probably came for the right reason; a few people downstairs exchanged glances, nodded, and then turned their gaze to Qin Ge on the podium.

"Class begins!"

Following Qin Ge's voice, everyone rose to their feet, their expressions solemn and stern.

"Please be seated!"

Seeing everyone sit down, Qin Ge began today's lesson.

"Originally I would have explained the textbook material today, but since a few seniors have come, I plan to temporarily change the lesson. Please still put down your books and mainly listen to my explanation. Do you remember the last sentence I left you with last time?"

"That is, since tactics came into being, the only two principled objectives have been: one, to preserve oneself; the other, to destroy the enemy."

"Today, I will mainly explain defensive and offensive tactics for you."

As Qin Ge lectured, everyone involuntarily sat up straight, fixing their gaze intently on him at the podium.

"In battle, destroying the enemy is primary, preserving oneself secondary; only by heavily destroying the enemy can one effectively preserve oneself. Attack and defense are the basic means to achieve battle objectives: attack, with initiative, is the main means to destroy the enemy; defense, being passive, is the means to preserve oneself and assist attack."

"In our naval warfare, what we need to do is fully unleash the equipment performance of all types of shipgirls, flexibly employ various tactics, be brave and tenacious, resolutely and actively annihilate the enemy."

"Moreover, knowing oneself and the enemy is the foundation for correctly directing combat; when organizing and implementing combat, one should be familiar with both sides' situations, find patterns of action, use them to guide one's own actions, so that subjective direction conforms to objective reality."

"Remember when I first entered the academy, Dean Prince of Wales asked me a question: what is most important in war? My answer at the time was intelligence."

In battle, constantly grasping changes in the battlefield situation, timely revising battle plans, promptly forming new judgments and making new resolutions, determining new methods of action, or adjusting the entire fleet's movements, so that subjective guidance conforms to ever‑changing objective reality, concentrating superior forces to seize the initiative in combat—this is the fundamental method to overcome the enemy and achieve victory!