“What do you say to this?” Hong asked the Police Minister.
“Leader…” Xiao Yang said slowly. “I ferret out secrets for China. It is not my prerogative to decipher their meaning. I leave that to your experts such as the Foreign Minister. It is enough for me—”
Hong frowned, and it caused Xiao Yang to falter.
“The Foreign Minister makes an excellent point, Leader,” Xiao Yang said. “The Germans are greedy, and I’m beginning to think, cowardly. Why else did they renege on their treaty obligations this summer? The military fiasco in New Orleans bears witness to their perfidy. The South Americans took brutal losses storming ashore. I think—”
“The South Americans,” Hong said with a sneer. “The less we speak about them, the better. They are useful garrison troops. For fighting, we must rely on the valor of Chinese arms.”
The Army Minister cleared his throat. He was stooped-shouldered with many wrinkles on his face, and his chest blazed with medals and ribbons. His name was Marshal Wu, the spokesman for the fighting military.
“Are you becoming impatient?” Hong asked the Marshal.
The wrinkled old man showed his teeth in a grin. “You need a younger, stronger man for my post, Leader. If I remain here too long at this meeting, I’m afraid I shall nod off. I have sipped your excellent coffee, a most powerful brew. While the caffeine boils in my blood is the best time for us to discuss the coming strategy for winter.”
Chairman Hong stared at Marshal Wu.
The entire chamber seemed to hold its breath. Shun Li wondered if she was about to witness one of the legendry executions. Rumors abounded concerning Hong’s increasingly bad temper. He feared assassination, and he’d had individuals shot in his presence. One operative had whispered to her a month ago that Hong believed he could literally sniff out traitors.
Holding herself motionless against the wall, Shun Li watched, although she was careful not to gaze directly at Chairman Hong. She used her peripheral vision to study him, waiting to see him sniff like a hound.
It did not occur. Instead, Chairman Hong nodded. “I appreciate your wisdom, Marshal Wu. As befits a military man, you have courage. I have come to realize how rare that is among my ministers. It is perhaps a gift of age. Knowing you are about to pass on to the next life, your fear of death has dwindled.”
“An excellent point, Leader,” Wu said.
“I take it you have certain refinements to make regarding the overarching plan we decided upon this summer?”
“That is an excellent way of saying it, Leader,” Wu said. “As a preamble to the Army’s…refinements, I would like to make a comment.”
“This is a strategy session,” Hong said. He smiled and glanced around at the other ministers.
Each of them chuckled politely, although Shun Li noticed that none of the aides standing against the wall uttered a sound.
Marshal Wu sipped from the coffee cup at his elbow. “We did not anticipate the intensity of the rains, Leader. It has allowed the Americans time to strengthen their lines and it has slowed our relentless advance. Before his premature death in California this summer, Marshal Nung taught us much about around-the-clock offenses. Because of your wisdom, Leader, in pointing this out to Army High Command, we have instituted a similar approach. Such an offensive takes a prodigious amount of supplies, particularly artillery munitions. The rains have bogged down our supply rate. Lately, a greater American submarine presence has also begun to have an adverse effect.”
“Why is this happening now?” Hong asked the Navy Minister.
“New tactics, Leader,” the Navy Minister said.
“New?” Hong asked. “What new tactics can the beleaguered Americans—”
Marshal Wu cleared his throat once more, causing Chairman Hong to stop speaking and stare at the old soldier.
“Are you daring to interrupt me again?” Hong asked in a low and dangerous tone.
“Please, Leader, I ask you to forgive an old man. It was my scratchy throat. I do not have the strength of you young men or the same forbearance against discomfort.”
“Ah,” Hong said.
“I would never dream of interrupting you, Leader.”
Hong nodded.
“Since we’re on the topic of interrupted supplies,” Wu said, “I would like to point out an increase in partisan attacks. These attacks are particularly fierce in Texas and Oklahoma.”
Chairman Hong blinked at Wu. “We were discussing the naval situation.”
“Ah, forgive me, Leader. I thought the topic was the interrupted supply situation. I do not have your ability to switch from idea to idea with such lightning speed.”
Hong gestured irritably, waving his hand as if he were an orchestra conductor. “Yes, I do possess swiftness of thought that is painfully lacking in others. It is a burden, I assure you. Very well, I will stoop down to your level, Marshal. Continue with your comment. We will discuss the naval situation afterward when you take your nap.”
Marshal Wu smiled, showing his teeth. They were bright white, no doubt dentures.
Shun Li saw the Marshal’s smile for what it was. In her practiced opinion, the old man hated Hong. The Marshal disguised the hatred well, however. He superbly acted a part.
Yes, he plays the old man in order to lull the Chairman.
“Together—the naval losses and partisan assaults—have slowed the rate of our supplies reaching the front. The very length to the front also adds wastage,” Marshal Wu said. “The rains make everything worse because they slow the swiftness of the campaign and bog down the resupply efforts. We need a total concentration attack for winter. A brutal, intense and an around-the-clock assault to the Canadian border will do several things at once. It will smash the Americans where they stand. That will allow the pursuit divisions to reach the border in record time. That will spit the United States in two, forever dividing the East from West. That will also give us their most important oil fields, tremendously weakening their Army. Such a swift campaign will save our military from prolonged exposure and wear, leaving it in that much better condition for the next grand assault.”
“We have spoken about these things before,” Hong said. “You’ve added nothing new.”
“The rains have slowed the assault,” Wu said. “That slowing has given the Americans time, which they’ve used to thicken their defenses. Even worse, newly manufactured drones and fighters have reached the front, replenishing their losses. I would like permission to move the MC ABMs deeper into the Midwest.”
Chairman Hong blinked several times at the Marshal.
“The Mobile Canopy Anti-Ballistic Missile vehicles,” Marshal Wu said. “They are massive, over six hundred tons in weight. As we spread out across the American Plains, we need greater air protection against American drones and missile assaults. Our tac-lasers wear out or go up in flames from successful American strikes. The remaining tac-lasers are stretched everywhere. Our anti-air umbrella has become porous.”
“I’ve been repeatedly told that our Air Force is superior to the American fighters and drones,” Hong said.
“Our Air Force is better than theirs, Leader,” Wu said. “Unfortunately, the Great Plains is a vast region. At times, the Americans gain local air superiority and inflict unprecedented damage to our soldiers. Our tac-lasers and mobile SAMs are priority targets for the enemy. We have fewer than needed. With the northern movement of our MC ABMs we could create tighter air-defense umbrellas.”