Hong had chipped away at the marshal’s credibility, at least in the eyes of the other ministers. Including Hong and herself, there were nine ultra-powerful men and women on the Ruling Committee.
“I have waited over a year for this day to arrive,” Hong said. “Chao Pin has overruled me for the last time. My military experts and I have war-gamed the Midwestern situation many times. The Americans will break through the so-called “death zone.” Probabilities indicate we shall suffer a serious reverse in Oklahoma.”
She had listened to Chao Pin and his chief ally, the Navy Minister, explaining the situation. American submarine attacks had been particularly devastating this last month. An entire task force destroyed by a perfectly placed nuclear-tipped torpedo. Such losses could not continue indefinitely or China would lose control of the Pacific Ocean. That would ruin the North American invasion.
“The Army’s marshals are timid fools,” Hong said. “They failed to attack last summer when the Germans ran amok in the Great Lakes region. We held our defenses when we should have gathered our resources into one critical area and struck, stretching the defenders. Only I saw clearly enough then and see clearly enough now. One doesn’t win a continent through caution and tiptoeing. Quite the opposite, in fact. One must accept risks and strike boldly.”
Hong had spoken like that before the disaster at Denver and later at Colorado Springs. The marshals had struck for that reason, winning over the others on the Ruling Committee. Everyone agreed the Army should run the war in a prudent manner. They had all feared that the Chairman’s boldness would lead to the invasion army’s annihilation. Given American disunity and the extent of its problems, the US military had fought much harder and better than anyone had predicted.
Instead of verbalizing such things, Shun Li said, “The Americans are recovering faster than our analysts had foreseen.”
“Exactly, exactly,” Hong said. He drummed his fingers on the desk. “Let me tell you a truth. The principal human emotion is envy and second is greed. The rest of the planet hates us for our strength. Such feelings have always been the case. Only terror and fear keep such base emotions in check. Any Chinese setback in America will cause the other nations to rejoice. Worse, they will begin to speak to one another and see if there is a way to pull us down to their level.”
“Do you mean Russia, Leader?” she asked.
“Russia, India, Japan—”
“Japan is our ally,” she said.
Behind his dark sunglasses, Hong stared at her as his lips thinned in anger, making the edges white.
Shun Li recognized her mistake. “My surprise made me rude, Leader. Japan is part of the Pan-Asian Alliance. What you said… I beg you to forgive me for interrupting you.”
“Of course, I grant it,” he said. “You are one of my most important friends. I must inform you, though, that the Japanese are bootlickers by nature until they find a chance to strike. Do not doubt that they bide their time to throw off what they consider as Chinese shackles. It is why I have put them near the bottom of my favored status list.”
Shun Li nodded as if ingesting great knowledge. “I had wondered at the reason, Leader.”
Despite the country’s wealth and industrial strength, China faced starvation, as did many other nations. Years of glaciation had taken its toll on world crop yields and reserves. China bought great amounts of foodstuffs on the open market, but it simply wasn’t enough to feed everyone. There were too many mouths. Hong had hit upon an idea—a favored status list for Chinese citizens and for Pan-Asian Alliance countries. Loyalists ate well. Malcontents received just enough to keep the body alive.
Starving people were weak people, begging for just a little more to eat. Thus, the poorest and most worthless Chinese—the old, the lame, the sick—received fourth class ration cards. A gradation of cards—third, second and first class—rewarded Party loyalty and usefulness. This scheme effectively divided people into strict castes. All soldiers, sailors and airmen received top-level ration cards, as did government workers and the police. A similar system graded China’s closest allies. Hong liked the Koreans, particularly the former North Koreans. They knew how to obey orders and fight fanatically on the battlefield. The Vietnamese also received first class status. The Japanese were on the bottom. That seemed strange to Shun Li, as they made the best soldiers and workers.
It appeared to her as if Hong carried old grudges against the Japanese. That was common to many Chinese people. Perhaps Hong believed this was the hour to repay Japan for the Rape of Shanghai and other World War II indignities.
“Shun Li, I have brought you here to assess your worth to me,” Hong said.
With all her heart, she tried to appear contrite and faithful.
“The time nears where I will reassert my control of the Ruling Committee,” he said.
“I am glad to hear that, Leader.”
“I would like to believe you mean those words. It is a terrible thing, you know. We lie to each other all the time. You as a secret policewoman know this to be true of people.”
“I deplore lies.”
“As do I,” Hong said. “Yet… we have both used deceit to reach our exalted positions. I am afraid—” He smiled. It was a frightful thing. “I do not fear anything. That was a poor choice of words.”
“I believe you must have spoken them for my benefit, Leader.”
“How do you mean?” he asked.
“I realize you do not fear. Your calm has given me strength on more than one occasion. Yet one as exalted as you must become annoyed at other people’s lack of understanding of your genius. You think and talk at a much higher level than the rest of us. I would imagine you use… hmm… ‘common phrases’ so that simpler minds can understand you. Thus, you said ‘I fear’ not as to mean fright but to help me understand a higher concept that your mind easily comprehends.”
Lines appeared in his forehead, and he leaned toward her.
Was my logic too torturous for him to follow?
Then a smile stretched his lips. “Yes. I take your meaning. That was well said and thought out. Hmm, in any case, I have stooped to deceit once more in order to bring about a proper order of affairs. I refer to my regaining rule of all military matters, particularly in North America.”
“This is wonderful news. You are taking over the invasion army again, Leader?”
“Not quite yet,” Hong said in a soft voice. “Marshal Chao Pin must play out his part first. He will suffer defeat in Oklahoma. Of this, I am certain. America has deployed mass again, as they used to in the twentieth century, and their THOR missiles and other technological marvels will trump Chao Pin’s feeble dispositions. Our merchant marine simply cannot ship enough materiel to the front lines fast enough to offset American expansion.”
“This is terrible news.”
“No. This is what we need.”
“It is?” Shun Li asked.
“Chao Pin and his lap dogs have poisoned the soldiers’ minds against me. Fighting men are like children, easily swayed by the wrong people. I have decided therefore to employ a ruse of deeper cunning than Sun Tzu could have penned in his ancient treatise, The Art of War.”