“Do you still not approve of it?” Hong asked.
“As a military man, the Chinese losses sicken me,” Kiang said. “Although I am overjoyed it shook the Russian leader.”
Shun Li wondered how much longer the marshal would get to speak his mind like that.
“It was ill-conceived as an operational procedure,” Kiang added. “However, it appears that you are one hundred percent correct from a political consideration. I marvel at your insights concerning foreign leaders.”
Shun Li didn’t believe it was insight that had guided Hong. No. Once again, the Chairman had gotten lucky. Why such a callous killer should receive such luck, she could not say. It made her doubt the entire idea of karma.
“You must have reasoned it out due to some national characteristic I missed noting,” Marshal Kiang said. “We were the Russians to the Germans of World War II. The Russians in Mongolia outfought us, but we can afford to take massive losses and they cannot. It is a simple equation and yet most profound.”
“Are you attempting to steal my glory?” Hong asked.
“On no account, Chairman,” Kiang said. “I am profoundly stunned at this turn of events. Yet as I ponder it, I see its logic. The enemy began the invasion with too small of a force.”
“It was all they could muster on short notice,” Hong said.
“The Americans should have shipped their Behemoths to Siberia. They should have sent a million soldiers, not their mere two hundred thousand or so.”
“It wouldn’t have made a difference,” Hong said.
“Not at this point,” Kiang said. “But we were on a slender thread two months ago. We’ve lost most of Manchuria and Mongolia before we stiffened and stopped them. What if we had lost even worse because they started with more and they had raced here to Beijing?”
“They could never hold our country,” Hong said.
“They might not have to,” Kiang said. “If they put puppets in place and split China into separate regions… it could have worked for them with more soldiers at the beginning. As it is, we have weathered the initial storm.”
Hong barked laughter. “I say to you that we have done more than that. The Russian proposal changes everything.”
“The enemy is still in three-fourths of Manchuria and much of Inner Mongolia, to say nothing of having captured all of Outer Mongolia.”
“Meaningless,” Hong said.
Kiang gave him a perplexed look.
“Let me explain,” Hong said. “Konev wants a peace treaty. He will exit China in return for our recognizing his right to Siberia and Kazakhstan. What will he tell the Americans?”
“To leave with him, I suppose.”
“No,” Hong said, grinning. “We will trap this American Expeditionary Force. We will kill every one of them. The last ones will likely surrender. We will hang every one of those as war criminals. Then we will use the American atrocities to whip up the people to a new frenzy. We will demand more troops from Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Then we will build a vast force in Mexico.”
“The American submarines—”
“No!” Hong said. “The Americans have shown us the answer. We will devote intense resources to space, and take control of it. Their THOR missiles will become outdated. We will develop our own, only much superior. Our industrial capacity far exceeds theirs. I already plan to strike their heartland with biological agents.”
“Leader?” Kiang asked, sounding shocked.
“Don’t worry,” Hong said. “My scientists are working on agents that will produce fevers and flus of an intense nature, enough to ensure a majority of their workforce with debilitating sickness.”
“But—”
Hong banged a fist on the table. “The scientists say that glaciation will get worse before it gets better. We have Australia, and with it, we kept the Indian League at bay. The Americans have the right idea. They tried to take Australia from us. Combined with American wheat… well, we will tear their farmlands from them to feed our people and force the rest of the world into submission through their yearning for food.”
“It will take time to rebuild our merchant marine,” the Navy Minister said.
“Agreed,” Hong said. “That is why our army in Mexico is so critical. Because of it, we can keep the South Americans in our camp.”
Kiang frowned thoughtfully.
“The time may come where we will demand the Indian League to send troops,” Hong said. “Ladies and gentlemen, the glaciation means this is a Darwinian struggle. Nature wishes to discover which race is the strongest. I assure you, it will be the Chinese. Our two worst enemies have played their strongest cards against us. Yes, they bloodied us, and we have taken setbacks. But once the Russians retreat and we kill the Americans… a few years of intense industrial production will give us the upper hand. We own the world’s heaviest industries. Soon, we will have the Earth’s best farmlands as well. All we must do is insure we have iron determination. I tell you, this is China’s finest hour.”
“Interesting,” Kiang said. “Your optimism is worthy of a conqueror. Our armies are exhausted, but our enemies have lost heart. What’s more, our enemies need time to resupply. It is a race to see who can replace his armies fastest.”
“We will win that race,” Hong gloated.
“I believe you are right,” Kiang said.
Shun Li stood. She saluted Chairman Hong. “You are China’s savior, Leader. Let me be the first to congratulate you on your insights and iron will. I pledge the police service to a hundred years of war, if that’s what it will take.”
“Thank you, Police Minister,” Hong said. “But I doubt it will take more than another ten years of hard fighting.”
Shun Li smiled as she resumed her place. Yet in her heart, she feared. Hong was cunning and he maneuvered more easily than any of they did. Would the world continue to battle like this for ten more years?
He unleashed nuclear war, now he wants to use biological agents against the Americans.
Shun Li froze in deep thought. These past few years had been bad enough. What would the situation be like ten years from now? Would she be alive ten years from now if Hong ruled? That was the deepest question of all.
12 August 2042
Strategic Conference, 10.32 A.M.
Participants: Harold, Alan, McGraw, Levin, Caliato (Director of Industry), Danner (Air Marshal, Strategic Air Command).
HAROLD: The situation appears to be bleak.
ALAN: I’d call it desperate for us.
MCGRAW: I disagree. We’re close to capturing Shenyang—
ALAN: No! Wrong! Incorrect! Our soldiers can see the skyscrapers, but they will never enter the city. Can you imagine the bloodbath? The Chinese have armed the population. Going into Shenyang will destroy our army body by bloody corpse.
MCGRAW: Then we’ll maneuver around Shenyang and isolate it, starving the place to death.
ALAN: As we’ve starved Changchun?
MCGRAW: Have you even read the reports? The people in Changchun are eating rats and shoe leather, just as the Russians did during the siege of Leningrad during World War II.
ALAN: We’re murdering their people—
MCGRAW: As they murdered us. Payback is always hard, Chairman.
HAROLD: Gentlemen, please, this won’t get us anywhere.
ALAN: (To McGraw.) Do you realize how many soldiers it will tie down to guard Shenyang? We’re talking three hundred thousand, at least. In time, we’re going to have to take the cities.”
MCGRAW: I understand your implications. Well, Genghis Khan defeated China, and he had far fewer soldiers than we do.
ALAN: Genghis Khan was also one of the greatest butchers of history. Do you really want to be like him?