He stood before a mirror, studying his features. He didn’t like the splotches on his face, as they told their own story. A man like Kao would have probably used makeup to hide the discolorations, but he wasn’t Kao. He would face life with his warts and all, and he would conquer by superior willpower and aggressiveness. An army was only as good as its commander. It was an old lesson of war. His army was winning, although a tally sheet of casualties might not show it right now.
There was a knock on the door and an aide popped his head inside. “The conference starts in two minutes, sir.”
“I’ll be there,” Nung said.
The aide disappeared as the door closed.
Chairman Jian Hong—the Leader—wished to speak with him, together with Marshal Kao of the Ruling Committee. It was going to be a three-way conference call. The nuclear assault in Santa Cruz had shaken the Ruling Committee. It was the Navy’s fault. Anyone with half a strategical brain could see that. The Navy had badly erred there and reaped a bitter rebuke from the enemy. Correction: the Naval Commander had made a gross error and he had paid a grim penalty. The trouble was that Admiral Ling had also made China pay.
Nung spun on his heel. Dizziness occurred and he lowered his head, taking several calming breaths. When the dizziness passed, he marched for the door, strode down the hall and came to the comm-room.
This was an advance outpost and more communications equipment was on its way. Nung planned to turn this into his new, First Front Headquarters.
“There’s bottled water and food behind you, sir.”
Nung nodded in acknowledgement as he sat down before the screen. An aide handed him his military cap. Nung put it on and the aide adjusted it.
“Seven seconds, sir.”
Nung stared at the screen. What did the Leader want to tell him in the presence of Marshal Kao? It wouldn’t be anything good, of that he had no doubt. He didn’t have long to wait to find out.
The screen came alive and Nung found himself looking at the Leader on the left of a split-screen and Marshal Kao on the right. Jian Hong was puffy-faced with bags under his eyes. It indicated worry. Aesthetic Marshal Kao had a pinched look, which could mean many different things.
“Gentleman,” the Leader said. “It is good of you to meet with me. You are well, Marshal Nung?”
There was more to the question, Nung was certain. Yes, he noticed the tiny twitch of eye movement in Kao, as if the man yearned to speak up.
“I am tired in a good sense,” Nung said, “tired like a worker hard at his task but brimming with the energy to complete the work he has begun.”
“There you are, Marshal.” The Leader appeared to address the words to Kao.
Nung decided it would be wisest to let the matter drop. “And you two gentlemen are doing well, I hope?”
“Yes,” Kao said.
The Leader frowned. “I must admit to a sense of unease. Predictions were made in my presence and yet reality has shown me a different face. I continue to attempt to reconcile the two.”
“Leader, if I may interject a point,” Kao said.
“Before you do, I would like Marshal Nung to understand the nature of the conference call. Marshal,” the Leader told Nung. “The battle in California was supposed to be a swift affair, which would allow us to gobble up a profitable state and strengthen our overall strategic position versus the Americans.”
“Leader,” Nung said, “that is exactly what is occurring even as we speak.”
“Respectfully,” Kao said, “I would beg to differ with your assessment.”
“You are free to do so,” Nung said. “But I would like to point out that we are on the verge of a climatic victory.”
“You’re speaking about the capture of California?” the Leader asked.
“The state will fall to us like dominos,” Nung said. “The first piece that will begin the process is the American Army Group of an original six hundred thousand soldiers. We have cut them off from Los Angeles and have begun devouring this Army Group so it is already smaller and vastly weaker than on the opening day of war.”
“You have told me this before,” the Leader said. “Yet we have not even captured any of the outlying suburbs of Los Angeles. To have truly encircled the Americans, your tanks were supposed to have driven through Palm Springs, captured Los Angeles and sealed everyone from the Grapevine Pass.”
“Little is certain in war, Leader,” Nung said. “The Americans surprised us with their giant tanks. Yet I have used the Tank Army that would have captured Los Angeles and whittled away more of the trapped Army Group. It is only a matter of days now before the entire enemy Army Group ceases to exist as a military obstacle.”
“You have fought a fierce campaign,” Kao said. “No one can drive soldiers to battle like you. Yet I would be remiss if I did not point out that the Americans are reinforcing the state in greater numbers than you had anticipated. In the end, if you destroy Army Group SoCal but the Americans place greater numbers of soldiers there, you will have failed to capture California.”
“Allow me to disagree with your assessment in an important particular,” Nung said. “The Americans have entrained some reinforcements. I predicted they would do as much. Nevertheless, they have not sent anything approaching an entire new Army Group. Perhaps they would if we gave them the time. Once I capture Los Angeles, I will use my White Tigers to seal the Sierra Nevada passes.” Nung cleared his throat. “Leader, Marshal Kao, I understand your concerns. War is a messy business with its difficulties. The incident in the north, in Santa Cruz —”
“It was more than an
“You have a valid point, sir,” Nung said.
Kao’s eyes widened, probably in surprise.
Nung chuckled inwardly. It was Chinese military doctrine to stay well away from nuclear weapons. The Americans had just shown that there was a time and place to use them. A wise commander would consider the ramifications of the nuclear assault with care.
“Go on,” the Leader said.
“If it comes down to it, sir,” Nung said, “I suggest we use nuclear weapons to render the Sierra Nevada passes unusable.”
“Our ICBMs would never make it past the American strategic lasers,” Kao said sharply.
“I agree,” Nung said. “That is why I believe White Tiger Commandos would need to carry the nuclear weapons with them. They would set the weapons like gigantic mines in the passes, ready to explode at the best possible opportunity.”
The Leader’s eyes shone as he nodded. “Yes, yes, I like it. We will pay them back in the same coin they have paid us. When they move mass troops through the passes, we annihilate them.”
“Exactly, Leader,” Nung said.
“We do not want to start a nuclear holocaust,” Kao said. “I think we should reconsider this idea.”
“Bah!” the Leader said. “
“We will use them in accord with my strategy of a swift assault,” Nung said.
“Leader,” Kao said, “could we address the central issue?”
Jian Hong became thoughtful, with his eyes half-lidded. “Proceed as you wish, but I expect you will find that Marshal Nung has an excellent explanation for what occurs.”
“Nung is a gifted speaker,” Kao said. “He has also proven to be an excellent commander of small formations. The Siberian and Alaskan Wars show that. The current bloodbath seems to be something altogether different.”
“You intrigue me,” Nung told Kao. “Please, let me hear your concerns.”
“In a nutshell,” Kao said, “China has lost far too many soldiers these past weeks for the present gains.”
Nung bowed his head, and this time his eyes were bright as he began to speak. “If the war stopped this instant, I would agree with you. My operational method is simple and therefore elegant. Speed is its essence. That
