Darkstone Code

Chapter 1214 - 1212: Everything Is for the Federation!

One meeting always follows another, and Peng Jieao’s movements have frightened some people in the Federation.

Just out of the Ministry of Defense, before getting into the car, the President’s Mansion’s car was already waiting for him.

Of course, some key figures from the Ministry of Defense would also be joining him to head to the President’s Mansion.

If there’s anyone who is the most panicked now, it must be the President. He fears war the most; everyone knows this.

Upon arriving at the President’s Mansion, just getting off the car, Lynch saw Mr. Truman, and he saw Lynch.

After dismissing the people around him, he proactively approached, shook hands with Lynch, and walked towards the President’s Mansion.

On the way forward, people would consciously avoid them, this is the advantage of status.

"I heard you just gave the Ministry of Defense a quote they can’t afford."

Lynch nodded, "So they called you or Mr. President?"

"Six hundred million... that’s too much. You know how much the army’s budget is this year; Congress won’t approve this money," Mr. Truman shook his head, "Moreover, the military actually plans to go on their own."

Lynch wasn’t surprised at all, "So I’m here?"

"So you’re here!"

As they spoke, the two walked to the President’s office, adjusted their attire, and pushed the door open to go in.

The office was already filled with gentlemen, all key figures of the Federation Government, and a few senators often seen on TV.

These are members of the Federation Military Committee, and this situation is different from previous naval battles.

The outbreak and end of naval battles can take just a few short days or a week or two at most; it won’t drag on too long and results are quickly seen.

The President can use his privileges to bypass Congress and directly authorize the Navy to issue a war order, but this situation seems likely to last a long time.

This also means the President’s authority is insufficient to authorize the army to confront Peng Jieao’s army; ground warfare is a complex and prolonged process, unlike naval battles, where fleets line up and fire, with the last one standing being the victor.

Ground warfare requires more strategies and tactics, higher demands on logistics and equipment, and involves many complex factors.

The Ministry of Defense’s preliminary estimates suggest it will take at least three months to determine the final victor, which exceeds the President’s authority and must be authorized by Congress.

Short-term wars may allow the President to act willfully, but long-term, large-scale wars do not allow for such whim, thus preventing a dictator from dragging the whole nation into an abyss.

The Military Committee is responsible for this work, first evaluating and predicting the entire war within the committee, and then Congress votes on the war proposal.

Once the vote passes, the military gets authorization to begin mobilization, prepare for and engage in war.

If it doesn’t pass... generally, such situations rarely happen, as the matters involved are more than people can imagine.

The President doesn’t need to find a way to persuade these members of Parliament himself, as people from the military and Ministry of Defense have ways to convince them.

Ultimately, the value of the military’s existence is war; even a failed war will not have substantial impacts on the military’s high command.

If war is stopped from erupting now, the members of Parliament are actually offending not the President, but the key figures in the Ministry of Defense and the high command of the military.

These people not only have formidable power and extensive relationships but also face minimal consequences for their crimes.

Serving military personnel are only tried by military courts, meaning if orders were issued by the high command, they could get sentenced to centuries in a military court and sent to some place for retirement.

Moreover, committee members related to military matters to some extent represent the military’s interests, and blocking a war, especially one desired by the military, is absolutely not easy!

When Lynch entered, the meeting had already started; they wouldn’t wait for Lynch.

At this moment, the speaker was a certain military general, judging by his rank, he should be a Major General.

"... We can deploy the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Infantry Divisions to the east of Nagariel for garrison, and we believe we can complete this mission!"

In the Federation, an infantry division numbers around twenty thousand people, and whether it’s slightly more or less, or a lot more, is entirely up to the military’s mood.

If they feel they should allocate more, they naturally will; if they think not many people are needed, they’ll send fewer. It’s very flexible.

The President nodded, "Are two divisions enough?"

Answering wasn’t the military Major General but a Senator.

"Mr. President, the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Infantry Divisions combined are about forty-three thousand men, which is already a very large number."

"If we add more manpower, it’ll be hard to convince other members of Parliament to agree to this military conflict."

"What we need is just to warn our potential enemies that we’re not to be trifled with, not to start a real war!"

The senator’s words represented the thoughts of most members of Parliament, small friction, small conflict; they don’t care whether to agree or not.

They would even pass the proposal for the sake of the military, but if a large force is deployed from the start, as if to escalate the war, Congress would dampen the spirit.

At least in the short term, they won’t pass it; they would need a more professional assessment report before deciding whether to agree to such a request.

Time is one of the most crucial factors for war.

The senator also knew saying this might make him seem like an "escapism figure," so he added, "Let’s first pass and confirm the specific military proposal, then adding more troops is much simpler."

People in the office nodded, and this is the most magical aspect of Congress, everyone can keep things "official."

This is not to praise them but a form of sarcasm.

They only see what they can see, like a line in a report, and they will never see things behind those words, nor will they think to ponder them.

This kind of official business isn’t good; they’re like some old-fashioned but crafty voting machines, sometimes making you feel they’re easy to handle, other times making you question their very existence.

The President asked again, "Do we have any backup measures?"

"I don’t want a war ending in defeat during my tenure; for the Federation, for the people, we must win!"

The Major General nodded and confirmed, "Once the front line sees an unexpected change, the Navy will quickly cut off the transportation channel in Horn Strait, trapping Peng Jieao’s forces on the front line."

"Without supplies and no retreat, we will control the key to negotiations with the Peng Jieao Empire."

The plan is good; if beaten, ask for reinforcements, which is actually very responsible for strategic warfare requirements; no war is meant to be conducted under fair and just circumstances.

There is no such thing as despicable or not in war; everything is for the sake of ultimate victory, and anything done in the process is permissible!

This even includes damaging moral and ethical matters.

Moreover, it’s just calling for reinforcements.

At this moment, Lynch suddenly interrupted, "Sorry, let me interrupt for a moment..."

People’s attention immediately focused on him, and after smiling and nodding to everyone, he said, "We always imagine the Peng Jieao people to be on par with us, or even slightly above us..."

People nodded, this is the most basic blind optimism of Federation people, due to the Navy’s victory, they’re blindly optimistic about the Army too, even though they had a setback in the North not long ago.

But they’re just optimistic, can’t help it, it’s in their nature.

The Major General asked, "Is there something wrong, Mr. Lynch?"

Lynch nodded, "Why don’t we change our thinking; perhaps Peng Jieao’s army is very strong and could crush us in three to five days, and the Navy may not be able to timely cut off the supply and personnel transportation?"

"And you must understand, once we’re defeated, the weapons we leave behind will become their weapons, and they’ll use our weapons against us."

"Even if the strait is blocked by then, it doesn’t hold much actual meaning!"

The Major General frowned, "In our study of their World War I battle examples, we haven’t found evidence that they are particularly strong. Perhaps everything isn’t as bad as you think, Mr. Lynch."

Lynch raised his hand, "That’s because few can fight the enemy without the cover of naval guns, and their retreats are seen only within the coastline."

"Beyond the range of naval artillery, there aren’t many examples of their defeat!"

"This time, we don’t have naval guns, we’re standing on equal terms, with basic equal conditions; who can ensure we will definitely win?"

The Major General frowned, glanced at people from the Ministry of Defense, and said, "Mr. Lynch, what do you mean?"

Lynch stood up, instantly changing the level gaze to an upward looking one, walked to the window, opened it, and lit a cigarette, "We need multi-layered contingency measures, in case the front line faces an unexpected situation, as I mentioned, we underestimated their strength. At this moment, we need someone to hold the line for us."

The President seemed to greatly agree with this idea, pointed to Lynch, "You make a lot of sense, then how should we arrange it?"

For the President, stability is preferable to aggression; all he wants is to "not fail," rather than to "win!"

Lynch shrugged, "I can."

"We have the most professional staff, the most advanced war weapons, and experienced command."

"With just twelve to fifteen thousand men, I don’t dare say Darkstone Security can defeat Peng Jieao’s army, but at least we can hold for a while, giving us more time to adjust."