China's War Preparations
Beijing. Zhongnanhai.
A secret conference room dedicated to war preparations.
The Vice Chairman, who had been drafting plans in anticipation of the coming conflict, summoned the military's real power brokers to evaluate his strategy and offer their counsel.
"Even if we take a surprise attack, we cannot afford to be swept away in a single stroke."
At the Vice Chairman's words, a flurry of opinions passed among the generals seated around the table.
"Wouldn't it be better to strike first?"
"That would only hand other nations a perfect pretext to sanction us."
China knew full well that it had been diplomatically isolated. Knowing was one thing. Being able to do anything about it was another.
"And yet Korea is blatantly oppressing us!"
The old general who could no longer contain his fury had just come from reading the foreign press, where articles condemning China filled the pages once again. Every line of those pieces made his blood boil.
"Come now! Oppression? You make it sound as if Greater China is groveling before barbarians."
A matter of face. The general who muttered those words earned both agreement and resentment in equal measure.
"That kind of vague attitude is exactly why we've ended up like this. We need to face reality."
Korea is harassing us. China could never say such a thing officially, and while it hemmed and hawed, it had somehow become the unilateral aggressor in the world's eyes.
Before anyone quite noticed, Korea's cries for revenge and its vows to reclaim Manchuria had won global sympathy.
A complete diplomatic defeat.
"That's the Foreign Ministry's fault, not the military's."
While the old general displayed the wisdom of snuffing out any stray sparks before they could catch, a relatively younger general pointed to the practical problem.
"The overall tone of our nation is the issue. There's nothing we can do about it."
"If only the Chairman were still..."
With the power of communism, even the consciousness of the people could have been overturned.
"Ahem! The Chairman has his own thoughts on the matter, I'm sure."
A general cleared his throat and cut the conversation short, then steered it elsewhere.
"Vice Chairman, how many troops have been authorized?"
"Four hundred thousand along the border. Roughly two hundred thousand more, plus mobile forces, will be stationed fifty to a hundred and fifty kilometers to the rear. And a strategic reserve of a hundred thousand will stand by in Beijing for any contingency."
"...Vice Chairman, I apologize, but holding the border line is impossible."
Many nodded at the general who spoke carefully, reading the room.
"We'll be starting under a preemptive strike. In modern warfare, that puts us at an enormous disadvantage."
"I'm aware. That's why I've planned for careful concealment and camouflage, with trenches dug in advance. If we'd had more time, I would have built bunkers as well..."
With no way of knowing when the attack would begin, constructing bunkers from this moment on was out of the question.
"Will superhuman forces be deployed, by any chance?"
A general who believed the Red Guards could stop a Korean assault if placed on the front asked the question.
"...Regrettably, they are scheduled to enter only once the enemy is sufficiently exhausted."
The generals who heard the Vice Chairman's answer abandoned every last hope. In their eyes, defeat in the opening phase was a certainty.
"We need to reduce the border forces and increase the rear deployment."
"What? Pull the troops out entirely?"
It was a judgment completely at odds with the Vice Chairman's own thinking — that even if the border were breached, they should inflict maximum damage on the enemy.
"Not pull them out completely. Leave only a portion that can be appropriately sacrificed. The border will be broken through — that's a given. Shouldn't we at least minimize the losses?"
"The air force assigned to Manchuria needs to be reduced as well. Like the war between the Soviet Union and Germany, if we take a heavy blow at the outset, recovery becomes nearly impossible."
The generals wanted to reduce the damage of that first defeat. Throw out a few sacrificial pieces, cede a little territory, then counterattack.
As long as the initial losses weren't catastrophic, China — with its superior manpower and industrial capacity — could absorb a temporary setback and still respond effectively. That was their assessment.
"...I don't think the Chairman will like that."
The Vice Chairman himself had drafted his plans on the premise that the defensive line would be breached, so he sympathized with the generals' arguments. But would the Chairman authorize an open withdrawal of border troops?
If Korea succeeded in overrunning Manchuria, Beijing would be right next door.
"Can't you somehow manage that for us, Vice Chairman?"
Crushed by the pointed stares pouring in from every side, the youngest general rose and spoke carefully.
"I barely got authorization for the reserve mobilization. Anything beyond that is impossible."
The Vice Chairman shook his head, and silence settled over the conference room.
Politics always gives me a headache. We can't even launch a preemptive strike, and now we have to tiptoe around troop deployments.
The Chairman's instincts aren't entirely wrong. If morale collapses from a single pushback, there's nothing strange about the whole line crumbling.
Isn't this what the young people these days call a defeat flag?
Such varied thoughts alone circled the room. If the Chairman refused, the military could do nothing.
What broke the silence was one general's bold cry.
"The Vice Chairman has a point! We must inflict maximum damage on those bread-eaters in the opening phase!"
The very general who had just argued for rear deployment flipped his palm in an instant.
I only said that because I didn't know the Chairman had already made up his mind. I need to fix this right now.
That was the thought running through his head.
"Greater China fleeing in terror from barbarians is unthinkable!"
An old general who had not spoken up actively but had been nodding along from the corner roared in support!
As expected, if you just stay quiet, you at least end up in the middle. That was his thought.
"It's not ideal, but if we split the forces and disperse them, we won't be swept away all at once."
The youngest general offered a new proposal.
This is completely different from what I intended, so my brain isn't working at all — but I should at least say something.
It was a cautious suggestion, yet under the predetermined outcome of slamming troops into the border line, it was the only answer he could give.
Considering Korea's shell count and operational plans, the border will be reduced to a wasteland. Taking a preemptive strike and then counterattacking is idiotic. It's impossible.
Many generals shared that thought, but none of them was the Chairman.
"But we can still pull the air force back, can't we? If we avoid early losses, it won't take long for us to reclaim air superiority."
Air Force Commander General Liu Fengwei refused to back down, raising his voice.
The air force and the army are different. Every single pilot is a high-value asset, and do they even know how expensive fighters and bombers are?
The air force was not a force that could be lightly replenished through conscription the way the army could.
Under a preemptive strike, the majority would be smashed to pieces before they ever got off the ground.
"Hmm, you're not wrong, but..."
While the Vice Chairman hesitated, the army generals rose like a swarm of bees.
"So the army alone is supposed to die, is that it?"
A general with a ferocious face glared openly at Liu Fengwei. Who do you think you are, some superhuman unit? Don't act like aristocrats.
"Without air support, how are we supposed to inflict any damage when the offensive hits?"
Another general felt a measure of sympathy for preserving the air force, but the thought that this might mean not a moderate defeat but the crushing of half the army made agreement impossible.
"This operational plan is focused on damaging the enemy even if we're broken through. The enemy will conduct joint army-air operations. If only our army is fighting, is it even possible to hurt them?"
Army Commander General Qiao Lianjun drove the final nail home.
In short: The army opposes the air force's proposal!
In other words: We are one! So we get beaten together.
Taking a beating alone is lonely and miserable, but if two get pounded side by side, they can lean on each other!
Pain multiplies when shared, but the mood improves.
"...It may be a little late, but once we form up our squadrons and enter the fight, we can still seize the advantage in air superiority."
Facing the colossal opposition of the entire army, Liu Fengwei answered while sweating.
Was I too blatant? The army's mood is completely twisted.
"How is that any different from the army pulling its forces to the rear?"
Arms crossed, Qiao Lianjun glared at Liu Fengwei with terrifying eyes.
The army had already proposed a plan to preserve its strength and counterattack. That had been rejected. And now the air force alone wanted to slip away?
Absolutely not.
The more I think about it, the angrier I get.
"Aren't your words a bit harsh?"
"I merely offered a strategic proposal!"
Seeing Liu Fengwei take unilateral criticism, the air force generals also rose from their seats and glared fiercely at their army counterparts.
Bang!
The Vice Chairman slammed the table hard, drawing every eye, then shouted.
"Calm yourselves! War is imminent — how can we possibly win if we fight among ourselves like this!"
"Ahem. My apologies."
"I still oppose it."
The army generals who had been standing and shouting sat back down, though they made no effort to hide their displeasure. The air force generals followed suit.
But neither side stopped glaring at the other.
Damn it. I never should have called them together. Should I have summoned the army and air force separately?
The Vice Chairman clutched his throbbing head and regretted everything. He had meant to get advice on the operational plan, and all he had produced was a feud between the army and the air force.
So staying quiet is the real victory, is it?
Only the navy, which had no problems whatsoever, leisurely enjoyed the spectacle of a fire across the river.
In their case, they held a clear advantage against Korea, and as long as they maintained proper vigilance, there was little chance of being ambushed.
"...What if we brought the navy into the Yalu River? Wouldn't that help?"
One army general, watching the relaxed navy with a sour face, tossed out the remark.
Why are you lot perfectly fine while we're going through hell?
"What kind of absurd nonsense is that! Requesting the navy for a river — I can't believe what I'm hearing!"
The stray spark that suddenly landed on them made the navy generals cry out in horror. Did he think this was the nineteenth century? Enter a river and you become nothing more than a moving target.
"I was just saying."
The army general who had spoken knew perfectly well how ridiculous his own words were, and he turned his head slightly as he answered.
He was satisfied with having planted a seed of tension in the navy's easy composure.
The rocket forces, who had been about to offer an opinion of their own, immediately clamped their mouths shut upon hearing this exchange and killed their presence entirely.
Getting smashed in the opening phase wouldn't destroy the country, so they decided to stay quiet.
This is a mess. I need to draft an entirely new plan.
The Vice Chairman decided on a complete overhaul of the strategy. The meeting stretched on until the curtain of night fell over China, lasting a very long time indeed.
"Have you found the person I ordered you to locate?"
Only after the sun had risen did the Vice Chairman emerge from the conference hall and put the question to the Director of the Ministry of State Security, who had arrived right on cue.
"We will find them within three months, without fail."
"This is a matter of critical importance to the nation. Put in the effort."
"Yes, sir!"
Ahead of the war, the Vice Chairman resolved to prepare one last trump card.