“Bah,” Hong said. “They are barbarians without soul. A cornered rat will fight if the cat or dog doesn’t lunge in fast enough. In Denver, you have failed to strike with speed. You must treat the Americans like rats. Do they not hide in the ruins and rubble like rodents? Why have you not closed your jaws on their necks and shaken them to death?”
“You speak wisdom, Leader. I thank you for it. Yet if I may, I would like to point out that Greater Denver is much like Los Angeles. It is a large, urban environment and—”
“No,” Hong said quietly but with menace. “You must strike hard and fast. Did I not just tell you how to defeat these rats? Many years ago, I had to tell Marshal Nung how to properly conduct his North Shore Alaskan assault. It is my lot to see these military problems with a sharper eye than my top commanders.”
“Your wisdom is the sun to our actions,” Liang said.
“The Behemoths thwarted Chinese arms once in Los Angeles and once again with our air assault here along I-70. I will not allow these hideous tanks to stop us a third time. Therefore, you will capture the plant or stamp it out of existence.”
“Leader, if I could make an observation about the Behemoths?”
“Speak,” Hong said sarcastically. “Grace me with your military acumen.”
“We have yet to see the Behemoths in action,” Liang said.
“Are you addled? Have you forgotten your aborted air assault on I-70?”
“We definitely witnessed force cannons at work,” Liang said. “But the longer I’ve thought about that, the more unlikely it seems to me that those were really Behemoths.”
“Explain that,” Hong said.
“Perhaps the wear to the gargantuan tanks in Los Angeles was heavier than we realized. Why else have the Americans waited to unleash them in the Midwest? We witnessed the force cannons during the I-70 assault. Maybe the Americans stripped the Behemoths of their rail-guns and scrapped the tank bodies. Why would the Americans put such unwieldy tanks in the Rocky Mountains? That makes no military sense.”
“That is an interesting question,” Hong said. “If true, it makes taking this plant all the more critical. I have it on excellent authority that the Americans are mass-producing the tanks. It could be they are mass-producing the rail-guns even faster. Obviously the weapons are very effective even without their armored chassis. Yet we should have greater evidence of them.”
“Leader, I doubt the Denver plant still runs. I have—”
“Do not assure me of such a thing,” Hong said, his anger rekindled. “The Americans must be using the plant even now. The German industries remained active during World War II under heavy allied bombing. Surely, these rodent-like Americans can have done the same thing. Perhaps they are underground.”
“Our bombing raids are more accurate these days,” Liang said. “And—”
Hong made a chopping gesture with his right hand. “Your arguments weary me, Marshal. I have an order for you, a directive straight from my office. Capture Denver—and do it now. Do not give me more delays. Finish the task and close your jaws on these rats.”
Liang didn’t know what to say.
Hong’s eyes became redder than earlier. He leaned forward. “Do you lack the soldiers to do your task?”
“Leader, I would like to point out—”
“Answer the question,” Hong said.
Liang dreaded the possibility of diverted troops going to Denver. He needed them on the Northern Front.
“No, Leader. I have enough men.”
“You’re lying. Now you listen to me, Marshal. I am sending you replacement levies. Use them to storm the city. Give me that plant and do it now!”
“Yes, Leader,” Liang whispered. This was bad. He needed the replacement levies in the north. This entire operation against Denver was a waste of time and soldiers.
“I realize you cannot see the situation as clearly as I do,” Hong said. “Did I not light a fire under Marshal Nung many years ago?”
“Yes, Leader,” Liang said. He had read the reports of that Alaskan attack. It still amazed him the Chairman had shown such ability. What had happened to him in the interim?
“I say capture the city now,” Hong said, “but I am willing to give you a small amount of leeway. You are said to be among my most brilliant Field Marshals. Tell me truthfully, Liang. Can you guarantee me the city’s capture within the next two weeks?”
Liang saw the look in Hong’s eyes. His exalted rank as marshal and perhaps his very life rested on his answer. There was only one