Martin Variety in American Comics.

Chapter 574 Why Do Armies Exist? (Please subscribe and read further, and recommend with monthly tickets!)

Although Steve was tired of the fight and felt the whole thing was a farce.

Ultimately, he obeyed headquarters' orders, commanding his two fleets to sail into the designated waters and then begin operations according to the tactical drills.

However, the army's coordination was not yet in place. Everyone on the fleet knew that long-range firepower alone might not be enough to inflict real damage on the Justice League. Therefore, they only sent out fighter jets for reconnaissance, while the marines on the ships were familiarizing themselves with the new equipment and preparing for the landing.

Regardless, Steve felt responsible for the two carrier strike groups, and even if he wanted to die, he didn't want to take them down with him.

"Contact the ground forces and tell them to move quickly and not dawdle. The Justice League won't stop for anyone. If they think they can sit back and watch the fight, I guarantee they'll end up with nothing."

Steve wasn't as old as Savage, which actually became an advantage for him, because he had already reached the end of his life and had nothing left to lose, making it easier for him to make a decision.

As for his reputation before and after death, seeing the way those scoundrels at headquarters acted, he knew they were utterly incapable of stopping Apokolips's advance.

Given this premise, Steve should be thankful if he isn't condemned to the pillory of history; he can't care about anything else.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate!"

Steve was decisive in tactical arrangements, but very weak in political matters.

However, on the other hand, he spent his entire life in the military, and all his relatives and friends were there. With so many relationships involved, how could he let go so easily?

……

Martin knew that the commander of the American fleet this time was Steve.

This is no secret. Since the US General Staff pushed out this veteran Steve with the intention of finding someone to take the blame, they naturally didn't care much about keeping it secret.

Bruce's men, with just a little maneuvering in Washington, managed to get their hands on all this information and make their own speculations.

Meanwhile, the troops pressing on the Kolank border from two directions also noticed the Savage forces' movements and anticipated that they would send men to cause trouble for Martin and his men.

However, Martin did not devote too much energy to these matters. Instead, he laid out a defense plan and then pulled all the officers into the consciousness space constructed by the Martian Hunters to begin addressing the ideological issues within the troops.

Because of the victory, the overall situation of the troops was very stable, and everyone was immersed in the joy of victory. Everything seemed to be more perfect and there were no problems.

But this is only the surface. Martin actually received many reports of conflicts between Justice League members and Amazon warriors, not just after the war, but from the moment they were pulled out until the battle began, there were all kinds of frictions.

On the contrary, once the battle was over, all these conflicts disappeared as if they had never existed.

This left officers from various units puzzled about the purpose of the meeting.

"The battle is over, shouldn't we be having a tactical discussion meeting? Why are we talking about ideology again?"

"That's not entirely true. There are indeed considerable frictions in the cooperation between the alliance members and the Amazon warriors."

"I feel like we're making a mountain out of a molehill."

The officers were talking amongst themselves, their voices loud and unrestrained.

Martin separated the Amazons and the Alliance officers, intending to persuade them separately before arranging for them to meet, thus minimizing the risk of conflict arising from differing opinions.

Martin took in all these voices, but instead of answering directly, he clapped his hands and said in a deep voice, "Quiet down!"

Everything in the consciousness space is formed by ideas. The fact that so many people can gather together and this space can still maintain a certain stability is not only because the Martian hunter's mental power is strong enough to suppress them, but also because these officers have reached a consensus, which ensures the stability and consistency of the consciousness space.

Regardless of the officers' private chatter, they all fell silent after Martin spoke, waiting for him to continue.

"I know the troops won a battle, everyone is very happy, the momentum is strong, and they feel they have made a contribution. But have you seen the casualty reports?"

Martin's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over the officers' heads, pulling them out of their euphoria and making them recall the moment they saw their comrades' bodies.

Because it is within the realm of consciousness, as these people's thoughts begin to wander, the things they are thinking about also emerge.

However, with Martin and Martian Manhunter around, these ideas didn't turn into anything messy; they remained just images.

The military is an institution of violence, and all discipline and order exist solely for the purpose of winning. In other words, to be in such a group, one must be someone who can win.

Generally speaking, once a unit achieves a victory, its momentum is difficult to suppress, and all sides have to take its thoughts into account.

But these officers found it hard to be arrogant in the presence of Martin, the man who had created the Justice League. Although they had achieved some victories, they couldn't help but lower their heads when they thought about what Martin and the other elders had done.

This is what is called authority. It is not some mysterious or esoteric quality, but rather the collection of real power and support that a person possesses in real life, and its concentrated manifestation in a representative.

"The casualties of this unit are not high. The deaths of nearly a hundred people were all heroic sacrifices on the battlefield. However, only a small portion of the wounded were wounded on the battlefield. The majority of the wounded were caused by the unit's lack of professionalism and familiarity with the situation."

These officers, having undergone Alliance training, were practically fully professional. Although some liberal ideas remained in their minds, their professional competence was not in question.

After Martin gave them a little cold water, they immediately got into the swing of things and began verbally reporting to Martin the post-war summary that they were supposed to submit anyway.

"Alright, since you were able to come to this conclusion, it's clear you weren't blinded by victory. I'm half relieved now."

Martin nodded in satisfaction, then walked into the crowd, beckoning everyone to sit around him and relax.

"So what is your other half of the worry?"

Needless to say, the officers' attitude towards Martin was clear. With a major battle imminent, they were eager to get more guidance from Martin in order to continue their troops' victories.

Martin has always been elusive, appearing only briefly and rarely seen. Although he single-handedly created the Justice League, few people besides key members of the League have had direct conversations with him.

For that reason alone, the officers would not give up this opportunity.

"My remaining concern is the ideological shift within the military. I worry that people may not be able to correctly understand the existence of war, and that in the cycle of victory and defeat, they may fall into the trap of liberalism and become extremely conservative."

Martin spoke in a deliberately soft tone, not wanting to burden the officers. Yet, upon hearing this, the officers couldn't help but change their expressions.

To be honest, the Alliance's research on ideology is just so-so. Although there are many superhumans, many people have exhausted their energy learning professional skills, and they really don't have the mind to study the theory.

Nevertheless, a consensus was reached within the alliance that they should abandon the American model and explore something entirely new.

They are responsible; they could have stayed in the United States and used their abilities to carve out a place for themselves amidst the changing times. There was absolutely no need for them to come to Africa to suffer.

Although the construction of the new city in the alliance is progressing rapidly, the pressure on all sides is considerable, and it is by no means easy.

The reason why everyone can endure this pain and constantly change themselves is because they cherish an ideal and hope to find a new path.

But now Martin is worried about the rampant liberalism within the military, which is just a veiled criticism of the military commanders for not doing their jobs properly!

If it were anyone else, these managers would have made a scene, but in front of Martin, they simply didn't have the courage. Instead, their anger turned into disappointment and frustration.

“You don’t need to act like this. I’m not criticizing you, I’m just pointing out a phenomenon.”

Martin smiled and reassured everyone, explaining, "Most of the Alliance members are from the United States and have lived there for over a decade. They've been influenced by the local culture since childhood. The fact that they had the courage to join the Alliance and come to Africa is already a big step forward. I've seen the work of the troops, and everyone is doing a good job. There are no problems."

"But humans are social beings, and our thoughts and actions are always the result of constantly changing social relationships. Everyone has only been in the alliance for a few months, so how can we expect everyone to throw away everything from the first half of their lives all at once? That's unrealistic."

call!
Hearing Martin's assessment, everyone felt relieved, knowing that Martin didn't mean to criticize their work. They then listened attentively to what Martin had to say next.

"Therefore, we will be facing the question of why armies exist. Since the Industrial Revolution, many famous figures have argued that armies exist to protect the class that created them. So, who are the Justice League's forces protecting?"

Superhumans, of course!

A large number of officers immediately thought of this answer. There's no doubt that the Justice League is composed of superhumans.

However, they soon remembered a series of documents issued by headquarters, which required adjustments to the staffing and personnel of various departments.

This left those officers who advocated protecting superhumans uncertain once again.

But after giving up on that point, they didn't know where to start thinking. They recalled the league's training in their minds, feeling like they had grasped something, but they couldn't put their finger on it.

"Look, even you officers can't explain things clearly, so how can the soldiers below be even more confused? You won this battle and are happily celebrating. But what if you lose the next one? Are you going to turn into doting fathers and scold the soldiers at the grassroots level like you're disciplining your sons?"

The officers were all modernly educated, so they naturally understood that theory and practice were inseparable. If their minds were a mess, their hands and feet would be hard to control.

"Boss, just tell me directly, what should we do?"

Martin led the officers on a tour, and they realized that they hadn't even organized such a simple question into a coherent system, and they also realized where the problem lay.

"Don't rush, only a few seconds have passed outside. I'll give you a chance to discuss this. I'll listen to your reports in half an hour."

To avoid discrepancies in the officers' understanding, Martin and Martian Manhunter did not set a large gap between the realm of consciousness and reality.

"The enemy is coming on strong. If you have something to say, just say it. Why let them go through all this trouble?"

Martian hunters didn't quite understand Martin's actions.

Mars certainly doesn't have an army. The US military might have some patriotic education, but no real political education.

Of course, this is because the rulers of the United States do not need a self-thinking army; at most, they can assign some chaplains or similar personnel.

"I don't expect them to be theorists. As long as they can think for themselves, it doesn't matter if they come up with something that's neither fish nor fowl."

Ideological work is complicated and requires professional staff, but it is something we cannot avoid doing.

"Now we must cultivate a group of people who are loyal to the Alliance's line and ideals in order to sustain the Alliance's cause. What we need is no longer simply trained workers, but people who can master industrial production."

The Union's science and technology department is busy all day long, but it's not just about making gadgets; they are more focused on researching how to help third-world countries industrialize.

Martin patted Martian Manhunter on the shoulder and said nothing more. According to human classification, the Martian race's ideology is actually that of Christian humanitarians.

Despite years of hard work and change in his style in the United States, the Martian hunter still cannot shake the traces of his homeland in his heart.

"I'll go check on the Amazons. You keep an eye on these young people and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Martian Manhunter sensed that Martin was implying something, but didn't think much of it.

Martin approached Diana and couldn't help but smile as he watched her arm wrestling with the Amazons.

Using force to resolve all conflicts is indeed the style of the Amazons, and a major characteristic of the aristocratic republic.

"All right."

Diana suddenly exerted force, slamming her opponent's hand onto the table and winning the victory. She then said to the female warriors around her, "Martin has arrived. Let him tell you the details!"

After saying that, she reached out and pulled Martin over. Although this was the world of consciousness, Martin did not resist and let Diana do as she pleased.

What did you say?

Martin asked Diana in a low voice, wanting to ascertain the current situation so he would have something to say.

“I didn’t say anything, I just arm wrestled with them and calmed them down. You know, I’m not very good at this kind of work.”

Martin didn't think Diana was incapable; she was more unwilling.

However, since she was his lover, Martin found it difficult to criticize her, so he did not go directly to the Amazon warriors.

(End of this chapter)