Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 299 Insidious move
He's even more despicable than Char!
This was Haman's first assessment of Markbe. She and Markbe were actually acquaintances, except that during the Principality of Zeon, she was Kycilia's little maid, while Markbe was her trusted subordinate.

At that time, Harman, who was somewhat famous and even used her so-called new human abilities to play Sherlock Holmes and help others find missing items, did not have a good impression of this effeminate middle-aged man. However, since the two did not have much interaction, Harman did not seriously learn about him.

But since arriving in Axis, Hamman has had more contact with Mark Bay and has been able to discover things he hadn't noticed before.

Cunning, patient, and vicious, like a venomous snake that has been lying in wait for a long time, flicking its red tongue in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.

Most importantly, he was also very good at disguising himself. When Haman's father was regent, Markbe served him diligently like a harmless old ox. Under his leadership, Axis's military was well-organized. But when the regent died, Markbe was no longer just focused on military development.

After all, with the old regent dead, no one in Axis could match his seniority, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would become the supreme ruler of Axis.

Of course, this is just an ideal situation. In reality, if Mark Bay wants to reach that position, he still has to face a few problems. On the one hand, he has to get on the good side of Colonel Enzo Benigni, the head of the Gihren faction. On the other hand, he also has to get on the good side of Hammankahn and Minerva Zabi, whom she is in charge of taking care of!
Although Hammankahn is young, he has an elite personal guard left by his father. Although they are nominally loyal to Minerva, they actually listen to Hamman. As for Minerva, there is no need to say more. Although she is small now and can be made to cry with a punch or rolled away like a ball with a kick, she still has the blood of the Zabi family flowing through her veins.

If the composition of the Aksis faction weren't so complicated, then Markbe wouldn't be without a chance. After all, he had a considerable army under his command. If he could find a way to kill Haman, then sideline Minerva, and finally get the other side to abdicate, then it wouldn't be impossible for the Zabi dynasty to be replaced by the Northern Song dynasty.

Of course, if we take it to an extreme, Mark Bay could also pursue a marriage alliance, such as proposing to Minerva. After all, it's all for that position, so what does ethics matter in the face of a grand cause?
However, Mark Bay's operations were met with a strong backlash from opposition forces as soon as they began. Colonel Enzo knew very well that once Mark Bay came to power, his faction, including Kylian's, would be purged. Hamman was also very dissatisfied with Mark Bay, because as soon as the regent died, Mark Bay began to manipulate the personnel arrangements of Kycilia's faction. In particular, right after the New Year, he executed two disobedient mid-level officers on the grounds of violating military regulations and sent his confidants to take over their troops.

This naturally provoked a fierce backlash from Harman. After all, the armed forces she relied on, besides her personal guard, also included a part of the Kycilia faction. Mark Bay's move was clearly intended to eliminate her influence.

Thus, a silent confrontation began in Axis. No one expected that at this critical juncture, Axis would show signs of civil war again.

Keep in mind that at the time, Mark Bay's subordinates had only recently returned from Earth, and Axis was still reeling from the destruction of the Delaz fleet. If a civil war had broken out at this critical juncture, the officials of the Earth Federation would have been laughing all the way to the bank.

Fortunately, the situation was brought to a stop in the end, and both sides chose to back down. As a result, the situation in Axis seemed to have returned to its former calm. However, for high-ranking officials like Harman, it was a completely different story.

The reason, of course, is still Mark Bay. After failing to seize the pinnacle of power, the latter decisively changed his approach and began to win over Enzo's Gihren faction.

Enzo Benigni, this man was a senior operations officer in the Guillyn Generals' Office in the past. Although his military talent was limited to theoretical discussions, it did not prevent him from becoming a battle maniac.

After things settled down in Axis, the colonel began to impatiently try to persuade the entire Axis leadership to launch a counterattack.

Yes, it's not preparation for a counterattack, but a counterattack. According to Colonel Enzo's idea, Axis should just floor the accelerator and start charging towards the Earth Sphere. Everyone can use this time to recuperate on Axis. Then, once Axis arrives at the Earth Sphere, they can just use Axis to smash Earth and blow up that damned Earth Federation!
These remarks were considered extremely rare by Axis's top brass. Compared to him, even radicals were considered conservatives, and conservatives were even less so, since none of them were as radical as him.

Mark Bay's attempt to win over the other side was based on this opportunity, given that the Zeon resistance forces in the Earth Sphere had been completely defeated, and Axis had a responsibility to rebuild and lead them.

Therefore, Mark Bay hoped that Axis could assemble a small but powerful combat force to launch a counterattack from Axis, lurking in the heart of the Federation army, both to disrupt the Federation's development and to build up strength for Axis's counterattack.

After all, human resources are the most scarce resource for Axis at present. Even if they reach an agreement with their Zeon allies on Mars and obtain some support, including fleets, personnel, and mobile suits, they are still far from being able to assemble an invincible army.

After all, the Martian colonies are far less prosperous than those on the Moon. The long distance from Earth makes it extremely difficult to establish a foothold on Mars. This is why Zeon was able to conquer the Martian colonies with only a small force during the One Year War, as there was virtually no available resistance.

After conquering Mars, the Zeon army settled there. According to pre-war plans, Zeon would soon be victorious, so they only needed to await good news from their homeland. Besides, staying in the Martian colony of Arcadia as a powerful ruler was quite comfortable. Although this colony was relatively ordinary compared to lunar cities, it still had a population of hundreds of millions. As long as they didn't cause trouble, it was a very pleasant place.
But fate is unpredictable. While the Kycilia troops were enjoying hotpot and singing on Mars, they suddenly learned that the decisive battle on their home planet had failed. However, given the current situation, there was no time to return to provide reinforcements, so they could only stay on Mars (in reality, they had no intention of leaving at all) until they made contact with their allies on Axis.

In fact, the Martian Zeon did not initially intend to provide much manpower support to Axis. After all, everyone was doing well on Mars, and going to war with the Federation on Axis would mean losing their heads.

However, the destruction of the Earth Sphere Delaz Fleet still served as a wake-up call for Martian Zeon. Especially now, with the Federation Forces actively building up their military capabilities, once the enemy completes their plan, Mars will no longer seem like a lawless land far from the emperor's reach. Given the size of Martian Zeon's army, it would be nothing short of wishful thinking to try and resist the Federation fleet at that time!
Therefore, given the changing situation, supporting Axis became a reality that Martian Zeon had to face, especially since the other side had the prestigious Minerva Zabi brand.

But here's the problem: the supplies provided by Martian Zeon are manageable, stored in warehouses and exchanged for based on everyone's contributions. However, the manpower and fleet are entirely under Haman's control, since she is the supreme leader of Axis Zeon, and she is also responsible for all communication with Martian Zeon.

However, Mark Bay's troops received nothing. All the newly designed ships were in service with the Royal Guard, while Mark Bay only had the old ships from the One Year War that had been repaired and refurbished.

Although these Chibe-class ships have been modified in the dock, the fundamental design remains the same. Just like a GM is always a GM, even if you replace the head with a Gundam, it's still a GM.

Therefore, in order to get some additional benefits, Mark Bay had no choice but to support Colonel Enzo, thereby putting pressure on Harman and forcing him to hand over some of the benefits.

This is why Mark Bay was in Harman's office.

Although Harman was young, she had learned some of the tricks of office politics from her father. To the various requests from Mark Bey and Enzo, she kept saying, "Let's think about it and discuss it." By playing coy, she was probably dragging things out.

In reality, Harman knew that this could only delay things temporarily, not permanently. After all, she couldn't really suppress Enzo's request and launch a counterattack back to Earth Sphere. However, this was the consensus of everyone and also her idea.

But Haman also knew that this was not feasible in the short term. Axis's fleet had not yet been fully organized, the mobile suit units were still training, and the secret Newtype program was still underway. The conditions for a counterattack were simply not ripe!
So, just as Harman was preparing to wait for Mark Bay to leave on his own, as usual, her office door was suddenly opened again.

Harman frowned, about to angrily rebuke the person for not announcing their arrival, but when she saw the small head peeking in through the door, her anger vanished instantly.

Because the person who came was none other than Minerva Zabi!

"Sister Harman!"

Minerva called out timidly, looking at Harman sitting behind the desk.

"Come here, what brings you here today?"

Hamman immediately stepped forward, opened his arms, knelt down, and held the soft, fragrant Minerva in his arms, then asked softly,
"I missed you!" Minerva gave Haman a quick kiss on the cheek, then noticed a tall, thin old man standing in the room, looking at her with an extremely kind and gentle expression.

Minerva recognized the man; he was one of her "subordinates," and not long ago, he had knelt before her to pledge his loyalty.

"Your Highness, it's been a long time! I wish you good health!"

Good afternoon, Your Excellency Mark Bay!

Despite her young age, Minerva's manners were impeccable. She greeted Mark Bay with composure and respect.
"Your Highness, how have you been lately? If you encounter anything unpleasant in your palace, you can come to my place. I have quite a few nice things that I brought from Earth!"

Mark Bay said with a grin, just like a wicked old man who traffics children.

Do you have a puppy?

Minerva was still a child after all, and his eyes lit up immediately when he heard about Earth.

"puppy?"

Mark Bay was taken aback, then shook his head. His men had brought back quite a few things, including books and videos for adults, as well as toys and snacks for children, but things like cats and dogs were really impossible to bring.

"Sorry, we don't have that!"

"Oh!"

Seeing the little girl's downcast mood, Mark Bay felt a little sorry for her. After all, he wasn't some heartless cosmic commander. Seeing the exquisite porcelain doll sad, he naturally felt sad too.

"However, if you want a puppy, that's not impossible. I'll think of something!"

"Really!"

"Of course, if you don't believe me, let's pinky swear!"

After hooking up with Mark Bell, Minerva happily ran back into Haman's arms. Haman gave Mark Bell a rather complicated look, seemingly surprised by his attitude towards Minerva.

“Well then, Your Excellency Mark Bay, I must accompany His Highness, so I cannot join you…”

Although surprised, Harman instinctively felt that nothing good could come of Mark Bay and Minerva being together, so she prepared to use diplomatic language to send them away.

Mark Bey, being quite sensible, immediately prepared to leave. Just then, there was another knock on the office door.

Then, Harman's female secretary entered the room again.

"Your Highness, Colonel Enzo requests an audience!"

Tell him I don't have time!

Harman frowned, sensing something was wrong.

"Your Highness, it is extremely important to meet with your subordinates in a timely manner to understand the relevant situation. Moreover, with Prince Minerva present, lying like this is not a good example to set!"

Mark Bay, who hadn't yet stepped outside, suddenly spoke up.

Harman then realized that the old man had planned this all along; no wonder Minerva had suddenly come looking for him!

Minerva also heard what Markbe said. Trusting Haman, she didn't say anything, but her face suddenly tightened, which showed her confusion.

Harman gently squeezed Minerva's hand to reassure her, then turned to look at his secretary.

"Then let him in!"

"And, Mr. Mark Bay, weren't you planning to leave?"

“Sigh, I was going to leave, but since His Highness is here and you have to meet with guests, why don’t I take care of His Highness for you?”

Mark Bay smiled gently, and, following Haman's example, knelt on the ground, extended his hand to Minerva, and then spoke.

"Your Highness wishes to ride a horse? This old minister has already made preparations!"

(End of this chapter)