Gundam 00: Rise of China

"Am I in a hurry? How could I be in a hurry!"

At the corner of the corridor of the People's Revolutionary Army headquarters, General Jin, dressed in an officer's uniform, stood with his face flushed. He was Sergei's direct superior in the Tianzhu garrison.

Ever since he learned that Wang Ye, General Gao's direct subordinate, had defeated Gao Da of the Celestials, General Jin had lost his appetite.

So today I met Wang Ye, and General Gao, who brought Wang Ye to the military headquarters to report on his duties.

General Jin, who had always wanted to outdo General Gao, had his finger almost poking General Gao's chest, and his voice was so loud that everyone in the entire corridor could hear it.

General Jin was so enraged by General Gao's composure that his temper instantly flared up, or perhaps it was jealousy. He was now like a volcano about to erupt at any moment.

"Besides, how can I not be in a hurry!"

"What gives Wang Ye, a mere major, the right to use tactical ballistic missiles?"

"On what grounds can three fully-equipped heavy divisions be mobilized for reinforcements across the sea?!"

"Three divisions, Lao Gao! Those are three heavily armored divisions! Just think about the energy and ammunition consumption and troop movements!"

"Besides those Kunpeng transport planes, do you know how much of the military's budget is burned up each time they're deployed?"

General Jin, now transformed into a roaring emperor, paced back and forth, his leather shoes thumping loudly on the floor.

"This is absolutely not the authority a garrison commander should have!"

"If you hadn't been backing him up, would he have been able to mobilize so many resources?"

"This is a classic case of nepotism and bending the law for personal gain!"

In response to General Jin's accusations, General Gao remained calm and composed.

He slowly raised the glass thermos in his hand, took a sip of hot tea, and even took the time to straighten his neat collar.

After General Jin, his face flushed with embarrassment, finally finished speaking, he then spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice gentle yet each word clear.

"Old Jin, calm down. I know all that you're saying."

"You knew that, yet you still did it?!"

"I ask you," General Gao looked up at General Jin, his gaze calm yet carrying an undeniable power, "what were our results in the Battle of Ceylon?"

"We repelled four Gundams and upheld the dignity of our People's Revolutionary Alliance in front of the world."

General Jin answered stiffly, his tone noticeably weaker, and as he spoke, he glanced back at his subordinate, Sergei.

If it weren't for him, how could I be so weak!

"That's right." General Gao nodded with a refined smile.

"After the defeat at Tianzhu, our army repelled those so-called Celestials in a direct confrontation. Was this victory worth the cost of three divisions?"

"If the Celestials hadn't run away so fast, the name Celestial would have already become history."

"this……"

"I'll ask you again," General Gao said, taking half a step forward, his tone still calm.

"If someone else were to guard Ceylon, without these resources, could they hold off Celestial Being? Would they have a chance to capture Celestial Being's Gundam?"

"What if we end up like the Sky Pillar Defense Force, where a single Gundam breaches our entire defense line, causing us to lose dozens of Iron Men and embarrass ourselves in front of the world, leaving us to clean up the mess?"

Upon hearing this, General Jin opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.

The disastrous defeat at the Battle of Tianzhu remains a disgrace to the People's Revolutionary Army, a fact he cannot refute.

That particular area was still under his own jurisdiction.

"Old Jin, when we soldiers do accounting, we can't just consider the expenses; we also have to consider the results of the battle and the political implications."

Stepping forward, General Gao patted General Jin on the shoulder and said earnestly.

"Wang Ye used this small amount of effort to shatter the myth of the invincibility of heaven and man, boost the morale of the entire army, and earn the world's respect for our People's Revolutionary Alliance."

"This deal is a sure thing, you can't lose money."

"As for the issue of authority you mentioned," General Gao changed the subject, his tone becoming more serious, "all the troop deployment orders were personally signed by me, and I take full responsibility for them."

"If the higher-ups hold me accountable, I, Gao, will absolutely not shirk my responsibility."

"But if you want to pin the blame on a young man who is risking his life on the front lines, I'll be the first to object."

His words were so impeccable that General Jin was left speechless, his face turning pale and then red.

After glaring at General Gao for a while, General Jin could only let out a heavy snort.

"Good! As expected of a professor from a military academy!"

"I can't win an argument with you! But this isn't over yet, see you in the conference room!"

After saying that, General Jin abruptly flicked his sleeve, turned around angrily, and strode into the military headquarters conference room not far away.

He slammed the heavy wooden door shut with a loud bang.

Then General Gao looked at his back, smiled inscrutablely, and then turned to look behind him.

There, Wang Ye and Sergei stood upright on either side of the corridor.

Wang Ye remained calm, as if the argument that had just been directed at him had nothing to do with him.

Sergei, on the other hand, looked serious, his brows slightly furrowed.

His gaze swept over the two men. General Gao's eyes first fell on Wang Ye, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration. He then looked at Sergei, nodded slightly, and said nothing more.

"Wait a moment, I'll go in for a meeting."

After saying that, he stepped into the conference room.

As the heavy wooden door slowly closed, it shut out the sounds from inside.

Only Wang Ye and Sergei remained in the corridor.

After a moment of silence, Sergei looked at the rising star Wang Ye and spoke first, his voice low and sincere.

"Major Wang Ye, I apologize on his behalf for General Jin's attitude just now."

"That's just his personality; he's objective, not personal, and he didn't mean to target you."

"Colonel Sergei, you flatter me."

Wang Ye nodded slightly, his tone calm.

"I understand. If I were in that situation, I would also have doubts when I saw such a large-scale mobilization of resources."

As for Sergei's statement that he was "focusing on the issue, not the person," Wang Ye inwardly chuckled.

However, upon hearing Wang Ye's reply, Sergei, unaware of the other's true thoughts, looked at the major who was more than ten years younger than him and a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.

If it were any other young man, after making such a great contribution and being publicly criticized by the general, he would have become agitated long ago. But Wang Ye remained so calm and composed, a quality that is truly rare.

"To be honest, the results of the battle on Ceylon shocked the entire military."

Sergei then changed the subject and got to the point.

"Many people think that since you can defeat Gundam with Iron Man, it means that the Gundam of Celestial Being is nothing special. We can completely destroy them as long as we concentrate our forces."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ye shook his head, his tone serious and solemn.

"Lieutenant Colonel, that's the most dangerous idea."

"Oh?" Sergei raised an eyebrow, signaling Wang Ye to continue.

"I was able to win because I had too many advantages," Wang Ye admitted frankly.

"First of all, it was a surprise attack. Tianren never expected us to use hypersonic missiles as sniper rounds, nor did they expect us to lay an ambush in the dense forest."

"Secondly, the terrain limitations meant that the Archangel's mobility advantage was lost from the start, and the Virtue Gundam that arrived later was surrounded and unable to unleash its full power."

Wang Ye paused here to give Sergei time to think, and then continued.

"If it were a frontal battlefield with open terrain, and four Gundams were to cooperate in combat, let alone three divisions, even ten divisions might not be able to gain the upper hand."

"Gundam's generational advantage is an objective fact. Our Iron Man is far inferior in speed, firepower, and protection."

"A victory built at the cost of lives is nothing more than another form of defeat."

"We have long since left behind the era in which wars could be decided solely by an iron will."