Yamamoto, Commander of the Asian Coalition Fleet, returned to Lianyungang, the current location of the Coalition Naval Headquarters. While busy with his work, he also kept a close watch on the movements of the Japanese Navy.

Yamaguchi's execution gave Yamamoto a great sense of relief. After resolving the Wake Island issue, Yamaguchi did not advance rashly. Instead, he coordinated with the Chinese fleet in the Coalition to capture the Marshall Islands while simultaneously strengthening anti-submarine measures. If one did not know Yamaguchi's nickname, "The Evil Spirit," one might think he was a cool-headed, theoretical commander... though Yamaguchi had indeed made significant contributions to aircraft carrier theory.

Setting aside Yamaguchi's affairs, Yamamoto carefully re-read the analysis section at the very beginning of the submarine warfare plan submitted to He Rui, the Supreme Commander of the Asian Coalition. Yamamoto believed He Rui must have heard of submarine warfare, but his tactical understanding of submarines likely ended there. However, He Rui certainly understood *why* submarines should be used—this was the level of strategy.

Yamamoto had been very busy previously and had assigned a Japanese captain to write the report. The content had disappointed him greatly. The captain seemed to have issues with his understanding of strategy versus tactics; the report submitted to He Rui was mostly filled with technical details of submarine operations. Yamamoto considered this captain a typical example of putting the cart before the horse.

Fortunately, after Yamamoto's criticism, the captain cleared his head, and the logic in the newly submitted report had become normal. The current version was finally presentable.

"...In the East Pacific region, the scarcity of islands and the vastness of the seas make it extremely suitable for submarine warfare. To achieve the goal of depleting the United States' war potential, we must seize underwater dominance in this region..."

Yamamoto paused his reading. He found himself becoming somewhat sentimental. The term "East Pacific region" stirred deep emotions in his heart. Asia was located in the West Pacific, yet it had long been unable to defend even its own coastlines, suffering constant invasions from European and American nations.

The report before him was not a vision of the future, but a description of the present. The Coalition fleet was constantly advancing. Given the current comparison of strength between China and the US, it was only a matter of time before the Coalition seized all the islands in the Pacific. At that time, the entire East Pacific would be laid bare before the Coalition, and the boundless coastline of the East Pacific would be open to Coalition attacks.

Thinking of this, Yamamoto could not calm his heart. He simply set aside the document and began to look at other official papers. The latest report on anti-submarine warfare in the Indian Ocean caught his attention. The report described a sudden surge in British naval submarine attacks on Chinese convoys in the Indian Ocean. According to pre-war analyses of British naval strength, Britain could not possibly build so many submarines. It was highly likely that the British military had purchased a large number of submarines directly from Germany to throw into the war.

Therefore, the naval commander of the Indian Ocean Theater requested in the report that if the coastal regions of the Indian Ocean could not be liberated in the short term, more anti-submarine vessels must be deployed to the Indian Ocean to ensure the safety of the shipping lanes on the eastern side.

After finishing this report, Yamamoto did not immediately issue instructions. He picked up the report on deploying more carrier groups to the East Pacific again. The East Indian Ocean was now under Chinese control, just as the East Pacific was under US control. Feeling the oppression brought by the threat to the East Indian Ocean, Yamamoto had a more intuitive understanding of the pressure the US was feeling from the East Pacific.

With a sense of empathy for the US military, Yamamoto read the report once more and submitted it before turning back to the report on increasing anti-submarine capabilities in the Indian Ocean. Once China liberated the Indian Ocean region, the Chinese military would be at Europe's doorstep. Europe would surely do everything in its power to attack China. At that time, the Indian Ocean shipping lanes had to be extremely secure to fully satisfy logistical supply needs.

However, there were only two waterways from the Indian Ocean into Europe: the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa and the Suez Canal in Egypt. Both waterways were very easy to control. Overall, the pressure of anti-submarine warfare in the Indian Ocean would be resolved as the coastal regions were liberated.

Yamamoto's report was quickly delivered to He Rui. After reading the report, He Rui's gaze fell upon Australia.

If the goal was to annihilate US forces on a large scale, the best method was undoubtedly to let the US Army go to Australia and New Zealand. Although Australia and New Zealand were rich in local resources, lacking neither iron ore nor coal, their industrial strength was very weak. If the US wanted to fully utilize local resources, it would need to make massive investments.

Even so, the demand to maintain millions of troops would place immense pressure on US material production. Therefore, China's current fierce offensive in the East Pacific seemed to cause the Americans great pain, but in reality, it prevented the US from committing even larger forces to Australia and New Zealand.

According to intelligence, the US military currently had 500,000 troops in Australia. This number looked far too small. Although He Rui did not underestimate the US military command, out of self-interested considerations, He Rui hoped the US would commit at least 8 million troops to Australia. As for whether these 8 million troops were committed in batches or all at once, He Rui did not care. The more US troops went to Australia, the better.

Putting down the report, He Rui had his secretary call Premier Wu Youping and Minister of Resources Li Chongxi, asking them to come immediately to report on the development plan for Australian iron ore. After that call, He Rui dialed Zhong Yifu, Director of the Political Department, asking him to come over.

Zhong Yifu was the first to arrive at No. 7 Renmin Road. He Rui went straight to the point. "Yifu, what are your thoughts on the Australian campaign?"

Zhong Yifu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. Among the five who had followed He Rui the earliest, Xu Chengfeng, the Commander-in-Chief of the Coalition Forces, and Zheng Silang, who was in charge of the Southeast Asian campaign, would obviously be the first to be promoted to Marshal. The next to be promoted would likely be Cheng Ruofan and Hu Xiushan. Although Zhong Yifu was certain he would also be promoted, it would likely be in a position like the Political Department, which seemed to have limited direct relation to the war.

Zhong Yifu did not mind this too much. The gap between whether this war was an imperialist war or a socialist liberation war was vast. However, Zhong Yifu did not object to becoming the person in charge of the Australian campaign. He asked, "Chairman, where do you think the difficulty of this battle lies?"

"The difficulty lies in precise manipulation. I personally very much hope to force the US military to continuously commit troops to Australia. Of course, before that, we must annihilate a very large number of ANZAC forces. Therefore, the Australia-New Zealand campaign will not only be long but will also involve a large amount of security warfare."

Hearing the words "security warfare," Zhong Yifu knew He Rui was indeed being frank. The Boer War fought by the British was largely a security war. Therefore, the content of the war was extremely cruel; the things the British did in the concentration camps were considered excessive even by the British people themselves.

Zhong Yifu probed, "Since this war requires such detail, Comrade Xiushan should be very suitable."

He Rui explained, "Xiushan is very detailed in war, but fighting a political war is not his strong suit. As for Ruofan, I worry his attention is too focused on politics and not concentrated enough on the military aspects."

Zhong Yifu gave a bitter smile. Viewed positively, He Rui's evaluation meant Zhong Yifu could balance the military and political aspects well. But viewed negatively, Zhong Yifu was inferior to Hu Xiushan in the purely military field and inferior to Cheng Ruofan in the purely political field.

Adjusting his mindset, Zhong Yifu said, "Chairman, I believe that we will engage the US military on the frontal battlefield. Should we continuously force the US to increase its troop levels?"

He Rui nodded. "The current US troop strength in Australia is not enough. As for how much is enough... 3 million is too few, 10 million is not too many. Of course, I think you are well aware that the United States cannot possibly send that many troops to Australia."

"Chairman, should we consider landing operations on the US mainland?" Zhong Yifu probed. Because US industrial capacity was sufficiently strong, no one had raised this possibility at this stage. However, Zhong Yifu believed China must seriously consider this matter.

Taking current China as an example, even if the war situation were so critical that the US military hit China's doorstep, China would not give up the fight. To force China to withdraw from the war, foreign armies would have to win huge victories on Chinese soil. Zhong Yifu believed the US was the same. China could only force the US to withdraw from the war by annihilating US forces on a large scale on the US mainland. The war in America would be extremely bloody.

"Yifu, the American campaign will be extremely cruel. That is why I hope to weaken the US's ability to wage foreign wars to the limit before the American campaign breaks out. If Xiushan were to command this battle, he would have trouble grasping the American mindset. If Ruofan were to command this battle, he would consider how to make the US realize the evils of colonialism and would have difficulty truly putting himself in the Americans' shoes."

"...Is it fear?" Zhong Yifu asked, his tone filled with emotion.

He Rui nodded. "It should be that feeling. It is the sense of powerlessness watching the world change regardless of how hard one tries. And the fear triggered by the sense of crisis resulting from continuous defeats. Making the United States feel helpless is not an easy task. But we must fight to create that feeling, keeping the US constantly expecting that with just a little more effort, they might break the deadlock. When the failures accumulate to a sufficient degree, the US government will no longer be able to suppress the doubts.

"Even at that stage, after we land on the US mainland, the US will still try its best to counterattack. A series of battles will be needed to crush the US military thereafter.

"Also, regarding the internal US divisions I am about to discuss, can you discuss them with a purely theoretical mindset, rather than with a mindset of genuine expectation?"

Hearing this, Zhong Yifu immediately felt that he might indeed be stronger than Cheng Ruofan and Hu Xiushan in this regard, and he nodded immediately.

He Rui explained, "After the Civil War, the North imposed military rule on the South for over a decade. Of course, the North called this Military Reconstruction. Although the US North withdrew its troops from the South after 1876, the separatist sentiments in the American South have not disappeared. The new book *Gone with the Wind* from a few years ago, as well as our movie *Legend of Maoshan Demon Slaying*, are very popular in the US. Aside from both works being excellent, their common point lies in their opposition to the US North's policies. They believe the US North has an evil center.

"The current US war against China is already widely perceived by the American public as a war launched by the Northern bloc to establish a US-dominated world order. I quite like this clear-cut perception. This perception makes the war itself purer.

"We are mobilizing our forces to do our best to spark a discussion within the US about 'who is a real American' because we want to exploit this issue. Because this issue, for China, and for the nation-states of Europe, is actually not an issue."

Zhong Yifu nodded repeatedly. For China, the motherland was the land of one's ancestors. Chinese people had lived here for thousands of years, their bloodlines blending; who was a real Chinese person was not an issue at all in terms of ancestry. If a discussion on "who is a real Chinese person" were to appear in China, the content of the discussion would inevitably be about rights and duties.

The United States was a nation of immigrants. People from various countries went to the US for a better life compared to their home countries. So, "who is a real American" was actually a matter of national identity. When the US was powerful, life was prosperous, and it won every war, this discussion would naturally become a pledge of loyalty from all sides. But once the US fell into a cruel war where going to the battlefield meant death, this discussion would truly become a torture of the soul. It was a question about how one should live and how one should die.

Understanding this, Zhong Yifu asked, "Chairman, how many casualties do you think the American public can actually bear? I believe a considerable number of American people actually dare not express their views. These people must make up about half of the US population."

"How did you reach the conclusion of half the population?" He Rui asked.

Zhong Yifu had analyzed this issue long ago and answered immediately, "I used class analysis, not racial analysis. Although blacks seemingly ought to oppose the US, in reality, blacks are currently more expectant of class mobility. If they can gain higher social status after the war ends by fighting, blacks might not be unwilling to fight desperately on the battlefield.

"Up to now, military service has always been a ladder for social advancement in US society. By proving one's loyalty to the US to American society, one can obtain higher social status. I believe half of Americans at least hope this is a rule the US government should abide by. So what they are after may not be the present, but the future."

He Rui agreed with Zhong Yifu's method of analysis and asked, "Then what do you think of the *Gone with the Wind* author kicking the bucket?"

Zhong Yifu had only read the book and had no special interest in the author, Margaret Mitchell. He had only heard that after *Gone with the Wind* was made into a movie and released, Margaret Mitchell died in a car accident on her way home from the premiere. Zhong Yifu himself actually had no love for a work so full of "female power." Hearing He Rui ask this, Zhong Yifu asked, "I have no opinion. What do you think, Chairman?"

He Rui answered, "This book happens to embody one thing: the soldiers of the American South did not receive true respect. Instead, they lost everything because of the war. If this idea only existed in peacetime, it would be acceptable. But now is a time of war."