"I see you were holding a meeting earlier. Go on, then. You won't mind my joining you?" Zhao Chen sat in his chair, smiling at this whole company of Revolutionary Army councilor-leaders.
As for those boar-headed and rooster-headed peace-faction men, they had already been taken away.
"We don't mind, we don't mind."
"That my lord should take part lends luster to our poor hall."
"This is the head seat; do sit here."
Midai'er watched these councilor-leaders — who in ordinary times, on the strength of the Revolutionary Army's record, were insufferably proud — reduced now, every one, to the manner of lapdogs.
And felt the deepest contempt for them in her heart.
Sure enough, this crew bullied the weak and feared the strong.
"What were you discussing before?" Zhao Chen asked with a face full of smiles.
"The matter of talking peace," Chieftainess Hu Ya said.
"Peace? Who wishes to talk peace?" Zhao Chen smiled, his gaze sweeping across the councilor-leaders. "Do you wish to talk peace? Or do you?"
"No, no, no! We do not talk peace, we do not talk peace!"
"We are sworn to overthrow the unjust order of the present Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth, and shall fight to the end without wavering — never talking peace!"
Zhao Chen leaned back in his chair. "Then since no one wishes to talk peace, the matter ends here."
"Yes, yes, yes."
No one dared question this man's word.
"Since that is so, let us discuss matters of real significance. The Revolutionary Army's future, for instance." Zhao Chen's fingers came down on the table, tapping lightly.
The Revolutionary Army's future?
The councilor-leaders' hearts jolted. They had guessed at the purpose behind the Owl Dragon lord's coming from the Starlight Empire to the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth this time — he could hardly have come sightseeing.
He must certainly have some purpose in mind.
And now the main act had come.
"I hold that the Revolutionary Army's present system is already behind the times, because your scale is now wholly unlike what it was." As Zhao Chen said it, his gaze went to Charlotte.
Charlotte said, "The Revolutionary Army at present holds 176 tribes, great and small. The total population of the tribes supporting us has already passed 100 trillion. Which is 10% of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's population."
Zhao Chen's heart gave a jolt.
These beast-folk truly can breed.
The Starlight Empire's total population now came to only 360 trillion; and this Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth had broken the 1,000 trillion mark outright.[1]
Of course, this might also have to do with the vastness of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's map, and with the beast-folk's ability to eat anything whatever.
He had heard Charlotte mention before that were it not for the scarcity of food — which left beast-folk starving to death upon every planet—
the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's population would climb several times higher still!
"Besides the Dragon-Tiger Legion under my own direct command, which holds 100,000 warships— the Revolutionary Army's several parts have, over this stretch, accumulated 300,000 warships. But those meeting the standard of a regular force — that is, T2-grade and above — come to only 100,000. And the areas we control are rather scattered: we hold a little of this star region, a little of that, strung barely together. As with these Dragon-folk fleet groups this time: they need only attack a few of our important strategic hubs to cut our Revolutionary Army's holdings wholly apart, which would work an enormous crisis upon us." As Charlotte said it, she put out the interstellar map besides.
Zhao Chen ran an eye over it — it truly was a jumble without order.
It gave one the feeling that wherever a bite could be taken, there they had attacked.
And most of the places held were not important resource ground either.
For Charlotte had only the one Dragon-Tiger Legion in hand, and could at most maintain order over a few important strategic resource districts.
"Then your meaning is…" Chieftainess Hu Ya looked to the Owl Dragon lord and asked.
Zhao Chen's fingers tapped at the table, and he put out two words: "Reform it."
"Reform it how?" Hu Xin'er asked offhand.
"First the Revolutionary Army's structure must be changed; it cannot go on as now — without organization, without discipline, with everything resting upon Charlotte's Dragon-Tiger Legion fighting alone. What you must face next is not the fleets of the various tribes, but Dragon-folk fleet groups — even a large-scale encirclement campaign with the Dragon-folk tribe at its head. And second, give up these holdings that have no strategic value whatever." Zhao Chen wiped away, upon the interstellar map, two-thirds of the area the Revolutionary Army controlled.
"These… these are… these are holdings we took with no small trouble," one councilor-leader said, unwilling.
"You call these holdings?" Zhao Chen knit his brows and pointed at several places. "Tell me: in these places where the birds don't defecate, how many resources are there to use? How many habitable planets?"
The councilor-leader had no words.
Because these holdings were indeed of very low value.
Which was also why the local great tribes let them be — they had, after all, done them no great harm.
To go and recover such holdings might, on the contrary, give the Dragon-Tiger Legion an opening to strike at their important resource systems.
After crossing swords with the Dragon-Tiger Legion several times, these great tribes' commanders had worked out the pattern.
The Dragon-Tiger Legion was very strong, and fitted with a piece of black-tech that let a fleet make interstellar jumps, so it often fought lightning strikes and surprise raids.
But its weaknesses were plain as well.
Insufficient troops.
Insufficient logistics.
It would come on with great force, but could not fight for long.
So one need only hold fast wherever one was attacked.
After the chaos the Revolutionary Army caused at the outset, the great tribes adopted this method of holding fast and not coming out.
Which was also why Charlotte had won no further great merits afterward.
While those councilor-leaders had seized the chance to occupy and hold certain territories, and swaggered about presumptuously over it.
"Then… how is this reform to be made?" Chieftain Ted asked.
"First, the establishment of a unified political order — not this business where, whenever a problem arises, you must all sit here and debate it one by one. Please — this is a war! A war in which victory or defeat can change from minute to minute. So you need a leader; a leader who can make an answer at any moment. And your armies must be gathered together and obey unified orders. Only so can your Revolutionary Army's fighting power be brought out! Rather than keeping a pack of wine-sacks and rice-bags to make a mess of the fighting." Zhao Chen struck the table, his voice rising by degrees.
For he had heard how the Revolutionary Army's operations over this stretch had rested wholly upon his own big white cat holding the stage; this crew, far from helping, had done well not to make trouble.
Several times over, indeed, Charlotte's Dragon-Tiger Legion had had to wipe up after them.
"This… we shall need to discuss… to discuss it," a Minotaur beside them said thickly.
Zhao Chen rose, walked over, and laid a hand straight upon his neck, the other hand patting at the Minotaur's chest, his arms, his thighs. "Discuss? I like discussing things too. Shall the two of us find a place and discuss it together, then? How would it be if we discussed it over hot pot? My treat — beef hot pot. You know, in that boiling pot: a little beef tenderloin, some tripe, some tongue, hand-beaten beef balls, brisket, beef tendon — and if one added an ox pizzle besides… that flavor truly is very fine."
Zhao Chen's fingers slid slowly down from the Minotaur's chest, and there was a smacking of lips in his mouth as he spoke.