One meeting after another, Peng Jieao's actions scared some people in the Federation.
As soon as he came out of the Ministry of National Defense, the President's car was already waiting for him.
Of course, some important members of the Ministry of National Defense would go with him to the President's Palace.
If there was anyone who was the most panicked, it would be the President. He was most afraid of war, and everyone knew that.
When they arrived at the President's Palace, Lynch saw Mr. Truma as soon as he got out of the car. He also saw Lynch.
After dismissing the people around him, he took the initiative to greet Lynch. After shaking hands with him, he walked into the President's Palace.
On the way, people would actively avoid them. This was the benefit of status.
"I heard that you just gave the Ministry of National Defense an offer they couldn't afford."
Lynch nodded. "So they called you or the President?"
"600 million … That's too much. You have to know how much the budget for the Army is this year. Congress won't approve this money."
Mr. Trumann shook his head. "And in fact, the military's idea is that they want to do it themselves."
Lynch wasn't surprised at all. "So I'm here?"
"So you're here!"
As the two talked, they walked to the President's office. After they tidied up their clothes, they pushed the door open and walked in.
There were already many men in the office. They were all important members of the Federation government. There were also several senators who were often seen on TV.
They were all members of the Federation's Military Committee. This time, the situation was different from the previous naval war.
The outbreak of a naval war would only take a few days at most, or a week or two. It wouldn't take too long to see the result.
The President could use his authority to bypass Congress and directly authorize the Navy to launch a war, but this time, the situation was likely to last for a long time.
This also meant that the President's authority was not enough to authorize the Army to confront Peng Jieao's Army. A ground war was a very complicated and long process. It was not like a naval war, where everyone's warships lined up and fired. Whoever survived to the end was the winner.
A ground war had more strategies and tactics, higher requirements for logistics and ordnance, and many complicated factors.
The Ministry of Defense estimated that it would take at least three months to determine the final winner. This was beyond the scope of presidential authorization. It had to be authorized by Congress.
In a short war, the president could be willful, but in a long, large-scale war, he could not be willful. This was the Federation's way of preventing a dictator from leading the country into the abyss.
The military committee was responsible for this part of the work. They would first evaluate and forecast the entire war in the committee, and then the Congress would vote on the war bill.
Only when the vote was passed would the military be authorized to mobilize and prepare for war.
If they didn't pass … it was unlikely that such a situation would occur. There were more things going on here than people could imagine.
Mr. President didn't even need to think of a way to convince these members of Congress. The military and the Department of Defense would have a way to convince them.
In the end, the value of the military's existence was war. Even if it was a failed war, it would not have any substantial impact on the military's upper echelons.
If they stopped the war now, the members of Congress would not be offending the president, but the important members of the Department of Defense and the military.
These people not only had terrifying strength, but also a wide range of interpersonal relationships. The price of their crimes was actually very small.
Soldiers in the military would only be tried by the military court. This meant that if the military's upper echelons issued the order, they might be sentenced by the military court for hundreds of years and thrown somewhere to retire.
In addition, the committee members who were related to the military also represented the military's interests to a certain extent. To stop a war, and a war that the military longed for, was definitely not an easy thing to do!
When Lynch came in, the meeting had already begun. They would not wait for Lynch.
At this time, a military general spoke. Looking at his rank, he should be a major general.
"… We can mobilize the 15th and 17th infantry divisions to the east of Najjar, and we believe that we can complete this mission!"
In the Federation, an infantry division was about 20,000 people. As for whether it was less, more, or a lot more, it all depended on the military's mood.
If they felt that they should have more people, then naturally they would have more. If they felt that it was not necessary to send so many people, then they would also reduce some people. It was very flexible.
The president nodded. "Is two divisions enough?"
The one who answered the president was not a major general of the military, but a senator.
"Mr. President, the 15th and 17th infantry divisions together have about 43,000 people. This number is already very large."
"If we add more people, it will be difficult to persuade the other members of parliament to agree with this military conflict."
"What we need is just to warn our potential enemies that we are not to be messed with, not to start a real war!"
The senator's words represented the thoughts of most members of parliament. They did not care whether they agreed or disagreed with small frictions and conflicts.
Even if it was for the sake of the military, they would still pass the bill. However, if a large number of troops were invested from the beginning and seemed to be escalating the war, then the parliament would pour cold water on them.
At least not in the short term. They would need a more professional evaluation report before deciding whether to agree to such a request.
Time, for war, was one of the most important factors.
The senator also knew that saying this would make him look like the kind of "escapist", so he added, "Let's first pass the specific military bill and confirm it. After that, it will be relatively easier to send more troops."
Everyone in the office nodded. This was the most amazing thing about the parliament. Everyone could be "businesslike."
This was not a compliment. It was a sarcastic remark.
They only saw what they could see, such as a paragraph in a report. They would never see what was behind the paragraph, nor would they think about it.
This kind of businesslike behavior was not good. They were like some kind of old-fashioned voting machine. Sometimes they would make you think that they were easy to deal with, and sometimes they would make you think that their existence was meaningless.
The president asked again, "Do we have any insurance measures in place?"
"I don't want to see a war that ends in failure during my term. For the Federation, for the people, we must win!"
The major general nodded. "Once the situation on the front line changes beyond our expectations, the navy will quickly cut off the transport channel to the Bullhorn Strait and trap Peng Jie's people at the front line."
"They won't be able to get supplies and retreat. We also have the key to negotiating with the Peng Jie Empire."
It was a good plan. If they couldn't win, they would call for reinforcements. This was actually a strategic requirement of war. No war had to be fought under fair and just conditions.
In war, there was no such thing as being despicable or not. Everything was for the sake of the final victory. During this process, anything was allowed!
This included things that were immoral and ethical.
And this was just calling for reinforcements.
At this moment, Lynch suddenly interjected, "I'm sorry to interrupt …"
Everyone's eyes immediately focused on him. After he smiled and nodded to everyone, he said, "We always imagined the Peng Jie Empire to be on the same level as us, or slightly higher than us …"
Everyone nodded. This was the most basic blind optimism of the Federation people. Because of the navy's victory, they were blindly optimistic about the army, even if they had suffered a loss not long ago in the north.
But they were just naturally optimistic. It couldn't be helped.
The major general asked, "Is there something wrong, Mr. Lynch?"
Lynch nodded. "Why don't we think about it differently? Maybe the Peng Jie Empire's army is so strong that we might be defeated in three to five days, and the navy won't be able to cut off the transportation of supplies and personnel in time.
And you have to understand that once we're defeated, the weapons we leave behind will become their weapons. They will use our weapons to attack our people. "
"Even if the strait is blocked at this time, there's no practical significance!"
The major general frowned. "We've studied their battles in the First World War, and we didn't find out how strong they were. Maybe everything isn't as bad as you think, Mr. Lynch."
Lynch raised his hand. "That's because not many people can fight the enemy without the cover of naval cannons. We've seen their defeat on the coastline."
"Outside the range of naval cannons, they don't have many precedents of failure!"
"This time, we don't have naval cannons. We're standing in the same, basically equal environment. Who can guarantee that we'll win?"
The major general frowned. He glanced at the people from the Ministry of Defense. "Mr. Lynch, what do you mean?"
Lin Qi stood up. He walked to the window, pushed it open, and lit a cigarette. "We need multiple insurance measures. Once something unexpected happens at the frontline, just like I said, we have underestimated their strength. At this time, we need someone to help us withstand it." Lin Qi stood up and walked to the window, pushed it open, and lit a cigarette.
The president seemed to agree with this idea. He pointed at Lynch. "What you said makes sense. So what should we do?"
For the president, stability was more appropriate than radicalism. What he wanted was to "not fail," not "win!"
Lynch shrugged. "I can."
"We have the most professional staff, the most advanced war weapons, and experienced commanders."
"We only need 12,000 to 15,000 people. I dare not say that the Blackstone Security can defeat the Peng Jie Empire's army, but at least we can hold them off for a while, giving us more time to adjust."