Two Realms Shuttle Gate: Don't Call Me a Demon!
Chapter 948 - 516: Resolutely Do Not Fire the First Shot_2

Chapter 948: Chapter 516: Resolutely Do Not Fire the First Shot_2

We’re all smart people here. The influence of You Tai in the Beautiful Country is too great. The capital they control forces the Beautiful Country Government to consider and respect their ideas. Even the politicians present have financial backers from You Tai offering political contributions.

"It’s the Jieke Group again. Can’t they settle down for a while? They’re always causing trouble. Your Excellency, President, we can’t let this go on."

Minister of Defense Harmon slapped the table, his face full of anger.

Harmon is not a war proponent, but even he can’t hold back now. This shows the huge impact of biological batteries on the Beautiful Country, that even Harmon, who advocates peace, wants to get involved.

Jesmin was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Has the military found a way to deal with the Cruiser Arsenal Ships?"

The current Jieke Group is the overlord of Southeast Asia. Under the influence of the Jieke Group, all Southeast Asian countries have formed the South Alliance, with Su Jie self-proclaiming as the Supreme Leader.

Though the Beautiful Country has never acknowledged the Jieke Group and Su Jie, they have to recognize the strength of the Jieke Group, which even the Beautiful Country fears to some extent.

When the Jieke Group annexed those Southeast Asian countries, the Beautiful Country considered intervening several times but backed down each time due to the abundant martial force of the Jieke Group.

Among them, the Devourer-class Cruiser is the most formidable presence to the Beautiful Country.

This Cruiser Arsenal Ship can dive into deep sea, carrying hundreds of missiles, posing a huge threat to carrier battle groups.

Upon hearing Jesmin’s inquiry, Harmon felt a bit awkward but mustered his courage and said: "According to our simulations, if we can deploy three carrier battle groups along with other countries’ naval fleets, in the Seamount Battle our odds of winning can reach seventy percent."

"Only seventy percent!"

Jesmin didn’t look pleased; a seventy percent chance isn’t secure enough. Anything can happen in naval warfare, and carrier battle groups are the cornerstone of the Beautiful Country’s hegemonic power. Any issues would have massive implications.

Even if they win, if it’s a pyrrhic victory, the Beautiful Country’s hegemony would be shaken, more severely than the oil hegemony.

The Beautiful Country relies on strong military power to intimidate the world and command other nations. Once its weakness is revealed, it can’t easily act as the global police.

It’s like a gangster leader; when you’re powerful, your underlings naturally obey. When you decline, they become disloyal, and rather than just being disobedient, those with ambition might think of overthrowing the leader to take their place.

Between countries, there’s never friendship, only interests. Moreover, the overbearing and arrogant actions of the Beautiful Country don’t earn it any goodwill from others. People only obey due to the martial dominance on Blue Star. Including South Korea and Japan as followers, if the Beautiful Country declines, they can attack their master.

"Your Excellency, President, the emergence of biological batteries, and their reluctance to share even a bit of profit, have stirred discontent against the Jieke Group, not just from us, but other countries too. We can create more alliances; even if they aren’t our allies, they won’t interfere with our military actions, including Bear Country, as they’re also a major oil exporter suffering from the impact of biological batteries."

Harmon’s eyes flashed with resolve; oil dollar hegemony is too important for the Beautiful Country. If they don’t make an impact, the future of this hegemony is surely doomed.

In contrast, bringing the Jieke Group to heel and extracting the benefits of biological batteries best aligns with the Beautiful Country’s plans.

"Japan and South Korea will follow our orders. The Great British Empire is wreaking havoc in the oil market, with overseas oil field losses. Germany owns many old-school fuel car enterprises, and their market is squeezed by biological battery innovations. Canada is affected too... these countries are hopeful to become our allies. We must exert worldwide pressure on Jieke Group and show them our determination, even if it leads to war."

Harmon’s tone grew more impassioned. Those unaware might think he was a Hawk.

"General Harmon, you’re too aggressive."

Judith is actually a Hawk, but he advocates restricting the Jieke Group from all fronts. Harmon’s bloodthirsty approach to war, risking carrier battle groups, even makes Judith, a Hawk, find the Conservative Harmon too aggressive.

"Hmpf, it’s you guys being overly conservative; consistently compromising with the Jieke Group makes them even more arrogant. Swallowing anger never results in anything good."

Harmon glared at Judith, his whiskers trembling with indignation.

"The Jieke Group isn’t like those small countries we’ve dealt with before. They’re the overlord of Southeast Asia with strong military power; wars aren’t child’s play."

Harmon scoffed upon seeing Judith’s lack of support. Unhappy, he said: "You guys let things get out of hand. If we’d suppressed the Jieke Group with all our might when they first started rising, they’d have been handled already; they wouldn’t be the uncontrollable power they are now. Ultimately, it’s your intelligence work that failed, not seeing the toxic growth of this threat in Southeast Asia."

Judith, as the CIA director, has his temper too. He replied sarcastically.

"Ridiculous. Did your military do its job then? Don’t think I don’t know. We initially supported Johor, Temasek, Jawa, and Luzon with massive military aid to boost local military strength against Jieke Group. Yet, the massive aid funds vanished into thin air. A coffee cup procurement cost of $1280..."

"Enough!"

Jesmin coldly interrupted the argument, stopping Judith from continuing, as even he, the President, found such matters too taboo, and Judith couldn’t bear them.

A slightly over-excited Judith came to his senses, feeling his back slightly soaked with cold sweat, realizing how close he’d been to trouble.

Though he’s a confidant of Jesmin, his offensive approach covered too wide an area. Judging against the giant military-industrial complex, investigating the Beautiful Country army’s corruption, he might end up "committing suicide" with multiple bullet wounds tomorrow.

Harmon, with a grim look, glared fiercely at Judith, throwing the room into silence.

"Regarding what Harmon mentioned, I agree in principle. Try discussing cooperation with other countries for joint operations, start military mobilization against the Jieke Group, deploy troops, and prepare the war plan."

Jesmin continued speaking, looking at Harmon.

"Your Excellency, President, I suggest deploying the Reagan Carrier Strike Group, Eisenhower Carrier Battle Group, and Roosevelt Carrier Battle Group, a total of three carrier battle groups to ensure our sea combat power, additionally mobilizing Japan and South Korea’s naval forces, and..."

Harmon rejuvenated, speaking boldly and fluently.

After Harmon finished speaking, Jesmin tapped the table, sternly saying: "Remember, without my orders, the military must restrain itself. Any potential conflict must be reported to me. For now, it’s mainly about showing strength and exerting military pressure to make Jieke Group back down. If problems can be resolved through negotiation, then they must be resolved through negotiation, absolutely no rash firing. Understand?"

Harmon nodded repeatedly, solemnly saying: "Please rest assured, Mr. President. Our military’s orders are as solid as a mountain, and we will absolutely not fire the first shot."

Jesmin felt slightly relieved; he didn’t want war to erupt with the Jieke Group during his term. Winning would be fine, but losing...

Jesmin shivered at the thought, not daring to imagine.