The Chairman invited me to a small, private gathering this evening, and specifically requested that I bring along those five stunningly beautiful young women. Finding the invitation impossible to refuse, I assembled the entourage that evening and we secretly made our way to the venue.

There weren't many attendees, but judging by their age, they were all quite senior. I only recognized two: Chairman Li of the Military Commission and Premier Qiao of the State Council. Premier Qiao took my hand and said, "Young Zhao, let me introduce you. This is General Yi Tianfeng, a member of the Military Commission."

Yi Xiaorou, standing behind me, blushed and said, "Grandpa, you're here too."

Yi Tianfeng wore a stern expression. "You still know I'm your grandfather? You haven't been home in almost a year!"

While Yi Tianfeng was formidable, he couldn't scold my wife like that. So, I addressed General Yi Tianfeng directly, "General Yi, this isn't Xiaorou's fault. If you hadn't insisted on marrying her off to Tan Tian back then, would she have been afraid to come home for so long?"

General Yi Tianfeng's face darkened considerably. Yi Xiaorou subtly tugged at my sleeve. "Zhao Qian, don't be like this. I know you care for me, but Grandpa is just worried."

"Alright, alright, let's not discuss domestic affairs tonight," the Chairman interjected, smoothing things over. "We also have these three comrades. This is General Zhang Dayuan, Commander of the Second Artillery Force; this is General Wu Jichen, Commander of the Navy; and this is Lieutenant General Li Wending, Commander of the Air Force. They are also members of the Military Commission. Today, we are holding a small, confidential celebratory meeting. Let's leave other trivial matters aside."

With the Chairman saying that, it was difficult for Yi Tianfeng to press the issue. I didn't want to upset Yi Xiaorou further, so I dropped the matter with the elder as well. After handshakes and pleasantries, everyone took their seats.

Zhang Dayuan seemed to be the more garrulous elder. Looking at the five gorgeous women beside me, he chuckled, "Commander Zhao, youth is indeed wonderful. The Chairman mentioned your five confidantes to us; they are certainly no ordinary women."

I replied to Zhang Dayuan, "Commander Zhang, if you were my age, you would certainly be better than me."

Zhang Dayuan laughed. The Chairman took his seat and signaled for quiet. Then he began, "Comrades, given that General Tan Zhong has consistently held views contrary to ours, and also to maintain the secrecy of Commander Zhao's identity as the leader of the Tri-Service Corps, we have chosen to hold this meeting and banquet on a small scale. This does not mean we are forming factions within the military; it is a necessary measure due to the special circumstances."

The others responded in unison, "Mr. Chairman, you don't need to say that. We all understand clearly."

"Good. It is best that you comrades understand. Our secret support for King Havasar's restoration in West Gold is of great significance. The return of sovereignty to the West Gold Kingdom provides another layer of security for our southwestern gateway, allowing us to confront the dangers emanating from the Pacific with greater confidence and boldness."

Air Force Commander Li Wending spoke up, "Mr. Chairman, but you kept this from us. The sudden appearance of such a massive military force startled several of us. We even thought the Red Dragon organization had truly emerged in the world, but it turns out it was just our Tri-Service Corps."

The Chairman sighed. "It was indeed difficult for me to entrust this task to Commander Zhao without everyone's prior consent. First, Commander Zhao severely concealed the extent of his forces from me. Otherwise, if I had revealed it, everyone would surely have supported it with both hands raised."

Li Wending clarified, "So, Mr. Chairman was afraid we wouldn't believe in the strength of the Tri-Service Corps and would object to supporting the restoration of West Gold?"

The Chairman admitted, "This matter is crucial. Any hesitation on your part could affect the overall situation, so I had to take a gamble."

I smiled. "Luckily, I didn't let the Chairman down. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here for a celebration dinner, but probably awaiting military justice."

Yi Tianfeng remarked, "But we have inspected Commander Zhao's subterranean Great Wall defenses, so we are quite convinced of his capability. However, deploying such a massive force across an area less than ten thousand square kilometers is truly rare in the history of world warfare."

I couldn't quite decipher whether Yi Tianfeng was praising or criticizing me, so I braced myself and replied, "I had considered this war beforehand. The Chairman strictly instructed me that not a shred of evidence of our Great Dragon Nation's involvement could be revealed, as it could easily trigger a nuclear conflict between the two nations. After much deliberation, I concluded that only by employing overwhelming, absolute force in a secret blitz operation could I meet the Chairman's requirement. The war is now over, and our soldiers haven't even shown their faces. I believe my work was adequate. As for the sheer size of the force, I don't see it that way. I only believe that the Ox Nation's military strength was too weak. To be frank with everyone, I can supply as many Cheetah attack helicopters, Mountain Eagle fighter jets, and Tiger tanks as needed."

For a long time, the attendees were too astonished to close their mouths. Three thousand pieces of weaponry appearing on the battlefield had already shocked them; now learning that they could have as many as desired—didn't that mean they were invincible?

The Chairman was the first to react. "I believe what Commander Zhao says. Think about the construction speed of our Type 096 nuclear submarines, and you can gauge Commander Zhao's production capacity."

Now that relations were so familiar, I held nothing back and explained, "Calculating based on current production capability, building a hundred or so Type 096 nuclear submarines in one week is easily achievable."

Everyone sighed collectively. "We believe you. Seeing the speed at which you excavated those tunnels has completely convinced us."

I felt a bit sheepish explaining to everyone, "Actually, the secret tunnels and underground bases within West Gold weren't dug overnight. I have been continuously mining their deep copper resources. A few days ago, I merely drilled a few access points into the lower strata to deploy the weaponry and equipment."

They exclaimed, "But even that speed is breathtaking. The Chairman once compared you to a god descended from heaven, and now we share that sentiment."

Xiao Yudi suddenly interjected, "Brother is the god in our hearts!"

All the old men chuckled. The 'god' they spoke of was somewhat different from the 'god' Xiao Yudi mentioned. I felt the title was an exaggeration, so I said, "This war is not my achievement. If we talk about weapons, that is the research result of these five women. If we talk about manufacturing, that is the contribution of Xiao Yudi and Sister Xiaohui. If we talk about command, that belongs to Liu Hu, the Army Commander of the Tri-Service Corps. I was merely a bystander taking up space in the middle."

Xiaohui spoke most directly, "That's not true, Brother. Without you, there would be no us. We live for you."

Yi Xiaorou added, "That’s right, Zhao Qian. If you hadn't brought everyone together, perhaps we would never have achieved anything. You are our central point."

I whispered to the five women, "We can discuss the praise for me more when we get home. I think for now, the focus should be on the lessons we learned from this war."

Since Yi Xiaorou was the eldest sister, she took the lead in speaking. "Although we didn't encounter much resistance and the equipment suffered virtually no damage, we have decided to disassemble and upgrade all the weaponry, including stockpiles, in batches. The main goal is to modify them with more durable defensive casings and increase their ordnance load capacity. Furthermore, this war has reminded us that we must accelerate the development of medium-to-large combat aircraft and heavy bombers, as well as enhance our ability to jam other nations' satellites and conduct rapid strikes against their anti-air defenses."

Second Artillery Commander Zhang Dayuan asked me, "Commander Zhao, I would like to know exactly how many missiles you possess, and what is the maximum number you can launch simultaneously."

For more novels, visit storyread.net.