The satellites of HuanYu Communications continuously shielded us from M-Nation's surveillance and navigated around the reefs occupied by the Yue-Nan army, as the main force advanced toward Wenlai.

Everyone was aboard the Cruiser No. 001 of the Xia-class. Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er, bored, turned on the radio to listen to the news. Accidentally, they tuned into a Yue-Nan Chinese-language channel. A sweet, cloying female voice from Yue-Nan said: "Welcome to the Changsha Archipelago (which is the Nansha Islands of Great Dragon Nation) three-day tour. This travel package includes mingling with the border defense troops stationed on Nanwei Island, along with island exploration and fishing activities. The garrison officers and soldiers will also lead everyone on a tour of the stilt houses on the reefs, allowing you to experience the honor of defending the border for your families. Nanwei Island has been the ancestral domain of the Yue-Nan people since ancient times. Nowadays, living conditions on the border islands are gradually improving; the officers and soldiers here are planting grass and trees, cultivating flowers and vegetables, raising dogs and pigs. Not just Nanwei Island—pigs raised on many of the reefs in the Changsha Archipelago are now farrowing, and the garrison troops can eat homegrown vegetables and pork. The dramatic improvement in the living conditions of the stationed personnel has greatly bolstered their determination to hold the border defense; they are confident and capable of responding to challenges from any direction..."

"What absolute dog-shit propaganda!" Zhu Da slammed his fist down, leaving a huge crater in the table. "When I get back, I'll slaughter every last one of your pigs and rip out all your vegetables! Nanwei Island is our territory, and you're spewing such nonsense here. If you keep pissing me off, I'll drag you out and let a boar breed with you a hundred times."

Cai Bao'er said, "What are you yelling about? Let's go check it out while we're nearby. We'll burn their stilt houses, pigpens, and vegetable patches to the ground! Let them go on a 'tour'—tour my ass!"

Zhang Dahai tried to calm them down. "Don't get so agitated. Dealing with Yue-Nan is only a matter of time, but for now, we must focus on the bigger picture. Frankly, tiny Yue-Nan isn't worth a moment's thought. Their army was built entirely with the assistance of the former Soviet Union and our own nation, and their weaponry is still stuck at the level of the 1950s. Their navy is merely a light fleet, composed of a few missile boats and vessels that barely qualify as frigates. Their air force only has Su-27 fighters, which we could match if Great Dragon Nation committed fully. If we wanted to crush them, the main army could mobilize right now and neutralize all resistance within Yue-Nan borders in three hours. However, war cannot be fought so crudely and unreasonably; otherwise, the rest of the world will unite against our Red Dragon, and we'd be facing billions of people. How could we possibly fight such a conflict afterward?"

Zhu Da cursed, "Damn their ancestors for eighteen generations! They have nothing, yet they dare challenge our nation and occupy twenty-eight of our reefs. I don't understand what our troops have been doing!"

Zhang Dahai’s expression was awkward. Great Dragon Nation’s hesitation toward Yue-Nan had allowed them to advance step by step. The fact that a nation possessing fewer than three hundred vessels and four hundred aircraft dared to seize twenty-eight of Great Dragon Nation’s islands was simply staggering.

Cai Bao'er added, "I know some details that will infuriate you even more. Before the 1980s, Yue-Nan was a net importer of petroleum and natural gas. Now, they’ve leaped forward to become one of the world’s major exporters, one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Even our country imports large amounts of oil and gas from Yue-Nan annually. Do you know where that oil and gas comes from? It’s being extracted from the waters around those twenty-eight occupied reefs!"

Zhang Dahai explained, "Yue-Nan has deliberately complicated the Nansha issue. A territorial dispute should only be a matter between two countries, but now Yue-Nan is signing exploration and extraction contracts with M-Nation, Bear Nation, France, Britain, Germany, and others. They’ve pulled these countries into the Nansha dispute specifically to give Great Dragon Nation pause, making us hesitant to resolve the issue of the occupied reefs rashly."

I sneered, "No matter who gets involved in the Nansha dispute, they must get out before the Spring Festival, or the main army will sweep them out, ensuring they have no place to be buried!"

Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er shouted, "Excellent! Following your orders, Commander Zhao, is always satisfying. Does tiny Yue-Nan really think finding a few patrons will solve everything? To hell with those rotten eggs! Don't assume we’ll show them sympathy just because they are also a socialist state. We will control Yue-Nan just as we control Xijin, making them listen to our every command—let's see what else they dare to spout!"

Zhang Dahai sighed emotionally, "The nation has been too cautious before. A major point was concern over the remote location of the Nansha Islands; our air force couldn't reach the combat zone to secure air superiority, nor could we maintain strategic supply lines. We feared trapping the entire South Sea Fleet in isolated waters. Now, with our Tri-Service Corps, I believe those difficulties will cease to exist."

Cai Bao'er chimed in, "Why don't we build an aircraft carrier? With a carrier, all difficulties are solved. The moment our fleet shows up, Yue-Nan won't even need to fight; they'll be scared shitless."

I countered, "Who says we don't have carriers? When the Jin Xing-class submarine surfaces, it becomes the largest aircraft carrier in the world! Furthermore, our combat aircraft outperform M-Nation’s most advanced fighters right now. One of our carriers can contend with an entire M-Nation carrier battle group."

Cai Bao'er mused, "But I still feel that only something floating on the water counts as a carrier."

I chuckled, "That's a mindset issue. Between you and me, the Earth-class submarine is about to debut. I can disclose some technical specs now: its displacement has already reached 300,000 tons. Calling it a 'sub' or a 'carrier' is hardly adequate; a more accurate term would be an underwater fortress."

Zhang Dahai grew excited, "Then do I get to augment the naval forces again?"

"If the Chairman doesn't mind you reallocating naval personnel, prepare without hesitation. The Earth-class underwater fortress will be operational no later than the Spring Festival. Its weapon and defense systems will utterly surpass your imagination, not to mention its enormous storage capacity. Our super-heavy bombers and super-heavy transport aircraft, utilizing anti-gravity technology, will achieve astonishing payload capacities and flight speeds."

Zhu Da asked, "So we have all these assets still hidden? Does that mean the unification of Earth is not far off?"

I stated calmly, "Earth alone? I heard an unconfirmed research result: the Moon is an artificial spacecraft that left Earth to reach its current orbit at least 5,000 years ago. What do you think, are there any Moon-men remnants left now?"

Cai Bao'er and Zhu Da said in unison, "Commander Zhao, you can’t be joking. Is this the International UFO Conference?"

"I wish it were a joke," I replied. "Because if there truly are Moon-men, given our current technology, if we came into conflict with them, the outcome is predictable. The gap is simply too vast."

Zhu Da suggested, "Why don't we just take the Hope up there and take a look, so we don't worry about it here."

"No," I negated. "If Moon-men exist, they and we have coexisted peacefully for so many years. As long as we don't develop outer space technology, I believe both sides will continue to coexist peacefully. But if curiosity drives us to pry into their secrets, that will likely be the day swords are drawn."

Zhang Dahai agreed, "Commander’s analysis is sound. We should not concern ourselves with outer space right now. Only after we stabilize affairs on Earth can we accumulate the necessary conditions for outward expansion. If things are chaotic here and conflict erupts elsewhere, we won't even have a base to hide in—that would be disastrous."

Whether He Yuqing's claims were true remained uncertain, but assuming they were, comparing the combat capabilities of the Hope, which had none, against Moon-men who could build a lunar spaceship over 5,000 years ago, we had absolutely no assurance of victory. Therefore, even if Moon-men exist, we must pretend we know nothing and continue coexisting peacefully while rapidly developing our own space fleet.

Since the Moon-men topic was shelved, the conversation returned to Yue-Nan. Zhang Dahai stated, "Actually, Yue-Nan was formally territory of the Zhonghua Empire a thousand years ago. Qin Shi Huang first occupied Yue-Nan, exterminated the local Yue people, and established three commanderies: Nanhai (modern Guangdong), Guilin (modern Guangxi), and Xiang Commandery (modern Yue-Nan). The Xiang Commandery back then was territory equivalent to Gansu, Yunnan, or Guangdong, not a tributary state or a region of another ethnicity temporarily submitting tribute to Great Dragon Nation."

Zhu Da exclaimed in surprise, "There’s history like that? Then we absolutely must reclaim Yue-Nan. That's ancestral land; how can we let others occupy it?"

Zhang Dahai continued, "Later, the Han Dynasty established the Jiaozhi Inspectorate based on the three commanderies mentioned above, making it one of the thirteen inspectorates (an inspectorate was equivalent to a province). Jiaozhi Inspectorate governed nine commanderies: two in Guangdong, two in Guangxi, two in Hainan Island, and three in Yue-Nan. The three commanderies within Yue-Nan were: Jiaozhi Commandery (around modern Hanoi), Jiu Zhen Commandery (around Hue in central Yue-Nan), and Rinan Commandery (around Ho Chi Minh City). Subsequently, Great Dragon Nation ruled the Yue-Nan region for a long time as if it were its own territory. The people there were also of the Han Chinese ethnicity. The father of Wang Bo, the famous poet of our Tang Dynasty, served in the Jiaozhi area."

"During the shift in the Tang Dynasty, military governors in various regions established separatist regimes, and the soldiers of the Jinghai Army stationed in Jiaozhi also formed a breakaway government. By the time of the Song Dynasty, the court was weak and ultimately failed to recover Jiaozhi. From then on, Yue-Nan gradually became independent. During the Ming Dynasty, Yue-Nan destroyed the Champa Kingdom, which was culturally influenced by India, sinicized the entire nation's people, and renamed the Champa capital 'Saigon.' The Ming Dynasty did manage to retake Vietnam once, but mismanagement led to Yue-Nan's re-independence. Since then, Vietnam has drifted away from Great Dragon Nation, leading to its current path."

Cai Bao'er was also astonished. "I had no idea there was such a history. Just as Commander Zhu said, Yue-Nan must be brought back into the fold, otherwise, in a hundred years, how can we face our ancestors in the afterlife?"

I stated, "For now, we cannot rule Yue-Nan directly under Great Dragon Nation as before. The nation currently advocates for peaceful coexistence and non-interference in internal affairs. In the future, we can only rule Yue-Nan the way we rule Xijin and Wenlai: first through military protection, then through economic control. They must heed our major decisions, but they can maintain autonomy on minor matters."

Everyone agreed with my view. "With HuanYu, DaDi, and the Financial Investment Company, controlling the economy of a small country is effortless. We can extend this model worldwide, eventually achieving global unification."

I felt a moment of shock myself. Just a year ago, I was foolishly collecting medicinal herbs in a small town; now, a year later, I was sitting on a cruiser discussing world unification. How unpredictable are the tides of fate.

The warning light in the command module suddenly flashed. Zhang Dahai quickly investigated and reported, "Commander, Submarine Mercury 027 detected a small submarine of about a hundred tons ahead. Computer scans identify it as belonging to the maritime special forces of Yue-Nan's 126th Marine Brigade."

Zhu Da scoffed, "Tch. Even our lowest-grade Mercury-class nuclear attack submarine has a displacement of 20,000 tons. What is a rusty little diesel-electric sub of a hundred tons trying to do?"

Since the enemy submarine was still far outside their attack range, Zhang Dahai explained to Zhu Da, "The Yue-Nan Navy introduced a small submarine, built in North Korea, in 1997. This is the only submarine in the Yue-Nan navy. Its surface displacement is 90 tons, and submerged, 110 tons. Surface speed is 12 knots, submerged 8 knots. It carries a crew of four and can transport 6 to 7 frogmen. Its endurance is 550 nautical miles at 10 knots on the surface, and 50 nautical miles at 4 knots submerged. Analyzing the submarine's technical performance and intelligence data, the Yue-Nan Navy acquired this type of vessel for two purposes: first, to train personnel for medium-sized conventional submarines; and second, to equip their surface special operations units."

Cai Bao'er questioned, "Surface special operations units? Does Yue-Nan also have a SEAL equivalent? Are they even less resilient than M-Nation's guys, who we wiped out half their forces in one night?"

Zhang Dahai elaborated, "The Yue-Nan Navy's surface special operations units were born during the Anti-American War, achieving remarkable feats. On May 2, 1964, a team of Yue-Nan special operatives disguised as South Vietnamese soldiers sank the M-Nation aircraft transport ship Card, a 15,000-ton vessel, near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City). In 1965, the Yue-Nan Navy organized four surface special operations companies. In 1966, the Navy established the Surface Special Operations Regiment, the renowned 125th Regiment. Throughout the entire Anti-American War, the Yue-Nan Navy’s surface special operations units sank nearly 1,000 M-Military and South Vietnamese ships and destroyed over 100 bridges. The Yue-Nan National Assembly awarded the Surface Special Operations Regiment the title 'Heroic Unit of the Armed Forces' three times. The Commander of the Yue-Nan Navy at the time called the Regiment the 'Strategic Fleet.' After the unification of Yue-Nan in 1975, the 126th Surface Special Operations Regiment was expanded into the 126th Marine Brigade. Its personnel conduct annual training in the Vietnamese-occupied islands of the Nansha Archipelago, practicing frogman diving, capturing stilt houses, anti-hijacking, anti-frogman operations, and underwater demolition. In exercises held by the Yue-Nan Navy simulating Nansha combat support, their surface special operations units participate with the vessels. The figures of these surface special operations members are also visible during the Yue-Nan Navy's surveillance and interference activities targeting our exploration vessels in the Nansha."

Zhu Da and Cai Bao'er exclaimed, "Damn it, so they aren't good guys after all! Commander Zhao, order their destruction! Don't they only have two submarines in total? Let's sink one of them first and see how they dare to bounce around again."