"Such a large battleship, and you tell us there’s no intelligence gathered?" Jesmin couldn’t hear Harmon’s words at all; to him, this was merely an excuse to shirk responsibility. "The underground projects of the Jieke Group are world-renowned. There’s really nothing we can do." Harmon took a deep breath and continued, "Mr. President, our military indeed mishandled this naval battle, and I bear unshirkable responsibility. I request to resign and step down." Upon hearing this, several senior officers standing behind Harmon trembled slightly and instinctively stepped back, hoping someone else would take over Harmon’s position. The once-coveted position of Minister of Defense, a high and influential role in the Beautiful Country, has now become a hot potato. Who would blame the Beautiful Country for its current dire straits? First, in a rash move, two carriers were sunk by tsunamis engineered by Penglai Fairy Island, and now two more were sunk by the Jieke Group, with one severely damaged. Even though the Beautiful Country has a robust tree with 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carrier battle groups, it’s still a big blow. Other carriers still need to protect the homeland of the Beautiful Country, the European Union, and the Middle East. In such a situation, it’s impossible to dispatch carriers to deal with the Jieke Group. Moreover, before figuring out a way to handle that Super Battleship, sending out a carrier battle group would be nothing more than throwing lives away. So everyone shied away from the position of Minister of Defense, unwilling to confront the formidable opponent that is the Jieke Group, lest their reputations be damned. "General Harmon, now is not the time for angry words." As the situation reached an impasse, Judith stepped forward, attempting to change the subject and avoid further embarrassment: "Mr. President, now is not the time to share responsibility. I believe, with the defeat at the Ryukyu Islands, we must seriously consider how to end this war. Given our current military strength, wanting to confront the Jieke Group militarily after losing five nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in a row, we have lost any hope of contending for the sea power in the Western Pacific with the Jieke Group." Upon hearing this, Jesmin’s face darkened further, but he knew Judith was speaking the truth. The Beautiful Country is in such dire straits now, and it’s no exaggeration to say its national foundations are shaken. "Admit defeat to the Jieke Group? How can that be done? If we do so, public sentiment at home will erupt, our allies will be shaken, and how will we safeguard our global interests? Penglai Fairy Island will also lose the initiative." "Exactly, the Jieke Group is already arrogant. If we compromise further, how can we ever hold our heads high before them? How can we uphold the banner of the free world and lead global development?" "We still have numerous military bases in the Pacific Ocean area; the Jieke Group must consider this." The high-ranking officials present voiced unanimous opposition, representing not only their interests but also those of their wealthy backers. They are well aware that if they retreat now, they will suffer enormous losses, thoroughly exposing the Beautiful Country’s reality to the world. Judith shook his head. Jesmin, as a conservative, knew exactly what Jesmin wanted the most. Facing everyone’s opposition, Judith spoke again: "In the current situation, unless we are willing to compromise, we’ll have to resort to nuclear weapons and suffer mutual destruction with the Jieke Group. Otherwise, I see no hope of victory." After hearing this, the room fell into silence, then erupted with even louder objections, more intense than before. "This cannot be done." "Bold of you, Judith, do you want to destroy the Beautiful Country?" Upon hearing the words nuclear war, military and political officials alike turned pale, as if a hornet’s nest had been poked, with opposition resounding throughout. Nuclear war, that grim reaper’s scythe hovering over humanity. Especially when the opponent is no third-rate small country but rather a dominion power equipped with both nuclear weapon capability and nuclear projection capability. Once the war reaches such a level, the whole world will enter a countdown to destruction together, with major cities turned into ruins. Ultimately, the Beautiful Country is a capitalist nation, and any connection with capital inevitably entails the bourgeoisie’s weakness and compromise. The shoeless fear the shod; for all these years as the World Dominator, does the Beautiful Country dare to gamble with its fate? Just like a wealthy man confronting a pauper in a deathmatch? Although the Jieke Group is also a dominion power, the Beautiful Country has long been accustomed to a life of leisure and lacks the courage to perish with its foes. Even if a couple are fearless, those truly in control of this country—the business tycoons, new internet magnates, and old bourgeoisie families—would not agree. Reaching the point of nuclear war would render their vast wealth worthless, and they fear chaos the most. Order stable, they can exploit poor people worldwide; once order collapses, who would acknowledge their authority? Without the Jieke Group taking action, the impoverished below may rebel and plunder. The wealthier one is, the more they fear death; this is a timeless truth worldwide, while those with nothing often dare to risk it all. Judith didn’t speak further; his point was clear, a classic demonstration of the teardown effect. When suggesting to open a skylight for a rather dark room, opposition may arise. Proposing to tear the roof down, they may compromise, agreeing to open a skylight. "If we compromise, to what extent must we yield." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovєlFіre.net Jesmin spoke with a heavy heart, knowing his administration record was disastrous. He was elected President in 2029, and it’s now 2033. The presidential election is over, and he was re-elected thanks to his backers’ support. Yet, Jesmin regretted it somewhat now, wishing he had let his competitor win to hand over this mess and make the opponent clean up after him. "Australia and New Lan Country might need to be given up. The Jieke Group has long coveted these countries adjacent to its home turf. Now that we’ve lost control of the seas, even if we don’t surrender them, the Jieke Group can seize them regardless. It’s better to use them as bargaining chips with the Jieke Group. Additionally, the Ryukyu Islands might need to be ceded. It’s the key route for the Jieke Group going towards Japan’s Sea Domain. Our naval strength is no longer sufficient to control this area. Handing it over early to the Jieke Group to gain goodwill is, I believe, worthwhile. Lastly, there’s the issue of Japan. We need to make further concessions..." Upon hearing this, many people couldn’t hold back. "Japan can’t be handed over to the Jieke Group." "Japan is critical to Penglai Fairy Island, with various spiritual elixirs there. We must have participation rights in its development." "At most, surrender half of Japan to them, like South Korea. The Jieke Group has already planned this, creating the Imperial Army. We’ve already ceded enough." "We’d rather give up more maritime islands as military bases to the Jieke Group than give up Japan entirely." The issue of Japan faced unanimous opposition. Jesmin rubbed his forehead and exchanged a glance with Judith, gesturing for him to speak. Understanding Jesmin’s intent, Judith coughed twice and said, "If we can’t satisfy the Jieke Group’s demands regarding Japan, we need to offer more global interests, as the Jieke Group’s appetite is tough to satisfy." After extensive discussion at the meeting, a rough framework was reluctantly drawn up to privately negotiate with the Jieke Group. And this task naturally fell to Judith, the CIA director. "Ladies and gentlemen, national affairs are challenging, yet I firmly believe these difficulties are temporary. Once we find a way to deal with that Super Battleship, our Beautiful Country can reclaim control of the Western Pacific sea area, solidifying our world dominator position." Jesmin’s final fervent speech failed to inspire much, as the Beautiful Country has compromised with the Jieke Group too many times, especially since Jesmin, a conservative president, took office. Their emptiness has long left them immune to rallying cries. The meeting wrapped up hastily, and by now, outside the Pentagon, dawn had broken. News about the battle at the Ryukyu Sea was making headlines for over three hundred million Beautiful Country people across all accessible media, striking like a bolt of lightning over their heads.