“None, Comrade General Chang.”

“General Shen, De-ming, you are hereby the Commander of Army Front III. Your mission is perhaps the most difficult of all. At least, you have the greatest distance to travel.” This brought a chuckle from the group of generals.

“We have chosen you because you are the most able of the commanders that we have. We are assigning you the majority of our resources, men and material. You have one of our greatest objectives to achieve.” General Shen bowed his head to General Chang for the compliment. Chang continued, “Your objective, General Shen, is the Caspian Sea basin. You are to capture the oil fields intact. We want the oil, not a fire fighting mission as occurred in Kuwait in the first Gulf War. Your axis of approach is that of the old Silk Road. Anxi will, of course, be your initial line of departure for your main axes of approach. General Wun, Chief of Ground Forces, has determined that your forces will move along the roads both north and south of the Takla Makan desert. The provincial commander there will fall under your command once you cross into his province, the Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu. His forces are modest and composed of local Han Chinese. No Uigher Muslims are included. They are well trained for the environment from which they came. I am sure you will use them accordingly. Commands from some of the eastern provinces will also come under your command to ensure that you have sufficient manpower to accomplish your task.

“You will skirt both north and south of the Takla Makan basin in your southern axis. You will drive north of the Tien Shan Mountains as a separate axis. Put your most able commander in command of this axis of approach. Depots have been built and stocked along your routes of march for your constant supply. We have made the greatest logistical planning and effort on behalf of this mission.

“Perhaps this is the most important objective of all. It includes the states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. We must seize the Caspian Sea oil reserves. Your southern boundary is that of 150 kilometers from the border with Iran. If Iranian forces attack you, by all means, respond in kind, or better still, kill them ten times over. Iran is far more heavily armed in terms of heavy forces, missiles, and aircraft than your forces will be. Consequently, you will receive a significant upgrade in handheld surface to air missiles, anti-tank missiles, heavy machine guns, self propelled anti-aircraft units, trucks and heavy mortars. If they attack, it will be along your lines of communication. If they deploy nuclear weapons, we will annihilate all of their cities with nuclear fires launched from here in China. Therefore, you must destroy their local population, pursuing them and living off the land as necessary. The Iranians have not realized that heavy forces can be a liability of sorts. Your northern boundary is more or less Russia. Russia does not have the capability to offer you any significant resistance, and we believe that they will be intelligent enough not to do so. Indeed, we will propose to them that this is an opportunity to subdue, once and forever, their breakaway province of Chechnya. After all, they owe much harm to Chechnya for all of the terrorist activities against Russia.

“The former Soviet Union’s Confederation of Independent States is so loosely bound that its members cannot organize a united front against you. Their military establishments are very weak and extremely poorly trained. Graft and corruption reign in all of them. They should not present you with any serious obstacles. Indeed, they might provide you with an additional source of weapons.

“There are a number of larger cities in your area of responsibility, along your axis of attack. You are to isolate these cities by destruction of their transportation nets but not by siege; cities such as Alma Alta, Pishkek, Dushanbe, Tashkent, and so on. Starve them out. Whenever possible, isolate them, reduce their populations when it is convenient. Starve them, dehydrate them so that they die of thirst, or whatever, but do not become bogged down by laying siege to them. Cut their lines of supply. If you let them escape out of the cities, it is easier to kill them in the countryside than in the cities. The arid environment there is not conducive to the survival of large numbers of people. Completely cut off all food, water, relief, and whatever. Practice a scorched earth policy. Indeed, there will be no other choice in order to feed your troops. We do not have sufficient food reserves for more than twelve months of campaigning. Turn your back on rapes, but do not allow pillage and plundering for anything but food, water and weapons. Leave nothing to sustain the enemy. We canot tolerate guerilla warfare being waged against our logistical lines of communication.

“I suspect the Iranians will give you the greatest difficulty if they enter the conflict. We think, but do not know for certain, that Iran has built a substantial supply of chemical weapons. It is therefore imperative that at first indication of their use, you annihilate any units, depots, manufacturing facilities, and so on that contribute to their use. Tehran and Tabriz will probably be your most difficult cities with their large populations. Make use of captured enemy weapons wherever possible. You will have little heavy artillery support. That is another reason to bypass the cities. We do not expect any of them to be able to withstand not being supplied for a year. No doubt they will turn to cannibalism in some instances. That would be the moment to reduce the population. Environmental war will play a significant part of your successful campaign. Your troops will be vaccinated against cholera, typhoid, our engineered strains of tularemia, and paratyphoid. These biological weapons will be made available to you in the form of liquids for contamination of water supplies, wells, reservoirs, what have you, should you decide to deploy them. In any case, your troops should disinfect and boil all water from questionable sources before consuming it to ensure that we do not infect ourselves as the Japanese did in World War II. Tularemia will be provided as aerosolized sprays from aircraft to aid in reduction of urban areas. If necessary, aerosolized bubonic plague, engineered to produce the pneumonic form, will also be made available. All of our troops will be vaccinated against our own agents. It is transmissible between people, so we expect it to spread through their urban populations. We anticipate these will be your major weapons systems against the cities. Chemical agents, nerve agents, both persistent and non-persistent, will also be available for unusual tactical situations. Guard these supplies carefully. Your weakest area will be the very modest air support available to you. You must use it wisely and sparingly.

“The Caspian Sea is, itself, a significant problem. Be very careful on this. Skirting it on the north means going close to the Russian frontier. At this time, we do not wish to engage the Russians. Therefore, we will halt at the eastern side of the Caspian Sea. If things go extremely well, then we will consider flanking the Caspian and entering the Caucasus region. No doubt the Russians would dearly like to see us destroy all of the people of the Caucasus, especially those in Chechnya, but they might fear us even more. We have already initiated subtle talks with the Russians. We have not indicated our plans at all, but rather are attempting to divine their perceptions and possible reactions. Recall that the Russians have been fighting the peoples of the Caucasus off and on for almost two hundred years. The initial war of Russian conquest of Chechnya lasted nearly half a century. The Caucasus peoples are fanatical Muslims. The oil fields on the western shore, however, are a prize worth considering. Your militias will come primarily from Honan, Shansi, Shantung, Shensi, and Kansu. Do you have any questions, General Shen?”

“What of the satellite imagery and communications of the Americans, Russians, Japanese and French that will track us? Is this a concern?”

“At the appropriate time, their satellites will be blinded. Their communications will be severely crippled. They will essentially be ignorant of your progress.”

“Not shown on this map is another front; we will take southern Africa. Some of your other Army Front Commanders might be involved in this particular operation as well. It is possible, General Liu, and General Tsai, that when you have demonstrated your considerable skills by completing your peninsular conquests ahead of time and with relatively modest losses, your armies will be transported by the PLAN to the eastern shore of Africa. The mineral wealth of southern Africa is tremendous. It is sufficient to guarantee many of our mineral requirements for the remainder of this century. Contingency plans have been made.

“Admiral Su, Teh-shen is in command of the naval task force for the invasion of Africa. Troops will embark from our southern ports and disembark at Dar Es Salaam, Mombasa, and Tanga. With foresight, Singapore, Haiphong and other peninsular ports will be available. This will be a continuous amphibious operation, with transports traveling in circles, constantly feeding in fresh battalions. These naval forces will be under constant guard by our submarine forces, destroyers and cruisers. Admiral Su will be in complete command of this naval operation while at sea.

“Generals Liu and Tsai, in this operation your troops will remain under your command, but you will be subordinate commanders to the Army Front IV Commander.

That is you, General Fong, Fu-chen. All that I have said regarding the other front commanders applies to you as well. You are to drive across Africa until you reach the Atlantic Ocean in Angola. Once you have divided Africa, you are to turn your troops south until you reach the Cape of Good Hope. You will find very little military resistance. Anarchy reigns over most of Africa; famine, AIDS, brigandage, and revolts rage across the continent. Africa is so riddled with HIV infection that your troops should be strictly disciplined regarding sexual experiences with the Africans; not that most of your troops aren’t already AIDS infected. This constant feeding of battalions to your front should allow you to have an army stretching across Africa. When you reach Angola, they can do a left face and march south. If it becomes necessary to forage earlier, then they can turn south at your discretion. The timing of this operation is such that the grain harvests should just be in or about to be harvested in most of your theaters of operation. A major concern is that those we are about to conquer do not destroy those foodstuffs in a scorched earth policy. We do not want a repeat of either Napoleon’s or of the Germans’ retreat in World War II from western Russia. Hopscotch your battalions for rest if necessary, but continue the attack as relentlessly as possible to preclude destruction of these food stocks.

“We have armed and are feeding small paramilitary units in various African countries. Most are company sized, a few are of battalion size. These units do our bidding and have prepared much of the way for you in some areas without realizing what they have done. At the appropriate time, you are to eliminate these units by any means you find necessary. We will stop our food shipments to them several weeks prior to the debarkation for Africa. Most of them will be half-starved by then. They will have relieved the populations in their areas of all foods to feed themselves. Most will greet you as allies and liberators. That is a convenient time for their elimination. Disarm them, and then kill them.

“Questions, General Fong?”

“None, Comrade General.”

“Good. Each of you Front Commanders will be supplied with limited amounts of several different nerve agents for use as area weapons. You will have limited aircraft for their application after you have seized local airfields. Use them wisely, not as routine weapons, but only on special occasions. Perhaps persistent nerve agent would be indicated for several of the urban environments that cause you difficulty. We will go to great lengths to avoid the use of nuclear fires. We do not wish to destroy that which we intend to occupy. We have identified nuclear storage areas as priority targets in the event that our enemies have any left after attacking one another.

“For those units which will experience cold weather, appropriate cold weather clothing will be supplied to your units after they are assembled. They are to be instructed in cold weather injury prevention at the time of issuance. We will not repeat the mistakes of the Germans at Stalingrad in Operation Barbarossa. Further details will be discussed with you individually.

“Generals, I wish you all the success in your missions. Dismissed.”

Chapter 5

“You are pleased with the results of, shall I say, your expedition to Ruidoso?”

“Oh, most certainly, Señor! A very good time was had by all,” laughed Jesus Gonzalez.

“Well, when do you think you will be ready for another adventure?”

“Soon, Señor Ito. But let me ask, why is it that you are interested in minor annoyances along the American border? What is the reason for all of this to you?”

“I have my reasons, but they are of no concern to you. What is important to you is that you make money and gain prestige. What now is the size of your army?”

“I can call fifty men in twenty-four hours. There are many more who would join us. I hear of many inquiries, but I have not been interested in accepting people of whom I know little. It is dangerous. One never knows who is a Federale or an American of Mexican descent that has turned his back on his mother country.”

“Do you think you could put together an army of one hundred and fifty, or perhaps even two hundred men?”

“This I can do, if I have support. Support costs money. This many men must be fed and trained and equipped. This is no small matter. Then there is the cost of transportation. These hills and deserts are large. Places to go are far between. To move men in such numbers requires many vehicles. I do not wish to use large trucks that are easier to identify. Rather, I wish to use pickups and vans that can blend into the community. If I put no more than four men in a van and three in a pickup, that is many pickups and vans. Where will I get such a number? We must also expand our base here. We will need several more buildings, maybe even another well. This many vehicles must be hidden from the air. That means packing sheds to double as garages. I will need mechanics to care for them. Fuel will be required for them. How can I control that many men unless I can keep them in camp when we are not out on our business? It is too easy for men who are new at this to talk too much. All of this means a bigger base. It can be here on this farm, but it must be enlarged. Then there is the question of weapons and ammunition. I do not have nearly enough for so many men.”

“All this I understand, El Jefe. I have brought money for these very things. You are to have an underground fuel storage tank installed. More packing sheds are to be built. You are to recruit your men. More vehicles will be purchased and driven to you. Several mechanics are to be hired by you to maintain the vehicles. A new dining hall is to be built. It will be well equipped. You are to hire cooks of your choice. A word of caution. Have your lieutenants check out each of these people who will join you. In three months, you are to have all this completed. In this suitcase is the money to have your new packing sheds, fuel storage tank and mess hall built. Get started immediately. Weapons you will receive. You will receive five new tractors, farm implements and spare parts. With them will be more automatic rifles, a large quantity of ammunition, half a dozen machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, and hand grenades.

“There is also much money here for the police. Pay them what is necessary to ignore your activities. In fact, if at all possible, purchase information from them on your new recruits. Do not be penurious. Pay them well. It is better to have them on your side, whatever it costs.

“Another thing, I noticed marijuana growing adjacent to some of the tomato plants close to the road. Get rid of it. There is to be no marijuana or drugs grown on this operation. We do not want the American Drug Enforcement Agency or their lackeys in the Federales out looking for marijuana, which they can detect from airplanes. We are not here to compete with those who make their money in this way. Rather, our business is relieving the Americans of their money in other ways. Your new men are not to bring their wives, children, or girlfriends. If necessary, hire a dozen girls to service your men and keep them here on the base. This is very important if you wish to rise to be a leader in the image of Poncho Villa.”

Jesus Gonzalez chuckled to himself. Who is this arrogant Japanese asshole who thinks I can rise to be the equal of Poncho Villa who commanded an army of fifty thousand and captured Mexico City? Still, the thought fascinated Gonzalez.

“If you can furnish me with the money to do all of these things, they will be done. First, we must have the buildings. We will identify our recruits. When the building is all done, we will call in the new men and begin training. Is there any particular place in Yankee Land you wish me to visit? It takes time to plan and determine what is there that is worth taking and how best to take it.”

“Your next objective will be Alpine, Texas.”

“Ah, this is a worthy, as you say, objective. It will take at least two hundred men, perhaps more. We can cause much confusion and terror. Still, if I have more than two hundred men, how much more could I do.”

“Recruit who and what you need. Here is two hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars to initiate your program. A week from now, vehicles will be arriving at this place. At first, there will be just a few. As the packing sheds are finished, more will arrive at a much faster rate.”

“How Señor Ito, can I contact you?”

“You cannot. My people will keep me informed as they deliver the pickups and vans. This they will do one or a few at a time. If you have a message for me, give it to one of them. Make it in a sealed envelope so that they will not read it. One other thing, on your next raid, no one is to be left behind. Certainly, no one is to be left behind alive. Do you understand my meaning, El Jefe?”

“Si, Señor. The dead cannot talk.”

“Precisely. Adios, Jefe Gonzalez.” With that, Ito and his two bodyguards climbed into their air-conditioned van and drove off.

“Hernando,” Jesus called to his farm manager. “Pull out all of the marijuana plants. Leave not one. Do it today, before the sun sets.”

“All of them, El Jefe? We made some nice money with the last crop, selling it to the dealers in the next state, Sonora.”

“Yes, Hernando, all of them. We will not do any drugs of any kind anymore. Our other operations are expanding, and we do not want any trouble from anyone over what, in comparison, will be modest income for us. Take what men you need to do this and chop it up and mix it in with the cattle feed. Let the cows get high, if they can. Do not burn it. We do not want to send any smoke signals to anyone. Things will be a bit different around here from now on. We are expanding all of our other operations. We will have new buildings, a new dining hall, a new garage, new men, and new tractors coming. These are not things to be advertised. Go now and take care of the marijuana.”

Jesus Gonzalez drove into Ojinaga and then into Texas to discuss and order the construction company to dig for an underground five-thousand-gallon fuel tank. He spent the next three days discussing what he wanted with a contractor. He explained that he was acquiring the adjacent farms and wished to consolidate all these previously separate operations in one location. The existing sheds on these other farms were too dilapidated to bother moving. None had a dining facility of note. He stopped at a fuel distributor and discussed with him that he wanted to order a new fuel tank, to have it installed and filled as soon as possible. He was enlarging his farm and he wanted to ensure that he always had fuel on hand. No, he was ordering a new fleet of gasoline driven tractors, and many of his other farm implements used gasoline. The irrigation pumps consumed a considerable quantity of gasoline each month. He raised tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, broccoli, and alfalfa on irrigated land, and had a small feedlot operation. Therefore, he wanted gasoline, not diesel fuel.

He gave the name of the construction company to the fuel distributor so that they could coordinate their work. The contractor said he could have the hole for the fuel tank prepared in two weeks, the packing sheds in four weeks, the mechanic’s garage in ten weeks and the dining facility in eight to ten weeks, depending upon delivery of the refrigeration units. The fuel distributor would have the plumbers install two fueling islands with two pumps each. The fuel dealer thought it very strange that anyone would want to purchase gasoline driven tractors instead of diesel engine tractors, strange indeed. Why would a farm require four pumps for gasoline, even such a large one? A five-thousand-gallon fuel tank would require about a month for construction and delivery from Los Angeles if he phoned in an order that day. Since they all agreed that all work would be paid in cash in American dollars with a sizeable down payment in cash and paid in full upon completion, and much of the money would not be entered into the books, both the construction contractor and the fuel distributor decided not to pursue this question with Mr. Gonzalez any further.