General Zheng, with his considerable battlefield experience, understood one thing clearly.
The darkest hour is always just before dawn.
Since the high command had already made the decision to provide full support and was continuously dispatching reinforcements,
it was impossible that ZAFT on the opposing side would remain idle.
They weren't blind, after all, and with their main forces stationed in space, they had a clear view of Earth.
Our massive military strength was visibly mobilizing for space—how could they just sit back and do nothing?
If that were truly the case, General Zheng would probably laugh himself awake in his sleep.
"I plan to organize an encirclement to strike their reinforcements—deliver a heavy blow before our ground reinforcements arrive in space and complete their rest and reorganization."
After turning the plan over in his mind repeatedly, General Zheng fixed his gaze on the tactical platform and spoke.
"Go on," Chief of Staff Jiang's eyes lit up.
"Take a look." Leading his chief of staff to the tactical platform, General Zheng organized his thoughts.
"The enemy forces before us consist of 11 Laurasia-class battleships, 5 Nazca-class battleships, and 96 fully operational Mobile Suits at the start of the conflict."
"Since the battle began on June 14, over the past two days, we've confirmed the destruction of 11 enemy Mobile Suits. Factoring in those damaged and sent back for repairs, as well as the enemy's attempt to divide their forces into a triangular formation to pressure us,"
"and their occasional attempts to detach a few ships to flank us and threaten our rear Colony Satellites—"
"I think we can strike here!"
After carefully studying the spot where his general's fist had landed, Chief of Staff Jiang spoke slowly, his expression grave.
"Passive defense isn't the answer. Given our incoming reinforcements, the enemy's desperate last-ditch efforts are indeed worth noting."
"Moreover, while we're reinforcing, the enemy will surely do the same. If both sides continue to escalate, turning this into a large-scale battle,"
"wouldn't we just be handing victory to the Atlantic Federation on a silver platter? Those scheming devils would be grinning from ear to ear."
"In principle, I agree with this plan—as long as we can achieve our tactical objectives and demonstrate our military prowess."
"Not only would it buy time for our reinforcements to rest and reorganize, preventing fresh troops from suffering heavy losses the moment they arrive,"
"but it would also further pressure the enemy before us, as well as the PLANT Council and military leadership behind them."
"Let them understand our resolve and combat strength, forcing them to reconsider whether the Atlantic Federation is their true enemy,"
"and whether it's worth fighting us to the death here at Nova."
At this point, Chief of Staff Jiang shifted his tone, fulfilling his duty to scrutinize and address potential oversights.
"General, those in high command must always plan meticulously. In war, thorough planning leads to victory, and before battle, one must consider the path of retreat."
"After two days of fighting, our results have been negligible. The enemy's division of forces has indeed created vulnerabilities in certain sectors,"
"but precisely because of this, haven't we also dispersed our own forces across multiple fronts?"
"To achieve your intended objective, given the combat ratio between our forces and the enemy's, we would inevitably need to concentrate the troops currently deployed to block enemy advances toward our rear Colony Satellites."
His gaze fixed on General Zheng, Chief of Staff Jiang's words remained cautious.
Only by pulling defensive forces from the rear could we assemble an attacking force several times larger than the enemy's.
Doesn't this mean that if we can't quickly eliminate the Coordinator's fleet within a short time...
If the enemy sees our forces weakened and recklessly charges straight into the Colony Satellite region...
We'd find ourselves caught between two fronts in an extremely passive position.
We can't possibly expect the enemy to truly abide by conventions and refrain from threatening civilians on the satellites, can we?
If they really had such high moral standards, they wouldn't keep sending warships to patrol near the Colony Satellite region every now and then!
"I understand, I understand." General Zheng, who proposed this operation plan, had already considered the Chief of Staff's concerns.
"The first wave of reinforcements will arrive within five hours at the latest."
"Having them immediately engage in frontline combat is obviously not feasible."
Raising his hand to stop the Chief of Staff from speaking, General Zheng signaled for him to listen first.
"I believe in our soldiers. Even without rest or adaptation, if thrown directly into battle..."
"These most admirable people in the world wouldn't complain one bit. For the civilians behind us and our homeland, none of us would spare ourselves."
"But given the chance, I still hope everyone can return home safely in the end!"
"General..." Chief of Staff Jiang lowered his head.
"You're planning to use a deception tactic? Replace the original defensive forces with newly arrived reinforcements."
"But you're still gambling—betting on the enemy field commander's tacit understanding."
"At our core, we don't want to fight a meaningless war." General Zheng smiled.
"Do you think the enemy wants to lock horns with us here either? As you said, truly fighting a war of national destiny here..."
"Who would be happiest about that?"
"How many people does PLANT have? How many does the Atlantic Federation have? And how many do we have?"
"Since we can't afford to lose our foundation here, why not match soldier to soldier and general to general? Let's settle this in one decisive battle."
"Win or lose, at least we'll have an answer."
"You... you!" Suddenly laughing too, Chief of Staff Jiang understood his partner's clever trick beneath the apparent straightforwardness.
Winning would be ideal, but if we lose this round...
Sorry, who said anything about one decisive battle?
When everyone's attention focuses on that battlefield...
The enemy will inevitably overlook the continuous stream of reinforcements arriving from ground launch sites.
Thinking it's mutually understood that winning this battle decides regional control...
When in truth, we never intended to fight a gentleman's war with you!
"All warfare is based on deception."
Blinking, General Zheng smiled without showing teeth.
"Alright, then let's fight this battle."
With comprehensive considerations in place, Chief of Staff Jiang stopped raising objections.
"I'll immediately send the operation strategy to the Ministry of War and coordinate the arriving reinforcements."
"Let's fight a beautiful turnaround battle there!"
Soon after, the operation plan submitted by the Nova Resource Satellite unsurprisingly received approval from the Ministry of War.
"Generals in the field should adapt to circumstances, respond to situations, and innovate according to trends."
"The Ministry of War fully trusts frontline commanders' judgment and strategies, and will spare no effort in assisting the successful completion of operational objectives."
Watching the transmitted approval order, they saw the ground launch site suddenly accelerate its already near-limit launch speed even further.
"Excellent!" General Zheng and Chief of Staff Jiang exchanged satisfied smiles.
Such unity. Such decisive power.
There was no reason they could lose!
As the Nova Resource Satellite command center discussed the next combat strategy...
The entire East Asian Federation's space fleet began intense preparations.
"We're heading for a major battle!"
Aboard the Kangji, which had just returned to port for personnel and supply replenishment...
Wang Hu and others were still adjusting their condition in the lounge when...
A soldier suddenly threw open the door and shouted to the group.
"What?" Hearing this news, many jumped to their feet.
Don't misunderstand—they weren't unsettled about returning to battle so soon.
Quite the opposite—these battle-hungry warriors were all eager for action.
"That's right." Following the soldier, Li Chengzhi also entered and addressed everyone.
"The specifics aren't clear yet, but it's a major operation."
Then he turned to Wang Hu.
"Wang Hu, come with me. They've transferred a new mobile unit here. Take this time to quickly familiarize yourself with it."
"Of course, if you're not confident, I can take over instead."
(End of chapter)