sbdcsierra Chapter 232 General Mobilization
Chapter 232 General Mobilization
Another member of parliament who was present in person spoke up; she was a woman in her fifties, and she tapped her fingers lightly twice on the table.
"With 30 million people, where will the equipment come from? The equipment for 5 million troops already accounts for 70% of the Great Xia's military production capacity. Even if we expand it fivefold and all the production lines in the military factories are running at full capacity, it still won't be enough."
Gu Qianzhi adjusted his glasses, stood up, and answered the question: "The equipment shortage will be addressed in two ways."
"First, the Great Xia has stockpiled a large amount of retired equipment over the past few decades, ranging from A-level battle armor to psionic cannons. After repair, it can equip at least ten million people."
"Secondly, all military factories in the Great Xia have been switched to wartime mode, and all civilian factories will also be requisitioned, operating in three shifts without stopping."
The short-haired female councilor nodded, her fingers stopping.
Another online member of parliament raised his hand. His holographic projection showed him sitting in a command center with a constantly scrolling radar screen in the background.
"With 30 million people, where will the army's food come from?"
This time, it was Qin Zhen who spoke up.
"Food shouldn't be a problem. This extermination operation will kill a large number of monsters, and the soldiers can eat their meat."
Problems were raised one after another, and then solved one after another.
Regarding troop training, logistics and transportation, the impact on the civilian economy, and post-war veterans resettlement, members of parliament raised questions for each issue, and corresponding solutions were put on the table.
The discussion lasted for nearly two hours, but the atmosphere gradually shifted from initial caution to a tacit understanding tinged with suppressed excitement.
Everyone knew this battle had to be fought; they were just trying to determine if it could be won.
Finally, Qi Shanhe raised his right hand, and the conference hall fell silent.
"Vote now. The Speaker is not here. The Great Xia Council will have eleven official members and one honorary member, for a total of twelve votes."
"Raise your hand if you agree with a nationwide mobilization."
He raised his hand first, then Zhou Wangyue. Gu Qianzhi, Qin Zhen, the short-haired female councilor, the other councilors present, and the six projectors online—one after another, they raised their hands.
When Song Chen raised his hand, he felt that everyone in the conference room subconsciously glanced at him.
Honorary councilors have the right to vote, but he is only eighteen years old.
"Unanimously approved." Qi Shanhe lowered his hand, his voice unusually tinged with emotion.
"Since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, there has only been one nationwide mobilization. That was for the purpose of evacuation, which involved moving civilians from various places into base cities."
"It was during that time that the population shrank from 1.4 billion to 800 million, and it has not recovered to this day."
"This is the second time, but this time it's not about retreating; it's about moving forward."
After saying that, he looked at Song Chen, his eyes no longer showing the decisiveness he had during the meeting, but rather as if he were recalling the glance he had given Song Chen when he entered the room, a glance that had swept over Song Chen's heart.
It seemed as if they were wondering how far this young man could go.
His gaze lingered on Song Chen for a full three seconds before he suddenly spoke.
"After the mobilization order is passed, I should, as is customary, deliver a national address, but today... I think we need to give young people a chance."
"Song Chen, you'll deliver the mobilization speech."
Everyone in the conference room turned their gaze to Song Chen, following his eyes.
Zhou Wangyue frowned slightly, turned his head to look at Qi Shanhe, and moved his lips as if he wanted to say something.
Qi Shanhe stopped him with a look.
Song Chen hesitated for a moment, then stood up: "What do I need to say?"
"Say whatever you want. Once you're up there, you'll know what to say."
……
Half an hour later.
Song Chen stood in the studio of the Beijing Broadcasting Building, the green screen behind him had been replaced with the national flag of the Great Xia Dynasty.
The studio wasn't large, and four cameras were pointed at him from different angles. Behind the glass of the control room, there were many people, some holding stopwatches, some holding teleprompters, and some with their hands clasped together near their mouths.
He was still wearing the Northern Darkness Armor, with the Heavenly Blade hanging at his waist.
He originally wanted to change into a formal congressman's dress, but Qi Shanhe said no need, just wear the armor.
The armor worn off the battlefield carries more weight than any formal attire.
The director counted down in the headset: "Ten seconds, nine seconds, eight seconds..."
Song Chen pushed the Heavenly Blade to his waist and took a deep breath.
He recalled the foot of the city wall of Anning City. When he was a child, he would walk home from school every day through that alley. When he looked up, he could only see the searchlights sweeping across the city wall, and the sky was cut into an irregular gray fragment by the wall.
He recalled walking alone through the wilderness to register at Tianhai University after the college entrance examination, where he saw countless ruins.
He thought of the deserted old town square in Brasov...
He thought of many things, and then he suppressed all of them.
I've decided to skip the grand theories and get down to practical stuff.
The director counted down to zero, and the red light on the camera came on.
"Good evening, all citizens of Great Xia. I am Song Chen, an honorary councilor of Great Xia, and I will now deliver a national address on behalf of the council."
His voice traveled through microphones, from loudspeakers on the city walls of the base to television screens in every household, from tactical terminals in the Legion Command to portable radios in the hands of the Wilderness Hunters.
One hundred and eighty-eight base cities, eight hundred million people, are listening simultaneously.
Half of the searchlights on the city wall of Tianhai City were turned off, and everyone was crowded in the city defense camp's canteen, staring at the television.
Soldiers in the Northwest lined up on the parade ground, with a giant screen lit up in front of them.
Under the giant screen in the central square of Anning City, a dense crowd stood along the entire street.
"As you all know, we recently achieved a great victory in the Arctic. The Sirius King is dead, and more than half of the sixth-tier Sirius clan perished in Greenland."
"For some time to come, the alien beasts on land will be scattered and disorganized, which will be the best opportunity to attack."
"So next, Great Xia needs to do one thing: we need to go out into the world."
"I was born in Anning City. When I was a child, I looked up at the sky and it was just a long strip between the city walls."
"I had never left the city before I was eighteen. On the day I left the city, I saw that the farmland on both sides of the road was completely abandoned, the farmhouses were half collapsed, and the utility poles were lying in the ditch, covered with vines."
"Those fields weren't originally abandoned. Fifty years ago, people cultivated them. Some grew wheat on those fields, some raised chickens in their farmhouses, and some repaired bicycles under the utility poles."
"Later, when the strange beasts came, they retreated, retreating into the city walls, and remained there for fifty years."
As he spoke, he unconsciously tapped the hilt of the Tianjun Blade lightly.
The sound of metal clashing was amplified by the microphone and echoed throughout the studio.
"For every child born in the past fifty years, the first sky they saw was framed by the city walls."
"I saw it, my parents' generation saw it, and we can't let the next generation see it too."
"The parliament has unanimously passed the national mobilization order. Great Xia will conscript 30 million people and gather all the capable martial artists."
"We must eradicate every alien beast stronghold outside every base city, reclaim the roads, reclaim the farmland, and reclaim the skies."
"After this battle is over, when your sons and daughters are born, the sky they look up at will no longer be the sky framed by the city walls, but the entire sky."
"I hereby declare that the Great Xia General Mobilization Order is now officially in effect."
"Everyone must cooperate unconditionally; violators will be severely punished by military law."
"This is for our present, and for our future."