Imperial Elite

Chapter 150 Future War Plans
Those familiar with Citibank know that ever since Steve Jobs made the "Governors of the Planet of the Apes" film series, Citibank employees have had an almost fanatical adoration for him.

If Steve Jobs hadn't been a Britannian, he might very well have been able to break the long-standing two-party dominance in the United States.

He became the first person from outside both parties to run for and successfully become president.

Basically, this generation, born after the war, grew up listening to all sorts of amazing news and stories about Joe, and watching the movies he made.

So when Old Joe sent his bunch of kids to Citibank, the whole of Citibank went crazy.

The last time Citibank went this crazy was when Joe's brother Ron came to Citibank.

Compared to Old Joe, who was so powerful that he seemed almost divine, as if there was nothing in the world he couldn't handle on his own except giving birth, Ron seemed much more ordinary.

He was just a pilot who was the first to complete a round-the-world flight and, in his spare time, won a few racing championships.

However, because Ron is too physically demanding, in this generation that idolizes technological progress, after discovering that Ron and Joe are not the same type of person, many people simply regard Ron as Joe's silly younger brother.

But when the Harrison family's children arrived in Citizens' country, the Americans discovered that the Joe family was no ordinary family. They were of all shapes and sizes, and even those who looked rather fat were actually quite robust.

That enormous physique was entirely the result of daily five-kilometer runs and Wagner training.

Moreover, unlike when Ron and Dorn first arrived at Citibank and were scared away by the enthusiastic fans, Harrison is able to connect with the fans in every sense of the word.

Unlike Ron, these second batch of Harrisons who came to Citibank all had excellent grades, especially two of them. Their professors even wanted to recruit them directly into their research teams to assist them.

These guys are not only good at learning, but they're also incredibly good at having fun.

Due to some historical reasons, there have always been some strange and unusual fraternities in Citizens' colleges and universities.

After all, forming cliques is one of the basic human instincts.

So when these Harrisons entered university, the fraternities were very keen to recruit some, or even one, Harrison into their ranks.

But soon, these fraternities discovered that they couldn't recruit Harrison, let alone any of the international students who came with him, because those students brought their own organizations with them.

Then soon, these fraternity members discovered that because the Harrisons were so famous, the more independent freshmen that year did not choose to join them, but were instead absorbed by the Harrisons.

This was unacceptable to the fraternities. After all, among all the hatred, only the hatred between fraternities is so naked. Seeing someone about to cause trouble, even if it was Harrison, they were prepared to make these Harrisons understand that this was Citibank! They needed to know their place!

Then, faced with the troubles caused by these fraternities, Harrisons immediately perked up. This Citizens really is a good place. In the past, they had always been outwitting and outmaneuvering their foolish brethren.

After the eldest brother slacked off and ran away, these games became less fun.

Now that new players have joined, the Harrisons are naturally very welcoming.

Then, just three days later, those brothers who were initially dissatisfied declared, "Brother, we're quitting, we're surrendering."

After all, they were just a group of ordinary kids who at most played rugby. Compared to these tough guys who Joe had trained them to be disciplined by running a 5km cross-country race every morning and taking wilderness survival and indoor CQB tests in their monthly exams, these were a far cry from the kids Joe had trained them to be disciplined.

Basically, it's like a bronze player playing against a master.

So after three days of militarized attacks, what kept these Brotherhood members going was no longer the desire for victory, but the belief that they absolutely could not surrender before the Brotherhood next door.

This scenario of a powerful dragon suppressing a local snake naturally attracted reports from Citibank media. As a result, the Harrisons became top news stories at Citibank, especially after the ever-present reporters dug a little deeper and discovered that many of these Harrisons were actually born in Citibank.

Although this is their first time in the United States in eighteen years since they were born, they are theoretically pure-blooded American citizens. This is not just a claim; it is stipulated by the Constitution!

If nothing unexpected happens, the next step should be for politicians from both parties to start reaching out to those Harrisons born in Citizens' country and using them to boost their party's support.

Who knows, there might be a president named Harrison next.

Then the unexpected happened: the Führer, with the Teutonic Knights, launched a blitzkrieg against Gaul.

Within four weeks, the once invincible main force of Gaul and Buntania was surrounded and annihilated.

Throughout the Old World, only Old Joe remained standing, and even before the Gallic and Bunitarian forces were annihilated, Old Joe had invaded Germania.

This glorious record led to a general consensus among Americans that Gaul and Buntania were a bunch of weaklings, and that to win, they had to support Old Joe.

As a result, those politicians who originally wanted to reach out to Harrisons can no longer do so freely.

Instead, they charged into the campus like cavalry, wanting to express their support and sympathy for the Harrisons.

There's no way around it, voters just love watching this, except for a few extreme isolationists and pacifists.

The attitude of the vast majority of others towards the outbreak of war in the Old World was that no one cared whether Gaul and Buntania died or not, but if the Teutons dared to attack Old Joe and NATO, then we would have something to say to each other.

So, in order to capitalize on trending topics and gain voter support, these politicians either rush to schools or invite Harrisons and others to dinner whenever they have free time.

In short, I put on an act as if I was very familiar with the Harrison family, thinking that voters would finally support me now.
Of course, for these politicians, providing verbal and emotional support is a given.

But as for actual aid... well, that's a matter of our own national circumstances, and we hope our friendly nations will understand.

Unlike the American citizens who watched from the sidelines, these Harrisons were very clear about how serious the consequences would be if their father lost.

So what should we do in this situation?

The obvious solution is to form an army.

However, due to the expansion of the Citizens' Army and Wagner's large-scale recruitment of volunteers, it is now somewhat difficult for Harrisons and his allies to recruit soldiers.

After all, since the Great Depression began, Citibank has been in a state of having more people than money.

In the past, faced with a situation of limited funds and a large population, Citibank's choice was to launch a westward expansion movement to clear out the surplus population in the west.

As a result, Citibank not only fought a war with their southern neighbors, but also inadvertently ushered in a wild era of scalping for money.

But times have changed. The west is now just the sea, and the south is a wasteland. So, under these circumstances, Citibank would naturally welcome an organization that can absorb some socially unstable elements, not operate in the New World, and can still generate huge sums of money.

After all, tax laws stipulate that all Citibank employees have an obligation to pay taxes.

Those American citizens who joined Wagner during the Great Depression, through various testimonials, convinced other American citizens that joining Wagner was the right path.

They had full job security, high salaries, and if they were lucky, they could even get a role in the movie "Governor of the Planet" as a passerby or a supporting character.

For the average American, this kind of treatment is something they can brag about for a lifetime.

In addition, there was the performance of the Citizens in Wagner, as well as John's active role.

Now, those young men who couldn't control themselves and wanted to kick the Teutonics' asses rushed into Wagner's recruitment station with howls.

Those young men with a modicum of sense chose to join the expanding American army.

With established organizations like the American Army and Wagner Group setting an example, it's not a simple matter for these idol-like youngsters to form an army, in theory.

However, there is a slight discrepancy between theory and reality.

While Harrisons and their ilk certainly have money, it's not just enough for studying abroad; it's a luxury.

In terms of building an army, it's a drop in the ocean, a mere fraction of what's needed, a far cry from the ideal of filling the sea with water or moving mountains like the legendary Yu Gong. In short, it's far from sufficient.

But that doesn't matter. During their time at Citibank, the Harrisons discovered their greatest advantage: having a good father. Although for most of their lives, this father made them feel like they were being educated by an imaginary dad.

In the past, to prevent these spirited youngsters from running around and causing trouble, Old Joe not only provided them with a closed education system but also enrolled many children of outstanding Wagner employees to study with them.

So these kids' understanding of Joe is that Joe has a lot of power.

But once they left home, they realized that their father's influence was... a bit too great.

Back in school, based on the principle that labor makes people free, these kids even had to learn agricultural knowledge. During the busy farming season or when the nearby Wagner company was rushing to meet orders, these kids were often sent to help.

Although Abram, one of the Harrison Big Three, had enjoyed poking things with a screwdriver since childhood, he was so engrossed in this that he even earned a mid-level engineer's title while becoming a skilled fitter before graduating high school.

However, the other Harrisons didn't like the kind of work that involved screwing in screws in a factory or hoeing the earth, if it weren't for the school rule that "no work, no food," meaning they would have no food if they didn't work.

These Harrisons really don't want to tighten screws.

But now, Harrisons and their ilk have discovered that once they're at Citibank, they can eat for free just by showing their faces. They don't need to screw in screws or harvest wheat; all they need to do is sign their names and they can enjoy a meal.

After discovering that his surname was very useful, Rhys, who had always been particularly resourceful since childhood and even managed to persuade his honest and steady older brother to go to the Arctic Circle to catch Arctic foxes for him, originally planned to first build good relationships with some people in Citizen who had a good background and ideas.

Then, after graduating from university, I used these connections to develop my career in the southern part of the New World.

After all, those places are quite chaotic, and chaos means opportunity.

If his father was able to create NATO through Wagner, could he also make a name for himself in the Southern New World through a similar approach?

However, the plan encountered some trouble just as it began: war broke out.

Instead of delivering a decisive blow to Teutons as he had done in the past, Rhys even felt that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Joe would soon be fighting a war to defend NATO.

In order to prevent his surname from losing value and to give him a chance to become the uncrowned king of the Southern New World, Rhys joined forces with his old rival Abram. Then, relying on his good surname, Rhys began to deceive people, start businesses, and build an army.

Of course, it's obviously not acceptable to declare your intention to build an army right from the start.

So Rhys's first step was to consult the principal. "Look at the current international situation. The US is probably going to get involved in the war. So shouldn't the school make some preparations in advance, such as researching some new weapons? Principal, you know me. My family has a long military tradition, and I have an extraordinary understanding of weapons and equipment..."

After securing the approval of his own school's principal, Rhys went on to visit several other schools he was familiar with.

Unfortunately, adhering to the principle that "eggs shouldn't be put in one pancake," Joe dispersed the boys and their classmates who were sent to Citibank to several different schools.

Rhys himself is a very sociable person, and the Harrison surname also makes him very familiar with the principals and professors of other schools.

This time, Rhys continued to tell these principals and professors, "Look at how the international situation has become. Citizens may also be drawn into the war, so shouldn't the school also make some preparations in advance, such as researching some new weapons? Principal, you know me. My family is a military family, and I have an extraordinary understanding of weapons and equipment... Oh, by the way, the principal next door has already joined, and we will also have military funding in the future."

With colleagues joining in, military funding, and Harrison leading the project, this is a great opportunity. With money and influence provided, all you have to do is burn through the budget. Why wouldn't you join in?

After connecting with a group of experts and professors, Rhys then used his Uncle Ron's connections to reach the Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, an old acquaintance Joe had picked up from the battlefield years ago, and said, "I have a project here now..."

With the endorsement of so many university presidents and professors, the military's funding arrived quickly.

At this point, it was just a simple, unassuming budget fraud project, a scheme to get something for nothing.

But ever since he tricked his older brother into going to the Arctic Circle to catch Arctic foxes and got caught, he was beaten half to death by Old Joe.

Rhys came to the conclusion that although there are consequences to everything you do in this world, if you can bear the consequences, then you should go for it.

So after creating this empty pre-research project called CMS (Common Weapon System), Ries started his operations again.

Using this empty research project, they began recruiting volunteers, or rather, soldiers.

Since we already have projects, we definitely need some testers, right? And since we have testers, we definitely need to conduct real-world testing, right?
We're all preparing for a real-world test, so naturally we need more people. What if we lose because we have too few people?
What? You mean why not hand it over to the troops for testing, like the equipment did in the past?

This is a project for future weapon systems, testing future equipment. How can it be used by ordinary army soldiers? Would they even know how to use it? What if they break it?
Since it's already a new, dedicated unit, let's just call it the Future Legion.

Since many Harrisons and their classmates came this time, these classmates had received the same Harrisonian education as the Harrisons.

Therefore, this unit has no shortage of junior officers and non-commissioned officers.

Although Rhys used his personal charm and silver tongue to set up the framework for this future legion and future weapon system.

However, there is still one serious and urgent problem that needs to be solved in this project.

That is, this future weapon system needs to come up with something that can truly be called a future weapon in order to keep this almost entirely unproductive thing running.

Abram also has some insights into this matter.

As someone who became a mid-level engineer right after graduating high school, Abram had a huge advantage over his siblings.

That's because this kid showed his engineering talent from a young age, so Joe spent a lot more time with him than with the other kids. Joe would even occasionally watch movies with Abram, like "The Governor of the Planet," which Joe would never normally watch.

After all, Joe, who watched the entire process from filming to editing, was extremely familiar with what would happen in the movie. And as for the current version, compared to his good friend's live-action version... well, how should I put it, the difference in terms of the scenes is quite significant.

Since he wasn't interested in movies, Old Joe would always say strange things while watching them, such as that the scene was actually limited by technology and that it wasn't originally intended to be done this way.

After hearing these strange things repeatedly, Abram came to the conclusion that the root of all problems on the battlefield was insufficient firepower, and that to win the war, one had to drop bombs on the enemy's head more efficiently than the enemy.

So, at this time and in this place, what could be the most efficient way to drop bombs on the Teutons' heads?
That would naturally be the Air Force...

After all, aside from the geopolitical environment, Abram had to admit one thing: the army equipment market was incredibly competitive. Thanks to his father's influence, everything from tanks and armored vehicles to rifles was booming, making it a red ocean market.

So I'd better go play in the Air Force. After all, when I watched the movie back then, Joe once remarked to Abrams that although he was famous for his armored assault tactics, if he could, Joe would prefer to play in the Air Force.

Playing Air Force in this era is incredibly fun and exciting.

If there's a problem that the Air Force can't solve, it's simply because they haven't sent out enough planes.

By deploying a large enough fleet of aircraft to bomb the enemy's industrial bases, it is possible to effectively reduce the enemy's war potential and cause their forces to collapse more quickly.

As for what kind of aircraft can accomplish this mission?

That would naturally be a large strategic bomber with a large enough fuselage, high enough flight altitude, and powerful enough firepower.

These aircraft need to be armed like flying fortresses, with dense firepower and a robust structure capable of withstanding machine gun fire. Finally, these things need to fly high enough.

If you fly higher than the enemy's fighter jets and interceptors, then you don't even need defensive firepower.

Sigh, if NATO hadn't been short of military spending and couldn't afford to maintain such a strategic air force, Old Joe really wanted to build one so that once war broke out, the air force could just rush over and bomb them hard.

Of course, as someone with a strong desire to show off, when Old Joe was bragging to Abrams about the Air Force, he also drew up quite a few impressive-looking blueprints.

For example, the B-17, B-24, and YB-35—just looking at them makes you feel that these things are very powerful, strong, and domineering.

Now that the concept is in place, and given that the Air Force, which was recently integrated from the Army and Navy, is the one willing to allocate funds, Abrams felt there was nothing more to say.

The future mode of warfare will be air force bomb trucks bombing the ground!

When Abrams started sketching, he only hoped that old Joe, who was far away in the Old World, could hold on, at least until they finished making something.

(End of this chapter)