Chapter 23

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

The air was acrid from the smoke of burning ships and military vehicles. The death count had surpassed five thousand and continued to climb. If relentless artillery and air attacks weren’t enough to slow them down, amphibious landing forces faced an additional hurdle – a rocky coastline accentuated by high bluffs and mountains. Scattered low-lying areas comprised mainly of mudflats were the only proper places in which to establish beachheads. And the Taiwanese military guarded those like hawks.

Only by concentrating brutal, overwhelming force and driving the enemy back was the PLA able to conquer Taipei as well as Kaohsiung. When Zhanshu landed in Kaohsiung harbor, the city’s downtown core was deserted. No sooner had occupying units arrived when they came under fire from the isolated fragments of a once-powerful Taiwanese army who’d resorted to hit-and-run guerrilla-style tactics. He was now faced with eradicating an unseen enemy who not only didn’t wear uniforms but was the exact same nationality and ethnicity as the invaders.

The People’s Liberation Army Navy Surface Force continually sent ships back and forth across the Taiwan Strait dropping off supplies and fresh troops before heading back to the mainland for more. The question on everyone’s minds was exactly how many troops it would take to successfully conquer the island.

Due to his status as commanding officer of the battalion tasked with occupying Kaohsiung, Zhanshu was escorted through the city in a bulletproof armored vehicle. The former city hall was vacant and – to his great surprise – had not been booby-trapped. He took the mayor’s office. There was so much to get done and precious time to do it all in. Zhanshu received an encrypted email with hundreds of names of dissidents who had in some capacity spoke ill of the Chinese government. While most were Taiwanese citizens, some had fled the PRC for the safety of Formosa. Beside each name was the crime they’d committed against the state. Political and human rights activists. Outspoken Falun Gong representatives. Those who had revealed state secrets and were accused of counter-revolutionary propagandization. Workers rights activists. Christians who publicly denounced the Marxist-Leninist mantra of the Communist Party of China. Each one of these traitors to the Motherland would be dealt with accordingly.

Zhanshu brought along a staff of officers and high-ranking enlisted men and women to assist him with governing the southern portion of Taiwan. Major Shen was always one step behind his commanding officer. He placed a folder full of satellite photos on Zhanshu’s desk.

“Comrade Colonel, Taiwanese and American forces are amassing in the mountains east of Kaohsiung.”

This was old news. A naval blockade pushed American ships further east and north. In the back of Zhanshu’s mind were lingering doubts as to whether the quest to conquer Taiwan and force the wayward province back under the control of Beijing had ever truly been worth it. It mattered not as he wasn’t paid to worry about such matters.

“At least they were courteous to meet us halfway,” he said. “Just as soon as Taiwan has been swarmed by approximately 130,000 troops, neither Americans nor their Taiwanese lackeys will be able to hold their positions. We will drive U.S. influence completely out of the Western Pacific.” Zhanshu’s eyes went wide with excitement. “And then, we will pay back those Japanese bastards for what they did to our nation during World War II. Mark my words. China will be number one. Never again will China suffer through another century of humiliation like the one in which the Americans, British, Germans, French, and Japanese took turns trying to colonize and subjugate us.”