Assassin's Mace: Origin

By R J Albers

The world was not prepared for the changes that would come when a deadly virus spread and affected every aspect of life as it was then known. As the virus ravaged the world and governments cracked down on their citizenry, social and political unrest created additional chaos. Where had the virus come from and how did it spread so quickly?

 

Zhao, a Chinese industrialist of immense influence and power, was a patriot and had struggled for years to find a way to elevate China to it's rightful place in the world order. During his years of planning he had come across the ancient Chinese concept of the Assassin's Mace and used it as his inspiration. With this wisdom, he created a plan to destabilize the West and elevate China to become the only true world superpower, but even with years of careful and painstaking planning, would his plan be successful?

• Language: English
• Publisher: R J Albers
• Release date: Jul 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223404255

Book preview

R.J. Albers 

Assassin’s Mace: Origin is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2021 by Robert Albers

Cover Art Copyright  © 2022 by Sera Albers

All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 9798367622645

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Do it right or do it three times.

Dad, this took way more than three times.

Page Left Blank Intentionally

1

February 2019

Those who accumulate power rise so high that the world slips under their feet, thought Liu. He was not wrong, anyone who could stand on the 50th floor of this grand structure in New York, making deals that affect billions of people, had the privilege to feel the wave of ecstasy that comes with such immense power. While cutting deals and trying to turn negotiations to his favor on behalf of one of the world's most powerful countries, Lui had often felt that surge of power. But not today, he thought, as he ever so subtly exhaled through his tightly clenched teeth.

Today he felt trapped. He stood still in front of the glass wall, gazing over the horizon that was obscured and broken by the Manhattan skyline. He tried to pull himself together so he could process and organize the information in his mind before conveying it to his benefactor.

Zhao will not be pleased, he thought.  Zhao had this effect on people; his demeanor was enough to put anyone who knew him on their toes – alert and careful to not make a mistake. The negotiations were not going well. God damn these American vultures! Liu swore under his breath.

The dialogue session was going nowhere anytime soon, as usual. The working lunch had gone well. It was not combative and was cordial, but afterward, things had taken a hard turn. The session was now in a break for 20 minutes, and Liu left the room to call Zhao in Beijing. Although he knew that Zhao just wanted to hear the unemotional, straight unvarnished facts, it was still difficult for him to convey bad news without emotion. How will Zhao react to this? Lui contemplated while dialing the number. Liu was paid to provide timely inside information, so it was not to his advantage to delay any further.

The call was picked up on the first ring, as expected.

"Tell me," the heavy voice cracked over the phone. Lui always thought that if God could speak over the phone, he would sound like Zhao.

"The Americans are so arrogant. They are taking a harder line than expected and threatening more tariffs if we don't buy more of their agricultural products," Lui relayed, trying to keep his voice steady. Zhao did not interrupt him. 

They are also threatening sanctions for what they call human rights abuses against the damn Uighurs. It looks like our delegation will probably cave in and agree to buy some agricultural products, but we will still be hit with some tariffs and sanctions, Lui reported.

Silence prevailed for several seconds, long enough for Lui to break a sweat. Liu had no idea what was going through Zhao’s brain as he ran simulations and calculations, much like a chess Grand Master, to see how these developments would help him decide on his next move. 

"Alright, update me when the meeting is over," Zhao responded and hung up. Lui breathed, finally, and made his way back to the negotiating table.

***

Half a world away, Zhao sat at his desk and considered the recent updates. He had sensed the nervousness in Lui's voice as he informed him how the Americans were continuing to play hardball; Zhao was not surprised. He was very experienced in the chess game of international diplomacy and commerce where economic stability ebbed and flowed depending on who was in power. In China, he, in fact, was the epitome of power. Being a former military man - Zhao had an imposing physique that could not be overlooked. His forehead was marked with a scar he had earned during his years in military service on the Indian border. His grey, stony eyes were cold and brutal and contributed to an aura that intimated people right away.

Unimaginably resourceful, with access to infinite resources, and no hesitation to use them, he was known for getting what he wanted. Some competitors and underlings referred to him as Shangdi (Emperor or Supreme Deity) and knew that he did not accept no as an answer. Even as one of the most powerful men in all of China, hardly anyone knew any details of his daily or past life.

Contrary to what many people assumed, Zhao rose from a poverty so deep that it had burned every aspect of delicateness that a human soul could possess from him. Where he came from, he learned how raw, rough, experiences and incredible hunger could motivate a man to redirect his life. Growing up under such hard circumstance he learned that every person had to decide how to approach their life, they could either accept their circumstances and wallow through life until they died, or they could fight to influence the direction of their life and rise above what was expected. He developed a dominant but cool demeanor that hardly gave any indication of his immense drive, but that's what made him so successful – you could never guess what he would do next. 

Zhao had worked hard all of his life. He came from a poor family in Hunan Province and did well in school and was identified for further education and eventual matriculation to the Army. Soon after joining the Army, his superiors and peers recognized the fact that Zhao was not just any soldier. He was a strong leader that was staunchly patriotic and that others followed willingly. He had an innate problem-solving ability and was able to anticipate his adversary’s actions to overcome obstacles that stood in his way, both in the field and in his life in general. The Party and Chinese system had provided him with the opportunity to raise himself above the level of his parents and ancestors and he was determined to pay back his country for the opportunity. 

His knack for politics and hardcore military aptitude helped him rise through the ranks, eventually taking command of the Provincial Guard and the Provincial Party. As he rose in prominence, he was exposed to international politics and disgusted by the way that China was treated by the West, and the U.S. in particular, and he developed a determination to do whatever he could to raise China to its rightful place within the global community and to get the respect that China deserved. He realized that there was no way he could achieve his goal by simply becoming influential as the scale of his dream was so immense, so he formulated long term plans and researched recent and ancient history, prophesy, and philosophical materials, and now it was all coming together.  

With his succession within the socio-political realm, Zhao had built a strong national network with other military and party leaders to elevate himself to a strong position within the national power structure. 

When the Party determined that it was necessary to open the economy to relieve social pressure, stabilize the economy and bring in much needed hard currency, things escalated toward change. Recognizing an opportunity, Zhao began to consolidate his power, first in Hunan Province and then, through his military connections, throughout the country. 

As his position solidified and his empire grew through the manufacture of low-priced goods and construction, he saw opportunities to expand into the tech industry. He brought in partners from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore and consultants from the West. As his organization grew, he recognized the requirement for him to retire from the military but kept his Party position as it was now more important than ever. It had become difficult to meet with foreigners in his military position, but now, he was free to operate as required as a civilian. 

With his ambitions growing, he realized that there was a lack of people with the required education available to him, so he started a program to send young people to school in Europe and the U.S.A. for college, not only to get a superior education to that which they could receive in China, but also to gain access to research. Some of these promising students remained in their new temporary homes to complete advanced degrees and work on research at their schools, some funded by Zhao. This research provided valuable experience to these students that would be repatriated to China, but at the same time, provided work products that would be copied and transferred to China to be further developed.

Some students were encouraged to remain and take jobs with U.S. and European companies and universities, under the understanding that they would report back with details of their research and work products for the benefit of Zhao’s organization. This way Zhao's organization would have full control and access to the latest research and breakthroughs being developed in the West. In return, the students were provided with financial support to maintain their living standards in their new foreign homes and support for their families back home. Some were even allowed to bring their families to their new homes and further expand the network. It was a typical Asian patronage structure.

Some students were sent with other, more sinister, objectives. Beautiful young women were sent to school with the express mandate to obtain liberal arts degrees and to identify and develop relationships with up and coming and established businessmen, politicians and social leaders. Once identified, the subjects were developed and nurtured, not only by their new paramour’s, or secret lovers if they were married, but through the provision of whatever was required to elevate them to positions of more prominence and use. The operatives provided fund raising support, provided physical support and labor and recruited others to assist. Assistance came in the forms of anything from campaign funds and fundraising, to the provision of campaign workers, drivers, cars, whatever they needed to further embed themselves and further their position within the inner circle and gain access to more information and influence. The inside information transmitted back to China was invaluable, and the influence these women had amassed was impressive.

Once others in the government, and within Chinese industry, saw the results being realized by Zhao’s programs, they started similar programs of their own. The scale of these programs was massive and institutions turned a blind eye because of the massive amounts of money being plowed into their schools and companies from China. As his power and influence grew, Zhao became a figure that people in China, and around the world recognized and he created a persona that would be acceptable to the outsiders while disguising his true nationalist zeal.

Although all of his programs benefited him handsomely, his true desire was to elevate China to the position within the international community that it deserved and to spread the Socialist cause to enable the Chinese domination of the planet. Earlier Soviet, and Chinese, attempts had been a total failure and Zhao had learned from their failure. He realized that intellectualism and education were not the enemy of socialism, as was thought by the Soviets and earlier Chinese regimes, but the means that would spread the ideology faster than ever before thought. The use of social media, technology and education systems in the western world could be used to further the ideology quickly and in a manner that would permeate the cultures to a point where eventually cracks would reveal themselves in their societies and their governments would be infiltrated, legally and through their own processes. The cracks would widen and at some point, the countries would be weakened to a point of no return one way or another. Either they would change peacefully, or there would be civil war and revolution. In either case, their influence in the world would be eroded and China’s influence would be increased.

Deep in thought, Zhao pressed the nib of a pen with his finger and tiny dots of ink appeared on his skin as his mind circled through all the events that led him to this point. He thought about what laid ahead and how his plan would change the world. Things are coming together better than expected, he thought.

He opened his desk drawer and glanced at a book with a red leather cover with a gold inscription. Zhao caressed the surface of the title. The title represented the sum of all the ancient wisdom behind the evolution that he had set in motion. He felt a rush in his veins as he thought how, with years of struggle and planning, he finally found what he was looking for – a path that led to the end game where his country seized