Lin Cuo stared at the newspaper for a good ten seconds before looking up to ask the Secretariat official, "When did I write 'unrivaled in all the world'?"
The official had clearly already worked out a complete explanation on India's behalf. He said quietly, "India's Ministry of Rites believes that when the Regent described their deployment as sound, he was endorsing their strategic competence. His permission to proceed according to plan indicates that he found no errors serious enough to affect the overall situation. Taken together, for publicity purposes, these can be interpreted as high praise."
"How many steps are there between 'high praise' and 'unrivaled in all the world'?"
"By the calculations of India's propaganda department, they probably don't need approval from any intermediate steps."
Lin Cuo laid the newspaper facedown on the desk, unwilling to pursue the matter any further.
Paradox players were no strangers to this sort of thing.
A national focus reaching thirty percent completion could be advertised as a comprehensive victory in the first stage of a great national rejuvenation. A division with only sixty percent of its equipment could declare a successful conclusion to one stage of a campaign, as long as its designation still existed and its organization had not hit zero. No matter how completely a country's territory was colored in, if autonomy was too high, that color really represented nothing more than art assets.
The Great Han Federation before him was no different.
From the Northeast to India, from Goryeo to the Southern Ocean, the map was a sea of vermilion. Yet the forces Luoyang could actually mobilize directly within twenty-four hours were nowhere near as impressive as that color suggested.
The Northern Army and the Western Garden had only just completed their reorganization. The Southern Ocean Front Army was still