"What does it mean when Julang-3 enters the aerial experiment stage?"
"Performance surpasses that of Trident? Submarine-launched strategic missiles surpass those of the United States and Russia for the first time."
"Release a signal? Tensions may change."
"Sea trials are announced. What are the experimental subjects?"
With the release of a series of news, although the direction of public opinion has not changed 180 degrees, it has improved a lot compared to the previous depression.
At this time, there are still three days left before the sea test, and everyone is looking forward to the content of this experiment - but of course, the vast majority of people do not actually regard it as a simple "experiment", but as an A tit-for-tat exercise.
Therefore, the public's expectations for the experiment are extremely high. Maybe there are not many people who really look forward to war, but at least they really hope that this exercise can kill the opponent's prestige.
But how to do it?
Nobody knows.
On the forum, discussions about the exercise and Chiwei Island quickly became heated, and many netizens had surprisingly unanimous views.
…
The posts and the number immediately began to grow at an alarming rate, and ironically, the vast majority of the comments below were "Pray for peace" and "Be cautious and sensible". Even compared to the trend on the Internet a day ago, it can be said that it was amazing. Different places.
In the office during the lunch break, Chen Nian was lying on his chair and browsing the web on the latest smartphone. He couldn't help but feel a little funny when he saw those comments about Mr. Ye's love for dragons.
"So are these people really a group of people? One day they were clamoring for a fight, and the next day they just rightfully said it was best not to fight? What kind of schizophrenia!"
Hearing his words, Li Xiang shook his head and replied:
"This is not schizophrenia. There are several reasons."
"On the one hand, it's what you said. Mr. Ye is fond of dragons. In fact, he doesn't really want to fight. Before, he just followed the trend and shouted. This group of people is the largest in number and is the easiest to understand."
"To put it bluntly, when there is no direct interest relationship, everyone wants to be more lively and have more fun, but one day, the fun will fall on themselves, and no one will laugh."
After hearing his words, Chen Nian nodded slightly and said:
"It makes sense to say that - people who call for resignation will never resign. People who say they don't want to live every day will be scared to death when they go to the hospital for a physical examination. It's human nature."
"Indeed, but there is another aspect. Some people with a relatively high vision have already seen the problem - these people are generally senior military fans, and their views on military equipment and international situations are more mature than ordinary people. "
"They can see that once they take action this time, it won't be a small fight."
"So it's understandable that they turn against conflict out of fear of the so-called 'doomsday'."
"The last point is the point that confuses us the most - among these people, there are shadows from the other side."
"The other side?"
Chen Nian repeated it in surprise and scratched his head subconsciously.
"What do you mean? I thought about it, but now I don't think about it anymore?"
"Not sure."
Li Xiang also had a puzzled expression on his face. After thinking for a long time, he said:
"The only possibility we can think of at the moment is that there is a division within the other side of the Taiwan Strait, and it is a division at the top level."
"Some people don't want to be pawns."
"The trend in public opinion is a typical signal."
"Any chance?"
Chen Nian immediately realized the crux of the problem.
Although judging from the current situation, it has almost become a luxury to hope to solve the problem through peaceful means, but if the other party is divided internally and the will to resist is reduced, the price we need to pay will obviously be greatly reduced.
"I don't know that research and judgment will take time - forget it, let's not talk about it for now, how are you preparing for the Julang-4 project?"
Obviously, Li Xiang is unwilling to discuss this undetermined matter too much, not because he does not trust Chen Nian. On the contrary, he is worried that inaccurate information will affect Chen Nian's judgment and lead to uncontrollable consequences. s consequence.
After all, although Chen Nian is not directly involved in strategic decision-making, every technology he masters can greatly affect the direction of the entire country.
Therefore, ensuring the "cleanliness" of the information received by Chen Nian is also an important requirement.
Chen Nian obviously knew this, so he answered:
"Okay. If we don't want to talk, we won't talk."
"Julang-4 and Julang-3 can actually be said to have been started simultaneously. The pre-research is now over and we are ready to move into the formal research and development phase."
"If it goes well, we estimate that there will be results within two to three years."
"I knew it."
A knowing smile appeared on Li Xiang's face, and he said:
"At that time, the superiors requested that the information about Julang-3 be made public, so I guessed that Julang-4 must have something to show for it."
"Otherwise, with the character of you people, how could you be willing to take out all your family wealth?"
the other side.
In the private reception room, three middle-aged men were carrying out a conspiracy.
Sitting in the middle is John Jefferson, with Pickering on the left, and the Asian face on the right is Gu Kuanmin's popular man, You Xijian.
There was nothing on the low table in front of the three people except three transparent glasses, which meant that the content of this conversation was absolutely impossible to be leaked in any way.
"The progress of Julang-3 is a huge impact to us."
"According to our understanding, it is absolutely impossible for them to publish information on the development progress of a piece of weaponry before it has been stably put into service."
"So, after discussions with the military intelligence analysis department, our current view is that the Julang-3 is probably not entering the air test stage, but has been installed on their Type 094A nuclear submarine."
"This is not a wild guess."
"We all know that they have organized two small-scale operations before. Although public channels claimed that they were conducting routine military exercises, in fact, their purpose was to clear the channel so that 094 could smoothly enter the deep sea. .”
"Our sonar equipment once detected the submarine going out to sea, but unfortunately, due to their vigilance on the sea, we were not able to track it."
"So the current situation is that it is very likely that a nuclear submarine carrying a Julang-3 intercontinental nuclear missile is cruising in some waters that we don't know about."
"It goes without saying that the threat contained in this can be understood."
Hearing his words, the other two people in the conference room nodded in unison.
Pickering then echoed Jefferson's words and continued:
"However, this should be what the turret should worry about, right?"
"Yes, military issues should really be taken care of by Guolou."
"But if we do nothing, there is no need for us to be here today."
As he spoke, Jefferson leaned back slightly, turned to look at You Xijian, who was waiting quietly, and said with a smile:
"Mr. You, you are a smart man. I think you should know what we are going to do."
"I want to ask you about this matter, what is Mr. Gu's attitude?"
Opposite you, You Xijian rarely showed any of the groveling expressions that are common among South Island officials. His face was calm and serious. When facing Jefferson's staring eyes, he only replied briefly:
"I am here to represent Mr. Gu's attitude."
"Very good, then I think we have reached an agreement."
Jefferson nodded with satisfaction and continued:
"Then, next, we can talk about the specific details."
"According to the plan, we will organize the visit on the 29th, that is, after the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier battle group approaches."
"When the time comes, Pickering will make a personal statement and travel in his personal capacity."
"You need to cooperate with us."
"Our goal is to have the transponder on the entire time and land at the airport to maximize the effect."
Hearing Jefferson's words, You Xijian frowned tightly. After a moment of silence, he asked:
"I have a few questions that I hope you can answer."
"Any time, this is my responsibility."
You Xijian cleared his throat, looked directly into Jefferson's eyes and asked:
"According to what you just said, the current situation is extremely tense."
"You even suspect that the situation has developed to the point where conflict is possible."
"But why do you still take such actions to further intensify the conflict?"
"Are you worried that they won't have the courage to press that button, so you want to give them another shot?"
Jefferson laughed and did not answer directly, but said enigmatically:
"It's a big gamble."
"A big gamble? What to bet on?"
You Xijian asked doubtfully.
"Betting that they are not ready yet, betting that their troops have not completed the mobilization and deployment, betting that they have not reached an internal consensus, betting that their nuclear weapons are still adding fuel - in short, what we are betting on is a time difference."
"If they are indeed not ready, then no matter how provocative we are, they will not be able to respond excessively."
"Or to put it bluntly, this is a kind of temptation."
"We need to know their determination."
"I don't understand. What good does this do to you?"
"What if they really launch an attack regardless of this matter? How are you going to respond?"
You Xijian's face was full of confusion. He could understand the "test", but wouldn't the potential consequences of such a test be too serious?
Why not choose a better time? Why not expand your actions after seizing the opponent's submarine?
"We're dealing with it just like we planned from the beginning."
"Mr. You, I'm afraid you made a mistake. This friction is destined to happen."
"From their reactions, it can actually be inferred - no, it cannot be said to be inferred. It should be said that the outcome of the incident can be determined."
"So, there is only one thing we can do, and that is to speed up the arrival of this result as much as possible."
“Only in this way can we maximize the advantage of being at ease and waiting for work.”
"So, you have to challenge their bottom line as much as possible?"
You Xijian interrupted Jefferson's eloquence and continued:
"I understand this. Now the next question is: if the plane is shot down mid-flight, or crashes after being electronically interfered with, how will you react?"
"We will never take the initiative to declare war. This is the bottom line. However, we will go to war."
"Understood - this is also my next question, where is your first attack direction?"
You Xijian asked a series of detailed questions, and Jefferson answered them one by one.
As the exchanges between the two parties deepened, You Xijian realized more and more clearly:
This world is probably about to undergo earth-shaking changes.
——
But the strange thing is that he doesn't feel any pressure at all.
It was as if a voice somewhere was telling him:
Things will definitely not develop in the direction that the United States expects. Even if it does break out, the other side will use their back-up tactics to solve the problem in an incredible way.
You Xijian didn't know where this sound came from.
Likewise, as a chess piece, he has no other choice.
He could only wait quietly for that moment to arrive, for the final answer to the mystery to be revealed
A few hours later, Pickering announced his plan to visit. When this bottom-line-challenging act was exposed, on the other side, on the sea at 125 degrees east longitude, a storm that had been prepared for a long time also arrived as scheduled.
(End of chapter)
