Yang sat there for a moment, not saying anything. Then he chuckled slightly. “You think it’s that easy for a PLA general, even one who is head of the PLA, to simply disobey an order from the President — or worse, lead a coup? It isn’t quite that simple. Xi has already liquidated nearly everyone who was in a position of leadership at the start of this war. He has truly consolidated power these past three months. With defeat staring him in the face, he’s become more and more paranoid about a coup. I’m afraid you overestimate my power and influence. I’m only in charge of the PLA right now because he’s killed off most of my superiors and I’ve managed to eke out some victories against you Americans.” He shook his head disappointedly. “What you’re asking is just not possible, Larry.”
Not accepting defeat, Breedlove pressed on with the alternative plan. “I know this is putting you into a tough position, Yin. What if the Allies just happened to discover where Xi and some of the individuals you believe would be a problem to accepting peace were, and they were suddenly killed by an Allied stealth bomber using specially designed bunker-buster bombs? If that were to happen, do you believe you’d be able to assume control of the country and then pursue a peace that would bring an end to this war?”
Yin stifled a short laugh as he shook his head. “I remember studying Operation Valkyrie our junior year at the Citadel,” he retorted. Turning serious again, he whispered, “If I made this happen, you couldn’t miss. You couldn’t fail. If you failed, then I would most likely be removed, and I can guarantee you Xi would resort to using whatever means necessary to retaliate against you. He wouldn’t hold anything back.”
“If we have to, we can use a nuclear-tipped bunker-buster bomb to make sure we get him and his inner circle. What we’d need to know is when and where to drop it,” Breedlove explained.
“He might actually go for this,” he thought in amazement.
Yang thought silently for a moment as he puffed on his cigar. Without looking at Breedlove, he answered, “If I arranged for them all to be at a meeting, I would need certain assurances that once I assumed control of the country, you wouldn’t try to go after my generals for war crimes. If we committed any wrongs, they were wrongs we had no choice in. Our military system doesn’t have the same moral codes and understandings as America or the West. We can’t simply disobey an order because we feel it’s immoral or illegal. We aren’t governed that way.” He leaned forward. “If this were to happen, the Allies would demand that we dismantle the communist party, wouldn’t they?”
“Yes, the communist party would need to be disbanded in favor of a more democratic form of government,” Breedlove explained. “That’s why the US would like to see the mainland adopt the form of government currently in place in Taiwan. The Republic of China has a functioning democratic process with political parties, a legislature, court system and president. It would take time to implement that process on the mainland, but that’s why a caretaker government would need to be established to work with President Hung until a new election could take place and a new government is established. I won’t lie and say it won’t be messy. It will be, but with you at the head of the government working with President Hung, I’m confident that China as a country will emerge stronger and better than ever before.
“Yin, imagine China with not just freedom of speech, but freedom of thought. Freedom to innovate and capitalize on that innovation without the government seizing control of it or having a heavy hand in every aspect of life. You lived in America, Yin — surely you can see the benefit of this economic model and the personal freedoms it would provide.”
“I don’t dispute the benefits — I question the method by which we would achieve that,” Yang countered. “It wouldn’t just be messy; it could cause the country to collapse into chaos. I would have to maintain a tight grip on the country while it went through this transition period, Larry. This wouldn’t be as easy as you may think. There are a lot of wealthy businessmen who have just as much control of our government as your wealthy businessmen do in your own country.”
Shaking his head, Yin added, “I never wanted to be placed in this position, Larry. I’m in way over my head right now. I’m a corps commander. I understand tactics and I know how to fight…I was never a politician. I wasn’t trained for managing an entire country’s military, let alone fighting a global war. I just want it to end, but if I don’t do my duty or I screw things up, it’s not just me that will be killed — my entire family is at risk, Larry. This isn’t America…it’s China.”
“This is why it has to change,” Breedlove asserted. “You’ve been given a unique opportunity to change China, Yin, and in doing so change the world, the future of humanity.”
He slipped a piece of paper to General Yang. “If you can arrange the meeting, log in to this email. Create a new message with the subject line ‘Valkyrie.’ In the body of the message, state the date, time and location of the meeting. Don’t send the message to anyone — just save the draft and close the email. We’ll check this email at 0900 hours and 2100 hours your local time each day to see if you’ve been able to arrange a meeting. If you’re unable to coordinate all parties to be together, or there’s some other problem, then create an email that explains the issue and just save the draft. We can send a response to your question in a different color and font, using the same draft message. This will be our way of communicating, OK?”
Yang took the paper. He looked at it for a minute, memorizing the login information and password before taking a couple of puffs on his cigar and then holding the paper up to the hot embers until it caught fire, destroying the information written on it. Then he got up. “I’ll be in touch, Larry,” he said. “Give me at least three days before I can figure something out.” With that, he left.
The following day of peace talks dragged on with nothing gained. Minister Wang wanted them to meet again to make another attempt at a peace deal. Secretary Landover agreed but said they would have to get back with him as to when.
In the meantime, the US would not agree to a continued ceasefire. The war would continue until the PRC accepted the Allied terms.
Chapter 28
Operation Valkyrie
Barely two days had gone by since Yang had returned to Beijing, and the Americans had already resumed hostilities. Even now, the Allies were launching a massive offensive aimed at the Beijing capital region. Thus far, the Allies had been held at the outer perimeter, but that wouldn’t last for long. They were less than eighty kilometers from the August First Building — a sobering thought.
The sense among the people at large was one of anger at their government for having gotten them into this position and despair that there was nothing they could do about it. Three years ago, the average Chinese citizen had had money in their pocket, food in their belly and a roof over their head. Now, the Chinese economy was in freefall, inflation was starting to run rampant, fuel and other supplies were in great shortage, and many people, if not everyone, either had a member of their family serving in the military or had a family member killed while serving in the military.