General Chen said, “We must fire our submarine-based nuclear weapons at their American targets as soon as possible. I also recommend using our land-based strategic nuclear weapons to hit American targets along the West Coast of the United States.”
Jinshan turned to meet the gaze of General Chen, a flicker of distaste in his eye. “We shall not respond with our nuclear weapons. That would be against our strategy.”
General Chen clenched his jaw but showed uncharacteristic restraint in his silence.
Jinshan then looked to the colonel and said, “Proceed with your report.”
The colonel’s eyes darted from the general to Jinshan, and then continued with his update. As Jinshan listened to the update, he studied the faces around the table. Most seemed only slightly less nervous than General Chen. Had they not been mentally prepared for this moment? Perhaps they had misjudged the United States, believing that the Americans didn’t have the fortitude to use their great atomic stockpile? General Chen at least had the excuse of being newly introduced to many of the war plans. The others had been privy to the plans for months.
Cheng Jinshan was not surprised by the Americans launching their nuclear missiles. He knew the American military, intelligence, and political decision makers. He had operated in the US and knew the people and procedures. He had set loose spies in the government that no one else in China had access to. Operatives who gave him the very best intelligence. No one save the American military would be ready for this moment, and the military would follow their doctrine.
He fully expected a limited nuclear strike on a very specific set of Chinese targets. Jinshan had made sure that the Americans received exactly the right recipe of intelligence to give those orders. His question was how the rest of the war was developing.
“What of the battle in the Pacific?”
Admiral Zhang, head of the PLA Navy, said, “Both American carriers in the Western Pacific have been sunk.”
Jinshan nodded. “This is very good news. Well done, Admiral.”
“While we are pleased at the progress our air attacks have made, I remain concerned with the American undersea threat. They have more than one dozen fast-attack submarines in the area, with our signals intelligence suggesting that more are on the way.”
Jinshan said, “This was expected.”
“Yes, sir. But because our war planning timetable was moved forward so much, the Jiaolong has not yet gotten underway. Without the Jiaolong technology, it will be very difficult for us to get our convoy through.”
“Especially considering Guam was not taken… which you said would be done by now,” said General Chen.
The admiral frowned at General Chen but held his tongue.
General Chen showed no such restraint. “Perhaps Admiral Song was not up to the challenge.”
The admiral frowned. “I do not believe it was a leadership failure. The island was fortified with an unexpected surface group. Their air defense wreaked havoc on our attack jets.”
One of the men monitoring the screens in the front of the room spoke into his headset, his voice transmitted overhead. “Update on the American ICBM status. Estimated time on target is fifteen minutes.”
General Chen sighed. “Do we have an update on the trajectories?”
“We will work on it, sir.”
Jinshan shook his head. “No. Just continue the brief, please.”
The colonel nodded and continued the update. Jinshan could hear General Chen’s sigh of frustration. He was worried about those incoming missiles. Everyone was, except for Jinshan.
Jinshan listened to the brief. The initial Chinese attacks on Hawaii and Guam were both failures. Still, those were high-risk, high-reward attempts, and Jinshan hadn’t expected both of them to succeed. But he was pleased to hear enough had gone well over the past few hours that China had the advantage.
After a few minutes, General Chen rose from his seat and began pacing the room. He walked over to one of the men at the computer monitors and asked him for an update on the missiles.
Jinshan turned to Admiral Zhang. “What is your recommended course of action, now that Guam remains in the hands of the Americans?”
“Chairman, you are familiar with our previous plan, which used the Jiaolong to guard our convoy across the Pacific. But we don’t yet know how well she will perform in combat operations.”
“The testing looked very promising.”
“Indeed, sir. Still, I worry about the Americans launching air attacks from Guam. With your permission, I would like us to consolidate our Southern Fleet with the Jiaolong. Japan has signaled that they will surrender. Korea is quickly becoming irrelevant militarily. But I do not believe we can support operations in the Western Pacific without destroying America’s air power on Guam.”
Jinshan raised an eyebrow. “Agreed. Proceed as requested.”
One of the Central Committee members said, “What of South Korea?”
General Chen said, “The American response to North Korea’s initial attack was swift, but our participation in the attack was unexpected. As a result, we have severely crippled the American air defense and air attack capability based in South Korea. Now, chemical weapons are providing the North Korean troops an advantage. Artillery and missiles strikes are bombarding the south with nerve agent. The North Korean leader is asking for our assistance. He claims the Americans have hit his missile silos with nuclear weapons.”
A few of the men around the table exchanged glances at that. Not everyone here knew it was a Chinese false flag operation that was responsible for sending submarine-launched nuclear missiles at North Korean targets. But the ones who weren’t in on the plans could sense something was afoot, and their political instincts kept them quiet.
Jinshan cleared his throat. “Do not send our ground forces there, General. Continue to provide assistance by air, if it serves China.”
“Yes, sir.”
An analyst came running up to the elevated platform where the lead team was seated. He headed to the colonel who was leading the brief, whispering something to him. The color drained from the colonel’s face.
General Chen stood feet away, one hand in a balled fist, rubbing the palm of his other. “Well?”
The colonel nodded, and the young analyst said, “We have just received trajectory updates. Sir, we are tracking ten launches from the American land-based missile fields. Our first estimates appear correct. We are confident those missiles are targeting our northern missile sites, near our Russian border.”
General Chen stood menacingly over the young man. “The other missiles — what of those?”
“Sir, we are less confident about the target of the missile launches that originated from the southern Pacific Ocean. We believe there were four ICBMs — each from a submarine. They could be targeting Beijing military targets. Or Beijing itself. Or…”
“Or what?” General Chen fumed.
“Or the Khingan mountain bunkers, General,” Jinshan finished the thought. His voice was calm. Fearless.
The table fell quiet, save General Chen, who was looking at the analyst. “When will they hit?”
“Between five and ten minutes, sir.”
General Chen cast a panicked glance back at Jinshan, which he ignored.
Jinshan was now the leader of the largest nation in the world, with the largest military in the world. But even he was powerless now. The only thing to do now was wait until these missiles hit their targets.
Jinshan waved the colonel on. “You may continue with your update, Colonel.”
General Chen looked as if Jinshan were ignoring a charging tiger, his eyes wide.