In the Great Hall of the People, the early morning sun slanted through tall colonnade windows as Xiang strode down a corridor along the eastern facade. Huan joined him on his right as they traversed the long hallway toward the conference room, where the other seven Politburo members awaited Xiang’s arrival. The unscheduled meeting had been arranged barely an hour ago; it was necessary to evaluate the new American threats.
Although China’s military offensive was proceeding as planned, a few wrinkles had appeared. The United States was creative in its response, and whether the new American initiatives posed a threat to China’s plan was a question Xiang and the rest of the Politburo wanted answered.
Huan pushed the heavy conference doors inward, providing passage for China’s president. The other seven members of the Politburo were already seated around the polished ebony conference table. Huan took his seat along the perimeter of the room as Xiang settled into his chair at the head of the table.
At the front of the conference room, Admiral Tsou stood at attention, awaiting acknowledgment from Xiang.
“At ease, Admiral.”
Admiral Tsou relaxed somewhat, although most would still have described him as standing at attention.
“Before you begin this morning’s brief, Admiral, I commend you on the success of your plan thus far. Your preparations were meticulous and the execution, flawless.”
Admiral Tsou nodded in appreciation. “Thank you, Mr. President.”
“However,” Xiang added, “even the best-laid plans can go awry, and it has come to our attention that America has not conceded defeat. Can you expound on their response and how we plan to counter it?”
Admiral Tsou answered, “The United States is responding in ways both expected and unexpected. I’ll begin with the expected. The first phase of our offensive—the invasion of Taipei—produced the desired result. America committed its Pacific Fleet and most of it was destroyed. America still has their Marine Expeditionary Forces, but without the Pacific Fleet to clear a safe passage for them ashore, the MEFs will remain at sea aboard their amphibious ships, unable to assist Japan.
“However, the United States is attempting to rectify that. Satellites have detected the Atlantic Fleet carrier strike groups heading south, presumably around the tip of South America or Africa into the Pacific. We also detected Atlantic Fleet submarines sortieing from their homeports, all headed north during their surface transit to their dive points. We suspect they are headed beneath the polar ice cap and will reach the Pacific in the next few days. We’re not sure what their plan is once they reach the Pacific, since their torpedoes can also be disabled.
“Additionally,” Admiral Tsou added, “satellite recon has determined that America was able to get their last Pacific Fleet aircraft carrier, Ronald Reagan, underway during the middle of a one-year overhaul, and an Atlantic Air Wing has departed the East Coast of the United States.
“However, my assessment is that the Atlantic Fleet carriers and the Reagan pose no threat to our plans. We will sink Reagan once it comes within range of our Dong Feng missiles, and the Atlantic Fleet carrier strike groups will arrive too late. We also have plans to address the Atlantic Fleet submarines making the under-ice transit. Without getting into the details, let me assure you that most of these submarines will never reach Pacific waters, and any that do will meet the same fate as their Pacific Fleet counterparts. We did not expect America to give up after their Pacific Fleet was destroyed, and we have prepared well for their response.
“Now for the unexpected. America is planning to insert a SEAL Team into Beijing from one of their guided missile submarines. We will eliminate this team once they arrive, hopefully after determining their objective. The United States has apparently identified a weakness in our plan, and it would be wise for us to understand and correct this deficiency.” Admiral Tsou paused a moment before continuing. “Subject to your questions, this concludes my brief.”
There was silence in the room as Xiang’s eyes moved across the other seven men seated at the table. One by one, each man nodded their satisfaction. Xiang turned to Admiral Tsou. “Thank you, Admiral. Keep us informed.”