White Jade

Chapter Fifty-One

The nine men who ruled China were meeting at Party Chairman and President Zhang Jei's official residence in Beijing. No one ruled in China without the backing of the People's Liberation Army. The committee made decisions, but it was the PLA that enforced them. Several ranking PLA officers had been invited to the meeting.

General Zhou was Chairman of the Military Commission and Commander of the Beijing Military Region. He sat between Minister Deng from State Security and the Commander of the Guangzhou Military region in Southern China, General Liu. General Yang Siyu was at one end of the long oval table, next to Zhang.

Across from him sat General Hong, Commander of the Second Artillery Battalion, China's nuclear and ballistic missile force. Two chairs down Chen Tian, Minister of Railways, toyed with a notepad and pencil on the table before him. The rest of the Politburo Standing Committee filled out the seats at the table.

Problems of ethnic unrest in the Tibet Autonomous Region and China's western Xinjiang region were first on the agenda. The men were discussing strategies for suppressing the native protests when a messenger entered the room and went directly to the President. Zhang listened carefully, then turned to his colleagues.

"There have been several explosions on the West Coast of America, causing extensive damage. Their military has raised the national defense alert level and there are civilian casualties in large numbers. It is being treated as a major terrorist attack by the American government. We must decide on an appropriate response."

"We should raise our defense posture also." It was General Hong. "Russia, Pakistan and India are bound to do the same, and that will bring in Europe and NATO."

"NATO is a toothless tiger."

"Yes, but when the Americans act as if war is threatening, the ripples are always worldwide."

"What is the alert level of their forces?" asked General Zhou.

Zhang said, "They have moved to their Defense Condition Three. That is considered a high level of readiness, but short of anticipation of imminent attack. Their planes will be ready, some bombers sent aloft and all forces alerted, but no active missions will be launched. They have one of their nuclear carrier groups northeast of Korea in easy striking distance. There may be submarines we don't know about."

Zhang instructed an aide to bring in a monitor. In moments they were watching the events taking place on the West Coast of America.

President Zhang turned to Yang. "General, have you any information regarding these attacks on the Golden Mountain?"

He used the old Chinese term for California and the United States.

Yang felt a heady rush of anticipation. The explosions in the US were timed to coordinate with his presence in this room. Once these men were removed, nothing would block his rise to power.

Admiral Zhang Lian had control of the missile submarines at Sanya. Lu Cheng had locked down the base and secured the missiles at Luoyang. Armored divisions loyal to Yang were at this moment rolling through the streets of Beijing and other major cities. Rail traffic moved only to transport his troops. The air force was on the ground, where it would stay unless he released it. Outside, a cadre of Special Forces troops waited for his signal, which he now triggered from a transmitter in his pocket.

"Well, General? You seem preoccupied."

"I launched these attacks, Zhang." He used the rude form of address.

The President of China looked mildly surprised. "Ah. And why would you do such a thing?"

Yang was taken aback. This was not the response he had anticipated. The others in the room were still, watching the two men. For an instant he wondered if he had misread Zhang. No. He dismissed the thought.

"We have played whore to the West long enough!" Yang slammed his hand down on the table. "It is time to claim our proper place. We have everything we need to bring them to their knees. Your policies have diluted the true measure of our greatness."

Chairman Zhang studied his fingernails, looked at Yang. "You seek to change those policies?"

"They are changed. As of right now."

The door burst open. Soldiers of the elite Special Forces took up station along the walls and around the table where the men were sitting. Each was armed with the latest assault rifle, the QB-97. Resistance to such a force was futile. Some of the Standing Committee looked nervously at the soldiers surrounding them. Zhang appeared unconcerned.

Yang spoke again. "The missiles at Luoyang are under my control, as are our submarines at Sanya. All of our long range missiles are mine. In the future, if anyone tries to make things difficult for us, we will not hesitate to show them our strength."

The President of China turned to the others in the room. "General Liu. You command the region including the submarine base on Hainan. What do you say to this?"

"I am afraid General Yang has miscalculated. By now the base at Sanya will be completely surrounded on land. At sea, units have been ordered in force to the area to prevent any unauthorized, ah, adventures, on the part of our submarines. We have also established air surveillance."

"That is a lie," said Yang. "I spoke with Admiral Zhang before I entered this room. He assured me the submarines are under my command."

"Oh, that's right, you couldn't know. I regret to inform you that just after you spoke with him, Admiral Zhang had an unfortunate accident," said General Liu. "So sad. He slipped and fell overboard during an inspection and drowned. A state funeral and public services will be planned in Beijing for our revered naval leader."

"I have Luoyang."

"Ah, I am so sorry, General," said General Hong. "Luoyang is surrounded. General Lu continues to hold the base. However, you may find communication with him difficult. Should he indicate readiness to launch, countermeasures will be taken. If necessary, the missiles will be destroyed."

"You can't do that! That is our main deterrent to the Americans."

"You are a fool, Yang," said the President. "The Americans can annihilate us if they choose. That is why we have taken only a defensive nuclear posture over all these years."

Yang looked at the stone faced men sitting with him at the table and knew he was close to losing control. First Wu had failed him. His dream of a new dawn for China's nuclear missile forces had been buried under the rubble of those ruins. Wu's death was only just reward for his failure. Now his plan for ruling China stood in jeopardy. But General Lu still controlled the missiles. Yang's tanks were rumbling through the streets. And the elite forces were here with him in this room.

"You're the fool, Zhang. My tanks are in position outside. The people will follow me. Major!" He addressed the commander of the soldiers surrounding the table. "Seize these men. Take them outside. If they cause trouble, shoot them."

It was when the major drew his pistol and pointed it at him instead of Zhang that Yang knew he had lost. Behind the Minister of Railways, two soldiers moved forward and roughly grasped his arms, lifting him from his chair. He started to protest. One look at Zhang silenced him.

"It is you who goes outside, Yang, and that traitor as well."

All pretense of mild unconcern vanished as Zhang stood. He ripped the rank boards with their three stars and wreaths from Yang's shoulders and threw them against the wall. Zhang's face was flushed with anger. He turned to the major.

"Take them to the military prison. Place them in isolation. If Yang struggles, render him unconscious but do not kill him. Post a 24 hour watch. We have use for him."

"Yes, Chairman!" The major saluted, gestured with his pistol at Yang.

"The tanks," Yang said.

"The tanks are under my command. Take him."

They watched the men being led away. The door closed behind them.

President Zhang addressed the others.

"If the Americans believe we are to blame for these attacks, we face a serious threat of war. Raise our defensive posture, but be careful not to indicate aggressive intentions. This idiot has brought us to the edge of disaster. We must find a way to avoid it."

General Zhou left the room.

"We should call their President." It was the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee. "They will soon know what happened. We must talk to them. Tell them the truth."

"We would lose face!"

"Better to lose face than to lose Beijing or Chengdu. We can give them Yang, execute him, make diplomatic reparations, whatever is needed to show Yang acted on his own. Privately they may know, but it must not become public. It is not in their interest that it becomes public. They need us to keep their economy going. Perhaps we can mislead them with the extremist elements."

The meeting turned into a general discussion of damage control and how to spin the certain fallout of Yang's actions.

Outside the vine-covered walls of the President's villa it was another smog-filled day in Beijing. If the summer crowds noticed the large presence of military vehicles and personnel, they marked it off to another training maneuver. Life was good in Beijing. One shouldn't complain just because the rumble of tanks disturbed one's harmony.