Pages

Praetorium Honoris

Saturday, August 17, 2024

China Erupts

Source
"Mr. President ... Mr. President!"

John Nakagawa awakened slowly, he was groggy and had been in the midst of a very unpleasant dream when he felt the hand shaking his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see his Chief of Staff Bill Aspinall hovering over him, a very concerned look on his face.

"What ..." the President sat up, wondering for a moment where he was, then he remembered.

"What's happening, Bill?"

"Please come with me, Mr. President, it's urgent, no time to explain."

Nakagawa got up and thought to change his clothes, he was still wearing what he'd put on the morning before. But Aspinall said urgent, and his long time aide, and friend, wasn't a man to use that word lightly.

The halls of the West Wing were quiet, nothing outwardly indicated that anything out of the ordinary was going on, then he saw the cluster of men at the end of the corridor which led to the Rose Garden. He saw Aspinall there, he had turned when one of the other men had nudged him and pointed towards Nakagawa. Aspinall hurried towards the President.

"Sir, we need to get you over to the NMCC¹, things are happening fast n China. We believe Premier Liu has been overthrown, or killed, honestly Sir, we don't really know. But satellite imagery shows that the Chinese army is in the streets of Beijing, in force."

"Damn it," was all the President could say as he was hustled out to Marine One.


Liu Jiang was bleeding, again. During the evacuation of the Great Hall of the People, one of her security people had accidentally turned abruptly in Liu's direction, hitting her squarely on the nose. It wasn't broken but now she had an intermittent nosebleed. She pulled out the blood-sodden towel she had been using and pressed it to her face once more.

"Madam Premier, are you alright?" Colonel Kang Yijun asked her.

"Yes, Colonel, if I die tonight, it won't be on account of a nosebleed," she answered with an ironic grin.

The council had been in session, discussing their next moves in the Indian affair, as some were calling it. Liu's opinion was to let India handle their own affairs, China had enough of its own problems at the moment to worry about India. She had just expressed that thought when Colonel Kang had barged into the room.

She had thought to rebuke him but then she heard something outside which chilled her to the bone. The unmistakable sound of a tank passing by, the squeal of the tracks and the rumble of the big engine, signified trouble.

"Quickly Colonel, what is it?"

"General Wong apparently disagrees with your policies, Madame Premier. Those are his tanks outside."

She wanted to spit in frustration, she threw a nasty look at one of the council members, the one who had convinced her to let Wong keep his position. But there was no time for that.

"The council is dismissed, we shall meet in three days at the emergency location. Now, all of you, must leave the city by whatever means you can."

That had been six hours ago, now she and her party were on the outskirts of Beijing, headed towards the city of Zhangjiakou, to the northwest. She saw an army column parked nearby, she looked at Kang.

"Yes, Premier, those are ours. I hope. Wait here."

Kang stepped into the street, signalling with a flashlight.

Liu held her breath.

Kang returned in a few minutes. "A problem has developed, Madam Premier."

Liu nodded, if only things could be simple. "What is it, Colonel?"

"Colonel Yan Min's scouts have reported a roadblock on the way to Zhangjiakou. He is waiting for his armor to report in, they are up the road, towards our destination. Colonel Yan intends to break this roadblock for us."

"Are they Wong's men?" Liu asked.

"Yes, but Yan has the strength to brush them aside."

Liu nodded, "Then let us be about it."


Upon arrival at the Pentagon, LCDR Higgins had spoken with a petty officer. When he saw the President's party land, he hastened to the entrance he knew they would be using. He didn't have a very long wait.

As he stood waiting, Bill Aspinall had come in first, he glanced at Higgins, "Not now, Josh."

Higgins took a step towards Aspinall, "Now Bill, right f**king now. The President needs to know this."

Aspinall looked frustrated, as if things were moving faster than he was prepared for.

"Look Bill, the CNO needs to see the President and he needs to see him now."

President Nakagawa came into the area, surrounded by bodyguards and staffers. Higgins couldn't help but notice that one of the staffers bore an uncanny resemblance to the President. "A body double?" Higgins wondered.

Aspinall stepped into the crowd, had a few words with the President, who nodded, and then they all continued down to the NMCC. Aspinall looked over at Higgins and nodded.

Higgins keyed his radio, "CNO is a go. Meet the President before he gets to the NMCC."

He listened for a moment, then spoke into the mic again, "I'll make sure it's just the President and the CNO."


The door closed behind the President, in the room was Admiral Jack Whalen, the Chief of Naval Operations. He had a file on the table in front of him.

"We've got trouble, Mr. President. The press is ablaze with stories of your 'murder' of twelve members of Congress."

Nakagawa sighed, "I guess our honeymoon with those bastards is over."

Whalen pushed the file towards the President.

"What's this, Jack?"

"It's an overview of Operation Red Sky."

"Which is?"

Whalen then realized that President Nakagawa, having assumed his office without the usual briefings and procedures, had never been briefed on Operation Red Sky.

"Well, Sir. It's our plan to shut down the media and all unnecessary communications for a period of two weeks."

"That's a direct violation of the First Amendment, Admiral."

"Yes Sir, but ..."

"Forget it, Admiral. And that's a direct order. We will find some other way. We must."

When the President left to go to the NMCC, Admiral Whalen sighed. He was rather relieved that the President had said no. He had sworn an oath to the Constitution, now he needed to remind the people who had come up with this scheme that they had sworn the same oath.

He keyed his personal radio, "Matt, I need a car and an escort. We're going to 8th and I."

"Aye, aye, Sir. Armed escort?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

Nothing like a platoon of Marines to remind people of their duties. But Whalen also realized that the country wasn't out of the woods yet. There were some who didn't want to play ball. Well, he'd sort them, if he could.



¹ National Military Command Center at the Pentagon.

54 comments:

  1. I really hope she makes it to where she is going.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, the way Nakagawa dealt with the silver dozen has come to bite him in the ass. At least he has enough sense and integrity to not try media control under gun barrel.
    Meanwhile, China gets to live in the extremely interesting times.
    Cant wait to see next twist of the rollercoaster...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It might bite him in the ass, depends on how he handles it going forward.

      Delete
  3. Good to see that at least one pol remembers there's a Bill of Rights existent in the USA. Good reading Sarge!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, one hopes we would see that in real life.

      Delete
    2. It warmed my heart to read how the president decided not to tread on The People.
      With that in mind, I say he handled the Silver Dozen appropriately. He was expeditious about it, as it should be where treason is found.

      Delete
    3. a not so minor correction; Nakagawa isn't a pol - he's got the makings to be an emerging heir to the Founders.

      Delete
    4. Rick - Like Churchill, Nakagawa believes in "action this day."

      Delete
    5. Any Mouse @ 11:55 AM - Good point.

      Delete
  4. Looks like more than one player in China remembers the opportunity in Chaos Sun Tzu quote.

    Warlords with nukes, details at 1100

    Nakagawa's body double is a chilling foreshadowing. We still have rats with teeth in the wainscotting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. the body double threw me. especially after the most recent display of "what's his name."

    ReplyDelete
  6. Did not see any of this coming. Great work, Sarge & Muse!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Did not see any of this coming, Sarge. And Europe, and South America, and the Chinese in Africa, and ... Muse is on a roll! Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those continents may come in to play at some point.

      Delete
  8. Huh. I thought I'd accidentally deleted the first. :sigh:

    ReplyDelete
  9. This was the first read when I got to the blogs this morning!

    ReplyDelete
  10. ""That's a direct violation of the First Amendment, Admiral."

    "Yes Sir, but ..."

    "Forget it, Admiral. And that's a direct order. We will find some other way. We must.""

    Unfortunately too many of the capons and wethers in office don;'t have the moral integrity to think like that. I recall one late and unlamented senile US Senator from California trying to argue that "freedom of the press" only applies to the Big Corporate Press that acts as a mouthpiece for her party.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One still very much alive senator from California has continually said that about the 1st. Then again, she's gotten rich from what can only be called most-illegal insider trading (and people who follow her stock trades also have gotten rich) that would bring the SEC down on normal people (like people who follow her stock trades.)

      Delete
    2. If it was illegal trading she'd have legal troubles because we are a nation of laws and no one is above the law! Or so I heard... (this is sarcasm, a blind person can see we have different levels of law enforcement today).

      Delete
    3. Joe - Just like the 2nd Amendment is for hunting ...

      Delete
    4. Beans - There needs to be a reckoning at some point in time.

      Delete
    5. Rob - Excellent use of sarcasm!

      Delete
  11. Darn, that shutting down the media certainly has a lot of appeal. Not necessarily in the case of when they are actually doing their job and telling the truth. I have a long memory, and remember those days. But when the lying SOBs are in hyper partisan propaganda mode, which I recognize daily, I have no use for them. Freedom of speech is good, but when it is controlled by a monopoly, not so much.

    As Mark Twain reportedly quipped "I tried to find honest work, but ended up at a newspaper."

    But, the tale moves forward in multiple unexpected directions simultaneously. Waiting for more!
    JB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If they are not reporting the news, but rather are pimping for one party over the other, are they still "the press"?

      Delete
    2. No.

      Elon Musk has done more for Free Speech by buying and cleaning up 'X.' Elon's interview with Trump was the most neutral interview of a right-leaning, American-loving American that took place within 50 years. Broadcasting it live meant that 'X' couldn't jigger the questions and answers to change the interview.

      Far too many eneMedia interviews have cuts, selected placements, whole fabrications aimed at gotcha-ing the interviewee. It's funny to watch an 'interview' where there's a glass of water visible, and watch the water level slowly go down, nope it's full again, back to where it was... Continuity Fark-Ups. The eneMedia's interviews have them. Always record THEM recording you, and publish it first.

      Delete
    3. The few Harris-Walz ads that I have seen are things which Joseph Goebbels would be proud of.

      Delete
    4. And today a great number of people would ask, "who is Joseph Goebbels"?

      Delete
  12. Dang, with everything else going on, we now have a Wang doodle in the mix.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Something's Wong in China...

      Delete
    2. Any Mouse @ 8:41 AM - It's always something.

      Delete
    3. Beans - You don't know just how badly I wanted to title the post "Big Trouble in Big China."

      Delete
    4. Well, if it was a localized issue you could have titled it "Little Trouble in Big China."

      Then done a segment of CCP caused unrest in Taiwan and titled it "Little Trouble in Little China."

      Delete
  13. Eh, most 'flyover 'Muricans' would be very happy that the Silver Dozen were handled. Any real unhappiness would be from not being able to see them on TV being tried, found guilty and escorted to gibbets set up outside the Capital building. Though they would understand that expediency was needed.

    And why is this? Because the Silver Dozen took active measure to start a real Civil War, and Nakagawa prosecuted the Federal response most swiftly. Cut the head off the snake, so to speak.

    Sadly, cutting the head off so quickly means that all the little snakelets running around may not be caught. So Nakagawa and the Country have to worry about snakes in the grass.

    Sadly, most mega-city-dwellers would side with the Silver Dozen and their forces. Dunno what living in a city does to one's brain but the city-dwellers sure love to be controlled.

    Let us hope, in this story, that no idjits in Pakistan or in India try to spice things up over there. Though, well, there's no idea where this story will wander.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The mega-city dwellers are the big "free stuff" beneficiaries, that's why.

      Delete
  14. This is always the risk, that other elements have their own ideas and their own networks of support.

    One of the reasons (among many) for the downfall of the Roman Republic was the attachment of troops to their generals, not the Republic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Before Napoléon's first abdication (forced on him by his marshals), the Emperor wanted to appeal to the army. Marshal Ney said "The army will follow its generals." Ney was wrong, the Army would have followed Napoléon as was demonstrated in the Spring of 1815.

      The army must be loyal to the nation, not its generals, or the nation will not exist very long.

      Delete
    2. And therein lies the question. What is a nation? Is it just the lands and people or is it the governments or a combination of both?

      Oh, we French, we have been in existence as French since Charles Martel. No. No you haven't. At one time the Isle de Paris ruled a very diminished 'France.' And you got rid of the 'existing' government and country come around 1792. And got rid of Revolutionary France, then got rid of French Republic and replaced it with a French Empire and replaced it with a, replaced it with, replaced...

      Same with Italy, only unified as a nation that somewhat hates other nations more than the sections hate other sections since the 1840s.

      Spain was a monarchy then it wasn't then it was a dictatorship then it was a somewhat monarchy again.

      French, German, Italian, Spanish, only because of where one was born, not what country one was born in, sorta, kinda.
      Whereas we have supposedly been operating under the same rules since 1787ish, supposedly.

      Delete
    3. I learned at age 11 not to call a Pomeranian a Prussian and vice versa. That's like wearing orange to an Irish Catholic wedding, or calling a Welshman a Scots or Irish or Englishman, and vice versa.

      Regional and local identity rules far more than national identity in a lot of Europe, at least from what I have seen.

      Delete
    4. Works that way in much of the world.

      Delete
  15. Someone once asked me if I was an American or a Marine. I thought it was a joke, then (he was an Army vet) and answered "Yes." Remembering it now, I wonder. It seems they've moved to different somethings.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I will just say in all modesty that the CNO sounds like a righteous kind of guy. :)

    ReplyDelete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

NOTE: Comments on posts over 5 days old go into moderation, automatically.