Chapter 924: Walking into a Trap (1 per day, asking for monthly ticket)

Fortunately, apart from Fu Youquan, no one else made such a horrible association.

At least no one else said it.

This made Chang Haonan feel somewhat relieved.

By the way, I also understood why the other party specifically asked me to attend the meeting.

It turns out that it was just to ask such a somewhat unreasonable question.

However, it is understandable.

For the spectators around the world right now, this is probably something that they would never have dared to think about in the past.

And, more importantly.

Chang Haonan knew that the matter was over.

But others don’t know.

Judging from the current point in time, this is a continuous, wave after wave of attacks.

What if there is a fourth or fifth time?

It's different from the simple emotional venting of the spectators.

Those who can sit in this conference room need to think about issues from all aspects.

With the situation still unclear, no one knows whether they should be looking forward to it or worrying, let alone responding...

……

For the next few hours, until midnight, the sea was calm.

After the attack, the first response of U.S. intelligence agencies was to evacuate their staff, given that an attempt had been made to crash a plane into the CIA's Langley headquarters in 1993.

Therefore, for quite a long time, the entire US intelligence system was almost paralyzed.

As time passed, the situation began to improve, and more and more information about the attack was confirmed and released.

Then, the information will be transmitted back to the country by overseas institutions.

Chang Haonan, who was in the capital, finally got what he wanted and saw a lot of things that he had never seen in his previous life.

Someone even got a TV and received TV signals directly from the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

What is being played on the screen is a speech given by Mr. Bush.

At this point in time, even he could only obtain some fragmented information, so there was not much nutritious content in his speech.

Not to mention that the other party's words were stumbling, and he was obviously more stimulated than everyone else on the Chinese side.

Therefore, everyone's attention quickly shifted to other places.

Soon someone spoke first:

"Look at the background... this doesn't seem to be in the White House?"

"Yes."

Luo Yudong, who was still standing behind the small podium, replied:

"Due to air traffic control and extremely chaotic conditions, Air Force One was not allowed to return to Washington."

"So, he should be at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana at the moment."

Hearing this location, many people were shocked.

It is one of the most important components of the United States' strategic nuclear forces.

Was the first (actually the second, but no one knew it at the time) speech after the attack there a hint of some kind?

It was at this time that the statement "We will respond to this" was heard on TV.

Although not everyone present understood English, the translation still conveyed the meaning faithfully to everyone.

This meeting was essentially a discussion.

Faced with this situation that had never happened before, even Mr. Zhang, who had literally been through many battles, was unsure for a moment about how to direct the discussion.

Facts have proved that in such non-public occasions and without guidance, whether it is the top leaders or the spectators, they are essentially a group of ordinary people.

So the topic quickly started to fly.

From speculating the other party's next reaction to studying what statement we should make.

For a long time afterwards, Chang Haonan did not participate in it.

The main reason is that he is a nobody among the people at the table and his voice is not very influential, so he is not in a position to express his opinion without being invited to speak.

However, he was happy to have some free time. He just took out a pen and paper from his briefcase and occasionally wrote down some news reported back.

"Cough-cough-"

Finally, Mr. Zhang, who was sitting in the first seat, turned on the microphone in front of him and coughed twice.

This is clearly a signal that the leadership is ready to take a stand.

As a result, the originally slightly noisy conference hall quickly quieted down.

"Comrades, let me first emphasize one point."

Compared to two years ago, Mr. Zhang's voice seemed to have become a little older, but still firm and powerful:

"Public statements and external handling of this emergency are not within the scope of our military's duties."

"Therefore, the topic we discuss this time should be limited to the military level."

Now, the tone has been set.

The discussion on the military level seems to be quite broad.

But to sum up, it is actually just a question -

When Mr. Bush spoke on TV a few hours ago about "responding", did that include war?

Opinions quickly split into two completely opposite camps.

Some people think that the other side is likely to just talk and may not actually use large-scale force.

Not that these people think America is peace-loving.

It’s mainly a question of concept.

In 2001, there was no concept of the so-called war on terror.

So, although everyone believes that this incident must have caused great shock to Americans.

But in the minds of many people, starting a war...

A clear goal seems to be needed.

But others responded that the impact of this wave was comparable to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and in this case, the target was no longer important.

Even if the enemy is searching in the void, you have to find an unlucky person to take the blame.

Otherwise, where can the American people vent their anger?

During the debate, Qiao Chenqing, who was sitting next to Chang Haonan and was in charge of the Air Force, leaned over to Chang Haonan and asked in a low voice:

"Comrade Haonan, you just...seemed like you hadn't said anything at all?"

Currently, the Air Force Commander on paper is still Liu Yaoshun, who had met Chang Haonan several times before, but his physical condition no longer allows him to perform high-intensity work.

Therefore, daily affairs are mainly handled by Qiao Chenqing.

Facing this question, Chang Haonan thought to himself, “I actually told you this before you came to the meeting, but the content was enough to scare someone to death…”

Of course, I just said this in my heart.

On the surface, he nodded and immediately expressed his opinion:

“I don’t have many opportunities to listen to the leaders’ speeches. I still need to learn more.”

In fact, on the way here, Chang Haonan was preparing to say something.

But no one expected that the head of the Second Department of the General Staff would stand directly on the stage.

This situation is a bit complicated.

You know, the Second Department is responsible for intelligence gathering.

Chang Haonan’s speech will inevitably involve a considerable amount of information about the West Asia region.

Some of them were brought back by Old Wu, and some of them were already known to him, but they were still attributed to Old Wu.

In any case, talking about foreign intelligence in front of the head of the intelligence agency is always a troublesome matter.

If the other party had already reported the same content, then Chang Haonan would be embarrassed.

If not, it would be tantamount to pointing fingers at others and saying they are not doing their job well.

The working relationship will be bad in the future.

That's why Chang Haonan never found an opportunity to speak.

However, at this moment, Mr. Zhang looked at the clock which had already pointed to the late night and announced a temporary adjournment.

Then, taking advantage of the time when most people got up to rest, he waved towards Chang Haonan.

Soon, Fu Youquan, Chang Haonan, and Qiao Chenqing sat next to each other.

"Comrade Youquan."

While Mr. Zhang was fiddling with the tea leaves floating on the water with the cup lid, he said in a half-joking tone:

"Last night, you specifically requested to invite Comrade Chang Haonan to attend the meeting, but when Xiao Chang came, he didn't say a word. Isn't this... inappropriate?"

Naturally, Fu Youquan couldn't admit that he was out of his mind at the time and suspected that this matter was related to Chang Haonan, so he called him over.

But I couldn't think of any other explanation for the moment.

As a result, the atmosphere fell into a slightly awkward stalemate.

In this situation, Chang Haonan naturally needs to take the initiative to help the leader:

"Commander, Mr. Fu's main intention is for me to come and learn and broaden my horizons. Even if I speak, it's just to throw out some ideas, so I was mainly listening just now."

After saying this, he opened the notebook next to him.

There were indeed several pages filled with content.

However, Mr. Zhang was just a nobody. After hearing this explanation, he just chuckled:

"Xiao Chang, if I hadn't met you two years ago, this explanation would be barely acceptable."

He put the teacup back on the table and changed the subject:

"It might not be convenient for you to express your opinion rashly in the situation just now."

"But now you don't have to be so modest. Tell me what you think."

Chang Haonan was waiting for this moment——

As the only person present without a military rank, some words are actually more appropriate for him to say.

"Mr. Zhang, I think this battle will definitely happen."

After hearing this judgment, Mr. Zhang did not make any obvious statement. He just nodded slightly and signaled Chang Haonan to continue.

"On the one hand, the biggest psychological support for Americans is their firm belief in the absolute security of their homeland. Although the threat of intercontinental nuclear missiles has been hurled for decades, it has never come true, and they lack the actual experience. Even during World War II, North America was not seriously affected."

"So, this is actually the first time in more than a hundred years that Americans have been attacked on their doorsteps. We cannot tolerate this no matter what."

"On the other hand, after the 99 incident, the military myth that the U.S. military had worked so hard to build through the Gulf War began to falter again, so they also urgently needed an opportunity to reassert their strength to the world."

Although two years have passed, when talking about the Allied Action, Zhang's originally calm face showed a look of joy.

For those who are in the know, that incident was indeed a great relief.

Of course, in his position, he could not casually express his opinion on Chang Haonan's, so he just nodded, and it was unclear whether he agreed with this judgment.

After a while, Mr. Zhang spoke again:

"So... do you think we should redo the Allied Operation response?"

"No, or rather... quite the opposite."

Chang Haonan took a deep breath and said firmly:

“I personally think that this time, we should go all out to support the Americans!”