Tiger's Claw: A Novel (28 page)

P
EOPLE’S
L
IBERATION
A
RMY HEADQUARTERS
, B
EIJING
, P
EOPLE’S
R
EPUBLIC OF
C
HINA

A
SHORT TIME LATER

“
What did you say, Admiral?
” Colonel General Zu Kai thundered. “Repeat!”

“It is confirmed, sir,” Vice Admiral Zhen Peng, commander of the South Sea Fleet, responded. “The Taiwanese are planning to deploy an attack submarine in the South Sea in order to directly challenge your newly imposed restrictions and stalk the
Zheng He
carrier battle group. They are purposely going to flout your orders. They are even planning on taking periscope photographs of Chinese ships and want to publish them on the Internet to prove that the restrictions are meaningless to them and to insult you and our entire country.”

“How did you learn of this, Zhen?” Zu asked.

“I have a network of spies in the headquarters of the First Naval District in Kaohsiung,” Zhen replied. “It has managed to infiltrate their computers to a very high degree. It provides us with very actionable intelligence.”

General Zu looked at his deputy, Major General Sun Ji, who was listening in on the secure telephone conversation on a dead extension. The concern on Sun’s face matched his own. “I knew nothing about this spy network of yours, Zhen,” Zu said. “The Reunification Support Bureau of the Military Intelligence Division handles espionage work against Taiwan. Fleet admirals do not run spy networks. One incompetent move by one of your so-called spies could unravel the work of thousands.”

“My apologies if I have exceeded my authority, sir,” Zhen said. He did not sound truly apologetic in the least. “But my network has been in place since I took command of the South Sea Fleet, and it has provided the People’s Liberation Army with much actionable intelligence without any hint of being discovered. I will of course dismantle the network if you order it, sir, but I request that you allow it to continue.”

“Stand by, Zhen,” Zu snapped. He put the call on hold. “Zhen has been running a spy network in Taiwan and hacking their computers without my knowledge?”

“He is indeed a resourceful and aggressive officer, sir,” Sun commented.

“He could have hacked into
my
computer network for all I know!” Zu growled. “I should have the man shot!”

“It might be better if you allow him to continue, with your approval,” Sun said, “until we can scan our system and try to trace any hacker trails back to him.”

“ ‘Hacker trails’?”

“Hacking a computer network is very much like breaking into a home, sir,” Sun explained. “Even the best burglar always leaves some evidence that he has been there. If Zhen tried to hack our system, we will find it. But if you have him arrested before we can do the back-trace, the network will dissolve. We do know he has managed to infiltrate the Taiwanese encryption service, and they have some of the best cybersecurity in the world.”

Zu thought for a moment, then nodded assent. “But I want the back-trace to begin immediately,” he said. “I want to know the origin of every attempted infiltration of our systems.”

“Yes, sir.”

Zu hit the hold button again. “Very well, Admiral. I was at first upset that one of my fleet admirals was engaging in unauthorized activity, but the information your network has obtained is indeed valuable, and so now I will authorize it. Just do not allow your network to be discovered.”

“Yes, sir,” Zhen said. “Thank you. I have a suggestion on what to do about the Taiwanese submarine, sir.”

“No suggestion is necessary, Admiral,” Zu said. “The acting president and I have issued our orders: anyone violating the restrictions within the first island chain is subject to detention or attack. Those orders have not changed.”

“Yes, sir, I understand,” Zhen said. “But the nature of the attack should be dramatic and leave no doubt that China means to defend and control the waters within the first island chain.”

“What are you talking about, Zhen?” Zu asked.

“I am referring to the BLU-89E, sir,” Zhen said. “
Kepà debo
—‘Terrible Wave.’ The weapon is still in the inventory of the South Sea Fleet, and it can be deployed on the Y-8 antisubmarine warfare aircraft immediately, and later redeployed on the cruisers escorting the
Zhenyuan
and
Zheng He
.”

Sun immediately put down his receiver and accessed a computer terminal in a far corner of Zu’s office to look up what the weapon might be . . . and when he found it, his eyes bulged in surprise. He sent the page over to Zu’s computer, who appeared to be even more shocked. “Are you insane, Zhen?” he asked.

“The weapon was taken off our ships because the latest generation of torpedoes was much more accurate and higher performance,” Zhen said. “But the BLU-89E was standard armament for our cruisers for many years—we even deployed them to the Gulf of Aden with the Somalia task force. If the Nationalists want to openly and brazenly challenge the People’s Liberation Army Navy in our own waters, we should employ every weapon in our arsenal.”

The sense of shock that General Zu experienced at the suggestion was slowly waning. “Stand by, Zhen,” he ordered, and hit the hold button again. “Is he insane?” Zu murmured. “First his own spy network, and now he wants to deploy ‘Terrible Wave’? ‘Tiger’s Claw’ and ‘Silent Thunder’ are not enough for him?”

“Sir, we had deployed ‘Terrible Wave’ for the last ten years, on both ships and navy patrol aircraft,” General Sun pointed out. “Zhen is probably the best qualified commander in the entire navy on how to use them.”

Zu thought for a few moments, then picked up the receiver and punched the hold button off. “Authorized,” he said. “One weapon only. Report to me for permission to deploy the weapon first.”

“Acknowledged, General,” Zhen said.

Zu terminated the secure connection. “I had better tell Gao what I have in mind,” he said, rising from his seat. “I do not care what he thinks about it, but he ought to be prepared in case it really is employed.” He shook his head. “We are about to unleash
Lóng Dehuxi;
—the ‘Dragon’s Breath’— again,” he said to his deputy. “It was only seventeen years ago when my predecessor last unleashed it, and it has been only ten years since the Russians did so.”

“Sun Tzu said, ‘If your forces are superior, attack,’ sir,” General Sun said. “The Americans are weak and getting weaker by the day, while China is growing stronger every day. The Americans were attacked on their own soil by the Russians, and they did not retaliate with nuclear weapons. They are fearful and undecided. This is the perfect time to assert our authority.” He paused for a moment, then said, “Sir, I suggest you contact President Truznyev of Russia. If you want to maintain his cooperation and assistance in keeping the United States off-balance, Russia will be key.”

Zu nodded, lost in thought. A few moments later he picked up the telephone again. “Get me President Truznyev of Russia immediately, secure,” he ordered. He put down the telephone. “I hope they do not have any subs in the South Sea.”

A few minutes later the phone rang, and Zu picked it up. “Colonel General Zu, secure.”

There was a slight pause as the secure channel was locked on both ends, and then an unfamiliar voice said, “This is the voice of President Truznyev’s translator, General. The president says it is about time someone in Beijing told him what in hell was going on.”

“Tell the president thank you for returning my call,” Zu said.

“The president says that the rumors of a military coup are true.”

“There has been no coup,” Zu said. “Acting President Gao Xudong is in charge until President Zhou’s condition can be . . . further evaluated.”

“Indeed,” the Russian translator said. “Even so, I assume I am speaking to the de facto president of the People’s Republic of China. So. What can I do for you today, Mr. President—excuse me, Colonel General?”

“You are of course aware of the activities in the South Sea regarding the Americans and Vietnamese military.”

“Of course. Very intriguing. Your carrier battle groups obviously possess some advanced capabilities that our intelligence services have not yet revealed. Care to talk about them, General?”

“All will be revealed to you soon, Mr. President,” Zu said. “I called because China is prepared to take our struggle over control of the South Sea to the next level, and we are seeking Russia’s cooperation.”

“In what way, General?”

“The Americans have considerable forces in the Pacific region, and they have recently indicated they are prepared to augment those forces twofold to counter China’s deployments,” Zu said. “We know Russia’s resources in the Far East are limited, but not so in the West. If Russia activated its considerable military and economic influence in the West, America would realize their capability to respond to emergencies on two fronts on opposite sides of the planet are limited, and they could be stymied into inaction. America has fewer ships afloat than any time since after the Vietnam War, and forcing them to respond to a second front in the west could force them to sue for terms to Russia as well as China.”

“America is no threat to Russia, at least in our own sphere of influence—namely, eastern Europe and central Asia,” Truznyev’s translator said. “Our work is already done. Russia does not need to dominate the South China Sea—in fact, limiting access to the South China Sea is not in our interests. You are not helping your cause with Russia by rattling sabers in the South China Sea, General.”

“We will do much more than rattle sabers, sir,” Zu said.

“Explain immediately, General!” Zu could hear Truznyev’s angry voice in the background, a dramatic difference from the emotionless, mechanical tone of the translator.

“Mr. President, China is today claiming all its historic and legal rights in the South Sea,” Zu said. “I am determined and honor-bound to lead my country in protecting and defending our rights to the inner island chain, and we will do whatever is necessary. I called you to inform you of my intentions and to ask for your support and assistance in this sacred endeavor.”

“I do not give a shit about your intentions or honor, Zu,” Truznyev’s translator said. Truznyev’s very loud voice was clearly discernible in the background, and it was obvious that it was made so. “I will put you on notice right now, you traitorous bastard: if one Russian sailor or airman even gets his hair tousled or has one meal interrupted by Chinese actions, I will drop a hundred megatons of nuclear warheads on your backwater country.”

“That was not my intention in the least, Mr. President,” Zu said. “I seek nothing but Russia’s cooperation in our endeavor. Our efforts are the same exactly, sir: the reduction or elimination of the American naval influence on all the world’s oceans. The United States Navy has a presence in every one of the world’s oceans; I want to limit that influence in regions that are vital to China, which include the South Sea, Straits of Malacca, and the Indian Ocean.”

“General Zu, you are either a crazy megalomaniac or completely deluded,” Truznyev said. “The United States unfortunately has the most powerful navy in the world, even after all their austerity measures. If you think your puny two aircraft carriers can take on the navy of the United States of America, you should be institutionalized.”

“Alone, no one can take on the United States,” Zu said. “But with Russia’s cooperation, we can force the United States to negotiate.”

“Negotiate what?”

“Power sharing in the Pacific,” Zu said. “Unfettered access to all the world’s oceans, free of the interference and constant threat of the United States Navy.”

“Russia already has unfettered access to any ocean in which she chooses to sail, General,” Truznyev said.

“But if the United States decided to take that access away from you, Mr. President, what could you do about it?” Zu asked.

“Russia is not as dependent on the sea as is China,” Truznyev said.

“Perhaps not,” Zu replied, “but it must sicken you, as it does me, to live under the constant threat of American domination.” Truznyev was silent. “Mr. President, this was a courtesy call to inform you that China will act soon, very soon, to put the world on notice that she will defend her sovereign territory against all threats with every weapon in her arsenal. Russia can side with China, as we did on the Gulf of Aden incident, and stand up to the Americans. If you decide not to act, China will still pursue her destiny.”

“Russia is not going to side with you just so you can assert some wild baseless claim on the South China Sea and western Pacific, Zu.”

“Then perhaps there are other areas where our two nations can cooperate, sir,” Zu said. “Russia has vast natural resources virtually untapped in Siberia; China has a large appetite for resources that grows exponentially every year. I believe Chinese investment in several natural gas liquefaction plants, pipelines, cryogenic ships, and port facilities in Siberia would serve both our nations well.” Truznyev was silent again. “Mr. President?”

“Tell me more about what you have in mind about the South China Sea, General,” Truznyev said. “And I want to know about these other weapons it appears you have employed in the area, the one that took down the American aircraft. And I want to know why I am speaking to you instead of to Zhou, and why you are deploying thousands of troops all throughout your country.”