Chapter 209: The Rubicon Has Already Been Crossed

Colonel General Tang Guochang immediately dialed someone's number.

The conversation was in Chinese, but everyone could easily tell what it was about.

After a while, he hung up and turned to me.

"Chief of Staff Cha, we'll kidnap Minister Peng Yuxiang tomorrow night."

"Is that really possible?"

"If we deploy special forces, it'll be a piece of cake."

Tang Guochang was completely confident in his ability to pull it off, so asking unnecessary questions would have been pointless.

"I understand."

"Let's say we successfully kidnap Minister Peng. What do we do with him afterward?"

As though he had been waiting for that exact moment, Director Griffin joined the conversation.

"Colonel General Tang, how about sending Minister Peng to the United States?"

"How?"

"Bring the kidnapped Minister Peng to Tianjin, and we'll take responsibility from there."

"You're saying you'll put him aboard a submarine and transport him to the United States?"

"It's the cleanest and most reliable method."

"Very well. Let's do that."

Tang Guochang made decisions decisively and without hesitation.

"Let me know who will be leading the operation to kidnap Minister Peng."

"I'll tell you once we've captured him."

Director Griffin immediately understood the implication behind Tang Guochang's answer.

He was taking into account the possibility that the operation might fail.

"I understand, but I have one question."

"Go ahead."

"If the attempt to kidnap Minister Peng fails, what do you plan to do?"

"In the worst-case scenario, we'll eliminate him."

"Hmm..."

Director Griffin stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Not entirely understanding the reason for his hesitation, Tang Guochang stared intently at him.

After thinking for a while, the Director finally spoke.

"Colonel General Tang, let's assume the worst and say Minister Peng has to be eliminated. What do you plan to do with the body?"

"Are you saying we shouldn't leave it at the scene? Am I understanding you correctly?"

"Exactly."

"And why is that?"

"If Minister Peng is killed, China's Ministry of State Security will undoubtedly investigate the cause of his death."

Tang Guochang completely agreed with Director Griffin on that point. If the head of the Ministry of State Security was murdered, failing to investigate would amount to outright dereliction of duty.

"That's certainly true."

"If they extract the bullets from Minister Peng's body and examine them, there's a chance they could trace them back to the perpetrators."

"How?"

"The Ministry of State Security knows perfectly well what types of rifles and ammunition our military uses."

"Hmm, that makes sense. We'll retrieve his body no matter what."

"That would be the cleanest solution."

Ignoring Director Griffin's response, Tang Guochang turned back to me.

"Let's assume the kidnapping of Minister Peng succeeds. What do we do next?"

"Before I answer that, I have a question of my own."

"I'm listening."

"How long will you need to prepare in order for the coup to succeed completely?"

"As I told you yesterday, President Xi Jinping has planted numerous spies throughout the People's Liberation Army. We'll have to prepare without attracting their attention, so we should expect it to take at least six months."

I thought even six months was far too short.

However, I decided not to voice my opinion, since I didn't want to undermine Tang Guochang's resolve.

'He said "at least," so he'll handle things according to the situation.'

"I'll start with the short-term strategy. First and foremost, you need to regain President Xi's trust."

"And how am I supposed to regain his trust?"

"North Korea betrayed its close ally, China, and moved closer to Russia, which must have greatly angered President Xi. On top of that, the North Koreans not only destroyed the Dalian naval base, but also attempted to steal ICBMs from the Shenyang base."

Cha Jiham was essentially calling for retaliation against North Korea.

"I completely agree with you, Chief of Staff Cha, but right now I have enough problems of my own."

"Colonel General Tang, you know the expression 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' don't you?"

Tang Guochang immediately understood Cha Jiham's point.

He was suggesting that they strike North Korea back in exactly the same way.

"Chief of Staff Cha, what exactly is your plan for revenge?"

"North Korea supplies enormous quantities of weapons to Russia. Destroy the infrastructure used to make those shipments."

"You're suggesting that we destroy North Korea's railways and ports?"

"And on top of that, destroy their cargo ships and freight trains."

Tang Guochang tilted his head in confusion.

Weapons from North Korea were transported aboard Russian cargo ships. If a Chinese submarine torpedoed them, Russia obviously wouldn't just sit back and do nothing.

Deeply concerned, he asked Cha Jiham for his opinion.

"You can simply fire Russian- or North Korean-made torpedoes and sink those ships."

"Right! Why didn't I think of that immediately?"

"Exactly. That way, they won't have any reason to suspect China right away."

As though struck by the brilliance of the idea, Tang Guochang slapped his knee.

"Exactly. Now let's move on to the medium- and long-term strategies."

"I'm listening. Go on."

"You need to deal with Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Politburo member Liu Peiqi, both of whom are amassing enormous fortunes through North Korea."

"I'd love to, but those two are particular favorites of President Xi Jinping."

"Deputy Secretary Zhang has close ties to the Triad, while Politburo member Liu is protecting a North Korean hacking group. If you report their corruption to President Xi, they'll be swept away in an instant."

"Ah, now I see where you're going with this."

"Don't act rashly. Gather irrefutable evidence that leaves them no room to escape, and only then report it to President Xi."

"But my ability to gather evidence is limited. What should I do?"

I deliberately turned my gaze toward NIS Director Om Giyeon.

As though reading my mind, he immediately spoke.

"Colonel General Tang, we have more than enough material concerning the crimes committed by Deputy Secretary Zhang and Politburo member Liu."

"Can you give me that compromising material?"

"Of course. As soon as I return home, I'll send you all the information."

"Haha. Thank you."

Having performed his role brilliantly, NIS Director Om Giyeon faded back into the background, and I once again took the initiative.

"Colonel General Tang, North Korea could very well use nuclear weapons not only against our country, but against China as well."

"I completely agree with you on that point, Chief of Staff Cha."

"That brings me to a proposal. What if we destroy their nuclear weapons storage facilities altogether?"

Tang Guochang couldn't accept Cha Jiham's proposal.

North Korea stored its nuclear weapons in underground bunkers located in remote mountainous regions. On top of that, the facilities were protected by multiple layers of heavily armed soldiers.

How could anyone infiltrate and destroy such a facility under those conditions?

He honestly voiced his doubts to Cha Jiham.

"Colonel General Tang, how do you think North Korea managed to steal an ICBM from the Shenyang base?"

"They probably bribed military personnel stationed there, then infiltrated the base and stole the missile."

"You're only half right."

"What's the other half?"

"An ICBM can't be transported without a TEL. So the military personnel stationed at the base delivered it themselves directly to the Golden Trading warehouse."

"Those fucking bastards!"

Tang Guochang cursed wholeheartedly, genuinely enraged by what he had heard.

I had expected that reaction from him, so I calmly continued.

"Now I'll tell you how to get past the reinforced security and destroy a nuclear weapons storage facility."

"Go ahead."

"Bribe a high-ranking officer stationed at the facility with an enormous amount of money and have him blow up the storage facility."

"Hahahaha!"

Tang Guochang clearly liked my idea, and he responded with booming laughter.

"To destroy a nuclear facility, you'll need to draw up a detailed plan and follow it strictly."

"Of course. That's exactly what we'll do."

"The short-term strategy I mentioned needs to be carried out within a week."

"Whoa! That leaves us almost no time. Wait a moment."

Tang Guochang grabbed his phone and hurried into the study.

As though he had been waiting for the right moment, Director Griffin turned to me.

"Chief of Staff Cha, we don't know the exact locations of North Korea's nuclear weapons storage facilities either."

"Pak Jongchon, the First Deputy Director of the Department whom the FBI captured, should know their exact locations."

"Ah! I'd completely forgotten about him."

"We need to help the Chinese military destroy North Korea's nuclear facilities."

"We will. But will they really be able to destroy those facilities?"

"Once Tang Guochang gets something into his head, he'll see it through to the end. We need to give him as much help as possible to reinforce his resolve."

At that moment, deciding our conversation was over, NIS Director Om Giyeon spoke up.

"Chief of Staff Cha, President Xi Jinping is protected by numerous bodyguards. For Tang Guochang's coup to succeed, the President needs to be captured alive. Is that really possible?"

"If I were Tang Guochang, I'd simply bribe President Xi's guards."

"That's true."

"He's already crossed the Rubicon, so all we have to do now is sit back and watch."

Some time later, Tang Guochang finished his call and emerged from the study.

He returned to his seat and addressed me.

"Chief of Staff Cha, we'll finish implementing the short-term strategy by the end of this week at the latest."

"Understood. Now it's time for you to return to Beijing, Colonel General Tang."

"What do you mean?"

"You need to regain President Xi Jinping's trust, don't you?"

"Ah, you mean I should meet President Xi and brief him on the short- and medium-term strategies?"

"Exactly. There's no need to rush the report on the medium-term strategy, or it might backfire. Gather comprehensive evidence first."

"I understand. By the way, Chief of Staff Cha, when are you planning to return home?"

Ring, ring, ring.

At the worst possible moment, Tang Guochang's phone began ringing again.

After looking at the screen, he apologized to us and answered the call.

I had a bad feeling.

His face was growing darker by the second.

While I was wondering what could have happened, he hung up.

I couldn't simply ignore it, so I hurriedly asked,

"Colonel General Tang, did something happen?"

"Haaah..."

Tang Guochang let out a heavy, dismayed sigh before answering.

"I was just informed that Minister Peng Yuxiang flew somewhere aboard his official aircraft."

"Where did he go?"

"They're finding out now. Wait a moment."

Ring, ring, ring.

The sudden silence was broken once again by a phone call.

As though he already knew who was calling, Tang Guochang hit the answer button immediately.

After finishing the brief conversation, he said,

"Chief of Staff Cha, it's been confirmed that Minister Peng is heading to Dandong."

"Dandong?"

"They say Russian Deputy Defense Minister Dmitriev is there right now."

I immediately understood what was going on.

Deputy Defense Minister Dmitriev had come to the Chinese city of Fengcheng to take delivery of a batch of kamikaze drones. However, the factory producing them had been completely destroyed by NIS operatives and Delta Force soldiers, making it impossible for him to take delivery of the drones.

Minister Peng Yuxiang had gone to Dandong to meet with Deputy Minister Dmitriev precisely to discuss that problem.

"I understand the situation."

Ignoring my response, Tang Guochang turned to Director Griffin.

"We'll kidnap Minister Peng by tomorrow night, so send a submarine to Dandong."

"Consider it done."

"And I'm heading to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping."

"Understood. If the opportunity arises, we'll see each other again."

We left the villa to see Tang Guochang off, then returned to the living room to discuss what to do next.

"Chief of Staff Cha, come to Dandong with us."

"How exactly can I help with kidnapping Minister Peng?"

"Well, you were the one who gave Tang Guochang the idea of kidnapping Minister Peng in the first place."

"......"

'Next time, I'm definitely keeping my mouth shut.'

And just like that, for an utterly absurd reason, I was dragged off to Dandong.