tc.thebearandthedragon-第199部分

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　〃Doc；　we　loaded　six　Block…IVD。　The　other　two　are　stock　SM…2　ER　Block　IIIC　radar…homers。　What　can　I　tell　you；　Cap'n　Blandy's　conservative。〃
　〃So　I　only　do　the　upgrade　on　holes　one　through　six？〃
　〃No；　do　'em　all。　It'll　just　ignore　the　changes　you　made　to　the　infrared　homing　code。　The　chips　on　the　birds　can　handle　the　extra　code；　no　sweat；　right；　Mr。　Olson？〃
　〃Correct；　Senior　Chief；〃　Lieutenant　Olson　confirmed。　〃The　missiles　are　current　technology　even　if　the　puter　system　isn't。　It　probably　costs　more　to　make　missile　seeker…heads　with　current　technology　that　can　talk　to　this　old　kludge　than　it　would　to　buy　a　new　Gateway　to　upgrade　the　whole　system；　not　to　mention　having　a　more　reliable　system　overall；　but　you'll　have　to　talk　to　NAVSEA　about　that。〃
　〃Who？〃　Gregory　asked。
　〃Naval　Sea　Systems　mand。　They're　the　technical　geniuses　who　won't　put　stabilizers　on　these　cruisers。　They　think　it's　good　for　us　to　puke　in　a　seaway。〃
　〃Feathermerchants；〃　Leek　explained。　〃Navy's　full　of　'em…on　land；　anyway。〃　The　ship　heeled　strongly　to　starboard。
　〃Cap'n's　in　a　hurry；　ain't　he？〃　Gregory　observed。　Gettysburg　was　making　a　full…speed　right…angle　turn　to　port。
　〃Well；　SACLANT　said　it's　the　SecDef's　idea。　I　guess　that　makes　it　important；〃　Mr。　Olson　told　their　guest。
　
　〃I　think　this　is　imprudent；〃　Fang　told　them　all。　〃Why　is　that？〃　Luo　asked。
　〃Is　fueling　the　missiles　necessary？　Is　there　not　a　danger　of　provocation？〃
　〃I　suppose　this　is　a　technical　matter；〃　Qian　said。　〃As　I　recall；　once　you　fuel　them；　you　cannot　keep　them　fueled　for　more　than…what？　Twelve　hours？〃
　The　technocrat　caught　the　Defense　Minister　off　guard　with　that　question。　He　didn't　know　the　answer。　〃I　will　have　to　consult　with　Second　Artillery　for　that；〃　he　admitted。
　〃So；　then；　you　will　not　prepare　them　for　launch　until　we　have　a　chance　to　consider　the　matter？〃　Qian　asked。
　〃Why…of　course　not；〃　Luo　promised。
　〃And　so　the　real　problem　is；　how　do　we　tell　the　people　what　has　transpired　in　Siberia？〃
　〃The　people　will　believe　what　we　tell　them　to　believe！〃　Luo　said　yet　again。
　〃rades；〃　Qian　said；　struggling　to　keep　his　voice　reasonable；　〃we　cannot　conceal　the　rising　of　the　sun。　Neither　can　we　conceal　the　loss　of　our　rail…transport　system。　Nor　can　we　conceal　the　large…scale　loss　of　life。　Every　soldier　has　parents；　and　when　enough　of　them　realize　their　son　is　lost；　they　will　speak　of　it；　and　the　word　will　get　out。　We　must　face　facts　here。　It　is　better；　I　think；　to　tell　the　people　that　there　is　a　major　battle　going　on；　and　there　has　been　loss　of　life。　To　proclaim　that　we　are　winning　when　we　may　not　be　is　dangerous　for　all　of　us。〃
　〃You　say　the　people　will　rise　up？〃　Tong　Jie　asked。
　〃No；　but　I　say　there　could　be　dissatisfaction　and　unrest；　and　it　is　in　our　collective　interest　to　avoid　that；　is　it　not？〃　Qian　asked　the　assembly。
　〃How　will　adverse　information　get　out？〃　Luo　asked。
　〃It　frequently　does；〃　Qian　told　them。　〃We　can　prepare　for　it；　and　mitigate　the　effect　of　adverse　information；　or　we　can　try　to　withstand　it。　The　former　offers　mild　embarrassment　to　us。　The　latter；　if　it　fails；　could　be　more　serious。〃
　〃The　TV　will　show　what　we　wish　them　to　show；　and　the　people　will　see　nothing　else。　Besides；　General　Peng　and　his　army　group　are　advancing　even　as　we　speak。〃
　
　〃What　do　they　call　it？〃
　〃This　one's　Grace　Kelly。　The　other　two　are　Marilyn　Monroe　and…can't　remember；〃　General　Moore　said。　〃Anyway；　they　named　'em　for　movie　stars。〃
　〃And　how　do　they　transmit？〃
　〃The　Dark　Star　uploads　directly　to　a　munications　satellite；　encrypted；　of　course；　and　we　distribute　it　out　of　Fort　Belvoir。〃
　〃So；　we　can　send　it　out　any　way　we　want？〃
　〃Yes；　sir。〃
　〃Okay；　Ed；　the　Chinese　are　telling　their　people　what？〃
　〃They　started　off　by　saying　the　Russians　mitted　a　border　intrusion　and　they　counterattacked。　They're　also　saying　that　they're　kicking　Ivan's　ass。〃
　〃Well；　that's　not　true；　and　it'll　be　especially　untrue　when　they　reach　the　Russian　stop…line。　That　Bondarenko　guy's　really　played　his　cards　beautifully。　They're　pretty　strung　out。　We've　chopped　their　supply　line　for　fair；　and　they're　heading　into　a　real　motherfucker　of　an　ambush；〃　the　DCI　told　them。　〃How　about　it；　General？〃
　〃The　Chinese　just　don't　know　what's　ahead　of　them。　You　know；　out　at　the　NTC　we　keep　teaching　people　that　he　who　wins　the　reconnaissance　battle　wins　the　war。　The　Russians　know　what's　happening。　The　Chinese　do　not。　My　God；　this　Dark　Star　has　really　exceeded　our　expectations。〃
　〃It's　some　shiny　new　toy；　Mickey；〃　Jackson　agreed。　〃Like　going　to　a　Vegas　casino　when　you're　able　to　read　the　cards　halfway　through　the　deck。　You　just　can't　hardly　lose　this　way。〃
　The　President　leaned　forward。　〃You　know；　one　of　the　reasons　we　took　it　on　the　chin　with　Vietnam　is　how　the　people　got　to　see　the　war　every　night　on　Huntley…Brinkley。　How　will　it　affect　the　Chinese　if　their　people　see　the　war　the　same　way；　but　live　this　time？〃
　〃The　battle　that's　ing？　It'll　shake　them　up　a　lot；〃　Ed　Foley　thought。　〃But　how　do　we…oh；　oh；　yeah　。。。　Holy　shit；　Jack；　are　you　serious？〃
　〃Can　we　do　it？〃　Ryan　asked。
　〃Technically？　It's　child's　play。　My　only　beef　is　that　it　really　lets　people　know　one　of　our　capabilities。　This　is　sensitive　stuff；　I　mean；　right　up　there　with　the　performance　of　our　reconnaissance　satellites。　It's　not　the　sort　of　thing　you　just　let　out。〃
　〃Why　not？　Hell；　couldn't　some　university　duplicate　the　optics？〃　the　President　asked。　I
　〃Well；　yeah；　I　guess。　The　imagery　systems　are　good；　but　they're　T　not　all　that　new　a　development；　except　some　of　the　thermal　systems；　but　even　so…〃
　〃Ed；　let's　say　we　can　shock　them　into　stopping　the　war。　How　many　lives　would　it　save？〃
　〃Quite　a　few；〃　the　DCI　admitted。　〃Thousands。　Maybe　tens　of　thousands。〃
　〃Including　some　of　our　people？〃
　〃Yes；　Jack；　including　some　of　ours。〃
　〃And　from　a　technical　point　of　view；　it's　really　child's　play？〃
　〃Yes；　it's　not　technically　demanding　at　all。〃
　〃Then　turn　the　children　loose；　Ed。　Right　now；〃　Ryan　ordered。
　〃Yes；　Mr。　President。〃
　
　
　
　
　CHAPTER　59
　Loss　of　Control
　
　With　the　death　of　General　Peng；　mand　of　34th　Shock　Army　devolved　to　Major　General　Ge　Li；　CG　also　of　302nd　Armored。　His　first　task　was　to　get　himself　clear；　and　this　he　did；　ordering　his　tank　off　the　long　gun…range　slope　while　one　of　the　surviving　reconnaissance　tracks　recovered　Peng's　body。　All　of　those　tracked　vehicles　also　pulled　back；　as　Ge　figured　his　first　task　was　to　determine　what　had　happened；　rather　then　to　avenge　the　death　of　his　army　mander。　It　took　him　twenty　minutes　to　motor　back　to　his　own　mand　section；　where　he　had　a　mand　track　identical　to　the　one　Peng　had　driven　about　in。　He　needed　the　radios；　since　he　knew　the　field　phones　were　down；　for　whatever　reason　he　didn't　know。
　〃I　need　to　talk　to　Marshal　Luo；〃　he　said　over　the　mand　frequency；　which　was　relayed　back　to　Beijing　via　several　repeater　stations。　It　took　another　ten　minutes　because　the　Defense　Minister；　he　was　told；　was　in　a　Politburo　meeting。　Finally；　the　familiar　voice　came　over　the　radio。
　〃This　is　Marshal　Luo。〃
　〃This　is　Major　General　Ge　Li；　manding　Three…On…Second　Armored。　General　Peng　Xi…Wang　is　dead；〃　he　announced。
　〃What　happened？〃
　〃He　went　forward　to　join　the　reconnaissance　section　to　see　the　front；　and　he　was　killed　by　a　sniper　bullet。　The　recon　section　ran　into　a　small　ambush；　looked　like　a　single　Russian　personnel　carrier。　I　drove　it　off　with　my　own　tank；〃　Ge　went　on。　It　was　fairly　true；　and　it　seemed　like　the　sort　of　thing　he　was　supposed　to　say。
　〃I　see。　What　is　the　overall　situation？〃　the　Defense　Minister　asked。
　〃Thirty…fourth　Shock　Army　is　advancing…well；　it　was。　I　paused　the　advance　to　reorganize　the　mand　group。　I　request　instructions　rade　Minister。〃
　〃You　will　advance　and　capture　the　Russian　gold　mine；　secure　it；　and　then　continue　north　for　the　oil　field。〃
　〃Very　well；　rade　Minister；　but　I　must　advise　you　that　Twenty…ninth　Army；　right　behind　us；　sustained　a　serious　attack　an　hour　ago；　and　was　reportedly　badly　hit。〃
　〃How　badly？〃
　〃I　do　not　know。　Reports　are　sketchy；　but　it　doesn't　sound　good。〃
　〃What　sort　of　attack　was　it？〃
　〃An　air　attack；　origin　unknown。　As　I　said；　reports　are　very　sketchy　at　this　time。　Twenty…ninth　seems　very　disorganized　at　the　moment；〃　Ge　reported。
　〃Very　well。　You　will　continue　the　attack。　Forty…third　Army　is　behind　Twenty…ninth　and　will　support　you。　Watch　your　left　flank…〃
　〃I　know　of　the　reports　of　Russian　units　to　my　west；〃　Ge　said。　〃I　will　orient　a　mechanized　division　to　deal　with　that；　but。　。　。〃
　〃But　what？〃　Luo　asked。
　〃But；　rade　Marshal；　we　have　no　reconnaissance　information　on　what　lies　before　us。　I　need　such　information　in　order　to　advance　safely。〃
　〃You　will　find　your　safety　in　advancing　rapidly　into　enemy　territory　and　destroying　whatever　formations　you　find；〃　Luo　told　him　forcefully。　〃Continue　your　advance！〃
　〃By　your　mand；　rade　Minister。〃　There　wasn't　much　else　he　could　say　to　that。
　〃Report　back　to　me　as　necessary。〃
　〃I　will　do　that；〃　Ge　promised。
　〃Very　well。　Out。〃　Static　replaced　the　voice。
　〃You　heard　him；〃　Ge　said　to　Colonel　Wa　Cheng…gong；　whom　he'd　just　inherited　as　army　operations　officer。　〃Now　what；　Colonel？〃
　〃We　continue　the　advance；　rade　General。〃
　Ge　nodded　to　the　logic　of　the　situation。　〃Give　the　order。〃
　It　took　hold　four　minutes　later；　when　the　radio　mands　filtered　down　to　battalion　level　and　the　units　started　moving。
　They　didn't　need　reconnaissance　information　now；　Colonel　Wa　reasoned。　They　knew　that　there　had　to　be　some　light　Russian　units　just　beyond　the　ridgeline　where　Peng　had　met　his　foolish　death。　Didn't　I　warn　him？　Wa　raged　to　himself。　Didn't　Ge　warn　him？　For　a　general　to　die　in　battle　was　not　unexpected。　But　to　die　from　a　single　bullet　fired　by　some　lone　rifleman　was　worse　than　foolish。　Thirty　years　of　training　and　experience　wasted；　lost　to　a　single　rifleman！
　
　〃There　they　go　again；〃　Major　Tucker　said；　seeing　the　plume　of　diesel　exhaust　followed　by　the　lurching　of　numerous　armored　vehicles。　〃About　six　kilometers　from　your　first　line　of　tanks。〃
　〃A　pity　we　can't　get　one　of　these　terminals　to　Sinyavskiy；〃　Bondarenko　said。
　〃Not　that　many　of　them；　sir；〃　Tucker　told　him。　〃Sun　Micro　Systems　is　still　building　them　for　us。〃