Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 338 The student is too young

Chapter 338 The student is too young
Washington, D.C.

Friday, June 4, 1965.

Johns Hopkins University Nietzsche Institute for Advanced International Studies.

The afternoon sun fell on the glass.

Henry Wallace's office was located at the end of the corridor.

He is 52 years old and a retired army lieutenant colonel.

During World War II, he was in charge of intelligence work in the China-Burma-India theater.

Current Deputy Chief of Staff to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He is also a part-time professor here.

The room was small, with bookshelves against the wall and several stacks of leather file folders on the top shelf.

Wallace was leaning back in his chair, staring blankly at the documents in front of him.

A few minutes later, two soft sounds came from outside.

dong dong.

"Enter."

The door was pushed open, and Daniel Wisniewsky walked in.

The suit jacket was draped over his arm, and the shirt sleeves were rolled up.

He looked more mature than his actual age, and his eyes were sharp.

Good afternoon, sir.

"Ah, Dan. Have a seat."

Daniel had barely sat down when he handed over a stack of printed papers.

Wallace's gaze fell on the cover.

The black title is quite clear.

——The Strategic Geography of the Asian Littoral: Sea Lanes, Commerce, and Power, 1945–1965
(Coastal Geostrategy in Asia: Seaways, Trade, and Power)

"Finally finished?"

"Yes, sir. The defense date is set for the 24th."

"I remember you said it would end in the spring?"

"That's how it is in theory. But spring passed faster than I expected."

Wallace chuckled upon hearing this, then lowered his head and lit a cigarette.

"What do you plan to do after your defense? Go back to Chicago?" he asked.

Daniel shook his head.

"Maybe in the fall. Chicago summers are terribly humid."

“My mother couldn’t stand it and often thought about moving to Washington.”

"But she still has to teach?"

"Yes."

"Perhaps one day I should really sit in on her European history class."

"To meet in person the great woman who raised a genius son."

"Then I must remind you to be very careful."

"She still hasn't accepted the fact that I work for the National Defense Commission."

Wallace laughed again, and the smoke dissipated in the air.

"She has that right."

"She always felt that I should become a teacher."

"But you happen to be writing about maritime strategy."

“Someone has to do some interesting research.” Daniel shrugged.

"Interesting research?"

"It's at least easier than organizing hearing transcripts."

"That's hard to say," Wallace said, waving his hand.

"Hearing records only require patience, but writing a thesis requires you to make your own arguments coherent."

As soon as he finished speaking, he patted the stack of manuscripts again.

"Is the formatting all correct?"

"Pretty much. The college has changed the requirements; they now require double line spacing."

"I really don't understand why they care about line spacing."

"Perhaps it's so that the judges can write comments."

Wallace casually stubbed out his cigarette and sat up straight.

“I’ve already inquired about the committee for you,” he said seriously.

"Professor DeWitt sits at the head table and likes students to submit their abstracts in advance."

"I sent it over the day before yesterday."

"That's good. He has an eccentric temper, but fortunately he's fair."

Have you practiced your defense?

"It's in preparation, mainly the second chapter."

"Yes, I've read that chapter; it's a bit long."

"It's best to scale it down a bit, otherwise they'll nitpick the details."

"I'm thinking of deleting a section on trade flows."

"Sure. The focus should be on ports and waterways. That's your core business."

Daniel nodded and made a note of it.

"Would you like me to take a look at the charts?" "Of course. If you have time."

"I'll be here Monday morning."

After Wallace finished speaking, he saw that Daniel had already started packing his things.

So he quickly continued:

"There's one more thing—read this first."

Daniel sat up straight again.

"Is it related to the thesis?"

"There are relationships."

Wallace picked up the thick stack of documents in front of him and handed them over.

Southeast Asian port logistics, internal briefing materials

"Look at the first page."

Daniel opened it.

Tables, port lists, transport schedules, and route diagrams.

He scanned the area while quietly reading the numbers.

"These data look quite detailed. Where did they come from?"

“They come from several different organizations,” Wallace said.

"The Navy, AID, and some of the supplies were delivered last month by commercial contractors. We are currently preparing a preliminary report for the Senate."

"That sounds like something from the Department of Defense."

"Yes."

"Does this have anything to do with my thesis?" Daniel asked hesitantly.

Wallace's expression became more mysterious as he leaned back in his chair.

"Richard Russell—you know who he is, right?"

"Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee."

"Correct."

"This senator has a different view on the situation in Vietnam, so he wants to send people to conduct on-site investigations and hear some non-military assessments before making a final decision."

"A congressional group?"

"To be precise, it was a 'technical research team' from the committee. It didn't last long, only one to two weeks."

Daniel frowned slightly. "You're going too?"

"Yes. Russell wants me to lead the team."

"Then you want me to—"

“I want you to come with me,” Wallace said bluntly.

"I?"

“You heard me right. We need someone who can read local documents and talk to local officials. You speak three languages and your thesis is on coastal and port systems.”

"Vietnamese, Malay, and Thai?"

“Your Thai isn’t fluent,” Daniel corrected.

"But you can understand."

"almost."

"Also, you speak Chinese, right?"

"Yes."

"That's enough."

"But I still have to defend my thesis."

"We'll leave on the 7th and be back by the 20th at the latest. It won't be a problem."

“It sounds like you’ve thought it all through,” Daniel said with a smile.

"Of course, the dean had already made arrangements."

"As long as you nod, I'll submit the name this afternoon."