American Strategic Deception Bureau

　As long as the Indians come to their senses from their panic, the small group of PLA troops blocked south of the snow-capped mountains will inevitably be destroyed in the siege.

　Therefore, it is better to quit while you are ahead and withdraw after winning.

　Compared to the Sino-Indian War in another dimension, this one started slightly earlier, in early October. Therefore, the fighting lasted longer before the heavy snow closed the mountains, and the PLA's attack range also penetrated deeper into the heart of India.

　The panic caused to Indians is naturally much more serious.

　A PLA reconnaissance unit on the eastern front even mixed in with the fleeing Indian refugees and defeated soldiers, broke into Tezpur, the capital of Assam, and nailed a "Letter to the Indian People" with a hammer at the door of the deserted state government building, and then withdrew leisurely.

　After the incident was reported by the news media, the whole of India was in turmoil. Even the banks formulated an evacuation plan, requiring employees to burn banknotes and throw all the coins into the river... Then a large number of poor people jumped into the river to fight for the coins, and hundreds of people were drowned, trampled to death, or beaten to death on the spot.

　On November 20, the Chinese government issued a public telegram announcing the end of the punitive war against India, voluntarily withdrawing its troops, and inviting the Indian government to send representatives to negotiate.

　Because India had previously cut off all diplomatic ties with China, the Indian government only learned about this through newspapers.

　Only then did Nehru fly back to New Delhi from Sri Lanka. Although he offered various explanations for the delay, ranging from bad weather to plane trouble, he was still booed by MPs when he returned to the parliamentary podium.

　Later, during the post-war negotiations, India, having lost face, refused to get to the point. Instead, it focused on minor details, hesitatingly stating that China and India had not declared war, that this was not a formal war, and that therefore the Chinese establishment of prisoner-of-war camps was unreasonable.

　The People's Liberation Army readily accepted India's suggestion and subsequently changed the name of the prisoner-of-war camp to a detention center.

　Well, actually, changing the name to "Abnormal Human Research Center" might be more appropriate...

　Of course, after a few days, the People's Liberation Army, which had almost retreated, simply released all the prisoners of war, and the name of the prisoner-of-war camp no longer mattered.

　In any case, as the freezing wind blew across the Himalayas, the brief war between China and India was extinguished.

　Even if Nehru, who refused to admit defeat, wanted to send troops north again to retaliate, that would have to happen after the spring flowers bloomed next year.

　However, at the same time, Vietnam in Indochina entered the dry season suitable for combat, and the Viet Cong's attacks intensified. General LeMay, who came to Saigon for inspection on behalf of the Pentagon, became more and more angry as the gunfire and explosions on the streets outside the window became more and more frequent.

　When he was in the country before, the Pentagon received good news one after another from Vietnam: the strategic village plan has been a stunning success, more than one-third of the rural population of South Vietnam has been relocated to strategic villages, the war situation in South Vietnam has begun to turn around, and victory can be achieved in three years at most!

　Secretary of Defense McNamara counted the numbers again and again and said, "All the statistics show that we are winning the war."

　But in fact, after arriving in Vietnam, General LeMay was surprised to find that all the victory reports and enemy kill figures he saw in the Pentagon came from the "one-man news agency" of General Paul Huggins, the commander of the US military in Vietnam, and basically none of them were true.

　In reality, the strategic village experiment was a complete failure in South Vietnam, and the US military command in Vietnam was waging war by releasing news.

　Reports from various battlefields were rewritten by General Huggins, who deleted all pessimistic and unwelcome news and replaced them with complete fiction. Field officers who objected to his false reports were laid off and had terrible comments written on their files that would ruin their military careers.

　Even the CIA spies' reports on the real situation of the war were intercepted with the "friendly cooperation" of the embassy. General Huggins wrote "lies", "lies", and "lies again" on the sides of these reports, and then stuffed them into the filing cabinet.

　So, when General LeMay arrived in Saigon, a fire immediately broke out at the US military headquarters in Vietnam, and all the documents were burned.

　Next, General Huggins started to talk nonsense, saying that those who accused him of lying about military intelligence were traitors... General LeMay was so angry that his blood pressure soared. He wanted to take General Huggins down, but he was worried about his family background and connections, and ultimately he was helpless.

　Moreover, General Huggins, despite his noble family background, could silence his own people, but he couldn't control the Viet Cong. General LeMay witnessed more than ten attacks in Saigon alone, and the US Embassy was often hit by a few cold gunshots or a bomb...

　No wonder Ambassador Naulding often skips work to go on vacation in Greece: this job is really too dangerous!

　So, with soaring blood pressure and a lot of resentment, General LeMay flew back to Tokyo on the last day of November.

　The long vacation in Japan for Marilyn Monroe, America's top mistress, and her crew finally came to an end...

　Before and after this, Western public opinion generally believed that the PLA's combat effectiveness had collapsed - it might rebound in the future, but this year was the bottom.

　Because of the chaos caused by the domestic political movement, Peng Dehuai, the Chinese general most familiar to the West at the time and who commanded the Korean War, was also overthrown. Western sinologists compared this to Zhu Yuanzhang's killing of meritorious officials, or Stalin's purge on the eve of the Soviet-German War. The combat effectiveness of the People's Liberation Army must have plummeted - could Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming army be on the same level as Zhu Yunwen's Ming army?

　Coupled with three years of natural disasters, which were reported by foreign media as "starving people everywhere", it was believed that China's granary was empty and that it was impossible to launch an expedition at least in 1962. When the Sino-Indian war just broke out, Hong Kong newspapers compared it to Emperor Yang of Sui's expedition to Goguryeo, criticizing the war as too risky.

　Of course, after the Sino-Indian War, the above speculation disappeared until more than a decade later, when the stubborn Vietnam tried again.

　Chapter 186: The Xuefeng (Danyang) ship will protect everyone!

　December 2, 1962, Yokosuka U.S. Army Base, Tokyo, Japan

　Firi stood on the dock of the port, looking at the "old Japanese warship" in front of him, which was already quite old, and the corners of his mouth kept twitching.

　Holy shit, World War II has almost ended for twenty years! And yet we still see Yukikaze, Prince Yuki, the super-jinx who sucks away all luck!

　Why did I have to take this ship to cross the Pacific Ocean to go home this time?

　Auspicious Imperial Guard! Uh, Auspicious Imperial Guard!

　Of course, this famous ship was no longer the destroyer "Yukikaze" of the Imperial Japanese Navy, but the battleship "Danyang" of the Republic of China Navy. In the future, it would become the "something unknown" of the South Vietnamese Navy...

　As for why the Yukikaze/Danyang appeared in Yokosuka at this time, and how Firi came to go home on it?

　Ahem, this is a very long story.

　——As a legendary phoenix that fought the Pacific War from beginning to end, yet always escaped unscathed in all kinds of unexpected ways, such as the oil tank being hit but not exploding, the mine triggering a fuse, the torpedo passing through due to its shallow draft, the American air raid dropping duds, etc., the 8th ship of the Japanese Navy's Kagero-class, the Yukikaze, nicknamed "Prince of Snow", finally faced the judgment of fate after the war.

　As part of Japan's postwar reparations, the remaining Japanese naval vessels were first disarmed, covered with tents and converted into special transport ships to transport surrendered Japanese troops back home. After the withdrawal was completed, these ships were divided up by lot among the victorious nations.

　The US was the winner of the Yukikaze lottery. However, the US was busy with its post-war disarmament efforts and couldn't even dismantle so many of its own naval vessels. So, how could it possibly care less about a Japanese wreck? So, it was immediately given to Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing...

　Here, it's clear that the Yukikaze's luck was at work again, allowing it to escape the catastrophic disaster unscathed!

　If the Yukikaze had really been allocated to the United States, it would probably have been taken to Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands like the Prinz Eugen and Nagato, becoming a target ship for US nuclear weapons tests and sinking to the bottom of the sea in the nuclear flash of "Operation Crossroads" in 1946, right?

　Next, in the summer of 1947, the Yukikaze, which had survived the nuclear explosion, set sail from Sasebo for the last time, heading for Shanghai, China.

　At this time, the Yukikaze had been completely disarmed. All the naval guns, anti-aircraft machine guns and the once-dominant Type 92 quadruple oxygen torpedo tubes had been removed. The pale "Yukikaze" was painted on the iron-gray side of the ship, which looked somewhat desolate in the hazy sea fog.

　Even more desolate was the fact that even the Yukikaze's engine had broken down, forcing it to be towed by another ship...

　——As to why the Yukikaze was able to survive the war unscathed, there have been many analyses in later generations, such as the good performance of the ship, the experienced captain, the high quality of the sailors, the more advanced equipment, etc. Taken together, the reasons are quite coherent and can be made into an episode of "Science Approaches".

　But when the Yukikaze left Japan as a World War II compensation ship, it was a hollow hulk, without guns, cannons, or power. The veterans who had manned the ship had been sent home, and the Chinese sailors who replaced them were no match for the Japanese in terms of quality or sense of responsibility. It stands to reason that none of the elements that made the Yukikaze such a powerful force in the Pacific theater of war were passed on to the Tanyang.

　In that case, the so-called snow wind curse seems to have disappeared, right?

　But the problem is, curses are such a mysterious thing, their existence is unreasonable, so how can they reason with you?

　Therefore, even after changing its name and nationality, Xuefeng continued to write its auspicious legend in its new position.

　In fact, the Yukikaze had just been towed to Shanghai, incorporating it into the Nationalist Navy amidst a crowd of onlookers. The "Snowkaze Curse" was immediately unleashed. Liu Bei and Deng Xiaoping's forces advanced into the Dabie Mountains, instantly reversing the situation in the Central Plains and switching the offensive and defensive positions between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.

　Because the Yukikaze was overwhelmed by the war in Jiangbei, the bare "ship stick" was abandoned in Shanghai and no one paid attention to it for a long time.

　After nearly a year, on May 1, 1948, the Yukikaze was finally renamed Danyang and incorporated into the Second Coastal Defense Fleet.

　But at this time, the Xuefeng/Danyang was still just an empty shell. It had no power, no weapons, and even no sailors. It was just a battleship.

　The name is almost the same as the ship in the Minsk Aircraft Carrier Park in Shenzhen in the future.

　Then, the "Snow Wind Curse" struck again—not long after, with the Chongqing cruiser switching flags to the Communists and subsequently being sunk, the 2,000-ton Danyang instantly became the "largest ship in the Chinese Navy"! What a dignified achievement!

　A year later, a million-strong People's Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River, and the Nationalist government's rule on the mainland collapsed. Amid the roar of the Battle of Shanghai, the Danyang, still just a hollow hulk, was hastily towed out to sea and fled south, temporarily abandoned in Penghu.

　As a result, after being towed to the Penghu Islands, the Danyang ship encountered a severe typhoon. The anchor chain, which had not been maintained for an unknown period of time, was directly broken, causing the unpowered empty ship to drift away from the dock and run aground on the reef.

　But even so, the Danyang's lucky halo was still in effect - although it ran aground, its hull was not damaged and it did not capsize. Otherwise, its life would have ended just like the Tianjin Feng which ran aground in Xiamen.

　Because the ship seemed salvageable, the Taiwanese Navy spent another month in 1950 towing the Danyang from the stranded reef and bringing it to the Keelung Shipyard to begin repairs and rearmament.

　Repairing the engine was easier, as marine diesel engines were readily available. But rearming the ship was much more difficult.

　Since the Type 92 oxygen torpedo tubes on the Danyang had been removed, and at the time no country other than Japan could produce such large-caliber oxygen torpedoes, even if the torpedo tubes were repaired, there were no torpedoes to replace them.

　——The Japanese side said that as long as they were willing to pay and get the approval of their American father, they would resume production of torpedoes, but they quoted an exorbitant price.

　However, Taiwan just wanted to get it for free, and the talks between the two sides eventually broke down. The torpedo tubes of the Danyang ship were never restored.

　Well, it's not impossible for a destroyer not to be equipped with torpedoes, but it must have naval guns, right? As a result, Taiwan was still reluctant to spend money to buy guns from Japan. They first begged the Americans to provide naval guns for free, but the Pentagon, which was fighting the Korean War at the time, ignored them.

　Therefore, the Taiwanese could only pick up garbage from the scrap metal left by the Japanese army on the island. First, they dismantled the anti-aircraft artillery battery in Shoushan and dug out a Type 89 127mm dual-purpose anti-aircraft gun. They also dismantled the anti-aircraft artillery battery on the back mountain of Zuoying Military Port and dug out two twin-mounted 100mm dual-purpose anti-aircraft guns.

　Finally, the workers at the Zuoying Shipyard temporarily welded three iron boxes, installed the three fortress guns inside, and then moved them onto the ship to form a turret.

　——That's right, the main gun of the reborn Danyang ship is not a proper naval gun at all, but a shore gun in the fortress! The main purpose is just a makeshift one!

　Since the three main guns of the Danyang ship were all removed from the anti-aircraft gun turrets, it can basically be called an anti-aircraft position floating on the water!

　Furthermore, since the turrets were hastily welded together, they looked as boxy as shoeboxes, so the workmanship couldn't be expected to be high-quality. Rumors quickly spread that they were movie props made of plywood. Others even said the radar on the ship was fake.

　In order to prove that its turret was not made of plywood, the Danyang ship immediately launched the "Continental Blockade Operation" after it was put back into service, acting as a pirate in the Taiwan Strait, intercepting merchant ships everywhere, kidnapping oil tankers, and even stirring up a hornet's nest by kidnapping the Soviet tanker "Tuaps".

　The Soviet Pacific Fleet once marched south in an attempt to recapture the tanker by force, even threatening to bomb Taiwan. However, with the strong support of the US Navy, the Soviet Union's polar bear finally backed down, abandoned the tanker, and withdrew its Pacific Fleet.

　Everyone on the Danyang ship was very proud of this and felt like Heihachiro Togo in the Russo-Japanese War, where even the Russians couldn't do anything to them.

　In addition to being a pirate in the Taiwan Strait, the Danyang also crossed the sea to participate in the battle when the People's Liberation Army bombarded Kinmen in 1958. As expected, under the cover of the Danyang, Taiwan sank 19 ships and seriously damaged 3 ships. The Tuojiang was directly declared scrapped after being rescued by the Danyang.

　The Danyang ship itself was unharmed, especially when it sailed in front of the enemy's artillery, Beijing actually announced a ceasefire!

　After the war, the auspicious legend of the Yukikaze began to circulate among the Taiwanese Navy, and it was believed that they must never operate with this auspicious ship.

　During the Cuban nuclear crisis in January of that year, Chiang Kai-shek, a skeptical leader, believed that the United States and the Soviet Union might indeed be about to start World War III, and that this presented him with an opportunity to launch a counterattack against mainland China. So, he fanned the flames. At the height of the crisis in February, he mobilized the Taiwanese Navy to launch an all-out attack, sending large numbers of commandos to the coasts of Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Shandong, launching a terrorist-style sabotage campaign.

　During this operation, the rest of the navy refused to form a formation with the Danyang, leaving it alone to escort four landing craft northward to counterattack the supposedly under-defended Dachen Island. At night, they encountered two PLA gunboats, and an exchange of fire ensued.

　Logically speaking, the Danyang's displacement was over 2000 tons, while the PLA gunboats defending the waters off Dachen Island displaced only a little over 100 tons, and their guns were of a much smaller caliber. Even if outnumbered, the Danyang still held a clear advantage in tonnage and firepower.

　However, the main guns of the Danyang were all fortress guns, and there was no fire control radar. So in the dark night with rough waves, it could not hit anything. And the veteran soldiers of the Taiwan Navy

　They have far less sense of responsibility than the Japanese sailors of the past, and think that firing a few shots is enough to justify their meager military pay.

　After only three minutes of exchange of fire, the Danyang turned around and fled, withdrawing from the battle, leaving all four landing craft to be sunk or captured by the People's Liberation Army.

　——Another complete fleet destroyed, with only Yukikaze surviving! The damn Yukikaze curse has come true again!

　Except for the Danyang, all other counterattacks by the Taiwan Navy against the mainland ended in heavy defeat.

　After another setback in the counterattack on the mainland, in order to boost morale, Chiang Kai-shek forged various inflated war reports, claiming to have achieved a series of great victories, and asked Taipei citizens to take to the streets with lanterns to hold a victory parade. At the same time, he personally boarded the Danyang ship and went to Kinmen and Matsu to comfort the soldiers on the front line.

　As a result, the Danyang's disastrous journey continued - the Jianmen, which was escorting President Chiang across the sea together with the Danyang, hit a mine that had drifted from nowhere off the coast of Kinmen Island. It exploded into two pieces with a loud bang and sank to the bottom of the sea with black smoke under Chiang Kai-shek's nose.

　Another ship, the Zhangjiang, suffered a rudder failure, deviated from its course, ran aground on a reef, and was subsequently attacked by PLA aircraft, resulting in the destruction of the ship and the death of all crew members.

　Even President Chiang himself encountered a violent storm while returning to Taiwan from Kinmen on the Danyang ship. He fell down the stairs of the bridge, suffering bruises and losing four teeth. From then on, he had to believe in the legend of the curse of the ship and prepared to get rid of it as soon as possible.

　At this time, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem was building up his navy. However, as he was relatively poor and reluctant to spend money, he resorted to begging, shamelessly asking for "extra" ships from other countries and demanding free military aid.

　Because the navy was basically useless in the anti-guerrilla warfare against the Viet Cong in the jungles of South Vietnam, the "free camp" countries were reluctant to send ships. The United States reluctantly gave him a few landing craft and landing ships, plus a bunch of various small speedboats, and finally put together the initial lineup of the South Vietnamese navy.

　According to the United States, giving Diem some shallow-draft, armed boats weighing tens or even tens of tons would be sufficient to machine-gun the Vietcong guerrillas' fishing boats in the crisscrossing rivers and lakes of the Mekong Delta. The South Vietnamese Navy's desire to equip itself with large ships was sheer waste.

　However, the largest vessel in the South Vietnamese Navy was a landing ship. Without even a single ocean-going destroyer or frigate, Diem felt humiliated. He couldn't use a landing ship as his flagship, could he? Visiting another country on a landing ship would be humiliating!

　Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek, who decided to get rid of the Xiangrui ship, planned to recycle the Danyang and establish a good relationship with South Vietnam to fulfill Wu Tingyan's wish.

　——Soon, the Danyang was towed into the Keelung Shipyard again, the main guns and ammunition depots on the ship were dismantled, the weapons and equipment were reduced, and luxuriously decorated suites, ballrooms, restaurants and entertainment facilities were added, turning it into an "armed yacht" with a majestic appearance, which could be used for showing off during visits.

　Then, the Republic of China's ambassador to Vietnam went to inform Ngo Dinh Diem with a smile, saying that in order to demonstrate the "spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance among free countries", Chiang Kai-shek gave him a 2,000-ton destroyer, which was also equipped with a luxurious official cabin for receiving distinguished guests, which could serve as the face of the South Vietnamese Navy.

　Ngo Dinh Diem was overjoyed upon hearing the news, but because the South Vietnamese Navy lacked experience in ocean voyages, he entrusted the US military stationed in Vietnam to go to Taiwan to pick up the ship.

　He also instructed that after the American sailors received the Danyang in Taiwan, they should not immediately return to Saigon, but instead sail across the Pacific to the United States. This was both to test its seaworthiness and to bring back First Lady Chen Lichun, who was traveling in California.

　So, when General LeMay flew back to Japan from Saigon, the Danyang, which had been converted into a "super armed yacht", also arrived at the US military base in Yokosuka under the guidance of US military officers and soldiers stationed in Vietnam, replenished a batch of weapons and ammunition, and was preparing to set sail for San Diego, California.

　Upon hearing about this, General Li Mei rushed to the Danyang for a tour as soon as he landed. He found that the ship was truly magnificent, with king-size rooms, a cinema, a swimming pool, a ballroom, a steam room, a mini-casino... everything you could need. Except for its smaller tonnage, the comfort was no worse than any luxury ocean liner. It was more luxurious and grand than any yacht he had ever seen, and he was immediately furious.

　——That bastard Ngo Dinh Diem! He doesn't seem to care much about suppressing the Communists and defending North Vietnam! But he's so keen on this kind of extravagance!

　This is really outrageous. He was not planning to take his entire family and the money he had embezzled and stolen, and hide on this boat to Kunlun Island when the Viet Cong entered Saigon, waiting for the American soldiers to bring their own dry food and shed blood and sweat to reclaim his territory for him for free?

　Furious, General Le May immediately commandeered the 2,000-ton armed yacht and prepared to return to the United States on it. This way, he could enjoy the luxurious facilities before the bastard Ngo Dinh Diem did, and at least vent his long-simmering anger.

　Since General LeMay decided to force his way back to the United States by boat, Marilyn Monroe's entourage naturally had to follow him on the boat.

　Blonde Monroe looked at the luxury yacht, which was converted from a warship, with a look of great interest on her face. She was just waiting for the boat to start, so she could put on her bikini and jump into the swimming pool with her ex-husband DiMaggio. Dr. Kissinger didn't really believe in those kinds of supernatural legends, but he was very interested in the various entertainment facilities on the boat. Especially the small steel ball game machine and the automatic mahjong

　The table was very interested.

　But Firi, who had heard countless auspicious legends about the Yukikaze before crossing over, couldn't help but look embarrassed when she stood before this renowned auspicious ship. It was as if she saw a cute little girl in a sailor uniform and short hair, saluting her with great spirit and shouting, "Yukikaze will protect everyone!"

　Oh, forget it. Even if Xuefeng's curse can bring the entire Pacific Ocean into range, at least she should be safe, right?

　Fili thought so with a wry smile, and at the same time, he resigned himself to his fate by carrying the suitcase and leading Marita into the guest room assigned to him on the Danyang ship.

　A moment later, accompanied by the long whistle, this miraculous and auspicious ship sailed out of Yokosuka and headed for the sunny sea...

　Author's words: PS: Please help me think about what name would be better for the Danyang after it is incorporated into the South Vietnamese Navy?

　What about the Vietnamese leader "Trị Thi Triễn" in the game "Civilization VI"?

　With a world-class auspicious ship like Prince Snow stationed in South Vietnam, there will be no worries about the war being boring, right?

　The scene where the last South Vietnamese president rides a snow-capped wind boat to "hunt eastward" on Taiping Island will surely be very interesting.

　Wouldn't it be more interesting if this ship was towed to the Potomac River and the Strategic Deception Bureau could work directly on the ship?

　Chapter 187: Crossing the Pacific

　The tropical sun shines on the vast Pacific Ocean, and the blue water is clear and transparent.