American Strategic Deception Bureau

　In addition, the US armistice conditions were not harsh, at least not in the eyes of the White House: they only required the North Vietnamese authorities to abandon South Vietnam and communistize other neighboring countries forever. They did not seek to unify South Vietnam with North Vietnam, nor did they necessarily overthrow the communist regime in North Vietnam or hang the North Vietnamese leaders.

　The North Vietnamese lost only their own arrogance and ambition, but they were allowed to survive by the United States! What a blessing this was!

　On the one hand, the supporters behind the scenes fell out and were not doing their job, and on the other hand, there was a nuclear bomb hitting their head. In the end, the United States had no intention of eradicating the Viet Cong, but allowed North Vietnam to "surrender and lose half"... No matter how you look at it, under such "extreme pressure", North Vietnam should have kneeled, right?

　Then, more intense arguments and conflicts will surely break out between China and the Soviet Union over the blame game of "who lost Vietnam".

　If these two groups of Bolsheviks had really come to an all-out war, plunging the Soviet Union into the quagmire of East Asia, the United States would have easily won the Cold War.

　But the problem is that the actual development of the situation was completely different from what the Washington gentlemen had taken for granted. After the nuclear explosion in Hanoi, the Sino-Soviet relationship, which had been at loggerheads, suddenly took a turn for the better. The United States had just launched a nuclear bomb in Hanoi, destroying the capital of a socialist country, and then China and the Soviet Union began emergency contact and communication. The previous tension disappeared in an instant, and the two sides seemed to have become good brothers again.

　At the same time, the Soviet Union also mobilized public opinion at the United Nations General Assembly, calling on the vast majority of third world countries to condemn the United States for rashly nuclear bombing foreign capitals and turning the world into a radioactive wasteland. This made the American Democratic Party, which sang the praises of "human rights", "environmental protection" and "humanitarianism", embarrassed.

　——No matter from which perspective, arbitrarily using hydrogen bombs to bomb people is definitely a criminal act that is neither humanitarian nor environmentally friendly.

　No matter how you think about it, this floor can't be washed.

　Of course, the pro-war media and official mouthpieces in the United States are still trying to distort the truth and package nuclear war as a "necessary evil to save freedom."

　But Soviet diplomats retorted: "If the use of hydrogen bombs to destroy so many cities and kill millions of people can be called a 'necessary evil', then Hitler could also claim that his order to massacre six million European Jews was also a necessary evil..."

　In this way, after the nuclear bombing in Hanoi in August, the anti-war movement in the United States became increasingly turbulent. Many cities' float parades celebrating the successful Apollo moon landing were directly disrupted and canceled by anti-war marches.

　Some people wanted to coerce Armstrong and three other astronauts into joining the anti-war movement.

　However, the most belligerent old conservatives still insisted that "if the nuclear bombs had been dropped earlier, so many people wouldn't have died."

　Moreover, the nuclear bombing of Hanoi itself did not immediately cause much direct damage to North Vietnam, except for psychological intimidation.

　Because of the strategic bombing that had lasted for many years and the two blitzkriegs by the US military on Hanoi, the top leaders of the North Vietnamese Workers' Party had long been afraid to stay in Hanoi.

　——Just like the Imperial Japanese government evacuated the citizens of Tokyo in the later stages of the Pacific War, North Vietnam also evacuated the residents of Hanoi in recent years, moved the central government to the surrounding mountains, and built its own doomsday bunkers and nuclear war shelters with the assistance of Chinese engineering teams.

　As a result, the number of casualties caused to Vietnam by the US nuclear bombing in Hanoi was much less than that of the nuclear bombing in Hiroshima.

　Of course, as long as the US military continues to launch intercontinental nuclear missiles at North Vietnam, the mushroom clouds will become more and more, and North Vietnam will eventually be completely defeated.

　But as a left-wing politician and human rights fighter, President Kennedy Jr. was actually very reluctant to abuse nuclear weapons. He was forced by the worsening war situation and could not resist the temptation to quickly end the Vietnam War, so he reluctantly gave it a try.

　Now, seeing that even the mushroom cloud of the hydrogen bomb could not scare the Viet Cong, President Kennedy Jr. felt a little bit at a loss.

　So, after firing an intercontinental nuclear missile and finding that it was not effective, the president said he was unwilling to fire a second one.

　"In fact, sometimes, when it comes to weapons and equipment, the true performance of many things can't be seen on paper. Even in exercises on the shooting range, it's possible to cheat. Without actual use, even at the extreme limits, it's basically impossible to know whether it's good or not."

　Phiri commented, "In the past, the U.S. has used nuclear blackmail against third world countries, but the results have not been very good. The key is that after the end of World War II, the Pentagon has not planted mushroom clouds over enemy countries for a long time.

　However, after the nuclear bombing of Cuba a few years ago and the recent nuclear bombing of the Indochina Peninsula, the deterrent power of the US nuclear arsenal suddenly became much stronger. Especially after the intercontinental missile was put into actual combat, the whole world truly believed that the United States could destroy any city in the world.

　What's more, nuclear bombs are a weapon of mass destruction. If you use them, you should either not use them at all or do it thoroughly, eradicating them completely like you did with the Indians back then!

　The most deterrent effect of a nuclear weapon is when it is still on the launch pad.

　Now that the nuclear war against the red camp has broken out, and it was initiated by the United States, how can the White House still hold back?

　Since China and the Soviet Union showed no intention of abandoning the Viet Cong or persuading them to seek peace, unless Beijing and Moscow simply wanted to trick the Viet Cong into bleeding dry and then betray them, they would have to provide a nuclear umbrella for North Vietnam or launch nuclear retaliation on behalf of the Viet Cong.

　There is no means in the world today that can intercept intercontinental missiles. All China and the Soviet Union can do for the Viet Cong is to launch reciprocal retaliation.

　If nothing unexpected happens, the US troops in Vietnam will probably be hit by a nuclear explosion soon...

　I wonder if the White House will continue to escalate the war, going straight to World War III and turning the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, or will it be willing to give up Vietnam?

　——Just one week after Hanoi was destroyed by nuclear missiles, China and the Soviet Union issued a joint statement with extremely harsh wording, announcing that they would "equivalently upgrade" their support for Vietnam's national liberation cause and organize "volunteers" to enter Vietnam to participate in the war!

　According to intelligence gathered by the CIA, the so-called "Soviet volunteers" who joined the Vietnam battlefield were likely a nuclear strike force!

　Although China still did not allow Soviet nuclear weapons to pass through its territory, given its own nuclear weapons' lack of combat capability, it reportedly acquiesced to Soviet naval vessels carrying nuclear weapons entering North Vietnam's Haiphong port by sea, with the intention of using them for nuclear retaliation against US troops stationed in Vietnam.

　——Vietnamese comrades have already fought with the United States to this point. If China continues to prevent Soviet nuclear bombs from entering Vietnam, the two countries will really become enemies.

　After the news spread, American troops throughout Vietnam were in a state of panic, fearing that Soviet bombers carrying nuclear bombs would suddenly burst through and kill them with a mushroom bomb, turning them into dust and leaving no trace.

　There was also endless debate in the Pentagon. Some wanted to engage in diplomatic mediation, while others proposed to quickly carry out a nuclear bombing of Haiphong Port to strike first.

　In short, the shadow of nuclear war hanging over the earth seemed to have suddenly become as heavy as it was during the Cuban Crisis.

　The risks of war. Zhao Qiuniang, who was originally bowing her head and showing off her lips and tongue under Marita's crotch, couldn't help but look terrified when she heard this. She quickly raised her head and opened her mouth, making a series of indescribable "yayaya" sounds.

　——Well, in order to get a more beautiful new set of teeth, Zhao Qiuniang also had all her teeth pulled out. She became a "toothless sister" together with Alena, who had her teeth pulled out a few weeks earlier than her. From then on, she could not speak properly and could only babble with gestures.

　Even so, just by looking at the anxious expression on her face, Fili understood Zhao Qiuniang's concerns. So, smiling, he reached out and pinched her cheeks, which had shrunk due to the loss of all her teeth, and said softly and comfortingly, "Don't worry, Qiuniang. Under normal circumstances, China and the United States will not go to war again, and World War III should not break out. As long as the United States does not nuclear-bomb the Chinese and Soviet homelands, China and the Soviet Union will only launch a nuclear counterattack in the Vietnam battlefield at most."

　By then, there will certainly be some crazy advocates of war who will clamor for a third world war, but the American people will simply be filled with extreme fear and war-weariness.

　After all, Hollywood has produced countless radioactive wasteland apocalypse films over the years, with a new one appearing almost every year. A vast array of wasteland apocalypse novels and comics have also emerged. By selling anxiety and gaining a strong presence, the concept has long since instilled in Americans a fear of nuclear war, like the plague.

　Therefore, the major powers will definitely not launch nuclear bombs at each other. Only Vietnam will probably be bombed into wasteland by more mushroom clouds.

　Qiu Niang, the ancient town of Hoi An where we first met, and nearby Da Nang, might also be destroyed in a nuclear explosion like Hanoi..."

　After hearing this, the naked Zhao Qiuniang immediately breathed a sigh of relief, reached out and patted her plump breasts, with a look of relief on her face.

　After all, for her, a "pseudo-Viet Cong" born in mainland China, Da Nang and Hoi An in South Vietnam were just places where she had lived for less than a year. Although she had some feelings for them, it was really not much.

　If these two places were really razed to the ground by nuclear bombs, Zhao Qiuniang might feel a little regretful and sad, but that's all.

　"But if the war continues like this, the dollar will become worthless! Eight years ago, if you recruited mercenaries to fight in Florida, offering them $175 a month would have been considered high pay. But now, hiring a security guard for $700 a month is considered average."

　Marita rubbed her chest and complained, "I went to the supermarket a few days ago and found that the price of a gallon of milk had doubled compared to the year before! Fortunately, my Monica has been drinking breast milk since she was a child... How long will these prices continue to rise?"

　"Ah, the soaring prices will probably continue for a while, but the Vietnam War probably won't last much longer."

　Firi shrugged. "According to what Dr. Kissinger told me, the war in Asia will likely be over by next year at the latest, or at least de-escalate. The US treasury is stretched to its limit, and it simply can't sustain the massive costs of a Second Pacific War (the Vietnam War). The Asian battlefield alone is currently burning through $200 billion in military spending annually. Adding in military spending elsewhere, the Pentagon is currently spending nearly $400 billion annually. Even with the US's financial resources, it can no longer sustain these expenditures..."

　Well, although the United States' annual conventional military expenditure reached $800 billion in the early 21st century, the value of the US dollar at that time was nothing compared to that during the Cold War. Forget the legendary "one dollar fried chicken", that was a thing of the past in the United States!

　Unless the fried chicken was purchased for nothing, one dollar is equivalent to the calories burned by the gangster walking to the robbery site.

　What? Why not take the subway for free? The cheapest subway ticket in New York is $2.75!

　Well, although the problem of fare evasion on the New York subway has always been very serious, it is not ruled out that some people evade fares and buy tickets for free, without paying a dime the entire time...

　Ahem, back to the introduction. Just after the end of World War II, the United States once became the richest country in the history of human civilization. At that time, the world had a total gold value of more than 400 billion US dollars, and the United States held 350 billion.

　The U.S. dollar, which can be exchanged for gold, has therefore become the real "U.S. dollar" and is considered the strongest currency in the world.

　But the problem is that in order for the US dollar to become the world currency, people in other countries must have access to US dollars.

　To this end, the United States has to import a large amount of overseas goods and allow other countries to change their trade with the United States from a trade deficit to a trade surplus - the amount of goods exported to the United States exceeds the amount imported from the United States - and then the country's remaining US dollars can be used as reserves to issue new currency.

　This certainly made the American market unprecedentedly prosperous after World War II, filled with extremely abundant and cheap overseas goods, allowing the American people to fully enjoy the "hegemony dividend" for a period of time - well, it is a bit like the years when Japan's bubble economy was at its peak and "money was flooding its feet" in the future.

　But it also led to a large amount of US dollars flowing overseas and into countries that were short of hard currency.

　If it were only U.S. dollars that were being lost, then of course it wouldn't matter. As long as the printing presses were running, there would be plenty of dollars. But because the dollar was now on the gold standard, the United States was actually losing gold—in less than twenty years, the United States had lost 70% of its gold!

　As a result, the Bretton Woods system, which was based on the US dollar gold standard, could no longer function.

　The larger the trade balance, the

　The situation was becoming increasingly disadvantageous to the United States: in the early 1960s, the United States had a trade surplus. However, a few years after the Vietnam War began, it turned into a trade deficit, with deficits piling up on top of deficits, and market confidence was bleak. This was because everyone knew that as long as the Pentagon continued to rapidly consume astronomical amounts of wealth in the Southeast Asian battlefields, the federal government would definitely not be able to quickly reverse this situation.

　"Unfortunately, the president's maximum pressure campaign failed this time. Even the use of hydrogen bombs failed to scare the Viet Cong. Dr. Kissinger's grand triangle diplomatic strategy has been stuck in its initial stages. Nothing can be accomplished, and I have become a useless person..."

　Firi muttered, "Perhaps we have to wait until the American troops stationed in Vietnam on the front line are hit by nuclear bombs before we can move here?"

　Phiri is now partnered with Dr. Kissinger again. However, due to the failure of the maximum pressure tactics against China and Vietnam, the subsequent strategy is at a loss. The grand blueprint brewing by Kissinger, the master of international strategy, is stuck at the threshold of its initial stage, unable to find an opportunity to launch it.

　The result was that although Dr. Kissinger became the National Security Advisor as he wished, he had nothing to do for a while: this also put Firi in an awkward position after the Apollo moon landing, where he was caught between a rock and a hard place: the CIA had already divested itself of the refugee issue, while his new position at the White House had not yet been secured.

　As a result, President Kennedy's earlier promise of Fieri commanding the Space Force remained a pipe dream, with no official date attached. His role in the Moon landing hoax couldn't be publicly acknowledged, and the president needed a suitable reason to promote Fieri to the rank of brigadier general, making him Space Force commander. However, no such reason was readily available, so Fieri was sent home to wait patiently.

　Oh, I hope it doesn’t end up in vain!

　Even though this year's Apollo moon landing scam was able to "raise the hoax" to the astral realm and deceive billions of people around the world, it already greatly pleased the Prince of Lies behind Fili, Xirik Ziyan, and he rewarded him greatly, thus allowing Fili's extraordinary strength to reach a new level...

　However, Firi also realized that without an official background, it would be difficult to come up with such a huge scam relying solely on personal efforts.

　Therefore, we must stay in the Bald Eagle government and elevate deception to the level of national will!

　Even if you are the mastermind behind the scenes, you have to stay in the court to manipulate the world!

　However, facing the current embarrassing situation of "being free from official duties" or "being neither up nor down", Fili is helpless.

　However, at this moment, Isabelle, who had been listening to the radio with headphones, suddenly shouted.

　"Master, big news! American troops in Vietnam were bombed by a nuclear bomb! A war correspondent saw a mushroom cloud!"

　Firi:? ? ! !

　Hey, it’s less than a month since the nuclear bombing in Hanoi?

　No matter whether the other side dropped a Soviet nuclear bomb or a Chinese nuclear bomb, it can be said that revenge will not be delayed overnight.

　However, if it was just a mushroom cloud, it would be impossible to confirm that a nuclear bomb was used.

　After all, the mushroom clouds came in different sizes. Maybe they were just fuel-air bombs making up the numbers, or maybe they just blew up an ammunition depot of the US military?

　-

　North bank of the Linh River, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam

　At this moment, the dividing line between the ancient Nguyen Dynasty and the Zheng Dynasty in Vietnam has become the front line of the confrontation between the North Vietnamese Army and the US Army.

　During the midsummer rainy season in Vietnam, there are heavy rains, muddy roads, frequent floods, and roads that have almost turned into ditches, making transportation extremely difficult.

　Not to mention, the occasional bombing by the US Air Force made the logistical supply of the North Vietnamese army even more difficult.

　However, stimulated by the US intercontinental missile nuclear explosion in the capital Hanoi, the North Vietnamese transport troops and the "volunteers" sent by the Soviet Union still worked hard to overcome various difficulties and transported the first batch of nuclear weapons provided by the Soviet Union to the front line where the two armies were confronted as quickly as possible.

　Of course, this is also because the nuclear weapons that the Soviet Union sent to the Vietnam battlefield were all miniature models, which were naturally more convenient to transport...

　"This little thing... looks quite unique! Is it also an atomic bomb?"

　Several North Vietnamese officers watched the Soviet instructors tinkering with the new weapon and marveled, "At first glance, it doesn't even look as heavy as a blasting tube. It's true that just one soldier could carry this nuclear bomb across the battlefield!"

　As we all know, early atomic bombs were enormous. The first atomic bomb developed by the United States weighed 15 tons, and the "Little Boy" dropped on Japan weighed four and a half tons. Even the largest four-engine B-29 Superfortress bomber of the time required special modifications to carry it.

　But in the competitive atmosphere of the Cold War, the pace of progress in military technology was rapid.

　Just over a decade after the Hiroshima bombing, the United States developed the "world's smallest nuclear bomb," the W54. It was only 26 centimeters in diameter, about 40 centimeters long, and weighed 23 kilograms. It was barely the size of a suitcase and could even be carried by a soldier on the battlefield.

　But the problem is that such a small and light nuclear weapon has received a lot of bad reviews within the US military and has been called the "stupidest weapon"!

　why?

　Because this thing is fired from a recoilless gun, its maximum range is only four kilometers, but the killing radius of a nuclear explosion is five kilometers!

　The killing radius is actually greater than the maximum range? What kind of concept is this?!

　That is

　Every launch of the W54 is a suicidal kamikaze attack for the three soldiers operating it!

　How could the American soldiers, who lack the spirit of "dying with honor", be affected by this?

　Of course, despite the complaints of US troops stationed in Europe, they still had to obey military orders, and this "smallest nuclear bomb in history" was still deployed.

　Then, as a countermeasure, the Soviet Union began to develop its own miniature nuclear bomb.

　——Well, it’s not the legendary “red mercury nuclear bomb” the size of a baseball that uses antimony-containing mercury oxide as a neutron source.

　In fact, this red mercury nuclear bomb was just a concept proposed by Sam Cohen, a participant in the Manhattan Project, but it was taken seriously by some politicians. Later, it became a rumor fabricated by the CIA for sting enforcement. In this way, they only needed to monitor the flow of red mercury to catch terrorists.

　But there are people who actually believe it. There was a Russian scammer who dyed mercury red with nail polish and sold it as red mercury. As a result, he was arrested by the CIA...

　As for the real Soviet miniature nuclear bomb, it weighed at least 20 to 30 kilograms. The Russians made it into a mortar shell and launched it with a 240mm caliber "Tulip" self-propelled mortar. The maximum range was about 10 kilometers and the TNT equivalent was about 1000 tons.

　However, for the Vietnamese front line, which is full of mud and rivers during the rainy season, the "Tulip" self-propelled mortar vehicle with seven pairs of road wheels and a total weight of 27.5 tons is still a bit too heavy, exceeding the capacity of the repeatedly damaged and devastated Highway 1.

　However, if the self-propelled mortar vehicle is not used and the 240mm mortar is brought to the front line, it will only weigh 800 kilograms and can be barely transported by people or oxen - anyway, there are not many nuclear artillery shells, so one or two of these heavy mortars will be enough.

　So, at the Lingjiang front, besides a box of exquisite and compact nuclear artillery shells, there was also a 240mm mortar. It was also transported to the front line with the help of three oxen and two laborers, and then dragged into the carefully camouflaged artillery position...

　——That night, the American troops south of Ling River were surprised to see a dazzling mushroom cloud rising after a blinding flash of light.

　Then, these fourth-class Marines, Ma Run, seemed to have PTSD, screaming and shouting as they fled the camp...

　They retreated across the 17th parallel, abandoning Vinh Linh, Dong Ha, Quang Tri, and other areas, dragging along the scattered American and South Vietnamese troops who fled south. Finally, they reached the ancient Vietnamese capital of Hue, where they finally came to a halt.

　The reason why these defeated soldiers were able to gain a foothold in Hue was not because they suddenly calmed down and regained their organization and fighting spirit, but because there was no way forward - in the past few years, the US and Vietnamese armies had been deadlocked in Hai Van Ridge between Hue and Da Nang, digging trenches and building fortifications against each other, resulting in the complete destruction of Highway 1 south of Hue, and the entire northern foothills of Hai Van Ridge were covered with dense minefields.

　Although the US military launched a massive counterattack last year, successfully retaking Hue and a large area of ​​land to the north, US engineering corps had not yet had time to clear mines and repair Highway 1. This was especially true for the bridges that had been blown up and destroyed. Therefore, if the American soldiers who fled south, abandoning their weapons and armor, did not want to step on mines or booby traps, they would have no choice but to stay in Hue and wait for the fleet to rescue them, organizing another Dunkirk evacuation...

　Of course, it is also possible that those coming from the sea are supervision teams, using tanks to push their butts and force them to turn around and launch a counterattack against the Viet Cong.

　However, before that, war correspondents from major news media had already rushed to Hue by helicopter, found the panicked US Marines, interviewed them about various "tropical rainforest radiation wasteland stories", and then exaggerated them in articles and published them in the newspapers.