American Strategic Deception Bureau

　However, what Firi did not anticipate was that his next stay in Hong Kong would be much longer than he had expected.

　Author's Note: PS: American Muslims generally support Trump. They believe that the Democrats' support for Israel is a betrayal. Although Trump is more supportive of Israel, if they don't show the Democrats some color, the Democrats will treat them even less as human beings, so they must defect this time.

　The articles about the system wearing the body but not the person are scattered on several websites including Jinjiang. I don’t have the energy to go back and look for them. I only remember one urban era article at a certain point: People in 2024, System in 1979

　Chapter 468: Nuclear Explosion on Kunlun Island! "Landless Commander" Philip is stationed in Hong Kong!

　Presidential Suite, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Connaught Road, Hong Kong Island

　Marita, wearing a loose dress, sat on the big bed, happily looking at the "trophies" she brought back from her shopping trip to Lan Kwai Fong yesterday:

　Twenty-four brands of perfume, Chanel bags, Swiss women's watches, high-slit silk cheongsams, pop music cassettes, various oriental jade and sandalwood ornaments, and brightly colored but conservative one-piece swimsuits...

　——If it was in the swimming pool of her own villa, Marita, who had not worn clothes for several months, would definitely choose to swim naked.

　But on Kunlun Island, where thousands of American soldiers were stationed, Ms. Flower of the CIA felt that she should be a little more restrained.

　In addition, there were twenty boxes of exquisite cakes and candies, all of which she planned to take back to Kunlun Island to enjoy slowly.

　Ah, it turns out that life in an international metropolis is more comfortable. There is really nothing delicious to eat in the remote countryside like Kunlun Island.

　Recalling the dumplings, egg tarts and golden cakes she had in Lan Kwai Fong yesterday, the cheese lobster she had in Sai Kung (Hong Kong's Sai Kung Peninsula) the day before yesterday, and the various delicious dishes provided by the hotel, and comparing them with the simple meals on Kunlun Island, Marita couldn't help but pout.

　Kunlun Island was, after all, just a remote and simple military base. Despite her status as the wife of the commander of the US military in Vietnam, Marita's daily dinner consisted of canned goods and seafood caught by the islanders. Fresh vegetables were scarce.

　Moreover, the chefs at the US military headquarters in Vietnam did not have any good cooking skills. Even if they got freshly caught seafood, they would just grill or boil it, sprinkle some pepper on it and serve it... It was a complete waste of food!

　I really don’t want to stay on Kunlun Island and live a boring life where I can only bask in the sun and watch the sea, or play with crabs on the beach every day!

　Looking at the luxury goods and cakes and candies that filled the bed, and the bustling cityscape outside the floor-to-ceiling window, she thought with some regret.

　But there was no way out. Her husband was an officer, so she could only either stay alone in her empty room or travel around the world with her husband.

　So, after sighing regretfully, Marita packed all the things she bought in Hong Kong into her suitcase one by one.

　But just as she was busy packing her luggage, she heard footsteps behind her.

　"Have you completed the check-out procedures? Honey, please wait another thirty minutes. I'm almost done packing here."

　Marita said without turning her head, "Besides, Monica is still taking a nap next door, I have to do some makeup for her..."

　"Uh, honey, you don't have to pack your bags. I just checked out, so we're not leaving today."

　Fili found a rattan chair and sat down, sighing tiredly, "We'll have to stay here for a few more days."

　"Not leaving? Why? Is there something wrong with our boat? Well, that's right. After all, this is a thirty-year-old boat..."

　Upon hearing this, Marita was suddenly delighted, then frowned, asked the reason, and spoke with speculation.

　——Of course, she was happy to be able to stay in Hong Kong for a few more days, but the sudden change of schedule,

　"Don't overthink it, dear. There's nothing wrong with the Yukikaze. The problem is our destination."

　Fili shook his head. "I just received the news that Kunlun Island is finished! As the commander of the US forces in Vietnam, I have no more territory to rule!"

　"Huh? What do you mean... Kunlun Island is finished?"

　Marita blinked in confusion, then gasped, "Could it be that the Vietcong really dropped a nuclear bomb on the island?"

　"Yes, a suicide plane sent by the Viet Cong detonated an atomic bomb over Kunlun Island today..."

　Fili smiled bitterly and shrugged. "Ah, these days, nuclear bombs are like explosive packs, thrown around casually!"

　-

　By May 1970, the Vietnam War in this dimension had reached a point where, apart from Phu Quoc Island, which had been "occupied" by the Khmer Rouge, the only remaining island in South Vietnam was Kunlun Island, isolated in the South China Sea, which had not yet been recaptured by the Vietnamese.

　The last US troops on Vietnamese territory, as well as the headquarters of the US forces in Vietnam after they were driven out to sea, were also located on Kunlun Island.

　Therefore, although Kunlun Island is small, only 75 square kilometers, it symbolizes that the Vietnam War is not over. At the same time, Kunlun Island is located outside the mouth of the Mekong River, and its strategic position is similar to that of China's Zhoushan Islands. It is not a remote place that can be ignored.

　If the North Vietnamese leadership wants to fully complete the history of unifying the country,

　Shi Weiye, Kunlun Island must be recovered.

　This not only symbolizes the final battle in the cause of resisting the US and saving the nation, but also has extremely important political significance for the morale of the Vietnamese people.

　Meanwhile, the current third-generation North Vietnamese top brass is deeply concerned. If this small contingent of US troops continues to occupy Kunlun Island for a long time, it could become a thorn in the side of Anglo-Saxon imperialism in the East, just like Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the Falklands in Argentina, and Gibraltar in Spain.

　There is no way. According to the current international order, if a place is occupied by Western colonists for a long time, the ownership will be transferred.

　Once the US military's occupation of Kunlun Island becomes long-term or even permanent, the Viet Cong will have to face a US military base on their doorstep at all times!

　How uncomfortable would that be?

　But the problem is that the US military currently holds absolute naval and air superiority in the South China Sea, which will be unshakable for at least 20 years.

　Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for the Viet Cong's ground forces to cross the 185-kilometer sea and attack Kunlun Island.

　So, since the Viet Cong's armed forces could not reach the island, the only solution available was to force the US military to leave.

　The radical Viet Cong openly declared that they would rather let Kunlun Island become a radioactive wasteland than have a single American soldier stay on the sacred territory of the motherland!

　So, on May 6, 1970, White House National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, mingled with Hollywood actress Jane Fonda's team and secretly traveled to mainland China as a special envoy of the President.

　It was confirmed that the commander of the US forces in Vietnam had gone north to Hong Kong, and the island defense troops were withdrawn one after another, so the defenses on Kunlun Island should be quite empty.

　Just as Firi had worried before, the Viet Cong launched a long-range nuclear strike on Kunlun Island without hesitation.

　--In the early morning of that day, the Viet Cong dispatched two Vietnamese pilots who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer due to radiation contamination to serve as a suicide squad. They took off from Saigon in a captured civilian monoplane and rushed to Kunlun Island to carry out a suicide nuclear strike mission.

　In the cargo hold of this suicide plane was a small Soviet-supplied nuclear warhead with a TNT equivalent of 1 tons, roughly equivalent to the Hiroshima atomic bomb. However, thanks to technological advances over the past two decades, its size and weight have been reduced significantly, making it small enough to fit inside a single-engine aircraft.

　At that time, a US destroyer, the Gearing class, was deployed in the waters surrounding Kunlun Island. However, this WWII-vintage ship lacked anti-aircraft missiles, making it adequate for intercepting Vietcong boats at sea. However, its antiquated anti-aircraft guns were completely incapable of intercepting aircraft from the sky.

　Unless the other party's pilot actively lowers his altitude and dives down to engage your ship.

　The anti-aircraft guns on destroyers do pose a certain threat to carrier-based aircraft that dive to drop bombs. However, if an enemy aircraft flies overhead without lowering its altitude and instead climbs to bypass it... then the Gearing-class destroyer will have no chance of shooting it down.

　Next, the radar station on Kunlun Island also detected the aircraft from the Vietnamese mainland. However, there were no fighter jets deployed on Kunlun Island, so it was impossible to organize land-based fighter jets to take off and intercept. There were no US aircraft carriers in the nearby waters, so calling for naval aviation rescue was impossible.

　There was no choice. With the sharp sound of air raid sirens, the American officers and soldiers on Kunlun Island staggered towards the anti-aircraft gun positions with dead faces. At this point in the battle, no one believed that the Viet Cong would send a single plane to attack Kunlun Island with only conventional weapons.

　The Viet Cong didn't have many planes to begin with. If they really wanted to launch an air strike on the US military, they would definitely use nuclear bombs or biological and chemical weapons!

　Then, Japan's Kamikaze Special Attack Force would need to make its planes dive and hit, and the anti-aircraft guns on the ground would have the possibility of successful interception.

　But Vietnam’s nuclear suicide planes can explode directly in the air as long as they reach the target - how can ordinary anti-aircraft guns defend against them?

　Sure enough, even though the anti-aircraft artillery positions on Kunlun Island had already fired red-hot gun barrels, in the desperate eyes of the US Marines, a ball of light like the sun still burst open in the sky above Kunlun Island.

　The terrifying light radiation instantly ignited the island's forests, and the shock wave of the nuclear explosion razed the island's villages, towns, and military camps to the ground!

　Within the sea area of ​​hundreds of kilometers around Kunlun Island, all fishing boats, merchant ships and warships saw a mushroom cloud rising!

　Fortunately, Kunlun Island has a rugged terrain with steep mountains and many caves for hiding. Therefore, those who hid in time could still escape with their lives.

　In addition, during the few months that Fili had managed Kunlun Island, a considerable number of wounded and sick soldiers had left the island and returned to their teams. Before leaving, Fili took some of the recovered wounded and sick soldiers with him on the Yukikaze to Hong Kong, allowing them to transfer from Hong Kong and return to their country to retire.

　During this period, no new wounded soldiers and patients were sent in, so when the nuclear bomb attacked, the number of wounded and sick people on Kunlun Island had been reduced to more than 150.

　At the same time, a company of US Army troops originally stationed on Kunlun Island was also evacuated by US Forces Malaysia (USFMA) on a transport aircraft shortly after Fili's departure. This left only a company of Marines, along with a small number of personnel at the radar station, the airfield, and the headquarters. Including the military doctors, nurses, and wounded soldiers at the field hospital, as well as a number of civilians accompanying the troops, only about 600 Americans remained on Kunlun Island at the time of the nuclear explosion.

　Therefore, after the nuclear explosion, the total number of American casualties on Kunlun Island was only about 200, which was not too tragic.

　Well, as for the local Vietnamese fishermen in Kunlun Town and the South Vietnamese refugees temporarily stranded on Kunlun Island, the exact number of casualties in the nuclear explosion is naturally not included in the statistics reported by the US Forces Vietnam Command to the Pentagon.

　The real problem is that the day after the nuclear explosion on Kunlun Island, the Viet Cong launched another short-range missile at Kunlun Island.

　Although the missile itself only hit the barren mountain in the center of Kunlun Island and caused no casualties, its warning meaning was already obvious:

　The Viet Cong does not want the US military to continue staying on Kunlun Island, and has the ability to launch long-range strikes on Kunlun Island at any time!

　Including nuclear strikes and biological and chemical attacks!

　The current level of technology is still relatively limited, and even the United States does not have equipment capable of intercepting missiles...

　Therefore, if the US military insists on staying on Kunlun Island, then they can only expect to be subjected to nuclear explosions, inhale poison gas and contract plague every day!

　——Of course, the US Air Force could also carry out carpet bombing on South Vietnam to preemptively destroy the Viet Cong's missile forces and air power.

　But South Vietnam was so vast, where could one hide a few short-range missile launchers? Where could one hide a small plane?

　Moreover, the war is raging on the Malay Peninsula, and anti-American activities are surging in Borneo, Sumatra and even Java. How much air power can the already overwhelmed Pentagon spare to protect Kunlun Island, which has become a radioactive contaminated area?

　Therefore, on May 9, 1970, the Pentagon made the decision to abandon Kunlun Island. A landing ship was immediately dispatched from the Philippines to evacuate more than 400 surviving American soldiers and civilians on Kunlun Island, and also took away more than 200 Vietnamese on Kunlun Island.

　At this point, the US military had completely withdrawn from Vietnamese territory. After paying a tragic price of 2500 million deaths, 60% of the country's land suffering from nuclear and chemical pollution, and almost all cities reduced to ruins, the Viet Cong finally won national liberation and national independence from the hands of the world hegemon.

　However, what Firi, who thought he would be fired by the Pentagon, never expected was

　Although the US troops stationed in Vietnam have completely evaporated, the Pentagon did not immediately withdraw the US military command in Vietnam - it seems that this is because the peace talks with Vietnam have not been successful yet, and the war between the two countries has not theoretically ended. The Pentagon is unwilling to admit defeat for the sake of face.

　Of course, IT companies in the 21st century no longer have any real address, and all employees work remotely through the Internet.

　The army of the 20th century could not exist only on paper or in radio waves; it had to have a physical headquarters.

　The US military already had no occupied territory in Vietnam, so where should the headquarters of the US military in Vietnam be located? It couldn't be on a ship, right?

　The Pentagon’s instructions to Firi were to move the headquarters to Hong Kong!

　Today, the Stonecutters Island base in Hong Kong is actually jointly managed by the United States and Britain, and the US military logistics personnel stationed on Stonecutters Island are also under the organization of the US military stationed in Vietnam.

　Therefore, after Kunlun Island was abandoned, half of Stonecutters Island in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour became the last territory of the US military stationed in Vietnam.

　If the US military headquarters in Vietnam doesn't move here, where else can it go?

　So, on May 12, 1970, a brief flag-raising ceremony was held outside a two-story European-style villa at the Stonecutters Island Barracks in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. A US flag was slowly raised on the flagpole at the door, and a local band temporarily borrowed played an off-tune version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". A plaque with the words "Headquarters of the US Forces Vietnam" was also hung at the door of the villa.

　However, although he could live in a bustling metropolis and enjoy the bustling life of feasting and drinking, Fili did not feel happy at all.

　Rather, his face looked so ugly that it had turned black!

　——Even though everyone knows that Kunlun Island was completely destroyed by a nuclear bomb, it is not Firi's fault at all:

　With the weak military force on the island at the time, no matter who was in command, they could not stop the Vietnamese who had nuclear bombs from "trading one plane for one island."

　However, it is ultimately a shame that the US military was completely driven out of Vietnamese territory, and someone needs to shoulder the responsibility and take the blame.

　Therefore, Firi's temporary rank of major general was revoked, and now he has been demoted back to colonel!

　Despite his gloomy mood, Fili couldn't help but smile as he looked at the glittering golden sign "US Forces Vietnam" hung by two soldiers, creating a striking contrast with the waves of Victoria Harbour.

　Because he suddenly thought of a very interesting question.

　——Since the headquarters of the US military in Vietnam was once moved to Hong Kong, will the Vietnamese have the audacity to use this as an excuse to interfere in the Sino-British negotiations on the return of Hong Kong in a few years, and insist that they also have certain claims to Hong Kong?

　If something like this really happened, it would be... so interesting!

　Dr. Kissinger looked a bit haggard, but his waistline had ballooned by several inches. As Kissinger self-deprecatingly put it, he was "negotiating from morning till night in Beijing, and when he's in Beijing, he's nervous, and when he's nervous, he's eating." The Chinese were generous with their food and beverages, with everything from Quanjude roast duck to Donglaishun hot pot lamb. So, naturally, when he returned, he was already fat.

　"Whether the negotiation succeeded or not, Doctor, as long as you return safely, that's all that matters."

　Marita personally served two cups of black tea to Kissinger and Firi. "We have been worried about your safety these days."

　"There's really no danger. The hostile propaganda back home is overblown. Few people, except lunatics, would embarrass an envoy. My talks with Beijing went quite smoothly this time, as we didn't get into any substantive content; we just exchanged greetings."

　Dr. Kissinger smiled and said, "There were quite a few embarrassing moments, like when I saw a slogan painted on the wall right after I got off the train: 'Down with American Imperialism and All Reactionaries.' But considering this was a secret mission, I couldn't ask for too much."

　Anyway, when I set out, I was mentally prepared to kowtow to the other leader... Of course, in reality, it was just a handshake."

　"What's the scenery like in Beijing? Does it really look like a big prison, just like what domestic newspapers say?" Marita asked.

　"Prison? That's a bit of an exaggeration, but the streets of Beijing are indeed very deserted. There are hardly any people anywhere. There are very few cars, basically only bicycles, and there are only a few shops on the streets." Kissinger curled his lips. "It gives people a very depressing feeling, a bit lacking in vitality..."

　Ah, that's because you went two years too late. You didn't see the lively scene of the nationwide Red Guards marching into Beijing three or four years ago...

　Fili thought so while drinking black tea.

　However, the most intense and bloody fighting during that decade was primarily concentrated in the first two years. Starting in 1968, the "Go to the Countryside" movement replaced the nationwide revolution. Students from universities and colleges no longer engaged in bloody battles, but instead headed to the frontiers of the motherland to repair the earth.

　——After all, the student fighting was like a warlord melee. This scene was ultimately too scary and was really inconsistent with China's political tradition.

　Following this large-scale wave of "de-urbanization", the most energetic young population in Beijing and major cities across the country has been greatly reduced. Some have gone to the border areas or to the countryside, and the cities have become quieter and more depressed.

　Hence the depressing scene that Kissinger saw during his visit to China.

　In general, Kissinger successfully met with the central leadership in Beijing during his secret visit to China and stayed at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. At that time, Diaoyutai was not actually a state guesthouse, but a temporary state guesthouse specially built to accommodate Kissinger and his party.

　The two sides had a frank conversation and fully exchanged views - in fact, they each said something different and could not reach an agreement at all:

　The "goodwill" that the United States is willing to offer is very limited. It is only willing to reduce the US military stationed in Taiwan by two-thirds, stop the US Navy's patrols in the Taiwan Strait, and "not obstruct" New China's return to the United Nations.

　As for whether this "non-obstruction" is true or false, it is difficult to say: even if the United States abstains from voting, it can mobilize its younger brothers to collectively oppose it!

　However, for this little bit of "goodwill", the White House asked China to help mediate the Vietnam War and agree to retain Taiwan's seat in the United Nations.

　Finally, Beijing must guarantee that it will not attempt to retake Taiwan by force.