Chapter Sixteen: Riding the Wave

  The Jawahar Lal Nehru University campus, the security cover was enhanced from a company to a battalion, the armoured vehicles parked at the gates were replaced by Ajeya main battle tanks and sharpshooters from NSG, popularly known as Black Cats, were deployed on high-rise buildings.

  Because the blast site at the Prime Minister's residence had not been cleared, Santos stayed in the mountain villa.

  He poured the water, and the secretary handed Santos a glass with painkillers. The injury sixteen years ago still tormented Santos. Every humid summer, the severe pain at the wound made Santos sleepless and appetite-less, and he had to take painkillers.

  Less than two days into his term, Santos deeply felt the difficulties of governance.

  Just after seeing off the Russian Foreign Minister who came as a special envoy of the President of Russia, US Secretary of State Lynch, who also came as a special envoy of the President, was waiting outside.

  "Please come in, Mr. Lin Qi." Santos rubbed his sore temples with force.

  Yesterday, Santos finalized the battle plan with the commanders of the three armed forces until midnight. In the morning, he met with representatives from other parties in the ruling coalition and various large families, then received envoys from other countries. For nearly 50 hours, Santos rested for less than four hours.

  The lingering pain of his injuries made Santos feel a sense of melancholy, he was no longer the warrior he was twenty years ago.

  When the secretary brought Lin Qi into the study, Santos had already adjusted his state.

  At the first sight of Santos, Lin Qi found that the health condition of the interim Prime Minister of India was very poor, not only lacking rest but also severely overdrawn and not vigorous in his life force. After sitting down, Lin Qi didn't look at Santos again, but instead pondered in his heart whether it was necessary to "support" a ruler who wouldn't live for long.

  "Secretary of State, you've had a long and tiring journey." Santos was very polite and elegant, even more so than the gentleman. "Time is pressing, I believe you also want to report back to your President as soon as possible. If you don't mind, let's get straight to the point. If I'm not mistaken, you've come to mediate the tense situation in South Asia, right?"

  Santos used "mediation" instead of "dissolution".

  "Mr. Prime Minister, we have been closely following the situation in South Asia and actively promoting reconciliation between India and Pakistan." With a subtle expression of his views, Lynch decided to take a defensive stance. Before figuring out Santos' attitude, he would not show America's hand.

  "This crisis came suddenly, and no one expected it. Terrorists are enemies of the world. Although we firmly support your country's actions against terrorism, we believe that Pakistan, as the main force in South Asia's anti-terrorism efforts, will not dare to launch a terrorist attack on your country. Only by working together can we eliminate terrorism. The Indo-Pakistani crisis will not help the war on terror and is not in your country's fundamental interests."

  As a shrewd diplomat, Lin Qi was very cautious in rhetoric and grammar, using many ambiguous and equivocal words and sentences, which not only emphasized India's interests but also did not completely rule out Pakistan's suspicion, leaving space for the subsequent dialogue.

  "Mr. Secretary, I understand what you're saying, but I need a more reasonable explanation." Santos was also a diplomat by training, Lynch's words were vague, just wanting to clarify the other party's basic attitude. "Whether it is Pakistan or any other country or organization that has secretly planned terrorist attacks against India, someone must be held accountable for the death of Prime Minister Gandhi and hundreds of innocent Indian citizens. Without a more reasonable explanation, I can only believe that these two bombings are military provocations against India. We must, and will respond strongly and resolutely."

  In a brief exchange, Lynch made his intentions clear and Santos also made India's position clear.

  "After a brief silence, Lynch said: "The Prime Minister's meaning is clear and I can understand the Prime Minister's situation at this time. On behalf of the President of the United States, I hope that the Prime Minister will be more cautious when taking action and control the scale of action. If necessary, we will provide all possible assistance in your country's fight against terrorism."

  Santos smiled slightly and gave a nod to the guards and secretaries standing by the door, signaling them to withdraw temporarily.

  Lin Chi immediately understood and leaned in closer to Santos, lowering his voice: "I'm here on behalf of the President for a discussion with you, I hope you won't mind."

  "I can understand, after all, your country's situation is also quite embarrassing." Santos also leaned his body closer to Lin Qi. "I want to know what attitude your president has towards the military action we are about to take."

  There's no doubt that this question is too direct and also too difficult.

  "After a moment of contemplation, Lin Qi said: 'We will not intervene in the military conflict between your country and Pakistan, but we will provide your country with assistance to the best of our abilities.'"

  "For example..." Santos continued.

  "Intelligence," Lynch replied tersely. "We can provide your country with all the intelligence related to military operations."

  Santos nodded slightly, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

  Linch saw what Santos meant but didn't continue to raise the "buy price".

  Santos is a politician with a military background and has a deep understanding of military operations. At present, the US can only provide India with military intelligence. Even if the US agrees to provide weapons and equipment to India, including the most advanced ones, it will be difficult for the Indian army to master American-made weapons and equipment in just a few days. The command mode of the Indian army, as well as various supporting facilities, are all tailored to Russian-made weapons and have nothing to do with US-made weapons. Unless the US sends personnel to participate in the war, India's acquisition of US weapons and equipment will not have any practical significance.

  "We need comprehensive intelligence support." Santos also understood this point, "including the military deployment of China in the river valley and Pamir Plateau."

  "That's no problem." Linchi immediately made a guarantee. "Before the war breaks out, we will first provide your country with information on the deployment of Pakistani and Chinese troops. After the war breaks out, we can also provide your country with information on the movement of Pakistani and Chinese troops. To do this, an intelligence exchange station needs to be established in New Delhi, and an intelligence liaison officer should be dispatched to promptly deliver relevant intelligence into your hands."

  "I'll take care of the arrangements, when will your intelligence personnel arrive?"

  "Within 24 hours."

  Santos flashed a rare smile, thought for a moment and said: "We will launch an attack within forty-eight hours. Hopefully, by then your country can fulfill its promise."

  "Prime Minister, the President sent me here to express our support for your country's firm stance." Lynch straightened his body and changed color, saying, "We will fulfill our promise, and at the same time hope that your country can carefully deal with the war and not harm the interests of the whole world."

  Lin Chi wants to say is not "the interests of the whole world", but "the interests of America".

  Santos was very clear about Lynch's meaning and said: "Mr. Secretary of State, is your President concerned that we will use nuclear weapons in the war?"

  Lin Qi didn't say anything, but his meaning was already clear enough.

  "I can give solemn assurances to the Secretary of State and your President that we will not use nuclear weapons, provided the other side does not use them first and New Delhi is not threatened. Santos' tone was very serious. "To avoid accidental injury to your people, I hope during the war you can temporarily withdraw your fleet from the Arabian Sea and stop providing all military aid to Pakistan."

  Lin Qi agreed without hesitation.

  Two disobedient classmates are going to fight, since the class monitor doesn't intervene, they should make way then.

  The talks resulted in tangible gains, with Linchi securing India's guarantee of non-use of nuclear weapons and Santos obtaining the US commitment to intelligence support and suspension of military aid to Pakistan.

  Then the two men discussed the details.

  Two and a half hours later, Lin Qi left Jawaharlal's villa.

  At this time, Huang Guowei's sedan had just arrived at the gate of the mountain villa.

  As he saw the Cadillac armored car with an American flag on its hood, Huang Guowei showed a bitter smile. The leader had him visit India as a special envoy, which was simply a waste of fuel for the special plane. Before he entered Santos' study, the interim Prime Minister of India had already made the decision to launch a war.

  Unlike Lin Qi, Huang Guowei stayed in the mountain villa for less than an hour.

  In the evening, the Foreign Minister of the Republic boarded a special plane for diplomatic use and left New Delhi. After returning to Beijing, Huang Guowei immediately went to the Presidential Palace. When he arrived, it was already past 10 o'clock at night.

  Ji Youguo was still awake and watching the evening news on a news channel.

  Before me, Santos met with the US presidential envoy. Huang Guowei had not yet sat down when he began to brief the situation. "I talked to Santos for fifty minutes, his attitude was very tough, saying that he would resolutely punish the mastermind of the Huma Younus bombing case and the Prime Minister's office bombing case. If I'm not mistaken, Santos has already obtained strong guarantees and commitments from the US, India is about to go to war with Pakistan."

  "We all expected this." Ji Youguo poured a cup of tea. "How is New Delhi?"

  "It's very tense." Huang Guowei picked up his teacup and put it down again, as it was too hot. "There are rumors of war everywhere, the Indian police have strengthened security measures, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs' anti-terrorism troops have also entered the city. When I met with the Indian Foreign Minister, I specifically mentioned the tense situation in front of us, but didn't get any valuable information."

  "Did Santos promise not to use nuclear weapons?"

  Huang Guowei was slightly startled and said: "When Santos answered this question, he was a bit vague and didn't show his attitude. Yuan Shou, do you think..."

  Ji Youguo waved his hand and didn't let Huang Guowei continue speaking.

  After a moment of contemplation, Ji Youguo smiled coldly and said, "Santos' four years at Cambridge University were not wasted in vain. Rest assured, India will not use nuclear weapons."

  "But..."

  "Guo Wei, you're a diplomatic expert, don't you understand Santos' intention?"

  Huang Guowei slightly furrowed his brow, feeling that Ji Youguo's judgment was somewhat reasonable.

  "If Santos had made up his mind to use nuclear weapons, he would not have been ambiguous in diplomatic rhetoric and would even have deliberately stated that he would not use nuclear weapons, letting us relax our vigilance. Santos did not make a clear statement on this issue, indicating that he never intended to use nuclear weapons but only wanted to create deterrence through an ambiguous attitude."

  "It's indeed the case, and it must be due to the attitude of the United States."

  Ji Youguo nodded. "In addition to attitude, there are also commitments made."

  Long before Huang Guowei returned, Ji Youguo had thought that the main purpose of the US President's special envoy visiting India was to make Santos promise not to use nuclear weapons in the war. For this, the United States must give India some benefits.

  After getting benefits from America, how will India trigger a war?

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