by T I WADE
Chapter 9
China
The board room on the 30th floor of Zedong Electronics in Nanjing was busy, and there was mixed feelings of excitement, apprehension, and dread. The 16 men were getting ready to tour Shanghai’s International Airport and then go on to the harbor. They had just finished an early breakfast and the bus was ready for them downstairs. It was 5:00 am, early on the morning of the seventh day in Shanghai and thirteen hours ahead of East Coast time in the United States. The first of the Boeing 747s would be taking off for its nonstop flight into John F. Kennedy Airport later that morning, which in a few weeks would be renamed Guomindang International Airport.
Chairman Wang Chunqiao raised his hands, and everyone took their seats. The room was cleared except for the 16 men sitting around the boardroom.
“Comrades, we have achieved something nobody in the world has ever achieved—the control of every living man, woman and child in the western world!” The men in the room applauded this statement.
“To remember the words of our great leader, Mao Zedong, ‘If the worst came to the worst and half of mankind died, the other half would remain, while imperialism would be razed to the ground, and the whole world would become socialist; in a number of years there would be 2.7 billion people again and definitely more.’ Comrades, I believe we are carrying out and completing his legacy, and whomever must die in this transfer of power from world capitalism to world communism will be replaced by our own breed of people. The most powerful influence in my life was my training, and much of your training, by our leader’s great wife, Jiang Qing. As you know, our success will be the ideas of controlling the world that I learned from her teachings for 15 years. Her vision was a world full of people where everybody was equal and worked for the state. Now, the remaining 2.7 billion people will work for us. They will work for her, and they will work for the world’s greatest leader, Mao Zedong, and the original Guomindang Communist Party. We are its 16 leaders. We are the Politburo of the future. Tomorrow, we leave our country of birth and with 4,000 of our Red Guards, go forth and carry on ‘The Great Leap Forward’ and multiply and complete the ‘cultural revolution’ our beloved leader began over 50 years ago. As my father, Zhang Chunqiao, believed, the Cultural Revolution created in 1966 was designed as a necessity for world maintenance and the survival of our species on this planet. The capitalistic system of greed followed by every person in the western world does not work. Human freedom does not work, could never work, and will only lead to the end of human civilization. Now it is our turn, and we will rule every man, woman, and child in a state of perfection, where they are the worker bees of life, all equal, and they will live and die to make our world the greatest in history.”
He was given a standing ovation as he stood there. It had taken him 40 years of work to start his crusade to cure humanity of greed and place everyone in their rightful position, and he knew that nothing could stop them now. He had three close allies—family members on the board from the most powerful force in China a half century ago—and his father’s wish to him was to keep the “Gang of Four” alive, take over China and the world, and to prove that they were the rightful leaders of the modern world.
They were leaving Headquarters for the beginning of their two week journey to New York harbor. This was the last time they would see their boardroom for a couple of years, maybe even longer. The 15 men were asked to stand up, each man wearing the same uniform of the new Politburo—the same clothes Mao Zedong wore most of his life. They were asked to stand in a line facing their chairman and each member was presented with two gold encrusted red books, the size of a postage stamp, to wear on their lapels to show their status in the world as a member of the new Zedong Politburo. They left the boardroom for the last time for their departure transfer from the Zedong Electronics building to their final destination: Shanghai Harbor, 170 miles away.
The chairman returned to his private office, which took up the entire 20th floor of the second building next door. As usual, he was followed by the 12 security guards and the engineer carrying the special packet and equipment, and the consul with the five special red buttons. He looked around for the last time. It was totally empty. All the furniture and priceless Chinese artifacts worth millions of dollars had been packed and placed aboard one of the container ships, taking up an entire, specially-made armored steel container to be unloaded in his new office in the White House—the Oval Office.
Each man had been given a set of two pieces of red leather travel luggage and these, with their silver suitcases were already placed in the lower hold of an extremely modern bus, fully armored-plated, with 16 rich, thick, reclining leather chairs.
Once all were aboard, the bus left the Zedong Electronics buildings with every one of the men looking at the two largest buildings in the area—one 30 stories high and the second newer building added in 2005, 20 stories high, where they had their suites of offices on the top 16 floors. It was the last time they would see their old place of work for a long time. Their new offices would be the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
The trip to the Shanghai airport from Nanjing took three hours. A dozen Red Guard motorcycles, the riders dressed in their red parade uniforms, rode in front and behind. It was a site to see as the bus, still with its motorcade drove into the airport. The airport road was thronged with Red Army Guards waving little red Mao Zedong flags. They drove into the airport and in front of them were the fleet of 30 shining new Air China 747ERs standing in three rows, and then off to one side were five of the biggest passenger aircraft in the world—Air China Airbus A380s—which had been delivered over the last two years. The chairman had done his math well. The first payments to Airbus Industries were due to begin on February 1st.
Zedong Electronics had not paid one Yuan for more than $10 billion Yuan worth of aircraft. Twenty-five of the newest Boeing 747-400ERs had been delivered over the last five years and less than $100 million Yuan had been paid for them, less than the cost of just one aircraft.
A large wooden seating platform had been placed with a grand view of all the aircraft for the occasion. The chairman climbed up the stairs to face the beautiful birds.
“Comrades, I stand between our two brave pilot teams who will take-off in one hour and be the pilots leading our first attack on mainland America,” the chairman continued standing between two groups of three men who had been the lucky ones to get the job. All six pilots stood at attention and looked straight ahead. They never looked at the chairman once, since they were too low in rank to even be seen looking at him.
“The first aircraft in our front line is the aircraft that will invade American airspace first. Over a certain country outside of the United States, the position of which only I know, she will meet up with her sister aircraft, the 747 transporter. At this moment the transporter, which at another location, is ready and holds the five million working electronic parts and spares ready to get New York’s airports and harbor infrastructure up and running. We will start by bringing the three New York airports and the complete harbor facilities back online with generator power so that we can take control of New York and start distributing food to our new citizens.”
“Down there,” he pointed to a group wearing white coats, “are 100 of our best Zedong electrical engineers. They are ready for the task of electrifying our new country and working hard to make her come alive again. To the right of them are 200 of our elite Mao Red Guards, who will protect our engineers from any old-world Americans who try to upset our plans.”
“Once these personnel have been deposited in New York, the aircraft will return here and all of our aircraft will leave 36 hours before our planned arrival in New York. The 20,000 troops they carry will be placed into position around the harbor and on the bridges, greeting our arrival into New York Harbor. They have 24 hours to terminate any opposition and then give us ground protection against any form of resistance from American military. Our aircraft will be refueled by our engineers and again return here to Shan
ghai to collect our second load of 20,000 Red Guards who will arrive as we arrive under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge into New York Harbor. With another 4,000 Red Guards aboard our naval and container ships, we will have a mighty force of over 40,000 soldiers to extinguish any capitalistic flames in America.” He paused for the applause.
“Five days after we arrive, a third flight of 20,000 Red Guard Marines will land in Washington D.C. and will be met by us personally at Ronald Reagan International Airport.” Again applause interrupted his speech.
“Two weeks from then, two more flights of 20,000 troops will be flown into Los Angeles International Airport, as well as another 4,000 troops on our naval vessels and container ships. Gentlemen, within a month, we will have a glorious Red Guard Army of over 110,000 men on American soil, all ready to populate the country with children from the remaining women of our new country.” There was another enthusiastic round of applause from the massive audience of 15,000 men listening.
“It now gives me great honor to rename this airport in the name of my father, who was one of the most prominent people in China. Comrades, I now dedicate this airport, which will henceforth be called the “Comrade Zhaung Chunqiao International Airport.”
Again, there was a loud ovation from the thousands of men who applauded the new name. The chairman shook hands with the six pilots, as the men below in long rows began to board the first aircraft through tall mobile stairs, each engineer waving to the platform as they entered through one of the three doors. Then, the 200 soldiers walked up the stairs, and 20 minutes later, the stairs were pulled away and the whine of Rolls Royce aircraft engines could be heard. Nobody moved. A tractor pulled the large aircraft around and out to the taxiway, making sure that the blast of the engines did not hit the platform.
The large aircraft taxied around to the main runway and with its engines screaming, the large 747 began to move faster and faster. It took a long time, but finally the aircraft could be seen a mile away climbing into the air for its long trip to John F. Kennedy Airport, 7,370 miles away. The 16 dignitaries walked back to the bus, got in, and were driven to the harbor area.
Shanghai Harbor was a massive metropolis of cranes and ships, but was dwarfed by the collection of shipping that had congregated from different ports along the Chinese coast just the night before. There again, thousands of the new and officially dressed Red Guards were on parade everywhere, in red with gold-edged military uniforms designed for parades. They were armed and all male. The bus swept into the main harbor area, and there were gasps of surprise from the men in the bus at their first sight of the new Zedong Navy.
The pride and joy of the new Navy was berthed in the most central location—its new aircraft carrier, the ‘Shi Lang’ with the number 83 on both sides of its hull and on the coning tower. Next to her were two modern destroyers, and next to them were two recently completed long-range frigates. On the other side of the harbor were five massive container ships, the biggest in the world, laden down with cargo and smoke already rising from their towers.
A second observation platform had been especially built for the occasion on the edge of the harbor, and the 16 men mounted the platform. The platform was again surrounded by thousands of parade-dressed guards and a speaker’s podium had been placed in the middle where the speaker would have his back to the awesome sight of the naval power of Zedong Electronics. The chairman headed towards the podium as the other men took their seats.
Comrade Mo Wang was shaken away from the awe of the view by his cell phone buzzing in his pocket. “Yes, Fung,” he stated abruptly into the satellite phone.
“Comrade, I have the latest reports for you,” stated the head-of-communications on the 29th floor of the building they had just left. “Report from the American airport: our men are at the airport and halfway to completing the clearance of the runway. They report no problems. The airport is totally empty of Americans. There are no American troops anywhere to be seen and they said that they have the two fuel pumpers and necessary equipment ready for refueling operation. The engineers are needed to start up the electrical systems and the two aircraft should be back in the air to Shanghai once the engineers have replaced the electrical fuel pump’s components. They believe there will be 33 plug-in electrical replacements.”
“Yes, yes, I know that, Fung. The two aircraft are on their way. It should take the engineers an hour to get the fuel pumps to activate the flow of fuel to the aircraft once they land. What else? I’m busy.”
“Report from Comrade Deng. They have arrived in the state of Alabama and are proceeding two hours ahead of schedule. They are expecting to meet up with Comrade Bo Lee Tang within 24 hours and complete their attack on the Raleigh airport, and then will immediately travel north. Do you have any orders for the other squads? You told me to remind you—to tell you about moving everyone towards New York.”
“I remember, Fung,” Wang replied. “Tell all squads to begin moving towards the New York airport called JFK and to report in at headquarters. They must not arrive until the morning of Day Eight. That will allow our Red Army troops to set up their control base and be ready for our squads to arrive.”
Comrade Wang suddenly realized that the chairman, the admiral of the Zedong fleet, another five high-ranking naval officers, and every one of the 14 other men were staring at him. The chairman looked rather angry at Mo Wang for ruining his special moment.
“Comrade Wang, your conversation was important enough to hold up our navy’s christening occasion?” the chairman asked sarcastically.
“My humble apologies, Comrade Chairman,” replied Comrade Wang, bravely. He was nervous enough to let his phone slip through his fingers and it bounced onto the hard wooden platform. He left it there hoping nobody had noticed the drop. “Unfortunately, I must be in contact with the operations in America at all times, Comrade Chairman. Without our satellite global positioning systems or our satellite communications and directional aids working on our aircraft, I must be informed about weather and runway conditions at all times. Once our aircraft take off and reach a certain point, there is no returning, Comrade Chairman. Good news though, the weather is good and the runway is half cleared, perfectly on schedule.”
“Relax Comrade Wang, you are worrying too much. Nobody can thwart our attack. Look at what we have to fight with against anything they could possibly find to fly or shoot,” he stated, lifting his right hand into the air and turning towards the magnificent scene in the harbor.
Mo Wang’s insulting action was quickly forgotten by the rest, and he quickly picked up the phone and put it in his pocket without checking it.
“Comrades,” began the chairman. “I give you Admiral Hun, the commander of our navy. He will explain each ship to you. Admiral Hun, please.”
“Comrade Chairman, glorious members of the Zedong Politburo, fellow naval personnel, I am honored today to present you the most powerful navy in the world—The Zedong Navy.” This was greeted by standing and enthusiastic applause from everybody on the platform.
“May I introduce to you our greatest naval asset, the Shi Lang, the only operating aircraft carrier in the world!” The applause continued. “The Shi Lang has a crew of 2,500 and 30 J-10 fighter aircraft especially adapted for her. She is the largest military vessel, which can actually pass through the Panama Canal with inches to spare. The aircraft landed on the Shi Lang for the first time yesterday, and our pilots will practice while we are sailing toward the Panama Canal and then into New York. Naturally, without our global positioning systems and satellite directional radar infrastructures, many of our weapons are not as accurate and their success ranges are limited, but against the United States of America, who has nothing, we are a very potent force.”
“Next, are our two ultramodern Type 052C destroyers—numbers 170 and 171. They are the best the world offers, fully armed for air and sea attacks, and our main defense for the Shi Lang. Third, our two modern Type 054 frigates—numbers 572 and 573. Both were launched less than six months ago and ar
e the most modern frigates in the world. They have the same capabilities as the destroyers and are completely invincible against sea or air attacks. Here are our captains from each vessel, who are directly under my command,” the admiral introduced, pointing to the five men standing behind him.
“May I introduce you to five of the largest and most modern container ships in the world. We own ten of these new ships and these five are named ‘Xin New York I’ to ‘Xin New York V,’ and all are destined for New York Harbor. The other five super ships, still being loaded in other harbors are ‘Xin Los Angeles I to V’ and will leave two weeks after us and head for Los Angles. Two weeks will be adequate time for our naval fleet to escort the container ships into New York, and then return through our Panama Canal to meet up with the next five ships in the middle of the Pacific and escort them into the western capital of our new country. We have two military resupply ships already a day out from Shanghai, and they will be ready to refuel our military ships once they get through the Panama Canal. Comrades, I thank you for listening.”
The chairman regained the podium as the admiral received loud applause. He continued by giving a short speech on how he was looking forward to the start of the journey and each of the Politburo members would each have a specially built stateroom aboard the Shi Lang. He nodded to the band, which started with the Zedong Electronics National Anthem—the Chinese National Anthem from the days of Mao Zedong.
There was silence as they gazed upon the view.
It was a beautiful sight and they would be staying aboard the Shi Lang that very night, but first it was off to a restaurant for lunch and then a tour of the docks on a tug boat to view all ten ships. The suitcases were already on their way to the ship, and the bus had already left to return to Zedong Electronics’ headquarters.
