Orlando’s mouth curled up on one side. “It’s Ok, man. I’m sure you’ll get me back some time.”
The two chatted on between mouthfuls of stir fry, putting pieces together, but still blissfully unaware of the larger plots at play.
CMC and Politburo Pow Wow
The weather had finally turned cold and the fall leaves were nearly all gone. Winter would come soon enough, and then the smog would once again intensify as the 21 million residents of the city began to heat their homes and apartments. As Zhang walked into the private entrance to the Great Hall of the People, he removed his HEPA filter mask. He hated wearing that thing, but the smog this time of year made it a necessity.
It was not often that a meeting was called by the Central Military Commission (CMC) where the members of the Politburo Standing Committee were held in a joint session, but this was not an ordinary meeting. Today was the meeting that would decide whether or not China would move forward with Chairman Zhang’s plan to reassert Greater China and a new world order.
After everyone had gone through an extensive security check (which included a thorough sweep of electronic devices), the group was allowed to enter the secured briefing room deep in the bowels of the building. The secretive chamber was a suite of technology wizardry. One wall of the room was filled with large digital displays that could show power point briefings, or live satellite, drone or video feeds. The opposite wall had a large map of China, Asia, and the rest of the world. There were also several monitors that had various news outlets on as well.
Once everyone had entered the room, the eight members of the CMC and the six members of the Politburo Standing Committee took their seats at the elegantly hand-carved board table to discuss the future of China and the world. As Chairman Zhang had organized this joint meeting, he made sure to arrange the name placards on the table so there would be a member of the military sitting between each member of the Politburo. He wanted everyone to be involved in the discussion. Of course, his deputy, Liang Zhang Wei, was sitting against the back wall and would note each person who was against moving forward with the plan. Each person who raised objections would be dealt with separately, to include the President if need be. The future of China and the world was too important for one or two men to stand in the way of progress. Zhang would see to that.
President Xi knew Chairman Zhang was working behind the scenes on a grand and elaborate plan with the Russians. While he knew most of what Zhang had been working on, this meeting would bring to light the full scope of it. President Xi was no fool; he knew there were structural problems within the Chinese society that needed to be solved. The size of their population, the lack of eligible single women for the hundreds of millions of single men, and food and natural resource shortages were proving to be more than challenging to sustain. The time for China to break out of its shackles was quickly approaching.
Zhang cleared his throat before beginning. “Mr. President, Generals, Politburo members, thank you for your time today as we discuss the future of China. As you know, I have been working behind the scenes to organize and develop a plan to realize the dream of a Greater China, one where our lost provinces are returned and where we can see China exert our true destiny.”
The various generals and politicians at the table all rustled a little in their seats. Many of the generals and politicians at the table, while not outwardly against such a thought, were reluctant to risk their stature and position to further China as a nation. They were comfortable with the status quo, which was why Zhang needed to identify who the holdouts would be, so they could be dealt with and replaced.
President Xi interrupted, “-Generals, gentlemen, Chairman Zhang has developed quite a comprehensive plan. I believe everyone should hear him out before passing judgement.” He nodded slightly to Zhang. That was about as much support as he would provide until Zhang either convinced the others to endorse his plan or shut it down.
Zhang bowed slightly to President Xi as if to thank him, and then continued, “The increased activity of Islamic militants in Xinjiang province has become a national concern as the number of attacks across the region has increased to nearly one a week. The majority of these militants were being supported and trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan. For years, we have been pressuring the Pakistanis to deal with this problem. However, they are either unwilling or unable to deal with this travesty. Therefore, the time has come for us to sever military and economic ties with the nation of Pakistan.” Zhang saw several heads nod in approval. If there was a threat to the communist party in the rural areas of China, it was radical Islamic terrorism. They would not allow it to spread any further than it already had, even if it meant sacrificing a marginal ally.
“The ending of our relationship with Pakistan will give China an opportunity to resolve our longstanding dispute with the people of India.” A few of the eyebrows in the room raised in surprise. Zhang continued, unhindered. “As of two days ago, we have settled that issue. We have given up our territorial disputes with India, and ending of our military support to Pakistan was then sufficient enough for them to agree to a thawing of relations.”
Zhang continued, knowing that some of these points had already been gone over the day before by the Foreign Minister. “India has also agreed to cede Southeast Asia as China’s sole sphere of influence, while we will turn a blind eye to India’s conflict with Pakistan.” This gained more nods of agreement and smiles. They were probably thinking about the enormous activity that would be spurred between the countries now that their seemingly intractable issues had been resolved.
“Now comes the tough part,” thought Zhang. “Time to sell them on moving forward with the actual plan of Greater China.”
“We have some tough choices to make going forward,” he told the group sternly. “As you know, for the past several years, violence against our people working in Mongolia has continued to increase. The Chinese workers are essentially treated like slaves in Mongolia. They are not allowed to own property, they are not allowed to marry women from Mongolia, and they are not treated with basic human respect and dignity.”
Zhang could see the Politburo men nodding their heads, even some of the generals agreed. “Mongolia continues to thumb its nose at us, believing that their new-found wealth allows them to rise above their station. I would like to draw your attention to the folder being given to you on how we may deal with Mongolia,” Chairman Zhang announced as Liang walked around the table giving each member a folder with a political, military, and economic plan to deal with Mongolia.
Several hours passed as Zhang painstakingly put forward the benefits of his plan. The group then discussed the future of Mongolia, and ultimately concluded that China should move forward with its acquisition of Mongolia under the guise of protecting their citizens. As the talks continued, tea was eventually brought in for everyone to share.
As the stewards left the room, Zhang turned towards the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ground commander. “General Liu’s forces will absorb Mongolia in a single day.” Liu puffed his chest out at being mentioned in such a strong light.