George Bush’S Great America [EN]: Chapter 105

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“The U.S. Navy’s carrier strike group has appeared in the Yellow Sea.”

‘What the hell? We haven’t even defaulted yet.’

China was horrified by the unexpected appearance of the U.S. carrier strike group. It wasn’t just any force; the most powerful conventional military force on Earth was advancing towards their country. Wouldn’t it be stranger if they weren’t terrified?

“What are you doing? Protest officially!”

“Well, actually, we’ve been issuing warnings since the moment we detected them, but they’re saying it’s related to North Korea and that China should stay out of it.”

The moment North Korea was mentioned, it clicked. Kim Jong-il, that damn pig, must have shown his belly to the new master, realizing things weren’t going his way. Even a mere neighborhood mutt recognizes the person who feeds it as its master. What could one expect from black-haired beasts, the best at betrayal in the entire race?

“What? What did you say?”

Suddenly, the Chief of Staff, who was relaying the message, turned pale.

“What else now… No! I’ll listen myself!”

Li Keqiang snatched the phone from the Chief of Staff.

“What in the world is going on!”

「Some of the U.S. carrier strike group is entering the East China Sea!」

He continued his explanation, unaware that the person on the other end was the President.

「The Americans say their carrier strike group is a bit large, so they ‘inevitably’ have to intrude! Aren’t they crazy!?」

Hearing that, Li Keqiang felt the concept of ‘absurdity’ completely burn away and disappear within him.

‘So, they’re going all out, huh?’

In any case, the incident of the U.S. invading China’s territorial waters was the perfect excuse to detonate Li Keqiang’s patience, which was already at its limit. Li Keqiang was a nice guy, but definitely not a pushover.

“We can’t just keep taking it. Deploy our fleet too. All of it!”

With those words from Li Keqiang, the commander-in-chief, the Chinese 3rd Fleet began to move.

“Deploy! Deploy! Orders have been issued from above! Let’s show those Americans what’s what!”

‘Whose idea was it to launch the Liaoning?’

Following the order to mobilize all available naval power, the Liaoning [China’s first aircraft carrier], which had only recently docked in a Chinese port, was launched. It was clearly strange to anyone who saw it, but it happened because the order given was ‘Deploy everything!’

A laughable situation arose due to distorted interpretation of orders and flawed administrative procedures.

From coastal patrol speedboats to frigates adorned with various armaments, and even strategic nuclear submarines, truly all naval forces slowly gathered at the border between the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. No matter how fast a ship is, there’s a clear limit.

“What the hell is wrong with those bastards?”

That is, the U.S. carrier strike group was spinning around like the hand of a clock. It looked like laundry in a washing machine, or a whirlpool made of steel. What was important was that the carrier strike group kept intruding into Chinese territorial waters while spinning in place.

Each time, China warned with enraged voices and steadily fired naval guns around the U.S. carrier strike group, but the U.S. carrier strike group didn’t budge and kept intruding. China couldn’t dare to aim and fire properly, so they just stamped their feet.

Whether they liked it or not, the moment a shell hit a U.S. Navy ship, it would be war, wouldn’t it? China didn’t want to start World War III just yet.

「We still haven’t received permission to enter from North Korea.」

“What is their purpose? Is their intention really just to screw with us?”

Anyone else would think that couldn’t be the case and delve deeply into the labyrinth of thought, but the opponent was that fighter pilot president. He was the worst possible match for Li Keqiang, who always thought rationally and reasonably.

Looking at his achievements, he clearly didn’t seem like a madman, but if you examined his actions one by one, he was a unique scoundrel who wielded the immense power of the United States as he pleased. His behavior showed exactly what would happen if someone who believed himself to be the only one in the world gave up even the slightest pretense of formality.

‘Still, this is strange.’

There was no reason for North Korea to keep them out this long. Above all, seeing that North Korea was ignoring all the diplomatic messages China was sending, it was clear that North Korea’s refusal to grant permission was solely at the behest of the United States.

‘Moreover, if they keep spinning around like that, the fuel consumption must be enormous. Are they saying that money is no object if it’s to make fun of us?’

Since nothing else came to mind, that might really be the case. What grudge did they have against China to torment them like this? Maybe he was beaten up by a Chinese-American in his childhood? Or maybe he’s a racist who particularly loves discriminating against Chinese people.

In any case, watching the over-voltage metronome-like fit did raise his blood pressure, but other than damaging the reputation of the People’s Republic of China, there wasn’t really any loss. Other than that, China’s fuel consumption was just as significant as the United States’, and providing fuel to a country that was already struggling was causing him to groan.

‘You son of a bitch. You’re a truly vicious son of a bitch.’

Li Keqiang listened to the real-time reports and internally showered the American president with all the insults he could muster. Had he ever hated someone this much in his 47 years of life?

And so, several days passed.

“The money used to buy the oil put into the navy is Chinese money, so it must be consumed in Chinese waters… That’s how the balance of the Earth is maintained…”

“Mr. President. Please stop talking nonsense and look at this reconnaissance report. ‘Operation Merry-Go-Round’ has just ended today.”

The reconnaissance report handed over by the Chief of Staff contained detailed data on the Chinese Navy. However, it confirmed that the Chinese naval forces were not significantly different from the existing data. In other words, the significance of this reconnaissance was in confirming that there were no changes in the data.

And apart from the lack of gains, the marines on the carrier strike group seemed to be disappointed that the operation was over, regardless of their rank.

“Well, it seems to have gone as intended, but there’s not much significance since there’s not much difference from the previously secured data.”

“So, it’s safe to say that’s all of China’s naval power.”

But surprisingly, Chinese naval observation was just a minor byproduct of this bizarre act, and its true meaning was, as Li Keqiang had guessed, to make fun of China. It wouldn’t be wrong to say it was the most expensive prank in human history.

“Oh, right. What did North Korea say?”

In fact, they had been ignoring all the official messages sent by Kim Jong-il. Of course, they occasionally looked at them, but they were trivial stories asking for more aid, so instead of teasing them with 15 tons like last time, they were providing proper aid. Of course, even so, they didn’t give North Korea everything they asked for.

“So. According to the ambassador to North Korea…”

He paused for a beat, then took a deep breath again.

“I clearly heard that the United States was sending security forces to the embassy in North Korea, am I correct?”

Kim Jong-il said that, taking a deep breath in and out. He felt like he would collapse at any moment if he didn’t do this. That’s how serious the situation was. No, it might be more accurate to say it was absurd, but even uttering such a sigh was not allowed.

“Yes, that is correct.”

“So, you’re saying that’s the security force?”

“That is what they say.”

“Oh, for the love of god! They said it was a security force, but what kind of weapon of mass destruction is a security force? Are they planning to protect us from a nuclear attack or something?”

He should have suspected something was wrong when they specified Nampo Port, but could this be happening? Well, what kind of madman would think of bringing a carrier strike group as an embassy security force? The one who could think of that is the madman.

“That crazy fighter pilot! Is he going to force us to disarm soon?”

It wasn’t impossible. Well, anything could happen in a situation where things that seemed impossible were happening right now. Perhaps he had to think like a paranoid madman to respond to the current Bush administration’s methods.

‘Now that it’s come to this, we must effectively utilize the American bastards who will be stationed in Nampo Port.’

Once the U.S. military settles anywhere in the world, it becomes money just by being there.

‘Even if this Kim Jong-il is uneducated, he knows that there is nothing better than dollars for economic revitalization.’

Ironically, Kim Jong-il knew the value of the dollar better than anyone else in North Korea, thanks to his daily extravagance on a national scale. Besides that, having a carrier strike group docked was a significant merit both economically and militarily. If the ship docked at Nampo Port was a nuclear-powered carrier, they could draw surplus power from the docked carrier.

‘Should I just give them land near Nampo Port?’

The U.S. military may be monstrous, but it is ultimately an organization composed of humans, and they can’t live on the ship forever like sailors bound to a ghost ship. In particular, the cabins are not very comfortable places to live.

Of course, the carrier has all sorts of facilities, from post offices to broadcasting stations, and even museums, but how many people would nod their heads if asked if they wanted to live on that ship forever?

Furthermore, no matter how he thought about it, it didn’t seem like the United States would end with just the carrier strike group. Some ignorant people might say, ‘What’s just a carrier strike group?’ but that’s how the United States is operating right now, isn’t it? Every problem has a root, and they have a convenient master key that can eliminate that root all at once.

But it seemed that they weren’t satisfied with just using it as a simple master key. The level at which they used that master key wasn’t like moving with the weight and solemnity of a hidden last resort. Instead, whenever a problem arose, they would just ram the carrier into it without distinguishing between the front and back, making it behave.

They were treating problems that other countries would have to consider several times as if they were choosing the lunch menu for the day. The carrier strike group that received the order was acting like a dog wagging its tail after hearing the word ‘walk’.

Unless they completely isolated themselves from South Korea, they had decided to move forward in a mood of reconciliation and become a leech sucking up American money, so they had to give everything they could give. There was no other reason for North Korea to lag behind. It was because they didn’t have money.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Comrade General!”

“Tell the American ambassador exactly that.”

“Understood!”

“Instead of that, say that we are willing to lease land around Nampo Port.”

What could he do? If he couldn’t get out of the strong current, it was better to ride the waves than to go against them.

‘Yes, I should take this opportunity to de-Sinicize [reduce Chinese influence].’