Chapter 343: The Fall Of The Old Era And The Dawn Of The New Era
“Professor, of course this is just my idea. I hope you can judge from a technical perspective whether it’s feasible.
Because V has always been unfindable, I feel it’s very difficult to find him.
The opponent is simply like a fog, no one knows if he is a person or an organization, no one has seen the face under his mask.
There are very few traces left at the scene.
Lyndon Johnson gritted his teeth when mentioning V during the work handover with me, but was helpless.
Lin Ran looked serious, but was laughing heartily inside.
Because the one Lyndon Johnson thanked and hated was actually the same person.
The opponent probably won’t have a day in his life when he knows the truth.
“Yes, I’ve heard McNamara mention it. The Department of Defense even helped the FBI formulate a capture plan, but they all failed,” Lin Ran said.
That makes sense. McNamara, you told me the plan you formulated and then came to catch me—there’s no way you’d catch me.
Nixon nodded and said, “That’s right. McNamara once communicated with the Army side, deploying over five thousand Army soldiers to try to capture V. The plan even received approval from President Lyndon Johnson, but it ultimately failed.”
What plan?
This plan was not exposed in the media, but Lin Ran knew it was simulating the assassination of Lyndon Johnson.
Because V appears every time at the scene of an assassination.
So this time with Lyndon Johnson personally assassinated, you’d have to show up, right?
The army wasn’t mobilized from America, but secretly brought back from overseas, and during the voter rally, the audience was full of Army soldiers.
The Army soldiers were to carry out the assassination of Lyndon Johnson.
Of course the assassination was fake.
But they released the news in advance, spreading it through various mafia channels, saying that civil rights activists were dissatisfied with Lyndon Johnson and would assassinate him at the rally.
In short, the White House, the Pentagon, and the FBI came up with many methods to ensure the news looked absolutely real, circulated only underground, and reached V’s hands.
What methods? Simulating the Kennedy assassination scenario, just changing the assassination target from Kennedy to Lyndon Johnson.
First the Washington underground mafia knew, then it spread outward from Washington, finally even the Soviet people all knew—an organization was going to assassinate Lyndon Johnson.
Little did they know, this was a play self-directed and self-acted by the White House side, just to lure V out.
The slight difference was that the Soviet people tried to notify Kennedy through various channels, but this time they didn’t notify Lyndon Johnson.
This also made Lyndon Johnson quite unhappy: why are you Soviet guys treating us differently? Aren’t the Vietnam War peace talks, nuclear disarmament, and strategic arms limitations all pushed by me?
The White House and American army performed very hard and seriously, with McNamara personally serving as director. They performed the entire process from start to finish, but didn’t even see V’s shadow.
There’d be a ghost if they could see him.
On one hand, McNamara proudly told Lin Ran this plan; on the other hand, even if Lyndon Johnson were really assassinated, he wouldn’t go to the scene.
For someone already stepping down, any more exposure would be purely superfluous.
The plan took painstaking effort and huge resources, mobilizing five thousand Army soldiers from overseas, plus secrecy work—the resources spent were no small amount.
It ultimately failed, declaring that finding V in the short term was unrealistic.
If V can’t be found, how to ensure the safety of congressmen and bureaucrats?
Everyone gathers together, with the army providing centralized security—but what if they have cannonballs?
Wouldn’t that just wipe them all out in one go?
Better to live distributed and disperse the risk.
Ever since Hoover was killed, all politicians in Washington began raising dogs.
The dogs raised had to be large breeds, the bigger and fiercer the better.
At the same time, retired special forces from the military became hot commodities.
The congressmen lords have money; it’s not like they can’t afford it.
This is lifesaving money.
But even so, the lords don’t want to spend it.
Fred began pushing a bill whose general meaning was that the American military has an obligation to provide security service to congressmen, and at minimum dispatch one team, that is, six elite soldiers to Washington for duty.
Every congressman could receive protection from six elite American soldiers.
This proposal received unanimous approval from the congressmen, who raised both hands and feet in favor.
This bill passed very quickly; in just one month it had completed the hearings and would soon start voting.
Undoubtedly it would pass unanimously; the country spending money to arrange security for us is perfectly justified.
This is the trend; no one who becomes president can stop this bill.
But is this really effective? The congressmen don’t know and don’t dare think deeply.
Tolson prepared security forces for his lover Hoover that were still useless; would America’s elite soldiers really work?
And Nixon’s idea was Skynet.
Since they’re doing the Star Wars Program anyway, low-orbit satellites at 400 kilometers altitude—if equipped with ultra-high-definition lenses, wouldn’t V have nowhere to hide?
After hearing this, Lin Ran understood: for Washington’s politicians, V’s deterrence was even stronger than the Soviet Union’s.
The Soviet Union at most talks big; more and more Washington politicians see through that the Soviets don’t dare really fight, that it’s all bluster hiding weakness, but V really dares to shoot.
Performing craniotomy on Hoover without his hand shaking.
Lin Ran said, “From a technical perspective, it’s achievable, but the lenses are a big problem.
We need to research higher-definition lenses, better semiconductor equipment, better storage media, and communication transmission equipment.
This is a major engineering project.
Mr. President, think about it: monitoring the movements of airplanes, warships, submarines versus monitoring people’s movements—the difference is huge.
It’s like finding a needle in the sea; can it be found?
Of course, because the needle is in the sea, but when it can be found? Unknown.”
Lin Ran said sincerely.
He wasn’t unwilling to strategically deceive Nixon; rather, his cooperation with Nixon had just begun.
Nixon isn’t a fool; him believing me doesn’t mean he won’t ask other experts. If I overhype it saying NASA can definitely do it,
Nixon just needs to ask others, and it’d be exposed.
But Lin Ran really wanted to do this.
Getting budget from Congress is secondary; advancing lens technology R&D in this spacetime is secondary. Most importantly, it’s the operational space.
Installing communication modules on GPS satellites oneself is simple enough, since there are only 34 GPS satellites total.
This spacetime’s nuclear-powered GPS satellites have plenty of reserved space for tinkering.
But Star Wars satellites can’t; ten thousand of them—if installing modules one by one, when would that finish?
And Skynet hits right in the sweet spot.
Besides lenses, better semiconductor equipment, better storage media, communication transmission equipment—all are exactly what he needs.
It’s like getting a pillow just as you’re drowsy.
Of course Lin Ran isn’t one to wait for opportunities; if they don’t come, he actively creates them.
Even if Nixon didn’t mention it, Lin Ran would proactively propose similar proposals.
But now that Nixon mentioned it, Lin Ran could smoothly take it up.
“Mr. President, despite the many difficulties in the process, NASA is willing to try!” Lin Ran replied.
Nixon shook hands with Lin Ran and said, “Professor, then I’m relieved. Rest assured, Congress will soon halt Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society plan, and we’ll give NASA more financial appropriations.”
The Great Society plan, plainly speaking, was during the Cold War when Western European countries began increasing welfare benefits for citizens, and America wanted to follow suit, providing welfare to citizens including in education, medical care, infrastructure, and more.
Later, America’s Medicare Act, Medicaid Act, and Federal Education Fund all originated from this plan.
Food stamps also flourished during this period.
If there were no Star Wars Program, this would have been the greatest achievement of President Lyndon Johnson’s career.
Now with a change of people, Nixon as an Elephant Party conservative clearly doesn’t want to issue more welfare.
Why should they?
These are all green US dollars; why give them to the bottom layer for some welfare benefits?
We emphasize the American Dream, personal struggle. The professor could rise from a European refugee all the way to White House senior official—why can’t you? Not hardworking enough, right?
This is the conservatives’ viewpoint, especially conservative politicians who can hold office in Washington; they are loyal supporters of this, using it to brainwash the bottom-layer public.
Why? Because it’s the lowest cost.
Even up to the 2020 spacetime, among many European and American countries, America’s welfare benefits rank among the worst.
Relying on the American Dream to make everyone willingly slave away, using media promotion of American Dream success stories to ease social contradictions.
Moreover, current America faces a money shortage, with financial situation similar to the original spacetime’s 1968, on the brink of crisis.
A side note here: the early-started maritime era has greatly alleviated the White House’s financial situation; otherwise, Nixon would now have to resort to crooked ideas, decoupling the US dollar from gold and overturning the Bretton Woods Agreement.
Nixon’s solution is to cut welfare.
How could the public’s welfare benefits possibly be more important than the safety of Washington’s lords?
“Professor, there’s one more thing I want to hear your views on: what do you think of China?” Nixon then asked.
As everyone knows, the famous Nixon visit to China wasn’t something he only considered after becoming president.
Nixon had considered it before being elected president.
Before the presidential election, Nixon had publicly stated his view: “This small planet is not big enough to contain 1 billion capable people living in angry isolation.”
This naturally referred to China.
In the original spacetime, China had a certificate of allegiance, sufficient proof of irreconcilable contradictions with the Soviet Union.
But in this current spacetime, China has good relations with the Europe and America camp and hasn’t completely fallen out with the Soviet side.
No one can guarantee Nixon’s worries won’t happen.
Lin Ran knew the meaning behind the other’s question. After thinking for a moment, he said:
“Mr. President, I believe China and the Soviet Union have irreconcilable contradictions in geopolitics.
They are both great powers, both pursuing autonomy, striving for their country’s interests. As long as this doesn’t change, China and the Soviet Union can’t be intimately close.
China and America have no interest conflicts.”
Lin Ran continued, “But China is different from the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union stations troops in Mongolia; China can similarly directly threaten Soviet homeland.
Tiny Mongolia is insufficient to eliminate the Soviet Union and China’s geopolitical worries.
As a Chinese person, I’m very clear: besides ideology, China and the Soviet Union have no similarities, while China and America, besides ideology, have too many similarities.”
Lin Ran finally said, “Mr. President, President Johnson has already left you a very good foundation.”
Nixon said uncertainly, “You mean the easing of relations between the two countries, the Yanjing mathematician conference, and China rejoining GATT?”
Lin Ran said, “Yes, America should cooperate better with China economically. It has far greater potential economically than places like Japan or Korea, and can bring unimaginable benefits to the Federation.
And for China, when economically deeply bundled with America, it will naturally lean politically toward America.”
Lin Ran summarized last, “Mr. President, the Pacific Ocean is vast enough to accommodate both China and America.”
Lin Ran stretched out both hands in an embracing gesture, resolving Nixon’s doubts.
This diplomatic phrase from later generations, brought out in this spacetime, once again shocked Nixon with Lin Ran’s wisdom.
After meeting Lin Ran, Nixon shared Lin Ran’s words with Kissinger, who deeply agreed:
India flip-flops back and forth, sitting on the fence between the Soviet Union and America, trying to fish benefits from both sides, self-proclaiming as the initiator of the non-aligned movement and leader of Southern world countries.
But since it can’t win fights, from a TZ perspective, supporting you is not as good as supporting Vietnam.
China’s value in this regard far exceeds India’s.
“The Pacific Ocean is vast, able to accommodate both us and China—this phrase is really said too well; it’s a golden line sufficient to convince conservative congressmen in parliament,” Kissinger sighed.
The media said Lin Ran offered a Trojan Horse idea, but actually Kissinger is the thorough Trojan Horse.
He works in the White House but privately works for Nixon, as Nixon’s core staff.
In the original spacetime, America’s negotiators hoped North Vietnam would reach a ceasefire before the election.
Kissinger served as consultant under negotiator Harriman and promptly gave the situation analysis to Nixon.
Even during the campaign, Kissinger frequently contacted Chen Xiangmei in Saigon, having her go to the South Vietnam president to persuade him not to go to Paris for talks, hinting that as long as Nixon is elected, better conditions would be given to South Vietnam.
Kissinger’s behavior typically sabotaged American interests, just to get Nixon elected.
Nixon worriedly said, “What I’m worried about is, if we support China and China competes with us, wanting to become king of the world, then by that time one Pacific Ocean won’t accommodate two countries.”
Kissinger looked at Nixon and said faintly, “Mr. President, the world operates on the basis of reality, not fantasy.”
Kissinger, who made great contributions to Nixon’s election, had the qualification to speak so casually to Nixon.
Kissinger continued, “Mr. President, I admit China has great potential; Chinese people are also excellent, and a China with 1 billion Chinese people can burst with unimaginable energy.
But are you worrying a bit too much?
For China to compete with us over the Pacific, they first need to surpass the Soviet Union.
We can watch the Soviet Union and China fight, doesn’t that fit our offshore balancing principle perfectly?”
In January 1969, Washington D.C. was shrouded in thin fog, the air filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere.
Richard Nixon, the politician who started as a California lawyer, would finally ascend to the peak of power on this day.
He would be inaugurated as the 37th President of the United States on the east side portico of the Capitol Building.
Nixon hoped this would not just be a ceremony, but an opportunity to heal the nation’s rifts.
The protests in reality hadn’t gone away; the live television broadcast would send a clear signal to the public: America is in crisis, what we need is unity not division.
In the early morning, the Nixon couple departed from the White House to attend a special prayer.
The prayer was held in the State Department’s West Auditorium, open to the public, embodying Nixon’s respect for diverse faiths.
Representatives of three different religions—Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism—took turns praying, beseeching God to grant the new president wisdom and strength.
Nixon sat in the front row, wearing a dark suit.
His wife Pat was beside him, her eyes flickering with pride and worry.
During the White House handover, Pat had seen the bleakness of the previous president couple leaving the White House; she worried if she and her husband would end up the same.
After the prayer, Nixon’s motorcade slowly headed to the Capitol Building, with streets along the way heavily guarded.
Protesters held high signs, shouting anti-war slogans, but this didn’t stop the parade from advancing.
At noon, on the platform on the east side of the Capitol Building, a simple yet solemn podium was set up.
The wind made flags flap loudly; though the temperature was low, tens of thousands of people still gathered in the National Mall, waiting eagerly.
Chief Justice Earl Warren, dressed in black robes, stood before Nixon, holding a family Bible—that was Nixon’s mother’s heirloom.
Nixon placed his right hand on the Bible, raised his left hand, and solemnly swore: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God.”
His voice was firm and low, echoing in the cold air.
Just minutes earlier, Vice President Spiro Agnew had also completed his oath, hosted by the Senate President pro tempore.
After the oath, Nixon turned to the microphone and began his inaugural address.
“We seek a spiritual answer, a power that will unite us”
“.The greatest honor history can bestow is that of peacemaker. This honor is now within America’s reach—it beckons America to lead the world out of the turmoil abyss and toward the peace peak humanity has dreamed of since civilization began.”
“.We have made giant strides in science, industry, and agriculture. We have shared our wealth more widely than ever. We have learned at last to manage a modern economy to assure its continued growth.
We have given freedom new reach. We have begun to make its promises real for black as well as white.”
“.We find ourselves rich in goods, but poor in spirit; we have climbed to the moon with magnificent precision, yet on Earth we are caught in noisy discord.
We are locked in war, we crave peace; we are torn by division, we crave unity”
Nixon’s speech was long, focusing on anti-war and healing divisions, and also mentioning negotiations with the Soviet Union and China.
Finally, he ended with President Lincoln’s famous quote:
“I say to my countrymen: Let us go forward together, believing in ourselves, believing in our country, believing in our God”
After the ceremony, the grand parade began.
From the Capitol Building along Pennsylvania Avenue straight to the White House, the procession stretched for miles. Nixon and Pat sat in an open Lincoln Continental, waving greetings.
Lyndon Johnson was already in Texas state by then, watching the spirited Nixon on TV, and noticing all White House senior officials gathered except Lin Ran’s figure missing; he felt quite comforted inside:
“The professor really doesn’t like Nixon.”
(Before Nixon’s election, meeting with Lyndon Johnson at the White House.)
After listening to the speech, Lyndon Johnson sighed, “Lucky kid, picked up an American president from me.”
The fireplace wood crackled; Lyndon Johnson curled up on the sofa. The whole villa had plenty of security personnel and his wife, but at this moment in front of the TV, there was only him.
Completely different from the past life surrounded by crowds and magnesium lights at the White House, Lyndon Johnson knew his era had passed.
Staring at the radiant Nixon on TV, Lyndon Johnson got up, first glanced in the mirror—without makeup, he looked exceptionally aged.
Then he walked to the desk and on the paper sent by the Hearst Group, wrote the title of his memoir:
The Path to Power
