The president's dinner is simple, especially for the president who believed in Allah as a teenager. The main dish is steak, the auxiliary dish is a vegetable salad and fruit platter, and a glass of freshly squeezed mango juice. The dessert after the meal is a very ordinary pastry and a cup of ice cream with coffee.

Perhaps because he had too many worries, the president had no appetite, and he put all his thoughts on a report document.

When Chandler came in, the president put away the documents and asked the White House waiter to take away the already cold steak, leaving only the salad and mango juice.

"Have you had supper?"

Chandler smiled and sat opposite the president, while Dr. Brian, who came with him, stood aside.

"I asked the chef to prepare your favorite pasta." Lindberg turned around and said to the waiter who was waiting to order, "Add more mustard, don't..."

"Don't have garlic." Chandler said it on his own initiative, he was allergic to garlic.

"Yes, don't garlic, this guy..." Lindberg turned his gaze to Brian.

"He is my chief assistant Professor Brian, taught at Yale University, and is a senior analyst at Lande Company. He has participated in..."

"What do you want?" Lindberg seemed to have no intention of listening to Chandler's long-term words.

Brian was a little embarrassed. This was his first time to come to the White House and his first time meeting the president face to face.

Chandler smiled and glanced at Brian.

"You're welcome, like you're Irish in your own home?"

"It's not considered that my ancestors were the first Dutch to come to the New World." Brian became even more embarrassed. He knew very little about the president, but he couldn't talk about it in-depth.

Before becoming president, Lindberg was a member of Illinois and had little fame. If he had not been admitted to the Law Department of Yale University and had been an excellent lawyer before entering politics, I am afraid that not many voters knew this mixed-race child from Hawaii, and it would be even more impossible for him to send him to the White House six years ago.

Compared with his ex, Lindbergh was smart, but he was far from being extremely smart.

Six years of his administration are enough to prove that he is a president who seized opportunities when the crisis came but did not take advantage of them.

Brian has never had any in-depth exchanges with the president and is not very clear about the president's uniqueness.

But, he will soon discover these special things.

Lindberg nodded thoughtfully and said, "Okay, what do you want to order? In addition to steak and pasta, there are burgers and barbecue, if..."

"Just want steak, we actually..."

"Okay, another steak," Lindberger told the waiter again before saying to Chandler. "The chef will take some time to prepare, so before that, I want to know what the damn thing happened and how to explain it to the public."

"No need to explain." Chandler knew the president's temper very well and answered concisely.

Lindberg's brow jumped a few times, obviously dissatisfied with Director Cia's reply.

"The media can justify themselves without us coming forward. If necessary, we will use some related journalists to guide public opinion appropriately."

"Concealing the truth from the people is definitely not what we should do."

"Do you tell all we know about voters who don't have many minds?"

Lindberg sighed, his attitude slightly weakened.

"Although it is not known which country's submarine sank the North Carolina, there is sufficient evidence to prove that the sinking of the North Carolina is related to the attack on the Trident."

"Isn't it a coincidence?"

"What kind of coincidence?"

"For example..." Lindberg hesitated for a moment and said, "The waters in which the incident happened are very close to Iran. Could it be that the Iranian submarine did it?"

"Those 'Kiro' class conventional submarines?"

Lindberg nodded, indicating that this is what it means.

"Absolutely impossible! After the anti-submarine patrol aircraft arrived, the submarine had a speed of up to 35 knots, and no conventional submarine could run so fast. Besides, we have already mastered the basic characteristics of the "Kilo" class submarine. The "North Carolina" would not ignore such important information when sending support requests. In the situation at that time, let alone a "Kilo" even if all four "Kilo" of the Iranian Navy were dispatched, it would not be a match for the "North Carolina". It is certain that it was an attack nuclear submarine with very advanced performance, and Iran did not have a nuclear submarine."

"Since it's not a coincidence..."

“That’s about what happened before.”

"What's on the Trident?" Lindberg grabbed the point.

Chandler extended his hand to Brian, took the document and handed it to Lindberg. When the president opened the document, he said: "Two years ago, we decided to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and start to adjust our strategic plan. At that time, many important officials, including the Secretary of State and the former Minister of Defense, believed that after we evacuate from Afghanistan, we were most likely to take advantage of the situation and fill the vacuum of power. "

"I remember that meeting, you thought so too, but not everyone believed that China had this ability."

"It turns out that our judgment is not wrong."

Lindberg glanced at Chandler and his eyes returned to the document.

"Although our withdrawal operation has not yet ended and a large number of troops remain in Afghanistan, the Taliban has become more and more active in the past two years. There is enough intelligence to prove that some Taliban factions, especially the more moderate factions, have received support from the outside world. In addition, several armed forces between the Taliban and government forces have appeared in Afghanistan. The most powerful one is the National Liberation Front, which is based on several northeastern provinces in Afghanistan. These are all related to China's strategic deployment in Afghanistan and even Central Asia."

“We should be happy if China intends to take over this mess.”

"The problem is that China will not take over the mess, it will only make Afghanistan even more messy."

Lindberg looked up and his eyes were on Chandler for a while before saying, "If this is the case, it will not harm us."

“This is just a superficial phenomenon.”

"So, what's under the surface?"

Chandler exhaled his breath and said: "The most affected by the war in Afghanistan is Pakistan, especially the Taliban infiltration of Pakistan, which has posed a threat to the central government of Pakistan. We have no more articles to do on the issue of counter-terrorism. As we improve relations with India, Pakistan will turn to China without hesitation. Taking advantage of the impact of the war in Afghanistan, China can control Pakistan more effectively, restrain India from flanking, and eliminate strategic threats from the South Asian subcontinent."

"If these two countries cannot go together, they will turn against each other sooner or later."

"If India loses at the starting line, the possibility of defeating China is slim."

"You don't think that interfering in India-Pakistan relations will be of any benefit to us?"

"Of course not. Controlling Pakistan is only part of China's overall strategy." Chandler brought the topic back. "After the end of the Cold War, we regarded China as the number one potential threat. As long as this country gets the opportunity, it will pose a major threat to our national interests, and even surpass the Soviet Union, which once made us unable to sleep or eat. For China, the biggest problem is not the lack of resources, nor the lack of strategic depth, nor the lack of manpower and the lack of ambition to challenge our ambitions, but the lack of geographical location that can be compared with us. As a traditional continental power, China has an enviable vast territory and a long history and national foundation that we cannot expect. Although there are many problems in China now, such as the social system, the gap between the rich and the poor, values, cultural ideas, etc., as long as there is enough time, this nation that has lasted for five thousand years will solve these problems one by one, so as to surpass us and become the most powerful country on the planet. What we can do is to let this day come later."

Lindberg did not interrupt Chandler because he had been to China when he was very young and had some knowledge of the country.

"In terms of specific operations, we have shifted our strategic focus from Europe to Asia, and spent more than 20 years to establish a crescent-shaped strategic encirclement from Japan to Afghanistan. If China wants to rise, to become a powerful power, and to seize the right to speak from us, we have to break through this shackles chained by dozens of countries and break the strategic blockade. Starting from Afghanistan and using Pakistan to intervene in the Indian Ocean is only the first step in China's overall strategy. Because Pakistan is an independent sovereign country and has always been at the forefront of the great powers, China will not bet all its chips in the west, but will start from the main strategic direction at the right time."

"Japan?"

Chandler nodded and said, "Either Japan or South Korea, before that, China must complete the great cause of unification, start from Taiwan, and break the strategic encirclement we have built."

Lindberg smiled and said, "You said so much just to prove that it was the Chinese submarine that sank the North Carolina, but didn't tell me what was on the Trident."

"I said this just to prove that the Trident is the root of everything."

"Yeah?"

Chandler glanced at the documents in the president's hand.

"All of it?"

"It's very detailed, I'll just say it briefly." Chandler knew that the president had to read dozens of documents every day and was already very tired of the official documents. "Although we have put a lot of effort into Japan and South Korea, and hope that these two allies can shoulder the heavy responsibility of blocking China, with the current situation, even if Japan and South Korea will not turn to China, it will not be possible to win the fire for us. Especially when it is related to the fundamental interests of the country, we will not completely break with China. What we can do is to defend the first line of defense."

"Taiwan?"

Chandler nodded and said, "As long as the Taiwan issue is not resolved in one day, the Taiwan Strait is China's most important strategic direction. Play this card well, we can slow down China's progress, gain more time, and even let China give up its strategic ambitions that have existed for more than 60 years."

"Are you going to play this card?"

Chandler looked at the document again.

Lindberg hesitated for a moment, not only did not continue to look through, but instead closed it and gave it to Chandler.

Seeing the president's actions, Brian had to believe that the president was not only not as slow as he showed, but also very smart and scheming.
Chapter completed!