50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 524 Giving Full Play to Subjective Initiative

On the very day the 'Moon Angel' was completed, Argentina, far away in South America, accomplished something significant.

On March 19, scrap metal dealers hired by the Argentine authorities forcibly landed on British South Georgia Island, established a camp, and raised the Argentine flag.

The Royal Navy's icebreaker HMS Endurance was dispatched to dismantle the camp.

However, the Endurance was only an icebreaker with just two 20mm cannons and two Wasp helicopters.

They brought a platoon of marines, intending to drive the people out of the camp, but Argentina sent a 5000-ton military transport ship, which brought 100 soldiers to the island.

The Endurance mission was unsuccessful and the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina officially began.

The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic Ocean, with the main island situated approximately 500 kilometers east of the southern coast of Patagonia in South America.

Historically, France, Britain, Spain, and Argentina have all established settlements in the archipelago.

Britain reaffirmed its rule over the islands in 1833, but Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over them.

It had already been more than a hundred years, and barring any major unforeseen events, both sides would have essentially tacitly accepted the British occupation.

As a result, the global economy has deteriorated in recent years, and last year the crisis affected Argentina, leading to domestic inflation and widespread public discontent.

In an attempt to divert attention from domestic problems, Leopoldo Galtieri decided to reclaim the Falklands by force.

Of course, he wasn't stupid; he knew that even a weakened Britain was still a force to be reckoned with, and he did test the waters a few times initially. For example, he hinted at his intentions in the media.

Strangely, whether they failed to notice or chose to ignore this dangerous information, the British government did not respond at the time.

Moreover, last year, British Defence Secretary John North prepared to remove the largest ship in the area, HMS Endurance, from the archipelago.

Almost simultaneously, the newly enacted British Nationality Act restricted granting full citizenship rights to residents of the archipelago.

These events led Leopoldo Galtieri to believe that the time had come to seize control of the islands by force.

This led to the island landing incident this month.

The reason I bring this up is that we have had diplomatic relations with the Afghan side for ten years and are very clear about the situation in their country, so the Afghan side's movements are promptly relayed back to China.

Domestic generals, especially naval commanders, judged that a naval battle, a modern naval battle, would soon take place, and this would be a rare example worthy of careful observation.

Our family currently lacks experience in modern naval warfare; the battles against monkeys in the past certainly don't qualify as modern naval warfare.

This time, however, the situation is different for England and Argentina. Argentina has a modern navy and air force.

Their navy has more than 2 people, including cruisers, aircraft carriers, submarines, and marines.

The Algerian Air Force has 1.2 personnel and more than 200 combat aircraft, including advanced aircraft such as the A4 attack aircraft, Mirage 5P, tanker aircraft, and even a few missiles.

While the British forces on the other side were not numerous, they were well-equipped with advanced weaponry, had extensive experience in naval warfare, and were a veteran and formidable force.

This kind of war, in which Britain launched a long-distance expedition to an archipelago near another country, is very instructive for us.

After all, the problem of the port of Ao is imminent and will have to be resolved sooner or later. Being able to see the enemy's strengths and weaknesses in advance is very important for our judgment.

Sun Zhiwei learned of the news at the end of the month through a clipping from the embassy. He was eager to go and see for himself and bring back some real information. However, he wasn't given any related assignments by the Chinese government this time. After all, he had never been to Argentina before and had absolutely no connection with them. His family wasn't planning on using him as an all-powerful superman.

But it doesn't matter. If there are no conditions, we can create them. Although his family didn't assign him any tasks, he could still volunteer, as long as he had a reasonable reason.

He quickly came up with a reason: his family wanted him to take initiative and collect intelligence independently, so he would give it his all this time.

After all, Great Britain has bullied us several times in the past two hundred years. For 50 years, they were still following the US as its underling, and even now they still occupy our land.

He took the opportunity to assess his old rival's fighting strength, a reason that was quite legitimate.

So that very night, he sent Lao Han a request to collect wartime intelligence from Britain and Afghanistan.

When Lao Han received the application, he was a little confused. Why would Sun Zhiwei suddenly be interested in something that happened thousands of miles away?

However, the use of 'Di Ting' now requires approval from the highest level, and he couldn't make the decision on this application. So he didn't hesitate and directly submitted Sun Zhiwei's application.

The family had just discussed Sun Zhiwei's wealth last month, and now this guy suddenly wants to go to war. After receiving the news, Xu Yimin was furious.

While submitting the application, he called back and gave Sun Zhiwei a severe scolding.

"Are you bored and have nothing better to do? You've become even more arrogant now that you're a billionaire. What family would send a billionaire to the battlefield?"

"If you're really bored, since the fighting is still going on in the Southwest, I'll give you a rifle to go shoot some monkeys."

Sun Zhiwei was well-prepared. After receiving the telegram, he immediately replied, reiterating his reasons.

First, there is the analysis of this impending war.

This will be a rare and intense battle between the inexperienced and the experienced, between the home and the expeditionary forces, and between modern large warships and aircraft.

Secondly, obtaining information about the war solely from the media is incomplete; it fails to provide a complete picture of the events and can easily lead to misjudgments.

Finally, this might be the last time he witnesses a modern naval battle before retiring, and he doesn't want to miss it.

After he sent his telegram, he received no reply for a long time, and could only wait anxiously by the radio station.

Back home, Xu Yimin also reported his reply.

In the end, no one knows what prompted the higher-ups or who made the decision, but his family eventually agreed to his application.

In his call back three days later, he specifically reminded him to be careful.

Sun Zhiwei knows his own situation. Given his current physical condition, he can't be sure if he'll live to 120, but he's almost certain to die by 100.

Retirement? Ever since he got his hands on the aircraft carrier, he knew perfectly well that he, 'Di Ting,' would never be able to retire in this lifetime. He would most likely have to keep working until he couldn't anymore.

With his unique ability to obtain information remotely, which no one else can learn, no one can replace him.

Whenever the country needs any intelligence, as long as the mission is sent over, there's nothing he can't complete.

Every intelligence agent goes to great lengths and faces enormous risks to obtain classified information. How could they possibly get whatever information they want?

(End of this chapter)