Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 419 1969
1969 was not a special year; it was merely the beginning of President Nixon's term.

But for some, it has extraordinary significance.

Japanese author Ryu Murakami's autobiographical novel "69" is named after this year.

That year, the University of Tokyo suspended its entrance exams; the Beatles released *The White Album*, *Yellow Submarine*, and *Balcony Avenue*; and the Rolling Stones released their hit single, "The Nightclub Girl." A group known as the hippies emerged, sporting long hair and advocating for love and peace. In Paris, De Gaulle stepped down; in Baiyue (present-day Sichuan), the war continued.

The above is the first paragraph of "69".

In this timeline, an additional sentence is added: Nixon was at a loss in the face of the Vietnam War and, at the request of North Vietnam, had to cut short the professor's vacation and send him to Geneva to mediate the war.

In January 1969, Washington, D.C., was as cold as ever. The air in the Oval Office was frozen, with only the crackling of firewood burning in the fireplace.

President Nixon leaned back in his high-backed leather chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest.

He had just finished a call with Kissinger, whose voice was tired but excited: "The North Vietnamese have specified, Mr. President, they only accept professors."

The door opened, and Lin Ran walked in.

Instead of wearing the dark suits that White House staff usually wear, he wore a gray jacket, and his hairstyle was so simple that it was almost unkempt. Only his eyes seemed to see through all appearances to the essence of things.

“Professor, I’m sorry to cut your vacation in Hawaii short of schedule. Once the Vietnam War is over, I promise you I will make up for it by giving you double the vacation time.” Nixon’s voice was deep and urgent, without any pleasantries: “The North Vietnamese, in Hanoi, have put forward a condition, which seems to be the only condition, regarding negotiations. They only want you to go to Geneva as my special representative.”

Randolph walked to the desk and stopped.

He didn't respond immediately, seemingly deep in thought, but in reality, Lin Ran was adapting, adapting to everything in 1960.

The air here, the decorations here, the people here, everything that happens here.

“They trust you,” Nixon continued, his tone tinged with helplessness. “They don’t trust Kissinger, even though he’s a professor at Harvard. They think Kissinger, or anyone else, is just a power broker.”

They say you are a thinker, and they believe you understand them.

Well, if I were a decision-maker in Hanoi, I would think the same way.

Nixon shook his head with a wry smile; that was the professor's influence.

"The Kremlin is the same way, always wanting professors to participate in negotiations, as if Lin Ran's position is not NASA Administrator, but Secretary of State."

So Professor, would you be willing to take on the position of Secretary of State? I believe you would do an equally good job in this role.

However, if you want to take over this position, you'll need to find a suitable successor; NASA can't easily let you go.

Nixon was rambling on and on.

He had absolute trust in Lin Ran.

This is the trust that Huntsville established during the Longzhong Dialogue.

At this time, Kissinger was not yet Secretary of State. He became Secretary of State after 1973 and is now a presidential advisor, a position created specifically for individuals.

Lin Ran grinned.

Regardless of time or place, politics, economics, and technology are inextricably linked, interconnected, mutually influential, and mutually dependent.

Technological development leads to economic development, which is easy to understand.

Technology influences politics. One of the most recent and profound examples is the rise of social media, which has led to the rise of unconventional politicians like Big T. These unconventional politicians have even swept the globe, rendering the traditional left-wing LGBT narrative rotten. This self-proclaimed advanced and progressive narrative has been undermined by the traditional narrative. The world is indeed a strange place.

Lin Ran thought to himself that in the 2020 timeline, he could only influence politics indirectly. He had just finished a meeting in Yanjing and returned to Shenhai. Under the pretext of seclusion for research, he stayed alone on the top floor of the Apollo Technology office building and did not allow anyone to enter. His meals were delivered by a specially designed conveyor belt.

In the 1960s, however, he could sit in the White House and speak eloquently, personally manipulating and influencing everything at the center of power in that era.

He looked at Nixon and thought it was rather ridiculous to send the last person who wanted the Vietnam War to end as the president’s special envoy to participate in the negotiations.

"Mr. President, I am willing to go to Geneva."

Nixon nodded: "Professor, I don't care what their motives are! I only know that this is the only chance for America to get out of this quagmire with dignity!"

Every day, we bleed in this remote jungle.

I need someone I can sit down and talk to, someone they're willing to listen to.

They think you're different from us, Professor, then go and prove them wrong!
Bring peace to America.

Lin Ran slowly said, "Mr. President, you know that the peace I pursue is not based on military victory or deterrence, but on respect for human dignity."

If I go, I will have to expose our own hypocrisy in this war.

I will have to tell them that what we call freedom is, in many cases, nothing more than old wine in new bottles of imperialism.

Can you accept a negotiator like this?

Nixon smiled wryly and said, "Professor, do you really think we have achieved any military victory? Hasn't everything we did in the Vietnam War been widely reported by our allies in the liberal camp, who all accused us of hypocrisy?"
They want you to be the president's representative, isn't it because they don't want to hear the traditional, boring diplomatic rhetoric that can be guessed from the first sentence?
Professor, you have participated in far too many diplomatic negotiations. I trust you, and I will give you the utmost freedom. You are the highest representative of the negotiation team.

Report directly to me; my bottom line is to end this war with dignity.

I am more tired of this war than anyone else.

I am a president, a person who has to take responsibility.

Go, go and talk to them in your own way. Tell them that this country is exhausted too, tell them that we are willing to pay any price for peace.

Lin Ran said calmly, "Mr. President, I will do my utmost."

Parentheses, let the war continue.

Geneva route, Air Force One, the plane is flying smoothly at an altitude of 10,000 meters. That's what flying is like, there's always a sense of unreality.

It's incredible that humans can create things that fly at an altitude of 10,000 meters. It's nothing short of a miracle.

Lin Ran sat in the luxurious suite of Air Force One, his book untouched. His gaze passed through the porthole, fixed on the cloud-covered land below, as he pondered.

Instead of thinking about negotiation, I was thinking about some academic issues.

Jenny sat opposite him, preparing for her upcoming interview trip to Geneva.

Bang bang bang, the door rang.

"Please come in."

Kissinger walked in, found a chair, and sat down in the aisle next to where Lin Ran and Jenny were sitting.

The cigar in his hand was not yet lit.

“The president has high hopes for you, Professor,” Kissinger began. “Frankly, so do I.”

Although I admit that I still haven't fully understood your academic views.

Especially your discussions about power structures, which always seem too metaphysical to me.

As fellow Jews, Kissinger greatly admired Lin Ran, and Lin Ran was a role model for him, both in academia and in the political arena.

The Jewish identity has been widely publicized by the Jewish Committee.

From Kissinger's perspective, Lin Ran was the one in a superior position.

Whether within the White House power structure or among the Jewish community, Lin Ran is a Brahmin of the highest rank.

Lin Ran turned his head, his gaze returning from the clouds to Kissinger's face.

“Henry, metaphysics is the foundation of thought,” Lin Ran replied calmly, as if lecturing a student. “And the realism you love is nothing more than a practical guide to power. You believe the world is a game of chess, but you forget that every piece on the chessboard is a flesh-and-blood human being.”

Kissinger's eyes suddenly lit up: "Professor, you've read my work?"

Lin Ran said matter-of-factly, "I've seen it. The chess pieces are flesh and blood, which is why they fight for their own interests. And that's why someone needs to play this game to prevent them from killing each other."

The structural violence I understand is what I call the inevitability of geopolitics.

In your view, if we don't manipulate it, someone else will, and they might be more ruthless than me, causing even greater losses.

In Chinese philosophy, this is similar to the Legalist approach of establishing a stable social order through coercive laws, strategies, and power, rather than relying on moral persuasion. However, in the Vietnam War negotiations, we needed to demonstrate our sincerity.

Ruthlessness is precisely the weapon they can wield.

Hanoi is well aware that as long as we believe ourselves to be invincible, we will continue to bleed.

They wanted me to go because they knew I wouldn't treat this negotiation as a power game of bargaining.

I will acknowledge our defeat from the very beginning, and admit that this war is morally untenable.

After thinking for a moment, Kissinger asked, "Professor, that wasn't negotiation, that was surrender."

The president wants a glorious peace, not the moral victory you speak of.

The president wants to preserve some dignity and face in order to quell domestic anti-war sentiment while preventing our allies from feeling betrayed.

Lin Ran nodded and said, "Of course, the president certainly wants these things, but he wants a ceasefire even more and wants to focus his attention on domestic affairs."

Face and dignity? They were bought with the lives of tens of thousands.

We cannot talk about dignity while maintaining an unjust war.

I will show them that what we really want is for the killing to stop.

This is the only dignity.

This is what the President wanted, which is why I have the influence to get the people of America to accept appeasement and the fact that we have essentially lost the war.

Henry, not only does Hanoi want me to negotiate, but Washington does too.

Lin Ran's unspoken subtext was that if I negotiated peace, Nixon could shift the blame for appeasement and the discontent of the conservatives onto me, essentially making me a scapegoat for the president.

Kissinger fell silent, staring into Randolph's eyes as if examining this renowned professor in political circles for the first time.

Given his power and status, he could have easily refused Nixon, refused to take the blame, and claimed that the Vietnam War had absolutely nothing to do with him.

But the other party still resolutely chose to take on the heavy responsibility of this negotiation, to create room for peace talks for America and to achieve a ceasefire, and to bear the infamy himself. Kissinger immediately understood why the professor could win respect, because the other party was an absolute patriot, an idealist unlike Washington politicians.

“Perhaps you are right,” Kissinger finally said, his voice low as a whisper. “Perhaps the kind of danger you pose is exactly what we need, a danger that can temporarily halt the pieces on the chessboard. I hope Hanoi believes in you, just as the President believes in you.”

The negotiations did not take place at the Palais des Nations; instead, they took place in an unnamed villa on the outskirts of Geneva, a secret meeting location that was not open to the public.

Hanoi doesn't want to make it public, and neither does Washington.

Negotiations have been going on for several weeks.

During the negotiations, only Hanoi's representatives Nguyen Van Hieu and Lam Nhanh were in the room.

Kissinger and his team were in another room, nervously watching through listening devices, waiting for crucial concessions, waiting for typical diplomatic rhetoric.

However, it seems none of these have appeared.

Lin Ran never talks about military deployments or political stances; he only talks about the details that Washington politicians ignore: villages scorched by napalm, mothers who have lost their children, and exhausted soldiers.

Nguyen Van Hieu was initially puzzled by this, and even somewhat disdainful.

But after Lin Ran's repeated and sincere explanations, he began to listen.

Randolph, speaking in a language Nguyen Van Hieu could understand, discussed structural violence and how the logic of imperialism turned every individual into a helpless victim, whether they were American soldiers or Baiyue peasants.

On the last day, Nguyen Van Hieu did not use any of the usual diplomatic language; his voice was low and hoarse, as if it came from a distant battlefield.

“You’re right, Professor.” He looked at Lin Ran: “We and you are all just people under the wheels of history.”

We are fighting for survival and liberation; you are fighting for an indoctrinated ideology.

But in the end, the blood we shed was the same color.

Lin Ran didn't speak, but just looked at him quietly.

Nguyen Van Hieu pulled a small notebook from his pocket. It was his diary, recording his countless sleepless nights of reflection and his repeated communications with Hanoi.

He wrote a line on it with a pen, then tore off the page and handed it to Randolph.

“This is our final bottom line,” Nguyen Van Hieu said, his voice devoid of any victor’s pride, only deep weariness: “We agree that as long as you withdraw all your troops in stages and according to a timetable, we will release all prisoners of war, and we will not demand war reparations, but you must recognize our right to national reunification.”

This is an agreement that exceeded Washington's expectations.

There were no complicated terms or fancy embellishments, only the most essential, life-or-death clauses.

Lin Ran completed the task exceptionally well.

"I'm sorry," Lin Ran said in a low voice, his face grim.

He then added, "Thank you, sir."

Ruan Wenxiao shook his head, then slowly stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the snowflakes falling outside.

“No,” he said softly, “we are all grateful to you.”

The listening device emitted static, followed by the brief conversation between Lin Ran and Ruan Wenxiao.

When Lin Ran whispered "thank you," Kissinger suddenly stood up from the sofa, his eyes fixed on the machine.

Another young White House aide looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Henry, what agreement did they reach?" the assistant asked, the information he had heard was very vague.

Kissinger did not answer. He had considered countless possibilities: bargaining over military deployments, tit-for-tat negotiations over the ceasefire line, or even disputes over post-war reparations, but he never imagined that it would be such a simple agreement.

“No reparations, no complicated terms, not even a single word about victory,” Kissinger muttered to himself, his voice filled with bewilderment. “The professor actually succeeded? No wonder he’s the professor.”

He strode to the door of Lin Ran's room, but did not push the door open to go in.

In the Oval Office in Washington, Nixon was sitting alone when the phone rang.

He didn't let anyone in because he knew that this phone call would determine the course of his first term.

“Henry,” his voice was a little hoarse, “tell me.”

Kissinger's voice came through the receiver, his tone more tense than usual. He described the agreement Randolph had brought back, using as calm and rational language as possible.

He emphasized the core of the agreement—America's complete withdrawal of troops in exchange for the release of prisoners of war and the right to national unity.

Nixon listened, his furrowed brows deepening.

“Say it again, Henry,” he interrupted Kissinger, “no reparations? no guarantee of South Vietnam’s status? No honor?”

“Mr. President, this is the professor’s agreement, an agreement that only the professor could make.” Kissinger’s voice was tinged with helplessness. “It transcends our usual political logic. He’s not trying to win the negotiation; he’s trying to stop it. Hanoi has clearly been moved by his approach.”

Nixon frowned, pondered for a long time, and then slowly said:
"This is a peace agreement, a peace agreement we cannot refuse. Tell the media that we have made decisive progress."

Let Henry prepare for the press conference.

Tell everyone, we're bringing our boys home.

Throughout his life, Ruan Wenxiao believed that Lin Ran's apology meant that he was apologizing for the harm that America had caused to Baiyue.

Lin Ran has two sides; his professor side won over Hanoi with his sincerity and gained unprecedented opportunities.

On the other hand, the war will not end so easily.

Lin Ran felt sorry for his other side.

The professor managed to stop the war, so V is going to step in and make it continue.

(End of this chapter)