What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 281 Open Letter

“Mr. Minister, this makes things difficult for us.”

Seeing his subordinates' troubled expressions, Johnson couldn't help but frown.

He could vaguely hear the commotion outside, and unconsciously tapped the table with his pen.

Less than 1 kilometer from the Prism Building, the number of demonstrators has exceeded 4000, most of whom are the families of the deceased sailors.

The signs they were holding read:

Give us back the truth.

Dalton was convicted in a flash and pleaded guilty to all charges. In his final moments of despair, he shot himself, but that wasn't enough.

People couldn't believe that the powerful, ocean-dominating imperial navy could fail, and fail so miserably.

Yes, although the Second Fleet was ultimately annihilated, the media generally considered it a failure.

Even in both World Wars, never before had three capital ships lost in a single battle; the intensity of the Battle of Leyte Gulf did not reach that level.

Furthermore, battleships are tough and durable. According to official statements, they were only hit by some shells and a few torpedoes, as well as a collision, and sank in no time.

But the reason for all these questions is that no valid video footage was released for either naval battle.

In the days following the incident, Prism Building released only a few aerial photos of the Second Fleet and distant silhouettes of ships, without any footage of the battle itself.

This was of course Johnson's decision. The Second Fleet's mysterious smoke and numerous seaplanes were secrets that needed to be kept. How could he keep them all to himself if they were leaked?
All information about the two major battles was strictly controlled, with only some less sensitive content allowed to leak out.

But the consequence was constant questioning from the outside world, with some even suspecting that the two battleships sank due to embezzled funds and years of neglect.

Meanwhile, a large number of military experts conducted simulations, and the results showed that if the "correct" data were used, even if the Second Fleet engaged in close combat, it would still be easily defeated by the three Iowa-class destroyers.

Moreover, there are two Perry-class destroyers; if they sail a little further away, a single salvo of missiles could destroy the observation and aiming facilities of the Second Fleet's warships, greatly reducing their accuracy.

The designs of the Bismarck-class and Scharnhorst-class were completely inferior to those of the Iowa-class, and their protective capabilities were not even in the same league!
Not only the general public, but also many senators came to their senses and demanded a detailed explanation of the war's course.

In a normal process, the two battles would be divided into segments of minutes, with a detailed analysis of all the warships' actions and orders, along with eyewitness accounts and actual footage, resulting in a report of no less than 10 pages, or even 100 million pages.

However, the truthful reports cannot be disclosed, while the false reports are full of errors and omissions, and even the truthful ones cannot cover up the loopholes.

Just as Johnson was racking his brains trying to come up with a reasonable explanation, someone visited him.

"Hello, Powell."

Powell is a Black man who, despite having retired several years ago, still enjoys immense prestige.

Johnson thought to himself, "This old guy must be here to solve the problem."

Sure enough, Powell got straight to the point right from the start:

"I heard that Parliament has suspended the formation of the Antarctic Fleet because the Navy has not yet given a sufficiently convincing reason for demanding that you disclose more details."

Antarctica is too vast and too cold. Deploying massive amounts of manpower and resources to this icy region requires enormous funds, even necessitating the deployment of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier—a preparation comparable to that of a war.

Johnson: "In fact, this is a war, and I am eliminating those potential dangers."

"But that's not enough. The reason for revenge can only convince yourself, not others."

As he spoke, Powell took a deformed piece of metal from his clothes and held it between the two men:

"This is a fragment of a shell from the Bismarck. I got it from a sailor."

“We have many such fragments.”

"no no."

Powell knew Johnson hadn't understood him, so he pointed to the fragments and said:

"This fragment contains a considerable amount of depleted uranium, indicating that the Second Fleet possesses a nuclear industry and nuclear manufacturing capabilities. The Second Fleet's warships are not truly old relics, but rather disguised nuclear-powered warships."

Therefore, the area of ​​conflict was contaminated by the nuclear reactor and had to be sealed off to prevent damage to passing ships.

Johnson slowly sat up straight, lost in thought.

If the Imperial Navy were to illegally manufacture nuclear devices or radiation weapons, it would have a legitimate claim, and UN restrictions would no longer be an issue.

Powell then added:
"There's another thing. I heard that nuclear radiation can damage camera footage, so the images will have a lot of noise and be incomplete."

Johnson abruptly stood up. Powell, who should be retired and writing his autobiography, was here not only to offer advice, but also to signify his impending return.

Who are the bigwigs who support Powell's reinstatement? Johnson immediately thought of several names.

However, this is quite normal. How much resources would be needed to send a powerful expeditionary fleet across tens of thousands of kilometers to the distant and frigid Antarctica?
How many new budget items can be created by maintaining such a long supply line?
Since the 90s, many people have argued that the Imperial Navy does not need to be so powerful and have attempted to limit new projects and budgets.

For example, the JSF Joint Fighter program actually required a fourth-generation fighter jet that could be used by land, sea, and air forces in order to reduce the budget.

For some, the Pyrrhic victory at the Battle of Antigua was not a loss, but rather an opportunity!

……

"Teacher Geng, could you please sign this?"

Geng Bing, engrossed in the BBS, didn't even look up when he heard the sound, and simply said:

"Just leave it there, we'll sign it later."

He is a well-known military expert and commentator, and also the deputy editor-in-chief of a newspaper.

"But this is an article sent by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and they said they need it urgently."

Upon hearing the words "social sciences," Geng Bing shuddered and quickly picked it up. It was an open letter with several names already listed, but the first name was blank.

The title is:
"Tonight, we are all American sailors—an open letter to the other side of the ocean."

Geng Bing read on, line by line: "Dear American people:

On December 29, 1996, the Imperial Fleet suffered its worst attack in history, plunging the world into shock, and we, on the other side of the ocean, were especially grief-stricken.

Without a doubt, this was not... but an evil challenge to life, liberty, and peace, a crime against the innocent... an evil that even surpassed the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This is not only an excessive price paid by the esteemed Atlantic Fleet in defending the global free order, but also a tragedy for the common good of humanity.

...When the sailors of the Atlantic Fleet wept, we felt their pain; we had lost our brothers, and civilization was in crisis.

We pray that God will once again grant you strength to help you through the darkest hour in human history. We believe that on such days… the Statue of Liberty will stand tall.

Let us remember the bloody day of December 29, just as we must remember the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Tonight, we are American sailors.

May God bless you!
May God bless mankind!
May the victims rest in peace.

At the end of the main text, there is one more sentence:
"We hope that the great and just Imperial Fleet can find the instigator and retaliate as resolutely as it did with the Doolittle Raid!"
This letter is open to everyone, and we welcome all who respect life, value freedom, and uphold dignity, regardless of race, nationality, or ideology, to sign it.

Geng Bing: o.0
He pointed to this bizarre open letter and asked:

"Who wrote this? There are so many real signatures on the back."

The assistant pointed at him.

"The social science people say that you are the author and advocate, and they have already collected all the signatures, just waiting for you to sign."

"I?"

Geng Bing instantly understood something. It wasn't enough that he had harmed Feng Qianjun; now it was his turn, wasn't it?

Wait a minute, according to the content of this letter, isn't it contradicting Zhang Siyuan?

What are those people at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences doing?
Before he could make a decision, a phone call came in; it was Feng Qianjun:

"Old Geng, you're amazing! You've even written an open letter. Should I sign it too?"

Geng Bing looked bewildered; wasn't the letter still with him?

"how do you know?"

and many more!

Feng Qianjun clearly knew he wasn't that kind of person, and said with schadenfreude:
"How come I didn't know? The newspaper's been out for ages, and you haven't even read it?"

"Fuck!"

Geng Bing instinctively blurted out a newly learned internet slang term, and then everything went black.

(End of this chapter)