On the night of July 2, the word "unexpected" could no longer be used to describe Santos's feelings.

Although all the intelligence provided by the United States pointed to China, the missile battle in the morning and the defeat in the air battle at noon can still be explained by accidental factors that do not have a lasting effect. In the first phase of the operation summary in the afternoon, the commander of the air force had already pledged to defeat the Pakistani air force in the next 24 hours, seize air supremacy, and provide air support to the ground forces.

Santos did not doubt the combat effectiveness of the Air Force, and even if it could not be done in 24, it would definitely be able to turn the situation around within 48 hours.

Listening to the summary of the operation, Santos realized that China's involvement would certainly bring unpredictable variables to the war. It's just that he never expected that things would come so suddenly.

Before the meeting was over, the Navy sent the news that the "Fighter" had lost contact with the base.

Santos immediately left the scene and personally contacted Admiral Das, the commander of the Navy.

Not only did the "Destroyer" lose contact with the base, but it also sent a message before reporting that it had been torpedoed by an unidentified submarine. The Navy has dispatched a search and rescue force and mobilized all forces to search for the unidentified submarine.

For more than an hour, Santos was nervous.

Although Santos, with his vast experience and the intuition of a soldier, knew that the chances of the "Destroyer" surviving were very slim, until he received a definite report, he held on to the last glimmer of hope that the "Destroyer" would be able to avoid the torpedo and return to the Rambili submarine base with the excellent performance of the nuclear submarine.

After a second phone call with Admiral Dars, Santos' hopes were dashed.

The wreckage of the "Destroyer" has been found, and it has been preliminarily confirmed that it was hit by at least two heavy anti-submarine torpedoes, and the more than 100 officers and men on the submarine have no chance of survival.

Who dry the ground. Who the hell is dry land?

Santos first ruled out suspicion of the United States. Russia, Great Britain and France were then ruled out. Although all of these countries have the ability to send attack nuclear submarines to the Indian Ocean. But either it has good relations with India. Or stay out of it. There was no reason to sneak up on the "Destroyer".

Japan? There is no possibility. Those few conventional Japanese submarines have never been to the Indian Ocean.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand are also impossible. Their submarines are mainly active in the South China Sea. And all are conventional submarines. It was impossible to escape before the arrival of anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

There are no submarines in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Two old Bangladeshi submarines have been in the harbor all along.

Ultimately. Santos has targeted Pakistan and China as suspects.

Pakistan has six submarines, three of which have completed the transformation of the AIP system, and have excellent submersible capabilities, but the underwater high-speed endurance is not strong, and it is difficult to escape the search range of anti-submarine patrol aircraft after a successful sneak attack.

It can only be China, and it must be China.

When the Indo-Pakistani War broke out, China was the most affected. If the war develops against Pakistan, China will be forced to send troops to force India to make peace with Pakistan if the situation is favorable. If the war develops in Pakistan's favor, China is also likely to take the opportunity to send troops to recover southern Tibet.

When China enters the war, it will first destroy India's strategic nuclear counterattack capability.

With the exception of the Fighter, India's nuclear forces are deployed on land and are closely monitored by reconnaissance satellites. In a situation where its strength is inferior to China, India will not, and does not dare to risk being completely destroyed by China's strategic nuclear weapons, to strike China with nuclear weapons first.

For India, nuclear weapons are only a strategic counterattack force.

By defeating India's strategic counterattack force, China can defeat India in a conventional war without being the first to use nuclear weapons.

It can be seen that Santos did not blindly target China.

His analytical thinking is clear and objective. This reflects from one side that Santos does not regard any country as a true ally, which is completely consistent with the "Non-Aligned Movement" pursued by India for decades.

After reaching this astonishing conclusion, Santos immediately called a hotline with US President Jappel, hoping that the United States could provide information on the movement and deployment of Chinese submarines, especially nuclear submarines.

In less than half an hour, the US intelligence liaison officer sent information on the movement of China's submarine forces over the past 10 days.

China's six attack nuclear submarines were either parked in the harbor or left two days earlier, and there is no possibility of sinking the "Destroyer" in the Bay of Bengal. Most of China's conventional submarines have also remained in the port, and the few that have left the port have been under the surveillance of American and Japanese submarines, and have not left the western Pacific. U.S. intelligence liaison officers also sent hydroacoustic data measured in the Strait of Malacca and Sunda Strait over the past two days, and found no signs of Chinese submarines entering the Indian Ocean.

At this point, Santos was even more puzzled.

It wasn't a Chinese submarine that did it, could it be a Chinese anti-submarine patrol plane?

This idea made Santos find it amused, not to mention that China's anti-submarine patrol planes could not reach the Bay of Bengal, and even if they could enter the airspace over the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar, they would not be able to spot the "Fighter" without the cooperation of submarines or surface ships, let alone launch a surprise attack.

Which country's submarine sank the "Destroyer"?

Because the existence and actions of the "Swordfish" are top secret, after the Chinese Navy announced the existence of the "Swordfish", all the operational materials related to the "Swordfish" were included in the "permanently sealed top secret archives", so the sinking of the "Destroyer" not only became the biggest unsolved case of the Fourth Indo-Pakistani War, but also became one of the biggest mysteries in the history of the world's navy and the history of world wars.

Later, it was even suggested that the "Destroyer" was sunk by a torpedo launched by itself.

After ruling out other possibilities, even if the results were unbelievable, Santos had to believe that China must have been behind the sinking of the "Destroyer". Santos also realized that China would definitely enter the war, and it would certainly send a fleet into the Indian Ocean in the near future.

In fact, the Chinese Air Force has already entered the war, but it has not stood in front of the stage.

In the face of the mournful and depressed Das, Santos had to show the composure and self-confidence that a head of state should have, so that the naval commander could believe that India would definitely be able to win the final victory.

"I have already read the battle plan you submitted, it is practical and significant." Santos' voice was calm, as if nothing had happened. "The Air Force will fully cooperate and send fighter jets to escort the attack group. I only ask for one thing, to show the full strength of the Navy and let our enemies know that India is the master of the Indian Ocean, and the Indian Navy is the master of the Indian Ocean! ”

"Your Excellency...... Prime Minister" Das was very excited, even very grateful to Santos.

"Let's go arrange combat operations." Santos didn't say much, or that he didn't want to continue facing Das. "Give me a surprise, a surprise for the people of India, and also for the Navy, give you a chance."

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, the Navy is guaranteed to complete the mission."

Santos nodded, then waved his hand, letting the excited Darth leave.

Whether it is the interim prime minister of India, the Indian people, or the Indian army, what is needed now is not dozens of warplanes and a nuclear submarine, but a good news that can lift people's hearts and boost morale.

Thousands of miles away, another controversy is raging.

In addition to Ji Youguo and Peng Maobang, the meeting was also attended by General Zhao Rundong, minister of national defense, Lieutenant General Liao Zhongge, chief of staff of the army, Admiral Ying Changhui, commander of the Navy, and Lieutenant General Jiang Yuzhen, chief of staff, Admiral Yan Yuqing, commander of the Air Force, and Lieutenant General Guo Xinghui, chief of staff, and Lieutenant General Zou Hanmin, commander of the Second Artillery Corps.

Whether to send a naval fleet to the Indian Ocean, the participants basically agreed.

As long as the interests of the Republic in the Indian Ocean region are threatened, it will send a fleet to the Indian Ocean to the Arabian Sea in the name of evacuating and protecting overseas Chinese, and lift India's naval blockade of Pakistan.

On the question of whether or not to enter the war, the participants agreed in principle that the republic should play an active and substantive role, but there was a great deal of disagreement on how to enter the war.

Liao Zhongge resolutely advocated directly participating in the war and taking the opportunity to recover the lost territory on the grounds of southern Tibet.

Wei Changjiang and Zou Hanmin advocated not directly participating in the war and only providing material assistance to Pakistan on the grounds that India is a nuclear power.

Yan Yuqing and Guo Xinghui believed that fighters should be sent to Pakistan to participate in the war on a voluntary or hired basis.

Ying Changhui and Jiang Yuzhen did not make a clear statement, because the navy would not only participate in the war, but also already participated.

"In the afternoon, I got a call from Sharif." Ji Youguo did not participate in the debate, it was a military business. "In daytime air battles, the Pakistani Air Force lost more than half of its Thunder fighters, as well as thirty-two of its best pilots. In Mr. Peng's words, we were able to immediately provide Pakistan with at least 120 Thunder fighters, but the pilots could not be replenished. If the loss continues at this rate, within three days, Pakistan will face the embarrassing situation of having fighter planes and no pilots. ”

Several servicemen closed their mouths and listened intently to the Führer's speech.

"It is undeniable that whether to fight or not to fight is not only related to everyone here, but also to thousands of republicans, the future of the republic, and the future of the Chinese nation." Ji Youguo picked up the cigarette that was placed on the edge of the ashtray. "I want to ask you, can blind concessions achieve the great cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation? I would also like to ask you, can a large-scale war that is not commensurate with national strength help the Chinese nation to climb to the top of the world again? Pakistan is not only our ally, but our only ally. If this ally is lost, will the great cause of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation be easier to achieve, or more difficult to achieve? Standing on the plane of national interests, we must help Pakistan to tide over this difficult time. At the same time, we must avoid creating a new enemy and adding new stumbling blocks to national rejuvenation. ”

And so the argument ended.

After putting down the cigarette butt, Ji Youguo's gaze swept over everyone one by one, and finally stopped at Zhao Rundong. Throughout the meeting, Zhao Rundong did not express any opinions, or even say a word of practical significance. Apparently, the Minister of Defense was very unhappy with the Führer's exclusion of him from the decision-making circle.

Damn it*

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