The Zhongnanhai Guard, who had a special liquor certificate hanging in front, drove in with a military salute, and after a while, the car stopped outside a separate courtyard, Xiao Zhen and Ye Yuling came out of the back seat left and right, and followed Yang Jinfeng into the courtyard.

The first one in the courtyard was Xiao Wan. She was conversing with a man of about thirty graceful temperaments sitting in two chairs. Today is Chinese New Year's Eve, but the sun is rare in the capital, and it is quite warm, and these two are not afraid of the cold.

Xiao Zhen and Ye Yuling glanced at each other, smiled at each other, and stepped forward together.

"Sister Wan." Xiao Zhen shouted with a smile.

Xiao Wan looked up, then got up and stood up. The man beside her did not hesitate at all, and got up almost at the same time as Xiao Wan, with a kind and eager smile on his face, which made people feel good

"Xiaozhen, you're really busy now. It's Chinese New Year's Eve to come and see your poor sister. Twenty-four was arrested back, why is there such a big difference between this person and people's treatment? Xiao Wan complained in her mouth, but smiled and pulled Ye Yuling's hand: "Yuling is also here, great, finally someone to talk to me." ”

The blow of these words was a little bigger, and the man next to him suddenly looked a little embarrassed, what do you mean that someone is finally talking to you, didn't I just talk to you just now? Am I not human?

Xiao Ke noticed his embarrassment. I secretly praised it in my heart, Sister Wan never paid any attention to her speech at home, but she didn't notice anything. However, after listening to this, the man was only slightly embarrassed, but he didn't mean to be angry, and his eyes were still kind, which showed that either he had excellent cultivation or a good heart, in short, it was a good phenomenon.

Xiao Ding smiled and stretched out his hand: "Hello, I'm Xiao Zhen." His introduction is very simple, because it is impossible for the people who can appear in this place not to know who he Xiao Zhen is, and if this is that Li Gongzi, it is even more impossible not to know who he Xiao Zhen is.

"I have admired the name for a long time, Mayor Xiao, I am Li Yundong." Li Yundong's movements were natural and elegant, he shook hands with Xiao Zhen, and felt that Xiao Zhen's hand was exceptionally stable, from the beginning of holding it to the end of it was released, there was no difference in the force for a period of time in the middle, and it was extremely well proportioned and powerful. It doesn't look violent. And Xiao Wan forgot to introduce this issue for them, and it didn't seem to have the slightest impact on Xiao Zhen, so he naturally opened his mouth to introduce, obviously he himself is very good at dealing with unexpected situations, and he is very confident.

Wise and gentle, calm and respectful, this is Li Zidong's first impression of Xiao Ke.

Xiao Ding also made a preliminary evaluation of this person from Li Yundong's reaction. When Li Yundong saw Xiao Zhen and Ye Yuling coming in, he appeared earlier than Xiao Wan, but when Xiao Ding didn't make a sound and Xiao Wan didn't move, he didn't move at all, and when Xiao Wanwang just moved, he also got up, which shows that he has been prepared for a long time, which shows that this person is very responsive, and is good at socializing and proficient in social etiquette. He shook hands with Xiao Ding, but it was gentle, Xiao Zhen habitually stood up straight and reached out to shake him, although he was the same, but he was a little more than Xiao Ke After holding Xiao Zhen's hand, his right hand, which was not strong, was slightly forced, and nodded with a smile. Of course, Xiao Zhen knew that the slight force of his right hand was a sign of solemnity, and he nodded, which was not only to show kindness, but also to show kindness. Of course, perhaps, there are other meanings.

If Xiao Zhen is outside, he sees Li Yundong in his own identity, Li Yundong, as the second son of one of the richest people in Hong Kong, his social status is obviously not lower than that of him as the mayor, but this Xiao Zhen is standing in Zhongnanhai to shake hands with him, then Mayor Xiao is not only Mayor Xiao, but the more critical identity is the grandson of the Xiao family. At such a time, Li Yundong can still release a kind of goodwill without being humble or arrogant. Its heat is well controlled, and it is indeed perfect.

Xiao Ding withdrew his hand and introduced Ye Yuling to him with a smile. The introduction is still extremely simple: "Ye Yu Xiaoling." My girlfriend. ”

Xiao Wan let go of Ye Yuling's hand only then. Ye Yuling smiled and stretched out her hand: "Hello." Her answer was very simple.

"Miss Ye, hello." Li Yundong touched Ye Yuling's right hand very elegantly.

Xiao Ding smiled and said, "Brother Yundong is here in the capital. But you have to Panzu for a few more days, Sister Wan, you have nothing to do anyway, it's good to accompany Brother Yundong to play around. ”

Xiao Wan suddenly glared at him: "When will I be idle?" Are you busy? ”

Xiao Bin was not annoyed, and said with a smile: "Brother Yundong is a distinguished guest, and our Xiao family always has someone to greet him, although I intend to accompany him, although I grew up in the capital, I am not very familiar with the play near the capital, and I have to hand over such a heavy responsibility to Sister Wan." ”

"How do you talk in a?" Xiao Wan was dissatisfied: "Liu will give me an official tone when he comes back, right?" Hmph, I'll just accompany you, I wish I had a few days off. ”

"That's for the best." Xiao Zhen laughed. Turned to Li Yundong and said: "Brother Yundong, the younger brother has just returned, and he still has to go to see his ancestors, and he will be reinstated." ”

"Where, where it should be, Mayor Xiao just go." Li Yundong nodded with a smile. Their names are very interesting, Xiao Bin calls Li Yundong Brother Yundong, but Li Yundong calls Xiao Zhen Mayor Xiao. Those who don't know must think it's strange, but in fact, the two of them know it very well in their own hearts. Xiao called him Brother Yundong, deliberately lowering his posture to show closeness, this lowering posture did not represent him personally, but that he, as the only male of the third generation of the Xiao family, represented the entire Xiao family, indicating the Xiao family's closeness to Li Yundong.

But Li Yundong can't immediately call Xiao Zhen Xiao Zhen because of this, "He has to behave more steadily, so he still calls Xiao Sheng Mayor Xiao."

Ye Yuling also nodded slightly to Xiao Wan and Li Yundong: "Lose your company." Li Yundong hurriedly nodded in return, but Xiao Wan smiled and said, "Go quickly, grandparents are waiting to see you."

"This is a good thing, whether it is from the economic exhibition, or from the political and strategic point of view, it is of great significance, and I agree with this idea of the general secretary." The old Xiao in the room had a solemn face, but said in a light tone to a man in front of him who couldn't see his real age. According to the feeling in the system, this man is about fifty years old, which can be regarded as ruthlessly young.

The man breathed a sigh of relief and nodded: "With the support of Elder Xiao, the Western Dakai will surely achieve a great victory." ”

The corners of Xiao Lao's mouth moved, but he didn't speak. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes, as if thinking about something.

Xiao Zhen outside listened to most of the conversations inside very clearly, and his heart was a little shocked, it turned out that the Western Dakai had already begun to enter the decision-making discussion at this time! It turns out that there are so many strategic considerations for the opening of the west!

However, after being surprised, Xiao Zhen thought about it and understood the key.

For some time now, US Secretary of Defense Rafael and other dignitaries have repeatedly declared that the United States will make major changes in its military strategy and focus on Abyss. For this reason, the British "Guardian" immediately published a commentary entitled "The United States Regards China as Its Number One Enemy." Regardless of the media's exaggeration, the shift of the focus of US foreign and defense policy from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region after the end of the Cold War is not an indisputable historical trend after the current administration took office. Rafael's recent reassessment of the US defense issue is nothing more than a comprehensive and comprehensive process of this historical process. In this historic shift, the Korean Peninsula and the Treasure Island Strait are "hot spots" in the western Pacific. It has always attracted a lot of attention from the media. US arms sales to Taiwan and the "Declaration on Protecting Taiwan" and other exhibitions have further increased people's attention to this region. What most people overlook is the part of the same strategic shift process in Central Asia. The "**" movement is an integral part of this Central Asia strategy. Geopolitically, the U.S. strategy in Central Asia may have a longer historical impact than the situation in the Western Pacific.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the anti-Soviet "axis" of China and the United States came to an end, and the republics of the former Soviet Union in Central Asia and the Caspian Caucasus region became independent one after another, providing a great opportunity for the United States to directly set foot in Central Asia. As a result, around the middle of the Jewish era, a new round of international "big games" and the name chaos appeared frequently in relevant media in the United States, including the Washington Post.

The term "Great Game" has a long history, originally referring to the long-term struggle between the British Empire and the Tsarist Russian Empire for Central Asia from the early part of the old century to the beginning of the Li century, which was intricate and thrilling. Interested friends check the information by themselves, and will not go into detail here. In short, Russia's aim was to secure Turkestan and advance southward, especially the coveted warm-water ice-free port, while Britain's goal was to continue northward beyond the steady occupation of Hindustan. And then take control of Central Asia. It is worth mentioning that the two major separatist movements currently facing western China, namely the Western Regions and the Western Frontier, are both Xu Xu of this big game.

To understand the Great Boqi, it is necessary to first clarify the scope of Central Asia. In its narrowest definition, Central Asia includes five former Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Officially, the above five names need to be added to the Indian and Iranian root suffix "stan", which means "land", and these five countries constitute the so-called Russian Turkestan.

But the scope of Central Asia is not limited to Old Turkestan. Western Xinjiang is often referred to as East Turkistan with ulterior motives, and Afghanistan naturally belongs to Central Asia, and it is difficult to distinguish from Central Asia in terms of concept, including the so-called "Asian hinterland" mountains in the Western Regions. Azerbaijan, across the Caspian Sea, across the Caspian Sea from Turkmenistan, is also involved. Azerbaijan is linguistically and culturally linked to the four Central Asian countries outside Tajikistan, and religiously and ethnically close to Iran.

Geographically, Iran is bordered by Afghanistan, a Shiite minority, to the northeast, a Sunni Turkmen population, to the north by the Caspian Sea, and to the northwest, where Iran's largest ethnic minority, Azerbaijanis, is concentrated. On the chessboard of the Great Game. Afghanistan and Azerbaijan are both in their throes, and Iran is naturally in the midst of it.

The current new game can be said to be a continuation of the old game under the new international strategic combination. The United States has two major goals in this great game, geopolitical and economic, and the two are closely linked. It can be roughly summarized as follows.

Politically, the United States' aims and tactics are the traditional "separation of the strong and the weak" in the struggle for world power, and its main targets are Russia, China, and Iran. With regard to Russia, the aim of the United States is to ensure the "independence" of the former Soviet republics in the region and to weaken Russia's control and influence over them. Further encroachment on Russian power in Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. With regard to Iran, the United States has attempted to contain its political, economic, and cultural influence for a long time, and by supporting the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, threatening Iran's territorial integrity and national unity, and even eventually dismembering Iran.

China's rapid economic development since reform and opening up, especially in the past 10 years, is undoubtedly the greatest challenge to the United States' monopoly on world hegemony.

The rise of China will inevitably lead to the revival of the Silk Road, and China must develop and make use of the markets and natural resources of Central Asia. In this regard, the United States has taken offense as defense, and the two separatist movements of "regional independence" and "national independence" that came into being in the first game directly threaten China's territorial integrity and the development of the western region.

Economically, the United States has a clearer purpose, and its center is the huge untapped oil deposits of the Caspian Sea region of the former Soviet Union and the Central Asian republics, and the Republic of Azerbaijan has long been famous for its oil reserves. In addition, Kazakhstan's oil reserves are comparable to those of the British and Norwegian North Sea oil fields. 10. Kurmenistan has the fifth largest gas reserves in the world. Overall, the total oil reserves in the region are estimated to be at least 100 million barrels. It is notched with the total amount of Kuwait's oil fields that have been opened for a long time. Chase the sum of Alaska's North Slope and North Sea oil fields. Judging from Xiao Zhen's current strategic vision, the control of oil resources in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region by the United States and the West is increasingly being challenged by the rise of Shiite Islam, forcing the United States to seek more long-term and stable energy resources.

At the same time, according to the current US president himself, the United States is facing an energy crisis in the short and long term. The president of the United States has not only broken his word. He broke his campaign promise to protect the ecological environment, and risked the world's condemnation to cancel the previous government's commitment to the Kyoto international agreement. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the conclusion of a certain American strategic researcher. He believes that the oil and gas resources of Central Asia and the Caspian Sea region "are vital to the geostrategic and economic interests of the West." ”

In the western Pacific, from the Bering Strait to the Korean Peninsula to the Treasure Island Strait, the U.S. strategy is to rely on Japan, so Japan's World War II reversal movement has intensified. An important part of the U.S. strategy for a new Central Asia is to use Turkey, a NATO ally. The result was Pan-Turkism, a "ghost that lingered" in Central Asia after the collapse of the USSR. This is another big topic that cannot be discussed in detail. The so-called "**" movement is an integral part of it.

The implementation of the US strategy in Central Asia, which to a large extent falls under the responsibility of military and intelligence agencies outside the US State Department, is particularly noteworthy. An American scholar has long revealed that the CIA's "corporate line" against China's western Xinjiang and the Western Regions is "China's possible split"

Of course, Xiao Zhen's attitude towards this is: contempt strategically and attach importance to tactics.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the "Central Military District," one of the four major world jurisdictions of the United States, was Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, and its activities in Central Asia grew rapidly and became a pole

According to the Washington Post, the budget of the U.S. House of Self-Aiders has been cut repeatedly over the past decade. However, the budget of the military's regional command, which is not open to the outside world, has been increasing, so that the regional commanders, especially the recently retired commander of the Central Military District, General Yuzhny, have been called "four-star diplomats."

The aggressive strategy of the United States has forced Russia, China, and Iran to abandon their historical grievances and work together to meet the challenges of a new game. Russia's recent military cooperation with Iran, despite strong opposition from the United States, is a clear example.

One of the points of the general secretary's ideas that Zeng Yangyan, director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, talked to Xiao Lao about just now, is that China must implement the strategy of opening up the western region to a large extent and ensure the central government's control over the western regions and western Xinjiang. This proves that the capital is also aware of the seriousness of the challenge. As the United States shifts its strategic focus to Asia, the heat of the new round of the Great Game will continue to rise.

Of course, Xiao Zhen knows that the opening of the western region is a major strategic decision, and his grandfather, who has a firm belief in the world, will definitely agree to such a plan to balance the balance of the country's various regions, and even this western opening meeting may receive greater attention than in the previous life. Then, after the opening of the western region, with the opening of the western part of China and the revival of the Silk Road, it has become a top priority. Xiao Zhen is a little helpless that in this historical process, the "**" movement, as part of the Great Game, will never disappear from the political arena of Central Asia, and this is something that Xiao Zhen extremely does not want to see.

Xiao Zhen is well aware of the general situation of the international "Great Game" of Western powers vying for the hinterland of Asia since the 19th century, and also knows that the various separatist movements that began to emerge in Western Xinjiang in the late Qing Dynasty have always been closely related to the Great Game.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Heshuo Boke Mountain of the former Central Asian Religious Han State, the Qing history said that the Pasha invaded the western frontier, which provided an opportunity for the British to compete with Russia in Central Asia at that time. If you want to make it a country, you can defend Russia with it. "Qing Historical Manuscript" volume 412 "The Biography of Zuo Zongtang" Since then, Xinjiang has become an important part of the international game, "not the west is the British annex, that is, the north turns into Russia", Zuo Zongtang's incisive analysis of the situation in Xinjiang at that time.

Zuo Zongtang, who was born in Xiangyin, Xiaonan, ignored all kinds of internal and external resistance, overcame many difficulties, and led his troops to defeat the first in modern history supported by Britain behind the scenes. The "**" regime, backed by military force, forced another powerful power in Xinjiang, Imperial Russia, to withdraw its troops from Yining, restoring China's sovereignty over Xinjiang.

Looking back on the history of more than 100 years, Xiao Zhenxian. During the first round of the Great Game, the three main turf areas of the Anglo-Russian game, namely Afghanistan, Iran, and the western part of China, suffered the least damage, while the internal and external troubles between Iran and Afghanistan were endless. This fully proves the crucial importance of safeguarding China's sovereignty to the stability of the western Xinjiang region.

Around the time of World War I, with the collapse of Ottoman Turkey, the so-called "Pan-Turkism" came into being, which quickly became an important factor in the separatist movement in Western Xinjiang, and Pan-Turkism is a big topic, which will not be discussed in detail here. Its goal, in a word, is the political unification of all Turkic peoples. And Britain, which was accustomed to exploiting various national contradictions to serve the interests of its empire, immediately seized this opportunity.

After the Xinhai Revolution, Western Xinjiang was controlled by several warlords and strongmen for a long time. Due to the weakness of the central government in China, the western frontier under the control of the warlords had to carefully seek survival in the gap between the British and the Russian and Soviet forces. The political beliefs and personal ethics of these warlords can be different, but they all worked to varying degrees to maintain China's sovereignty over the western frontier, and their historical merits are not the same. Xiao Zhen listened to the conversation in the room and finally ended. Took a sip of tea. I felt a sense of firmness in my heart: Now, it is a test for our generation.