Xu Chenglong received an urgent notice at night and immediately returned to his office in the General Staff Headquarters to attend the meeting.

Four hours ago, in Pakistan's Gwadar port, a car carrying 14 Chinese engineers was heading to the port construction site and passing through the Gwadarsi Gulf, when a pickup truck parked on the side of the road suddenly exploded, killing two engineers from the water conservancy and hydropower construction company with a bomb pre-planted on the pickup truck. Unidentified militants ambushed on the road then attacked the convoy, and after a fierce exchange of fire with Pakistani military escorts, the remaining 12 engineers were taken away by the group. According to the preliminary judgment of the Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Department 'Gate', this group of militants came from the Baloch Liberation Front.

Xu Chenglong interrupted the secretary. "What kind of organization is this?"

Balochistan is the largest and least populated province in Pakistan. In 1947, when India and Pakistan were divided, the princely state of Kalat in Balochistan refused to join Pakistan and declared the establishment of the so-called "Independent State of Baluchistan" on its own. Between 1973 and 1976, some tribes in Balochistan were armed on several occasions, when Ba Zheng sent 100,000 troops to quell the rebellion. In 1977, the Pakistani government adopted a policy of appeasement, which eased the contradictions somewhat, but did not fundamentally solve the problem. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of militant groups, and some armed groups in Balochistan have renewed their demands not only for more political power, but also for control of the region's natural gas and other mineral resources. The Baloch Liberation Front is one of the stronger ones.

Hearing this, Xu Chenglong closed his eyes again and said lightly.

"That's a guerrilla, isn't it?"

The confidential secretary nodded. "It is said that this guerrilla force is armed with thousands of men."

With a loud snort from his nose, Xu Chenglong waved his hand to stop the confidential secretary's briefing, and did not speak again along the way.

Tang Bai, the director of the office, waited for Xu Chenglong on the marble steps.

Along the way, armed policemen with loaded guns were already on guard, and double posts were added to the large 'gate' of the General Staff, and when they arrived at the office building, they could see a group of soldiers of the Central Guard Regiment gathered in the hall from the 'gate', who were following the assignment of the officers on duty to 'communicate' work matters with the guards and soldiers of the General Staff Headquarters. Although there were a lot of people, no one could be heard making a loud noise, everything was in order, and there was an indescribable majesty in the bright hall.

The confidential secretary approached Xu Chenglong. "Ouchi's 'guards' are all dispatched, and the scene is not small."

Xu Chenglong motioned to all his guards to stay outside, wait for the officers on duty to dispatch, and enter their posts as soon as possible.

Tang Bai seemed relieved when he saw Xu Chenglong coming, and his clear face stretched out.

"Chief of Staff Xu, the big people are waiting inside, the general secretary has already instructed to resolve this crisis as soon as possible and properly, and the prime minister has personally arrived to listen to our opinions and supervise our decision."

This PLA major general is the most respected person in the office, and he is flexible and decisive in handling things. No matter who he faces, whether it is the chief of the general staff and the chief of the general staff, he is called "chief of staff", so no matter which leader he is on, he gets along very well with him, and he is responsible for the 'communication' between various offices, which is efficient and humane.

Xu Chenglong glanced at Tang Bai. "Looks like I'm the last to be notified."

Tang Bai glanced at the confidential secretary, then followed behind Xu Chenglong, and said in a low voice: "Chief of Staff Xu, this is the matter you are in charge of, so I notified you as soon as possible." ”

Xu Chenglong unexpectedly glanced at the confidential secretary, and the secretary's face was a little unnatural.

"I don't think you're in a good mood today, so I want you to sleep for twenty minutes more. Isn't there five minutes left for the meeting to start, and we're not late. ”

Xu Chenglong glared at him fiercely, did not speak, and strode into the conference room.

The secretary was bored and wanted to follow, but was stopped by Xu Chenglong impatiently.

He knew very well the secretary's intentions, Unit 128 had put an end to his career, but the problem was not there, the real problem was that he refused to change his hard-line style. The secretary deliberately delayed his arrival because he was afraid that his outrageous attitude would 'provoke' others and that he would not be able to finish well in the political treatment after he retired. When the meeting began, Xu Chenglong's position did not allow him to have too many opportunities to speak, so he just had to survive the meeting smoothly.

The secretary's cleverness is for Xu Chenglong's good, but Xu Chenglong's least favorite thing is this set.

Seeing Xu Chenglong coming in, the chief of the general staff immediately pressed him to the prime minister's side.

"There is no politeness between us, you will preside over the meeting today, and we will all listen to you, an expert."

The Prime Minister gave him a meaningful look and smiled. "Let's get started."

Another member of the Politburo Standing Committee, Li Tianying, hurriedly came over.

"The comrades of the Ministry of Security have not arrived yet, do you want to wait for them?"

The Chief of the General Staff frowned and looked at Tang Bai dissatisfied. "Does this incident have anything to do with '***'?"

Tang Bai smiled knowingly and shook his head.

"According to the information of the Pakistani side and the analysis of our experts, this incident should have nothing to do with '***'."

"Then don't bother the comrades of the Ministry of Security." The chief of the general staff waved his hand and turned to look at Li Tianying. "Comrade Tianying, time is very urgent, if we really want to decide to take action, we must leave time for comrades to formulate countermeasures and deployments, let's start now."

Li Tianying pressed his eyes on the bridge of his nose, and just as he was about to say something, the prime minister waved his hands, motioned for everyone to sit down, and then took turns looking at everyone with his famous gentle eyes.

"Since it's a matter of the team, of course, we can't start the meeting until all the team members come. But the chief of staff is also right, the time is very urgent, so we will wait for them while we have a meeting, take the minutes of the meeting, and wait for the comrades to come and participate in the discussion. ”

Sitting at the table were the heads of Departments 2, 3 and the External Liaison Office, who quickly and efficiently provided information on the kidnapping of the engineers. It was clear that several of the twelve engineers had the core secrets about the construction of the port, and the guerrillas did not need these secrets, so it was impossible to see who was behind them. They must be rescued, and quickly.

There was a brief silence in the room. As soon as Xu Chenglong was about to speak, he saw the 'look' in the eyes of the chief of the general staff, he was stunned for a moment, and the words he wanted to say fell into his throat. The prime minister also realized the seriousness of the problem, and his face became grim.

"I think it is still necessary to solve the problem through foreign 'diplomacy', and with our good relations with Pakistan, the Pakistani military can rescue people from the guerrillas in the fastest possible time."

Li Tianying looked at the prime minister, and saw that the prime minister was still bowing his head and not speaking, as if he agreed with his thoughts, so he sped up his speech.

The soldiers present all looked at each other. If the Pakistani military could count on it, then this would not have happened, and now is not the time to discuss what methods should be used. There is only one way, and that is to send your own men to carry out a surgical attack in order to free all the hostages as quickly as possible. The soldiers' thinking was simple and straightforward, and they thought that the next discussion would be which troops to send out.

"At present, the Western countries are eyeing us and engaging in the theory of the China threat to deceive the people of the world, and at this time, we cannot easily use force, put it into practice, give people a handle, and affect our century-old plan for peaceful development, so I hope that comrades can proceed from reality and earnestly cooperate with the Pakistani military to accomplish this arduous task."

Li Tianying had already seen through the thoughts of the soldiers.

All eyes turned to the Chief of the General Staff, and the Chief of the General Staff turned to the Prime Minister. The party commanded the gun, and the chief of the General Staff knew that the prime minister had already made a decision, and even the director of the General Political Department who was present did not speak, so there was no need for him to put forward his own ideas.

"Peaceful development is our goal in the near future, and it is a decision related to whether China can truly enter the forest of great powers in the 21 st century. The Prime Minister gestured slowly, in a gentle but firm tone. "Just as Comrade Tianying said, we cannot make a case in the international community and create evidence for those boring 'China threat theories,' so our efforts through foreign 'diplomacy' must be vigorous and sincere, and if necessary, we can ask other countries for necessary help."

Li Tianying nodded again and again. "Now is an eventful time for the Chinese nation, and everything must be done with the overall situation first."

The soldiers present were silent, and even the director of the General Political Department bowed his head, not daring to make eye contact with the chief of the General Staff. Xu Chenglong beckoned Tang Bai and said something in his ear, Tang Bai's expression was a little strange for a moment, but he still quietly walked out of the conference room.

The Prime Minister was also silent for a while. He played with his glasses, closing the 'legs' of them for a moment and opening them again.

"However, there are two sides to the problem."

"On the surface, this is just a terrorist activity, but in essence, it is an attack on our country under the ulterior motives of other countries. Peaceful development is not the same as being slaughtered by others, if that were the case, wouldn't we be like the big 'fat' pigs in the pigsty, feeding ourselves 'fat' and then washing them to the table for free? ”

Although the prime minister told a joke, he did not laugh, and neither did the soldiers present. The prime minister's metaphor vividly illustrates the situation that China is facing in the world today. Peaceful development, of course, sends a friendly signal to the outside world, but at the same time, it is also tantamount to putting a shackle on oneself and greatly shackling one's hands and feet. But when they heard the Prime Minister's words, the wind turned, and everyone's expressions were lifted again.

"'With the face of Nanwei, you can talk about Shuyuan; We don't want to bully others, but we also have to prove that we have the ability and determination to protect ourselves, and if we tighten the fence, we won't be afraid of others worrying about our own little family. Properly displaying one's own skills can also create a favorable external environment for our peaceful development, and we must look at problems dialectically. In today's society, without changing the original intention, we must have more flexible strategies and means. ”

The soldiers present finally understood what the prime minister meant, and Li Tianying also understood.

"Comrade Tianying, do you think that's the case?" The prime minister smiled gently. "The General Secretary's directive is to resolve this issue 'as soon as possible and properly'. 'Putting it in the front' as soon as possible reminds us of the urgency of our task, and 'properly' putting it in the back reminds us to have an open mind and pay attention to the art of struggle under the premise of peaceful development. In my opinion, it is flexible and pragmatic. ”

"When it comes to the military, I'm a layman, so I'll have to listen to you experts." The Prime Minister put down his glasses, leaned back in his chair relaxedly, and waved his hand gently. "Let me remind you again that you should not be treated as child's play if you are politically qualified, have a strong military skills, have a good work style, have strict discipline, and have strong support."

The Chief of the General Staff looked at Xu Chenglong. "Lao Xu, tell me your views and suggestions."

Xu Chenglong stood up, his voice sonorous and powerful.

"I think this is a premeditated terrorist attack, and according to the United Nations anti-terrorism convention, we have the right to request the extradition of terrorists or request local trials, and in cooperation, we will do our best to help Pakistan."

The prime minister nodded in satisfaction, and then looked at Li Tianying. "Then let the soldiers busy with their affairs, and we will also go back and convene the relevant departments to discuss countermeasures."

As long as the tone has been set, how to implement it is no longer a matter of concern to the prime minister. The prime minister and vice prime minister knew that there would be a lot of secrets involved, and the less such secrets they knew, the better, so the prime minister and Li Tianying left at the right time.

The two bigwigs were not there, and the soldiers immediately began to gear up.

"Guerrillas, for a moment I really can't think of anything to use against them." The chief of the general staff smiled at Xu Chenglong. "This establishment is too small, I'm afraid they won't be able to withstand a dozen."

"That's true, but looking at the number of these guerrillas, it seems that there are high-ranking people to guide them." The head of the General Political Department reminded them. "When the Prime Minister said just now that the art of struggle is referring to this part, don't take it for granted. To put it simply, it is not allowed to have international repercussions. ”

"Isn't it just an old opponent, I have been fighting since the Korean Peninsula, and I have been fighting intermittently until now, and I am really tired of speaking from the heart." The Chief of the General Staff smiled. "Speaking of the Korean Peninsula, I remember, Lao Xu, don't you have a volunteer army?"

Xu Chenglong smiled. "I've already released the military power with a glass of wine, even if Comrade Tianying talks to me, let's ask the special forces of each military region to find a way."

"There's no time." The Chief of the General Staff's expression became serious. "Anyway, they're also in the process of assembling, and they're going to carry out one last mission. Lao Xu, it's time to prove yourself once. ”

Xu Chenglong smiled dumbly, what else does he have to prove? Unit 128 was formed by him, and it took him 30 years, and everyone can see the successes and failures during this period. Now, though, is not the time to talk about that.

He looked back at Tang Bai. "Has Wei Han been notified?"

Tang Bai nodded.

Xu Chenglong's gaze fell on the sky 'flower' board. It occurred to him that the "oracle" might be in this room.

The thought made him 'hairy' and horrified.