It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 226 | Backwards
Next, Shank walked to the tank concept car parked next to him.

The vehicle is low-slung.

The head is at a large angle.

The torsion bar suspension has six pairs of load-bearing wheels.

Large hexagonal turret.

The tank gun barrel is long and slender.

This shape...this size...it looks just like a main battle tank from the mid-Cold War!

Shang Ke was momentarily dazed, as if he were hallucinating, or perhaps mentally deranged. He couldn't help but reach out and touch it, then scrambled up to climb up.

"Is this what the concept car for the armored vehicle looks like? Just an empty shell?"

"That's true."

There may be a mastermind behind Hezhong Motors Group, or it may simply be that the decision-makers are very business-savvy.

Last year, before Mr. Shang returned to China, several people from Sanlian Defense Company were submitting designs for various weapons and equipment to various places.

Compared to other companies whose submissions went unanswered, Hezhong Group was very interested in the 'main battle vehicle' and even funded its own project to conduct technical demonstrations.

The top management of Hezhong Group believes that this investment is worthwhile. An excellent company cannot be stingy with its R&D investment, and the research funding of tens of millions of yuan is not particularly exaggerated. If they can gain the upper hand, Hezhong Group can achieve a leapfrog development in military technology and surpass its northern competitors.

Shang Ke's assessment was simple—he praised the Hezhong Group!
Since Shank returned to China, he has frequently promoted the concept of main battle tanks on various occasions, and the General Headquarters Equipment Bureau actually believed him. So last month, it officially approved funding for the United States Group's main battle tank project.

To build confidence, Hozon Auto first semi-manually manufactured the shell of a main battle tank, which they called a concept car.

It has to be said, it looks very intimidating.

According to Tang Shanglin and the other engineers, the most difficult components in front of the engine are the hydraulic torque converter and the high-horsepower (small-volume) power system.

"Isn't Liuhe Machinery Power Company working on Project 180? Their research on hydraulic torque converters is progressing faster than yours. You can go and consult them and learn from their experience." Shang Ke suggested, "Besides the newly developed engine, you can add a backup plan. Take a shortcut and find a suitable engine to install a supercharger on it."

Although turbochargers are now ubiquitous, they are only just beginning to be tested on a small scale in aircraft and are still considered a high-end technology.

Mechanical superchargers are much simpler and more practical. They were invented as early as the beginning of the 20th century and can significantly improve the power of large-displacement engines.

Visiting the headquarters of the United Group to see these new weapons improved Shang Ke's mood somewhat.

Two weeks ago, the Republic of Mariana was defeated. This outcome cast a lingering shadow over the whole world and also surprised and worried the originally optimistic Shank.

Now the best of Europe has fallen to Ivanros, leaving only Varland and Hurricane, which have lost half their territory, to continue their resistance by relying on the mountainous terrain.

Kaiser Wilhelm Sr. died in Nuremberg three days ago. Having witnessed the glory of the empire, Wilhelm Sr. boasted that he was Frederick the Great reincarnated, but he never expected to 'lose his honor in his later years,' and he almost died with regrets. Alas!
The weak civilian government of the Bohemian Republic has wavered, and the power of Ivan Ross has terrified many. Bohemia may surrender at any time, and the whole country is in despair for its lack of resistance!
Shang Ke could only console himself that this was the darkest hour before dawn, and that as long as he persevered, he would eventually see the dawn break in the east.

Compared to the same period in history, the current situation is both good and bad.

The problem was that Ivan Rus's conquest of Western Europe was truly complete, leaving no rebellious states, while the Soviet Union never gave up its resistance, even when the Third Reich was at its zenith.

The good thing is that both the Great Unified Union and the United States are top-tier industrial superpowers, possessing formidable productivity and manpower, and their ideologies are similar. Historically, only the United States has played the role of the arsenal of democracy.

From this perspective, there's nothing to be afraid of. No matter how bad the situation in Europe is, it won't affect us.

For this reason, the ruling government remained relatively calm, maintaining its original strategic pace and continuing its intensive preparations to dismantle the colonial system of the British Empire.

No matter how much you jump around, I remain calm and composed. At first, Shang Ke didn't care either, but then he inexplicably thought of the magical experience that had happened before.

Based on my own experience, what Demeter said at the time didn't seem like a lie; it was basically true.

So why did the so-called 'world descend into war' situation occur? They even resorted to using bacteria and poison gas!

Shank has been troubled by this problem recently, unable to figure it out, and even suspects that Demeter is deceiving people. Later films, television dramas and literary works often feature scenes of gods plotting.

After inspecting the achievements of the Hezhong Group, he returned to Suzhou.

Because he was preoccupied, he wrote the report perfunctorily, ate dinner perfunctorily, and had a perfunctory conversation with his wife before going to take a shower alone.

Jian Keqiu felt baffled and couldn't understand why Mr. Shang was acting so strangely today.

Work troubles? Power struggles? Why are you acting a bit neurotic?
She got out of bed, walked into the bathroom, and was about to ask a question...

"I am!"

A curse word came from inside.

Jian Keqiu didn't think much of it and hurriedly went forward to push open the door. She saw Shang Kezheng under the shower head with a look of sudden realization. He was so focused that he didn't even notice the door was open.

She asked in surprise, "What happened?"

Shang Ke then came to his senses.

The two were completely honest with each other, their eyes meeting.

With bright eyes, Shang Ke took a deep breath to explain, but because he was in the shower, he choked on the water.

"Cough cough—cough cough—cough—" Shang Ke was slightly embarrassed and said awkwardly, "It's nothing, Xiao Qiu, I've figured out something important!"

"Oh." Jian Keqiu asked calmly, "Is it a family matter or a matter of state?"

"State affairs! No! State matters! Right and wrong." Shang Ke considered for a few seconds and said in a deep voice, "Xiao Qiu, get me the towel. I need to make a special call to the General Staff later. Please excuse me."

"it is good."

While taking a shower, Shang Ke went through all the possibilities again.

There is only one possibility for the Great Unified Federation's homeland to be engulfed in war: it would be besieged by several major powers, and that would happen several years from now, not now.

If this were to happen, the United States would almost certainly step in to help. With the combined naval forces of both countries, there would be absolutely no possibility of the war reaching their homeland.

That leaves only two possibilities.

First, the United States stood by and did not help.

Second, the United States is finished.

Although both of these inferences are rather far-fetched, there seems to be no other possibility.

So what exactly happened in the United States, isolated in the Americas?
Shank couldn't help but think of the plot of a game from later years—Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

(End of this chapter)