Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 317 Top-Tier Management Master, Inept War Commander
"Hello everyone."

Lin Ran walked onto the stage from behind the curtain and sat down opposite Da T. His simple greeting was enough to elicit applause from the audience.

This is Lin Ran's influence in New York.

Since Lin Ran rose to fame, he has always been regarded as one of their own by New Yorkers.

He taught here, brought the New York Mathematicians' Congress to New York, brought the Ark of Technology to New York, and his connection with New York is so profound.

New Yorkers have always believed that for professors, Washington is work, but New York is life.

Of course, the people of Göttingen would absolutely disagree with this statement.

There has been a prevailing opinion in Washington that if Lin Ran were willing, he could easily run for either the House of Representatives or the Senate in New York.

According to the 14th Amendment, which came into effect in 1868, Members of Parliament do not need to be born as America, and citizens who have undergone naturalization can also run for office.

However, senators need to have been American citizens for nine years, while representatives need to have been citizens for seven years.

This also shows that the threshold for becoming a senator is higher than that for a member of the House of Representatives.

Among the applauding crowd, Big T was the most enthusiastic, because he was running for New York State Assemblyman, and what could garner more votes than showing off his close relationship with the professor?
Looking at the audience below the stage, so enthusiastic over just two words, enjoying the applause and cameras, Big T felt a surge of elation. This was my battlefield! Not the damned jungle of the Vietnam War, nor the so-called senator's assistant my father had mentioned, but the television screen.

Father, are you still agonizing over your political legacy? I'm here to directly and face-to-face gain my supporters!
The professor not only led the moon landing and had a huge influence in the White House, but he also had a huge influence in New York State.

If he nods in support, my candidacy for councilor will be secure.

Godfather, you will always be my mentor!
forever?

Never say forever.

Big T quickly said, "Godfather, hello."

The word "godfather" sounded especially warm.

Jenny, sitting in the audience, rolled her eyes because Lin Ran wasn't much older than Big T; to outsiders, he looked about ten years older.

But judging from his appearance, Lin Ran looks much younger than Big T, who just came back from the front lines in the jungle.

Therefore, Jenny felt very strange when Big T called Lin Ran "godfather".

Other New York audience members didn't find it strange; instead, they were filled with all sorts of speculation.

Given the long-standing rumors of discord between Lin Ran and Lyndon Johnson, does Lin Ran's appearance on Big T's show further confirm these rumors?

"The reason my show is called 'The Apprentice' is to remind me that the guests who can appear on my show are mentors, while I and the viewers in front of the TV are apprentices."

The guests can teach us how to survive and succeed in the arenas of politics, business, and even life.

Without a doubt, the professor was the most outstanding among all the guests.

Even if I were to invite the president in the future, I would still say this without hesitation.

As the lights dimmed, the theme song began, a stirring orchestral piece mixed with the roar of a rocket launch and the applause of the audience.

Big T turned to the camera, flashing his signature confident smile—a smile that had appeared in the jungles of Vietnam under the flashes of reporters and spread throughout the Mississippi River with the news.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Apprentice."

In this program, we don't just chat about politics; we can talk about anything.

"Professor, welcome to my program! Audience, let's give a warm round of applause to the greatest contributor to humanity's journey to the moon—the professor!"

The audience erupted in thunderous applause, with some even standing up to cheer.

Lin Ran was deeply moved. As expected of Big T, the younger version of Big T already had such stage presence. No wonder she was able to rise from humble beginnings to become president.

In American-style electoral competition, this is the biggest advantage.

Lin Ran smiled and waved: "Thank you, T, and thank you to all the viewers."

The moon landing wasn't solely my achievement.

Big T shook his head: "No, Professor, in my opinion, it's all your doing."

Someone else might have been able to do it, but it would have taken much longer and cost more. Only you were able to send our astronauts to the moon in just six years.

This has nothing to do with the president, nothing to do with any country, nothing to do with any astronaut; it's just that you are irreplaceable.

When Lin Ran heard this, he knew that the program had officially begun.

Da T didn't pause; he had prepared thoroughly for this program. "Some people can make things simple, and similarly, some people can make things complicated."

As I just said, no one could replace the professor and achieve the same success in the moon landing, nor could anyone replace our President Johnson who did such a terrible job in the Vietnam War.

Anyone else would have done a better job.

Professor, what do you think of President Johnson's performance?

Before the show started, Da T called Lin Ran to ask if he had any taboos, and Lin Ran replied that he had no taboos.

Here it comes.

If anyone else were interviewing Lin Ran, they would never ask such a question.

The audience held their breath, trying to hear the professor's true opinion.

"I think President Johnson's problem isn't that he doesn't want to do many things, but rather that he doesn't know if he's capable of doing them."

The assassination of President Kennedy has yet to yield a result that satisfies the American people, which makes President Johnson privately worry that his actions might provoke discontent and lead to his own assassination.

Therefore, under these circumstances, it's difficult for me to evaluate how well he did.

Lin Ran's answer surprised everyone.

Few senior White House officials have dared to publicly admit that Kennedy's death was a conspiracy.

Even after the mysterious V appeared, everyone agreed that Oswald was not responsible for the final death, but the White House investigation committee's final conclusion showed that Oswald was the murderer.

Believe it or not, that's what the White House thinks.

Lin Ran said quietly, "President Kennedy's death was like a dragonfly trying to fly to the sky, only to find that there was a spider web blocking it. When President Johnson became that dragonfly, he knew that there was a web, so he dared not fly anymore."

We can't see the web from our perspective, but we become aware of its existence through the death of the previous dragonfly, so we can't blame the dragonfly for not flying in the sky.

Lin Ran used a very obvious metaphor to defend Lyndon Johnson.

The reason for saying this is to find a perfect scapegoat for if Big T becomes president in the future. No matter how badly Big T performs, he can still shift the blame to the deep government codenamed "The Web".

In short, my Great T is not wrong; all the mistakes are forced upon me by the deep-seated government.

Big T's eyes lit up. "So, Professor, do you know what the internet is?"

Lin Ran shook his head: "If even the President doesn't know, how would I know?"

I just feel that many of the criticisms leveled against the president are not because he doesn't want to do them, but because he can't do them, or he doesn't even know if he can do them.

I hope public opinion will be more lenient with President Johnson.

They helped China regain its GATT seat, and Lin Ran's actions are just a case of taking the benefits and doing his job—the behavior of a top-tier mercenary.

Seeing that Lin Ran wasn't falling into the trap, Big T quickly changed the subject, saying, "Professor, do you think President Lyndon Johnson or President Kennedy deserved more credit for the moon landing?"

Lin Ran changed the subject, saying, "I think I deserve the most credit."

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause, feeling that the answer cleverly evaded the question while simultaneously stating a profound truth.

"Of course, this is just my opinion, and both presidents would also feel that they deserve the most credit."

When I add "I think" before a sentence, I'm already in an invincible position.

This attempt to smooth things over drew another round of laughter from the audience.

Big T thought the professor was indeed a professor, too cunning, and it was really too difficult to find his weakness.

These facts alone are not enough to provoke the media to continue hyping up the feud between Lin Ran and Lyndon Johnson.

However, this also aroused his competitive spirit. The more difficult something is, the more meaningful it is if you succeed, right?
“Godfather, you’re too modest! Even without your opinion, I think there’s no problem at all,” Big T said.

Lin Ran interjected, "If you've said what you think, then of course there's no problem."

Facing the applause and laughter from the audience, Big T shook his head with a wry smile, "Professor, tell us about that historic moment first."

What was it like when Aldrin and Armstrong planted the Stars and Stripes on the moon? You were in the control room in Houston.
Don't you feel like you've proven yourself once again?

Lin Ran shook his head: "I never need to rely on these things to prove myself."

He then looked around the audience and asked, "Ladies and gentlemen, do I still need to prove myself?"

"No need!" the audience shouted in unison.

“Haha, I also felt like a hero during the Vietnam War, but that was a ground war. This is a space war with the Soviet Union, Professor. You know, the lessons you taught me helped me survive those jungle patrols,” Big T said quickly.

He had a feeling that his home turf had somehow become the professor's home turf.

No matter how much Lin Ran tries to show off, it won't surprise Da T. But there's one thing that makes Da T feel frustrated: he loses the initiative in the interview because he can't even compete with the professor in his area of ​​expertise.

"So what exactly is it? Could you explain in detail? Because I haven't fought on the front lines, I'm not sure what principles could be applied."

"T, please relay this message; it'll also be a suggestion for the soldiers on the front lines. I believe our program will reach the front lines through the newspapers." Lin Ran gave T a reason he couldn't refuse.

"Just like you taught me, eyes can lie, but numbers can't."

The reason I was able to uncover the shady dealings at the sergeant's club's slot machines was because the data told me that these slot machines were problematic.

Even in the jungle, I would meticulously collect soldier mortality data, and I would be extra vigilant in areas with particularly high mortality rates. "Professor, this has helped me avoid countless dangers," Big T said sincerely.

Lin Ran thought to himself, "When you run for president, you won't say that you are a math master who studied under me, will you?"

"This is thanks to your amazing comprehension skills," Lin Ran said with a smile.

Big T thought for a moment and replied, "Comprehension ability also depends on the person. Professor, compared to you, I am definitely not as good, but compared to McNamara, I am simply a genius."

McNamara, who considered himself a mathematical genius, treated the Vietnam War as his Harvard Business School classroom.

Did he pull that infamous 'body counting' trick? That is, counting how many North Vietnamese soldiers we killed every day and then saying, 'Hey, look, we won because the numbers went up.'

It's as if war is an arithmetic game, where one plus one equals victory! But what's the reality? Those North Vietnamese soldiers weren't just numbers on paper; they scurried into the jungle like ghosts, fighting and then running away.

His command was as rigid as a stone, staring only at those cold statistical tables, ignoring the blood shed by soldiers on the front lines and the cunning of the enemy.

And the result? We dropped tons of bombs, spent billions of taxpayers' money, and are still mired in a quagmire.

No matter how accurate McNamara's mathematical model was, it couldn't predict the variables! His 'numbers game' had completely messed up America's game.

Big T launched into a tirade: "You promised to keep me in command post doing logistics, but you dared to throw me to the jungle front lines?" Big T's dissatisfaction with McNamara was obvious, even though Fred had told him not to mess with McNamara.

Lin Ran said directly: "So why is he the longest-serving defense minister in America's history?"

"Is McNamara as bad as you say?"

This question stumped Big T, but luckily he reacted quickly: "Because Johnson has no brains."

Lin Ran then asked, "President Johnson won by a large margin, and that was after serving two years as president. Doesn't that mean the voters lacked judgment?"

Big T knows that he can criticize any specific person, but he cannot criticize voters or make sweeping generalizations.

He quickly softened his tone and said gently, "So, Professor, could you explain this to us?"

Lin Ran said, "Behind any seemingly unreasonable matter lies an unusual logic."

McNamara is an exceptionally capable technocrat.

Lin Ran's words caught Big T's eye because they contradicted mainstream opinions.

Big T quickly asked, "Professor, why do you say that?"

Lin Ran said, "When McNamara took over the Pentagon, it wasn't a glamorous job."

The Ministry of National Defense was established in 1947, but its powers and responsibilities were not clearly defined, and the entire system was very dysfunctional. The minister had difficulty maintaining good relations with his subordinates and senior military officers, and there was serious infighting among the various branches of the armed forces, who were openly and covertly fighting for the limited military budget.

Of his seven predecessors, one committed suicide, two left in disgrace, and two had the potential to achieve great things but left after just over a year.

Upon taking office, McNamara made it clear: "I am here to initiate and stimulate the formation of new ideas and solutions, not just to mediate disputes and coordinate interests."

McNamara is adept at using numbers to manage organizations. He studied the success of General Motors in detail, carried it forward at Ford, and then transferred these successful experiences to the Pentagon.

McNamara identified the main problem in effectively managing Department of Defense resources not as a lack of legal authority to manage, but as a lack of the basic management tools needed to make the right decisions.

Under McNamara's leadership, the Pentagon underwent a complete overhaul using a management system that included planning, budgeting, and systems analysis.

Previously, the US military's planning and management model involved joint strategic objectives planning through the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This involved first analyzing America's diplomatic commitments and the threats it faced, and then proposing corresponding military requirements based on the global situation. However, this part was proposed by each service branch, and the size of each branch and the amount of its budget directly determined its status and future, leading to serious internal strife.

The so-called planning, planning, and budgeting system is to link long-term planning with short-term budgets through a five-year plan with financial guarantees. At the same time, it studies problems from military and economic perspectives, uses systems analysis, and compares different solutions based on cost-effectiveness ratios.

In short, it's about doing the most with the least amount of money. This culminates in a draft presidential memorandum, which is then distributed to the nine functional departments under the Department of Defense, where the defense budget is allocated.

This model involves analysis and policy formulation by the civilian departments of the Ministry of National Defense, thus subtly bypassing the military.

McNamara believes that most things can be quantified numerically, and then rational decisions can be made based on that.

This management model encompasses the incredibly complex plans of the three armed forces, allowing civilian officials to directly see the full picture of the entire armed forces.

This also provides the Secretary of Defense with an independent team, allowing the civilian minister to wrest the initiative from the branches of the armed forces and make long-term plans for each important project, a departure from the past practice of the branches of the armed forces lacking long-term planning.

Never has a Secretary of Defense known the issue as much as McNamara, knowing every single detail.

Big T was stunned. Was McNamara really that great? Was this the same McNamara he knew?
Lin Ran continued, "I believe that the failure of the Vietnam War cannot be attributed to any one person; it was not McNamara's or President Johnson's fault."

Furthermore, we haven't failed yet.

Big T quickly replied, "Yes, if we change commanders, I believe we still have a chance to turn the tide, just like when you became the director of NASA, we became invincible in space!"
Professor, do you know that during the first manned moon landing, I watched the entire live broadcast? My heart was pounding, I was so excited. The living room was packed with friends who came to watch, all staring at the screen. When Aldrin said, "The Eagle has landed," the whole room erupted in cheers!

I feel that we are a great country. Think about it: $80 billion investment, eight years of hard work, countless sleepless nights. We not only conquered the moon, but also showed the world America's innovative spirit.

President Kennedy said in 1961, "We're going to the moon," and we did! This was not just a scientific victory, but also a symbol of national unity.

The moon landing is a glorious symbol of America, while the Vietnam War has become a stain on our shared history.

Not only did we not win, but what we did was also morally unjust.

"Anything can be done as long as it's packaged as a means to victory, regardless of the harm it might cause to ordinary North Vietnamese people, who are insignificant figures to the White House or frontline command."

He didn't want to hear any praise for McNamara, so he quickly shifted his attention to Lin Ran.

Just like in the original timeline, the Great T in this timeline showed anti-war sentiments earlier.

His words resonated with the audience, who noted that anti-war sentiment had grown stronger from the beginning to the end of the year.

By the end of November 1967, reports of atrocities committed by U.S. troops began to increase gradually. Although not as frequent as when the My Lai massacre was exposed in 1969, there were already some sporadic reports and commentaries that drew public attention.

These reports are often disseminated through newspapers, magazines, and television news, focusing on the harm done to civilians by the U.S. military in bombing and ground operations.

For example, The New York Times published a series of articles in November 1967 reporting on the burning of houses and killing of suspected civilians by the U.S. military in "search and destroy" operations in North Vietnamese villages.

The article cites testimony from anonymous soldiers who said that during an operation in a village in Ha Tinh province, their orders were to "eliminate all threats," resulting in the deaths of dozens of women and children.

The reporter wrote: "These soldiers are not monsters, but the rules of war have turned them into enforcers. The numbers show that our bombings have caused thousands of civilian casualties, but only brought us a brief tactical advantage."

The report also included photos showing burned-out huts and crying North Vietnamese children, with the headline "The Cost of North Vietnamese Villages: Civilian Casualties Behind US Operations".

Life magazine, in an issue that same month, featured extensive photos of U.S. military operations in the Valley region.

The photo, taken by a war photographer, shows soldiers using flamethrowers to burn a village, with fleeing civilians in the background.

(A burning village during the Vietnam War, and the dead civilians)
The magazine commented: "These images are not propaganda, but facts. Our soldiers were sent to 'win hearts and minds,' but they were destroying homes. War reports show that by 1967, more than 10 Vietnamese civilians had been killed or wounded by U.S. military operations."

This issue of the magazine sold very well, and many readers expressed shock and anti-war sentiments in their letters.

In television news, CBS Evening News aired a report in late November in which he interviewed soldiers returning from North Vietnam.

The soldier described an operation in Quang Ngai province where U.S. troops mistakenly killed a group of farmers because they "looked suspicious."

The host said on camera, "These are not isolated incidents, but rather the norm in war. The Department of Defense report acknowledges that civilian casualties far exceed expectations, but officials call it 'collateral damage.' Viewers, we need to ask ourselves, is the cost of this war worthwhile?"

The report used black-and-white footage showing the injured Vietnamese children being carried away, accompanied by the soldier's somber narration, which provoked a strong reaction from viewers.

These reports fueled anti-war sentiment, and many media outlets began to question the Johnson administration's war strategy, arguing that the atrocities committed by American troops had brought shame to America on the international stage.

Newspaper editorials often said: "Soldiers are following orders, but these orders have made the war unjust."

At this time, during the anti-war demonstration, people held up clippings of these reports and chanted "Stop the massacre."

Does it feel familiar?

What Israel did, the Americans did decades ago.

Lin Ran said calmly, "I hope for peace. I have talked to the president several times, but war is always easy to start but difficult to end."

I just can't understand how this damn war is going to end!

Big T asked, "Professor, is changing the president feasible? If President Johnson steps down after taking office next year, can replacing him with a different president bring an end to the war?"

Lin Ran recalled that the original timeline did not end until 1975. This had nothing to do with who the president was, or whether it was a donkey or an elephant. It only had to do with the appetites of the military-industrial complex and the geopolitical situation.

"I don't know," Lin Ran said against his will.

Big T then asked, "Professor, so you don't think the war will end anytime soon?"

Lin Ran said, "Of course not, wars are easy to start but hard to end."

The Smiths' money-making machine has been set in motion; how could it possibly end so easily?

After the show aired, Da T failed to achieve his desired effect. He wanted to prove that he had a close relationship with Lin Ran, so he tried to induce Lin Ran to criticize the White House and use the opportunity to criticize Johnson to make his show famous.

But the focus of everyone's discussion was on how the war could end, and whether McNamara's work was really as good as Lin Ran said.
McNamara, the executioner who started the Vietnam War, is actually so great?
Lin Ran's influence was too strong, and the contrast between McNamara's media image and what Lin Ran said was too stark, making him a focus of attention for a time.

McNamara was moved to tears after watching the program at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. "The professor truly understands me," he thought.

"Professor, if it weren't for you, I would have quit!" McNamara made a phone call immediately after reading it, and waited anxiously for two hours before receiving a call back from Lin Ran.

"No, Mike, because only I know how amazing you are!" Lin Ran's voice was so warm.

Warmth is the key, Lin Ran knows. As long as McNamara wants to, as a member of the Elephant Party, he can definitely continue to serve as Secretary of Defense during Nixon's term.

Regardless of whether Nixon or Fred is elected president next year.

In the latter case, he would have to rely even more on McNamara, since Fred's network of connections was limited and McNamara had indirectly helped him.

Lin Ran wants McNamara to stay in the White House for a while, and the longer you stay in the Pentagon, the better!

McNamara was a top-notch management guru, but a terrible war commander.

This is the effect you want.

(End of this chapter)