Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 429 The Rebalancing Master

This involves technology, but more importantly, it involves geographical factors.

If Soviet Russia wanted to provide assistance to North Vietnam, they had to pass through the Chinese coast.

If troops were to be deployed, then China's southeastern coast would have to be relied upon even more.

If you choose to take the Pacific route, departing from Vladivostok in the Far East, which is the home port of the Soviet Pacific Fleet.

The fleet will depart from Vladivostok, sail south through the Japanese Sea, pass through the Tsushima Strait between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, enter the East China Sea, and finally sail south to Annam.

This route is the shortest, avoiding NATO's military deployments in Europe and the Atlantic, and also avoiding the complex waterways of the Middle East.

Even so, the entire voyage was under the surveillance of America's Seventh Fleet, which would pass through the coastal waters of America's allies in Asia: Japan and Korea.

Any large-scale military operation would be immediately detected and could lead to interception by the American navy, thus triggering a direct conflict.

Alternatively, they could take the Atlantic-Indian Ocean route, departing from Soviet ports on the Baltic Sea, or from Leningrad or Black Sea ports.

The fleet needed to cross the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, then round the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, enter the Indian Ocean, pass through the Strait of Malacca or the Sunda Strait into the South China Sea, and finally arrive in Annam.

This route is extremely long, and it will cross a large amount of waters controlled by NATO.

Even more critically, if departing from the Black Sea, one must pass through the Bosphorus Strait, which is controlled by Turkey.

Only by renewing friendly relations with China, and then sailing south along China's eastern coastal ports, could Soviet Russia eventually reach Annam (Vietnam).

This route was under the complete protection of the Chinese Navy and Air Force, and could be resupplyed directly at coastal ports.

This is the most direct way.

For air transport, Soviet transport planes departing from their base in Siberia would still need China's permission to pass through Chinese airspace.

PS: Here, "North Vietnam" refers to the Vietnamese government, and "South Vietnam" refers to the part supported by America.

Leonard and the committee members from the Soviet Union sat on either side of the long table in the conference room.

On the table in front of them lay a trophy from across the ocean.

A bulky metal box with no markings on it, except for a small screen that flashes green numbers.

“This was captured from the American army,” Grechko, the Soviet Minister of Defense, said in a deep voice, tapping the box with his fingers. “Our technical experts analyzed it and concluded that it is a completely new positioning system, which the Americans call GPS.”

Designed by a professor, it allows users to measure accuracy within ten meters, anywhere on Earth.

This news broke the silence in the conference room.

“What does this mean?” Leonard asked.

“This means that our comrades in North Vietnam will face an asymmetric war,” Andropov said slowly. “In the past, American air strikes and artillery support were full of uncertainty.”

But now, with this thing, they can perform surgical strikes.

This also means that the air defense systems and anti-aircraft guns we provided to North Vietnam will become less effective.

Reality has proven everything: in the past, America's army was mired in a quagmire, but now they have extricated themselves from it.

This thing is more like a rapid cooling device, turning the mud into frozen ground. Instead of getting stuck in the mud like before, America's tanks can cross the frozen ground with the addition of snow chains and head to their desired destination.

Our comrades in North Vietnam are facing an unprecedentedly difficult situation.

According to data from the front lines, the casualty ratio between American troops and our allies has historically been higher than 1 to 10, generally around 8.

For every eight North Vietnamese soldiers lost, one American soldier would die.

But now, that number has reached an absurd 1 to 50.

Everyone gasped.

Everyone present understood that if America gained an overwhelming advantage in Annan, it would be a heavy blow to their global strategy.

They will have no foothold in the whole of Asia.

China has absolutely no chance of becoming their tool.

Other countries include Mongolia, North Korea, and Syria.

Can these three countries be considered a foothold?

This was fatal for Soviet Russia, which prided itself on being a double-headed eagle.

The double-headed eagle signifies that they consider themselves a major power spanning Eurasia and need to have significant influence in both regions simultaneously.

“We cannot stand idly by,” one committee member exclaimed. “We should send troops directly to help our allies!”

“No,” Grechko immediately retorted, “direct military intervention would trigger a full-scale war with America, which would be an uncontrollable disaster.”

We cannot drag the entire alliance into the abyss for the sake of Vietnam.

“We can use mercenaries,” the committee member explained.

Grechko then shook his head: "No, we can't do it. We are too far from North Vietnam. Our troops cannot be sent to North Vietnam unless China allows us to pass through their airspace or railways."

Under the current relationship, this is clearly impossible.

"So, what should we do?" Leonard looked at Andropov, knowing that the KGB chief's mind was always full of bold and dangerous ideas.

Andropov said slowly, "We have a few options."

First, we could try to replicate the system, but that would take time, and we don't have America's satellite network.

Second, we can provide North Vietnam with more weapons, but this will not solve the fundamental problem.

What we need is a method that can offset America's technological advantage.

"Comrades, do you know how much of our foreign exchange reserves we spend on Chinese products every year?"

This year it should exceed $10 billion.

If we include our allies in Eastern Europe and our partners in the liberal camp, we spend more than $15 billion annually on products from China.

Our shop is filled with radios, calculators, and televisions from China.

Our own manufactured electronic products can only be placed at the bottom of the shelves and sold only in Siberia.

Our research institute specifically requests computers from China, whether portable or mainframe; they only accept Panda or Crimson.

Since last year, the amount of foreign exchange reserves we have consumed in China has exceeded that of the Western camp for the first time.

According to intelligence relayed by the KGB and GRU in Western countries, Chinese consumer electronics products are also popular in these countries.

Their designs are novel, their quality is stable, and their updates are rapid.

We had to use up a lot of our foreign exchange reserves for this.

When I discuss with my Chinese counterparts whether we can pay in rubles, they always smile and refuse, insisting on using US dollars.

If we were still allies as we were in the past, we wouldn't need to deplete our foreign exchange reserves for this.

We could have obtained the relevant technology from China.

Even from an economic perspective, we cannot afford to lose such a large ally as China.

We already have Mongolia as a thick firewall between us and China. We shouldn't push such a high-quality ally to America just because of some damned war of words.

This is absolutely unacceptable to us. The China-America Mathematicians' Annual Meeting is held every year, and now they seem to be organizing a table tennis tournament to promote people-to-people exchanges.

While in the White House, the professor repeatedly sent signals to China: We can be allies, America treats Chinese people very well, and we will be good friends.

In Geneva, New York, and Stockholm, the professor has been exerting his unique influence to pull China toward America.

I strongly agree with Andropov's point of view.

This is a rare opportunity, an opportunity to restore our relations with China.

We can't continue like this.

If one day, the professor actually helps the White House secure Yenching University, we will deeply regret it.

Kosygin has always insisted on repairing relations with China, and even at this point in time, he has flown to Beijing several times in an attempt to ease tensions between the two sides.

The committee members present were aware of his mention of the large-scale imports of Chinese consumer electronics by the Soviet Union.

But the numerical shift still shocked everyone.

"Can't we just stop buying Chinese goods?" Leonard asked earnestly.

He couldn't understand why those little gadgets would become necessities for the people of Soviet Russia.

Leonard knew that they had been importing products from China and depleting their precious foreign exchange reserves.

What he didn't know was that we could produce it ourselves, so why should we spend foreign exchange to buy it?

Prime Minister Kosygin sighed.

He was in charge of the country's economy, and the unplanned and uncontrollable demands of the people were his biggest nightmare.

“Comrade Leonard, we can’t,” he said, his tone filled with helplessness. “The residents of Moscow only love Chinese consumer electronics, followed by Western ones. They don’t even look at what we produce ourselves.”

"Take our Universe brand televisions as an example. The picture quality is blurry, the sound is harsh, and they often malfunction."

Meanwhile, those Panda TVs from China had clear pictures and vibrant colors.

What he didn't finish saying was that Chinese televisions could receive television signals from the Western camp, while their televisions could not.

"Can't our workers produce just as good things?" Leonard asked.

“They can, Comrade Leonard, but that takes time, technology, and investment,” Kosygin said bitterly, “and we lack all of those.”

Our scientists and engineers are serving our military, and our factories are serving national defense.

We don't have the extra resources to produce unnecessary consumer goods.

From a cost perspective, purchasing from China is undoubtedly the most economical and practical option.

At least their products are cheaper than those of the Western camp.

Their foreign exchange reserves will also be largely used to purchase our technology and equipment.

More importantly, Chinese consumer electronics products, unlike those from the Western camp, do not cause the public to question the socialist camp.

It will not erode people's belief in socialism.

Kosygin continued:

"Therefore, no matter what, we must take advantage of this opportunity to repair our relationship with China."

Whether economically, politically, or militarily, it can only benefit us, with no drawbacks.

Hong Kong, 23-27 Wing Kuk Street, Central

This is the second time Zhou Nan has come to the rooftop to pick up goods since joining Xiangjiang Baihua Society.

Just like last time, she was accompanied by Xu Shixun.

He picked up a box and left.

Xu Shixun suppressed his doubts, knowing that this was not something he could get involved in.

Hong Kong today is divided into three parts: China, America, and England.

The location of the Hundred Flowers Society at 172 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, is known as the underground Hong Kong government.

Zhou Nan also dared not open the box. After the box was transported to the mainland, it traveled all the way north to Area 51.

It contains the design concept of GPS, as well as a series of guided missiles.

The most complete of these is the laser-guided missile from America.

In the early stages of the Vietnam War, the U.S. military relied primarily on traditional iron bombs and carpet bombing for air strikes.

This method is inefficient, costly, and often fails to destroy solid or mobile targets, such as bridges, caves, or enemy command posts.

To solve this problem, the U.S. military urgently needs a precision strike weapon capable of hitting its target with a single shot.

Against this backdrop, the laser-guided bomb (LGB) was developed and first deployed in combat during the later stages of the Vietnam War, completely changing the nature of warfare.

The error of laser-guided missiles is within a few meters.

Simply put, it involves one or more aircraft, ground troops, or even special forces using a laser designator to continuously illuminate a target.

This indicator emits a coded laser beam invisible to the human eye, like a cursor.

Another aircraft, usually a fighter-bomber, would drop modified LGBs from a distance.

After the bomb is dropped, its internal homing sensors will automatically find and track the laser beam reflected from the target.

The bomb's guidance system continuously receives laser signals and corrects its flight path by adjusting the control surfaces at its tail, ensuring that the bomb flies precisely toward the target indicated by the laser.

The bomb will eventually hit the target with extremely high accuracy.

In the original timeline, the first large-scale combat application of laser-guided bombs was during Operation Defenders in 1972.

One of the biggest challenges facing America's army at the time was destroying the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam.

This bridge was an important transportation hub for North Vietnam. The US military had previously bombed it with hundreds of aircraft, but had failed to completely destroy it.

The situation changed dramatically after laser-guided bombs were put into use.

The U.S. military used F-4 Phantom II fighter jets as designators and bombing platforms, and successfully destroyed the sturdy bridge with just a few LGBs.

After all, during the entire Vietnam War, a total of 104 American pilots were shot down in the 75-square-mile area around the bridge.

The success of this rearguard operation shocked the world and proved the enormous potential of precision-guided weapons.

With the advent of laser-guided missiles, pilots can drop weapons at safer altitudes and distances, greatly reducing the risk of being shot down, as dangerous low-altitude bombing is no longer necessary.

The success of the LGB also laid the foundation for later precision-guided weapons such as GPS-guided bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions.

The items Zhou Nan brought back this time were America's Paving the Way series, GBU-10, GBU-11, and GBU-12, which were used in actual combat in 1972.

This is also a result of Lin Ran's masterful rebalancing technique.

If the balance isn't maintained, North Vietnam will be finished.

The Soviet Union was exerting its efforts, and Lin Ran's powerful influence was also exerting its efforts.

(End of this chapter)