Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

Moscow, Kremlin

January 1, 1955, 3:00 PM Moscow time.

Comrade Khru is processing documents in his office.

On the first day of the new year, he should have been resting, but he never stays idle.

The phone on the table rang; it was the General Intelligence Agency's dedicated line.

"Comrade Khru, we have urgent intelligence."

"explain."

"An hour ago, the Republic successfully launched an artificial Earth satellite. The satellite has entered orbit."

Comrade Khru held the phone, stunned for a few seconds.

"What did you say?"

"The people of the Republic have launched a satellite. Not a test launch, but a successful orbital insertion."

Comrade Khru put down the phone, stood up, and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the sky above Moscow was greyish-white, and snow was still falling.

His mind was racing.

The atomic bomb in 1952, the missile in 1954, the satellite in 1955... How is that possible?

Fifteen minutes later, the Director of the General Intelligence Bureau arrived in person with a detailed telegram.

"Comrade Khru, this is a secret telegram sent from Beiping."

Their satellite weighs 83 kilograms and has a perigee of 228 kilometers.

The apogee is 1,468 kilometers. Currently operating normally.

Comrade Khru took the telegram, read it once, and then read it again.

"Have you found the source of the technology?"

The intelligence chief shook his head.

"Unable to find it. Our intelligence personnel in the Republic report..."

There is almost no publicly available information about their nuclear and rocket experts.

The names, resumes, and backgrounds of those key figures were all blank.

Comrade Khru frowned. At that moment, a minister in charge of science and technology spoke up.

"I remember there's a Chinese person at NASA in the US, right?"

"You mean money? Wasn't he already dead?" another leader, also in charge of aerospace, retorted.

"Yes. He died in Los Angeles, USA in 1950. We have the autopsy report and death certificate on file."

Of the Chinese scientists in his cohort, some stayed in America, some went to Europe, but none remained in the Republic.” The intelligence chief provided confirmation.

Comrade Khru remained silent for a long time.

He recalled his visit to Beiping a month earlier.

The young man named Zhao Ping'an took him to see the cornfield, the fertilizer plant, and the canning production line.

At that time, he was only thinking about solving the food problem of the Red Empire and didn't think about anything else.

Looking back now, the young man remained remarkably calm throughout. It was as if everything was within his expectations.

"Call an emergency meeting," Comrade Khru said. "I need to reassess relations with the Republic."

January 1, 1955, 2:00 AM Washington time.

Eisenhower was vacationing at Camp David when he was awakened by a rapid ringing of the telephone.

"Mr. President, Secretary of State Dulles has an emergency."

He took the phone.

"Mr. President, the people of the Republic have launched a satellite."

Eisenhower paused for a moment.

"Which republic?"

"The Republic of Beiping."

Eisenhower was silent for three seconds.

"Are you sure you're not from the Red Empire?"

"The intelligence services have confirmed that it was entirely their own doing. There is no trace of the Red Empire's involvement."

Eisenhower put down the phone and sat on the bed for a while.

At 3 a.m., he returned to the White House. Unlike usual, the White House was brightly lit, its lights mirroring those of the Pentagon.

In the Oval Office, Secretary of State Dulles, Secretary of Defense Wilson, and Director of Intelligence Allen Dulles were already waiting.

Allen Dulles gave the first report.

"Mr. President, we have just received solid intelligence."

At 7:58 AM Beijing time today,

The People's Republic of China launched an artificial satellite from a launch site in the northwest. The satellite weighs approximately 80 kilograms and has successfully entered orbit.

Secretary of State Dulles spoke.

"Mr. President, this is not just a satellite issue."

This shows that they have mastered the key technologies of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

"If they attach the mushroom-shaped missile head, they can hit Alaska."

Eisenhower looked up.

"Where did they get their technology? Did the Red Empire provide it?"

Allen Dulles shook his head.

"We've checked. The Red Empire's own satellite program is still on paper and won't be launched for at least two years."

They were incapable of getting the Republic to this point.

"What happened to the NASA money? I remember someone mentioning him before, wasn't he a citizen of the Republic? Could it be him?"

Allen Dulles gave a wry smile.

"Mr. President, Qian died in 1950."

He died at home, and we have witnesses and physical evidence, including a death certificate and an autopsy report.

"None of the Chinese scientists who worked with him in the United States, whom we monitored for several years, went to the People's Republic of China."

Eisenhower tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

"So, they developed the atomic bomb, missiles, and satellites all by themselves?"

A country that could only produce canned goods and cotton cloth five years ago?

No one answered in the meeting room.

After a long pause, Defense Secretary Wilson spoke.

"Mr. President, we need to reassess the entire Far East defense system."

The Pacific Ocean can no longer be called the "American Lake."

Eisenhower stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the night in Washington was still deep.

"Order U-2 to increase reconnaissance frequency. Satellite launch scheduled to begin next year."

The CIA will spare no expense to determine the origins of the Republic's technology.

He turned around and looked at the people in the room.

"Also, send a telegram to the ambassador in Moscow and ask what the people of the Red Empire think about this."

London, January 2.

Prime Minister Eden is holding an emergency cabinet meeting. Intelligence reports are laid out on the table.

"The people of the Republic have acquired nuclear weapons and delivery systems. This means that the balance of power in the Far East has been completely broken."

Aiden remained silent for a moment.

"The location of Hong Kong needs to be reassessed."

January 3, Paris.

The French Foreign Minister said at a closed-door meeting of the National Assembly:

"Our failure in Cambodia was not accidental."

That Eastern country is no longer the country we know.

October 4, Tokyo.

Prime Minister Hatoyama told reporters, "This is the beginning of a new era. Japan needs to rethink its foreign policy."

Newspapers all over the world reported this news on their front pages.

The New York Times: "The Republic launches a satellite, experts call it a 'technological miracle'."

The Times: "The Eastern Dragon Enters the Space Age."

Le Figaro: "The Republic shakes the world."

On the evening of January 3, Comrade Khru convened another emergency meeting.

The intelligence chief reported the latest analysis results.

"Comrade Khru, we have repeatedly checked all the channels."

The conclusion is: the Republic's technological progress did not come from external sources. They relied entirely on themselves.

Comrade Khru stared at him.

"Relying on a country that was still making rifles by hand five years ago?"

The intelligence chief remained silent.

Another aide tentatively spoke up.

"Comrade Khru, perhaps... we should re-examine our aid policy to China."

Could we delve deeper into the collaborations we discussed earlier?

Comrade Khru did not speak.

He recalled what Zhao Pingan had said at the negotiating table:

"We are socialist brothers, so of course we should share good things."

At the time, he took it as just polite talk.

Looking back now, that young man was very confident when he said those words.

He waved.

"Meeting adjourned. As for cooperation with China, proceed as planned. We'll see about the others later."

On January 5, Zhao Ping'an returned to Beiping.

The office desk was piled high with documents. Some of them were copies that the leader had specifically instructed relevant personnel to make for Zhao Ping'an to see.

There were congratulatory telegrams from the embassy of the Red Empire, congratulations from Eastern European countries, and summaries of reports from international media.

He flipped through it, but didn't pay much attention.

Outside the window, winter in Beiping is cold, but the sun is shining brightly.

He remembered what Mr. Qian had said.

"Our mushroom eggs can hit anywhere in the world."

Now the whole world knows, that's great.

It seems this muscle-showing was quite effective!