Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

Trump looked at Schultz: "We—I think we have to re-examine our commitments."

Schultz nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Treasury Secretary Baker then spoke up: "Mr. Trump, in your open letter you mentioned that we should demand reparations from West Germany. Could you please tell me approximately how much reparations you envision, in what manner, and in what currency?"

Damn it, these old bastards set me up! These two are putting on a show for Reagan, trying to prove that this New York real estate developer knows nothing!

He said, "These are the details we can negotiate."

Baker nodded.

Reagan smiled and said, "Donald, I'm glad you're here at the White House today. Your views have given us a lot of inspiration."

The group felt there was no need to say anything more to the clown, and Reagan then stood up, ending the meeting.

Reagan extended his hand: "Please give my regards to your father."

Trump's father, Fred Trump, was an immigrant real estate developer in Brooklyn who built apartment buildings for decades. He had no connection with Reagan, which is just a polite way of saying that in the Western context.

Trump was then escorted out of the Oval Office. It was already dark outside, and reporters swarmed around him taking pictures. He could only manage a forced smile for the cameras.

"My meeting with the president was excellent. Reagan is a great leader. We discussed many things, and the future of America is bright!"

He sat in the car for a long time without saying a word. Stone knew him and knew that this meeting was definitely not very pleasant.

“They made a fool of me, Stone.” “I’m sorry to hear that.”

"They're making a fool of me! Did you hear that? 'Young man, your ideas are very interesting.' That bespectacled, weakling Schultz asked me about Article V of NATO, and I've never—"

He paused for a moment: "I've never felt so small."

Stone didn't speak. Trump looked out the window, his jaw clenched: "Roger."

"Yes."

"I will remember this moment."

Stone looked at him.

“I’ve memorized it all.”

The next morning, a photo appeared on the front page of The Washington Post: President Reagan shaking hands with Donald Trump, both of them smiling.

On that day, hundreds of newspapers across the country reprinted this photo.

That day, Roger Stone called several deep pocket Republican donors in New York and said that Donald was ready and we could get started.

That day, a call from Zurich was transferred to a direct line to Trump Tower. The unnamed man said, "Mr. Trump, we are very pleased with your performance today, and we are ready to transfer the next payment."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

St. Louis, Missouri, on the same evening

Democratic candidate Dick Gephart watches television in his study. He has served as a Representative for eleven years and is currently the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

He's been preparing for next year's presidential primaries—his economic nationalism, his fair trade rhetoric, his hardline stance on Japan and West Germany—that's exactly what the American Midwestern working class wants to hear right now! Absolutely!

If we don't tell these working classes that it was the bad guys from West Germany and other foreign countries who caused their current predicament, then the working class will have to listen to the Communist Manifesto!

Now he's watching Donald Trump on TV, and what this businessman is saying is essentially what he himself was saying two years ago: West Germany is taking advantage of us, Japan is taking advantage of us, American workers are paying for our allies... pretty much the same thing.

Gephardt's advisor, sitting across from him, said, "Dick, he's no match for you. Your party's primaries have nothing to do with him; he's either an independent or a Republican, he's not going to the Democratic primaries."

"The Democratic Party's propaganda approach hasn't changed: Iowa, New Hampshire, Super Tuesday, unions, blue-collar workers, trade issues... He hasn't touched our path."

Gephart turned off the TV.

“Listen, he doesn’t need to be in the same party as me to have changed this election.”

“Dick—”

"He changed the language of this election! This is dangerous! Did you listen to his speech?"

He said the phrase "They're taking advantage of us" no less than forty times! This phrase has now entered the minds of American workers.

When I debate my primary opponent in Iowa next February, I'll be trapped by this statement. If I talk about fair trade, voters will hear that they're taking advantage of us. If I talk about protecting American industry, voters will hear that they're taking advantage of us. If I talk about renegotiating the Louvre Accord, voters will hear—”

"Dick!"

"They're taking advantage of us! Damn, is this guy Hitler reincarnated?"

Gephart stood up and walked to the study window. Outside was a quiet, middle-class neighborhood in St. Louis, where Christmas lights were beginning to hang on the porches of every house.

“It looks like the political landscape in the United States is about to change,” Gephart said.

Chapter 86 Military Industry Reform

As December arrived, Slava finally had time to deal with the biggest problem blocking the development of civilian industry in the Soviet Union—a high-quality workforce.

The Soviet Union was severely short of manpower, and the military-industrial ministries were responsible for almost 40% of the production of civilian products! Because the military-industrial ministries had great power, they could obtain the best materials and have the highest priority in resource allocation. The quality of the labor force and production materials were also the best, which ensured the quality of the products produced.

Things are different now. With the United States mired in an economic crisis, the Soviet Union's military pressure has decreased, and reformists in the military have taken control of the Ministry of Defense. This is the best opportunity for the Soviet Union to reform its military.

In order to achieve informatization, military modernization, and the development of people's livelihood and economy, it is time to deal with this military-industrial complex and free up some labor!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

However, before implementing military reforms, it's best to consult the military's perspective. So Slava went to the General Staff and met with Ogarkov.

As soon as the Chief of the General Staff entered the room, his gaze first fell on the long-standing map of the Eastern European military situation on the wall, before finally settling on the man. He was sixty-eight years old, his back still ramrod straight like an unbent steel bar, only the gray stubble around his chin betraying his age.

“Comrade General Secretary,” he said, getting straight to the point, “I had a feeling at the celebratory banquet that day that you were going to ask me to take action against the military industry ministries, right?”

"You're right, please have a seat."

Ogarkov placed a document on the edge of the table: "I support informatization, as you know. The military is very interested in the data networks, computing nodes, and unified scheduling that you have been developing in the civilian economy over the past two years. It is a hundred times better than the siloed mess we have in our army now."

Slava knew what he meant by "chimney-like junk".

The Soviet military's information system at the time was a collection of independent kingdoms that did not communicate with each other: the army had its own command system, the air force had its own air defense network, the navy had its own fleet command chain, the Strategic Rocket Forces controlled its own launch control, the KGB's technical reconnaissance was one system, and the GRU's battlefield intelligence was another.

These systems use different instruction sets, different operating systems, and different communication protocols; they are not even interchangeable at the component level.

The core of the military-technical revolution that Ogarkov repeatedly touted between 1982 and 1984 was never about having more tanks, but about unifying this mess into a cohesive whole—command, control, communications, and intelligence!

He offended too many people in the General Staff for this idea. Historically, he was transferred from the position of Chief of the General Staff in 1984, ostensibly for health reasons, but in reality, it was because he had touched too many interests of the General Staff and the military.

But it's different now.

"However, I need to make it clear what I disagree with first."

I can understand that you want to prioritize the informatization of manufacturing, solve the consumer goods problem first, and poach people from military factories to develop light industry, but I think the order is wrong.

The window for a military technological revolution is now right before our eyes—precision guidance, real-time battlefield awareness, and C3I integration. Once the Americans get their hands on these things first, our accumulated conventional force advantage will become scrap metal overnight!

We should first ensure that the military's equipment, combat methods, and operational concepts are at the forefront. Equipment can be gradually replaced with civilian equipment, but the nature of war waits for no one.

Slava had anticipated this. He didn't immediately refute it, but instead walked over to the map of Eastern Europe and stood next to Ogarkov.

“Nikolai Vasilyevich,” he said, using the other’s father’s name, “I have a question for you.”

Those new gadgets you requested—data links, battlefield sensor networks, complete C3I command systems…which research institute has produced mature products from them? How many have been developed? Are the versions compatible?

Ogarkov did not answer.

“See? You and I both know the answer,” Slava answered for him. “We definitely have the blueprints, and we have a few prototypes, but we don’t have a complete unit of equipment that can be deployed for a combined arms battalion exercise. These things are still five to eight years away from the troops. You want me to equip them now? What am I supposed to equip them with?”

"What about all those promises I made that are still in the lab?"

"Technology needs investment to mature."

Slava's tone softened: "Yes! But Nikolai Vasilyevich, take a look out the window and see what the Americans look like now."

Their economy has been collapsing continuously, and it hasn't recovered yet, sliding all the way into the Great Depression. Reagan's so-called money-grabbing Star Wars project also ran out of money and was abandoned long ago!

Their naval plan of building a '500-ship fleet' was quietly scrapped last year. The Americans are cutting military spending now, are we going to increase it? Are we going to invade Washington?

You and I both know that the Soviet army could only threaten Europe.

He turned and said:

"What are we doing buying new equipment from an opponent who's bleeding himself dry? If he makes a move and we don't, we're already at a relative advantage."

I don't need to spend astronomical sums at this time to upgrade to a new generation of equipment that isn't even mature yet, to race against a person with a limp.

I feel that this money should be spent on things that can be immediately converted into bread, fabric, or television sets in the next few years.

The modernization of the military is not something we should abandon, but we need to do it in the right order—we should first solidify the underlying information infrastructure, and wait for the Americans to recover and for our new equipment to come out of the research institutes. At that time, it will be ready to use immediately and achieve twice the result with half the effort!

I guarantee you, the military's R&D investment will not be reduced by a single penny. The alliance's need for economic development has not yet reached the point where it needs to carry out a massive troop reduction and drastic cuts in military spending like Lao Zhong did to save money. R&D can continue, and small-scale production of prototypes for testing is also possible.

Don't we have mercenary groups? Prigozin is currently in Afghanistan testing our new equipment. We can just bring the equipment there to test it out later.

As for a complete overhaul and modernization of the army... the cost-effectiveness is too low; it's not worth doing now.

Ogarkov pondered for a moment. He had one redeeming quality—he was a true technically savvy general, not the kind who just boasted without understanding the underlying technology! He could distinguish between "basic infrastructure" and "high-level equipment," and he could also calculate the return on investment.

"Alright, since you've guaranteed that R&D investment won't be cut, then my biggest concern is no longer a problem—how do you plan to reform the military industry ministries?"

Slava said, "I want to pull the entire military information system out of those chimneys and twist it into a unified network."

All general administrations and all military-industrial complexes are connected to the same network, using the same communication protocol and running the same operating system. Command systems, logistics systems, intelligence systems... first, let them be able to communicate with each other.

This step doesn't require waiting for new equipment; it can be done now. And once it's done, when your future precision-guided and battlefield awareness systems are available, there will be a network to connect to them directly.

Ogarkov's eyes twitched.

What Slava is now presenting to him is the transfer of information sovereignty over the entire military to the General Staff.

"Who built this information network, who operates it, and who owns the property rights?" he asked.

“The backbone was built by the Ministry of Communications Equipment Industry,” Slava answered decisively. “The operation and ownership belong to the General Staff Communications Bureau, and the protocol stack was developed under the leadership of the General Staff. All services must follow it to access the network. In other words—this network is yours.”

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Ogarkov reached out, picked up the folder he hadn't opened, and tucked it back under his arm.

It seems he doesn't intend to take out that document inside—probably a letter of objection or an alternative to prioritizing equipment.

“Okay, let’s start with IT, but I have one condition.”

"speak."

"The day this network was established, the information systems of all services were incorporated into the General Staff, and no one was allowed to keep their own private systems. I need the support of the Politburo for this, because I alone cannot control the directors of five services and more than a dozen general bureaus."

“Okay,” Slava said.

“Thank you for your understanding.” Ogarkov extended his hand.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Having gotten past Ogarkov, Slava turned his attention to the military-industrial complex.

In 1987, the Soviet military-industrial complex consisted of nine ministries under the Committee for Defense Industry: the Ministry of Aviation Industry, the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry, the Ministry of Defense Industry (in charge of ammunition, armor, and artillery), the Ministry of General Machine Building (in charge of missiles), the Ministry of Medium Machine Building (in charge of the nuclear industry), the Ministry of Radio Industry, the Ministry of Communications Equipment Industry, the Ministry of Electronics Industry, and a Ministry of Machine Building.

These nine ministries were the apple of the Soviet Union's eye, possessing the best cadres, the best equipment, and the highest priority in material supplies. Almost all of the Soviet Union's industrial capabilities were concentrated in the hands of these nine ministries!

These nine ministries are responsible for an astonishing amount of civilian production. According to official figures, it accounts for nearly 40% of their total output!

Throughout the Soviet Union, most of the good products—televisions, cameras, tape recorders, sewing machines, washing machines, motorcycles—came from military factories. The "Rybinsk" brand televisions in ordinary households were mostly made by a workshop that was originally supposed to manufacture radar or missile guidance components, using its spare capacity.

This is why Slava wanted to take action against it, and it's also the reason he dared to do so.

The root of the problem lies in the fact that these civilian products are produced within the military-industrial complex—resulting in conflated accounts, opaque costs, cross-subsidies, and a complete lack of responsiveness to consumer demand.

What is the true cost of a television set, and how much military subsidy is hidden within it? No one can calculate it accurately, because the accounts for military and civilian products are mixed together like a pot of porridge.

The logic behind military factories producing civilian products was never because it was profitable, but because it was the only supply chain in the entire Soviet Union that could guarantee quality and delivery. Apart from the military industry, it was difficult to produce even a washing machine that wouldn't need repairs elsewhere.

The first thing Slava had to do was to divide the profits.

He ordered that military and civilian products of military enterprises must be strictly accounted for independently—two production lines, two budgets, and two sets of performance indicators.

After the initial revenue sharing, Moscow finally learned the specific proportions of civilian production lines, manpower allocation, and material allocation within the military-industrial complex.

Now we can reorganize!

Slava has no intention of converting the entire military industry to civilian use. That was a stupid thing that Gorbachev's team did in history. The conversion from military to civilian use was a crude way of cutting the missile manufacturing line into a frying pan manufacturing line, which resulted in the destruction of both ends: the military industrial capacity was ruined, and no decent civilian products were produced!

Reality isn't a game where you can simply click the conversion button and wait a while to perfectly switch from military to civilian industry.

Slava first separated the civilian production capacity under the Ministry of Electronics Industry and the Ministry of Radio Industry, and merged it with the relevant enterprises of the Ministry of Light Industry to form a new ministry called the "Consumer Electronics and Information Equipment Joint Ministry".

Subsequently, the composite materials and precision machinery technologies of the Aviation Industry Department were separated to establish the "Precision Manufacturing and New Materials Joint Department".

Core military industrial capabilities, such as cutting-edge weapons design bureaus and assembly plants, were retained in the scaled-down Ministry of Defense.

In this way, those cadres who were removed from their posts were not "laid off and transferred," but were promoted to new ministries.