Chapter 429: Rebalancing The Big Hand
This involves technology behind the scenes, but more importantly, geographical factors.
If the Soviet Union wants to provide help to North Vietnam, they must pass through the China coast.
If sending troops into the fray, it would depend even more on China’s southeast coast.
If choosing the Pacific Ocean route, departing from Vladivostok in the Far East, which is the home port of the Soviet Pacific Fleet.
The fleet would depart from Vladivostok, head south through the Japan Sea, pass through the Tsushima Strait between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, enter the East China Sea, and finally head south to reach Annam.
This route is the shortest, can avoid NATO’s military deployment in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, and does not need to cross the complex waterways in the Middle East.
But even so, the entire voyage would be under the surveillance of the America Seventh Fleet, and the fleet would pass through the near seas of America’s allies in Asia: Japan and Korea.
Any large-scale military action would be immediately discovered and could lead to interception by the America Navy, thereby triggering direct conflict.
Or take the Atlantic Ocean-Indian Ocean route, departing from Soviet ports in the Baltic Sea, from Leningrad or Black Sea ports.
The fleet would need to cross the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean, then go around the southern tip of Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, enter the Indian Ocean, then pass through the Malacca Strait or Sunda Strait to enter the South China Sea, and finally reach Annam.
This route is extremely long and would cross massive areas of sea controlled by NATO even more.
More fatally, if departing from the Black Sea, it would also have to pass through the Bosphorus Strait controlled by Turkey.
The Soviet Union can only befriend China again, then head south along China’s eastern coastal ports, enter the South China Sea, and finally reach Annam.
This route is completely under the protection of the China Navy and Air Force, and can be directly resupplied at coastal ports.
This is the most direct way.
For air transport, the Soviet transport aircraft group departing from bases in Siberia would have to cross China airspace, still needing China’s approval.
PS: Here North Vietnam refers to Vietnam G, South Vietnam refers to the part supported by America.
Leonard of the Soviet Union and the committee members sat on both sides of the long table in the meeting room.
On the table in front of them was a trophy from across the ocean.
A heavy metal box with no markings on it, only a small screen flashing green numbers.
“This was captured from the America Army,” Grechko, the Soviet Secretary of Defense, said in a heavy voice, his finger tapping the box, “Our technology experts analyzed it and believe it’s a brand-new positioning system, which Americans call GPS.
From the professor’s hand, it allows the user to pinpoint anywhere on Earth to within ten meters.
This news broke the silence in the meeting room.
“What does this mean?” Leonard asked.
“This means our comrades in North Vietnam will face an asymmetric war,” Andropov said slowly: “In the past, American aerial strikes and artillery support were full of uncertainty.
But now, with this thing, they can perform surgical strikes.
This also means the air defense systems and anti-aircraft guns we provide to North Vietnam will no longer be as effective.
Reality has already shown everything; in the past, America troops were trapped in the quagmire, now they have broken free from the quagmire.
This thing is more like a rapid cooling device, turning the quagmire into permafrost, America’s tanks won’t get stuck in the quagmire like before, but with anti-skid chains can pass through the permafrost to their desired destination.
Our comrades in North Vietnam are facing an unprecedentedly difficult situation.
According to data from the front lines, in the past the battle damage ratio between America troops and our allies was higher than 1 to 10, generally around 8.
For every 8 North Vietnam soldiers lost, one America soldier dies.
But now, this number has reached an exaggerated 1 to 50.
Everyone present gasped.
Everyone in the room understood that if America gains an overwhelming advantage in Annam, it would be a heavy blow to their global strategy.
They would have no foothold in the entire Asia.
China would never be their foothold.
There is also Mongolia, North Korea, Syria.
Can these three countries be called footholds?
This is too fatal for the Soviet Union, which prides itself as the double-headed eagle.
The double-headed eagle means they pride themselves as a great power spanning Europe and Asia, needing huge influence in both Europe and Asia at the same time.
“We cannot sit idly by,” one committee member said excitedly, “We should send troops directly to help our allies!”
“No,” Grechko immediately retorted, “Directly sending troops will trigger total war with America, which would be an uncontrollable disaster.
We cannot drag the entire alliance into the abyss for Vietnam.
“We can use mercenaries.” This committee member explained.
Grechko continued shaking his head: “No, we can’t, we are a long distance from North Vietnam, our army has no way to send to North Vietnam unless China allows us to pass through their airspace or railway.
Under the current relationship, this is obviously impossible.
“So, what should we do?” Leonard looked at Andropov, knowing that this KGB head’s mind was always full of various bold and dangerous ideas.
Andropov said slowly: “We have several choices.
First, we can try to replicate this system, but that takes time, and we don’t have America’s satellite network.
Second, we can provide more weapons to North Vietnam, but that doesn’t solve the root problem.
What we need is a way to offset America’s technological advantage.
“Comrades, do you know how much foreign exchange reserves we spend each year on China’s products?
This year it should exceed 1 billion US dollars.
If including our allies in Eastern Europe, our partners in the free world, we spend over 1.5 billion US dollars each year on China’s products.
Our stores are filled with radios, calculators, and televisions from China.
Our own manufactured electronic products can only be placed at the bottom of the shelves, only sold to Siberia.
Our research institutes specifically request China’s computers, whether portable computers or large-scale computers, they only recognize Panda or Deep Red.
Starting from last year, the foreign exchange reserves we consumed in China first exceeded the Western camp.
According to intelligence from KGB and GRU in Western countries, China’s consumer electronics products are equally popular in those countries.
They have novel styles, stable quality, and rapid update speed.
We have to consume large amounts of foreign exchange reserves for this.
When I discussed with Chinese counterparts whether we could pay in rubles, they always smiled and refused, they only want US dollars.
If we were allies like in the past, we wouldn’t need to consume our foreign exchange reserves for this.
We could have obtained the relevant technology from China.
Even from an economic perspective, we cannot lose such a massive ally like China.
Between us and China there is already Mongolia as a thick firewall, we shouldn’t push such a premium ally to America just because of damn verbal fights.
This is something we absolutely cannot accept.
The China-America mathematicians annual meeting is held every year, and now they seem to be holding ping-pong matches to promote people-to-people exchanges.
The professor in the White House keeps sending signals to China: We can become allies, America treats Chinese people well, we will be good friends.
In Geneva, in New York, in Stockholm, the professor has been exerting his unique influence, pulling China towards America.
I very much agree with Andropov’s viewpoint.
This is a rare opportunity, the opportunity to restore our relationship with China.
We cannot continue like this.
If one day the professor really helps the White House win over Yanjing, we will regret it immensely.
Kosygin has always insisted on repairing relations with China, even at this current time point, he has flown to Yanjing several times trying to ease relations between both sides.
Regarding what he mentioned, the Soviet Union massively importing China’s consumer electronics products, the committee members present all know.
But the change in numbers still shocked everyone.
“Can’t we just not buy China’s goods?” Leonard said seriously.
He couldn’t understand why those little gadgets became necessities for Soviet people.
Leonard knew they had been importing products from China, consuming precious foreign exchange reserves.
What he didn’t know was, why buy with foreign exchange when we can produce them ourselves.
Prime Minister Kosygin sighed.
He was in charge of the national economy, and those folk demands that couldn’t be planned and controlled were his biggest nightmare.
“Comrade Leonard, we can’t,” his tone was full of helplessness: “Moscow residents only love China’s electronic consumer goods, next is the West’s, they don’t care for our own produced ones at all.”
“Take our produced Cosmos brand televisions as an example, blurry image quality, harsh sound, and frequent malfunctions.
While those Panda televisions from China have clear images and vibrant colors.
What he didn’t say was that China’s televisions can receive television signals from the Western camp, while theirs cannot.
“Can’t our workers produce equally good things?” Leonard asked.
“They can, Comrade Leonard, but that requires time, technology, investment,” Kosygin said bitterly, “and these, we lack.
Our scientists and engineers are all serving our military, our factories are all serving national defense.
We have no spare resources to produce those unnecessary consumer goods.
From a cost perspective, buying from China is undoubtedly the most economical.
At least their products are a bit cheaper than the Western camp’s.
Their foreign exchange reserves are largely used to purchase our technology and equipment.
More importantly, China’s electronic consumer goods won’t, like Western camp products, make the people question the socialism camp.
Won’t erode people’s faith in socialism.
Kosygin continued:
“So, no matter what, we must use this opportunity to repair relations with China.
Whether economically, politically, or militarily, it only benefits us, no harm.
Hong Kong, 23-27 Wing Kut Street, Central
This was the second time Zhou Nan came to the top floor here to pick up goods after joining the Hong Kong Baihua Society.
Same as last time, still accompanied by Xu Shixun.
Pick up a box and go.
Xu Shixun suppressed his doubts, knowing this was not something he could get involved in.
Now in Hong Kong, China, America, and England divide the world into three parts.
The Baihua Society at 172 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, is known as the underground Hong Kong Government.
Zhou Nan also didn’t dare to open the box; after the box was transported to the mainland, it went straight north to Area 51.
Inside were the design ideas for GPS, and a series of guided missiles.
Among them, the most complete was the laser-guided missile from America.
In the early Vietnam War, US Military aerial strikes mainly relied on traditional iron bombs and carpet bombing.
This method was inefficient, high cost, and often unable to destroy hardened or moving targets, such as bridges, caves, or enemy command posts.
To solve this problem, the US Military urgently needed a precision strike weapon that could hit with one shot.
In this background, the laser-guided bomb, Laser-Guided Bomb, abbreviated LGB, was born and first used in combat in the later Vietnam War, completely changing the mode of war.
The laser-guided missile has an error within a few meters.
Simply put, one or more airplanes, ground troops, or even special forces use a laser pointer to continuously illuminate the target.
This pointer emits an invisible encoded laser beam to the human eye, like a cursor.
Another airplane, usually a fighter-bomber, drops a modified LGB from afar.
After the bomb is dropped, its internal seeker sensor automatically searches for and tracks the laser beam reflected from the target.
The bomb’s guidance components continuously receive the laser signal and correct the flight path by adjusting the tail fins, ensuring the bomb flies precisely towards the laser-designated target.
The bomb ultimately hits the target with extremely high precision.
In the original spacetime, the first large-scale combat use of laser-guided bombs was in the 1972 Linebacker campaign.
At that time, one of the biggest challenges facing America troops was destroying the North Vietnam Thanh Hoa Bridge.
This bridge was an important transportation hub for North Vietnam; previously, the US Military had used hundreds of sorties to bomb it but failed to completely destroy it.
When laser-guided bombs were put into use, the situation changed fundamentally.
The US Military used F-4 Phantom II fighters as designators and bombing platforms, successfully destroying this sturdy bridge with just a few LGBs.
After all, during the entire past Vietnam War, a total of 104 America pilots were shot down in the 75 square miles around the bridge.
And the success of this Linebacker campaign shocked the world and proved the huge potential of precision-guided weapons.
After having laser-guided missiles, since no longer needing dangerous low-altitude drops, pilots could deploy weapons at safer altitudes and distances, greatly reducing the risk of being shot down.
The success of LGB also laid the foundation for later GPS-guided bombs, Joint Direct Attack Munition, and other precision-guided weapons.
What Zhou Nan brought back this time was America’s combat-used Paveway series from 1972, GBU-10, GBU-11, and GBU-12.
This was also Lin Ran’s rebalancing big hand.
If not rebalanced, North Vietnam is done for.
The Soviet Union is exerting effort, Lin Ran’s big hand is also exerting effort.
