The boss of a foreign organization called the police, claiming that he was defrauded by me

No wonder Yang Xia was so secretive back then, making it impossible for outsiders to figure out what good things he had taken away.

"Excellent, this is a godsend." Banluo secretly cheered in his heart. "This time, Ivory Country finally figured out what treasure Yang Xia brought back. Now that Yang Xia has agreed to cooperate with Ivory Country, although he is obviously a bit cold towards us, we still have to maintain proper etiquette and exchanges on the surface."

Thinking of this, Banlu felt a surge of barely suppressed pride. He felt he had done a great service to the Ivory Kingdom. Upon returning home, he could report this detailed intelligence to King Ruva. From then on, the Ivory Kingdom's goal was clear—as long as Yang Xia processed that batch of ore resources, a huge profit margin would inevitably be generated, and the Ivory Kingdom would find a way to get a share of it.

Only by taking this step can the opportunity for cooperation not have been wasted. Banro firmly believes that as long as they put more effort and thought into this area, achieving their goal will not be difficult.

While Banluo was secretly rejoicing over the gains of the Great Chu Kingdom, Yang Xia, thousands of miles away, had already boarded a yacht returning to the Yan Kingdom, heading straight for the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The day he set foot on the island, Chief of the General Staff Liu Gongye called to inform him that the carrier rocket in Jiuquan, Yan Kingdom, was ready and waiting for his satellite to arrive. Yang Xia roughly calculated that the journey from the island to Yan Kingdom would take about a day, but there would be many troublesome matters regarding subsequent transportation and satellite assembly; the actual ignition and launch would take at least four or five days.

After boarding the yacht, Su Qin went into the cabin and stared at the rather large satellite, her curiosity piqued. Finally, she couldn't help but ask Yang Xia, "What special abilities does this satellite have?" Yang Xia glanced at her, then at "Tianji-1," and replied in a flat tone, "It's similar to Yan Country's Beidou system. It's mainly used for positioning, as well as monitoring and observing the ground."

Su Qin was quite shocked after hearing this. Beidou was the culmination of decades of research by Yan State, only recently achieving a substantial breakthrough, with positioning accuracy approaching the centimeter level. If Yang Xia's satellite could truly reach Beidou's level, its technological strength would directly rival that of the three giants: the United States, Russia, and Yan State. However, upon further reflection, she felt things weren't so simple—how could a single satellite perform positioning?
"That's not right, boss. If it only had observation capabilities, why did you make a special trip back when you bought the island? You could have just used Yan's Beidou satellite, right?" Su Qin pressed. Yang Xia glanced at the puzzled Major Su and didn't bother to hide it: "Actually, we mainly used its additional functions this time." Su Qin didn't quite grasp it at first—the main functions of a satellite are nothing more than positioning, data transmission, photography, and weather forecasting. If it were only that, Yang Xia wouldn't have bothered launching this satellite. That additional capability was definitely not in those categories; it was most likely related to the "Mantis Shrimp" satellite's recharging.

Two days later, at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Yan State. A military Boeing aircraft slowly came to a stop. The military experts around Yang Xia rushed forward, vying to shake hands with the person disembarking. Liu Gongye had come all the way from the Central Theater Command specifically to witness the satellite's successful launch. "Has the satellite arrived?" Liu Gongye asked after exchanging pleasantries, then approached Yang Xia. "It was just delivered this morning." "The approval process here in Yan State is indeed a bit slow; even the rocket ignition required your signature." Liu Gongye smiled apologetically. Yang Xia waved his hand dismissively: "It doesn't matter, as long as it's delivered smoothly."

Liu Gongye then took out an exquisite brocade box and handed it over: "You said you wouldn't attend the award ceremony, but you still brought the honor you were entitled to." Yang Xia took it and handed it to Yu Meiren. Yu Meiren opened the box and saw—"The August 1st Medal?" The two female soldiers covered their mouths in unison. Yu Meiren explained: "The August 1st Medal is being awarded for the first time this year. Only six people received it in the first batch, and each of them has made outstanding contributions to the entire army." Su Qin's expression also became solemn when he saw the medal. This is the highest honor in the entire army, ranking above commendations, third-class merits, second-class merits, first-class merits, and honorary titles. Liu Gongye added: "The General Headquarters unanimously approved the awarding of this medal to you. Although it cannot compare to the contributions you have made, it is still a token of the military's appreciation."

Yang Xia thanked him, but he had other plans in mind. The people of Yan valued honor, but he was ultimately a businessman and wanted to return the medal to Daya or Major Su. Unfortunately, there was only one; it wasn't the scarcity that bothered him, but the unfair distribution! He'd better take it back to his sister, Yang Leqi, as a toy. Thinking this, he felt more at ease. If Liu Gongye knew about this little scheme, he'd probably faint from anger on the spot.

The military experts from Jiuquan who were nearby naturally witnessed this as well. Some whispered about how Chief of General Staff Liu was getting so close to that man and even awarding him a medal. An expert nearby, somewhat indignant, said that it was the August 1st Medal, yet it was given to an outsider. The tall, thin man asked who he was, and the reply was a Yan country arms dealer. The tall, thin man was puzzled as to why it was awarded to someone outside the military, and by the time he wanted to ask again, the man had already left. There are many people in the Yan country military who work silently, and it's understandable that they felt indignant seeing this scene. Liu Gongye may not have intended to push Yang Xia into the limelight, but Yang Xia wouldn't be intimidated—he only takes what he's given, and he would never take what he shouldn't. Anyone else who wanted something from him was dreaming.

"Let's go check on the final assembly of the satellite," Liu Gongye suggested, and Yang Xia agreed and got into the car. Jiuquan's launch process was very mature; the satellite was first assembled with the rocket in the assembly workshop, and then transported to the launch tower via a dedicated track. The rocket was originally reserved for Beidou Phase III, but now that Yang Xia's satellite had cut in line, Beidou had to be postponed—this was where Liu Gongye used his privileges. The two walked to the workshop entrance, and along the way, staff greeted Liu Gongye. Yang Xia walking beside him naturally attracted sidelong glances and envy.

Approaching the reclining "Changzheng 3B" rocket, Liu Gongye noticed the "Tianji-1" satellite mounted on its nose cone. Completely absorbed by the satellite, Liu Gongye neglected the Changzheng series rockets, eager to see what this man, recognized by the higher-ups, could produce. "What exactly is the purpose of this satellite?" Liu Gongye asked after a long examination, clearly missing the point. "Roughly equivalent to Yan's Beidou," Yang Xia replied. The surrounding military experts murmured amongst themselves—Beidou had been researched for decades; how could it be surpassed by an unknown satellite? Yu Meiren quickly clarified that it was Tianji-1, not some unknown satellite. Yang Xia felt somewhat helpless; he understood the experts' frustration, but with medals already presented, how could he refuse them outright?

Liu Gongye asked if it was a geostationary satellite, and Yang Xia confirmed that it needed to be sent to the airspace above Yingzhou Island.

Liu Gongye then asked how a satellite is positioned, which was exactly what the experts wanted to ask. At that moment, he received the approval document and was about to sign it.

It's common knowledge that satellite positioning requires at least four satellites, and Beidou aims to achieve six to eight. Now, Yang Xia claims that one satellite is enough for positioning—isn't that just wishful thinking? Yang Xia directly replied that positioning a three-dimensional point requires four satellites; what about two-dimensional positioning?

The expert immediately said three.

Yang Xia said calmly, "But I only need to locate it in one dimension."

Experts exclaimed in surprise that one-dimensional space is just a line and has no meaning.

Yang Xia patiently explained, "You think it's impossible because you don't know that I have three ground stations—Queen Island, Yingzhou Island, and the Yan Kingdom's military base in Jibuti—that can provide my ship with signals to determine its direction. Once they converge into a line, the satellite will complete the positioning, and the ship's coordinates will be obtained."

Most people present at the scene were unaware of Yang Xia's aircraft carrier, and he had no need to reveal it. He launched this satellite to avoid being held hostage by the US GPS in the future. Using Yan Guo's Beidou was feasible, but not mature at the moment, and was limited to the military's latest fighter jets and ships, which was a core secret.

Anyone who has experienced the Persian missile disaster caused by GPS signal interruption will have the idea of ​​self-reliance, let alone Yang Xia who now has the financial resources.

Experts questioned that this method only applies to targets that have already established contact and cannot be located globally. Yang Xia said that it only requires locating one's own ship.

The signal coverage of the four fixed points is limited. The Pipi Shrimp satellite can only accurately locate targets in the Indian Ocean and the southern waters of China. However, its future target is aerial targets, which are farther away, and it will not only launch one satellite.

The expert's eyes flashed with a hint of disdain. While military positioning is mostly for one's own benefit, positioning enemy targets is more crucial. However, Yang Xia was positioning his own ship, so the expert couldn't find any major fault with it.

Liu Gongye said he would sign if there were no objections, and as soon as he finished speaking, he heard a greeting from behind him: "Professor Chang, you've arrived."

A man with slightly graying temples, wearing a white work uniform, squeezed through the crowd and stepped forward to shake hands with Liu Gongye: "Chief of the General Staff Liu, I was busy earlier and couldn't pick you up. I heard that a new satellite has arrived. I do research in this area and I'm quite interested."

Professor Chang is quite old, and he was responsible for many of the key technologies for the Beidou network that Yan Guo recently built. Liu Gongye asked him to help oversee the project, and Professor Chang didn't stand on ceremony. He carefully examined Tianji-1: "The loop antenna is installed in place, the locator should be encapsulated inside, and the debugging sounds good. It should be able to work normally."

After inspecting it for several minutes, he straightened up and said, "But this is just an ordinary satellite. What extraordinary effect can it have after being launched? Yan Guo's Beidou satellites can already launch multiple satellites with one rocket. This Changzheng-3 rocket was originally supposed to carry three satellites, but now it can only carry this one slightly larger one. I'm not complaining, but Beidou's launch schedule is tight, and launching geostationary orbit satellites is difficult. If this satellite isn't of much value, let's just forget about it."

The implication is that the satellite is unremarkable and a waste of rockets.

Yang Xia laughed after hearing this: "In terms of positioning capability alone, Tianji-1 is indeed inferior to Beidou, which is nearly half-networked, but my satellite has other capabilities." Liu Gongye was taken aback when he heard this—Yang Xia hadn't mentioned this at all.

“Tianji-1 can also change the weather,” Yang Xia said bluntly.

Chief of the General Staff Liu Gongye stared at the satellite in front of him, his expression clearly uneasy. "You're saying this satellite can control the weather? Isn't that something the US laboratories are working on? Do you already have a finished product?"

Yang Xia nodded.

Liu Gongye still found it hard to accept this fact, but the satellite had already been delivered to Jiuquan, and he could tell that Yang Xia was not joking at all.

"It's unbelievable. Even the Yan country's military laboratory hasn't figured out how this thing works yet," Liu Gongye muttered under his breath. Professor Chang, standing beside him, had already begun to carefully examine Tianji-1.

"You mean it can manipulate the weather?" Professor Chang asked, hardly believing that he had misjudged it.

“That’s right, Professor Chang, what are your insights?” Yang Xia asked in return.

This professor from Yan was genuinely capable, not the kind of person who built a reputation by piecing together papers. Even so, he couldn't discern anything particularly unusual about the satellite's exterior.

"Chief of Staff Liu, I think it's best to be cautious about this matter," Professor Chang said in a low voice.

Liu Gongye glanced at Yang Xia, then asked, "What, you think this is unreliable?"

Professor Chang didn't say anything, but simply shook his head slightly.

“I will pay for this launch vehicle,” Yang Xia said.

The deployment of the Beidou satellite network in Yanguo relies on frequent launches of the Changzheng series rockets to maintain its progress. Currently, due to the urgency of the situation, Yang Xia's satellite has been pushed back, which naturally raises concerns among military experts. This is not difficult to predict.

Professor Chang was getting anxious. "It's not about the money!"

Professor Chang was fully aware of the efforts Yan Guo had made for Yingzhou Island. He also knew where Yang Xia's satellite was to be deployed. Connecting the two events, Yang Xia's true motives became crystal clear. Professor Chang was no fool. Although he hadn't been present, others had told him that Liu Gongye had awarded Yang Xia the August 1st Medal—a gesture that, while informal, was nonetheless significant. Anyone with eyes could see that General Liu had placed his hopes on this young man.

But can this young man be trusted?

Even these older generation experts couldn't fully understand the principles behind US weather satellites, so what made Yang Xia claim his satellite could do the same? Professor Chang didn't want Liu Gongye to be distracted by unrealistic fantasies and miss the truly important matters. Everyone knew that the Beidou launch was progressing rapidly, all to connect Yan's navy and air force into a combat network, significantly enhancing overall combat power. Sending one Beidou satellite was more cost-effective than launching just one for experimentation.

Once Professor Chang understood this, he decided to make Liu Gongye face reality.

"As far as I know, the US satellite-based weather weapon cost an enormous amount of money, and the final version is still locked in a top-secret US laboratory and has never been made public."

“But didn’t our idea also come from the United States?” Liu Gongye asked.

“Yes,” Professor Chang said, his expression grim. “The US has a tight information blockade; we have no idea about their progress. They’re treating this satellite like a top-secret weapon.”

Professor Chang's expression grew increasingly grim. (End of Chapter)