Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1592 Da Piaoliang initiates a challenge (Second update, please subscribe)
Red moon!

At the end of that year, the whole world witnessed it all. People witnessed Soviet astronauts landing on the moon and planting the Soviet flag on the moon.

The moon is red on this day.

The Earth was boiling. Hundreds of millions of people watched the first human landing on the moon live on television.

The live broadcast from the moon shocked the whole world, and the whole world felt the development of Soviet science.

It also brought the Soviet Union's reputation to the top, after all, this was the first time that humans landed on another planet.

"This is a great victory for all mankind."

When Gagarin's voice was broadcast throughout the world through live broadcast signals, everyone knew that this victory did not belong to all mankind, but to the Soviet Union.

This victory of the Soviets proved their strength to the whole world.

A few days later, when Gagarin and his crew returned safely to Earth, they were greeted by the excited Soviets.

Hundreds of thousands of Russians held a grand welcome ceremony for them on Red Square, with people shouting Gagarin's name.

Shouting to the moon.

Brezhnev personally met Gagarin and met the public with him on Red Square.

This moment was the Soviet Union’s highlight.

Of course, this moment is full of humiliation for Americans.

"Every one of us is there watching TV, what are we seeing?"

The man took a puff of his cigarette and spoke in a seemingly calm tone.

"We saw the Soviets raise their flag on the moon, and we saw that the United States didn't just lose a moon landing. It lost the whole world."

This is an unprecedented blow to Americans.

The Soviets were the first to send an artificial satellite into space.

The Soviets sent astronauts into space before the United States, but fortunately the SEA astronauts arrived a few minutes earlier than the Soviets.

And now?

Just as the United States was trying to win the race to the moon, the Soviets slapped the Americans in the face.

“We lost.

We lost the game.”

At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, an American engineer had tears in his eyes when he said this.

Not only was he in tears, but so was pretty much everyone else in the bar.

"Yeah, we lost the competition."

No matter how they race against time now, they have lost the game and the title of first place.

"We still have a chance, and we need to send our people to the moon as soon as possible."

Although devastated, in Florida and across the United States, Americans are rallying.

"We must not only send our people into space as quickly as possible to appease the dissatisfaction and anger of the American people, but also go higher and further."

At NASA, von Braun looked at his assistant and said:
“We would have completely lost the race.”

"Yes, Doctor."

Naje looked at the doctor and said:

"Although we failed this time, this is also an opportunity for us. We still have opportunities, just like we once chose to go to the moon and thought we could surpass the Russians on this track. We still have new opportunities."

"New opportunity?"

Von Braun said.

"You mean Mars? We're heading to Mars, right?"

"No, Doctor, Mars is too far away. At least for now, it will take us 10 or even 20 years to send people there, but before that, we have another choice."

Naj showed a design sketch and said:
"We can build a permanent base on the moon before the Russians do anything!"

"Permanent base?"

Von Braun looked at the design sketch in front of him. He had seen this sketch before. This was a request made by the military.

The military hopes to establish a permanent base on the moon and deploy weapons.

“Yes, the Soviets may have been first to the moon, but the United States could be the first to establish a permanent base on the moon.

And if we implement this plan, we will win the full support of the military, who are very eager to deploy a base on the moon."

Looking at the doctor, Naje said:
"Our rockets are bigger than the Russians'. We can put more stuff into space, put it on the moon, and then set up a permanent base on the moon.

We have every chance of winning this game, not a chance, but a certainty.”

Naje's suggestion made von Braun fall into deep thought. After thinking for a moment, he said:
“My friend, during the war, the rocket I designed for exploring low-Earth orbit was used by the military on missiles, which brought many disasters to mankind.

If we continue to do this now, it will be like opening a Pandora's box, and space will become a new battlefield in the future."

Naje had long expected von Braun's opposition, he said, looking at the doctor.

"You should know that we have no other choice now. If we want to keep this business going, we must go further than Russia. Only by establishing a permanent base can we reawaken the Americans' sense of superiority. Only in this way can we win their support." Compared with von Braun, Naje is an engineer, but he is more like a politician, or does he understand better what the space agency needs?
"Perhaps now the Soviet Union's attack has united the whole of America against the enemy, but how long can the divisions brought about by shame last? We need a new goal, something that Americans can be proud of and take pride in.

The best option is to establish a permanent lunar base. Of course, if we can send Americans to Mars in the next two or three years, that would definitely be better than a lunar base.

But now what we need is to set up a permanent base on the moon and paint a big Coca-Cola logo on it.”

The Coca-Cola LOGO that Naje mentioned refers to a joke that is popular in the United States now. Because the Soviets landed on the moon first, the moon became red, so they needed to paint a Coca-Cola LOGO on the red base material.

"Without the support of the military, we would not have enough funds to establish a permanent base on the moon. No, this is for a more far-reaching future. If we want to go to Mars or other planets, we must make the moon our transit station.

Cooperating with the military is the only option in this process.”

Faced with Naje's persuasion, von Braun was silent for a while, then said:
"Let me think about it, after all..."

Von Braun opened his mouth and was about to continue talking about the lessons learned in Germany, but in the end he said nothing. He knew what kind of political disaster this failure would bring!
The president didn't say anything on the phone that day, but his disappointment and anger were evident, and now the entire United States is extremely angry.

A scapegoat is definitely needed.

"The CIA is now reviewing intelligence from the past year. They are checking to see if they have missed any intelligence on Soviet developments..."

In the Oval Office, President Johnson still looked indignant as he listened to a report from his Chief of Staff, James Robert Jones.

"They missed the whole moon landing. They missed the whole thing. You know how that was portrayed in the media?"

President Johnson said.

"The New York Times would write this. President Eisenhower started it. President Kennedy pushed it. It failed completely in Johnson's hands.

Johnson fell directly before the finish line, yes, they had written that.

They will put the blame on me, but I will never let them succeed, they will never succeed!"

Johnson's face was full of anger when he said this. He couldn't understand why the Soviets had taken the lead when Johnson ran to the finish line.

Suddenly, Johnson felt like a joke.

Everyone in the world was watching his joke and how he lost the moon landing plan.

James nodded quickly and said:
"Yes, Mr. President."

"Definitely not Johnson, the loser is definitely not Johnson."

Johnson's expression was serious as he said this absolute one after another.

"Yes, Mr. President, NASA should be held responsible for this matter."

Listening to the advice of his chief of staff, President Johnson thought for a moment and then said:
"They need to be responsible, but not now. The most important thing now is for them to send our people to the moon as quickly as possible and bring them back safely. This is the most important thing."

Johnson knew exactly what he needed to calm the anger in the United States: a victory.

Now he understood exactly what it felt like to lose the space race.

It was a huge blow to the morale and public opinion of the American people.

Therefore, the most important thing at this time is to realize the moon landing plan and give the United States a shot in the arm.

In the future... we can still settle the score later.

The Americans are also very good at using the tactic of "putting away the bow after the birds are killed and settling the accounts in autumn".

"Yes, Mr. President, the most important thing is to realize the moon landing plan as soon as possible. When everything is over, we will find out who needs to be held accountable for this."

Every time there is a failure, someone has to take responsibility. This is common sense in Washington. Then James said:

"Mr. President, NASA has put forward a new proposal. They believe that we still have a chance to defeat the Russians in another field and regain the leading edge."

"Defeat the Russians? Where?"

When Johnson heard this, he immediately became interested, but asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Are they planning to fly to Mars?"

"Yes, they do have plans in this regard, but Mr. President, that is a longer-term, more distant plan, not right now."

While speaking, James showed a rendering in front of the president and said:

"Mr. President, you see they are planning to set up a permanent base on the moon, a permanent base like this, which will be the first permanent human settlement on the moon."

Looking at the drawings, Johnson asked curiously.

“How many people can live in such a big place?”

It looks like this permanent base is very small, just a small house.

"It started out with three people, Mr. President."

"But this base will continue to expand in the next few years. Eventually, it will become a permanent base that can accommodate more people, conduct more experiments, and even mine minerals on the moon.

Of course, the most important thing is that the Soviet Union has no similar plan yet. Our rockets are better than those of the Soviets and can transport more materials to the moon, making it easier to realize this plan. "

The Soviet Union had no similar plan, and this was the first in human history.

These two points alone were enough to make Johnson excited. After all, what he needed now was to defeat Russia.

"Well, since the Russians don't have it, then... let's do it."

(End of this chapter)