Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2564 Xun Duoduo's Big Game (Third Update, Please Subscribe)

In February, the chill of winter lingered in Kyiv, with patches of snow still clinging to the roadsides in the western suburbs, and birch branches swaying in the cold wind.

A black Seagull sedan drove over the potholed road, its tires occasionally splashing mud and water as it passed over the craters.

In the Soviet Union, roads like this were very common, and even such road surfaces were considered quite good. After all, given the Soviet climate, no matter how well-constructed a road was, it would turn into this terrible state after a few winters.

In the front passenger seat, Valery would occasionally glance at the rearview mirror, watching his companion. His official identity was that of an accompanying official of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade, but in reality, everyone knew his true identity—a KGB officer.

This was no secret. As one of the earliest SEA students to study in the Soviet Union, Zheng Xingying naturally knew the other person's identity and that the other person was looking him up and down through the car's rearview mirror.

"I visited Kyiv when I was studying at Moscow State University."

Zheng Xingying took the initiative to speak:
"It's a very beautiful city, and the people are very welcoming."

A businessman from SEA who had studied in the Soviet Union was taken to Lubyanka during his studies because of his relationship with a Soviet girl, which caused a diplomatic incident. Later, with the intervention of the Kremlin, he and his lover left the Soviet Union.

Valery's mind raced with the other person's identity and background, and he began to speak:
"Yes, it is indeed a beautiful city. If Mr. Zheng is interested, we can visit the city after the inspection is over."

"Let's see if we have time. By the way, Valery, which university did you attend?"

They continued on their way, chatting as they went.

Throughout the journey, Valery's mind was filled with questions.

When the order came down, he thought he had misheard—not only was he to receive this SEA businessman, but he was also to take him to the Antonov Design Bureau and show him the "jumbo" that had not yet been shown to the outside world.

This is simply a fantasy!

Their confrontation and even conflict with the SEA in Ethiopia and the Middle East are still ongoing. The super-giant military transport aircraft is a national treasure and should be a top-level secret. How could they easily open the door to a SEA person?

Aren't you afraid of leaking secrets by doing this?

What exactly is the Kremlin up to?

Zheng Xingying was indeed very calm, at least on the surface.

He closed his eyes slightly, but his mind was replaying the ins and outs of his trip to the Soviet Union.

He came here as a representative of an airline, and under the pretext of purchasing civilian transportation equipment, he requested to buy the Soviet Union's largest military transport aircraft.

The largest, without even mentioning the model number.

The reason they didn't mention the model number is because they simply didn't know the corresponding model number.

Originally, I was just trying it out, but to my surprise, the Soviet Union actually agreed.

If word got out that he was buying military transport planes from the Soviet Union, no one would believe it; they would just think he was crazy. Zheng Xingying had no idea what the airline's true purpose was.

But one thing is certain: just like when he bought heavy off-road trucks last time, large Soviet transport aircraft were definitely needed domestically.

What do they need transport planes for?
Zheng Xingying wasn't curious; he was only in charge of communication. The technical details would be handled by a specialist. He was already looking forward to the trip to Ukraine.

After about half an hour's drive, the car finally arrived at the airport under the jurisdiction of the Antonov Design Bureau. The car stopped outside the airport's barbed wire fence, and two heavily armed soldiers came over, carefully checked their documents, and conducted a thorough inspection of the vehicle. Only after confirming that everything was in order did they raise the barrier to let the car pass.

The car slowly drove into the airport. In the distance, rows of transport planes awaiting delivery were parked on the tarmac. These were various types of Antonov transport planes, some painted with Soviet military markings and others with markings from other countries.

Finally, they entered a giant hangar, where Zheng Xingying saw a behemoth.

When the enormous plane came into view, Zheng Xingying's breath caught in his throat. Even someone as worldly-wise as him was stunned by the sight before him.

Is this what the Soviets called "the world's largest transport plane"?

This giant white transport plane, like a slumbering steel behemoth, sits quietly in the center of the hangar. Its massive fuselage almost occupies half the field of vision, and the width of its wingspan is beyond imagination. Sunlight falls on the silvery-white fuselage, making it seem almost dreamlike—because it is simply too big.

A Soviet engineer in a white work uniform was already waiting there; his hair was gray, but his eyes were exceptionally bright. Seeing Zheng Xingying and his group approach, he quickly went to greet them, his face beaming with undisguised pride.

"Mr. Zheng, welcome to the Antonov Design Bureau."

The engineer's tone was now filled with pride. This was the first time they had shown this transport aircraft to a foreigner. Although it had been in service for four years, it had never been publicly displayed before, and to be shown it to a foreigner today was quite remarkable in itself.

"Please allow me to introduce you to the pinnacle of our Soviet aviation industry—the An-225 'Mriya' transport aircraft."

He pointed at the behemoth before him, his voice suddenly rising several decibels: "It's the world's largest transport aircraft, bar none! Its maximum takeoff weight is 640 tons, and its maximum cargo hold capacity is 250 tons. Both its length and wingspan have set records in aviation history. If it wanted, it could even fit an entire train inside its cargo hold!"

The engineer's words were full of pride. Of course, he did not mention the purpose of developing this transport aircraft. It was not for transporting goods in the cargo hold, but for carrying a load of up to 200 tons on the back of the aircraft.

Valery stood to the side, watching the engineer's eloquent explanation, then glancing at the amazed expression on Zheng Xingying's face, his doubts deepening. He simply couldn't understand what the Kremlin was up to, willing to display such a national treasure so ostentatiously before a SEA.

While Zheng Xingying was still reeling from the shock, in the Kremlin, Brezhnev narrowed his eyes to slits. His health was failing, and he rarely made decisions himself, but now he was focused on the plane.

"That person went to Ukraine, right?"

"Yes."

Andropov replied, "We have already shown him the An-225 transport aircraft..."

He paused slightly at this point, then continued:

"This is the world's largest transport plane. Whatever they want to use it for, it can meet their needs. The only question is, what are they willing to pay?"

When Andropov spoke of "sacrifice," he emphasized it, while Brezhnev nodded and said:

"Yes, although they can manufacture them, they will choose to buy them due to cost and other reasons, but they will have to pay the corresponding price. Right now, we need a lot of their goods..."

Although his eyes were somewhat clouded and lacked the shrewdness of the past, age did not affect Brezhnev's decision-making ability.

Just as he didn't believe that the SEA's choice to buy aircraft from the Soviet Union meant that the Soviet Union couldn't manufacture them, he understood those Westerners too well. They always considered things from a cost-driven perspective, and the SEA was among the most cost-conscious of them all.

Just like the heavy-duty off-road vehicles they "scammed," could they really not build them? What a joke! That's the world's leading car manufacturing nation; even the Soviet Union needed their automotive technology. How could they possibly not be able to produce them?

"More than a decade ago, because we lacked large-diameter oil pipelines, we implemented a trade model of 'crude oil for steel pipes' to break this situation, thereby breaking through the technological blockade and trade embargo of Western countries. More than half of the large-diameter steel pipes exported by West Germany were sold to the Soviet Union, and some machine tools and forging equipment were also exported to the Soviet Union."

In the past few years, more than half of the world's large-diameter steel pipe exports have gone to my country, and they have also exported some machine tools and forging equipment to us. Through this model, we have acquired key steel pipe technologies, achieved independent mass production of 40-inch steel pipes, and reduced our dependence on Western technology.

Although all of this was initiated during the Khrushchev era, it didn't stop Brezhnev from taking credit for it himself; he even said with some pride:
"After more than a decade of construction, we have built the world's largest oil and natural gas pipelines. We can export hundreds of millions of tons of oil to Western countries every year and earn tens of billions of US dollars in foreign exchange. Moreover, we have expanded our influence in Western countries such as West Germany through oil and natural gas, thereby reducing the United States' influence on Western Europe. We are gradually gaining an advantage in this competition."

This was all determined by the forward-thinking mindset of that time…

Who came up with this forward-thinking idea?
Of course it's me, Brezhnev, there's no doubt about that.

The reason the Soviet Union has been getting better and better all these years is precisely because of me! Because of my foresight and my vision!
In a moment of triumph, Brezhnev pointed to the report on the table and said:

"This time, they want to buy large transport planes, and the biggest ones at that, so we'll give them the biggest ones, but they'll have to pay a price accordingly..."

After he finished speaking, Andropov said:

"Comrade Brezhnev, the largest diameter oil pipeline in our country is the Friendship Pipeline, with a steel pipe diameter of 1016 mm, while the largest in the SEA pipeline has reached over 1400 mm. In terms of pipeline diameter and pressure, our country still lags far behind Western countries."

I believe we should seize this opportunity to obtain from the SEA its agreement to export 1400mm steel pipes to our country, along with technology transfer. This pipeline will not only significantly reduce oil transportation costs but also further increase our exports to Western countries, which will bring our country more foreign exchange.

Brezhnev nodded in deep agreement, and then said:
"So that's why we're showing them this kind of aircraft. We have what they need, and they have what we need. The only question is whether they're willing to trade! Trade..."

Brezhnev emphasized:
“We need to establish a technology exchange channel with Western countries, especially with the SEA. This channel exists and has been operating, but it doesn’t seem to be very effective. Comrade Andropov, I hope to take this opportunity to make this channel more effective. After all, we need their technology. What do you think?”

Although Brezhnev rarely interfered in matters most of the time, he always asked for everyone's opinions first, and if everyone agreed, he had no objections.

This doesn't mean he didn't have his own ideas. For example, in his relationship with the SEA, he preferred a combination of confrontation and détente—confrontation on one hand, and détente on the other. The reason for confrontation was that the interests of both sides were in direct conflict, while the reason for détente was that while the Soviet Union was in full-scale confrontation with the United States, it had to ease relations with the second-largest power in the Western world. Just as the Soviet Union constantly made overtures to Western Europe, the essence of this was to divide the Western alliance and prepare for further confrontation.

Of course, more importantly, easing tensions was not only beneficial to the grand strategy of the US-Soviet confrontation, but also necessary for the Soviet Union, as it needed to import technology from Western countries.

Unable to acquire technology from the United States, the Soviet Union could only obtain it from Western Europe, particularly West Germany. The SEA (Soviet Union) was a very suitable source of technology, given its leading position, if not the world's best, in many technologies, especially electronics. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, lagged far behind in this area.

This highlights the importance of maintaining a good relationship with SEA.

Therefore, confrontation must continue, but de-escalation must also take place. Economic and technological cooperation is a manifestation of de-escalation.

"You are absolutely right, Comrade Brezhnev."

Andropov thought for a moment, then said:

"I will try to expand this channel further while keeping it confidential."

(End of this chapter)