Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

"Gone...all gone!"

An elderly professor with gray hair gripped the yellow sand tightly with both hands, weeping uncontrollably: "The parameters of the implosion lens, the critical mass data of the uranium sphere... they didn't leave us a single scrap of paper! How are we supposed to build this atomic bomb?!"

The cries spread across the empty Gobi Desert, and a sense of despair, like a plague, quickly enveloped the entire 211 Base.

Just then.

Lin Yang strode over to the fire.

He didn't reach out to the weeping scientists, nor did he offer any words of comfort.

He turned around, facing the group of the Republic's top minds, his eyes like two cold, sharp swords, piercing into the souls of each and every one of them.

"Everyone, stand up!"

Lin Yang let out a roar like a tiger descending a mountain, which made everyone tremble and the crying stopped instantly.

"Crying? Will crying bring back the blueprints? Will crying stop the Americans from dropping nuclear bombs on our heads?!"

Lin Yang walked up to the old professor, pulled him up from the ground, and brushed the yellow sand off his body.

"The Soviets withdrew their experts and burned the blueprints! They wanted to break our backbone! They wanted to keep us forever subservient under the shadow of nuclear blackmail!"

Lin Yang suddenly turned around and pointed at the pile of ashes that were still smoking.

"What they burned were just a few scraps of paper! But they couldn't take away the minds of us Chinese people! They couldn't take away the backbone of us Chinese people!"

Lin Yang strode to a blackboard next to him and picked up a piece of chalk.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

He used all his strength to write eight large characters on the blackboard, each one powerful enough to penetrate the paper.

The chalk broke because he used too much force, but he still used the remaining half to carve each stroke very deeply.

"Do it yourself, start from the top!"

Lin Yang turned around and slammed the broken piece of chalk heavily onto the podium.

"If the blueprints are gone, we'll draw our own! If the parameters are gone, we'll calculate them ourselves! Without the Soviets' crutches, we Chinese can still forge our own path to success!"

"From today onwards, Base 211 is on Level One combat readiness! We'll use our abacuses and our brains to calculate the exact launch of this crucial missile!"

These eight large characters acted like a powerful stimulant, instantly infusing the blood of every scientist present.

The old professor wiped away his tears, adjusted his glasses, and a fervent fire rekindled in his eyes.

"Commander-in-Chief Lin is right! If Khrushchev won't give us the blueprints, we'll calculate it ourselves! We'll risk our lives if necessary!"

"Let's do it! We'll do it ourselves!"

The feeling of despair was completely swept away, replaced by a tragic and resolute determination to burn one's bridges!

……

Late that night.

Base 211, the top-secret conference room of the underground command post.

The air was filled with the strong smell of cheap tobacco.

Lin Yang sat at the head of the conference table, flanked by several of the base's core nuclear physicists and missile experts.

This included Chief Engineer Shen Zhiyuan, who was transferred from the First Ministry of Machine Building, and Chief Engineer Qian, who was specifically in charge of the development of launch vehicles.

"Comrades, the Soviet withdrawal has put our nuclear program in an unprecedentedly passive position."

Lin Yang stubbed out his cigarette, his gaze solemn.

"What we face now is not only a technological gap, but also a severe shortage of national resources. Everyone knows the situation outside: natural disasters coupled with the disastrous consequences of exaggeration have left the country unable to even produce food. Our 211 Base is also facing a huge shortfall in funding and supplies."

Lin Yang's fingers tapped heavily on the table.

"Our best resources must be used wisely! We absolutely cannot scatter our limited resources. We must identify a single, core focus!"

The meeting room fell silent.

Senior engineer Shen Zhiyuan spoke first: "Commander-in-Chief Lin, we can still derive the theoretical model of the atomic bomb through calculations. However, the centrifuge equipment for uranium enrichment is currently completely at a standstill. If we want to focus all our efforts on developing nuclear warheads, we will probably need to divert 80% of the base's electricity and resources."

Sitting opposite him was Chief Engineer Qian, whose brows were furrowed. He was in charge of the research and development of missile delivery vehicles.

"President Lin, I disagree with throwing all our resources at nuclear warheads."

Chief Engineer Qian stood up, walked to the blackboard, and drew a simple parabola.

"Have you all thought about this? Even if we go through countless hardships and actually build the atomic bomb, so what?"

Chief Engineer Qian turned around, his tone unusually stern.

"An atomic bomb without a delivery vehicle is at best a landmine with immense destructive power!"

It can only explode on our own soil!

"We can't exactly use trucks to haul atomic bombs and fight enemy bombers, can we? The Americans dropped atomic bombs on Japan using B-29 Superfortress bombers. Our current air force simply doesn't have strategic bombers capable of penetrating enemy air defenses!"

Chief Engineer Qian rested his hands on the table, staring intently at Lin Yang.

"Without missiles, without delivery vehicles capable of delivering nuclear warheads to enemy territory, this atomic bomb will not constitute a true strategic deterrent! It won't scare the Americans!"

These words struck like a heavy hammer blow to everyone's heart.

Yes, having bullets but no guns greatly reduces their deterrent effect.

The meeting room erupted into a heated debate. Some advocated building an atomic bomb first to boost national prestige, while others argued for developing missiles first to ensure delivery capabilities.

Both sides stuck to their own versions of events, and neither could convince the other.

"Bang!"

Lin Yang suddenly slammed his hand on the table, and the powerful sense of oppression instantly silenced the entire conference room.

He stood up, walked to the map, and his gaze seemed to pierce through the fog, revealing the international landscape decades later.

"Chief Engineer Qian is right. Having bullets but no guns is a waste of time."

Lin Yang turned around, his eyes revealing an absolute confidence and decisiveness that commanded the entire situation.

"I have decided that the base's highest strategic policy going forward will be summarized in eight words!"

Lin Yang picked up the chalk and wrote on the blackboard.

"Two bombs as the primary focus, missiles as the top priority!"

When these eight words were uttered, all the scientists were stunned.

Lin Yang pointed to the words on the blackboard, his voice firm and resolute: "The two bombs, the atomic bomb and the missile, are indispensable! But in terms of resource allocation and research and development order, the missile must be ranked first!"

"Get me the delivery vehicle first! As long as we have missiles that can hit the enemy's homeland, even if the warheads are filled with conventional explosives, it will keep the enemy up at night!"

"With missiles as our 'gun,' we can then concentrate our efforts on developing the atomic bomb as our 'bullet.' When that's done, the gun and the bullet will be combined, creating a true national strategic asset!"

Lin Yang's strategic vision completely impressed all the experts present.