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

The door was flung open, and a gust of cold wind swept in, carrying a burly, dark-faced man. It was Li Yunlong!

He was wearing an old military uniform without rank insignia and carrying two heavy burlap sacks.

Following behind Li Yunlong were Zhao Gang, dressed in a sharp Zhongshan suit, and the other two members of the Northwest Iron Triangle—Ding Wei and Kong Jie. Bringing up the rear was Wei Heshang, a man with an iron tower-like build, carrying several beautifully packaged bottles of specially supplied Moutai.

"Old Li! Political Commissar Zhao! Brother Ding, Brother Kong!" Lin Yang strode forward and hugged each of his brothers-in-arms.

"Yangzi, congratulations! At thirty-five, you've left all of us old guys behind!" Zhao Gang smiled gently and patted Lin Yang on the shoulder.

Li Yunlong threw the sack in his hand to the ground with a dull thud.

"Stop with the nonsense! Yangzi, I got you some good stuff from Fujian! Genuine Wuyi Mountain Da Hong Pao tea, and some big yellow croaker that I had someone catch right from the sea, chilled overnight and delivered here! Nobody's leaving this room until we're completely drunk!" Li Yunlong shouted at the top of his lungs.

In the courtyard, Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong, hearing the deafening names emanating from the main house, were terrified and quickly retreated inside, bolting the door shut. Those were the legendary war gods who led armies into battle!

Lin Yang quickly told Tian Yu and Ding Qiunan to go to the kitchen to prepare some snacks to go with the drinks, while he pulled everyone to sit around the stove.

He Yuzhu was quick-witted; he brought in a case of Daqianmen cigarettes, lit them for the leaders, and then voluntarily stepped back outside to stand guard.

The fire in the stove was burning brightly, and the temperature in the room quickly rose.

"Old Li, come on, fill it up first!" Lin Yang personally opened a bottle of Moutai and poured it for Li Yunlong. "You're enjoying the sea breeze on the southeast coast, while I'm eating yellow sand in the northwest. It's been almost three years since we last had a drink together!"

Li Yunlong picked up his wine glass, clinked it heavily with Lin Yang's, and drank it all in one gulp.

"That was great!" Li Yunlong wiped his mouth. "Yangzi, I won't lie to you. That day in October, the higher-ups ordered the entire army to be on high alert. All our radars along the coast were on full blast. When I heard that you guys accurately dropped that missile with the nuclear warhead into Lop Nur, I drank three big bowls of wine in the command post!"

Li Yunlong's eyes shone with an alarming intensity, a testament to the fervor of a soldier.

"You have no idea how arrogant the American Seventh Fleet used to be! Their warships would constantly patrol the edge of our territorial waters. And those U-2 reconnaissance planes from Taiwan would fly into our defense zone every few days." Li Yunlong picked up a peanut and chewed it vigorously. "Ever since the news of the successful integration of the two bombs spread, wow, the American warships retreated three hundred nautical miles! The U-2 reconnaissance planes have disappeared without a trace! That's strength! That's confidence!"

Lin Yang sneered, swirling the wine glass in his hand: "Old Li, imperialism is all paper tigers. If you don't have a stick, they'll treat you like a sick cat. But if you have a big iron hammer that can smash their head in, they'll have to listen to reason with you."

Zhao Gang pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming with wisdom.

"Yangzi is right. This is absolute strategic deterrence." Zhao Gang sighed, picked up his teacup and took a sip of water. "My Ministry of Machinery Industry is under considerable pressure right now. Although we have a nuclear umbrella for defense, our conventional industrial base is still weak. Yangzi, now that you've taken office as Minister of Heavy Industry, our departments will have to work closely together. The higher-ups are planning the Third Front construction, which involves transferring core industries to the southwest rear area. What are your plans?"

When work was mentioned, Lin Yang's expression immediately became cold and focused.

"The Third Front construction was imperative, but we could not relocate blindly."

Lin Yang tapped his finger on the table. "My plan is to take advantage of this industrial relocation opportunity to upgrade and reorganize the nation's heavy industry. For example, at my brother's Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, I will transfer some of our elite equipment and personnel to Panzhihua to establish a special steel base, while retaining core R&D capabilities in Beijing. Those old employees who practiced egalitarianism and exaggeration will be thoroughly purged during this Third Front construction."

Kong Jie puffed on his pipe, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.

"I don't understand you industrialists, but I do know that with increased national strength, we'll stand taller on the front lines." Kong Jie pointed north. "Yangzi, you have no idea how tense things are up north right now. The Russians have a million troops stationed on the border; those steel torrents are enough to make your scalp tingle."

Ding Wei chimed in, "Yes. The Soviets originally thought that if they withdrew their experts, we would have to give up."

"And then you, in just a few years, developed the atomic bomb and missiles. At the border meeting a few days ago, the Soviet officers on the other side looked at us differently; their eyes were less arrogant and more wary."

Lin Yang looked at Ding Wei and Kong Jie, his tone extremely firm.

"Rest assured, my brothers. As long as heavy industry production capacity is increased, the Ministry of Heavy Industry will absolutely prioritize ensuring the northern border defense with new main battle tanks and large-caliber artillery. As for the Soviet Union's nuclear blackmail, the initiative is no longer in their hands."

Wei Heshang, who had been standing silently behind Li Yunlong, suddenly touched his bald head with a simple and honest manner and came closer.

"Sir, I don't understand your grand strategy. I just want to ask, I've been training in hand-to-hand combat every day in the special operations brigade for the past few years, and my fists are practically rusted. When are you going to take us to capture another five-star American general for some fun?"

Upon hearing this, the room erupted in laughter.

"You frivolous monk!"

Li Yunlong kicked Wei Heshang while laughing and cursing.

"Now, even American generals avoid our Minister Lin like the plague; who would dare to run into your fist!"

Lin Yang stood up with a loud laugh and picked up his wine glass.

"Monk, there's still a battle to be fought. The changes in this world have only just begun."

Lin Yang looked around at his old comrades-in-arms and former commanders, all of whom were shining stars in the military.

"This glass is a toast to the nation, a toast to the spirit of the military!"

"Dry!"

The six wine glasses collided heavily in mid-air, producing a crisp and bold sound.

On this day, the main room of the Lin family was filled with the aroma of wine and the sound of laughter.

Meanwhile, the other residents of the courtyard house, separated by only a wall, remained silent in the cold wind.

··········

In the winter of 1965, the biting cold wind swept through the streets and alleys of Beijing, but it could not dispel the boiling passion that enveloped the land.

On the same day, both the People's Daily and Reference News published a striking black-and-white photograph on their front pages. The photograph showed a massive mushroom cloud proudly blooming in the sky above the Gobi Desert. Below the mushroom cloud, on the lower side of the page, was a half-length photo of Lin Yang in military uniform.

That was the first time the country publicly revealed the iron-fisted chief commander behind the "two bombs integration" project to the world after approval from the highest level, in order to break the long-term information blockade and nuclear deterrence of the West.

The photo shows Lin Yang with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, his gaze cold and piercing. Even under the ink, the general's stars on his epaulets exude a commanding presence, as if he had fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. The title is a concise yet thunderous eight characters: "A Great Nation's Weapon, Forged as a Backbone!"