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

A few minutes later, the Soviet tank disappeared behind the sand dunes, leaving only a burning scrap metal vehicle as proof of what had just happened.

The hatch of the Type 59 tank is open.

Lin Weidong and Gao Dashan emerged from the gun turret. The biting wind dispersed the gunpowder smoke, and Lin Weidong took a deep breath of the air, which was still thick with the smell of gunpowder.

He looked at the burning flame in the distance, and slowly loosened his clenched fist.

He did not disgrace his father. The Lin family, wherever they are, are the strongest backbone of this country.

The message was quickly transmitted back to Beijing via a top-secret radio station.

Ministry of Heavy Industry, Minister's Office.

Holding the encrypted battle report in his hand, Lin Yang finally revealed a relieved and proud smile.

The paper contained only one line: "First shot hits, a fatal blow. Enemy chieftain beheaded, a triumph that shakes the frontier."

Zhao Lichun stood to the side, watching the smile on Lin Yang's face, and handed him a cup of hot tea at the right time.

"Minister, it seems our armor-piercing rounds have completely intimidated those old Russians."

"Wei Dong is truly a tiger father, like son!" Zhao Lichun flattered him with a beaming smile.

Lin Yang put away the battle report, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

"This is just the beginning. The Soviets have suffered a loss they can't swallow, and they won't let it go easily. The situation in the north will only become more and more tense."

Lin Yang turned his head and looked at the map on the wall, his gaze deep.

"Beginning of Spring, notify the arsenal. Immediately put that new type of armor-piercing projectile into full-speed mass production. Also, elevate the anti-tank missile development project at the Southwest Third-Line Base to the highest priority. Provide as much funding and materials as needed."

"Understood." Zhao Lichun nodded respectfully.

Lin Yang walked to the window and looked at the snow gradually melting in Beijing.

The spring of 1969 was destined to be anything but peaceful.

Whether it's the flames of war in the northern frontier or the unfathomable political vortex within Beijing, both will face an even more brutal and devastating struggle.

But Lin Yang was not afraid.

He has a nuclear shield in the Northwest, a heavy industrial base in the Southwest, brothers-in-arms like Li Yunlong and Kong Jie and successors he personally trained in the frontier, and the sharp dagger Zhao Lichun within the country.

He has already laid a trap for this game.

And anyone who dares to cause trouble at this time will be shown what true thunderous wrath is.

In the early spring of 1970, the snow in Beijing had not yet completely melted.

The cold wind of late spring still stung my face. The poplar trees in the heavy industry compound, just sprouting tender green buds, shivered in the cold wind.

The wheels of history keep turning forward. On the surface, the overall situation this year is still turbulent, but the competition behind the scenes has entered a white-hot stage.

The conference room on the fifth floor of the office building of the Ministry of Heavy Industry.

A heated argument is underway.

"Deputy Director Zhao! What do you mean by this? The whole country is currently focused on promoting production through revolution, and communes across the country urgently need tractors and agricultural machinery! By what right have you allocated all three thousand tons of special alloy steel allocated by the Ministry of Machine Building to that so-called 'Project 701'? This is a serious error in our political strategy!"

Wu Qiang, dressed in a green military uniform with a red armband, was slamming his fist on the table and yelling at Zhao Lichun, who was sitting in the main seat.

In the past two years, although Zhao Lichun had subtly stripped Wu Qiang of much of his real power, he still boasted that he had powerful figures in the city backing him up and continued to make trouble within the ministry. Today, he somehow found out the whereabouts of this batch of special steel and immediately swarmed over like a fly smelling blood, attempting to use this as an excuse to bring down Zhao Lichun in one fell swoop and then launch an attack on Lin Yang.

Zhao Lichun sat upright in his chair, his gold-rimmed glasses spotless. He slowly picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and his eyes revealed undisguised contempt.

"Officer Wu, watch your words." Zhao Lichun's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a coldness born of someone accustomed to a high position. "First, my current position is Deputy Director of the Ministry's Revolutionary Committee and Director of the General Office. You should address me as 'full-time' in this meeting. Second, the allocation of this batch of special steel was a decision made by the Ministry's Party Committee. What right do you, a logistics officer who has no access to even core secrets, have to interfere?"

"Don't try to intimidate me with your official airs!" Wu Qiang jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing at Zhao Lichun's nose and cursing, "Don't think I don't know, you're just Lin Yang's dog! That so-called Project 701 is just an excuse for you to detach yourselves from the masses and engage in revisionism! If you don't invalidate the permit for this batch of steel today, I'll take the comrades from the rebel team and go to the Central Committee to complain about you!"

The other directors in the meeting room all kept their heads down, looking down at their noses and focusing on their own thoughts; none of them dared to interfere at this moment.

Just when Wu Qiang was at his most arrogant.

boom.

The heavy, soundproof door to the conference room was pushed open from the outside.

Lin Yang, wearing a dark gray woolen overcoat, strode in with a tall and straight posture. Behind him were Chen Feng, whose face was full of menacing intent, and two heavily armed guards.

The once noisy conference room instantly fell into a deathly silence.

Lin Yang's leather shoes made a dull thud on the carpet. Without looking at anyone, he walked straight to the front of the conference table, and Zhao Lichun immediately stood up and respectfully gave up the seat of honor.

Lin Yang unbuttoned his coat and slowly sat down. His deep, cold eyes were like two icy blades, piercing straight at Wu Qiang.

"I overheard you saying you were going to complain to the central government?" Lin Yang's voice wasn't loud, but under his absolute pressure, it made Wu Qiang's eardrums buzz.

Wu Qiang's arrogance instantly diminished by more than half. Every time he faced Lin Yang, he couldn't help but recall the fear of being dominated in the basement back then, and the field army that stormed directly into the auditorium.

But today, he gritted his teeth, feeling he had caught Lin Yang red-handed, and forced himself to say, "Minister Lin... I'm just stating the facts. Three thousand tons of special alloy steel—that's the material for countless tractors! You're using it for some secret project? That's not in line with current policy..."

Snapped!

Lin Yang suddenly pulled a red-headed document from his pocket and slammed it heavily on the conference table.

"Open your dog eyes and look at what this is!"

Wu Qiang trembled with fear and cautiously approached. When he saw the bright red joint seal of the "Central Military Commission" and the "State Council" at the top of the document, and the familiar signature of the leader below, his face turned deathly pale.

Lin Yang stared at him coldly, as if he were looking at a corpse.

"Project 701 is a top-secret national aerospace project! These 3,000 tons of special alloy are used to manufacture the outer shell of the Long March 1 carrier rocket engine!"

Lin Yang suddenly stood up, his hands on the table, like an angry lion, his powerful aura making everyone present feel breathless.

"The Americans are flying in the sky, the Soviets are flying in the sky. They're monitoring our every move with satellites! The Central Committee has issued a strict order: we must launch our own satellite into space this year! Who do you think you are, daring to spout nonsense and obstruct the national space strategy? You call this revisionism? Are you implying that the Central Committee's decision is also revisionism?!"

With this huge accusation pinned on him, Wu Qiang's legs went completely weak, and he collapsed to the ground.