Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1090: Grasping Their Weaknesses (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
"I need him to agree to our troops - Soviet troops - to enter Indonesia and establish our military base there!"

Khrushchev's voice echoed in the study, startling Mikhailov. He couldn't help asking,

"Build a military base there? That's the back garden of Southeast Asia."

As an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mikhailov certainly knew how "stingy" Nanyang was. Isn't this just actively looking for trouble?
"I know. It is precisely because that place is Nanyang's backyard that we need to go there. Whether it is in Egypt or Hungary, the reason why Nanyang dares to confront us is because we are too far away from them. So far that we cannot threaten them unless we use missiles."

Taking a deep breath, Khrushchev said.

"Now we need to reach into Nanyang's most fatal weakness and firmly grasp his vital point. When necessary, we can give him a strong squeeze, which will be enough to make him suffer for three days!"

Although his words were vulgar, Khrushchev really experienced the feeling of being held at a vital point. Wasn't the Soviet Union held at a vital point in Hungary?

It feels so painful to have someone hold your vitals!
So why revenge!

In other words, in order to be in a more advantageous position in future confrontations, he decided to reach out to the vital points of Southeast Asia!

Of course, this is also to give an explanation to the hardliners in Moscow - to tell them that his attitude towards Southeast Asia is still very tough.

"But this is likely to provoke hostility from the Nanyang side. They are very sensitive."

Mikhailov reminded gently.

"We are now competing with the Western world for this world, and conflicts with them are inevitable. Of course, we will exercise restraint to a certain extent, so I hope you can do the next thing after arriving in Jakarta..."

Then Khrushchev explained to Mikhailov in detail what he should do after arriving in Jakarta.

"...Of course, at the beginning, Sukarno would definitely not agree to let us enter there and set up a military base there, but it doesn't matter. Now he needs our help more than ever. Without our help, he will soon lose his power."

Over the past few months, Khrushchev has been watching the situation in Jakarta, which has become increasingly turbulent. Without external support, he is likely to lose everything.

This is why Sukarno visited Moscow last year in order to win the support of the Soviet Union. Although the Soviet Union has provided a lot of military assistance to Indonesia in the past few years, it only helped him maintain his rule to a certain extent and did not fundamentally change the situation there.

"So he needs our help, he needs us to send troops there, he needs our military advisers to help him formulate combat plans, and he needs our pilots to help him fly planes to bomb those insurgents."

After a brief pause, Khrushchev continued.

"You have to know that those rebels are supported by Nanyang. Sukarno certainly wants us to help him fight against Nanyang more than anyone else."

Although Khrushchev usually acted in a rough manner, he was able to see Nanyang's weak spot at a glance.

Jakarta is Nanyang’s biggest weakness.

"As long as we control Jakarta, the entire Southeast Asia will be under our threat. So, Comrade Mikhailov, your mission in Jakarta now is to ensure that more people can become our comrades in Southeast Asia."

At this time, Khrushchev, who was determined to quell the dissatisfaction of the hardliners, obviously forgot one thing - there are some red lines that cannot be touched.

But most of the time people are always forgetful. After an in-depth discussion with Mikhailov on the Jakarta issue, Khrushchev once again went to the map.

He stared at the huge world map, his eyes extending from Europe to Africa, to the Middle East, and finally to Southeast Asia.

His eyes were fixed on Southeast Asia, Nanyang, and Jakarta, moving back and forth in that area. He was talking to himself there.

"Well, soon you will feel the wrath of Moscow."

Having said that, Khrushchev proudly took out a cigarette, lit it and took two deep puffs, his eyes revealing a kind of joy of success.

Then Khrushchev seemed to have thought of something, walked to his desk again, picked up the phone, and said.

"Put me on Korolev's line."

……

This was not the first time Korolev came to Vosuvo. He had come here many times since the first successful satellite launch and stayed in the villa. Braving the cool breeze of the evening, when the Seagull sedan arrived here, he soon entered a villa. Khrushchev received him in a large living room. After a few pleasantries, Khrushchev directly stated his thoughts.

"You will understand, Comrade Korolev, that we are now facing unprecedented challenges. The Americans and the Southeast Asians are all trying to launch spacecraft into space before us. If they succeed, they will say - look, it was us, the Western world, who conquered space first. So, I want to know when we can send our people into space!"

After asking this question, Khrushchev stared at Korolev. After learning that Southeast Asia and Britain had also joined the competition, he felt unprecedented pressure, which came from...distrust of himself. "Comrade Korolev, you have to know one thing - we must win this competition. Only in this way can we let people all over the world know that the Soviet Union is powerful and advanced."

Once upon a time, before the launch of the artificial satellite, Khrushchev's understanding of this matter was limited to a certain propaganda perspective - he just thought that this matter was very awesome, but it had not yet risen to the level of national honor.

But when he saw the impact that the Soviet Union's launch of the first artificial satellite had on Americans and the pride of the Soviets, he realized that this would be the new track for the Soviet Union to win the competition.

And at present, the Soviet Union has a certain leading advantage in this track. All this is because of the man in front of him, because of Korolev.

"Comrade, we are working hard on this task, but you must understand that this is a very complicated task."

Although he did not know how to explain to Khrushchev how complicated it was to launch a spacecraft and send people into space, Korolev knew very well what answer he should give him.

"At present, our astronauts are undergoing extremely rigorous training. They are making the final preparations for entering space, and our scientists are also working hard. They not only have to further improve our rockets, but also develop spacecraft. When we complete this work, it will be time to send our astronauts into space,"

Korolev looked at Khrushchev and continued.

"To achieve this goal, we still need to do a lot of preparatory work, which will take a lot of time and money."

In fact, what Korolev needs now is more funds. Only with more funds can he continue this business.

"You can get more funding, but we have to get our astronauts into space before the Americans do."

Khrushchev said bluntly.

"This is not just a competition between us and the Americans, but a competition between two civilizations! Do you understand?"

Korolev certainly understood this matter very well and its importance to the Soviet Union. He thought for a moment and said.

"Based on the intelligence we have so far, we are at the same level as the Americans. If everything goes well, we will launch a spacecraft in the first half of next year, and the Americans will be launching at about the same time."

This information was obtained by the KGB from the United States, and Korolev, as a scientist, made this judgment based on the intelligence information provided by the KGB.

“We have to wait until next year.”

Khrushchev's brows were furrowed. He lit a cigarette and then paced while smoking.

"Is there any way we can go faster?"

Looking back at Korolev, Khrushchev asked in an expectant tone.

“Is there any way to send our astronauts into space on Revolution Day this year? This year marks the 40th anniversary of the successful revolution!”

Faced with the sudden request, Korolev fell into silence. This meant that the request had to be made seven months in advance.

After all, according to the plan, they are launching the spacecraft before June next year.

But now?
Khrushchev wanted to bring all this forward to November to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the victory of the revolution.

This... is simply unimaginable.

It could even be said that it was unrealistic, but facing Khrushchev's request, Korolev, who knew well how to deal with these leaders, did not refuse outright. He was just silent for a while, and then spoke.

"I will do everything I can to launch as early as possible."

This is the greatest guarantee Korolev can make. After all, science is science, and science cannot be advanced by a few months in a short period of time just because of political needs!
However, their wish needs to be fulfilled as soon as possible. After all, its significance as a tribute to the 40th anniversary celebration far outweighs everything else.

"Well, I hope you can do your best. After all, when that day comes, all Soviet people will cheer for this good news."

Khrushchev's tone was very tactful, which was the difference between him and steel. If it were steel, steel would only ask about time, and if he couldn't do it - he would replace him with someone else.

Korolev nodded and said:
"Comrade Khrushchev, you may know our efforts in this regard. We have spent millions, even tens of millions of rubles, and also paid a lot of sweat, so we will do our best."

When Korolev left the villa, his expression was solemn. He looked out the window at the quiet forest with a frown on his face, and there was only one thought in his mind.

How to win this competition?
(End of this chapter)