The expeditionary force began to dominate Southeast Asia by recruiting defeated soldiers

The windows of the reception room were open, and the hot tropical afternoon breeze, carrying the scent of palm leaves, blew in.

Robert J. Wilson, the White Eagle's ambassador to the South Pacific, sat on a mahogany sofa, holding a blue-and-white porcelain teacup in his hand.

He was in his early fifties, with his gray hair neatly combed, a typical East Coast elite.

He spent six years in the embassy district of Yenching before the war and speaks fluent Mandarin with a slight Beijing accent.

Li Zhenguo, who was in charge of diplomacy, sat opposite him, wearing a white shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms and no tie.

This is a common practice among civil servants in Southeast Asia: unless it's a formal state banquet, they don't wear ties, as the weather is simply too hot.

“Minister Li,” Wilson put down his teacup, his smile perfectly timed, “I’ll be frank. The State Department has noted that your country’s recent dealings with the Persian side… have been quite close.”

He was very careful with his words.

Li Zhenguo smiled and picked up the teapot to refill their teacups.

"The Persian princess is here for cultural exchange. Southeast Asia welcomes all friends."

“Of course, of course,” Wilson nodded. “Cultural exchange is a good thing. However… I’ve heard that your country has provided Persia with oil exploration equipment, medical aid, and perhaps even some civilian industrial cooperation?”

He paused, then leaned forward slightly:

"The Special Administrative Region would like to know what your country's long-term interests are in the Persian Gulf region. We hope to have a frank exchange to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."

At this time, Dao Le was still bound to gold, and the Bretton Woods system had only been established for two years.

The White Eagle's demand for Persian oil is more strategic, aimed at ensuring Western energy security, containing the Soviet Union's southward expansion, and marginalizing John's traditional influence.

They don't actually mind new players entering the game, as long as that player doesn't stand against the White Eagles.

Li Zhenguo did not answer immediately.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked out the window.

The phoenix flowers in the courtyard are in full bloom, as red as fire.

“Mr. Robert,” he turned back, his tone calm, “the main players in Persia right now are John and the Russian bear. John controls the southern oil fields, while the Russian bear is supporting a puppet regime in the north. The Persian royal family… is caught in the middle, and it’s not easy for them.”

Wilson listened quietly.

“We in Southeast Asia,” Li Zhenguo continued, “have established initial contact with the royal family through some channels. Our demands are simple: a more stable supply of oil. Southeast Asia is industrializing, and we need oil, lots of oil.”

He put down his teacup and placed his hands, crossed, on his knees.

"If the United States is also interested in joining the fray, we welcome it. After all... many of the current oil exploration and extraction technologies in Southeast Asia were initially learned and introduced from the United States. We are happy to share our channels and information."

That's a very clever way of putting it.

It not only clarifies the mentor-student relationship in Southeast Asia, implying a basis for cooperation between the two sides, but also states Southeast Asia's position.

We don't monopolize; we can play together.

Wilson's brow relaxed.

He picked up the teacup but didn't drink it, as if he was carefully considering his words.

“Minister Li,” he finally spoke, “the White House does indeed hope that Persia can have a… more balanced situation. The John’s monopoly has lasted too long, which is not in line with the spirit of the free market. The expansionist ambitions of the Russian bear also need to be curbed.”

He paused, then probed:

"If Nanyang is willing, we can consider... cooperating on oil exploration technology. The White Eagle's geological exploration bureau has some new technologies that may help the Persians find new oil fields faster. The more new oil fields there are, the more fragile the John's monopoly will be."

Li Zhenguo's eyes lit up.

This is one of the directions Zhang Chi had given us.

"How exactly will we cooperate?" he asked.

“Technology sharing,” Wilson said directly. “We provide advanced seismic wave detection methods and core analysis techniques.”

Nanyang could enter Persia to work under the guise of a 'joint technical team'.

The exploration rights for the discovered oil fields can be negotiated and allocated.

He added a key point:

"Of course, all of this is predicated on the fact that the Persian royal family must maintain a pro-Western stance and not side with Moscow."

Li Zhenguo smiled: "On this point, I think we share common interests with your side."

The two talked for another half hour.

The teacup was refilled with water three times.

A verbal consensus was finally reached:

The White Eagles shared some oil exploration technology with the South Pacific and formed a joint technical team, entering Persia in early 47.

Both sides tacitly agreed that the other could get a share of Persian oil in the future, with the specific percentage to be negotiated based on the specific oil fields.

They jointly supported the king's regime and curbed the expansion of the Russian influence in northern Persia.

Establish a regular consultation mechanism to exchange intelligence on the situation in Persia.

As Li Zhenguo saw Wilson to the door, he suddenly asked, "Mr. Ambassador, I have a question."

"Please say."

"Just how dissatisfied is the White Eagle with John's monopoly in Persia?"

Wilson stopped and turned to look at him.

For the first time, an undisguised coldness appeared on the old diplomat's face.

“Minister Lee,” he said, “the Johns are still living in the nineteenth century. They think the world is still the world of the British Empire. But the war is over, and times have changed.”

He didn't say anything more, but his meaning was clear.

Watching Wilson's car drive out of the compound, Li Zhenguo turned back to his office and immediately began drafting a report for Zhang Chi.

-----

At the same time, in another conference room.

The wall of this meeting room, which Zhang Chi often uses, used to have a huge world map, but today the map has been taken down and replaced with a diagram of a rocket structure.

Zhang Chi sat at one end of a long table, with a thick stack of documents spread out in front of him.

Three people were sitting at the table.

These are the three core figures of the Rockets team.

Lu Guofu, chief engineer of the "Kuafu" rocket test base, Albrecht Schmidt, senior engineer of navigation system, and Chen Zhiyuan, rocket propulsion engineer.

"Commander-in-Chief," Lü Guofu spoke first, "this is the revised timetable for the 'Spark Program,' please take a look."

He pushed a document over to me.

Zhang Chi flipped it open.

The schedule is divided into three main time periods.

45-47年、48-53年以及53-57年。

The period from 45 to 48 is precisely the stage that is currently underway.

Its main project, the launch test of the "Tunneling-1" liquid rocket, has been basically completed.

This rocket is an improved design based on the V-2 rocket.

The design goal is to launch a 100kg payload to an altitude of 150km.

So far, there have been 7 test launches, with 5 successful.

The only problem is that the combustion of liquid rocket engines is unstable, and the thrust fluctuation is greater than ±15%.

相对

The second phase was from 49 to 53.

The main project is a two-stage rocket codenamed "Sound-2", which will be based on "Sound-1" with the addition of a solid-fuel second stage rocket.

The goal is to launch a 500kg payload to a distance of 2000km, covering the entire Southeast Asia region and parts of surrounding areas.

This "Soundwave-2" will not only be able to launch scientific instruments into near-space, but also lay the foundation for the weaponization of ballistic missiles.

Once the project is completed, Nanyang will be on the right track in rocket research.

Because the first phase went exceptionally smoothly, preliminary research for the second phase has now begun.

Breakthroughs have been achieved in miniaturizing the inertial guidance system, a key technical challenge.

Thanks to Nanyang's precipitous lead in the field of semiconductor transistors, they have even built a prototype of their guided computer.

The main challenges ahead lie in high-temperature resistant materials and two-stage separation technology.