Chapter 270: Exporting Steel, Assisting Pakistan

Jingcheng, 3:00 AM.

Inside an inconspicuous Siheyuan, Long Country was holding an emergency meeting.

When Li Mingyuan arrived in a hurry, the meeting had already been going on for two hours.

The room was filled with smoke, and everyone's expression was grave.

"Xiao Li is here, sit." A leader nodded at him, "The situation is not good."

Li Mingyuan glanced at the intelligence documents scattered on the table, and his heart sank.

"According to intelligence from Beijixiong Guo, Di Guo has begun to unite with its allies, preparing to implement a comprehensive 'resource blockade' against our country," Staff Officer Zhao of the intelligence department said, pointing at the map, "Especially for strategic materials like semiconductor materials and rare metals."

"Not only that," Minister Chen of the Wajiaobu added, "even the traditionally neutral 'big dog' is being pressured by Di Guo and is preparing to reduce oil supplies to our country."

A middle-aged man dressed in simple clothing knocked on the table,

"Worst of all, White Elephant Country has also begun to stir, provoking incidents on the southern border; it is clearly Di Guo manipulating things from behind the scenes."

Li Mingyuan felt his heart jump with fear as he listened.

He knew too well how terrifying it would be to have no supply of raw materials—all technological innovation would become a castle in the air.

Even the semiconductor plan he was currently pushing forward required a large amount of special material support.

"Comrades," he couldn't help but speak up,

"Di Guo's move is very vicious. On the surface, they sign a ceasefire agreement, but in secret, they are strangling us by the throat regarding resources. Their plan is very clear—even if they don't defeat us on the battlefield, they want to drag us down economically."

The room fell into silence. Everyone understood the severity of this crisis.

"However," Li Mingyuan suddenly changed his tone, his eyes brightening, "the enemy's move has actually given us an opportunity."

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"Di Guo wants to cut off our raw materials, but they have overlooked one point—we have our own advantageous resources, and they happen to be exactly what their allies urgently need."

"Be specific." The leader signaled for him to continue.

Li Mingyuan stood up and walked to the world map on the wall, "What do we have? We have steel!"

"Steel?" Several senior officials looked at each other.

"Yes, steel," Li Mingyuan said with full confidence,

"At the Northeast Factory, I have successfully tested an improved version of the Top-Bottom Combined Blowing Converter technology; the production capacity is over five times higher than the traditional Open-Hearth Furnace, yet the cost has been reduced by nearly forty percent."

He paused and looked around at everyone, "Simply put, we will soon possess the world's most advanced and lowest-cost steel production capacity. And steel is precisely the lifeblood of industrialization for many countries."

"You mean..." A general from the Military seemed to understand something.

"Exchange steel for resources!" Li Mingyuan said decisively,

"Although Beijixiong Guo has a solid industrial foundation, their steel production capacity and technology cannot keep up. Developing countries in the south are even more in urgent need of steel to support infrastructure construction. We can use low-priced, high-quality steel to exchange for their oil, rubber, rare metals, and other strategic resources."

The conference room was silent; everyone was digesting this bold concept.

"Interesting," the leader stroked his chin, "using our strengths to exchange for our weaknesses is indeed a new line of thinking."

"But," a comrade from the Ministry of Finance raised a question, "we also need a large amount of steel for our own construction; can we guarantee exports?"

Li Mingyuan was confident, "The production capacity of the Top-Bottom Combined Blowing Converter far exceeds our current demand. In fact, once it is fully put into production, we may very well face the problem of overcapacity. Using excess capacity to exchange for urgently needed resources is killing two birds with one stone."

"More importantly," he added, "this will break Di Guo's 'Resource Encirclement' plan and let those countries that originally wanted to follow Di Guo's lead see the practical benefits of cooperating with us. In the face of economic interests, the positions of many countries will loosen."

The leader pondered for a moment, "Xiao Li's idea is worth a try. However, how do we solve the problem with White Elephant Country? That is the throat of our southward supply route."

The corners of Li Mingyuan's mouth rose slightly, "I have a 'kill two birds with one stone' idea for dealing with White Elephant Country."

He pointed to the country neighboring White Elephant Country on the map—the small country of Pakistan, "Pakistan and White Elephant have a deep-seated feud; we can secretly support Pakistan and let them keep White Elephant in check. We don't need large-scale military intervention, just provide some weapons and training."

"In this way, White Elephant will have no energy to cause trouble on our border," Li Mingyuan added, "What's even better is that Pakistan also happens to be in urgent need of steel to develop its industry; we can prioritize exporting steel to them, forming a mutually beneficial situation."

The leader's eyes lit up, "This kid has so many clever ideas!" He turned to the others, "What do you all think?"

"Feasible."

"Worth a try."

"Creative."

Everyone expressed their support. The only dissenting voice came from Minister Chen of the Wajiaobu,

"Will doing this be too risky? If Di Guo discovers we are playing this game, they might become even more annoyed."

Li Mingyuan was unhurried, "Minister Chen's considerations are very thorough. But please think, what card is Di Guo playing now? Isn't it the economic card? We are also using economic means to counter; what position do they have to object? Could they declare internationally that 'Long Country is not allowed to sell steel'? Wouldn't that be a slap in their own face?"

Minister Chen was persuaded and nodded in agreement.

"Good, then it's settled," the leader made the final decision, "Xiao Li is responsible for the specific implementation of the steel export plan, the Military will cooperate with the support work for Pakistan, and the Wajiaobu will be responsible for communication and negotiations with Beijixiong Guo and other countries."

It was already 6:00 AM when the meeting ended, and the first rays of the Taiyang shone through the window into the room. Li Mingyuan stretched, feeling both excited and exhausted.

Walking out of the courtyard, a sedan had been waiting for a long time.

Li Yunlong was leaning against the car door with a cigarette in his mouth.

"How was it, did they buy it?" Li Yunlong asked.

"Unanimously passed," Li Mingyuan revealed a smile of Victory, "Get ready to launch the 'Steel Storm' plan."

Li Yunlong let out a whistle,

"I'm impressed by you; this brain of yours turns faster than a machine gun. But to be honest, using steel to exchange for oil and rare metals is a brilliant idea."

Li Mingyuan smiled and said nothing.

"By the way," Li Yunlong said with the cigarette in his mouth, pulling a telegram from his inner pocket,

"Frontline reconnaissance discovered that Di Guo is withdrawing a large amount of advanced equipment, including those 'Thor' rocket systems. It seems they really intend to stop for now."

Li Mingyuan took the telegram, read it carefully, and nodded, "They want to change the battlefield—from military confrontation to economic blockade. This has instead given us a chance to catch our breath."

He looked up at the rising Taiyang, "Who would have thought, Di Guo wanted to strangle us, but instead gave us a way out."

……

Three days later, a certain steel factory in Dongbei.