Chapter 289: No More Acting, It's a Showdown

"Is it powerful?" Lao Zhou's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"With previous tanks, at a range of 2000 meters, the probability of hitting a moving target was less than 30%," Li Mingyuan explained.

"After installing the 'Longxin' Fire Control System, the hit rate can be increased to over 85% under the same conditions."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Lao Zhou clicked his tongue, "Then wouldn't the enemy's tanks just become targets?"

Li Mingyuan smiled: "That's pretty much the idea. Combined with improved shells, our tanks will hold an overwhelming advantage."

Walking out of the workshop, Li Mingyuan drove to another factory.

Along the way, he saw countless trucks fully loaded with weapon parts shuttling between factory areas, and the busy figures of workers moving in and out of various workshops.

The entire military industrial base had entered a wartime state, with all production lines running at full speed.

Half an hour later, Li Mingyuan arrived at the Rocket Academy.

A new batch of "Dragon Fire-2" guided Rocket Shells was being assembled here, with performance even more advanced than the previous generation.

"Chief Engineer Li, you've come at just the right time!" Professor Zhang, the Deputy Dean of the Rocket Academy, greeted him excitedly.

"We just finished the first round of testing for 'Dragon Fire-2', and the results are quite good!"

He handed Li Mingyuan a data report: "The improved Integrated Circuit Guidance System is working stably, with hit accuracy increased by 15% and maximum range increased by 20%. The only drawback is that the weight has increased a bit, but it doesn't have much impact."

Li Mingyuan flipped through the report, his eyes lighting up: "Good! This is even better than I expected. Professor Zhang, you all did a fantastic job!"

Professor Zhang felt a bit embarrassed: "This was all done according to your design plan; we were just responsible for the specific implementation. But to be honest, when we first saw your blueprints, we all doubted if it was too advanced. I didn't expect..."

Li Mingyuan smiled: "That's how technology is; someone always has to dare to break the mold and try new ideas."

After visiting the Rocket Academy, Li Mingyuan rushed to the Armored Research Institute without stopping. There, he guided the technical staff to install the Integrated Circuit Control System onto the new armored vehicles and personally conducted the debugging.

It wasn't until late at night that he returned to his office, exhausted but fulfilled.

Lao Liu walked in with hot tea: "Chief Engineer Li, drink some tea to warm yourself up. How many factories did you run to today?"

"Five." Li Mingyuan took the tea and took a light sip, "Production capacity has kept up, but the research and development progress is still a bit slow. The application fields for Integrated Circuits are too broad, and we don't have enough technical personnel."

Lao Liu sat to the side: "In my opinion, you are too anxious. We just won a great Victory, and the enemy won't be able to recover for a while, so what's the rush?"

Li Mingyuan put down his teacup, his expression turning serious:

"Lao Liu, you don't understand the enemy's strength. We won beautifully this time, but that was only because we mastered technology they didn't understand, catching them off guard. Di Guo's industrial foundation is much stronger than ours; once they seriously study Integrated Circuits, their speed of progress will be very fast. We must seize this window of opportunity to expand our lead as much as possible."

Lao Liu looked thoughtful: "Are you saying this is an arms race?"

"Not just an arms race, but a technology race." Li Mingyuan stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the night outside, "Whoever can master and apply Integrated Circuit Technology faster will be able to take the initiative in the future."

He turned around, his eyes flashing with a firm light: "The victory at the front line this time proves that our direction is correct. But without 'Longxin', without the Integrated Circuit Control System, the consequences of facing the enemy's rocket bombardment would be unimaginable."

Lao Liu thought for a moment and couldn't help but shiver: "Yeah, how many people would have died..."

"So we cannot have the slightest slack." Li Mingyuan's tone became even more resolute, "Next, we must accelerate the development of 'Longxin-3' to further improve integration and computing power. At the same time, we must expand the application scope of Integrated Circuits, not just to weapon systems, but also to industrial production, scientific research, and even civilian fields."

Lao Liu was a bit confused: "Civilian? Can this stuff be used for civilian purposes too?"

Li Mingyuan smiled slightly:

"Of course. Imagine if every factory had a small Computer that could automatically control production processes, improve efficiency, and reduce waste; if hospitals had Advanced electronic testing equipment that could diagnose diseases more accurately; if... forget it, these might be a bit too advanced, but they will definitely be realized in the future."

Lao Liu nodded, half-believing.

After sending Lao Liu away, Li Mingyuan sat alone at his desk, lost in thought.

He opened his notebook and began to plan the next technical roadmap.

Integrated Circuits are just the beginning; in the future, there will be semiconductor materials, computer architecture, programming languages, operating systems... a series of technical barriers that need to be broken one by one.

"Time waits for no one..." he whispered to himself, the pen in his hand constantly sketching the blueprint for the future on the paper.

……

One week later, at the Presidential Palace of Di Guo, an emergency meeting was underway.

President Peyton looked gloomy and slapped the table, making the water glass shake.

"Enough! I don't want to hear any more euphemisms. You've all seen the recent intelligence analysis, right? This 'Integrated Circuit' technology of Long Country is definitely not an accidental breakthrough!"

Defense Minister Roberts wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Mr. President, according to our intelligence network, this technology indeed started with that engineer named Li Mingyuan. He appeared out of thin air and pushed for dozens of major technical breakthroughs in just one year..."

"According to insider intelligence," Intelligence Director Harris added,

"Long Country has already begun mass production of these 'Integrated Circuits' and is applying them to various weapon systems. It's not just that damn 'Steel Umbrella' Anti-aircraft System; now their tanks, rocket launchers, and even aircraft are undergoing electronic upgrades."

Vice Commander Wilkes sneered,

"We used to impose technical blockades on them, and they were like headless flies bumping around. Now, they've actually developed technology even more advanced than ours."

"This cannot go on!" Peyton stood up and looked around at every high-ranking official in the room,

"The speed of Long Country's technological development has far exceeded our expectations. If we let them continue to develop, within five years, our technological advantage will cease to exist."

Secretary of State Allen raised a question: "Can we use diplomatic means to demand they share this technology?"

"Are you joking?" the Pentagon Chief of Staff responded sharply, "They just used this technology to catch us off guard, and now you want them to share it?"

Peyton took a deep breath, "No more acting, it's a showdown! I have decided to impose the highest level of technology and raw material embargo on Long Country. Cut off all their possible channels for acquiring technology and sever all trade that could support their industrial development."

"This will put tremendous pressure on our allies," the economic advisor said worriedly, "Many countries have a large amount of trade with Long Country."

"Then make them choose a side!" Peyton roared, "Either stand with us or be treated as an enemy. Tell the oil-rich nations and the Kangaroo Country that they must immediately follow our policy, otherwise we will reconsider our alliance relationship with them."