Chapter 262: 【Stunned by Drones】(4k)

However, the data on the Republic here was much scarcer compared to that of the American Federation and the Soviet Federation.

The viewers in the livestream were somewhat confused.

Yu Feng then spoke up to provide the answer: "At this stage, the Republic was still developing steadily."

"The progress could be called rapid."

"Why do I say that?"

"You'll understand after I finish explaining in a moment."

"First, let's continue from last time: didn't the Republic send thousands of students abroad in 1980 to learn new technologies?"

"Then came 1981."

"In this year."

"The Republic's own technology also saw a major breakthrough."

"The DF-5 intercontinental missile (with a range of 12,000 km) officially entered service, with a strike range covering the American Federation's mainland."

"Its international status improved significantly."

"At the same time."

"The Republic also faced major socio-economic problems domestically."

"It also initiated reforms."

"That makes sense, too."

"With the American Federation in an economic crisis and the Soviet Federation in an economic crisis, the Republic was bound to be affected; this was a problem of the broader environment."

"If the leaders are in an economic crisis, how could the countries and federations below them not be affected?"

"Fortunately, the Republic during this period was able to adjust itself to the impact, unlike those countries in Eastern or Western Europe that were completely dependent on the two superpowers and thus in trouble."

"Their trouble was that if the Soviet Federation and the American Federation didn't intervene, they had no ability to solve it themselves."

"But the Republic, having detached itself from the influence of the two superpowers, was able to slowly adjust on its own."

"It was also because the Republic only focused on developing itself and did not get dragged into the quagmire of war."

"Otherwise, with external factors at play, it wouldn't have been so easy."

"Just like the Soviet Federation; although they tried their best to save themselves, they couldn't withstand the American Federation supporting various countries in Eastern Europe, providing funds, and secretly funneling money into the Afghanistan Federation to cause trouble."

Yu Feng looked at the data and continued: "Then came 1982."

"In this year."

"The Republic's total grain output broke records again."

"It increased by nearly 40% compared to the total grain output in 1978."

"This could be considered a huge breakthrough."

"Then there was the foreign policy proposed by the Republic, which still prioritized independence and self-reliance."

"Not relying on any major power."

"Avoiding the formation of dependency."

"What the Republic firmly believed in was that to forge iron, one must be strong oneself."

"Otherwise, once there is excessive reliance."

"If a superpower imposes sanctions one day, wouldn't one be left without the power to fight back?"

In reality.

This strategy was also seen as extremely brilliant by the Blue Star netizens.

Why?

Because once you rely on a superpower and form a habit, if that superpower targets you one day, you won't even have time to react.

Just like the Soviet Federation relying on grain imports.

When the American Federation imposed sanctions, the Soviet Federation was instantly dumbfounded; no one would sell them grain, and even if a few did, they demanded gold."

The Soviet Federation's ruble became waste paper.

Either trade gold for grain, or trade technology or materials for grain.

This caused the Soviet Federation, which had become accustomed to relying on imported grain, to suffer a huge loss.

But there was no other way.

They could only trade gold for grain first.

This led to the Soviet Federation's gold reserves being almost completely emptied.

Even with this, the food crisis has not been resolved.

Therefore, while focusing on its own development, the Republic also paid attention to grain production, which hit new highs year after year.

After all, if the American Federation could use grain to sanction the Soviet Federation today.

Might they not use grain to sanction the Republic one day in the future?

One cannot wait until the problem is right in front of them to find a solution.

Shake off all reliance on superpowers and develop oneself as much as possible.

Otherwise, it would be like the Soviet Federation or the various European countries under its command.

A single hair pulled affects the whole body.

The Eastern European countries relied on the Soviet Federation, which had fallen into an economic and grain crisis, and because the satellite states below were inextricably linked to the Soviet Federation, the impact was even worse.

The Soviet Federation hadn't even fallen into chaos yet.

The Eastern European countries had already started to fall into chaos first.

Things that major powers can withstand, small countries might not be able to.

So, after seeing this point clearly.

The Republic tried its best to become independent.

Yu Feng continued: "Then came 1983."

"In this year."

"The Republic's technology saw another breakthrough."

"The Galaxy-1 supercomputer was successfully developed in Changsha."

"It also became the third country after the American Federation and Japan capable of independently designing and manufacturing supercomputers."

"In the same year."

"The Republic reached a military cooperation agreement with the American Federation."

"Acquiring technical data for military equipment such as anti-tank missiles and armed helicopters."

Yu Feng said: "Then came 1984."

"In this year."

"The Republic signed a 'Joint Declaration' with the British Commonwealth."

"Confirming the return of Hong Kong."

"This news caused many foreign enterprises to turn their eyes toward the Republic."

"At the same time."

"This year, the Republic initiated urban reforms, and simultaneously opened 14 coastal cities to foreign investment, attracting many foreign enterprises to set up factories in the Republic."

"The Republic's market became even more prosperous."

Yu Feng flipped through the data.

The Republic's development over these few years was indeed too dull compared to the infighting between the American Federation and the Soviet Federation.

It truly was a case of ignoring affairs outside the window.

Yu Feng looked at the last bit of data and said: "Then came 1985."

"In this year."

"The Republic began to reform its military."

"It cut 1 million troops and shifted the direction of building a strong military toward a technology-driven one."

"Thus."

"The development over these five years also comes to an end."

"Let's review."

"In these five years, the Soviet Federation's policies were rigid and stagnant, constantly going downhill, but a new leader took office this year; we will discuss what specific changes that might bring in the next episode."

"As for the American Federation, in these few years, it revitalized hegemony, adopted tough measures, attacked on multiple fronts, and shifted internal problems onto its allies and opponents, thereby achieving its own economic recovery."

"To be honest, this method... is quite unscrupulous."

"Because it not only screwed over the enemies but also the allies, yet they had no other choice."

"The only one capable of contending with the American Federation, the Soviet Federation, was now struggling to save itself, and the other federations or countries in the American Federation's camp were simply no match for the American Federation, so even if the American Federation shifted its problems onto them."

"They had to grit their teeth and accept it, because they couldn't refuse."

"After all, they couldn't beat the American Federation either."

"As for the Republic, it underwent strategic transformation, internal reform, and market opening."

"Not only did it attract a lot of foreign investment, but it also shifted toward independence and self-reliance in diplomacy, not allying with any major power, which won a lot of strategic space for its own development."

"This move was quite brilliant."

Looking at it from a global perspective.

"The Republic at this time had no way to deal with the Soviet Federation, nor did it have a way to deal with the American Federation."

"Because the scale of these two superpowers was larger than that of the Republic."

"But because of previous events, after the Republic split from the Soviet Federation, it became a separate force."

"The current Republic is in a position where the Soviets want to win it over, but because of the connection between the American Federation and the Republic, they are very conflicted; they want to win it over, but they are also afraid of the Republic and the American Federation joining forces."

"They can only maintain an attitude of indifference."

"And the American Federation is the same; the previous combination of the Soviet Federation + the Republic made the American Federation suffer greatly during the Peninsula War and the Vietnam War."

"So after the Republic and the Soviet Federation split, the American Federation took the initiative to contact the Republic and win it over."

"But likewise."

"Because the Republic's original connection with the Soviet Federation was too tight, the American Federation didn't dare to let its guard down even when communicating with the Republic, but the Republic never expressed a stance on which side to take."

"The American Federation was happy with that and simply left it as is."

"Especially after the Republic shouted the slogan of independence and self-reliance, not allying with any major power."

"The American Federation felt even more at ease."

"As long as the Republic doesn't ally with the Soviet Federation, then everything is fine."

"So the two of them fought each other, and no one bothered the Republic, because compared to the Republic, the other side was the mortal enemy."

"This also brought development space for the Republic."

The Blue Star netizens in the livestream were also quite emotional when they saw this.

It really wasn't easy.

From the founding of the Republic until now.

Caught in the middle of both sides.

Not only was it harassed by the Soviet Federation, but it was also isolated by the American Federation leading its entire camp, and now it has finally emerged."

The discussion in the livestream was heated.

Even more so in the forum.

Especially now that the Republic has finally embarked on the path of independence and self-reliance, many Blue Star netizens sighed at how difficult it was.

They had followed the plot and grown up with the Republic step by step.

From the beginning of the founding, when everything was waiting to be done, yet it was forced to start the Peninsula War, paying a huge national sacrifice to achieve victory, with no lack of help from the Soviet Federation."

But the cause of the Peninsula War was also the hegemony struggle between the American Federation and the Soviet Federation."

And after the American Federation lost the Peninsula War, it began to fully blockade the Republic, leading the entire American Federation camp to isolate the Republic."

The Republic could only "lean to one side" to gain time for development."

Until the 1960s.

The international situation changed suddenly; due to some issues, the alliance with the Soviet Federation became nominal, and the Soviet Federation tore up contracts and withdrew a large number of aid experts."

The Republic personally felt that it was better to rely on oneself than on others."

At the same time.

The relationship with the American Federation during this period remained tense, falling into a difficult situation where both sides were throwing punches."

But the Republic faced nuclear threats from both sides in turn."

And gritted its teeth to survive."

Until the 1970s, when the American Federation was mired in the Vietnam Federation quagmire and kept having bad luck, realizing it was unable to deal with the Soviet Federation alone, it sought diplomacy with the Republic."

Only then did the two sides ease up."

Now it's the 1980s."

The Soviet Federation, whose strategic expansion had reached its peak, was also like the American Federation in the 1970s, mired in a war quagmire."

And watching the Soviet Federation being choked by the throat."

Also made the Republic instantly alert that one should never rely on outsiders at any time."

Whatever it is, it's best to have it yourself."

Even if it's a little worse."

It's still better than being choked by an opponent."

The Republic woke up in time and turned to the path of independence and self-reliance."

Just so that one day in the future, it wouldn't be choked by the American Federation."

At the same time, after surviving in the cracks for these years, the Republic finally walked out a path unique to itself."

And for the situation on Earth until 1991."

The Blue Star players were even more curious."

Because this is the final countdown for the Soviet Federation."

Recalling when they first entered the game, choosing the Soviet Federation camp to fight against the Empire."

No one expected today's plot."

At that time, no one could have imagined that the Empire would be destroyed, nor did anyone think that the Soviet Federation would become such a behemoth, and even less did they expect the American Federation that appeared later to be so outrageous."

The discussion in the game continued."

On the other side."

Daxia Federation, 7th Special Operations Brigade."

In the conference room."

Chief of Staff Qu Guang, along with the others, frowned as they watched Mobile Corps Commander Shen Yan and the soldiers under his command who were currently training."

At this moment."

In the plot."

The team led by Shen Yan was on a plain with only sparse woods, mostly fields; the view here was wide, and Shen Yan was speeding on a motorcycle."

The feeling of the engine roaring was something no man could refuse."

Especially with Blue Star being so rich in energy."

The vehicles developed there had long since lost the sound of engine roaring, so many Blue Star players were fascinated to varying degrees by the cars, motorcycles, armored tanks, etc., inside "Earth"."

Shen Yan was the same."

But now... Shen Yan was in no mood to immerse himself in the engine's roar."

Shen Yan, driving the motorcycle, was speeding on the muddy road in the fields."

Behind him was a basic and sharp whistling sound."

The magazine of the rifle on his back was empty, the pistol in his hand was also empty, and the sound in his ears was getting closer; Shen Yan couldn't help but look back and cursed under his breath: "Damn it!!!"

He threw the pistol with the empty magazine backward."

But it didn't hit the drone chasing from the sky."

The whistling sound got closer and closer."

Just a second before the rapid dive, feeling it was about to hit, Shen Yan jumped off the motorcycle, and the drone in the sky also dived and crashed into the motorcycle."

Boom—!!!"

A violent explosion rose, and Shen Yan, who rolled out, could only protect his head."

Feeling the heat wave coming."

Until he fell into a mud pit by the road and stopped."

Shen Yan shook his head and stood up with difficulty, somewhat swaying."

Looking at the motorcycle wreckage burning into a ball of fire in the distance, he was also suspicious and uneasy."

Damn it."

War makes people progress."

But this progress is too fast."

When fighting before, it was still normal, and even in the war of attrition in [Bakhmut], it was still acceptable."

But I don't know when it started."

I started not seeing the enemy troops on the opposite side."

Instead, drones were always flying in from the sky, bombing them so miserably."

Damn it."

How come they don't have drones here?"

Did Zhao Ming forget to arrange it?"

In fact, not only were they bombed, but the soldiers of the other six major federations were also bombed miserably by drones."

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