Chapter 286

Missiles come in many types.

There are highly precise guided missiles; that missile, as of now, the Great Zhou Dynasty still cannot make it.

That kind of thing requires many, many complex components.

Computers, crystal cores, and such.

Another type is the ballistic missile.

Ballistic missiles are much simpler than guided missiles; of course, this 'simple' is only relative when comparing the two.

On Earth, during WWII, there was a German-made V2 ballistic missile.

What is a ballistic missile? Simply put, it can only hit fixed targets.

Guided missiles are simple, as the name suggests: they hit wherever they are pointed.

These two types of missiles do not have a relationship where one is advanced and the other is not, or where one replaces the other.

Because on Earth, both types of missiles exist simultaneously.

For example, nuclear weapons—such as the Minuteman, White Poplar, and Dongfeng missiles—are all ballistic missiles.

To attack a fixed target, they first launch, fly through the atmosphere, then come down.

The range of ballistic missiles is very great, roughly 1,000 to 10,000 kilometers.

Of course, I've heard that the Flower-planting Home has apparently developed ballistic missiles with ranges of 12,000 kilometers, even 15,000 kilometers.

Lu Yuan himself isn't entirely clear on this, because before his transmigration, he wasn't a hardcore military enthusiast.

But anyway, that's roughly the idea.

Guided missiles are for precise strikes, very famous—for example, the Tomahawk cruise missile, which corrects its trajectory mid-flight based on GPS and such.

The error is very small, even as low as ten meters, which is less than the error of throwing a grenade, truly enabling taking an enemy commander's head from beyond a kilometer.

As of now, the Great Zhou Dynasty still doesn't need guided missiles; it mainly wants to unleash the power of guided missiles, which requires various supporting components.

The Great Zhou Dynasty lacks those things.

It simply cannot bring out that power.

Therefore, it can only research ballistic missiles.

Speaking of ballistic missiles, they are generally paired with nuclear warheads.

Because this thing, the error is truly huge.

So large it can be called outrageous.

You say you want to bomb Seoul, but it might end up flying to Tokyo.

Of course, that's a bit exaggerated, but the point is just that—get the idea.

In any case, ballistic missiles need tremendous destructive power.

After all, you say you painstakingly send a ballistic missile into the atmosphere, it flies, flies, flies, flies for eight or nine thousand kilometers, and the result is just blowing up someone's building?

You might intend to blast the city center, but end up hitting the suburbs.

You might not even blow a hair, instead creating a big pit that saves someone the trouble of digging a reservoir next year.

Who would you complain to about this thing?

But the Great Zhou Dynasty currently has no nuclear weapons; at most, it's just the high explosive recently developed by Qingbei.

It's also not useful.

So…… now, Lu Yuan is undertaking a very big project.

That is, Lu Yuan is wondering whether he can unleash the power of spirit stones.

By generating spiritual energy from spirit stones, adding it to the original explosion, and then creating a cultivation-world nuclear weapon.

This is Lu Yuan's first attempt; if it succeeds, it will be huge.

Later, after slowly discovering nuclear fission, and then using nuclear fission to split spiritual energy, that would be a true nuclear weapon—accurately speaking, called a spirit weapon.

Of course, this idea is a bit far-off; for now, we must first solve the ballistic missile problem.

Don't think ballistic missiles are simple—just set up a launcher, aim, and a powerful thrust sends it upward.

But the engine and propeller are also a big hassle.

Even if the Flower-planting Home's aircraft engines are upgraded to the latest WS-15, they're still somewhat inadequate.

Engines and propellers have troubled the Flower-planting Home for a long time.

However, Lu Yuan has the《Artisan's Heart》, which contains this kind of thing.

Lu Yuan is now leading the people of Qingbei to work on this.

If this is developed, it won't just be able to produce missile propulsion; by analogy, it can lead to many other things.

For example, current aircraft could change from propellers to jet engines,

These days, Lu Yuan and his team have been working on this underground every day.

This doesn't have to be done underground; it could be done in the mountains, but movies on Earth always portray it that way.

It feels like secretly working on such a big invention underground—that's got style.

So Lu Yuan had the Ministry of Works dig pits and holes.

Furthermore, future ballistic missiles would also need to be hidden underground or in the mountains.

As for big weapons, although there are no satellites here, there will be cultivators.

These people wander around in the sky; they might just spot it.

Principal, look, basic debugging is already done, in three days we can conduct the first test firing, where should we set our target?

A middle-aged man in his thirties, excited and respectful, held up a large drawing and said.

Lu Yuan blinked, that fast?

Lu Yuan thought it would still take another half a month, after coming to his senses, he immediately said:

Sakhalin Island.

The ballistic missile being researched this time doesn't have a very long range—about a thousand kilometers.

Looking around, the only place we can fire toward to the east is Sakhalin Island.

After all, only a short stretch of the direction from here to Sakhalin Island lies within Great Zhou territory, and that short stretch is all in the mountains.

If it fails and falls, it won't hit our own people.

The remaining distance is inside Rakshasa territory, uh...

More accurately, it's also within the Great Zhou Dynasty's territory.

Because the coastal outlet there is now Great Zhou Dynasty land; it's absolutely impossible to give it back.

However, the people living there now are still from the Rakshasa Dynasty, so it's not a big problem.

We'll just fire in that direction.

As for Sakhalin Island... there are no civilians there.

That's where the Rakshasa Dynasty's Linghai Fleet is stationed; back then, its purpose was to bully the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Back when the Great Zhou Dynasty was weak, the Rakshasa Dynasty kept demanding this and that.

If we didn't comply, the Rakshasa Dynasty's fleet would sail south from Sakhalin Island all the way.

Several times they charged straight for Haijin.

What lies behind Haijin?

It's the imperial capital.

The threatening meaning needs no further explanation.

This time, we'll bomb his Sakhalin Island.

Now Sakhalin Island is full of the Linghai Fleet's ship guns.

When the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Rakshasa imperial capital suddenly went to war, logically the Linghai Fleet should have been deployed.

But it couldn't be deployed.

The reason is that the Great Zhou Dynasty now has aircraft.

It's like herding sheep: as soon as the Linghai Fleet tries to come out, a few aircraft appear and start wildly firing their heavy machine guns from the sky.

And the Linghai Fleet has no way to deal with the Great Zhou Dynasty's aircraft; they can only hole up on Sakhalin Island.

From the start until now, it's been almost a month and a half, and during this time Sakhalin Island has been completely blockaded by the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Nothing can get in, nothing can get out.

As for...

The battle has been going on for almost a month and a half; what has the Rakshasa Dynasty's response been?

Um...

As of now...

No reaction!

Not a bit of reaction.

This is normal; mainly, the Rakshasa Empire is really too big.

The Rakshasa Dynasty has neither trains nor aircraft.

For the Rakshasa Dynasty to get news from its easternmost point to its western capital, even with express horseback riding, it would take ten days to half a month after it arrives there.

Lu Yuan estimates that the Rakshasa Dynasty might only learn of the situation in these few days.

He guesses the Rakshasa Dynasty people are stunned.

After all, a few years ago the Great Zhou Dynasty was nearly finished off by the Gilded Dynasty.

The iron cavalry were already at the city gates; if not for relying on Mount Xiaoqing, even if the Great Zhou Dynasty wasn't destroyed, it would have only been able to retreat south and hunker down.

As a result, well, now the Great Zhou Dynasty is dealing with both at once.

Anyone who heard this would find it hard to believe.

After the Rakshasa Dynasty learns of this news, then hastily makes preparations, and waits for orders to come down, I estimate it will take another month and a half.

During that month and a half, Gu Lie's side will definitely have already finished.

By then, it will be a diplomatic matter—sitting down at the negotiating table and such.

Lu Yuan doesn't really understand this kind of thing, but he believes that whether it's his wife or the cabinet, they'll handle it well and maximize benefits.

After this war, Lu Yuan is also completely at ease with his own creation and with Gu Lie.

Sometimes these days, when the military reports are delivered each day, Lu Yuan just glances at them casually, not examining them closely.

It's not a big problem.

After Lu Yuan finished saying the name Sakhalin Island, the Qingbei people also began preparing to calculate the range, waiting for all sorts of miscellaneous things.

Lu Yuan isn't idle either.

For the Great Zhou Dynasty, the ballistic missile is absolutely a milestone.

It's absolutely something that can stand shoulder to shoulder with the steam engine and internal combustion engine.

Moreover, this is truly a great national weapon!

Possessing ballistic missiles gives the Great Zhou Dynasty the capital to stand up to all the great dynasties.

Um...

No... saying 'capital' is a bit over the top.

But at the very least, the Great Zhou Dynasty will definitely not be bullied by other dynasties.

No matter whether that dynasty is a high-level one or some top-tier one.

From now on, the Great Zhou Dynasty will speak with absolute confidence!

After all, you dare to mess with me?

Huh?

You dare to mess with me?

You try to mess with me!

If you mess with me, I'll go all in, launch all my ballistic missiles, and we'll both be done.

When the time comes, the Great Zhou Dynasty's missile silos will fire, and at a single command, one thousand, ten thousand, even hundreds of thousands of spirit-energy-equipped ballistic missiles will launch simultaneously from all angles.

Even if a top-tier dynasty has cultivators, so what? Can you protect this place? Can you really protect this place?!

The Great Zhou Dynasty's grand stage—if you're brave, come!

The Great Zhou Dynasty's ballistic missile is basically the same in strategic significance as Earth's nuclear weapons.

Anyway, don't provoke me—I definitely won't lose; worst case, I'll drag you down with me, and today none of us will live.

As for when the Great Zhou Dynasty can go out and truly have the capital to speak with top-tier dynasties, that will require star-eradicating ships and the like.

Even without star-eradicating ships, we'd still need seven or eight aircraft carrier fleets.

The borders must be equipped with radar that can detect spiritual energy and anti-air homing missiles that can intercept enemy attacks.

Anyway, as long as others can't break in, then the Great Zhou Dynasty is truly strong.

When that time comes, the Great Zhou Dynasty will no longer be a low-tier dynasty; it will absolutely be a top-tier dynasty.

A top-tier dynasty whose entire territory consists of mortals, relying solely on mortal strength, not on cultivation sects.

Just thinking about it is exciting.

Of course, that's still far off.

For now, don't dwell on such distant matters; just say that this ballistic missile has appeared.

Three days later, the test launch—if it succeeds……

Lu Yuan pondered……

Hmm, don't talk about this yet.

Just making one or two is useless; we need to make a lot.

Moreover, as of now, the range is only one thousand kilometers—too close; no one can hit anything.

Range isn't something you can improve in a day or two.

Take China, for example: from one thousand to two thousand kilometers, from two thousand to four thousand, then from four thousand to eight thousand, to ten thousand, and to twelve thousand.

Countless top researchers have spent decades on it!

Even if Lu Yuan has a cheat, it would still take several years.

Since the range doesn't meet the requirement, just move the position forward.

What did Old Li say, again?

Zhuzi, advance two hundred meters—can your mortar reach the little devils' command post?

So Lu Yuan pondered, digging several more pits on the Great Zhou Dynasty's northwest border.

Dig three hundred, five hundred of them.

If we're digging on the northwest border, then we also need to dig on the southeast side.

We need to guard against the Jingpu Dynasty, right?

If we're digging on the southeast border……

Then the southwest also needs to be dug.

Past a very high mountain in the southwest, I hear there's a super fertile plain of land behind it!

Lu Yuan is a bit hungry.

That super plain is great—unlike the Rakshasa Dynasty, it's not all frozen soil where nothing can grow.

That plain can grow anything—conditions are too favorable.

Especially, it's surrounded by sea on three sides.

Great Triangle.

If we later set up a naval base at the head of the Great Triangle, that vast sea area could be controlled by the Great Zhou Dynasty.

That's really settled.

What will the Great Zhou Dynasty be like then?

Just thinking about that plain makes Lu Yuan's mouth water.

Of course, that's a long‑term matter… Hmm… maybe not that long, because once we finish fighting the Rakshasa Dynasty and tidy up the Jiaonan Dynasty, the Great Zhou Dynasty's next step is to start building an invincible fleet.

Perhaps in three years, the Great Zhou Dynasty's fleet will start making dumplings.

……

Three days later, with an explosion on Sakhalin Island, it stirred up towering waves.

In the missile test base far away, cheers erupted.

Just received the news from the two observation ships near Sakhalin Island via radio.

Success!

Naturally, this ballistic missile also needs a name.

Generally, the name of such a big killer isn't very arrogant.

Like Earth's East Wind, White Poplar, militia and such—just hearing the name doesn't make you think this weapon is that powerful.

Perhaps, when naming the weapon, the scientist also considered that a humble name is easier to live with?

Just like in this novel, someone named Long Aotian usually doesn't survive past two chapters.

For the Great Zhou Dynasty's ballistic missile, Lu Yuan also didn't plan to give it a very domineering name.

He pondered and pondered.

Lu Yuan gave this model of ballistic missile a rather interesting name.

Sword Comes★—001.

(End of chapter)