Munitions Empire

The engineer on the other side began to speak fluently, as if opening the floodgates, "The most terrifying thing is that while we've also invested in materials, we're still researching and experimenting, yet the other side has already produced second and even third generation mature products for sale on the market."

He had so many things he wanted to complain about, and taking advantage of this meeting, he spoke out unrestrainedly, "Without the corresponding performance materials, we can't develop and manufacture, let alone dare to imagine that a certain new type of equipment can be made. It's just like for the past few decades, we never believed that a large rolling mill could exist."

Such complaints were actually rare in the past, because Shireck's senior management didn't tolerate such shirking of responsibility by their subordinates.

In these senior managers' eyes, since they were paying their engineers and technicians astronomical salaries, the latter should solve the problems they were supposed to solve.

The usual method for dealing with such issues was basically to execute a few exemplary individuals and then have the remaining others desperately continue to develop technology.

However, as Sofia gradually assumed control within Shireck, such incidents became rare. On one hand, talent was indeed precious, and it was very painful to just dispose of it. On the other hand, Shireck's technology was no longer leading.

Compared to Great Tang Group's technological edge, it was obviously unrealistic to force their own R&D team to surpass Great Tang Group, as everyone knew that killing all of one's technological personnel might not be useful.

Therefore, Sofia began to stop this murderous practice and instead adopted milder means to win people's hearts, which indeed had some effects.

At least under her leadership, Shireck's R&D team had significantly expanded in size and had come up with many achievements, increasing efficiency many times over compared to before.

"Back then, everyone had seen rolling mills, but who dared to imagine that there would be such large and efficient rolling mills as today?" the engineer vented, no longer able to contain himself.

Speaking, he glanced at the silent colleagues around him and continued on his own, "The constraints on raw materials prevent us from designing more advanced machinery, and the lack of more advanced machinery, in turn, makes us passive in developing raw materials. It's a vicious cycle that puts us at a disadvantage everywhere."

Sofia didn't blame him because she knew that what the engineer was saying was true. At least in some areas, she also knew a thing or two; she was certainly aware of how frightening the technology of Great Tang Group was.

Inventing electricity, or rather, the generator was actually nothing special, but to almost simultaneously come up with generators and electrical wires, and to apply this set to the improvement of machinery drive systems, now that was truly frightening.

The more one understood technology, the more one could see how out of this world it was to come up with a complete and mature set of solutions all at once.

"But that's only the part where we're comprehensively behind and easiest to catch up on... What truly leaves us at a loss is Great Tang Group's development philosophy regarding new technologies!" The engineer spoke to this point with a tone of despair.

He thought he was an opponent, an enemy of Great Tang Group... but as he delved deeper into his research, he realized that he wasn't an opponent or enemy of Great Tang at all, just a student following in its footsteps, a follower.

And what made him despair was not that he was trying to catch up, but that he was merely watching Great Tang's figure disappear further into the distance.

This sense of powerlessness led to his breakdown, leaving him almost without the courage to continue following, "They always have new ideas that can change existing technologies, instantly updating some new technology! While we're still learning old technical parameters, they've already written technical parameters for the next generation of products."

"Enough! I know it's hard for you! But... hope always exists!" Sofia interrupted the man's speech to prevent him from sinking further into despair.

"My lord. It was just five months ago that we acquired the free-wheel production technology of Great Tang Group and began to fully replicate these superior performance transport ships..." another engineer took over the conversation.

He sighed, "But they've already launched a new kind of transport ship, replacing the free-wheel! So, we can only always follow behind them, step by step... in the end, we can't even keep up with their pace."

"Enough! Stop talking! Change what you're working on! Keep going! I'll obtain more new technology as soon as possible... Master these technologies!

Think of ways to innovate products that Great Tang Group doesn't have! That is your job! It is also your responsibility!" Sofia interrupted these people's reports, stood up, and left the room as if fleeing from reality.

Modern industry is an integral system, and any weakness in any area could potentially affect the overall industrial strength.

Never underestimate the huge impact of production capacity within the entire system, nor assume that having technology alone can readily awaken one's industrial system.

Be aware that a civilian factory producing fertilizer might also be an important facility for producing poison gas or chemical raw materials.

A factory making stockings can produce the outer nylon for artillery shell charges during war, and even the simplest clothing factory can undertake the production of military uniforms in wartime.

Without the production capacity of these factories, it would be very difficult to arm hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

The reality is that very few countries can suddenly increase the production of masks, let alone fighter jets...

Who would believe that a country, which ordinarily cannot produce shoes, hats, or masks, could prepare military uniforms for hundreds of thousands of people within a few days upon the outbreak of war? Are they to send conscripted soldiers into battle wearing jeans?

Similarly, how can the supply of ammunition charge be ensured after war erupts without the corresponding scale of chemical plants?

A tractor factory might no longer be able to transition to producing modern tanks during a war, yet this very factory can provide the military with tens of thousands of frontline fault diagnostic logistics personnel.

Never look down on such capability, as training these people from scratch could take so long that it might change the outcome of a war. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

With the development of modern technology, there will be more and more cases where the inability to produce A means B cannot be produced, resulting in CDEF also being unproducible. And that country skilled at producing F might not necessarily have the capacity to produce B, let alone A...

Rocket and space technology represents missile technology, optical technology is linked to imaging technology, and even culture and education are closely related to the military.

Sometimes, an innovation in welding technology relies on a breakthrough in the field of chemical gas preparation. This is as intriguing as the idea that ancient blacksmiths and alchemists should often work together.

Of course, it's not impossible for illiterate individuals in jeans, armed with machetes, to go into battle, but to forcefully say that a certain Dongying country possesses actual nuclear deterrence is purely a joke.

In a modern war where seconds and minutes count, boasting that a country can create nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles within three to five days is utterly foolish to the extreme.

Even the P5 countries with thousands of nuclear warheads still need to hide their nuclear missiles to increase their survivability. How can one expect a tiny nation, under the surveillance of countless satellites and bombardments from missiles and bombers, to erect a ballistic missile over a dozen meters long on an open field once war breaks out?

And then fantasize that the university's refining equipment, bigger than a building, would work undamaged for a few days, refining the concentrated material and transporting it to be assembled onto this missile?

By the time this whole manufacturing, assembling, and launching process is completed, the radiation levels in Dongying's capital would have decreased to a level safe for entry without protection... No lies, really.

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My health hasn't been good, I've lost several pounds in the last two days... My apologies for the poor writing, please bear with it. Publishing this chapter is simply to prove that Dragon Spirit isn't dead... still alive...