In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 238 states that a stabilized fire control system is the only one that meets the national conditions and the needs of the armed forces!

Are you sure you're serious?

After reading the list, Li Rui gasped.

This list is truly appalling.

If he hadn't also wanted to establish a tank-related major at the university and pick up the WZ-122 tank project to continue his research, he wouldn't have known much about domestic tank experts.

The list provided by Xie Wei made Li Rui, who knew the situation, gasp in shock.

"If we hadn't taken it seriously, things wouldn't have come to this. 8000 million dollars isn't so easy to get. With the current technological achievements of the WZ-122 project, we shouldn't even be counting on it... If I hadn't made preparations beforehand, we wouldn't have been able to entice Pakistan at all!"

Xie Wei remained calm.

He also knew that his list was a bit excessive; it included the country's top experts in various fields of tank engineering.
Chief Engineer: Zhu Yusheng
Protective Armor: Cao Hequan
Automation: Zang Kemao

Chassis...

The three people mentioned earlier are all core members of their respective research institutes.

Li Rui never expected that Xie Wei's plan involved only one person in charge of a single system.

If the school hadn't always wanted to leverage the technological achievements of the WZ-122 tank project to continue researching more advanced tanks and thereby enhance the school's technological level in the military industry, Li Rui wouldn't have known about these people.

"Putting aside other things, take Zhu Yusheng for example. Although he has retired, before that, he was the deputy director of the Weapon Science Research Institute of the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry, in charge of scientific research..."

Li Rui took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch someone, and told Xie Wei seriously.

At the same time, he was also a little surprised: it seems that this kid has been busy all the time. Although he has always opposed increasing projects such as tanks, he is still very familiar with experts in China who are researching related technologies.

"Yes, is there a problem? Is Professor Zhu still at Institute 201?"

Given her age, she is retired.

These days, leaders in various fields in China can't just retire and go home to take care of their grandchildren and enjoy their old age.

When a country is lagging behind, no one is willing to give up their research work.

"Yes. It's because he was at Institute 201, where he was in charge of the research and development of core tank technologies... How did the school persuade them to put aside their current work and become instructors at the school?"

Li Rui looked at Xie Wei with a bitter face; this kid was really making things difficult for him.

None of the people we need are easy to invite.

Key units won't release people.

"Serving as an instructor is only one aspect; the core is to accumulate technology and experience for the development of our country's third-generation tanks!"

Xie Wei emphasized, "Besides, we have a sufficient budget of 8000 million dollars! Do 617 and 201 have that much funding for their new tank technology projects?"

"..."

Li Rui rolled his eyes at Xie Wei, not even wanting to refute Xie Wei's words: it was just a memorandum signed, nothing was even close to being finalized, and Pakistan wasn't exactly a wealthy country.

Xie Wei's attitude made it seem as if the deal had already been struck and the Pakistani military's money had been secured.

"There are no objections from above regarding the collaborative project, right?"

Seeing that Li Rui remained silent, Xie Wei asked.

The superiors naturally did not object, and were even happy to see it happen.

The $8000 million research and development budget is equivalent to 1.2 million RMB, and even more RMB could be converted as the domestic economy develops and exchange rates fluctuate.

Even with some savings, a decent tank can still be developed.

If we develop advanced technologies, wouldn't it be easier to develop even more advanced tanks domestically based on these technologies?
"Therefore, there are no objections from above. As long as we can persuade them, the university can assemble the most prestigious third-generation tank research team in the country..."

"The question is, how do we convince them?"

Li Rui looked at Xie Wei speechlessly; this kid was really underhanded.

Knowing full well that persuading people is difficult, there are still so many, and I have to persuade them one by one, while also convincing their employers to release them. It's clearly a difficult task for me.

Xie Wei knew Li Rui's predicament, so he didn't waste any words and directly took out a stack of papers from his black briefcase.

Li Rui took it and stared at it, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Design principles of bottom-mounted image-stabilized fire control systems?"

"The basic principles of explosive reactive armor?"

"Armored vehicle computer applications..."

The more Li Rui looked, the wider his eyes widened, staring at Xie Wei with disbelief. "Where did you get this?"

"Using a four-bar linkage to swing the scope back and forth, and requiring minimal electronic equipment, is a project that Professor Zhu himself researched. It's worth paying attention to and learning more about it..."

Xie Wei presented the reason he had prepared long ago.

When General Zhu first proposed this design, it was not well received by the research institute and the military. In order to meet the development needs of the troops, the Type 79 main battle tank, which was not yet fully developed, not only introduced the L7 105mm rifled gun, but also the simplified fire control system of the British Marconi Company and the Western thermal smoke screen system.

The introduction of technology naturally requires cutting into research funding.

Despite Mr. Zhu's repeated appeals, his project on the bottom-reflection stabilized fire control system was not approved by the higher authorities.

It wasn't until 84, when the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense selected General Zhu to serve as the chief designer of the third-generation tank and he assembled the research and development team for the third-generation tank, that the down-reflection stabilized fire control system was able to develop rapidly.

At this moment, he is still using his meager salary to manually grind lenses for research in his dormitory.

"Tell Dean Zhu that the university supports him in developing the anti-image-stabilized fire control system, and that funding will be prioritized... In addition, he will serve as the chief engineer for our project..."

"Why don't you come with me..."

Xie Wei wanted to refuse, but Li Rui gave him no room to object. Helpless, he could only decide to go with Li Rui.

"You seem very confident that Pakistan will cooperate? Xie Wei, now you know the situation at the school. If Pakistan doesn't cooperate, the school will be in an even more difficult situation."

On the train, Li Rui was somewhat worried.

As a result, Xie Wei rolled his eyes at him.

"If you hadn't messed things up, would the school be in this mess? And now look what happened, you've run away. Principal Zhang and Secretary Liu certainly won't stop me, but they're a bit too cowardly..."

Xie Wei complained.

Li Rui, whose skin was as thick as a city wall, blushed for once, but quickly recovered and said, "The higher-ups are preparing to reform the various machinery industry ministries, and similarly, the supervising units will also be reformed..."

Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense?
Xie Wei almost blurted it out.

Xie Wei had guessed it from the heading of the document Li Rui had taken out from 617, but he couldn't say it.

How do I explain it?

She just watched Li Rui silently.

"I'm doing this for the development of the school... Many projects in the military have very high design specifications, and the gap in basic knowledge is too large, which means that research on the underlying technologies is needed, and the required funding is too huge... If we don't do it, we can't... If we only do preliminary research, the funding is not enough..."

Li Rui sighed, his face full of dejection.

He hopes Xie Wei can understand and support him.

With the reform and opening up, everything gave way to the construction of the country's economic infrastructure, and the ultimate fate of projects in the military that could not yield results in the short term was sealed.

Xie Wei naturally understood.

Without money, any technological breakthroughs are just empty talk. The Soviet Union is the most obvious example.

The vision and strategic thinking of those at the top are simply beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Previously, when China learned from the Soviet model, there were no problems in building an industrial base when the country was poor and backward. However, after so many years, the economy did not develop, people's lives were not prosperous, and some even went hungry!
The development of the Soviet Union had actually stagnated.

Even if the "Zapad-81" exercise next year keeps all of Europe up at night, it will only be the last glory of the Soviet Union.

Why could Americans spot the problems in the Soviet Union, while China, with its millennia-old civilization, couldn't?

The Soviets themselves knew this.

After all, the Soviet Union's three reforms, starting with Khrushchev's reforms, had obvious effects; then came Brezhnev's reforms, which showed significant initial results but later became less effective; and finally Gorbachev's reforms ended in failure, with the hammer and sickle flag falling from the Kremlin and the vast empire disintegrating...

However, the Soviet Union's focus was on heavy industry, which destined the reforms to fail.

The reason why China's reforms have been successful is that it has forged its own path based on its national conditions.

Xie Wei, who understands the subsequent developments, is naturally aware of how many key projects will be shut down in the coming years.

For example, the Y-10 and large military transport aircraft. Although many people believe that the Y-10 project was cancelled these days because some people took bribes, what's the reality? Large transport aircraft lack the large presses, the matching engines, and even advanced supporting materials and cutting-edge machine tools…

For example, the 093 and 094 nuclear submarines and the anti-missile program.

These projects have high technical requirements but a weak industrial base, and require a lot of funding. If we force them to proceed, it will further strain the already limited budget...

This applies to all projects.

From the reform and opening up to once again standing at the forefront of the world, the entire country has only taken a little over forty years, less than half a century!

"Only with money can you invest in high-tech fields. Just look at universities; they are a clear example. Some projects that don't have much foundation or funding are like bottomless pits... But university-industry-run projects can quickly yield results and be brought to market after initial investment. This not only guarantees funding for continued research but also provides funding for other projects..."

Xie Wei reminded Li Rui.

Li Rui's new job is obviously at the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, which is still in the early stages of its establishment.

Xie Wei didn't want him to continue messing around like he did in school.

At that time, some seemingly advanced projects may be retained due to Old Man Li's personal opinion, but because a large amount of funding will be squeezed out, some basic and preliminary projects will ultimately lack funding for research and development.

"Don't worry, school is school. Do you really think I, an old man, would just abandon it?"

Hard to say.

Xie Wei thought this to himself, but ultimately didn't say it aloud.

No. 4 Huai Shu Ling Courtyard.

This is the location of the 201 Research Institute, which is under the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry.

The few low-rise buildings with their mottled exteriors, along with the Soviet-style factory buildings, make it impossible to associate them with the most advanced tank research institute in the country from the outside.

now.

A small meeting is underway.

"...This is the situation we are currently facing. The troops have put forward new requirements for the new model of tanks..."

Director Zhan Zhichang solemnly conveyed the unit's new requirements to everyone.

Stronger defensive armor!
Greater mobility!
More powerful firepower...

"We're only responsible for a portion of the new tank project!"

"The military requests changes to the design specifications. How much funding will they allocate to us?"

"The 617 team is undertaking more research..."

Everyone who participated in the meeting raised their own questions.

Research Institute 201, established in 59, was positioned as an armored vehicle design and research center, but a large number of technical projects were actually carried out at Factory 617...

Factory 617 is not just a factory, but the largest tank base in all of Asia.

Of course, if the 541 tank base is completed, 617 will become the second largest tank base in Asia. However, in recent years, the construction speed of the 541 tank base has begun to slow down.

Some branch factories have even stopped construction, and those that have already been built are beginning to shift their operations.

An elderly man who had been silent the whole time, whose right arm was completely missing, couldn't help but smile when he heard the army make a new request.

He is none other than Zhu Yusheng, the one-armed commander-in-chief, the greatest land warfare expert of the Republic!
"Chief, now that the troops have put forward new technical requirements, will the simplified fire control system that 617 imported from Marconi be unable to meet the needs?"

Old Zhu asked the director.

"Comrade Yusheng, stop making a fuss. The bottom-mounted image-stabilized fire control system you proposed has long been abandoned internationally. This path is a dead end! Moreover, even if it were developed, it wouldn't be able to compete with the top-mounted image-stabilized system..."

Zhan Zhichang looked at Zhu Yusheng with a bitter expression.

Early international studies on image-stabilized fire control systems revealed that while these systems are simple in structure and low in cost, their performance is also poor.

"Director, theoretically, there are no problems in this regard, as long as there is a small amount of funding..."

"Where will the funding come from? Don't you know the situation at the institute? The military needs a mature and usable fire control system. Although Marconi's fire control system is a simplified one, we've already bought it. The military hopes we can develop it based on Marconi's system..."

Zhan Zhichang interrupted Zhu Yusheng.

It's not that he doesn't support it.

The problem is that the institute doesn't have any money either.

Given a lack of funding, the same technology project can only be invested in one project.

In order to narrow the gap with the international level, the technology that 617 imported from abroad is only one generation behind the most advanced technology. As long as it is thoroughly understood and improved on the basis, the gap can be further narrowed.

Zhu Yusheng insisted on developing a bottom-up image-stabilized fire control system, but he had virtually no prior experience with it, so everything had to be started from scratch.

The amount of funding needed is uncertain.

It's uncertain how long it will take to put it into use.

The extent to which this will improve tank performance remains uncertain.

More importantly, no tank in the world uses a down-stabilized fire control system; it was already phased out during the demonstration phase!

"Although the down-reflection stabilized fire control system has many drawbacks, it is low-cost, simple, and easy to maintain, making it a solution that suits our national conditions!"

The boss looked bitter.

But he had no choice; without funding, he couldn't produce samples for verification.

His entire salary and allowance went into the frugal institutional certification process; he even ground lenses himself in his dormitory to save money...

The boss was very disappointed.

Despite the military's new demands, the proposed solutions still received no support.

What was introduced eventually became outdated.

Despite his disappointment, he remained convinced that his proposed solution was the one that best met the needs of the military and suited the national conditions, and continued to design and manufacture various parts every day.

It wasn't until after get off work that afternoon that Li Rui brought Xie Wei to his doorstep.

(End of this chapter)