In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 358 This is outrageous! The Harbin Institute of Technology branch campus plan is just too much!

"Why Northwestern Polytechnical University? If they can't repay the loans from the university, the impact on the university will be significant."

Li Rui looked at Xie Wei with a puzzled expression.

He simply couldn't understand Xie Wei's strategy.

"They can't repay the loan, the debt is there. They have higher-level units... We have to raise our own funds. Northwestern Polytechnical University doesn't have autonomy over projects; if we want to do something, we need funding from above..."

Xie Wei did not hide anything from Li Rui's questions.

"So, what you want from the Third Ministry of Machine Building and the Air Force isn't just verbal support, but also financial support?"

Li Rui understood somewhat. "Don't you know the situation with the Air Force and the Third Ministry of Machinery Industry? Where would they get the money to support the Y-10? If they had the money, why not just allocate it directly to the Y-10 project? The Y-10 project is based in Shanghai, and the Shanghai municipal government can also raise some funds..."

"Director Li, you still don't understand."

Xie Wei shook his head and sighed.

Li Rui looked completely bewildered and was quite annoyed that Xie Wei was playing coy with him. He immediately swore, "Spit it out! I've noticed you're getting more and more distant with me. Can't you just say what you mean?"

Xie Wei actually became distant from him.

"The Y-10 project should exist, but it's impossible to allocate too many resources to it. We need to gradually modify the design, gradually add components, and gradually improve the manufacturing process..."

"what?"

Is this Xie Wei's real purpose?

Ultimately, does Xie Wei still not support the Y-10?
"Director Li, I don't know what you and Minister Lü are thinking. But I'm very clear that the country is very cautious when it comes to canceling any project. The country has no intention of canceling any project that is successful or close to success. Putting aside everything else, the CNMD project, which was ahead of its time, has basically been completely canceled. Laser technology has been continuously developing, and a lot of money has been invested..."

Xie Wei's expression turned serious.

The stance is clearer than before: "Whether or not the Y-10 exists now may result in a lack of technological equipment in related fields for countries lacking funds for decades to come, but the Y-10's contribution to national defense is not as significant as imagined! Just because we bear most of the funding for Project 10 does not mean that the Air Force and the Third Ministry of Machinery Industry should shift their funding to projects that cannot guarantee the Army's safety from bombing!"

"Furthermore, if the Y-10 project really can't be cancelled, then which should be cancelled: the J-9, the long-range strategic bomber, the Type 093/094 destroyer, or the large missile destroyer? Harbin Institute of Technology only has one university, and its ability to raise funds through its university-enterprise cooperation office is just so-so... The higher-ups don't want to see an oligarch emerge. When other cancelled or facing-cancellation projects come knocking, should the university take them on or not?"

"..."

Heartbroken!
Li Rui stared at Xie Wei in disbelief, his lips moving, but he couldn't say anything.

This is true.

The country is poor!
This is the root of everything.

Everything must give way to infrastructure development.

"This……"

After hearing this, Minister Lü was also at a loss for words to express his feelings.

Xie Wei hit the nail on the head.

Because Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) has project autonomy and management rights, and because its university-enterprise cooperation office can raise funds more easily than any other institution in China, various institutions want to transfer projects that are facing cancellation or have already been cancelled to HIT.

If there were funding, this wouldn't have happened.
"I think we should do it the way Xie Wei suggested, with Northwestern Polytechnical University taking over and making improvements as we go. According to Xie Wei, supporting 30 to 50 million yuan annually shouldn't be a problem, but it has to be a loan, not free money..."

Li Rui now supports Xie Wei's idea, "The Third Ministry of Machinery Industry will contribute some funds, and with some support from the Shanghai Municipal Government, we can guarantee 1 million yuan in funding for the Y-10 every year..."

"Let's discuss the specifics after Wang Zhiheng and Ye Mingde arrive here."

Minister Lü was somewhat regretful: he had come to resolve the conflict between the Third Ministry of Machinery Industry and Harbin Institute of Technology caused by the 122's failure to abide by the cooperation agreement, but now he had become the one solving the problem of the Y-10's future!
You have to pay!
Where would the Third Ministry of Machine Building find tens of millions of extra funds each year?
The officers in the Air Force logistics department remained completely silent.

No money!

Starting in 76, the country's focus gradually shifted to economic infrastructure development, and military spending was continuously reduced, decreasing year by year. By the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the reform and opening up officially began, and military spending was reduced significantly every year.

Of the annual military budget of less than 200 billion, the army takes 65%, and the remaining 35% is divided between the air force and the navy.

That's all the funding we have!

If they dare to express their opinions, they will be drowned in spittle by the bigwigs of the Air Force Command when they return.

While waiting for Wang Zhiheng, Ye Mingde, and other leaders from Northwestern Polytechnical University to arrive, Minister Lü was not idle. He personally dismissed Huo Guoqiang, and Chief Engineer Liu Jianyun and Party Secretary Lin Tao were also affected.

Liu Jianyun lost his position as chief engineer and was demoted to engineer and sent to the workshop; Lin Tao even became the workshop director of Factory 122, the car assembly workshop of Factory 122.

Minister Lü then left Harbin without staying there.

"No, that's not right. He's gone. How are we supposed to handle this? Is the Third Ministry of Machine Building not going to get involved?"

After Minister Lü left, Li Rui immediately realized something was wrong—as the head of the Third Ministry of Machine Building, Minister Lü had left, so what good would it do to talk here?
Whoever is hosting this event, it wouldn't be right not to give them something, would it?
No!

I must leave myself.

"You're leaving already? Don't forget about the things you need to take care of. Don't keep causing trouble for the school all the time. Otherwise, no one will want to see you when you come back..."

Xie Wei looked at Li Rui with annoyance.

Li Rui glared at him. This kid is getting less and less able to distinguish between the big and small kings!
How do you talk to high-ranking officials?

With decades of work experience, he didn't want to argue with a young man like Xie Wei, so he turned around and prepared to leave.

"Director Li, you're here too? Perfect timing..."

Qu Hongtao looked at Li Rui with a resentful expression.

Xie Wei was surprised to see Qu Hongtao appear. Qu Hongtao had been suspended from his post, but instead of leaving the school, he was here to ambush Li Rui.

There is melon!

"Uh... Comrade Hong Tao!"

Upon seeing Qu Hongtao appear, Li Rui's eyebrows twitched several times as he pondered the other party's intentions. He certainly couldn't discuss this matter in front of Xie Wei. "Well..."

"Principal Li, someone who has made a mistake should not be addressed as 'comrade'..."

Qu Hongtao interrupted Li Rui directly, "I think Director Li should make some things clear. Although some things need to be done, it's not right to put someone on a pillar of shame and never be able to recover for the rest of their life, is it?"

He had been thinking about it a lot these past few days and realized that he couldn't afford to offend the academic committee members and professors at the school.

They should all be forced out to do radio calisthenics!
If word gets out, they'll be furious—it's not that academicians and professors can't do calisthenics; they've done it before. The problem is Xie Wei's demand: to force these research heavyweights out of their working state…

That would affect the progress of scientific research.

Qu Hongtao felt he couldn't bear the responsibility.

"???"

Xie Wei cast a questioning look at Li Rui.

"Hey, Comrade Hong Tao, let's go outside and talk."

Li Rui was getting a little anxious.

It's not that Xie Wei can't know about this, but at least he can't know now, otherwise the effect will be much weaker than expected.

"No way! If anyone goes around saying this, Xie Wei will treat me like a class enemy! I thought submitting my retirement application would solve everything, but now Xie Wei is trying to squeeze every last drop of value out of me before I retire..."

Qu Hongtao has no shame at this point.

He didn't care whether he offended Li Rui.

He could tell whether offending more than ten academicians or dozens of professors and even more associate professors was a greater or lesser offense than offending Li Rui alone.

"Principal Qu, are you saying that Principal Li did this on purpose at Factory 122?" Xie Wei suddenly realized, "I was wondering why something seemed off. Director Huo of Factory 122 had never shown such short-sightedness before, and he certainly couldn't have been unaware of the serious consequences of doing this... It turns out that this old guy was just bored and did this because he had nothing better to do all day?"

"What do you mean I have nothing better to do?"

Li Rui was furious!

Damn it, I've been thinking of Xie Wei in every way, trying to make him more mature, and he doesn't even know how to appreciate it!

"If it weren't to reduce your troubles later and save you from wasting your energy on these things, would I have bothered?"

Li Rui turned around and sat back down opposite Xie Wei's desk, his face dark. "If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not leaving!"

"..."

Scoundrel!

Xie Wei then remembered the image of Principal Li in the eyes of his superiors when he was the principal.

However, after joining the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and becoming a higher-ranking leader, he became more self-conscious and stopped acting like a rogue.

"Xie Wei, I can't issue the order for the academic committee members to do calisthenics twice a day, or my life will be truly over..."

What kind of radio calisthenics?

Li Rui was completely bewildered. From the moment Qu Hongtao said that Xie Wei was persecuting him as a class enemy, he realized that something was wrong and that things were deviating from his original thoughts.

"Is such that……"

Qu Hongtao's purpose was to let Xie Wei know that the matter at Factory 122 was not something he wanted to do; it was something Li Rui deliberately arranged to clear obstacles for the development of the school-enterprise office and prevent the school-enterprise office's technology from being taken advantage of by enterprises.

As a result, Xie Wei went too far.

Even after retirement, Qu Hongtao will not have peace – the academicians and professors may not have the energy to deal with President Qu, but what about their students and subordinates?

"This……"

After listening, Li Rui stared at Xie Wei in astonishment. This kid was even more ruthless and adept at seizing opportunities than he had imagined. "Even if it weren't for the 122 incident, would you still have tried to scheme for a high-level healthcare doctor?"

"Absolutely. Every academician is the nation's most valuable asset. Their rich experience not only allows us to possess leading technologies but also enables us to cultivate a large number of top talents... For example, this fall, the university will have approximately 50 more doctoral students..."

Having an academician makes it easier to apply to higher authorities and the Ministry of Education for the establishment of doctoral programs.

After the first batch of doctoral graduates graduated, Xie Wei did not want to assign any of them to other institutions.

You're not allowed to poach people, and you're not allowed to train people yourself and then keep them?
In the fall of 81, doctoral students were enrolled. According to the plan of Xie Wei, Zhang Mingqiu, and others, these doctoral students would need to study for at least 4 years. In 85, when the country established the postdoctoral system, Harbin Institute of Technology established its first postdoctoral workstation...

Understanding historical development makes all planning much easier.

Xie Wei can't get involved in everything.

"You, who didn't even finish your undergraduate degree, are already planning to train doctoral students?"

After listening, Li Rui stared blankly at Xie Wei.

He felt he had overestimated Xie Wei as much as he could, but Xie Wei's schemes always managed to surprise him...

Ok!

Ok!

When this prodigy first emerged, I had already planned his future clearly—the more methods Xie Wei used, the more Harbin Institute of Technology would become the Harbin Military Engineering Institute of its time, or even surpass it. Wasn't that a sure thing?
Although this kid can be a real pain in the ass at times, the benefits he brings to the school's development make him somewhat tolerable.

"Where was it my plan? It was Principal Zhang and Secretary Liu who planned it."

Xie Wei grinned, then looked at Qu Hongtao, "Principal Qu, this is something you'll have to do..."

"what?"

Qu Hongtao was dumbfounded.

So all that I said was for nothing?
Although I don't have the same personal relationship with Xie Wei as Zhang Mingqiu, Liu Debao and others, I haven't offended him, have I?

"Someone has to do the work."

Xie Wei knew what Qu Hongtao was worried about. Originally, he was prepared to squeeze the last bit of value out of Qu Hongtao, the vice principal. Now that he knew Qu Hongtao had been tricked by Li Rui, a new idea suddenly came to him.

"Xie Wei, Comrade Hong Tao has already suffered quite a bit of injustice, so perhaps..."

Li Rui also knew that what he did was not very ethical.

He hadn't expected Xie Wei to be so ruthless.

If you're not here, fine, but if you're here and don't speak up for me, who will help me in the future?
Besides, it's something that makes you feel wronged.
"How about you come?"

Before Li Rui, who was still smiling obsequiously, could finish speaking, Xie Wei rudely interrupted him, "Currently, Principal Qu is the most suitable..."

"Xie Wei, I haven't offended you, have I?"

Qu Hongtao became anxious.

Damn it, if they really push me too far, I'll just expose this whole thing myself.

"Old Qu, calm down!"

Li Rui also became anxious.

Qu Hongtao is indeed an honest man, but when honest men are forced to turn their backs on others, they can become quite volatile.

"Calm down my ass! You're clearly bullying an honest person!"

Qu Hongtao was truly feeling extremely wronged at this moment.

This is too much to bully honest people like this.

"Principal Qu, please don't rush. Let me finish. If you think there's a problem with my suggestion, we can discuss it further."

Xie Wei calmly gestured to Qu Hongtao not to rush.

At this moment, it was as if their roles had been reversed: Xie Wei was the superior, and Qu Hongtao was the subordinate.

The disorientation left Li Rui completely bewildered.

"The office in the special economic zone is the focus of the school's future development... That area should also become the most cutting-edge technology research and development base in the country... Harbin Institute of Technology is located too far north, and the winters are too cold, which has a very discouraging effect on students from the south... Therefore, for the development of the school, we will need to establish a branch campus there when necessary in the future..."

What the hell?

Li Rui's eyes suddenly widened.

When I was the principal, I never thought about establishing a branch school.

Xie Wei, on the other hand, hasn't even graduated from his undergraduate studies yet, and he's already planning to establish a branch campus for the university?
Even Qu Hongtao didn't expect Xie Wei to have such a purpose.

No wonder Xie Wei asked himself to offend people first.

He had offended countless people and was demoted and sent to the special economic zone by the school. Who would have thought that it was to prepare for the construction of a branch school? There shouldn't have been much resistance from the beginning!
No wonder Xie Wei was groomed by Li Rui to be a future principal.

He now understood why Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao had supported Xie Wei without any principles.

Perhaps the school already had this plan in mind.

(End of this chapter)