In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 423 The reason why Shadak didn't buy Shevchenko's tank: Shevchenko had his eye on Shadak's gold.

"Swarm tactics? Suicide attacks?"

Long Yaohua's lips twitched.

Xie Wei nodded: "Yes! The kind that deploys thousands or even more at a time... Each one carries bombs, and they automatically execute missions using internal intelligent control programs and onboard environmental detection systems... All the drones can network together..."

"Suck~"

Even those who know nothing about military affairs gasped in shock.

The image in their minds was already forming: a vast swarm of suicide drones, blotting out the sky, constantly weaving through the ground-based air defense network, being shot down or destroyed, yet some managed to break through the network and crash directly into ground-based fire platforms...

How cruel!

"Gentlemen, faced with such tactics, are we going to intercept them with anti-aircraft missiles?"

Seeing the complex expressions on everyone's faces, Xie Wei knew that they already had images in their minds.

"We can use anti-aircraft machine guns!"

Li Rui said through gritted teeth.

So, in the future, expensive ground equipment like tanks won't be very useful...

Can't accept it.

"Drones equipped with highly sensitive environmental detection systems have the ability to evade detection and can fly close to the ground..."

"..."

Li Rui didn't know how to refute it; he had never expected such a thing to appear on the battlefield.

Long Yaohua, however, showed a knowing expression: "You mean, laser weapons are used to deal with drones that might appear in future wars?"

It's not a possibility.

The battlefields of the future will almost entirely consist of intelligent weapons and equipment such as drones, unmanned tanks, unmanned submarines, and robotic dogs.

The Sino-Soviet War, in which drones were used on a large scale for the first time in actual combat, completely overturned the world's understanding of warfare. On the battlefield, drone attacks from above turned heavy weapons such as tanks and armored vehicles into expendable resources. Radar stations, artillery positions, command centers, and other locations, once detected, faced relentless attacks from drones…

Anti-aircraft missiles?

Anti-aircraft machine gun?

There is simply no way to deal with drones that are flexible, mobile, large-scale, and ridiculously cheap.

"Correct!"

Xie Wei nodded, "The CK-1 UAV's performance was not good before, and it could not bring out the performance of the PL-4G and the Counterattack series of air defense missiles. Aren't we cooperating with Hongdu and China Southern Airlines to further improve the CK-1 UAV?"

"You mean we can all modify it in this direction, and it might already be in use abroad?"

Long Yaohua's expression immediately turned serious.

very good!

That's how it should be.

As a high-level leader, one must have the ability to imagine that the great powers possess stronger and more advanced weapons and military technology!

"Leader, judging from the fact that the US and the West are decades ahead of us in technology such as computers and integrated circuits, if they had this idea, they should have already successfully developed it... The prototype of the Changkong-1 UAV, which can land normally via remote control, has entered the trial production stage..."

Xie Wei calmly explained the situation.

With each advancement he introduced, the seriousness on the faces of the many bigwigs increased.

The bigwigs' thinking isn't wrong: China's industry was so backward and its technology so poor, yet it has developed to this level. The US was decades ahead of China, having already landed on the moon almost twenty years ago; the Soviet Union's lunar and Mars colonization programs have been continuously advancing, and although they haven't established a lunar base yet, their space station has been operating in space for a long time...

What about China?
If even a weather satellite lacks accuracy, then what about satellites with positioning, navigation, and communication capabilities?

"You did this on purpose, kid?"

After the tour, Director Wang sat down alone with Xie Wei.

He didn't believe Xie Wei's reasons.

"No."

Xie Wei shook his head.

Director Wang stared intently at Xie Wei, his face full of disbelief. "If you don't tell the truth, don't come to me for favors in these areas in the future!"

"..."

Xie Wei looked at Director Wang speechlessly. Why would such a powerful figure threaten him?

“You are not someone who doesn’t know what’s important. If we want to weaponize lasers, with the current foundation, there are no bottlenecks in technological research and development, but the total investment will be trillions of yuan. Even with national investment, it cannot be supported in a short period of time.”

Seeing that Xie Wei remained silent despite being threatened, Old Wang directly pointed out the biggest flaw in Xie Wei's words—the weaponization of lasers requires too many supporting components and too much investment!
"Professor Wang, I'm telling the truth. Laser research demands far more from manufacturing processes and technologies than other fields... and some of our projects require very high precision machining technology..."

Xie Wei sighed.

How could he not know?

"Without investing in large-scale projects, it's uncertain how many more years it will take for the country to develop laser weaponization and nanotechnology."

Xie Wei's tone was filled with helplessness.

Seeing the helplessness on Xie Wei's face, Director Wang sighed silently and asked, "How much are you planning to invest in this?"

"100."

"How many?"

Director Wang was so startled by Xie Wei's words that he jumped to his feet, thinking he had misheard.

"The 100 billion yuan will be invested over 15 to 20 years. The current 8 million yuan will be invested in these areas within three years."

Xie Wei calmly said, "The most cutting-edge projects require a lot of investment just for theoretical research. Without projects, even theoretical research will not be sufficient... Therefore, I talked to Professor Wang before, hoping to make the most of the research and development process by turning the results into products and seeking funding from the market."

"If you continue like this, will the school's funding be able to support it?"

"We have to find a way even if we can't support it. We can't give up just because we lack money."

Xie Wei sighed again.

And the other side.

Long Yaohua, Li Rui, Wei Changcheng, Qin Weidong, and others sat in the small conference room of the military representative office.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was almost frozen, suffocating.

Wei Changcheng, in particular, kept his head down, not daring to look Long Yaohua and Li Rui in the eye, and didn't dare to say a word.

"When we first assigned you to Harbin Institute of Technology as a military representative, what were the instructions given to you? Now Xie Wei is preparing to invest 8 million yuan in research on extreme ultraviolet light source-related technologies, and you're telling me you know nothing about it?"

When the atmosphere became extremely tense, Long Yaohua spoke with a dark expression.

Wei Changcheng lowered his head even further.

“Comrade Changcheng, we sent you to the school to keep an eye on Xie Wei and prevent him from messing around with projects, but look what you've done! You don't even know what cutting-edge projects the school has! What benefits did Xie Wei give you to deceive your superiors, or…”

Li Rui's words were very hurtful.

Wei Changcheng immediately panicked: "Director Li, I've been at the school for so many years, and I've never accepted any bribes from anyone. The school doesn't do these things... I had no idea..."

"You do not know?"

Long Yaohua also looked doubtful.

Previously, the military representative office was established at Harbin Institute of Technology because Li Rui used the independent project approval rights he had obtained to develop projects such as tanks and fighter jets.

Xie Wei, on the other hand, supported the development of a series of weapons, including rocket launchers and sniper grenades.

I'm afraid Xie Wei might set up projects haphazardly.

Wei Changcheng now says he doesn't know.

Who believes it?
“Leader, I really don’t know. The university has been implementing a research strategy of ‘developing one generation, pre-researching one generation, and exploring one generation’ for several years now. During the pre-research phase, we might infer from some preliminary technology projects that we can explore this area…”

Wei Changcheng looked troubled. "I can't possibly read the academic papers of every professor or even associate professor in the school, can I? Many of them are just ideas, not even papers..."

This is the most speechless part of the Great Wall.

Papers naturally require data support, but when conducting cutting-edge research, those who are not professionals simply cannot understand it.

Wei Changcheng doesn't have a high level of education. He can't understand even many ordinary technical papers, let alone papers and experiments in cutting-edge technology fields.

Qin Weidong, standing to the side, looked utterly dejected: If he were to exchange himself for Wei Changcheng's position, would he also have to read academic papers from now on?
I'd rather go to the battlefield and become a martyr.
"You don't know about their research project?"

Li Rui also knew the truth of what Wei Changcheng said. Not to mention Wei Changcheng, even when he was the principal of the school, he couldn't understand some of the projects that Xie Wei supported.

Ask Xie Wei?
Why is Xie Wei asking so many questions? It's important anyway, just support it and sign it. As the principal, you don't need to understand these technicalities.

"..."

Silence fell over the meeting room once again.

After speaking with Director Wang, Xie Wei will need to have further discussions with Ma Zuguang, the person in charge at the university, regarding the research project on extreme ultraviolet light sources.

Xie Wei didn't stay with him.

Feng Ke is back.

It's been several years since I left back then.

Feng Ke returned to the school with Long Yaohua and others, but Xie Wei didn't even get to see them before being pulled aside and questioned by a group of leaders.

"Wow, Feng Ke, how many camels and sheep did you eat from the Iraqis to get so fat?"

When Xie Wei saw Feng Ke, who had become as round as a ball, he could hardly believe it.

This isn't even the 90s yet!

"I don't exercise much and I eat a lot, so I've gained weight without even realizing it..."

Feng Ke grinned and explained, "Sixth Brother, I'm back."

He didn't want to explain that he had suffered terribly on his way back from Iraq, and had narrowly escaped death several times.

After returning, there was a long period of review, during which Feng Ke could only eat constantly.

"It's good to see you back! I've made plans with the boss and the others tonight to welcome you back."

Xie Wei noticed that Feng Ke was somewhat reserved around him, clearly indicating that the recent period of isolation and investigation had left the child with psychological trauma.

He immediately stepped forward and gave Feng Ke a big hug.

"It's good to be back! You've had a tough time all these years."

Xie Wei patted Feng Ke heavily on the back, as if the wind was a bit strong.

Feng Ke could no longer hold back her tears: "Sixth Brother, so many times I thought I would never come back..."

"Alright, alright. You're a man in your thirties, what are you crying about? What you did in Iraq a few years ago would have been considered hooliganism!"

Mo Lingyu, heavily pregnant, walked out.

"Uh, vice class monitor... I heard you managed to get the class monitor on your side, so I prepared a little gift for you guys..."

Upon seeing Mo Lingyu appear, Feng Ke, who was in tears, immediately forced a smile.

He pulled a gold bracelet, about the thickness of a little finger, directly from his pocket.

"Get rich?"

Xie Wei's eyes widened in surprise. "You bastard, you're probably the richest person in our class, right?"

Absolutely solid!

This must weigh 100 grams, right?

Although the US has begun to target the Soviet economy in the past two years, directly suppressing international oil and gold prices, domestic gold prices have still fluctuated between 40 and 50 yuan per gram.

Of course, due to the strict control of the government over precious metals such as gold and silver, they are rarely available on the market.

"This is too valuable!"

Mo Lingyu was startled.

Feng Ke gave such a wonderful gift!

"These are gifts for the class monitor and vice-monitor's wedding! I've reported it to the higher-ups... I prepared one for each of the girls in our class... Over there, Shadak has been sending me all sorts of nice things, but unfortunately, I'm a bit materialistic, so he only gave me gold. All in all, he's given me about twenty kilograms..."

Feng Ke hurriedly explained.

Upon hearing that he had prepared a gold bracelet for each of the girls in the class, Xie Wei and Mo Lingyu fell silent.

Feng Ke was unaware that there were spies at the school.

"Take it."

Xie Wei said to Mo Lingyu.

The fact that Feng Ke can produce this item now indicates that his superiors are aware of it.

"This is worth several thousand!"

Mo Lingyu reminded Xie Wei.

Xie Wei's identity is rather sensitive.

“He’s different. Okay, you rest first. When Mom comes back, tell her we won’t be having dinner at home tonight. I’ll go talk to Lao Feng first.”

Feng Ke should have already completed the registration process at school. Liu Debao's request for him to come to his home must be about the situation there.

Shewe was not only concerned with the development of tactical missiles in Iraq, but also with the Tikrit Young Officers Corps in Yitzhak.

Xie Wei's home was not a suitable place to discuss matters, especially such important ones, so he led Feng Ke directly to his office.

"Wei Bingkun betrayed us, Chen Haowen in our class sold out school secrets, Yang Hongli..."

The Civil Engineering Building, Xie Wei's office.

After hearing Xie Wei's brief introduction, Feng Ke was completely stunned and couldn't react for a moment.

"No, I can understand Wei Bingkun's betrayal... but Chen Haowen and Yang Hongli..."

He really couldn't understand it.

"Ah~"

Xie Wei sighed and immediately told him about Yang Hongli's situation.

At that time, Feng Ke had already gone abroad.

"Alright, let's talk about these things later. Let's talk about the Yitzhak troops. Damn it, they've bought a lot of Type 69II tanks over the years, but our WZ-122A hasn't received a single order!"

This is what bothers Xie Wei the most.

When the Iraqi purchasing delegation came, Xie Wei practically forced them to buy the WZ-122 modified tank in order to secure funding for the tank project.

36 vehicles, the number for a tank battalion.

After all these years, surely the other party still doesn't understand the performance?
There wasn't an increase in orders at all.

"General Yitzhak has complained to me about this many times, but there's nothing he can do..."

Has Yitzhak become a general?

"The Iraqi Republican Guard has been expanding over the years. Yitzhak's youth officer corps has been expanded into a brigade, but it hasn't been equipped as you previously mentioned... The Chief of Staff of the Republican Guard, Ibrahim, disagrees... Now Yitzhak's youth officer corps has been reorganized into the Tikrit Mixed Brigade, and its main battle tanks are T-72s purchased from the Soviet Union..."

Did they ultimately choose the T-72?
How well does the WZ-122 modified tank perform in actual combat?

"I have never been to the battlefield."

"what?"

Xie Wei was surprised. "When Yitzhak returned, his troops had already joined the war, hadn't they?"

"Back then, we were using T-72 tanks, and we suffered heavy losses. Later, when our tanks arrived, Saddam Hussein transferred the Young Officers Corps back to Baghdad as a strategic force... We didn't even use long-range rocket artillery much..."

Xie Wei frowned.

“Squad leader, Saddam Hussein knows the T-72’s shortcomings. Ytzhak also said that it’s not that they don’t want to equip themselves with WZ-122 modified rocket launchers and more rocket launchers, but that they don’t have the money…”

No money?
"You can buy Soviet tanks on credit, but you have to pay cash for ours..."

Saddam Hussein has gold in his hands!
Xie Wei thought that perhaps he could take this opportunity to get some gold from Saddam Hussein?
Rather than keeping it and letting the US take it from us later, why not let them have it to us first?
This can be!
The country doesn't have much gold reserves, does it?

(End of this chapter)