In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 425 Third-generation tanks plus data links? Are you trying to bankrupt the military already?!

"Boss, should we order some more? At this price, we'll really lose money..."

Xie Wei was very unwilling.

The 180 million he mentioned is the export version.

Its own electronic systems are more advanced, its defenses are stronger, its mobility is greater, and it also has room for future upgrades...

"Come on. You guys don't do any production! The school gets so much funding, aren't you afraid of getting kidnapped when you go out?"

"..."

Left with no other option, Xie Wei had to compromise, "Could it be just one battalion?"

"If that's how you see it, I don't think the military needs to wait for you to complete the delivery to the major clients before placing orders for a few sets of counterattack equipment..."

"Fine! Fine! Fine! You're the leaders, you make the decisions!"

Xie Wei was speechless.

Throughout the entire process, he didn't even bring up school leaders like Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao to appease them.

Since Long Yaohua has already spoken, how can I refuse?

"Also, don't forget that you are now a soldier."

"Does Qin Weidong belong to my jurisdiction or to his?"

Xie Wei suddenly noticed Qin Weidong gloating and smirking beside him, and suddenly asked.

"I'm your equal!"

Qin Weidong immediately realized something was wrong.

If Xie Wei were to manage me, it would be difficult to carry out my work in the future, especially when Xie Wei messes up projects. What would I do if he ordered me not to report?
"Different systems, independent of each other!"

Long Yaohua's words immediately relieved Qin Weidong.

The leader is reasonable.

“You’re about to become a father, so you should be more mature. Also, there are some things that you might not get much support by bringing them up, but you should still bring them up first instead of carrying them all on your own.”

Seeing the disappointment on Xie Wei's face, Long Yaohua sighed inwardly and told Xie Wei directly that the higher-ups understood what he had done.

But I don't want him to do that.

Xie Wei didn't say anything, just smiled, and after asking if there was anything else, he turned and left.

I don't want to spend even a quarter of an hour with the leaders.

"What! It's mainly because I don't like Lao Li. He's the school principal, after all, and he's siding with outsiders."

Xie Wei then turned to Liu Debao and asked him to contact the production unit to begin expanding the production of the WZ-122 modified tank.

It's still the lower-spec export version.

This confused Liu Debao: Shouldn't his own troops use the best?

"The products produced earlier are for export. We don't want customers to place orders before we're ready. As for the military products, we'll deal with them later."

Xie Wei's words left Liu Debao even more bewildered.

I was going to ask again, but then I thought that I would be retiring soon, so I decided to avoid trouble.

They immediately said they would contact 617 to start production.

"Has Xie Wei been provoked? Before, when companies like Jiangbei Machinery Factory produced rocket launchers, they all had to pay an entry fee first. Now they're just giving away the technology directly?"

Zhang Mingqiu looked puzzled, while Luo Yang listened attentively.

He is not familiar with the school's cooperation with other organizations and is currently in a learning phase.

Tan Heping was being transferred, so naturally he wasn't invited to these kinds of meetings.

"When 617 first got the technology from us, they weren't willing to pay. Now that they're paying, isn't it like they're giving it away for nothing?"

Ge Jianjun was also puzzled, "When did Xie Wei become so easy to talk to? Is it for the sake of the third-generation tank project?"

"What third-generation tank project?"

Luo Yang asked.

"It shouldn't be. Although the third-generation tank project has never been finalized, General Zhu's team has already started design and research work, which the military knows, and they have been allocating a lot of funding to the tank project every year. This is currently the project that the school has received the most funding from the military."

Liu Debao shook his head.

As the king of land warfare, the tank has always been a key component of the military's artillery strategy. Although no specific targets have been set for it in recent years, it's not that the military doesn't value it, but rather that the WZ-122 tank has been continuously improved.

Ultimately, it's the military that wants something better!

Ideally, it should be the kind of tank that immediately surpasses the world's most advanced tanks and remains competitive for decades to come.

"Is it possible that the military is preparing to officially launch the third-generation tank project? The WZ-122 has always been used as a technical demonstration model to continuously demonstrate the technology of the third-generation tank."

Ge Jianjun asked.

Anyway, he felt it was related to third-generation tanks.

The 617 tank has undergone many modifications, but its technology level is still not beyond the second generation, and there is still a big gap between it and the third generation.

Only Zhu Yusheng's team could manage three generations of such a project.

"Why don't we ask Xie Wei?"

Zhang Mingqiu made the suggestion.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke—if Xie Wei wanted to speak, they wouldn't need to guess.

now.

Xie Wei had already arrived at the factory next to the school.

As the school expanded in recent years, the original factory buildings were demolished and replaced with a five-story building.

The first floor of the building is a production and experimental workshop; the second and third floors are research laboratories for various internal systems; and the fourth and fifth floors are technical design offices.

This building is the only one without an underground space.

"Equip three battalions with WZ-122G? The troops know we have a better variant."

Boss Zhu looked at Xie Wei with a face full of confusion.

"Submit the third-generation tank design to the military. The third-generation tank design should be finalized by now. We've been dragging this out for almost three years."

Xie Wei sighed.

The school received various technical data from the WZ-122 tank project, and there was also a tank experimental workshop next door with prototype vehicles. Li Rui used this as a basis to develop the school's tank project.

If Xie Wei hadn't persuaded Iraq to place an order, the project would have fallen through long ago.

Of the $8000 million invested in research and development in Pakistan, $3200 million is still outstanding.

The number of Pakistani students at Harbin Institute of Technology has now exceeded 400. They have helped train several batches of people in the entire process of tank research and development, design, production, manufacturing, maintenance and repair.

Even Pakistan's domestic tank production line should be almost complete.

Unfortunately, there haven't been any orders yet.

This year, it seems like Pakistan and China have lost all contact.

Xie Wei didn't urge the other party.

"Isn't adding data link functionality to tanks too advanced? Besides, our current 1000-horsepower engines are still unstable. According to your previous concept, with the addition of reactive armor, the maximum weight would reach 62 tons. There's also a lot of electronic equipment inside, requiring at least a 1500-horsepower engine to ensure power..."

"So we need projects. The military has money now."

Xie Wei nodded to indicate that he understood the issue of insufficient resources, "Previously, when Iran and Iraq purchased tanks and armored vehicles, they said the profit margin was low and they wanted to support other units without projects first, which we supported; now the military has money in hand..."

"Row."

"Leader Long Yaohua and Director Li are both here..."

So Xie Wei personally drove General Zhu to the guesthouse where Long Yaohua and Li Rui were staying.

Several options?

Li Rui hadn't expected that the school was even better at tank research than specialized tank units like 201 and 617.

“Yes. A heavy main battle tank, and a light tank specifically designed for mountainous, hilly, and plateau regions…” General Zhu replied, “In recent years, we have been focusing on improving the performance of the WZ-122 and developing supporting equipment. We haven’t had any formal projects, so we have invested more in preliminary research and exploration.”

Mr. Zhu highly approves of and agrees with the research method proposed by Xie Wei.

On the one hand, we are exploring future development directions, and on the other hand, we are working to solve core and key technologies for future projects. Once the key technical issues have been resolved, the development progress will be very fast.

"Does that mean it can be developed very soon?"

Long Yaohua and Li Rui both knew about the school's scientific research situation and were well aware that Harbin Institute of Technology's "Four Generations" research and development model was first promoted in the aerospace field and later extended to other systems.

However, it's hard to say whether other institutions have persisted like Harbin Institute of Technology—they don't even have enough research funding, let alone funding for preliminary research and exploratory projects.

"If the higher authorities provide the technical specifications and sufficient funding, and the technology does not exceed the limits of our proposed solution, the maximum duration will be 8 years..."

"Okay, we will report to our superiors and discuss it with the relevant leaders as soon as we get back."

After reviewing the proposal, Long Yaohua said to Boss Zhu.

The boss nodded and said nothing more.

After inquiring about the technical development of some tank-related projects, Long Yaohua learned that the application of data links was still in the exploratory stage and that there were basically no plans to use data links on third-generation tanks, but only to increase the level of informatization. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sir, adding data links can improve the tanks' battlefield situational awareness and enhance their collaborative combat capabilities..."

"Don't you even consider the cost of adding a data link to a tank? How high would the development cost? The military urgently needs third-generation tanks, but the funds available for tank development are only 10 billion... We're different from Harbin Institute of Technology. Xie Wei's funds are all invested in school-related projects, but we need to consider the entire military industry system..."

Long Yaohua reminded Li Rui with a serious expression.

"The school has funding..."

Li Rui had just opened his mouth when Long Yaohua interrupted him: "The school has funding, and you still don't understand Xie Wei's meaning? You even consider yourself his mentor."

"Uh~"

Li Rui was stunned. "Is there anything wrong with this?"

"This is a big problem!"

Long Yaohua glanced at Li Rui and sighed, "We all understand your thoughts about the military, even Xie Wei understands them, otherwise the university wouldn't have invested in the projects you left behind. Now that the mess is resolved, what's needed is supporting improvements. Relying solely on Harbin Institute of Technology is definitely not enough. The university is constantly increasing its cooperation with other universities... If we continue to squeeze the university's funding..."

Long Yaohua didn't elaborate on the consequences.

Li Rui fell silent.

"That's why I asked Xie Wei to provide three battalions of WZ-122 modified tanks, just to prevent other units from targeting the school. The total price of these tanks is only 2 million..."

"No wonder Xie Wei only pretended to object!"

Li Rui then understood.

They had initially thought Xie Wei was easy to talk to, but it turned out that the kid's comprehension was so strong that they didn't need to say much at all.

"Long Yaohua left with Li Rui?"

Xie Wei received the news quickly.

He has been busy these days.

For so many years, he has been laying the groundwork from the very beginning until now, and now the plan is finally complete.

"Once the supporting infrastructure starts to be invested, there shouldn't be any problems even if I'm no longer at Harbin Institute of Technology in the future."

After arranging his work, Xie Wei looked at all the technical project support units and the people responsible for liaison in his work notes, and checked them again to make sure there were no omissions. He felt a sense of relief.

"Brother Wei, are you there?"

Luo Cheng peeked his head in from the office doorway and looked at Xie Wei.

"Come in, I won't beat you up today."

Xie Wei's eyelids twitched. Only after spending more time with this guy did he realize that this guy always had a punchable attitude.

"You really won't beat me up?"

"After all these years in Chengdu, you haven't become more mature; in fact, you've become more and more immature. How can you possibly be appointed as the director of the university-enterprise cooperation office at the provincial level?"

Xie Wei looked at Luo Cheng with annoyance.

This guy has gotten a bit arrogant these past few years.

"I don't know how to thank you enough... How about I call you godfather, and from now on you be my godfather and I'll be your brother..."

Luo Cheng looked pleasantly surprised.

Having been lured here by Xie Wei, he almost reached the ceiling of his original life plan within just a few years.
I'm not even 40 yet!
His future potential is limitless!

“I really don’t want to hit you today, so stop spouting nonsense. This is something you need to get familiar with as soon as possible… Go find Director Ge and stay with him to familiarize yourself with the process as quickly as possible…”

Xie Wei ignored Luo Cheng.

He was a shameless person to begin with, and then he learned Xie Wei's true skills, making him utterly despicable.

Almost every time before, Xie Wei would beat me up.

Now that Xie Wei is going to be a father, he feels he should be more composed and doesn't plan to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary—not that he wants to, but the logic of school doesn't work, and he can't abandon the tradition of knowing a little bit of martial arts.

People from Harbin Institute of Technology not only need to have excellent technical skills, but also excellent physical abilities.

How much time do I have?

"Secretary Liu will retire in August, and Principal Zhang will be able to continue until next year. Director Ge Jianjun will begin taking charge of the school's overall logistics work in August..."

"Damn! It hasn't even been a month..."

"If you can't handle being promoted two levels above your station, you should just go home, find a partner, and have a baby."

"No, never mind. I can do it!"

Luo Cheng took the paper Xie Wei had given him, which was filled with work assignments, and ran straight outside.

Seeing his retreating figure, Xie Wei sighed, "He's almost 36 and still single, not married, that's a sin these days! Could it be that this bastard is in Rongcheng, and then... Impossible! Impossible!"

Xie Wei quickly shook off the unacceptable thought from his mind.

Luo Cheng has been hiding away from home for years, never even returning.

This has caused his family to be anxious and upset because he is not yet married, and they even came to the school.

Even Luo Cheng's parents sought out Xie Wei privately, hoping he could help persuade him.

Xie Wei tried to persuade him, but it was no use.

Luo Cheng even threatened to leave the country and stop being Xie Wei's subordinate.

"Luo Cheng is back?"

When Xie Wei returned home, he heard the heavily pregnant Mo Lingyu flipping through a stack of English papers under the shade of a tree in the yard.

Why are you suddenly concerned about Luo Cheng?

"Mom asked."

"Why is Mom paying attention to Luo Cheng?"

"Luo Cheng's parents had visited my mother in Rongcheng several times before... At that time, my mother patted her chest and promised that she would introduce Luo Cheng to an excellent partner..."

"This kid is finished!"

Xie Wei paused for a second in silence for Luo Cheng.

Only when I have something to do will I stop bothering Xie Wei every day because Xie Rou doesn't date and seems to have a preference for not getting married.

Dead fellow Taoist.

Only then can this humble monk be happy, right?

"By the way, what are Mom's plans?"

"What about the mother, how should we arrange things?"

Mo Lingyu raised her head, her big eyes filled with confusion as she looked at Xie Wei.

"Your mother!"

(End of this chapter)