Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

1966 10 Month 27 Day.

Northwest desert, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The autumn wind was bleak, stirring up clouds of yellow sand.

At the launch site, a pure white missile stands on the launch pad. It is longer and more imposing than the previous Dongfeng-1.

This is the Dongfeng-2A.

But today, it is no longer an ordinary test missile.

Inside its fairing was a real, ready-to-launch atomic bomb.

This is the first time in human history that a "missile and nuclear warhead combination" has been conducted on domestic territory.

If it goes wrong, what if the missile explodes on the launch pad, or falls off mid-flight...?

The consequences could be disastrous.

……

Underground control room.

The air here is so still it seems like it could drip water.

There's one hour left until launch.

According to regulations, for safety reasons, only seven people can remain in the underground control room during launch. Everyone else, including the chief commander and chief designer, must evacuate to a safe zone several kilometers away.

These are the famous "Seven Warriors" from history.

But today, there's one more person here.

"Dean Su, you must evacuate!"

The launch site commander was sweating profusely with anxiety. "This is a direct order from the Central Military Commission! You are the precious jewel of nuclear weapons, what if..."

He dared not mention that "what if".

If the missile were to explode at the moment of ignition, this basement, which is only 100 meters away from the launch pad, would be instantly razed to the ground.

"I'm not leaving."

Su Zheng sat at the control panel, holding a pencil in his hand, gently tapping on the blueprints.

"I built the warhead. Xinyi wrote the control system. It's my responsibility to watch it fly out."

"But……"

"No buts."

Su Zheng raised his head, his gaze calm and resolute. "Commander Li, if it really explodes on the launch pad, it means my design has a fatal flaw. Then there's no point in me living. I might as well go with it."

Commander Li looked at Su Zheng, and then at Ye Xinyi standing behind Su Zheng.

Ye Xinyi didn't say anything, but silently helped Su Zheng straighten his collar, and then sat down in the co-operation seat next to him.

"We'll die together."

Those five words were all she could see in her eyes.

Commander Li sighed and stomped his foot hard.

"Fine! Then I'm not leaving either!"

"I'll stay too!"

"I'll stay too!"

The seven operators who were originally named straightened their backs.

In this cramped basement, a dozen or so people were gathered. They were the country's top scientists, engineers, and soldiers.

They staked their lives on this missile called "Dongfeng".

……

"30 minutes to go."

The voice on the radio was cold and indifferent.

"Add propellant."

Liquid oxygen and alcohol were injected into the missile through pipelines. White mist rose around the launch pad, as if draping this sharp sword in a mysterious veil.

"The platform is erected."

"Inertial guidance unit calibration".

Su Zheng stared at the dial in front of him.

The Eye of Truth is opened.

[Data stream access: Dongfeng-2A control system.]

[Status monitoring: Gyroscope drift rate 0.01 degrees/hour (normal).]

Fuel pressure: Normal.

[Detonation circuit: Safety released.]

Everything is going according to plan.

But Su Zheng's heart was still racing.

This is, after all, live ammunition.

That warhead contained the destructive power of tens of thousands of tons. It would fly 894 kilometers, traversing three provinces and regions: Gansu, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, and finally land in the bullseye of Lop Nur.

Although the route passes through uninhabited areas, it is not entirely deserted.

Even if there is a deviation of one ten-thousandth...

"Su Zheng".

Ye Xinyi gently placed her hand on the back of his hand. Her hand was cool, but steady.

"Trust Old Money."

Ye Xinyi said softly, "Believe in yourself too."

Su Zheng took a deep breath and grasped his wife's hand in return.

"Um."

"Dongfeng Express, mission accomplished."

……

"One minute countdown."

"Attention all units, prepare for ignition!"

Commander Li's voice became somewhat hoarse due to nervousness.

The operator's finger hovered above the red ignition button, trembling slightly.

"10".

"9".

……

"3".

"2".

"1".

"ignition!"

"boom--!!!"

The earth trembled violently.

Even through the thick concrete wall, you could feel that overwhelming power.

On the display screen, the white missile, lifted by flames, slowly left the launch pad.

The speed is getting faster and faster.

It was like an angry white dragon, roaring as it charged toward the sky, leaving a straight trail of white smoke in the azure sky.

"Program turns around!"

"Telemetry signal is normal!"

"Radar tracking is normal!"

A series of reports rang out in the control room.

But no one dared to cheer.

Because this is just the beginning.

The most dangerous moment is when the warhead separates and re-enters the atmosphere.

……

The missile has already flown out of sight.

Currently, its presence can only be detected using radar and radio.

"Altitude 100 kilometers."

"Velocity: First cosmic velocity."

"Warhead separation... Success!"

Su Zheng stared at the small, separated dot on the screen.

That was a nuclear warhead he designed himself. To accommodate the missile's payload, he and Lao Yu significantly reduced the size of the original bulky atomic bomb, designing this lightweight "tactical nuclear warhead."

"Enter the blackout zone."

Ye Xinyi suddenly said.

The blackout is the nightmare of all ballistic missiles.

When the warhead re-enters the atmosphere at extremely high speeds, its surface generates a plasma sheath due to intense friction, shielding it from all radio signals.

This means that in the next few tens of seconds, the ground will lose all contact with the warhead.

It was like a kite with a broken string, flying alone under the gaze of death.

The signal on the screen disappeared.

Only one snowflake remained.

The control room fell silent once again.

Every second felt like an eternity.

"How much longer?" Su Zheng asked.

"We expect to exit the blackout in 15 seconds." Ye Xinyi stared at the stopwatch. "If... if it doesn't burn out."

high temperature.

Overload.

shock.

Any one of these factors could cause the warhead to disintegrate or the detonation device to malfunction.

"10".

"5".

"3".

"2".

"1".

The screen is still showing static.

Commander Li's face turned pale.

"What's going on? Why is there still no signal?"

Su Zheng gripped the edge of the table tightly, his fingernails digging into his flesh.

[Eye of Truth, Remote Sensing Mode: Maximum Power!]

He roared inwardly.

Even if it's hundreds of kilometers away, even if it's across plasma, he still wants to take a look.

Take a look at his child, see if he's still there.

Just then.

"Beep—"

A crisp signal tone rang out, like heavenly music.

The small green dot reappeared on the screen.

It's still there!

And it's hurtling toward its target at an astonishing speed!

"The darkness is out! The darkness is out!"

"Ballistic deviation... 0.5 kilometers!"

"Under repair!"

"Hit countdown: 10 seconds!"

……

Lop Nur, the landing area.

Various observation equipment and effectors (tanks, airplanes, and even monkeys) have been set up here.

The scientists in charge of the observations hid in bunkers dozens of kilometers away, wearing sunglasses and holding their breath.

A bright spot appeared in the sky.

Those were bullets with flashes of light.

It was like a meteorite, trailing a long, fiery tail, crashing into the earth's embrace in the most resolute manner of its life.

"boom--!!!"

There was no impact sound.

Because it is an airburst.

The fuse was precisely activated at a height of 500 meters above the ground.

For an instant.

A second sun rose over the wasteland.

The enormous fireball engulfed everything. The shockwave whipped up tons of dust, forming a ring-shaped earthen wall that spread wildly in all directions.

A mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

More spectacular and more perfect than the first time.

"It rang! It rang!"

"Hit! Right on the bullseye!"

The observation reports from the front lines were transmitted back to Jiuquan immediately.

Inside the underground control room.

Commander Li slumped into a chair, looking completely exhausted.

Then, he suddenly jumped up, hugged the operator next to him, and burst into tears.

"We did it! We did it!"

"With the combination of nuclear weapons and missiles, we now have a sword! We have a real sword in our hands!"

Su Zheng did not cry.

He simply stared quietly at the mushroom cloud on the screen.

Then, he turned his head and looked at Ye Xinyi beside him.

Ye Xinyi was already in tears.

Su Zheng reached out and gently wiped away her tears.

"Don't cry."

"This is nothing."

Su Zheng's voice was soft, but it carried an air of domineering arrogance.

"They just dropped an atomic bomb."

"When we launch hydrogen bombs, or even satellites, then it won't be too late to cry."

……

The news is out.

The world was astonished.

If the first nuclear test merely shocked the world that China had created an atomic bomb, this time, they felt fear.

Real fear.

Bald Eagle, RAND Corporation.

An urgent report marked "Top Secret" was delivered to the president's desk.

The first page of the report contained only one sentence:

"Red China has mastered a reliable nuclear delivery capability. Their 'hand grenades' have become 'sniper rifles.' From now on, the Western Pacific will no longer be a safe zone for us."

Polar bear, Kremlin.

The newly appointed leader stared at the trajectory of the ballistic missile on the map, his face as grim as a sheet of iron.

"1200 kilometers..."

"If we don't intercept them, their missiles could hit our bases in Central Asia directly."

"Notify the Rocket Force to reassess its strategy toward China. Nuclear surgery... is no longer a low-risk option."

……

For Su Zheng, all that noise had faded away.

He is currently on a plane bound for Beijing.

This time, he was going to attend a top-level secret meeting.

About the hydrogen bomb.

Regarding that unparalleled scheme named the "Yu Min configuration".

"Su Zheng, what are you laughing at?"

Ye Xinyi looked at her husband, who was staring out the window and grinning foolishly, and felt a little curious.

"I'm laughing at those foreigners."

Su Zheng pointed to the sea of ​​clouds below.

"They thought this was our limit."

"They don't know that in this ancient country, there is a group of people who are using abacuses and pencils to deduce a future that is more dazzling than the sun."

Su Zheng pulled out a neatly folded drawing from his pocket.

That was something Lao Yu had just given to him yesterday.

A diagram of the hydrogen bomb assembly.

"Xinyi, look."

Su Zheng pointed to the double-sphere structure on the blueprint.

"This is a true work of art."

"With this, we can show those foreign devils who still use parachutes to slowly drop bombs what 'plenty of food' means within two years."

The plane passed through the clouds.

Golden sunlight shone on Su Zheng's face.

At that moment, he seemed to see the future.

I saw the Dongfeng-5 missile standing in its launch silo.

I saw the Long March rocket soar into space.

I saw that red satellite, playing "The East Is Red" in its orbit.

"Hold on tight, Xinyi."

Su Zheng gripped his wife's hand tightly.

"We need to speed things up."