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

January 17, 1967, 8:6 AM.

A secret airfield of the Northwest Air Force.

On the tarmac, the H-6A bomber, numbered "206," lay quietly at the end of the runway. Its engines were still roaring, and the powerful gusts of air made the surrounding weeds tremble against the ground.

But it can't fly.

Because inside its belly, the three-ton "Crazy Boom No. 1" hydrogen bomb was like a disobedient child, stuck tightly on the rack.

Inside the bomb bay.

Dark, narrow, and cold.

Su was huddled in the only half-meter gap between the bomb and the bulkhead. Above him was the super bomb, powerful enough to destroy a city, and beneath him was the still-vibrating fuselage floor.

"Dean Su! How is it?"

The anxious voice of Pilot Li came through the headset: "The control tower is asking if we can take off? The cloud cover is thickening, and if we don't fly now, the window of opportunity will be over!"

"Don't rush me!"

Su Zheng bit the flashlight and fumbled with his hands inside the complex hook mechanism.

This is a mechanical structure, without electronic signals. Although the Eye of Truth can see through things, it cannot be directly controlled. It must be operated manually.

"Damn it..."

Su Zheng was covered in sweat.

He spotted the fault.

It was a hydraulic pin responsible for locking that had become slightly misaligned due to the vibration from the previous sliding motion. This prevented the disengagement circuit from closing.

If it's not repaired, even if this hydrogen bomb flies over the test range, it won't be able to be dropped.

Landing with a 330-ton hydrogen bomb ready to be detonated... that image is too beautiful for Su Zheng to bear.

"Give me a hammer," Su Zheng shouted towards the cabin door.

The ground staff handed in a copper hammer.

Su Zheng took a deep breath.

He had to use just the right amount of force to knock the pin back in.

I've lost my strength, so I can't move.

If you use too much force, what if you trigger the firing pin above...

"Calm down. Su Zheng, you're fixing a bicycle. It's just a big one."

He hypnotized himself in his mind.

[Eye of Truth, Mechanics Simulation: Initiated.]

Optimal striking angle: 35 degrees.

[Optimal intensity: 50 Newtons.]

Su Zheng raised the hammer.

"clang!"

A dull metallic clang.

"Click".

Immediately following was a crisp reset sound.

Inside the cockpit, the red "mount malfunction" warning light instantly went out and turned into a reassuring green.

"alright!"

Su Zheng shouted and slid out of the bomb bay like a fish.

"Close the cabin door! Takeoff!"

……

"boom--!!!"

With the roar of the afterburner, the H-6, like a heavily laden roc, struggled to leave the runway.

Su Zheng stood by the runway, watching the plane disappear into the clouds, and felt his legs go weak.

That last flick really did give the King of Hell a good knock on the head.

"Dean Su, get to cover quickly!"

General Zhang pulled him into the jeep and sped off towards the underground command post dozens of kilometers away.

……

High altitude, 10000 meters.

Captain Li piloted the bomber, flying smoothly over the sea of ​​clouds.

"Report 206: We have entered the bombing route."

"Report 206: The first line of defense has been lifted."

"Report 206: The second layer of protection has been removed."

Each report made the air in the ground command post grow heavier.

This is not the atomic bomb from before.

That's 330 million tons of electricity!

Its power was more than 200 times that of the Hiroshima atomic bomb!

If the atomic bomb is a hand grenade, then this is a heavy aerial bomb.

"One minute to reach the target."

Captain Li's voice remained calm.

He was wearing an oxygen mask and his hands were firmly gripping the control lever.

Below him lay the vast Lop Nur desert. At the bullseye there, a giant white cross was laid out.

"Putting bombs with parachutes."

"Countdown."

"10".

"9".

……

"cast!"

With a command given, Captain Li pressed the red bomb-throwing button.

The fuselage suddenly lurched upwards.

That was a natural reaction after losing three tons of weight.

The bomb bay door opened.

The giant "gourd"—Raging Speed ​​No. 1—detached from its mounting frame and fell into the void.

"Bang!"

A few seconds later, a huge red and white parachute bloomed in the air.

That was a "supersonic belt parachute" specially designed by Su Zheng. It could not only slow down the falling speed of the hydrogen bomb, but also ensure the stability of the bomb's attitude.

But it's not over yet.

For pilots, the most dangerous moments are just beginning.

"Turn! Accelerate! Run!"

In the ground command post, Su was shouting into the microphone.

Captain Li slammed the accelerator to the floor and simultaneously pushed the lever to the left.

The H-6 emitted a tearing roar, made an extreme steep turn, and then, like a startled bird, desperately fled in the opposite direction.

He only lasted 45 seconds.

Within those 45 seconds, he must fly at least 20 kilometers.

Otherwise, the light radiation from the hydrogen bomb explosion would directly melt the aircraft's skin, and the shock wave would tear the aircraft apart like paper.

"30 seconds..."

"20 seconds..."

"10 seconds..."

Captain Li felt a burning sensation on his back. It was psychological, and also because he knew that the thing behind him was about to become the sun.

……

1967年6月17日，8时20分。

2960 meters above the ground.

The detonation procedure inside "Raging One" has reached its end.

First, the atomic bomb (trigger) at that end detonates.

X-rays filled the entire radiation channel at the speed of light.

Focused by a special material reflector, these high-energy rays are like invisible hammers, relentlessly bombarding the lithium deuteride (the charge) at the other end.

compression.

heating.

ignition.

fusion!

……

"boom--!!!"

There was no sound.

The first thing to arrive was light.

A light a hundred times brighter than an atomic bomb.

It was as if a sun had suddenly appeared in the sky above Lop Nur.

No, it's more dazzling and more domineering than the sun.

It instantly evaporated everything within a radius of several kilometers. Sand turned into glass, rocks into magma, and steel into gas.

Inside the ground command post.

Even with sunglasses on and his back to the screen, Su Zheng still felt that the entire room was illuminated.

"Two suns..."

Someone muttered to themselves.

Next came the shockwave.

It was a wall of dust a thousand meters high. It pushed outwards with overwhelming force, destroying everything in its path.

A T-34 tank placed in the target area was lifted hundreds of meters away like a toy and disintegrated in mid-air.

Several retired fighter jets were simply crushed into a pile of scrap metal.

Even the command post, dozens of kilometers away, felt the ground shaking violently.

"Earthquake!"

"What magnitude earthquake was this?"

"At least level 6!"

……

I don't know how much time has passed.

The light finally faded.

People looked up and gazed into the distance.

There, an unprecedented mushroom cloud is rising.

Its base is black, formed from dust swept up from high altitudes. Its top is white, formed from water vapor condensed instantly. And on its crown, there are rings of dazzling light.

It's too big.

So large that it blots out the sky.

It is so large that it makes one feel insignificant.

"It's done..."

Su Zheng looked at the cloud, tears silently streaming down his face.

Two years and eight months.

They did it.

From the first atomic bomb to the first hydrogen bomb.

The United States took 7 years and 3 months.

It took the Russian bear country four years.

It took Britain 4 years and 7 months.

France took 8 years and 6 months.

But China only took 2 years and 8 months!

This is a world record.

This is the speed of China.

"Su Zheng! Su Zheng!"

General Zhang rushed over and hugged Su Zheng tightly. "Did you see that? That's our hydrogen bomb! That's our 'Raging Storm'!"

"I saw it."

Su Zheng's voice was choked with emotion.

He turned his head and looked at Lao Yu beside him.

This previously unknown genius was now slumped in his chair, staring at the mushroom cloud on the screen, laughing like a fool.

"Thank you, Lao Yu," Su Zheng said.

"Why thank me?" Old Yu waved his hand. "I just did a few calculations. It was everyone else who actually built it."

……

The news is out.

This time, the world is no longer shocked.

Instead, they remained silent.

Dead silence.

Washington.

The president stared at the photo of the massive mushroom cloud taken by a reconnaissance satellite for a long time without saying a word.

"330 million tons..."

The defense minister broke the silence, his voice hoarse, "This is already a weapon ready for actual combat. And they dropped it from airplanes."

"This means they possess a full nuclear strike capability."

The president closed his eyes.

He knew that from this day forward, the previous policy of "nuclear blackmail" was completely ineffective.

That adversary they once looked down upon now has the right to sit at the same table and negotiate with them.

"Cancel the Seventh Fleet's patrol exercises in the Taiwan Strait."

The president waved wearily. "We can't provoke them any further. The lion has awakened."

Moscow.

The marshal who had once boasted of launching a "surgical nuclear strike" against China looked at the intelligence report with a livid expression.

"Two years...it only took two years..."

"How did they do it? Is God on their side?"

No one could answer him.

……

The Great Hall of the People, Beijing.

A high-profile celebration banquet is underway.

Su Zheng was wearing a brand-new Zhongshan suit with a gleaming gold medal on his chest.

"Two Bombs, One Satellite Meritorious Medal".

Although it has not been officially named in this era, the weight of this medal is already heavier than Mount Tai.

The leader personally poured him a glass of wine.

"Comrade Su Zheng, this glass is for you. And also for all the scientists who have worked anonymously and made silent contributions to this country."

Su Zheng took the wine glass with both hands and drank it all in one gulp.

The strong liquor went down my throat and turned into a flame.

"Sir, I'm not tired."

Su Zheng put down his wine glass. "But I have a request."

"you say."

"We have the hydrogen bomb, we have the atomic bomb. We can stand tall now."

Su Zheng looked out the window at the night sky.

"However, our eyes are not sharp enough."

"We need another star."

"A star that can watch over the whole world and make 'The East Is Red' resound throughout the universe."

The leader smiled.

"good!"

"Then let's build stars!"

"We'll give you money if you want money, and we'll give you manpower if you want manpower!"

……

After the banquet.

Su Zheng walked alone on Chang'an Street.

Ye Xinyi followed behind him.

"Are you homesick?" Ye Xinyi asked.

"Home?"

Su Zheng stopped and glanced in the direction of Nanluoguxiang.

The place that once filled him with resentment has now become blurred in his memory.

"The courtyard house is not my home."

Su Zheng held Ye Xinyi's hand.

"Home is where you are."

"besides……"

He pointed to the moon in the sky.

"Our journey begins there."

Ye Xinyi leaned on his shoulder and smiled.

"Okay. Let's go there then."

……

Just when the whole country was celebrating.

An even bigger storm is brewing.

As the special period deepened, the ideology known as "ultra-leftism" began to infiltrate the scientific research field.

Even with Su Zheng's "Special Zone Law" protecting it, Base 001 is not an absolutely safe haven.

Some people with ulterior motives are secretly plotting to find an opportunity to pry open the door to this "independent kingdom".

And their first goal was—

Old Qian.

The father of missiles, who had just returned from the United States and had made great contributions, was considered by some to have a "bad background".

"Dean Su, something terrible has happened!"

I had just returned to the guesthouse when General Zhang called.

"What's wrong?"

"Old Qian... has been taken away!"

"What?!"

Su Zheng's eyes instantly turned cold.

"Who took it?"

"A bunch of students wearing red armbands! They said they wanted him to confess to 'espionage issues' in the United States!"

"court death!"

Su Zheng abruptly hung up the phone.

He grabbed the car keys from the table, turned around, and rushed out the door.

"My love, come with me!"

"Where to?"

"Go save them!"

Su Zheng's voice was filled with an unprecedented murderous intent.

"Whoever dares to mess with my scientists, I'll make them pay the price!"

A war about "protection" officially began amidst the aftershocks of the hydrogen bomb explosion.