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

Late summer of 1967.

A university auditorium in Beijing.

This place was once a temple of academia, a place where ideas clashed. But now, it has become a gladiatorial arena filled with hostility and madness.

The auditorium was packed with people. Banners were flying everywhere, and deafening slogans were blaring from loudspeakers.

On the platform, an elderly man with gray hair bowed his head, a heavy sign hanging from his neck. His glasses were shattered, with only one leg remaining on his ear. His always neatly ironed Zhongshan suit was now torn, with several footprints on it.

Old Qian.

This father of missiles, who gave up a lucrative position in the United States and resolutely returned to China to devote himself to the aerospace industry, is now being "judged" like a sinner.

"Qian XX! Confess!"

A young man wearing a red armband stood on the table, pointing his finger at Old Qian and roaring, "You spent twenty years in the United States and even served as a colonel in the U.S. Army! Are you a spy sent back from the U.S.?!"

Old Qian didn't say anything. He just silently endured it.

There was no fear in his eyes, only deep sorrow.

"Not saying anything? Silence means consent!"

The young man became even more arrogant, "Looks like you won't talk unless I teach you a lesson! Someone! Give him a 'jet plane'!"

Two burly men rushed up and tried to grab Lao Qian's arm.

Just then.

"boom--!!!"

The auditorium doors were suddenly kicked open.

A military green jeep, like a roaring steel beast, charged straight into the venue. The screeching of brakes left two black marks on the concrete as it slid all the way to the foot of the stage before coming to a stop.

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

The car door opened.

A black military boot stepped on the ground.

Su Zheng came down.

He was still wearing that Zhongshan suit without rank insignia. But at that moment, his aura was more terrifying than that of a thousand troops.

Behind him, General Zhang led a squad of heavily armed guards and rushed into the venue, surrounding the podium.

"Click click click—"

The sound of guns being loaded in unison.

It was a metallic clanging sound that sent chills down your spine.

"Who are you?!"

The young man standing on the table nearly fell off in fright, shouting menacingly, "What do you think you're doing? This is a revolutionary act! You dare to launch an armed attack...?"

"Snapped!"

Su Zheng didn't waste any words.

He walked straight onto the stage and slapped the young man hard across the face.

The slap was extremely hard. The young man was sent flying, crashing into the blackboard behind him, and didn't get up for a long time.

"who I am?"

Su Zheng coldly looked at the stunned crowd below the stage.

"I am Su Zheng."

"Director of the 001 Research Institute"

"He's also the person you all say created the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb."

A commotion arose in the crowd.

The name Su Zheng is now a legend across the country.

"Dean Su...?"

Several of the leading red armband members panicked. Although they were fanatical, they also knew that some people were not to be trifled with.

Release them.

Su Zheng pointed at Lao Qian.

"No!"

A middle-aged man who appeared to be the leader stepped forward. He adjusted his glasses and said sarcastically, "Comrade Su, even if you are a meritorious official, you can't protect bad guys. This Qian XX is highly suspected of being a spy; this is the order from above..."

"What does the above mean?"

Su Zheng smiled.

That kind of laughter sent chills down your spine.

He pulled out the "Special Appointment Letter" stamped with a bright red seal from his pocket and slapped it directly onto the man's face.

"Open your dog eyes and see clearly."

"This is a top-secret order from the Central Military Commission."

"Starting today, Comrade Qian XX has been transferred to Base 001 to participate in a top-secret national defense project."

"Wherever he is, that place becomes a military restricted area."

"Anyone who dares to lay a finger on him is undermining national defense and committing treason!"

"Treason..."

Su Zheng drew his pistol from his waist and slammed it on the table.

"Rectify the law on the spot!"

The middle-aged man looked at the official document, then at the dark, menacing gun, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He knew that Su Zheng was not joking.

During this special period, only two things are truly unyielding: the leader's quotations and the gun.

Su Zheng, on the other hand, has both.

"Release...release them..."

The middle-aged man waved his hand shakily.

General Zhang immediately stepped forward, carefully helped Old Qian up, untied the ropes binding him, and removed the sign.

"Old Qian, you've been wronged." General Zhang's eyes were a little red.

Old Qian raised his head, looked at Su Zheng, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

"Mr. Qian, let's go home."

Su Zheng walked over, took off his coat, and draped it over Lao Qian.

"Go back to which home?" Old Qian gave a bitter smile. "My home has already been ransacked."

"Back to Jin Yin Tan."

Su Zheng grasped Lao Qian's hand, his eyes resolute.

"There were no struggle sessions or big-character posters there."

"There's only a quiet desk there."

"We're going there to build missiles and satellites."

Old Qian's eyes lit up.

That was the only light he saw in the darkness.

"Okay...okay...let's go."

……

The jeep sped away.

The auditorium was left in a mess.

In the car.

Su Zheng looked out the window at the streets plastered with slogans, his brow furrowed.

He knew this was just the beginning.

The storm has begun, and it will only intensify. Old Qian is just the first; there are countless other scientists like him in danger.

"I like it."

Su Zheng turned to look at his wife in the passenger seat.

"Bring out that list."

"A list?" General Zhang asked as he drove. "What list?"

"Protected List"

Su Zheng took the notebook from Ye Xinyi, which was filled with names.

Zhao Jiuzhang, Wang Ganchang, Peng Huanwu, Guo Yonghuai...

Every name represents the backbone of China's scientific community.

"Old Zhang, turn around."

Su Zheng closed his notebook, a resolute glint in his eyes.

"Where to?"

"Go to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, go to Tsinghua University, go to Peking University."

"Now that we're here, we can't just save one person."

"I'm taking everyone on this list with me!"

"This..." General Zhang gasped, "So many people? Our cars can't all fit them! And... how many people will we offend?"

"Offended someone?"

Su Zheng sneered.

"If I don't save them, how will history write about me decades from now? How will it write about this period of history?"

"Our country can do without Su Zheng, and it can do without General Zhang."

"But we cannot live without science."

"Without science, we will remain the same sick man of East Asia, vulnerable to being slaughtered!"

"Old Zhang, send a message to the base."

"Mobilize all transport planes and all trucks."

"Initiate Project Ark."

"I want to turn Base 001 into the only safe haven in this chaotic world."

……

The next three days.

A thrilling "talent war" has unfolded in Beijing.

Su Zheng, leading his guard company and carrying the imperial sword of the Central Military Commission, charged around like a band of bandits.

The old professor, who was feeding the pigs in the cowshed, was taken away.

The mathematician who was burning coal in the boiler room was carried away.

In some instances of public denunciation, Su Zheng would even drive a truck straight in, snatch the person, and run away.

Some people resisted, and some people filed complaints.

The call reached the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister only said one sentence: "It's for national defense. Let it be."

With this statement, Su Zheng became even more reckless.

three days later.

Nanyuan Airport.

Five Il-18 transport planes were parked on the runway.

Hundreds of intellectuals, dressed in rags and looking haggard, were queuing to board the plane. Some of them were still holding brooms, while others had a few books that hadn't been burned in their arms.

Their eyes were filled with confusion and fear.

Until they saw Su Zheng standing at the cabin door.

The young man gave them a standard military salute.

"Dear teachers and seniors."

"I am Su Zheng."

"I've come to take you home."

Suppressed sobs could be heard from the crowd.

It was a feeling of injustice, a feeling of being moved, and also the joy of being reborn.

……

The plane takes off.

We flew through the clouds towards the distant northwest.

Looking out the window at the increasingly smaller city of Beijing, Su Zheng let out a long sigh of relief.

The "Ark" has set sail.

But this is only the first step.

The needs of hundreds of scientists, along with their families, and the basic necessities of thousands of people, presented a tremendous challenge in this era of scarcity.

Moreover, as the storm spreads, how long can the "privileges" of Base 001 be maintained?

Will those rebels chase us all the way to Jin Yin Tan?

Su Zheng didn't know.

But he knew that since he had brought these people out, he had to be responsible for them.

"I like it."

"Um?"

"We'll need to start some side hustles when we get back."

"A side hustle?" Ye Xinyi was taken aback. "Isn't building hydrogen bombs enough?"

"not enough."

Su Zheng shook his head.

"Making bombs alone won't fill our stomachs."

"We want to farm, raise pigs, and build houses."

"I also need to... get something that can be exchanged for money."

A new blueprint has already emerged in Su Zheng's mind.

Since the outside world is in chaos, let's establish an independent, self-sufficient, and technologically advanced "mini-society" at Base 001.

They not only want to build nuclear weapons.

They also need to manufacture fertilizers, pesticides, radios, and televisions.

Even... manufacturing chips.

"This is called 'Dig deep tunnels, store up grain, and delay declaring yourself king.'"

Su Zheng smiled.

"Wait until the storm outside stops."

"We want to give the nation a... stronger future."