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

1969, spring.

Zhenbao Island, on the Sino-Soviet border.

On the frozen Ussuri River, the sound of cannons boomed.

Although our army fought bravely and repelled several Soviet attacks, even capturing one of the most advanced T-62 tanks at the time, the situation did not improve; instead, it slid into an even more dangerous abyss.

Moscow, the Kremlin.

Comrade Brezhnev slammed his fist on the table.

"The Chinese are too arrogant!"

"We have to teach them a lesson! I want them to know who's in charge of the socialist camp!"

A top-secret plan codenamed "Surgery" was brought to the forefront.

The plan is shocking: to use nuclear forces in the Far East to launch a devastating attack on China's nuclear bases (including Lop Nur and Base 504) and important industrial cities.

They even informed the United States, hoping to gain tacit approval.

The shadow of war instantly enveloped the entire East Asian continent.

……

Base 504.

The atmosphere here is even more tense than it was two years ago when we were working on the hydrogen bomb.

All the windows were covered with duct tape in a crisscross pattern. The doors to the air-raid shelter were kept open. Even the hundreds of pigs that had just been fattened up were slaughtered in advance and made into cured meat in preparation for wartime.

"Dean Su, let's retreat."

General Zhang's eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was hoarse. "The orders from above have come down. Once the alarm sounds, all key personnel must immediately enter the 'Underground Great Wall' (deep mountain air-raid shelters). As for equipment... take what you can, and destroy what you can't on the spot."

"destroy?"

Su Zheng looked out the window at the newly built chip factory and the row of centrifuges that roared day and night.

That was the culmination of two years' worth of hard work by thousands of people.

"Old Zhang, if this happens, all our hard work over the past few years will have been for nothing," Su Zheng said calmly.

"That's better than people dying!" General Zhang said urgently. "As long as the green hills remain, there's always firewood to burn!"

"No."

Su Zheng shook his head.

He walked to the battle map and picked up the red and blue pencils.

"If the green hills are burned down, there's no point in living."

"Furthermore, as you know, the so-called 'Underground Great Wall' can only defend against conventional bombs. If it's a megaton-class hydrogen bomb that hits directly..."

Su Zheng did not continue.

But everyone present understood.

A nuclear strike of that magnitude would cause the entire mountain range to collapse like jelly.

"What are we going to do? Just sit and wait to die?" General Zhang slammed his hat on the table. "We have hydrogen bombs, but they're air-dropped! Our H-6 bombers were shot down by their anti-aircraft missiles before they even reached the border! We can't reach them!"

This is the pain of having bullets but no guns.

Although the Dongfeng-2A was tested previously, it was only a short-range missile. Its range is insufficient to deter Moscow or strategic bases in the Far East.

"Who says we can't reach it?"

Su Zheng suddenly laughed.

It was the kind of smile a hunter gives when he sees his prey walk into his trap.

"Old Zhang, do you remember those chips we made in Workshop 701?"

"I remember. Wasn't it used to make radios?"

"That's for outsiders to see."

Su Zheng opened a black briefcase.

Inside was a circuit board about the size of a book.

The surface was densely covered with TTL chips that he had personally hand-molded in Workshop 701.

"This is the new brain I gave to the Dongfeng-3 (medium-range missile)."

As Su Zheng spoke, he pointed to the railway lines on the map.

"Old Zhang, can I borrow your train?"

"train?"

"Yes. Our special train."

A cold glint flashed in Su Zheng's eyes.

"Load that newly assembled 'Dongfeng-3' missile onto the train. We're going to the border."

……

three days later.

A green-skinned special train, disguised as a freight train, quietly departed from the base under the cover of night.

It sped northeast along the railway that ran across the northwest.

in the carriage.

A huge, silver-white missile lies quietly on a specially made hydraulic support.

Dongfeng-3.

This is China's first-generation medium-range ballistic missile. It uses liquid fuel and has a range of 2800 kilometers.

In theory, it could cover all of Russia's air force bases in the Far East and Vladivostok.

However, its accuracy has always been a problem.

"Dean Su, the circular error of probability (CEP) of this thing is 2 kilometers."

Old Qian was a little worried, "It's fine for attacking cities. But if it's for taking down targets... well, that's up to fate."

"That was before."

Su Zheng skillfully disassembled the missile's guidance bay cover and inserted the new circuit board.

"Inertial guidance + starlight correction. Combined with the computing power provided by these chips, I can control the error within..."

He held up one finger.

"100 meters?" Old Qian asked.

"No."

Su Zheng shook his head.

"50 meters."

Old Qian gasped.

50 meters!

For a ballistic missile with a range of nearly 3000 kilometers, this is practically the accuracy of a sniper rifle!

"But...where are we going to fight?" Old Qian asked. "Are we really going to go to war?"

"No."

Su Zheng closed the cover, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"We will not fight."

"We just... accidentally..."

……

China-Mongolia border.

This is a desolate, uninhabited area.

The special train stopped at a small station less than 50 kilometers from the border.

"Everyone off the vehicle! Deploy the equipment!"

With a command, the seemingly ordinary freight car suddenly opened like a Transformer.

The hydraulic arm extended and slowly raised the huge missile.

This is the "railway mobile launch system" designed by Su Zheng.

Although it is still very rudimentary, it has the most essential function—hit and run.

"Target coordinates: 45°N, 135°E".

Su Zheng reported a set of data.

Old Qian gestured on the map for a moment, then his expression changed drastically.

"Dean Su! That's...that's an abandoned firing range of the Russians! It's less than ten kilometers from their Far East strategic bomber base!"

"That's right."

Su Zheng nodded.

"We want to shoot at that range."

"Moreover, we need to attack close enough to the base that they can see it clearly, but we can't actually attack the base, otherwise it would be a declaration of war."

This is "dancing on the edge of a knife".

If the target is off by even one kilometer, it might miss its target and have no deterrent effect.

If it's 10 kilometers off course, it could trigger World War III.

"Let's begin."

Su Zheng sat in the simple command vehicle, his fingers on the keyboard.

"Data injection".

"Guidance system self-test...all green."

"Fueling complete."

"Countdown."

……

at the same time.

A radar station in the Far East of Russia.

The radar operator was yawning while staring at the screen. Suddenly, a huge dot of light appeared.

"Alert! Ballistic missile launch signal detected!"

Location: Northwest China!

"Expected landing point... God! It's our Ussuriysk base!"

The alarm sounded instantly throughout the entire Far East Military District.

Numerous Tu-16 bombers scrambled into the air. The nuclear missile force entered a state of high alert.

The marshal in charge of command had already placed his hand on the nuclear button.

"If it crosses the red line, we will retaliate!"

The marshal gritted his teeth, staring intently at the trajectory on the screen.

The missile flew very fast and very high.

Its trajectory is extremely stable, as if it were drawn with a ruler.

Nearly.

closer.

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

Just as the missile was about to enter the base's air defense perimeter.

It suddenly made a strange maneuver.

The warhead separates.

Re-entering the atmosphere.

Then, like a shooting star, it crashed straight down onto... the abandoned firing range next to the base.

"boom--!!!"

Although it was not loaded with a nuclear warhead, the several tons of high-energy explosives still created a tremendous explosion.

The massive shockwave even shattered the glass at the base ten kilometers away.

The dust has settled.

A reconnaissance plane from the Russian bear country flew overhead.

They saw a huge bomb crater.

In the center of the crater, a red flag was prominently displayed.

The crater was less than 500 meters from the base's oil depot.

……

"Was this an accidental firing?"

The marshal looked at the reconnaissance photos, his back soaked with cold sweat.

500 m.

What does this level of accuracy mean for a missile that has traveled nearly 3000 kilometers?

This means that if the Chinese people wanted to, they could drop a nuclear bomb into the Kremlin chimney at any time.

"No...this wasn't an accidental firing."

The marshal slumped in his chair, his voice hoarse.

"This is a warning."

"They are telling us to stay calm."

"If we dare to touch their base, they have the capability to take down our headquarters as well."

"Let's cancel the 'surgical' plan."

The marshal waved wearily.

"We...can't afford to gamble."

……

The crisis is over.

When Su Zheng returned to the base by special train, he was greeted with hero's cheers.

Although no one knew exactly what had happened, everyone could feel that the dark cloud hanging over their heads had dissipated.

"Dean Su, you're amazing!"

General Zhang poured Su Zheng a glass of wine, saying, "That cannon shot brought us decades of peace!"

Su Zheng took a sip of wine, but felt little joy.

"Peace is won through war."

Su Zheng put down his wine glass. "But this kind of deterrence is not enough."

"Not enough?" General Zhang was stunned. "Even the Russians were frightened, and it's still not enough?"

"not enough."

Su Zheng shook his head.

He pulled a photograph out of his pocket.

Those were photos of the Apollo moon landing recently released by the United States. The footprint left by the astronauts on the moon stung Su Zheng's eyes.

"They are watching us."

Su Zheng pointed to the sky.

"American satellites fly overhead every day. Our every move is under their watchful eyes."

"This feeling is very unpleasant."

"I'm really annoyed."

Su Zheng stood up and walked to the window.

The night sky is dotted with stars.

"Old Zhang, do you remember what I said to the leader in Beijing?"

"Remember. You must build stars."

"right."

A flame burned in Su Zheng's eyes.

"It's not just about making stars."

"We want that star to sing as it flies over Washington, over Moscow."

"We want the whole world to hear the voice of China."

"This is true deterrence."

Su Zheng turned around and looked at General Zhang.

"Notify Workshop 701."

"We are going all out to produce radiation-resistant wafers."

"Notify Lao Qian."

"Prepare for the Long March 1 rocket."

"We're going to heaven."