I started with a ship full of max-level veterans, and I'm just a complete noob.

At 2 PM, an official document from the Ministry of Machine Building was delivered to the Third Electronics Factory.

Factory Director Zhang spread the document out on the table, pressed down the corners with his palm, and looked up at Wu Hanzhang standing opposite him.

"The 502 High-Frequency Microwave Electron Tube Research Laboratory has been officially approved."

"The staff is tentatively set at fifteen people, and will be housed in a confidential compartment converted from the Nantou power distribution room. The confidentiality level is top secret."

"Wu Hanzhang, director of the research lab, Jiang Ming, technical leader, and Fang Xudong, deputy leader of the microwave group at the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences."

Wu Hanzhang took the document, glanced at it, folded the paper, and put it into his briefcase.

"I've already notified Engineer Fang; he'll bring his team to move in at 2 PM this afternoon."

"The equipment and instruments are still being allocated and are expected to arrive within three days."

Factory Director Zhang nodded.

"The magnetron issue can't be delayed; the ministries are pressing us hard."

"Have Jiang Ming come up with the technical solution as soon as possible; I'll coordinate the materials."

Wu Hanzhang fastened his briefcase and turned to leave.

As he reached the door, he turned back and added a sentence.

"Factory manager, things might not go so smoothly with the oxygen-free copper project."

Factory Director Zhang raised his head.

"How so?"

"Engineer Fang brought over the spectral report today. The purity of the anode copper in the seized equipment is too high. Currently, only the batch of materials from Shenyang in China can meet the standard."

"But that batch of supplies was in the hands of the Soviet expert group, and without Ivanov's approval, the Materials Department couldn't mobilize it."

Factory Director Zhang was silent for two seconds, then picked up the cigarette pack from the table, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

"Let Mr. Qian try to handle things with Ivanov."

"If that doesn't work, then have Jiang Ming prepare for the technical defense."

"This person only values ​​skills, not connections."

Wu Hanzhang grunted in acknowledgment and went out.

Outside the Nantou power distribution room, Fang Xudong was standing at the door waiting.

He was wearing a navy blue cotton overcoat, carrying a heavy canvas tool bag, with two young technicians following behind him.

Wu Hanzhang walked over, took out his key from his pocket, and opened the door to the confidential cubicle.

"Mr. Fang, come in."

Fang Xudong nodded and stepped aside to let the two technicians go in first.

The room had been cleaned up; the walls had been freshly painted with lime, the floor was covered with wooden planks, and two long tables were placed side by side by the window.

On the table were several instruments brought from the Institute of Physics: an oscilloscope, a signal generator, a high-voltage power supply, and a spectrum analyzer with its casing removed.

Fang Xudong placed the canvas bag on the table, unzipped it, and pulled out a report clipped to a piece of cardboard.

"Mr. Wu, the spectral analysis results are in."

He handed the report to Wu Hanzhang.

Wu Hanzhang took it and opened it, his eyes landing on the data table on the third page.

Oxygen-free copper purity: 99.97%.

Oxygen content: below 0.003%.

Content of harmful impurities: Bismuth < 0.001%, Antimony < 0.0005%, Lead < 0.0003%.

After reading the numbers, Wu Hanzhang closed the report and looked up at Fang Xudong.

"Can China achieve this level of purity right now?"

Fang Xudong shook his head.

"I can't do it."

"The best copper in China has an oxygen content of over 0.02%, and impurities such as bismuth, antimony, and lead are even more uncontrollable."

"The oxygen-free copper used in the seized equipment must have been produced through vacuum melting and multiple refining processes."

"I asked the materials group at the Institute of Physics, and they said that the only thing in China with this purity was the batch of Soviet imports that were sealed up at the Shenyang Copper Processing Plant."

Wu Hanzhang put the report back on the table and took off his glasses to wipe them.

"That batch of supplies was in the hands of the Soviet expert group. Without Ivanov's signature, the materials department could not transfer them."

Fang Xudong remained silent for two seconds.

"That's troublesome."

"The anode resonant cavity of the magnetron must be soldered with oxygen-free copper."

"Ordinary copper will release gas in a high vacuum environment. If the cavity leaks gas, it will not be able to start oscillation."

"Without this batch of supplies, magnetrons cannot be made."

Wu Hanzhang put his glasses back on, turned around and walked to the window, looking at the chimneys of the factory area outside.

"Mr. Fang, do you think Ivanov is an easy person to talk to?"

Fang Xudong thought for a moment.

"Difficult to talk to."

"He graduated from Leningrad Polytechnic University and has been working in vacuum metallurgy for twenty years. He has a very solid technical foundation."

"He has always held reservations about China's independent research and development, feeling that our foundation is too weak and we cannot produce high-tech products."

"If he knew we were copying Soviet magnetrons, his attitude would be even tougher."

Wu Hanzhang turned around.

"Then we have to show him whether we have the ability to make good use of these supplies."

"As for Jiang Ming, do you think he can persuade Ivanov?"

Fang Xudong did not answer immediately. Instead, he walked to the table, took out a blueprint from his canvas bag, and spread it on the table.

The drawing shows the cross-sectional structure of the magnetron, with eight fan-shaped cavities evenly distributed on the anode cylinder, and the radial depth of the cavity is marked as 8.15 mm.

"Engineer Wu, I still can't see through Jiang Ming's technical skills."

Fang Xudong pointed to the dimensions marked on the drawing.

"It seems unusual to me that he could draw such precise proportions of the cavity when he first saw the captured equipment."

"Either he had seen similar equipment before, or he has an intuition for high-frequency structures that is beyond the average person."

"But whichever the possibility, he at least has a solid foundation in the field of magnetrons."

After hearing this, Wu Hanzhang remained silent for a while.

"Engineer Fang, what do you mean by that?"

Fang Xudong raised his head and looked into Wu Hanzhang's eyes.

"What I mean is, Jiang Ming might be a more complex person than we think."

"But whether he has the ability to persuade Ivanov, I'm not sure."

"Ivanov doesn't want verbal promises, he wants a complete technical solution."

"From the anode processing technology to the cavity welding process, every step must be of high quality."

"If Jiang Ming can't produce something convincing to him, this batch of oxygen-free copper can't be extracted."

Wu Hanzhang rolled up the blueprints again and handed them to Fang Xudong.

"Then let Jiang Ming prepare for his defense."

"I'll go see him this afternoon and ask him to write out the technical solution."

Time waits for no one.

Fang Xudong took the blueprints and nodded.

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside the door.

Old Sun pushed open the door and came in, holding a roll of copper plate samples he had found in the foundry workshop.

He placed the copper coin on the table and tapped its surface with his finger.

"Mr. Fang, take a look at this."

Fang Xudong walked over and glanced down at it.

The copper plate has obvious pores and inclusions on its surface, and the edge welds have turned black.

"Is this the best copper the factory can get right now?"

Old Sun nodded.

"It's the best batch in the foundry's inventory, but look at this weld; it oxidized as soon as it was baked at high temperatures."

"If the anode cavity of the magnetron is made with this kind of copper solder, when the vacuum pump is used, the cavity will be full of air bubbles and cannot be sealed at all."

Fang Xudong picked up the copper coin, looked at it, and then put it back on the table.

"Therefore, we must obtain that batch of oxygen-free copper from Shenyang."

"Without those supplies, magnetrons couldn't be made."

Old Sun was silent for two seconds.

"Then Engineer Jiang needs to be prepared to go up against the Soviet experts."

Wu Hanzhang fastened his briefcase and turned to leave.

"I'm going to find him now."

"Get the equipment working properly first, and start work immediately once the technical solution is ready."