Chapter 1355
: Grow your own fruit trees, eat your own fruit; the internet, pirates on the move.
Inside the office of the Red Star Computing Institute.
Li Aiguo showed no surprise at all after hearing Xia Zhongsu's words.
"Since the Academy of Sciences still needs to hold meetings to study and discuss this slowly, let's not wait any longer and go directly to the railway route."
If they're unwilling to get involved, we'll build it ourselves.
Upon hearing this, Xia Zhongsu, who was sitting to the side, became restless.
"Patriotism, isn't that going too far in terms of saving face?"
Or should I make another trip to the Academy of Sciences and talk to Vice President Chen, asking him to help me put in a better position again?
Xia Zhongsu's meaning was quite clear.
The construction of supercomputers should have been led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
When the fruits are distributed in the future, the Academy of Sciences will also receive a share.
Li Aiguo naturally understood and said with a smile, "Old Xia, Vice President Chen is indeed a kind-hearted and good leader."
However, some people within the Academy of Sciences are afraid that the fruit growing on this tree will wither prematurely, and they cannot bear the responsibility.
Since they have concerns, let's not make things difficult for them.
"Sigh, alright then."
Xia Zhongsu was a sensible man and knew the situation within the Academy of Sciences, so he could only sigh helplessly.
Considering that the Super Mushroom Egg needed the help of a supercomputer, Li Aiguo didn't waste any time and went to the Ministry of Railways with the materials.
He has been here countless times.
He greeted everyone along the way and easily knocked on the door of Leader Teng's office.
When Leader Teng saw Li Aiguo appear, he was somewhat surprised: "I heard from your teacher that you've been busy manufacturing electric trains in Changxindian lately."
The first batch of transport aircraft has already been delivered to France, and mass production is now on the agenda.
"How come you had time to come over?"
Li Aiguo pulled out a chair and sat down, saying with a grin, "Look at what you're saying, I just missed you, leader."
If I don't listen to the leader's teachings for a day, I feel that my ideological awareness is falling behind.
"That's why I'm here so quickly to report on my ideological work."
"You little rascal, you're all talk, you just spout nonsense."
Leader Teng burst into laughter at his joke and pointed at him.
That's how the relationship between the two is; the more casual they are, the deeper their friendship seems.
Sure enough, Boss Teng was in a great mood, so he took out a pack of white cigarettes from his drawer and threw it over.
"Here you go. They just gave me these at yesterday's meeting. My throat's been sore these past couple of days, and the doctor wouldn't let me smoke them, so you're in luck."
"Oh dear, I can't accept this. It's my boss who really cares about me."
Li Aiguo's eyes lit up, and without any hesitation, he quickly stuffed the special-supply cigarettes into his canvas bag.
He casually took out the document.
"Boss, please take a look at this."
Leader Teng took the materials and said with a laugh, "I knew it. You wouldn't come here unless you needed something. You took my cigarettes and now you want me to do you a favor."
Leader Teng opened the materials, glanced at them, and his originally relaxed brows gradually furrowed.
He was completely clueless about things like "supercomputers" and "floating-point operations."
But such cutting-edge scientific research projects clearly fall under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, so how did they end up being sent to the Ministry of Railways?
Leader Teng pondered for a moment, then looked up at Li Aiguo: "What happened? Did the Academy of Sciences reject it?"
"They didn't say it was a done deal, and they didn't issue a formal veto document. They just said the technical risks were too great and they needed to hold another meeting to discuss it further," Li Aiguo answered truthfully.
Having worked in government offices for many years, Leader Teng was well aware of the intricacies of the situation.
"Let's have a meeting to discuss it" is often just an excuse to postpone things.
"Tell me, what's the deal with your supercomputer?"
Li Aiguo did not go into the technical details, but instead explained the concept of supercomputers in layman's terms.
"On a smaller scale, it can be used for cutting-edge scientific research, such as weather forecasting and geological exploration."
On a larger scale, for our Ministry of Railways, it can be used for the overall planning of the national railway network, optimizing train scheduling, and even assisting in the design of high-speed trains in the future…”
Leader Teng nodded repeatedly as he listened.
"Since it's useful, then go ahead and build it. I've approved it. We'll provide the manpower and materials as needed." After hearing this, Leader Teng signed the document without saying another word.
Seeing how readily Teng agreed, Li Aiguo was somewhat incredulous.
Seeing that Li Aiguo still looked a little surprised, Leader Teng laughed and said, "Do you feel it's too easy?"
Haha, those of us who work in the railway industry have no shortage of courage. Those who do research are afraid of failure, but we are not!
We'll grow our own fruit trees and eat our own fruit!
Yes, right after liberation, the development of railways in China was extremely difficult.
As a result, in less than ten years, railway transportation has become an important means of transportation in the country.
In later generations, it became a vital economic artery.
All of this is inseparable from the railway workers' courage to think big, act boldly, and fight tough battles.
Of course, the reason why Leader Teng dared to sign this document was because of his trust in Li Aiguo.
"Please rest assured, leader, I will do my best." Li Aiguo nodded emphatically.
"Alright, stop making promises to me. Just go ahead and do it! I'll have the ministry send a special working group to assist you!"
The following conversation took place in an office at the Academy of Sciences.
Chen, the deputy director of the Institute of Computing Technology, stood in front of Mr. Guo's desk, his tone tinged with schadenfreude.
"Leader, I really didn't expect that the Ministry of Railways would be so bold as to approve a project that even the Big Brother didn't manage to do."
"Thank goodness you rejected it in time; otherwise, if the project had failed, we would definitely have been criticized."
Mr. Guo, sitting behind his desk, frowned slightly: "Nonsense!"
When did I ever veto this project?
I was acting responsibly towards research funding, and I believed that this project was extremely technically challenging and too risky.
It simply requires more careful argumentation and research.
“Yes, yes, it’s not that we don’t agree, it’s just that Li Aiguo is too impatient and wants to go it alone.” Deputy Director Chen nodded repeatedly after being reprimanded, and continued along with Mr. Guo’s train of thought.
Over the years, the Institute of Computing Technology has been overshadowed by the Red Star Computer Research Institute.
Even several large-scale machine projects that were originally planned to be launched were cut short.
Now that the Red Star Computer Research Institute is planning to build a supercomputer, I naturally oppose it wholeheartedly.
"Alright, this has nothing to do with us. When you get back, you should focus your energy on your work and come up with a solution for the new mainframe as soon as possible."
"Please rest assured, sir, I will organize a capable team to tackle this problem as soon as I get back, and I will certainly live up to your expectations."
Deputy Director Chen understood Mr. Guo's thoughts.
If Red Star Computer's supercomputer project fails, then this will be the day their computing institute turns the tide.
After Deputy Director Chen left, Mr. Guo poured himself a cup of tea and slowly drank it.
He didn't actually intend to make things difficult for the Red Star Computer Research Institute.
After all, the Red Star Computer Research Institute has been too prominent in recent years, so there's no way to make things difficult for them.
I just didn't want to get involved.
If there are any unexpected gains, that would be even better.
"This is what you call knowing when to advance and retreat, and being able to get along with everyone."
Li Aiguo, Li Aiguo, you are truly a once-in-a-century genius in technological research and development.
However, he's still too young when it comes to interpersonal relationships...
Li Aiguo was unaware of what was happening at the Academy of Sciences, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
Compared to those open and covert struggles, it is more important to develop a supercomputer.
At Teng's command, the Ministry of Railways sprang into action instantly.
A supercomputer is not simply a collection of computers put together.
This thing has many supporting facilities and occupies a considerable area.
After thinking it over, Li Aiguo decided to go all out and set up a supercomputing center.
Considering the cooperative relationship with the Red Star Computer Research Institute, and also for the sake of confidentiality, the supercomputing center was located next to the Red Star Computer Research Institute.
The railway soldiers were in charge of the basic construction; they were all veterans, so building a supercomputing center was more than enough for them.
Li Aiguo didn't need to worry; the focus remained on manufacturing the supercomputer.
In terms of architecture, a supercomputer is divided into several major systems, including processor array, memory system, interconnect and bus, rack and heat dissipation, instruction system and software.
Currently, the most critical processor issue has been resolved.
Regarding memory, due to the current lack of advanced semiconductor memory technology, Li Aiguo decided to adopt ferrite core memory.
This magnetic core is made of pressed iron oxide powder and has a diameter of only 0.5 millimeters. It is assembled entirely by hand by female workers under a magnifying glass.
To ensure stability, each core module is also equipped with a dedicated shielding shell.
Although this technology sounds somewhat primitive, it was actually used for a long time in later generations, particularly in military radar.
Although its absolute memory performance is average, it has extremely strong anti-interference capabilities.
Military equipment is all about being sturdy and durable.
The most crucial element is the interconnect architecture.
In those days, there was no concept of networking, so Li Aiguo invented multi-port memory interconnect wires.
The core of this device consists of brass contacts, silver-plated wires, and a relay.
From a modern perspective, simply put, this is actually the network cable used in later times.
Due to technological limitations, optical fiber was replaced with silver-plated wire, and crystal head was replaced with brass contacts.
Even so, this specially designed wire can already achieve interconnection of 256 ports!
"My God! This thing can actually communicate between processors at a speed of 5 Mbps?"
Professor Gillotti stared wide-eyed at the strange-looking accessory on the table.
"It will be more than that, depending on the quality of the conductor. If we can ensure that the purity of the conductor is up to standard, the maximum speed should be able to reach 10 meters per second." Li Aiguo smiled and gave a relatively conservative figure.
Silver-plated wires don't have slow transmission speeds; they're just more expensive.
When it's widely adopted, it can be replaced with copper wires.
Professor Gillotti picked up the accessory, his eyes widening in surprise.
He wasn't shocked by the speed, but rather a strange question came to mind.
"Patriot, wait a minute... Since this thing can communicate between processors, does that also mean... it can communicate between computers?"
If two computers, or more computers, are connected together.
Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo's eyes flashed with surprise, then he gave a thumbs up.
What defines a computer master? This is it!
In those days, neither mainframes nor dedicated minicomputers had network connectivity.
It could even be said that the concept of networking simply doesn't exist in the computer world.
It wasn't until 69, when the US military developed ARPANET, that network communication was finally achieved.
Now, Professor Gillotti can immediately envision the possibility of computer networking based on just a single interconnecting wire.
This foresight is simply terrifying!
“That’s right, Professor.”
Considering that the next step was to develop a major internet project, Li Aiguo decided not to hide it from the public.
"This type of interconnecting wire also has an extremely important function: enabling communication between computers."
Imagine that every computer has such an interface, and interconnecting wires can connect the interface to a repeater.
Then, countless computers are connected to a single repeater in this way.
Computers can communicate with each other, thus forming a network!
"The internet." Professor Gillotti's breathing quickened upon hearing this.
Currently, computers are mainly used for calculations and occasionally for playing games. However, once connected to the internet, computers can do many more things, such as sending information.
After that, will we be able to contact the other party across the ocean instantly without making a phone call?
So, is it true that you can play that game called "Tank Battle" and then play online against other people who are not in the same room?
Is it possible to instantly transfer data stored on another computer?
Professor Gillotti was increasingly shocked by the idea; it was so advanced that his reason even considered denying the existence of such a network.
However, his instincts as a top scholar told him otherwise.
This type of network is highly feasible!
Once this network is truly built, the distance between people around the world will be reduced invisibly and completely.
This is absolutely a groundbreaking idea!
Professor Gillotti, barely suppressing his shock, asked, "Patriotism... what's the name of this network?"
Li Aiguo looked at the wire and nodded: "Since it's a network connected by interconnecting wires, let's call it the Internet."
Just as Li Aiguo was conceiving the idea for the internet, something else related to Li Aiguo happened in Djibouti, a place far away in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
In this era, Djibouti remains the traditional territory of the French.
Because this place controls the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it is a vital passage from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, and a necessary route for Europe to reach the Indian Ocean.
It is no exaggeration to say that whoever gets Djibouti has one hand gripping the Middle East's oil lifeline and the other hand holding the economic lifeline of Eurasian trade!
This nature is exactly the same as that of the strait near Dalang's home in later generations.
Therefore, although France has now strategically retreated, it is still holding onto Djibouti.
However, such an important place had naturally been coveted by others long ago.
Xiao Mei's family has been keeping an eye on this place.
More than a decade ago, Xiao Mei's family sent a large number of people to Djibouti under the pretext of dealing with the Russians.
In particular, Xiao Mei's family also won over Xiao Sai's family and Xiao Suo's family, forming an encirclement around Djibouti.
Of course, Xiao Mei's family has a unique characteristic when it comes to doing the dirty work: they rarely do it themselves, but rather rely on the chess pieces for help, while Xiao Mei's family provides the funds and information.
If things go well, Xiao Mei's family will naturally reap the rewards and take over the territory without any problem.
But if things are exposed or fail, Xiao Mei's family can immediately wash their hands clean, indicating that it has nothing to do with them.
Ever since the French leader, Dai, revealed his intention to leave the Northern Alliance, the American family has been deeply worried.
The bigwigs in Langley are so worried they can't sleep at night.
If the French become complete adversaries, how will America's large ships and merchant vessels safely pass through Djibouti in the future?
Strike first and you'll have the upper hand; strike later and you'll suffer the consequences!
In this situation, the top enforcer, the Little Sue pirates, quietly gathered a large force.
The uniform he was wearing belonged to the Xiao Suo family, but the weapons and equipment belonged to the Xiao Mei family.
The battle broke out suddenly.
The pirate crew of the So family drove pickup trucks, armed with heavy machine guns, and stormed into Djibouti.
Although the French had troops stationed here, their numbers were far too small. Faced with these well-equipped pirates, their defenses were on the verge of being torn apart and they couldn't hold out for long.
Just as the pirate leader of the Little So family was gloating, already crouching behind his bunker, dreaming of receiving a large sum of greenbacks from Agent Langley...
The accident happened without any warning.
It was accompanied by a deafening roar.
On the horizon, several massive transport planes forcibly landed at a military airport in Djibouti!
Before the pirates could figure out what it was, the massive tail hatch of the transport plane suddenly swung open.
"Click-click-click!"
Squads of fully armed French soldiers poured off the plane.
Immediately afterwards, several main battle tanks drove straight out of the plane's belly, their dark cannons pointed directly at them!
"Where the hell did this come from?!" The pirate captain was terrified.
The ensuing battle became one-sided.
The pirates of the Little Sorbet family didn't even have a chance to fight back before they were thoroughly taught a lesson by the French and kicked out of Djibouti.
When the battle report reached Paris.
President Dai sat in his luxurious office, listening to his secretary's report while happily drinking several glasses of brandy.
"Thirty million dollars a plane? My God, that's an absolute steal!"
These transport planes, purchased from the East, not only helped them save Djibouti.
Incidentally, during this battle, they also uprooted all the spies that Langley had planted in Djibouti.
The battle lasted only a short time, from when Xiao Suo appeared at the Suo family's residence to when they were driven out, a mere two days.
But this battle shocked the world.
Anyone with eyes can see that the Xiao family is definitely being orchestrated by the Xiao family!
After all, many of those soldiers from the Little Su family were notorious pirates in their past.
Don't think that just because you're on land, we won't recognize each other anymore.
Xiao Mei's family had already made preparations for a celebration at Langley headquarters, but who would have thought it would end up being such a disgraceful result?
Startled, he quickly jumped out to deny it.
"What a joke! The French are like brothers, we're inseparable. How could I possibly steal from my best friend? Slander, pure slander!"
Commander Dai naturally knew that this was Xiao Mei's doing, but now was not the time to turn against them.
So, Commander Dai happily played along, saying, "Yes, yes, it's just those blind pirates trying to steal my foie gras. This has absolutely nothing to do with our boss."
One stubbornly refused to admit it, while the other pretended not to know and didn't pursue the matter.
The other members of the extended family naturally couldn't say much.
However, as the details of the battle were gradually revealed...
All eyes, however, were focused on those large airplanes!
"My God! The pirates from the Little Su family have really come prepared this time, with a total of over ten thousand people!"
"If it weren't for those transport planes that transported a large number of French infantry and even tanks to Djibouti in just one day, Djibouti would definitely not have been able to hold out this time!"
"I heard that the French bought that transport plane from the East at a high price! One plane can carry seven or eight hundred fully armed soldiers and can also carry main battle tanks!"
"This stuff is amazing... This is fucking amazing stuff!"
The Vostok 1 transport plane, as a hero of this battle, immediately attracted the attention of many people.
With the Vostok 1 transport aircraft, we essentially gained the ability to project troops over long distances.
Now, even the John Bull family, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't sit still any longer and started to get interested.
After all, the Bull family had a small island in the South Atlantic, thousands of miles away from their homeland.
Meanwhile, the Ma family next door was keeping a close eye on things.
Without this thing, if a real fight broke out, by the time John Bull's ship sailed past, it would be too late.
As for how to conduct transactions when the two parties have not established a formal relationship, that is relatively easy to resolve.
Isn't the headquarters of Hextech's joint venture located in the suburbs of London?
John Bull's boss slapped his thigh.
We can simply use the name of the Hextech joint venture to buy transport aircraft first, and then our military can buy them from Hextech later, wouldn't that solve the problem?
Will the price be higher if I transfer the goods?
John Bull's family was incredibly wealthy.
As a long-established British empire, do we really lack that little bit of money?
Its rich heritage speaks for itself!
"What? The Bull family is also buying transport planes, five of them?" Li Aiguo was at the Red Star Computer Research Institute when he received a call from Yang Jizong.
"Yes! They specifically requested the exact same configuration as the French. So, Patriotic brother, can we take it on?"
"It's not a big problem, but we'll have to wait a while."
The next batch of transport planes is to be delivered to the frontier corps, so they will definitely be given priority.
"Haha, there's absolutely no rush! I think the John Bulls will be very 'understanding' of our production capacity." Yang Jizong laughed triumphantly on the phone.
Because he wasn't worried at all about the other party going back on their word.
After all, to show their sincerity, John Bull's family had already transferred an astronomical deposit directly to Hextech's overseas account!
After hanging up Yang Jizong's call, Li Aiguo saw that it was getting late and was preparing to leave work.
I received another phone call.
"Comrade Patriot!" Madeline's voice came from the phone.
"What's wrong?" Li Aiguo asked, startled.
"On behalf of the French, I'd like to ask... can our transport plane be converted into a presidential aircraft?"
Hearing the voice coming from the phone, Li Aiguo froze on the spot.
Turn a strategic transport plane... into a presidential plane?!
Wow, you French really know how to have fun!
(End of this chapter)