Chapter 1367
Thomas's Thoughts, Li Aiguo Makes Tank Anti-Stabilization Fire Control System, Unc
Smith, the company's representative, is always like this: he's more enthusiastic than anyone else when it comes to distributing money, but what if you ask them to take risks?
No way.
The newspapers are buzzing with accusations that they took dirty money behind the scenes.
To prove their innocence, those high-ranking officials on Capitol Hill always have to make an example of someone.
Unfortunately, Isaiah Thomas was that unlucky chicken.
"Mr. Thomas, given that you deliberately exaggerated the performance parameters and costs when selling the 7030 Stretch computer..."
They bribed appraisal experts to maliciously inflate prices.
I am now formally informing you that your company will be subject to a massive fine of five million US dollars!
Commissioner Smith looked at him coldly.
"As for the true price of the 7030 Stretch, we will find specialized evaluators to recalculate it by benchmarking its performance against the Red Star supercomputer."
After saying that, Commissioner Smith turned and left without looking at Thomas again.
Thomas Jr. kept his head down the entire time, not daring to even breathe loudly, let alone mention the large villa he had given away earlier.
He knew perfectly well that at worst he would just lose money to avoid further trouble and be fined a little.
But if you really anger Commissioner Smith, you might get shot in the street in a few days.
Even if the culprit is caught, the authorities will only claim that it was done by a mentally unstable person.
In Xiaomei's family, this is simply a normal and routine procedure.
"Boss, what should we do now?" A slender, blonde, blue-eyed secretary timidly pushed open the door and walked in.
"Damn Li Aiguo! Damn Red Star supercomputer! They've ruined my entire plan!"
Thomas slammed his fist heavily on the table.
"Boss, since the Red Star Computer Research Institute can build such an advanced supercomputer, why can't we?" The secretary's eyes darted around as he leaned forward and whispered.
When Isaiah Thomas first heard about this, he was a little confused. How could he build it without the technology?
But he was, after all, a shrewd capitalist, and a flash of inspiration struck him, and he instantly realized what was going on.
Yeah! If you don't have the skills, you can steal them!
Ahem... How can you call it stealing when it's the work of capitalists? That's called borrowing!
If we could just get the blueprints for the supercomputer and use their technology to replicate it, wouldn't that be a piece of cake?
Last time, Langley sent people to attack, but not only did they fail, Uncle Johnson also got into trouble. This time, we must make proper arrangements.
Thomas Jr. made a plan, his gloom dissipated, and a smug smile returned to his face.
He pulled his secretary into his arms: "Chris, you've come up with a brilliant idea. Tell me, how should I reward you?"
As he spoke, Thomas's hands began to wander.
Chris was used to this kind of scene, but on the surface she still cooperated by putting on a shy and coy look.
"Oh, boss, it would be so bad if the employees outside saw this."
"Hahaha, on my turf, let's see who dares to gossip! I'll fire them on the spot!"
Thomas laughed loudly, then half-embraced, half-carried Chris into the private break room next to the office.
Listening to the indescribable sounds faintly coming from the rest room.
Outside in the large office area, the IBM researchers and technicians exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.
Besides the generous compensation, the most important reason they joined IBM was their belief that IBM had the potential to become a giant in the computer industry.
But look at this boss's behavior now...
“I was saying… how about we try to switch jobs to Hextech? I heard they’re short of high-end talent lately, and the pay is even higher than here,” a researcher said in a low voice.
The technicians exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of attraction in the other's eyes.
Li Aiguo was naturally unaware of the mess that was happening on the other side of the ocean, and even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared at all.
Because at this moment, Professor Yu had already returned from Shanghai with the data and materials.
In the past few days, the supercomputers have been operating at full capacity, day and night, and have achieved many results.
The impact of supercomputers is greater than Li Aiguo anticipated.
In June, a high-level delegation from the French government once again made a visit to the East.
This time the event was of extremely high caliber; Madeline, who led the team last time, could only attend as a deputy this time.
Then both sides issued a series of statements.
In Li Aiguo's view, this series of statements was very important for the subsequent development of the situation; the super mushroom missile and armed helicopters were all discussed.
Li Aiguo only heard the news on the radio.
For him, the impact of this incident is not yet significant.
The Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop and the Red Star Computer Research Institute would never allow representatives from the French to come and stroll around.
Interestingly, Madeleine seems to have a special fondness for the Great Wall, and this time she led a high-level delegation to climb it again.
Li Aiguo took Madeline to the Great Wall purely to exhaust this energetic French woman and prevent her from running around aimlessly.
Unexpectedly, this unintentional act resulted in an excellent publicity effect.
Foreign guests seemed to have no resistance to the magnificent spectacle of the Great Wall.
After all, this magnificent building, which has lasted for thousands of years, not only reflects the historical and cultural heritage of the East, but is also the crystallization of the wisdom and hard work of the working people.
This kind of awe-inspiring experience spanning millennia is something that cannot be witnessed in other people's homes.
pyramid?
To put it bluntly, that thing was nothing more than a huge tomb built by the pharaohs at the cost of a lot of money and resources.
In terms of historical significance, it is completely incomparable to the Great Wall, a great defensive project that resists foreign enemies and protects the country.
With the French setting such a good example, subsequent foreign visitors almost all added "climbing the Great Wall" to their itineraries.
Li Aiguo did not join in the fun, nor did he want to.
He has a lot of work to do now.
After Professor Yu left, several research institutes in China sent applications, wanting to use supercomputers to compute data for their research.
The number of applications was so overwhelming that the Red Star Computing Institute had no choice but to create a long scheduling table based on the order in which the applications were submitted.
In addition, the level of military industry is relatively high.
For example, Zhang Tan from the First Machinery Plant.
He brought a large amount of data on the development of the new tank with him from Baotou to Beijing.
As an old friend, Li Aiguo naturally wanted to welcome him back, so he held a banquet at his own home, with Nan Yi cooking.
"Patriotism, these dishes are the most delicious I've ever eaten in my life. I never expected you to have such a good cook in your compound." Zhang Tan put down his chopsticks after finishing his meal.
Li Aiguo smiled and poured a cup of tea, handing it to him.
"Nan Yi's master was a genuine imperial chef back in the day. He's a descendant of the imperial chefs, so how could his skills be lacking?"
"No wonder. Before liberation, only the one living in the palace could eat such food. I never thought we would be eating it now." Zhang Tan sighed with emotion.
Li Aiguo understood Zhang Tan's feelings.
Zhang Tan came from a very poor family. His father was just a farmhand, and his mother was a servant in a landlord's household.
If things had followed the original historical trajectory, Zhang Tan would have been nothing more than a farmhand who inherited his father's business at best.
Thanks to the dramatic changes in the environment, Zhang Tan seized the opportunity to learn cultural and technical knowledge in the military factory, and thus gradually rose to the rank of senior engineer.
Now, Zhang Tan is a core member involved in the development of a new type of tank.
The two moved to the study.
"Patriot, the information I brought all this way is related to our new main battle tank. There are a lot of complex ballistic data and armor calculations. I hope your supercomputer can calculate them."
Zhang Tan straightened his expression and explained his purpose.
"That's easy to arrange. The chemical engineering institute's calculation task has just been completed, and it will be your turn tomorrow."
Li Aiguo smiled bitterly to himself. He felt like a madam in an ancient brothel, welcoming and seeing off customers.
As soon as one guest leaves, you have to greet the next one.
But there's nothing we can do; the Red Star supercomputer is in high demand right now.
"By the way, Aiguo, what are your thoughts on tank fire control systems? I heard that Xiaomei's family has already started working on laser rangefinding." Zhang Tan stared intently at Li Aiguo.
The development of new tanks is directly related to the combat effectiveness of armored forces for decades to come.
The fire control system is of paramount importance.
No matter how powerful a tank's cannon is or how thick its armor is, if you can't aim at the enemy or find that the enemy is slower than you, it's just a living, moving iron coffin.
In layman's terms, fire control is the ability to "detect and destroy".
During World War I and World War II, tanks used simple visual mil-position fire control systems, relying entirely on the gunner's visual estimation.
For example, the Tiger II and Panther from the German Navy, and the T-34 from the Russians, although equipped with optical sights, still used mechanical scales and manual adjustment.
We learned technology from the Russians and even developed the TS sight, a purely visual fire control system.
According to the original plan for the new tank, Zhang Tan and his team originally intended to develop a second-generation fire control system.
That is, it uses the "Type 73 image rangefinder" plus the "simple mechanical ballistic calculator".
This system can move beyond purely visual estimation and barely achieve "static-to-moving" firing.
However, the drawbacks are equally obvious.
Without laser rangefinding, night vision capability, or gyro stabilization, the artillery is only stabilized in one direction.
The early M47 Patton tanks used this kind of equipment.
It's just that tanks are developing too fast abroad.
The US's M60A3 tank and the UK's Chieftain MK5 are both currently under development, and are said to be equipped with laser rangefinders.
If the enemy succeeds in its research and mass deployment, then our new tank, which is currently under development, will be a generation behind as soon as it is released!
Li Aiguo did have some knowledge of laser ranging.
Actually, this thing is a scope connected to the cannon via a four-bar linkage to achieve scope-gun linkage, using an old-fashioned gyro periscope synchronous aiming system.
How would you rate it? Compared to the purely mechanical second-generation fire control system, it is indeed much more advanced.
However, the mechanical disturbances in this system are too great.
After the computer calculates the firing parameters and reticle offset, the gunner still needs to perform a second alignment, which seriously affects the firing rate.
Furthermore, because analog computers were used at the time, true digitization could not be achieved, resulting in extremely low accuracy for this second-generation fire control system.
Moreover, it is particularly prone to malfunction in the bumpy battlefield environment.
It will be eliminated in just a few years.
The fire control technology that truly shone in later generations and was adopted by various main battle tanks was the anti-image stabilization fire control system!
Specifically, it involves using a stabilizing prism inside the scope, with the scope moving in tandem with the artillery, and the thermal image being stabilized by reticle offset.
This design structure is relatively simple, cost-controllable, and highly accurate.
Image-stabilized fire control systems are further divided into two types: upward-facing and downward-facing.
The difference between the two is that the downward reflecting stabilizer is the downward reflecting prism inside the scope cavity, and the scope body is fixed on the gun mount. When the gun moves, the scope body will swing accordingly.
The upper stabilizer is the exposed upper reflector at the very top of the scope. It relies on the principle of half-angle stabilization, where the mirror surface deflects in the opposite direction to counteract vehicle bumps.
From a technical perspective...
The reverse is more difficult, but the effect is also better.
If paired with a dedicated computer, it would be sufficient to become the aiming configuration for high-end main battle tanks.
"Upward."
Zhang Tan was stunned.
This revolutionary aiming concept was something he had never heard of before in his life.
But after carefully considering it in my mind, combined with my professional knowledge, I found that the logic was sound and that it had great potential!
only……
"Patriotism, what you're talking about, this 'upper-axis stabilized fire control,' sounds impressive, but it definitely involves a bunch of high-precision devices such as high-precision reflecting prisms, dual-axis gyroscopes, azimuth servo torque motors, and angle encoders, right?"
"Isn't this too difficult to manufacture?"
It must be said that Zhang Tan had been studying the aiming system for some time, and after listening to Li Aiguo's analysis, he quickly realized the problem.
This design is absolutely ingenious, but it would be extremely difficult to build.
"How will we know we can't build it if we don't try? Luckily, our Qianmen Locomotive Depot has a precision machining workshop. I'll tinker with it first." Li Aiguo didn't give any guarantees.
Because this thing is indeed a bit too oversized.
However, high risk is often accompanied by high reward.
Once the image-stabilized fire control system is mastered, the new tank will become the most advanced main battle tank in the world.
If the Russians ever want to play tank battles in the future, they'd better think twice. After seeing Zhang Tan off, Li Aiguo returned to his study and picked up his pen.
The difficulty of the top-mounted image-stabilized fire control system actually lies in the dual-axis top-mounted primary reflector.
This is high-precision optical glass, which needs to be hand-polished by a master craftsman.
The experienced opticians at the optician's shop last time seemed to be quite skilled.
Then there's the gyroscope assembly, which the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop can handle.
As for the orientation servo torque motor, well, there are several motor experts in the laboratory of Changxindian Locomotive Factory, so it's not too difficult.
As for the final fire control computer system, that's even simpler!
The researchers at the Red Star Computing Institute have been idle since they completed the construction of the supercomputer.
If we can develop digital fire control, then a basic automatic tracking digital fire control system can be developed.
Limited by the current state of semiconductors and electronic components, this cobbled-together system certainly cannot reach the level of future third-generation tanks.
However, according to Li Aiguo's calculations, its overall performance can at least reach the level of the early 1990s!
For example... Xiaose's "Merkava", or Sande's early models of the "Leopard 2"...
Working until late at night, Li Aiguo looked at the list of items and clenched his fist excitedly.
"Got it!"
Early the next morning, Li Aiguo first went to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop to assign the task of manufacturing gyroscopes to Zong Xianfeng.
They then went to the supercomputing center to help Xia Zhongsu input the data brought by Zhang Tan into the supercomputer.
I was busy until evening before I finally rode my motorcycle back to the courtyard house.
Before even entering the gate, I saw Xu Damao rushing hurriedly into the courtyard.
"Brother Da Mao, what's wrong? Why are you driving so fast? Did something happen in the compound again?" Li Aiguo slammed on the brakes and greeted him with a smile.
You know, Xu Damao usually walks to work with a wobbly gait.
He only showed such eagerness when there was some great spectacle to behold in the compound.
"Hey, Aiguo's back! Something did happen, but this time it's really good news! Uncle Er's family bought a TV!"
"TV set?"
Upon hearing this news, Li Aiguo was also taken aback. In the original novel, the first person to buy a television was the Third Uncle.
It seems that with the flapping of its wings, this butterfly that has traveled through time, the plot in the courtyard has already undergone earth-shattering changes.
Ever since Xu Damao's promotion prospects became hopeless, he has become rather lazy at work, spending his days wandering around the steel rolling mill and acting as the mill's gossipmonger.
As Li Aiguo walked into the compound, he finally understood what was going on.
Liu Haizhong recently received the title of Advanced Workshop Director for his hard work, and the steel rolling mill awarded him a TV ticket in recognition of his efforts.
In those days, televisions were a true luxury item; even if you had money, you couldn't necessarily buy one—you needed a ration coupon!
Liu Haizhong took out the money he had saved for many years and brought back a television set from the Jingcheng Department Store that very day.
"I think Uncle Er is probably watching the news on his phone."
When Li Aiguo and Xu Damao arrived at Liu Haizhong's house in the backyard.
Good heavens, this place is even more lively than during Chinese New Year!
Liu Haizhong had already placed the black and white television on the most conspicuous eight-immortal table in the center of the main room.
The entrance was already surrounded by layers of men, women, and children from the courtyard, all craning their necks and staring wide-eyed.
"Aiguo, you're here! Come and see how my TV is doing!"
In this special era, there's no such thing as being able to pick out and test a TV on the spot when you buy one.
Not to mention the "seven-day no-reason return policy" of later generations.
The salesperson shoves the box into your arms and then takes no further responsibility once you leave the counter.
So, even before the television screen appeared, Liu Haizhong's heart was pounding with anxiety.
If he spent hundreds of dollars to buy a mute person, he would be so heartbroken that he would faint on the spot.
Li Aiguo smiled and strode forward.
Li Aiguo turned on the television's knob switch and then rotated the antenna on top to adjust the frequency for a while.
"Sizzle."
Accompanied by a slight static noise, a clear black and white image quickly appeared on the screen.
"This is Beijing Television Station. Dear viewers in front of your televisions..."
Hearing the crisp sound, Liu Haizhong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Looks like the TV is working fine. That's good, that's good!" Liu Haizhong said with a beaming smile.
"Wow, Uncle! That's impressive! You bought a TV that costs several hundred yuan just like that!" Xu Damao praised loudly from the side.
"Yes, this is the second television set in our compound."
"What's wrong with that? Uncle Er has always been striving for progress and has a high level of ideological awareness. Now he's an advanced workshop director. What's wrong with him buying a TV? He deserves it!"
"That's right, that's right! We can't compare to Second Uncle's level of awareness!"
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Liu Haizhong proudly raised his head.
He was secretly glad that he had been so insightful as to jump off the train in time and decisively board Li Aiguo's big ship!
This was absolutely the wisest choice he ever made in his life!
Otherwise, let alone becoming a workshop director, he would probably be in a similar situation to Yi Zhonghai now.
What about Yi Zhonghai?
Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, they rushed over, intending to reprimand the residents.
However, when he reached the moon gate connecting the middle and back courtyards and saw the black-and-white television on Liu Haizhong's octagonal table through the crowd, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Yi Zhonghai's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Liu Haizhong! This old man who used to be only fit to follow him around like a lackey, can actually afford a TV now?!
And what about himself?!
He's ended up in this state, his reputation ruined, unable to hold his head up in the factory, and not daring to utter a sound in the yard!
The immense sense of loss and deep jealousy caused Yi Zhonghai to feel a sharp pain in his chest.
He gritted his teeth, said nothing, turned around abruptly, and slunk back to his room.
In those days, buying a television was a great joy, almost like buying a car in later generations. Residents of the compound came one after another to offer their congratulations.
Liu Haizhong asked his second aunt to bring out some melon seeds to serve everyone.
"Haizhong, I think your TV is missing something," the old man said as he stuffed sunflower seeds into his pocket.
Liu Haizhong frowned: "Old Yan, what do you mean by that? My brand new TV set, what could be wrong with it?"
"It's missing a grinding wheel!"
The old man stopped picking up the melon seeds and began to seriously calculate the financial benefits for him.
"Old Liu, think about it, your big TV is like two high-powered appliances, right?"
How many kilowatt-hours of electricity does it consume each month if you check it every day?
That would cost several cents in electricity bills!
"This accumulated over time is no small sum!"
However, if you equip it with a power grinder and generate electricity by pedaling a bicycle, wouldn't you save on electricity bills?
What's this called? This is what you call a steady, long-term approach—knowing how to manage money!
At this point, the old man changed the subject: "Oh! Perfect timing! I had an old electric grinding wheel that I had left over from before sitting idle for a while."
"I'll sell it to you at a lower price, considering our long-standing neighborly relationship."
"Also... if you buy a power mill wheel, but no one in your family usually uses a bicycle to generate electricity, that's easy too!"
I can lend you my family members, Yan Jiefang and Yan Jiedi, to use!
"They are both young and strong, and they have plenty of strength to pedal their bikes!"
I don't ask for much, just one meal a day and three big white steamed buns will be enough.
"So, Lao Liu, you definitely won't lose out on this deal!"
Liu Haizhong: "."
The once lively scene instantly fell silent, as if the air itself had frozen.
Yan Jiefang, standing to the side: "..."
Yan Jiedi, hiding behind the crowd: "..."
Li Aiguo suppressed a laugh as he watched the familiar courtyard sitcom, finding the strong sense of everyday life quite interesting.
Just as Li Aiguo stood in the backyard of the courtyard house, watching the black-and-white television set in his second uncle's house and enjoying the scheming performance of his third uncle, Yan Bugui,
at the same time.
Inside a magnificent Middle Eastern palace in Baghdad, thousands of miles from the capital.
Old Sa was comfortably reclining on a large tiger-skin sofa covered with a luxurious Persian carpet.
He held a glass of fine wine in his hand, his eyes slightly narrowed, as he watched with great interest the enchanting belly dance performed by several veiled Arab dancers.
Old Sa has been having a particularly comfortable time lately.
After becoming the leader of the Ukrainian family, Old Saddam Hussein launched a powerful attack, throwing the American Dieter family and the Russian Cheka family into the desert.
This move caused a huge uproar within Xiao Yi's family's upper management at the time.
Many conservative leaders were terrified and rushed to speak out against it.
They were extremely worried that offending both the Eastern and Western big brothers at the same time would surely bring about a devastating retaliation.
Old Sa didn't seem to care.
Because he had already prepared an escape route.
Because he had already established relations with the east, he imported a large number of rocket launchers and armaments.
As the saying goes, those who wear shoes are afraid of those who are barefoot, and those who are barefoot are afraid of those who are reckless and fearless!
Old Sa is both barefoot and tough!
He was also holding a powerful weapon he had bought from the East, giving him a strong sense of confidence!
Who does he have to be afraid of?!
As Old Sa predicted, things did indeed unfold as he had.
The people from Xiaomei's family and Lao Maozi's family were indeed furious at first after being expelled.
They had even been mobilizing troops, preparing to teach this arrogant new commander a bloody lesson.
But when they discovered that Old Sa was actually planning to play dirty tricks, even setting the oil well on fire so that everyone would perish together.
The two elder brothers weighed the pros and cons and ultimately had no choice but to grit their teeth and swallow their anger.
It's not in their interest to blow up the entire Middle East oil drums for a few ditches.
Without the constraints of his two elder brothers, Old Sa quickly consolidated the power of the Yi family, appointing those comrades from the east as instructors to improve the quality of the team.
In the battle with the Lang family, they achieved a decisive victory and took a big bite out of the meat.
Besides tangible benefits, Saddam Hussein's status in the Middle East has been rising day by day.
"I wonder when my patriotic brothers in the East will finally deliver the private jet that they designed and built for me."
"I'm really hoping to show off in that private jet at the Middle East Alliance conference in a few days!"
Old Sasser stroked his signature mustache and muttered to himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, a guard officer strode into the hall and gave a standard military salute.
"Reporting to the President! An urgent coded telegram has just arrived from the East! Your special plane has already taken off from the East!"
We expect to arrive at Baghdad's international airport on time this afternoon!
“Okay, I’ll go to the airport myself.” Old Sa stood up.
The butler beside him said with some concern, "Your Excellency, there are still many people who are dissatisfied with you. Why don't I take over and accept their grievances instead?"
"dissatisfied?!"
Old Sa snorted coldly and pushed the butler away: "Brother Aiguo once said that the most terrifying enemy is the one hidden in the dark."
"Hmph, I wish those rats hiding in the gutter would jump out right now! I could catch them all in one fell swoop!"
Old Sa drew his golden gun from his waist and loaded it.
The butler shook his head helplessly.
They sacrificed several oil wells and thousands of camels for this special plane.
However, the old steward was also very clear in his heart that once the Grand Commander made a decision, not even nine camels could pull him back.
There was simply no way to dissuade them anymore.
In fact, not only Old Sa, but even the old butler himself was filled with intense curiosity and anticipation for this private jet.
"Someone! Arrange a convoy of escort vehicles immediately! Bring out all the armored vehicles! Ensure the absolute safety of the President!"
The old butler turned around and gave orders to the guard officer.
(End of this chapter)