Chapter 1380
Various Thoughts, Li Aiguo Formulates Standard Version for Electric Trains, Yi Zhonghai
Nighttime, inside a room at the Friendship Hotel.
Ostrovsky held the phone, his expression somber.
"I understand, I understand! But... the high-speed Eastern-type electric train really has no problems, and there are experts from the Iron Alliance watching over it. I can't just make things up and nitpick, can I?"
After hanging up the phone, Ostrovsky sighed and sat back down in his chair.
Seeing this, an older Russian expert nearby cautiously stepped forward: "Comrade Commander, what did they say in Moscow?"
"What else can we say? We were definitely given a severe dressing-down by those bureaucrats! They said we disgraced the alliance!"
Ostrovsky raised his eyelids: "But what can we do?"
You can't just lie with your eyes closed and call vodka water!
The electric trains developed by our little brother to the east have indeed surpassed ours in every aspect!
This is true, Comrade Comrade!
"Even if they send me back to Siberia to grow potatoes, I would never do such a thing!"
Ostrovsky became agitated.
The expert was speechless at this point.
"So...should we pack our bags and head back to Moscow right away?" another expert asked tentatively.
“Not yet. I’m the head of the delegation, and I need to stay a few more days.” Ostrovsky lit a cigar and took a deep drag.
"But this is good too. We can take this opportunity to learn some real skills. These young men are indeed quite capable..."
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the next room was completely different from that of the Russians, with an eerie quiet.
Kuronuma took a secret letter out of the box.
Tearing open the envelope, inside was a piece of paper covered with random, scribbled numbers.
These numbers seemed completely random to outsiders, but Kuronuma found them fascinating, a sinister smile even curving his lips.
He was rapidly deciphering the code in his mind.
"Dongmen Street."
Kuronuma memorized the address, then struck a match and lit the secret letter.
He watched as the flames devoured the secret letter, turning it into a small pile of ashes, before clapping his hands in satisfaction.
After cleaning up all traces, Kuronuma straightened his collar and pushed open the door to Professor Yamamoto's room next door.
"Professor Yamamoto, I'm feeling a bit unwell, I think I might have caught a cold. I plan to go to the nearby hospital this afternoon to get it checked out."
"You're sick? I'll notify the staff here right away, and they'll arrange transportation and a doctor." Professor Yamamoto immediately stood up upon hearing this.
"No need, I don't trust them, I'll go to the hospital myself."
"Go by yourself..." Professor Yamamoto was taken aback at first, then looked at Kuronuma's meaningful gaze and instantly understood what was going on.
His expression changed slightly, and he hesitated before saying, "This...this isn't quite appropriate, is it? After all, we're on someone else's turf. If it arouses suspicion..."
"Heh, Yamamoto-kun." Kuronuma sneered, leaned closer to Yamamoto, and said in a low voice.
"Have you forgotten what you were told before you left? The interests of the empire are above all else!"
Upon hearing this, Yamamoto's attitude softened.
Kuronuma understood intellectuals like Yamamoto all too well.
Although there is a tiny bit of so-called "conscience" and "bottom line" in my heart.
But faced with absolute power and imperial interests, they will soon submit obediently.
As expected, Yamamoto remained silent for a moment, then sighed helplessly and nodded: "Hi... is there anything I can do?"
"It's very simple."
Leaving my target alone would be too conspicuous.
I will ask them to arrange for us to visit a tourist attraction under the guise of sightseeing.
When the time comes, all you need to do is cover for me and give me a chance to escape.
Do you understand?
"clear."
As Professor Yamamoto watched Kuronuma turn and leave, a premonition welled up in his heart.
He had a feeling that this inspection trip had completely deviated from his original plan...
After the test was successful, the experts returned to the Friendship Hotel, and Li Aiguo, seeing that it was getting late, went home.
Now that the test is successful, the next step is to discuss export matters, but that's something for higher-ups to consider, and Li Aiguo has no intention of getting involved.
He had other things to do, namely, to develop standards for electric trains.
The YYF electric train, as a revolutionary new type of rail transportation, is definitely more than just building a locomotive.
For it to truly function, a complete set of supporting systems is also needed.
For example, dedicated rails, overhead contact line power supply systems, electrification interface specifications... and even the establishment of a signal interlocking train control system.
There was no relevant system at that time, let alone a standard.
Li Aiguo yawned and went into the inner room after working until midnight.
Even on a hot summer night, the room was still quite stuffy.
"Looks like we need to get the air conditioner working soon, this fan is blowing out hot air."
Li Aiguo took the fan from Chen Xueru and placed it on the bedside table.
Unfortunately, I've been too busy lately.
A host of follow-up tasks for the electric train still awaited his attention, so the idea of building air conditioners had to be put on hold for the time being.
"Brother Aiguo, go to sleep."
"Ah."
The night was quiet.
The next morning, Li Aiguo arrived at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot in high spirits.
"Section Chief, I have an idea. Shouldn't we hurry up and formulate the relevant standards for electric trains?"
In Section Chief Xing's office, Li Aiguo smoked a cigarette while expressing his thoughts.
Section Chief Xing frowned: "Patriotism? I don't know what the standards are, but this thing seems pretty complicated. Aren't we just putting in a lot of effort for no reward?"
In Section Chief Xing's view, as long as the electric trains are built and sold, everything else is superfluous.
Li Aiguo didn't blame Section Chief Xing. People in this era didn't value patents, let alone standards.
"Section Chief, try to think about it from a different perspective."
If we can develop this set of standards.
After that, everything changed, from the length of the rails to the welding process and the standardization of aluminothermic welding.
Whether it's the specifications of the overhead contact line's cantilever arms, supports, insulators, or even the tension of a single weight, we need to define them all.
If we register these technologies and standards for international patents in advance…
Upon hearing this, Section Chief Xing's expression changed instantly, and he slapped his thigh hard.
"These components alone are a huge piece of meat! Good, Patriot, I'll report your idea to the ministry right away."
As he spoke, Section Chief Xing hurriedly drove to the ministry.
Li Aiguo returned to his office and got busy with paper and pen.
Setting standards is an enormous and complex undertaking.
However, the long-term benefits it brings are unmatched by any company that simply sells products.
There is a famous business saying from later generations.
Third-rate companies make products, second-rate companies build brands, and first-rate companies set standards!
Mastering industry standards is equivalent to defining the rules of the game, building competitive barriers, and occupying the top of the industry chain.
In later generations, whenever multinational corporations developed a disruptive new technology, their first step was to set industry standards and create barriers for later followers.
Having come to this era, Li Aiguo naturally couldn't miss this opportunity.
As a future high-speed transportation tool, the complexity of the standard system for electric trains far exceeds what most people imagine.
The standard system for track gauge, the standardization of track bed and subgrade, the standardization of sleepers and fasteners, the standardization of various hardware components of the overhead contact system, as well as couplers, brake lines, and so on...
Each of these topics involves a great deal of content.
In addition to being proficient in the manufacturing of train cars, one also needs to have a thorough understanding of various fields such as metallurgy, electrification, and materials science.
However, for Li Aiguo, who possesses the system, this simply means taking a little more time.
To speed things up, Li Aiguo specifically called Zong Xianfeng over to help out.
Seeing Li Aiguo formulate one standard after another, I clicked my tongue in admiration: "No wonder Li Aiguo can produce so many good things, he is simply a genius of trains."
the other side.
While Li Aiguo was busy formulating standards for electric trains, a minor disturbance was also stirred up in the courtyard.
Yi Zhonghai returned to his courtyard house after finishing get off work at the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill.
After visiting the deaf old lady's house, they went straight to the pond in the middle courtyard.
"Have you all heard? That high-speed Eastern-type electric train that Li Aiguo built has had an accident!"
Foreigners all think it's a scam!
It was rush hour, and many residents were washing vegetables and clothes by the sink.
Aunt Liu, who was washing clothes nearby, immediately stood up upon hearing this: "Uncle, that can't be, can it? I don't know others, but I know Aiguo, he's always been the most reliable person!"
"Hmph, you can know a person's face but not their heart! Some people, in their pursuit of advancement and climbing the ladder, always like to take shortcuts and resort to crooked methods!"
Yi Zhonghai felt he had gained the upper hand and said excitedly.
"I have been advising Li Aiguo to work steadily and not get involved in these messy things."
He wouldn't listen, and now look what happened! He bluffed himself into oblivion and embarrassed himself internationally!
Xu Damao also chimed in, "Uncle, who told you that? Could there be some mistake?"
"Heh, you guys don't know yet, do you?"
Yi Zhonghai looked around, lowered his voice, and pretended to be mysterious.
"Just today, the international delegation from the Iron Alliance and the Iron Group arrived in Beijing! Think about it, why did they have to come all this way at this crucial moment? What is their purpose?"
"They must be here to investigate Li Aiguo's alleged fraud!"
"If Li Aiguo hadn't been involved in this mess, would those foreigners have had the time or inclination to come all this way here?"
At this moment, Yi Zhonghai had already mentally constructed a TV series with dozens of episodes.
Li Aiguo's electric train invention was exposed to foreign experts.
He was caught red-handed, then his reputation was ruined, he was dismissed from his post and investigated, and he might even be taken to prison!
Without Li Aiguo, someone as clueless as Liu Haizhong would have been easily dealt with by him.
As for Xu Damao, don't be fooled by his current antics; he's always using the guise of showing movies to build relationships with many factory leaders.
When it comes to a real fight, Xu Damao is still too green!
In the end, Yi Zhonghai was still the undisputed boss of this courtyard!
The onlookers hesitated upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's analysis.
The key point is that Yi Zhonghai's twisted logic, coupled with his serious expression, actually forms a seemingly perfect closed loop in terms of logic.
It actually sounds quite plausible.
Qin Huairu stood not far away and whispered, "It can't be that bad. Li Aiguo isn't that kind of person. That old man must have misunderstood. They're a foreign observation group."
Seeing the residents' expressions, Yi Zhonghai perked up even more: "Misunderstanding?"
Let me tell you, the third uncle of the aunt of the husband's sister of Lao Wang in our workshop group three is the head chef in the kitchen of the Friendship Hotel!
He heard it firsthand from several experts in their notebooks at the restaurant last night!
"The notebook clearly states that Li Aiguo's train was definitely a fraud!"
The current record for the world's fastest train still belongs to that little notebook... the Shinkansen!
Yes, it's the Shinkansen! Our technology simply can't compare to theirs!
"What nonsense are you spouting, Yi Zhonghai!" Just as Yi Zhonghai was getting carried away with his smugness, a gloomy and hoarse voice suddenly came from the moon gate in the backyard, interrupting him.
Just kidding, the Orient-type electric train broke the world record and it made the newspapers.
Yi Zhonghai's words are a mistake in the rectification process.
The residents turned to look and saw a gaunt old woman walking unsteadily with a cane.
Who else could this be but the deaf old lady who hasn't appeared in public for more than half a year?
Compared to half a year ago, the deaf old lady now appears even more sinister and terrifying.
Her face was so thin that her cheekbones protruded high, and the skin on her hands clung to her bones like withered tree bark, with almost no flesh visible.
But what's strange is...
Her cloudy old eyes were now radiating a strange, almost manic light, and she appeared unusually excited.
Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai realized he had misspoke and quickly swallowed the rest of his words.
He stepped forward and helped the deaf old lady up.
"Grandma, what brings you here?"
"Heh, if this old woman of mine doesn't come out and get some exercise, and stays cooped up inside all day, some of the people in this courtyard are probably getting too cocky! Have they already forgotten about me, the old matriarch of this compound?!"
The deaf old woman's cane slammed heavily into the ground.
"Some people just don't know how to respect the elderly and care for the young. Just because they've driven a train for a few days, they think they're so arrogant and ignorant."
Now look what happened! You've gotten yourself into big trouble! You've attracted foreigners and embarrassed yourself internationally!
In a short while, the residents in the compound also understood.
It's certain that Yi Zhonghai had already reported the contents of those notebooks to the deaf old lady.
The deaf old lady felt she was about to turn her life around, and she was here to show off.
The deaf old lady's gaze swept across the faces of the third uncle and the others: "Recently, I haven't been feeling well and haven't had the energy to meddle in the affairs of the compound."
Come out and take a look. Well, the whole compound is a complete mess!
Some people are so audacious that they fabricated evidence, which led to foreigners coming all the way here to investigate!
If this gets out, what will become of our compound's honor for being recognized as an advanced collective?!
The residents were all silent now, as no one knew what was going on.
The third uncle and Aunt Liu wanted to go up and say a few words, but they were deterred by the deaf old lady's gaze.
“Yes, old lady, these young people are all greenhorns and unreliable. We still need you as our anchor.” Yi Zhonghai then patted the deaf old lady vigorously.
“Old Yi, I also have to criticize you a bit on this matter!” The deaf old lady put on her ancestral air.
"You're not even qualified to be a proper old man!"
We should regularly focus on improving conduct within the compound and strengthen ideological education for residents!
Those who are bad apples must not be tolerated, understand?!
"I understand, I understand! You're right, ma'am. I haven't done my job properly."
Yi Zhonghai proudly puffed out his chest: "Gentlemen, given that a fraudster has emerged in our compound, we'll hold a general meeting tonight to discuss this!"
The residents all understood the purpose of the meeting, but with Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady working together, what could anyone do?
Poor Li Aiguo. If the train is found to have problems, he'll definitely be in big trouble.
At this moment, Liu Haizhong hurriedly ran out of the house carrying a radio.
"What happened, Lao Liu? Why are you so impulsive?" Yi Zhonghai frowned.
"Great news! Great news! It was just reported on the news that Li Aiguo's electric train has broken the world record again during testing!"
"what?!"
Yi Zhonghai's smile froze instantly, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as he stood there dumbfounded.
The deaf old woman also gasped, gripping her cane tightly with both hands, and began to tremble violently uncontrollably.
Where is even a trace of that ancestral air he had just displayed?
Liu Haizhong noticed the strange behavior of Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman, but didn't pay much attention to it. He then said:
"The news also said that five companies, including John Bull, French Rooster, and Jack, are now planning to purchase our electric trains."
The news report also praised it as a success for Comrade Li Aiguo and a great step forward for our railway cause.
"belch!"
The deaf old woman's face grew paler and paler as Liu Haizhong spoke.
She felt as if something was stuck tightly in her throat.
He let out a hiccup, and his whole body trembled violently, like a sewer rat being exposed to a high-powered spotlight.
how can that be possible.
How could a patriotic train possibly succeed? Impossible. Didn't those little notebooks say there was definitely something wrong with it?
This is her best chance to join forces with Yi Zhonghai to completely overthrow Li Aiguo and regain control of the compound!
It just... fell apart like a joke?!
I'm not reconciled! This old woman is not reconciled!!!
Stimulated by a sudden surge of intense emotions, the deaf old woman felt a dizzying sensation before her eyes.
The whole world seemed to have instantly lost all its color, turning into black and white.
"Oh my god! Something terrible has happened! The deaf old lady has fainted!"
"His face is turning purple! Is he still breathing? Quick, give him a hand and get him to the hospital for emergency treatment!"
The changes happened too quickly.
The residents who had been watching the deaf old lady swaggering around were caught off guard and didn't react in time. By the time they tried to help her up, she had already fallen to the ground.
Everyone went forward to check on the deaf old lady. They saw that her eyes were closed and she was breathing more air than she was exhaling, so her condition did not look good.
Xu Damao and Nan Yi immediately found a donkey from the scrap metal shop, lifted the deaf old lady up, and planned to take her to the hospital.
This backward-facing donkey was specifically used for collecting scrap. To prevent it from getting stolen, Wang Daikui painted the words "Scrap" on it in large white paint.
Because it was filled with all sorts of random things, it was filthy inside, but there was no time to clean it up right now.
The Third Uncle and several women, including Qin Huairu, also went to help.
The number of residents in the compound decreased by more than half in an instant.
Yi Zhonghai stood in the sunlight, yet felt a chill run through him.
If Li Aiguo were to take those words seriously and report them to the factory's security department or the police station... then Yi Zhonghai would be in big trouble.
What to do? What are we going to do?!
Yi Zhonghai turned his head and saw the deaf old lady being carried away on a donkey. His eyes darted around, and suddenly he let out a cry and fell to the ground as well.
"Oh dear! Something terrible has happened! An old man has fainted too!"
Xu Damao and Nan Yi, who were about to push the cart out, stopped in their tracks upon hearing the scream and turned to look at Yi Zhonghai, who was lying sprawled on the ground.
The two exchanged a glance and fell into an eerie silence.
Good heavens! This courtyard house must be haunted today.
Before this old lady could even be taken to the hospital, another old man collapsed.
Although everyone suspected that Yi Zhonghai was faking illness,
But then an older woman stepped in, pleading for Yi Zhonghai to be taken to the hospital as soon as possible.
Xu Damao's eyes lit up: "Don't be in such a hurry, ma'am! I think giving one away is the same as giving two away!"
"Why don't we take the trouble to lift this old man up too, and pack him and the deaf old lady together, throw them into that backward-facing donkey, and take them to the hospital side by side!"
"That's a good idea," the third uncle said, raising his hand in agreement first.
Yi Zhonghai, who was lying on the ground pretending to be unconscious, was furious when he heard the idea of these two scoundrels.
He wanted to jump up and slap Xu Damao twice across the face.
But now he's in a difficult situation.
He wanted to object, but he was in a "deep coma" and couldn't bring himself to speak, so he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
So, Xu Damao, Nan Yi, Sha Zhu, and the others, suppressing their wicked smiles, hurriedly lifted Yi Zhonghai up like a dead pig.
He threw it into the backward-facing donkey and then pushed it out of the courtyard.
The elderly women passing by on the street and the workers getting off work.
Everyone was stunned to see the backwards-riding scrap metal truck and the elderly man and deaf woman lying side by side in the truck bed.
"Oh my god! Aren't these scraps the deaf old lady from the courtyard and Yi Zhonghai?"
How did these two old guys get dragged out together? Did they both kick the bucket? Did they...die together?!
"No, she probably just fainted."
"Tsk tsk tsk, these two are usually so arrogant in the yard, aren't they? Well, they've got what's coming to them! What a pity..."
The deaf old lady: "."
Yi Zhonghai: "."
At this moment, they both harbored a shared resentment.
That damn Li Aiguo! How did his lousy electric train actually succeed?!
"Achoo!" Li Aiguo couldn't help but sneeze in the temporary meeting room of the Friendship Hotel.
Bernard asked with some concern, "Comrade Patriot, are you alright?"
“It’s alright, where was I?” Li Aiguo asked.
Louis raised his hand: "It's about standardized vehicle-mounted safety equipment."
Li Aiguo nodded, glanced at the materials, and then said:
"Okay, experts, please look at the fourth point."
According to the draft regulations formulated by the Chinese side.
To ensure safety under various complex road conditions, the future high-speed Eastern-type electric train will be equipped with a unified frequency locomotive signal receiving system and a unified communication code.
"In other words, we will deploy standardized ground signals and track circuit carrier frequency equipment along the entire route."
In this way, while the locomotive is traveling at high speed, it can not only receive real-time train dispatch signals along the entire route, but also…
As Li Aiguo explained things in a clear and concise manner, the dozens of top railway experts from different countries sitting below nodded frequently.
"Oh, incredible! This regulation is absolutely perfect!"
For high-speed electric trains exceeding 200 kilometers per hour, our biggest concern regarding technological bottlenecks is the communication delays and signal loss caused by the excessive speed!
"Yes, I heard that the Qianmen Locomotive Depot workshop has developed a high-powered radio that can achieve long-distance real-time communication."
"It must be admitted that once this standardized electric train system is completed..."
This communication standard must be enforced as the primary standard of the International Iron Union!
This plan is at least five years ahead of our previous ideas!
Those experts were all professionals, and looking at that eloquent young man from the East, they felt a pang of emotion.
Just today.
While they were discussing how to talk to the east about introducing the high-speed Dongfang type locomotive, they suddenly received a call from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. The other party said that they had already formulated electric train standards and hoped to discuss them with them.
The most important task for both Iron Alliance and Iron Group is to set standards, which they both find strange.
It's important to understand that standards involve many aspects and cannot be formulated in a short period of time.
They were still somewhat skeptical about Li Aiguo's arrival.
However, considering that electric trains also need to be introduced, most of the experts came, except for those few small notebooks.
They are now completely convinced.
These standards have reached a perfect level in terms of both practicality and scientific rigor.
Ostrovsky even had a vague feeling that this standard seemed to have been tested in practice and revised countless times.
He felt both excited and somewhat heavy-hearted.
"Next, let's discuss the standards for safe operation of high voltage."
Safety procedures must be standardized, and the interlocking protection of the locomotive's high-voltage cabinet door and the safety operation specifications for raising the pantograph must be unified across the entire system.
A ray of sunlight streamed in through the glass window, bathing Li Aiguo in a golden glow.
(End of this chapter)