Chapter 515: Beidou Enters the Car

July 16, 2009, Shenzhen.

In the large conference room of the Wanshang Automobile R&D Center, the air conditioning was blasting, yet sweat droplets still beaded on He Xiao's forehead.

On the projection screen, a video was playing. In the footage, a Mercedes sedan bearing a German license plate cruised on the highway, the driver's hands off the steering wheel, the vehicle automatically changing lanes, overtaking, and maintaining distance. At the end of the video, a line of text appeared: Mercedes autonomous driving technology road test successful.

He Xiao pressed the pause button.

In the conference room sat over twenty people, all core R&D staff of Wanshang Automobile. No one spoke.

"This was released by Mercedes yesterday," He Xiao began, "they announced that they will achieve commercial autonomous highway driving before 2020."

He paused.

"Three years ahead of our schedule."

A young man seated in the back row raised his hand.

"Chief He, Mercedes's technology is Mercedes's, ours is ours. If they are fast, we just chase them."

He Xiao looked at him.

"How to chase?"

The young man was momentarily stunned.

He Xiao walked to the whiteboard and picked up a marker.

"Chasing isn't about running fast. It's about running cleverly."

He wrote two words on the whiteboard: Beidou, intelligent.

"Our advantage isn't in the engine or the gearbox. It's in these."

Two

At 3 p. m., He Xiao appeared at Li Yaozong's office door.

"Chief Li, are you free?"

Li Yaozong lifted his head and gestured for him to come in.

He Xiao placed the Mercedes news report on the desk.

Li Yaozong glanced at it.

"Seen it."

He Xiao sat down opposite him.

"Chief Li, I'd like to discuss something with you."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Go ahead."

He Xiao pulled a document from his bag.

"This is the original five‑year technology roadmap of our automobile R&D Center,"

He produced another one.

"This is the version I want to revise."

Li Yaozong took it and compared the two.

The original focused on the engine, gearbox, and chassis.

The new one emphasized Beidou navigation, intelligent driving, automatic parking, and automatic maintenance.

Li Yaozong lifted his head.

"Beidou?"

He Xiao nodded.

"Our country is building its own satellite navigation system called Beidou. It isn't fully completed yet, but it's already usable."

He paused.

"I want Wanshang to invest and work with the state to civilianize Beidou—specifically navigation chips, navigation software, and navigation maps for automobiles."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because this is our opportunity," He Xiao said, "Foreign cars use GPS; we'll use Beidou. Beidou is more precise than GPS, and we can control it ourselves."

He gestured on the table.

"In the future, Wanshang Automobile will install Beidou navigation, so it won't get lost wherever it goes. That's a unique advantage for us."

Li Yaozong was silent for a few seconds.

"How do we cooperate with the state?"

"I've already contacted people at the Beidou Office," He Xiao said, "they're very welcoming. They said if a company is willing to invest manpower and money, the civilianization pace could accelerate significantly."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Continue,"

He Xiao turned to the second page of the new proposal.

"The second, intelligent driving,"

He drew a line on the paper.

"Mercedes's target is 2020. Can we move it forward?"

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"To what earlier date?"

"2018," He Xiao said, "two years earlier than them."

He pointed at the technology roadmap in the proposal.

"We have chips, systems, and sensors. Combined, they're not inferior to Mercedes. What we lack is time and road‑test data."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"President Li, I want to select ten cities nationwide for road testing. Run every day, run every year, accumulate a million kilometers. With enough data, the algorithm can be optimized."

Li Yaozong thought for a moment.

"How many cars are needed?"

"Fifty at the start. Later increase to two hundred."

"What about the budget?"

He Xiao flipped the pages.

"Two hundred million in the first year. Then it decreases year by year."

Li Yaozong did not answer immediately.

He stared at the proposal for a long time.

Then he lifted his head.

"You continue."

He Xiao turned to page three.

"The third, automatic parking."

He smiled slightly.

"I came up with this myself."

Li Yaozong raised an eyebrow.

"Explain."

He Xiao said, "My wife's driving skill is poor. Every time she parks she has to reverse several times. She says, if the car could park itself, that would be great."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"I want to do this. Let people with poor parking skills also park easily."

Li Yaozong smiled.

"That's a good idea."

He Xiao pointed at the technical description in the proposal.

"It requires sensors, algorithms, and coordination with navigation. The car drives next to the spot, you press a button, and it reverses itself in."

He paused briefly.

"This technology is also being developed abroad. But we can make it cheap and practical."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Continue."

Page four, automatic maintenance.

He Xiao took something out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

It was a QR code printed on a small card.

"President Li, do you know what this is?"

Li Yaozong glanced at it.

"QR code."

"Right," He Xiao said, "It's the thing we use daily at Phoenix Chat."

He turned the QR code over.

"I want to attach this to every component of a car."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"Each part would have its own ID card—when it was manufactured, when it was installed, when it needs maintenance, when it should be replaced—just scan and you know."

He paused.

"Later, if the car has a problem, you don't have to guess which part failed. Scan with a phone and you know which component is at fault. When repairing, you don't need to flip a manual; a scan tells you how to replace it."

Li Yaozong's eyes lit up.

"That's good."

He Xiao smiled.

"I want to equip every part with a QR code—engine, gearbox, tire, brake pad, shock absorber… all of them. Future maintenance, servicing, and even used‑car transactions will be convenient."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Go on."

He Xiao turned the proposal to the last page.

"President Li, if we develop these technologies, foreign automakers will certainly follow."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"What do you think?"

He Xiao thought for a moment.

"Following is a good thing. It shows we're on the right track."

He paused.

"But there's a problem. Beidou is ours; foreign cars can't use it. In autonomous driving we have a domestic data advantage. For automatic parking we can make it cheap. For automatic maintenance we have a QR‑code ecosystem."

He looked at Li Yaozong.

"These advantages cannot be given to foreign‑owned cars."

Li Yaozong was silent for a few seconds.

"What do you mean?"

"Beidou navigation can only be installed in Wanshang vehicles." He Xiao said, "We can't sell it to foreign brands. Otherwise our advantage will be gone."

Li Yaozong did not answer immediately.

He stood up and walked to the window.

Outside, the summer sunlight in Shenzhen was blinding. The outline of Fenghuang Mountain in the distance trembled slightly in the heat haze.

He stood for a long time.

Then he turned around.

"The Beidou matter—I'll go talk to the higher-ups."

He looked at He Xiao.

"Your plan, I agree with it."

After He Xiao left, Li Yaozong sat in the office for a long time again.

He looked at that plan, flipping it back and forth.

Beidou. Intelligent driving. Automatic parking. Automatic maintenance.

Each one is the future.

Each one can let Wanshang automobiles go farther.

He picked up the telephone and dialed a number.

"Lin Jiawen, help me arrange a meeting with the Beidou Office people. I want to go to Beijing."

The other end of the line responded with an acknowledgment.

After hanging up, he picked up the plan again.

Turning to the last page, He Xiao's words were still there:

"These advantages cannot be given to foreign-brand vehicles."

He looked at that sentence and remained silent for a long time.

Then he picked up a pen and wrote a line below:

"Agreed. Li Yaozong."

One week later, Li Yaozong returned from Beijing.

He went straight to the Wanshang Automobile R&D Center.

He Xiao was in a meeting; seeing him enter, he was stunned for a moment.

Li Yaozong waved his hand, indicating he should continue.

After the meeting ended, He Xiao walked over.

"President Li, how is it?"

Li Yaozong nodded.

"It's settled."

He Xiao's eyes lit up.

"Wanshang provides the funds, Beidou Office provides the personnel. Jointly establish a civil navigation laboratory, dedicated to making car navigation chips and software."

He paused.

"The chips will be made by Wanshang's chip; the software will run on the Pangu system; the maps will be gathered by ourselves."

He Xiao laughed.

"Great."

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"But there's one condition."

He Xiao wiped off his smile.

"Beidou navigation can only be installed in Wanshang vehicles. This is written into the agreement."

He Xiao nodded.

"Understood."

That afternoon, He Xiao convened everyone at the automobile R&D Center for a meeting.

Over a hundred people packed the meeting room tightly.

He Xiao stood on the stage, with the signed plan placed before him.

"Everyone," he began, "the future path of Wanshang automobiles is set today."

On the projection screen, four words appeared:

Beidou, intelligent, automatic, maintenance.

"From now on, our vehicles will be equipped with Beidou navigation. It's more accurate than GPS, more stable than GPS, and we never have to worry about it being shut off."

The audience below listened quietly.

"From now on, our vehicles can drive themselves. On the highway, they free your hands; upon arrival, they park themselves."

"From now on, our vehicles can self-diagnose. Scan with a phone and you'll know which part is broken."

He paused.

"These are our advantages. Foreign-brand vehicles don't have them."

Someone in the audience raised a hand.

"President He, when can these be realized?"

He Xiao thought for a moment.

"Expected in five years. Within five years, I will make Wanshang automobiles the most intelligent cars in the world."

After the meeting dispersed, He Xiao stood alone by the window.

Outside the window, the setting sun was descending. In the distance, Fenghuang Mountain was dyed a golden‑red, and at its foot a car factory was being expanded.

The door was pushed open.

Li Yaozong walked in.

"Why are you alone here?"

He Xiao turned around.

"Just thinking about something."

Li Yaozong walked to his side and looked out the window with him.

"What are you thinking about?"

He Xiao was silent for a few seconds.

"I'm thinking about what our cars will be like five years from now."

Li Yaozong said nothing.

He Xiao continued.

"When Beidou is installed, the car can drive itself, park itself, and even service itself. At that time, will the driver still feel like they're driving?"

Li Yaozong looked at him.

"What do you think?"

He Xiao thought for a moment.

"I think driving will become a different experience. Not tiring, but enjoyable. Not worrying, but relaxing."

He paused.

"That's what I want to do."

Li Yaozong nodded.

"Then let's do it."

The two stood by the window, watching the sunset sink down bit by bit.

In the distance, the factory lights began to turn on.

A new day was about to begin.