Chapter 264: Integrated National Defense Industrial System

Lao Liu was filled with worry, "How much progress can be made in three months?"

Li Mingyuan smiled, a smile that held a confidence that made people inexplicably at ease, "Trust me, it is enough."

……

The third day of the ceasefire, secret research institute.

"Where is the key to the precision problem?" Li Mingyuan stood before the whiteboard, looking at the more than twenty top experts in the audience.

These people came from all over the country; some had even been woken from their sleep in the middle of the night and flown in overnight.

"Material issues!" a materials science professor immediately raised a hand, "The precision and uniformity of our steel are far inferior to Di Guo."

"Machining issues!" a mechanical expert continued, "The precision of our machine tools is too low to achieve high-precision machining of complex parts."

The debate lasted for nearly two hours; opinions were varied, yet none touched upon the essence.

Li Mingyuan finally tapped the table, and the conference room fell into Silence.

"Everyone, these are all superficial problems. The fundamental problem is..." He wrote three large characters on the whiteboard, "Computing Power."

"Computer?" someone asked in confusion, "Isn't that a big machine used for doing math? What does it have to do with weapon precision?"

Li Mingyuan took a deep breath.

As a transmigrator, he knew well the fundamental impact of the computer revolution on modern industry and military, but explaining it clearly in this era was not easy.

"Please imagine, if there were a machine that could complete thousands of complex calculations in one second, could adjust the firing angle and gunpowder amount of artillery shells in real-time, could precisely control the cutting path and depth of metal, and could simulate and analyze stress distribution in complex physical environments..."

The conference room fell into Silence; everyone was stunned by this bold vision.

"This... this... is this possible? Is it fake?" an old expert shook his head.

"No," Li Mingyuan said decisively, "This is what a Computer can do. And we must achieve it before the enemy does."

That afternoon, Li Mingyuan led the Expert Group to visit the country's most advanced computer research lab.

The "Computer" here, although smaller, was still a behemoth that occupied half a room, working via thousands of Vacuum Tubes, capable of completing a few hundred basic calculations per minute.

"Do you see?" Li Mingyuan pointed at this behemoth,

"This is the limit of our current computing power. Large volume, slow speed, poor reliability, and astonishing power consumption. A computer like this cannot be installed in a tank to control artillery, cannot guide factories in precision machining, and even less can it support the development of complex weapon systems."

Electronics expert Wang Jiaoshou nodded, "That is indeed the case. The key problem is that the Vacuum Tubes are too unreliable; a computer with thousands of vacuum tubes requires dozens of burnt-out ones to be replaced every day on average."

"I propose," Li Mingyuan looked around at everyone, his voice firm, "that we take advantage of this ceasefire window to go all-out on the research and development of small computers. Without this foundation, any breakthrough we make in the field of weapons will be short-lived."

That evening, a report titled "The Computer Revolution and National Defense Modernization" was urgently sent to the Military Department.

The next day, Li Mingyuan received notification that his proposal had been approved, and a project codenamed "Spark" was officially launched.

……

The fifth day of the ceasefire, a certain secret conference room.

"This cannot be completed." The old director of the planning committee took off his glasses and rubbed his weary eyes,

"Comrade Li, the 'Integrated National Defense Industrial System Construction Plan' you proposed is too grand; the resources required are more than three times that of the existing military-industrial system!"

Li Mingyuan did not change his expression,

"Director, please allow me to explain. The traditional approach is: to build tanks, build a tank factory; to build artillery, build an artillery factory. But modern weapon systems are not like that."

He walked to the large chart hanging on the wall,

"Modern weapons are a complex system. To build a good Menglong Tank, you don't just need a tank factory; you also need a precision instrument factory to provide the Fire Control System, an electronics factory to provide Radar components, a special materials factory to provide composite armor materials, a precision machinery factory to provide hydraulic systems..."

"We have factories for all of these," an old cadre interjected.

"But they are scattered everywhere, standards are not unified, and efficiency is low," Li Mingyuan pointed out,

"And most importantly, these factories all lack the capability for computer-aided design and manufacturing."

He took out a photo, which was an interior view of a certain enemy military factory, with workers operating various automated equipment,

"Look at the enemy's factories; they have already achieved semi-automated production, and their precision and efficiency are more than five times ours."

"Then what is your plan?" the director asked.

"Establish an integrated military-industrial park." Li Mingyuan pointed to the schematic on the last page of the plan,

"With the old industrial base in Dongbei as the Hexin, simultaneously layout supporting industries such as electronics, materials, machinery, and instrumentation in the surrounding areas. Factories will share standards, technology, and resources to form a closed-loop ecosystem."

He paused, "Most importantly, establish a computer center at the heart of each park to provide computing services and technical support for the entire park."

The conference room fell into silence. This concept was truly too advanced; many people could not even understand the logic behind it.

"Is a computer that important?" a minister asked in confusion.

Li Mingyuan smiled, "In three years, you will find that it is more important than steel."

After three days and three nights of intense discussion, Li Mingyuan's plan was passed after some compromises.

The plan was to be implemented in three phases, with the first phase using a certain old industrial city in Dongbei as a pilot to establish the first integrated military-industrial park.

Two days later, Li Mingyuan stepped onto the train back. In the bumpy hard-seat carriage, he flipped through the newly approved park planning map, a satisfied smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"Engineer Li, we've arrived!" the train attendant's shout pulled Li Mingyuan back to reality from his deep thoughts.

March in Dongbei was still cold, and the biting wind, mixed with sporadic snowflakes, rushed toward him.

On the platform, Lao Liu brought over a dozen factory cadres wearing heavy cotton-padded clothes to greet him.

"Chief Engineer Li, welcome back!" Lao Liu shook Li Mingyuan's hand enthusiastically, "The factory is all ready, just waiting for you to come and direct the construction of the new park!"

Li Mingyuan looked around; this once-old industrial city was scarred and battered.

The shadow of war had not yet dissipated, but he could feel the hope contained in the air.

"Let's go, let's go to the factory and take a look first."

The dilapidated jeep bumped along the potholed road as Lao Liu introduced the recent situation of the factory.

"According to your instructions, we have already cleared out three workshops in the East District, and we can start the renovation immediately. The power system has also been upgraded and can meet the needs of those 'precision equipment' you mentioned. It's just that the technical personnel..."

"I will solve the talent issue," Li Mingyuan said with confidence, "I have already transferred over a hundred top experts from all over the country, and we will select a group of young people from local universities to train."