Chapter 534 - 523 C1000_1

"Your Highness, it’s really not about the money."

In the office of the Aerospace Development Committee, Prince Swetan laid an extremely precious Chartush on the table, which immediately gave the latter a headache.

On the third day after Cloud Ascend’s maiden flight, His Highness flew straight from Abe, and his intentions were clear.

"Lin, we are friends, and I’m only here to congratulate you on your success. Please, you must accept this gift; it was personally selected by His Majesty."

Fine, it would be hard to refuse now without seeming rude.

But Abe’s demand... how should I put it, it’s really breaking the rules.

Just yesterday, Lin Ju was in the Capital preparing for a meeting with others when he received an intention from Abe Aerospace:

They wanted to purchase an Aero-Space Plane, for the King’s personal use.

It wasn’t any other model but the very Cloud Ascend that had just taken its maiden flight and was still hanging in space undergoing tests for three days.

Regarding such a request from Abe... the Aerospace Development Committee couldn’t outright refuse it at once but instead diplomatically expressed it was "not the right time."

However, it was unexpected that Prince Swetan would fly over the next day, and upon meeting, he presented a priceless Chartush, which Lin Ju didn’t dare to accept—as it was worth at least a dozen Tibetan antelopes.

But he couldn’t outright refuse either, considering that if we’re honest, 50% of the credit for New Yuan’s development up to now comes from selling H1s; it would be inappropriate to decline.

Lin Ju had no choice but to use stalling tactics. First, he joyfully accepted the Chartush—which was indeed as comfortable as its renown suggests—and then went on to explain solemnly to Prince Swetan:

"Your Highness, it’s not that we are unwilling to sell, but the production of Aero-Space Planes is incredibly complex and difficult. Look at the current airliners that are trying to cut down from four engines to two, but Cloud Ascend has a total of 10 engines, which are expensive and hard to maintain.

Furthermore, using it as an official state craft for visits is not appropriate either. It would require a huge, specialized logistics team at every airport, and it refuels with rocket fuel, which really isn’t suitable."

To his surprise, Prince Swetan appeared to understand and confidently said:

"Of course, we would not trouble others with that, it would be used by His Majesty for space visits."

"..."

"However, it would be even better if it could be used on Earth as well. I’ve heard that the Aero-Space Plane can reach any place on the globe within two hours, is that so?"

"Theoretically, yes."

Lin Ju nodded. This certainly could be done, and even not using the combined power engines of an Aero-Space Plane. The WCR12 used by Xuehu would suffice.

"Then good, we will place an order for one. Can it be delivered by the year 2020? 2021 would also work."

"..."

"Your Highness, this matter is not as simple as you think."

...

After the first argument session for Proposal Five concluded that afternoon, Lin Ju caught Academician She and poured out his troubles.

The latter was rendered speechless, as it was indeed a tricky situation to handle.

"So what did you eventually promise him?"

Lin Ju became serious all at once:

"An Aero-Space Plane is not possible at the moment, and neither is one with Xuehu’s kind of propulsion. We gave neither.

They wanted speed, though, so I suggested they buy a long-range supersonic airliner from us. It puts less pressure on logistics and is particularly convenient to use."

"But the C810’s range isn’t enough, and it’s too small too."

"It’s not the C810, it’s the C1000, an entirely new design. A supersonic airliner with a 2.8 times the speed of sound cruising speed and a capacity of 200 passengers. It can reach the Pacific route in three hours, the fastest civil aviation aircraft in history, ready for delivery this time next year."

Academician She was silent for a long while before finally squeezing out a sentence:

"When did this happen?"

"I just thought of it."

"..."

Academician She fell silent again, wanting to say something but in the end, he kept it to himself.

Lin Ju, on the other hand, began to seriously discuss the advantages of supersonic flight. After all, the Pacific route currently takes fifteen hours, and a supersonic airliner could provide a transformative experience. It would be entirely reasonable to raise the fare.

Although the overall civil aviation environment is currently losing money due to rising fuel costs, that does not mean a decrease in air transport demand. The selling point of the supersonic airliner means it doesn’t have to compete with other subsonic airliners.

In reality, the retirement of Concorde-like planes back in the day was not due to fuel consumption but noise. The speed of Mach 2 disturbed the residents living below.

So with the C810 having been in operation for so long, hadn’t there been similar issues domestically? Of course, there had been, but they weren’t as intense as one might imagine. After all, airports are inherently noisy, and the domestic population isn’t as sensitive as in Europe. To date, the hottest topic on the internet has been "when will there be a supersonic airliner we can ride."

What’s most important is that New Yuan now possesses extremely rich experience in manufacturing supersonic aircraft and that the "Xuehu," "Cloud Ascend," and "C810" have together established a supply chain for large supersonic aircraft parts in China, making production not difficult.

Academician She had grown numb to his troublemaking abilities, persuading himself in his heart that at least the Aerospace Development Committee’s issues had been diverted elsewhere, so there was no need for him to worry further.

The afternoon’s Astronomy No. 5 demonstration meeting went unsurprisingly. Lin Ju took the lead in expressing support, followed by the majority of the progressives who rallied behind the slogan "do it all at once" for a major endeavor.

And what were the opinions from above?

The answer was not bad. The Aerospace Development Committee was spending so much money that they wouldn’t miss one more, and China’s consecutive victories in space exploration had continuously bolstered their confidence, convincing them that what seemed impossible would ultimately become possible.

Besides, a craze for undertaking mega-projects has now swept across the country—what does the traditional space sector count for?

...

"The Chinese old saying goes: ’He who has not been to The Great Wall is not a true man.’"

Bob Roster finished the awkward seven Chinese characters and then looked at Wu Yunfeng with a prideful face.

The latter immediately lavished praise on his Chinese proficiency before pointing to the brick beneath their feet and saying:

"There used to be a famous rumor that you could see The Great Wall from space, which is simply not true. Even if you placed the TEPA on Earth’s surface, it would still be too small to see."

The two chatted casually as a crowd intermixed with foreigners passed by. Though numerous, the stream of people was much less than usual due to it being off-peak, allowing scientists from The World Things Association to tour the scenery, as the conference took a three-day break for the national holiday.

Wu Yunfeng now basked in the setting sun with a relaxed attitude, as he was nearly certain that TEPA would appear in next year’s fiscal spending.

These foreigners, whose travel expenses and daily costs were all covered by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, played an essential role. They leveraged millions to move hundreds of billions and had pretty much persuaded everyone from top to bottom.

As Wu Yunfeng imagined the future of the enormous accelerator, Ye Changsi appeared beside him unexpectedly.

"Abe, have you ever been to The Great Wall?"

Ye Changsi smiled, "I came here a long time ago. It was actually quite different from now, a big difference."

"Haha, times change. Right now, I desperately wish I could throw myself next to the giant accelerator, but it’s still at least ten years away. Ten years! I’ll be 64 years old by then and will need to be 70 to start it. When I was 49, I said I’d work on the CEPC. Finally, there’s a result now. My lifelong effort is in this one accelerator."