Huating.

“Mr. Qin, welcome to our Golden Sun Electric Vehicle Company.” When Ma Ming learned about Qin Tao’s arrival, Qin Tao had already appeared at the busy construction site, and he was greeted by him wearing a safety helmet.

“Well, the progress of the project here is pretty good.” Qin Tao said while looking at the hook machine and crane on site.

"After the Huating government approved the land for us, our Mingzhou Group Infrastructure Company began to build factories intensively, and we also began to purchase equipment to build automobile production lines." Ma Ming said: "Mr. Qin, I'm really not good at this. , it would be great if you could send someone here to help me.”

Ma Ming is engaged in research and development. Now that he is responsible for handling the large and small affairs of such a car factory, he is really overwhelmed. At the beginning, Mr. Qin promised to directly get a second-hand car factory to come over. Production, who would have thought that he would later change his mind and build his own factory?

 Starting from scratch, there are too many things to do. Fortunately, the issue of birth certificates has been solved by purchasing certificates from closed automobile factories, which can be regarded as paving the way for the development of electric vehicles.

Qin Tao nodded: "Well, I will recruit a few construction and management talents from the automobile industry. From now on, you will still be mainly responsible for design. A bunch of large and small matters in this production plant will be left to professionals. .”

Ma Ming nodded: "Yes, there are specialties in the art."

“By the way, how is the progress of the electromagnetic gun project?” Qin Tao asked.

"This project is a tough nut to crack, especially the problem of gun barrel abrasion." Ma Ming said: "Mr. Qin, as you know, I am engaged in electromechanical work, not cannon work. This is completely cross-professional. We It’s so difficult to take the coil gun route, but the Americans are said to be taking the rail gun route, and their wear and tear is even worse.”

Qin Tao nodded: "Yes, this is a big problem. If we can't solve it ourselves, we can cooperate with other institutions. By the way, how about 713 Institute?"

To say that the most professional cannon manufacturer in the country is of course the No. 2 Machinery Factory on the grassland. They manufacture almost all large and small cannons. However, they focus on ground weapons and have little involvement in naval naval guns.

Institute 713 mainly provides equipment for the navy. Their flagship product is various naval guns. For example, the single-barreled 130 mm caliber naval gun currently used by the main destroyers is their masterpiece, but for close-in defense guns, they developed The 630 naval gun has been replaced by the 730 naval gun from Foreign Energy, but this still cannot change their leading position in the field of naval guns.

Since the Mingzhou Group's main business is building warships, it has a good relationship with the 713 Research Institute, which is responsible for building cannons. Now that it has encountered an unsolvable problem, of course it has to ask its brother units for help.

"Okay." Ma Ming said, "It would be great if we could find a naval gun unit to cooperate with us. Mr. Qin, when will we set off?"

Looking at the construction site under construction, Qin Tao said: "Now, you are not good at the job in front of you anyway, so the people from our infrastructure company can take charge."

So, Ma Ming and Qin Tao went north together and rushed to No. 713.

"Our electromagnetic gun is supposed to use electromagnetic principles, but it still has abrasion problems." Along the way, Ma Ming kept talking: "The main reason is because our shells are too fast, even if they only accelerate to Mach 7 , that is also a speed of more than two thousand meters per second. At such a fast speed, the heat generated by the friction between our shells and the barrel is quite high."

Qin Tao nodded: "Yes, this is the main technical problem of the electromagnetic gun. In fact, the speed of Mach 7 is only the current indicator. In the future, the higher the speed, the better. After all, if we want anti-missile, the speed must be faster. The better, and it’s best to be able to fire continuously.”

How to install the guidance system for the electromagnetic gun's warhead is a difficult problem. If it cannot be solved for the time being, it can only rely on inertial flight. If you want to accurately hit the missile in outer space, you have to fire a few to create a barrage, just like the rapid-fire cannon. Same.

 “Continuous fire?” Ma Ming shook his head: “The current technology is too difficult to do.”

 The two of them were chatting about various technical routes along the way, and in the evening of that day, they arrived at the 713 Institute.

Hearing that Qin Tao was coming, Xia Bei waited at the door early in the morning.

"Mr. Qin, you've had a hard journey along the way." Seeing Qin Tao get out of the car, Xia Bei hurriedly greeted him: "We have prepared a reception banquet in the canteen. Are you hungry after coming all the way?"

Before Qin Tao could answer, Ma Ming had already spoken: "We have eaten in the car. Now, can you summon your technical staff for a meeting?"

Ma Ming is a practical person. He came all the way to the 713 Institute, thinking about how to solve technical problems as soon as possible. After getting off the car, he thought about holding a meeting to solve the problem as soon as possible.

"Listen to the horse workers, let's have a meeting. If we don't put forward some constructive suggestions, I guess the horse workers are not in the mood to eat your feast." Qin Tao said.

meeting room.

"The muzzle velocity of the 130mm naval gun we are currently developing is less than Mach 3. Now the speed of the shell has more than doubled, and the wear and tear on the barrel is indeed a big problem." After listening to Ma Ming's introduction, Xia Bei He also frowned: "Now, everyone, let's talk freely and see how to solve this problem."

“If we want to reduce wear and tear, can we use magnetic levitation technology to keep the shells suspended in the barrel at all times to reduce wear and tear?” A technician in his thirties spoke below.

"Magnetic levitation? This technology is not mature yet and requires low-temperature superconductivity to achieve it. However, our naval guns will definitely heat up after firing the shells, which will have an adverse effect on the cooling of the superconductor." Ma Ming shook his head. In fact, they I have also thought about this plan, but it is also the technical route that was eliminated first.

This is still a coil gun. If it were a rail gun, it would be even more impossible to achieve. The rail gun must have both ends in contact with the rails. This suspension reduces friction, but it cannot make contact and cannot operate at all.

"If this is the case, then we can change our thinking and wrap a special layer of material around the shell to reduce friction." The technician spoke again: "The friction between hard metals is very serious. If we change the What about a special material?"

"This technology also has flaws." Ma Ming's team has certainly considered it: "After our artillery shell flies out of the muzzle, it flies in the air at a speed of Mach 7. The artillery shell will rub against the air, and the surface temperature will rise to Thousands of degrees, if we wrap a layer of special material on the outside of the cannonball, after it flies out, this layer of material will generate heat by friction with the air, and may even burn, which will have an adverse effect on our warhead."

“It’s simple. After it flies out of the muzzle, the outer material just falls off, just like our discarding sabots, with a specific bullet holder on the outside.”

Ma Ming’s eyes suddenly lit up.

 Why didn’t you think of it?

After all, he is not a cannon maker. Making electromagnetic catapults and the like was completely within the scope of his knowledge. This time, making cannons was outside the scope of his original knowledge. He spent a long time thinking about it, but it was not professional enough.

 Coming here really opened up new ideas for him!

“Yes, this is a solution to the problem.” Ma Ming was very excited: “We can try it!”

“Mr. Ma, why don’t we continue our meeting here first? It seems that everyone hasn’t eaten yet. Should we go to eat first?”

Ma Ming nodded: "Okay, let's go eat first. Brother, what's your name?"

When we were discussing this project just now, this technician was almost the one communicating with Ma Ming. The other person had an open mind and a flexible mind. He was definitely a very powerful technician.

 “My name is Zhang Jian.” The other party replied.

 Zhang Jian?

When he heard this name, Qin Tao's heart skipped a beat. If he remembered correctly, this guy was probably also a person who betrayed the country's interests.

"Zhang Jian joined the workforce in 1990 and has always been the main force of our 713 Institute. He played a huge role in our development of various naval guns." Xia Bei said: "We are currently developing the 130mm ultra-long-range gliding guidance For artillery shells, Zhang Jian played a huge role. He proposed that the canard wings of the artillery shells are deployed after the cannonballs fly past the apex of the trajectory, so that the zero angle of attack resistance of our artillery shells is 10% lower than that of red soil, and the range should be It can break through 100 kilometers.”

 Obviously, Xia Bei is very satisfied with this technician.

“One hundred kilometers?” Qin Tao opened his eyes wide: “Why haven’t you heard of it before?”

"We haven't reported it to our superiors yet. After all, our navy is in turmoil and various advanced weapons are constantly emerging. We only invented an ultra-long-range glide-guided artillery shell. This is nothing." Xia Bei was very modest.

"No, your shells are of great significance." Qin Tao said: "What you 713 have done for our navy has made great contributions."

When an ordinary 130mm naval gun fires ordinary shells, the range will not exceed 30 kilometers, but for a naval gun, this is enough. After all, naval guns are designed to deal with low-intensity conflicts, and the range is far away. Missiles.

But missiles are expensive after all and are not as cheap as artillery shells. Now, 713 Research Institute has developed a brand new naval gun, and with the new artillery shells, it has achieved a range of 100 kilometers, which means that one's own destroyers can attack the opponent's land from 100 kilometers away. The goal.

For the Eastern Navy, this means that beyond the range of the Xiongfeng 2 missile, which currently has a maximum range of only 80 kilometers, its own destroyers can fire from a hundred kilometers away, which is very safe.

Xia Bei smiled: "Mr. Qin, now that you know it, I'll wait for you to report the news to the navy leadership."

“When I return to the capital later, you will go with me and report to the naval leaders in person. It just so happens that our 052D has not been outfitted yet, so we might as well just use this kind of naval gun and shells.”

Ma Ming was not interested in these. He came down from the rostrum and came to Zhang Jian's side: "Gong Zhang, are you willing to join our electromagnetic gun R&D team to jointly study this brand-new naval gun and expand the range from one to the other?" Expanding from 100 kilometers to 400 kilometers?”

 Qin Tao frowned a little, Ma Gong, do you know who you invited? This person is likely to leak our secrets.

 But it was not convenient to say now, so he could only continue to ask Xia Bei: "Has Mr. Zhang ever drank foreign ink?"

“No, he entered our institute right after graduating from university and has always been at the forefront of scientific research. It is a pity that he cannot go abroad for further study. Recently, our institute has an opportunity to visit abroad, and he plans to..."

Qin Tao breathed a sigh of relief: "Lao Xia, it is dangerous to go abroad. You have also seen that people like Max almost never come back when they go abroad. Talents like Zhang Jian are better off staying at home. "

"This..." Xia Bei disagreed a little. Who is Max and who is Zhang Jian? There is no comparison between the two. Is it dangerous for people like him to go abroad?

 For many people, they still hope to go abroad and see the outside world. Mr. Qin said this, which means that Zhang Jian’s way to go abroad will be cut off.

“Let’s go eat.” Qin Tao changed the subject.

Ma Ming is not keen on eating and drinking, and even resists it. However, he was very happy with today's meal. Zhang Jian was directly called to his side. The two of them were eating and talking about other technicians. They will all become green leaves.

Xia Bei and Qin Tao were sitting together. They were eating and talking at the same time, talking about the development of the navy.

"Currently, the Western world led by the United States is developing 155 mm caliber naval guns." Xia Bei said: "The larger the caliber, the farther the range, and the greater the power. Mr. Qin, you have always said that our navy will have For a 10,000-ton warship, do we need to develop a new generation of large-caliber naval guns for this kind of warship?"

At one time, the domestic navy commonly used twin-mounted 100mm naval guns, which were technologically backward. Later, the French 100mm naval guns were introduced. They seemed advanced, but they were useless: in terms of power, they were not as good as the Western 127mm naval guns. The rate of fire is not as good as the Western 76mm naval gun. It seems to be a compromise, but in fact it is not proficient in everything.

Until the introduction of modern-class destroyers, the country began to set the caliber of the next-generation main gun at 130 mm. Warships with a displacement of more than 6,000 tons can carry this kind of naval gun. However, what if it is a 10,000-ton warship? Do we need warships with larger caliber?

The West has begun to develop 155 mm caliber naval guns. Can our own side not be left behind?

"This depends on the progress of the research and development of our electromagnetic gun. If the research and development of the electromagnetic gun goes well, then the next generation naval gun of our navy will be the electromagnetic gun." Qin Tao said, "If you want to develop the next generation of naval gun, the Navy may not invest. , it must be self-funded. If the navy doesn’t want it after it is developed, then the huge investment will be in vain.”

“President Qin, if the navy doesn’t want it, can we export it? We have an electromagnetic gun, it must be for our own use, and we won’t export it for a long time, right?”

"Yes, the electromagnetic gun will definitely not be exported in the future. However, the displacement of our export-oriented warships will not be large, and the caliber of the naval guns will not be too large. It is estimated that it will be difficult for 10,000-ton warships to be exported. You must have something that cannot be sold. Prepare."

Xia Bei thought for a while, and then said: "We still want to try it, even if it is just as a supplement to our electromagnetic gun."

Qin Tao nodded: "Okay, your spirit is valuable, I support you spiritually!"

That night, everyone stayed at the 713 guest house. Ma Ming lay on the bed, still unable to sleep: "During the meal, Zhang Jian and I talked a lot. I think this projectile holder may really be a correct solution for our electromagnetic gun. Technical route.”

“Have you discussed whether we are taking the technical route of coil gun or rail gun?” Qin Tao asked on the other bed.

 “This is not available yet.”

"Next, when we cooperate with the 713 Institute, we will mainly study this abrasion problem, improve the materials of the barrel and shells, and strive to solve this problem. However, we should try not to disclose the technical principles of our electromagnetic gun, or even You can also make some fake moves, such as adding contact points at both ends of the bullet holder to disguise the principle of a rail gun."

Ma Ming immediately became serious: "Mr. Qin, are you trying to prevent our technology from being leaked? Are you afraid that 713 will steal our technology?"

Qin Tao shook his head: "713 Institute will not do this, but after all, this is not our own company. We must guard against technology leaks, just in case someone here cannot resist the temptation of sugar-coated bullets and leaks our key electromagnetic gun technology. What about foreigners?”

“I understand, Mr. Qin, I will pay attention to it.”

Ma Ming is certainly aware of the weight of Qin Tao’s words. He does not want to see his technology leaked abroad, but risks are everywhere.

 The technical staff of the Mingzhou Group are well paid and often receive patriotic education. They generally do not need to leak secrets, but this is not the case in other military industrial units. After all, their income is not high and they are easily attracted to the outside world.

Low income is a problem, but it is definitely not a reason to betray the motherland. However, there are always people who will be attracted. This is a war without gunpowder and will never stop. Just look at Qin Tao, how many people he has poached from abroad with high salaries.

What 713 is helping to solve is the abrasion problem. This cannot be kept secret. If Zhang Jian wants to tell these secrets to foreign institutions, Qin Tao cannot stop him. However, even if foreign countries obtain this technology, they will not be able to prevent it. It is possible to tinker with the electromagnetic gun, because the principle of the rail gun brings huge technical difficulties.

 Still rely on the advantages of technical routes to win over opponents and overtake in corners!

"Mr. Qin, if we absorb these people who help with research and development into our Mingzhou Group, pay them high salaries, and provide them with various educations, will we be able to prevent unexpected situations from happening? Zhang Jian is an excellent technician. I don’t want him to go astray.”

“Mr. Ma, if we do this, aren’t we poaching the corner of Institute 713?” Qin Tao said helplessly: “If we really poach him, will anyone dare to cooperate with us in the future?”

Ma Ming is helpless, yes, this is really a problem.

“We can provide them with an additional bonus to make their money easier.” Qin Tao said the most appropriate way.

The next day, Ma Ming continued to stay at Institute 713 and began detailed research with Zhang Jian and other technicians, even making prototype cannons, while Xia Bei came to the capital with a lot of technical information.

With Qin Tao leading the team, Xia Bei could directly meet a large number of naval leaders and even held a special hearing.

"Back then, we imported red earth laser-guided artillery shells from Damao. Now, this technology has finally come to fruition here." After hearing this, Wu Shengli was very emotional: "Artillery shells with a range of more than 100 kilometers were not available in the past. We can’t even think about it.”

"Yes, we didn't dare to think about it in the past. In recent years, our domestic electronic technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, which has laid the foundation for our improvements, especially the development of our Beidou system. Now we can use this kind of navigation The positioning system is here to improve the accuracy of our artillery shells," Xia Bei said.

 Although GPS is more useful, this system belongs to the Americans. Once wartime comes, it is likely to be controlled by the other party. Once the signal is cut off, one's own artillery shells will be ineffective.

Red Earth is laser-guided, but it is not easy to use a laser beam to aim at a target more than a hundred kilometers away. In addition to laser guidance, the product developed by 713 also has a built-in satellite positioning module. It is more convenient for the army to use.

"Being able to hit such a distance is not only due to rocket propulsion and gliding, the naval gun itself has also been improved. For example, the length has been increased from the original 56 times the diameter to 70 times the diameter." Qin Tao said from the side: "I think we The 052D destroyer under construction can be directly installed with this kind of naval gun, which is just in time in terms of progress."

“Okay, let’s put this kind of naval gun on our test ship for testing first, and wait until the 052D is launched and outfitted.” Wu Shengli made the decision on the spot: “This kind of naval gun will become our mainstream naval gun in the future.”

Seeing the support from the leaders, Xia Bei became more and more courageous. He took out another document: "Dear leaders, we still have a design plan for a 155mm naval gun on hand, and I would like to ask the leaders to correct it."

“A 155mm naval gun? It’s very similar to our army’s howitzer.” A leader immediately spoke.

"It's just that the caliber is similar. There are big differences between our navy's naval guns and our army's artillery. For example, we don't have to worry about weight restrictions. We can arrange larger bomb bays and ammunition supply systems. Our gun barrels can be water-cooled. As the rate of fire continues, our diameter can be larger, allowing the artillery shells to fly farther." Xia Bei opened up the chatterbox and introduced it eloquently.

“It sounds like our navy really needs to develop a new generation of naval guns.”

“Yes, the Americans’ DDG-1000 is using a naval gun of this caliber. As the main ground strike force, we can also try it!”

Listening to everyone's affirmation, Wu Shengli spoke again: "Lao Xia, our navy is poor. It is currently very difficult to support the construction of several warships. In many cases, we are still in arrears with funds. If you want to develop this kind of naval gun, we may not be able to provide you with it." You allocate funds.”

“Dear leaders, we are willing to raise funds for research and development by ourselves,” Xia Bei said.

“Okay, then our navy will support you spiritually!” Wu Shengli immediately agreed.

 As long as the Navy doesn’t have to pay for it, that’s fine! If domestic scientific research institutions were like this, then they would be desperate for it.