Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 214 Institute of Science and Engineering
Wang Feng strode into the school and looked around the courtyard.

At this moment, it must have been the end of get out of class time, and students were pouring out of the teaching building, bustling about and rushing towards the cafeteria.

Looking at these faces brimming with youthful energy, Wang Feng couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

Before he transmigrated, he was just an ordinary college student, attending boring 8 AM classes every day, eagerly awaiting the end of class and the afternoon, and rushing to the cafeteria to grab food amidst the crowds, afraid of being a step too late.

The soldier in the truck explained, "Sir, that's the teaching building in front of you; the administration building is over there!"

As he spoke, he pointed to the other side.

Wang Feng followed the direction and saw a low, three-story brick and tile house standing beside the courtyard wall.

"Are these all newly built?"

"I remember this middle school wasn't very big before?"

The driver explained, "It seems that some civilian buildings were also requisitioned."

Wang Feng responded with an "Oh".

After entering, he looked around for a long time. The design and layout of the entire school were quite similar to the school in his previous life. There were independent teaching buildings, administration buildings, and even a row of research areas converted from residential houses.

This is not surprising.

Wang Feng still remembers that two or three years ago, when he was the commander of the 414th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army, Song Wenjie once asked him what schools abroad were like.

Whether in her past life or this one, she had never studied abroad. Back then, in order to fool him, whether to maintain the image of a "highly educated intellectual" or out of nostalgia for her memories, she simply told him about the basic appearance of her school in her past life.

I didn't expect this guy to actually remember it!

Looking back on what happened before the War of Resistance against Japan, I really have a feeling that's hard to explain.

Wang Feng changed direction and walked towards the administration building.

Just then, several people dressed in Zhongshan suits and Western suits, who looked like intellectuals, came out of the building and talked as they walked, looking very engrossed.

I stumbled as I went down the steps, not even bothering to look where I was going.

Wang Feng raised an eyebrow: "Who are these people?"

The soldier scratched his head: "It should be a professor, sir. I'm not very well-educated, so I'm not sure."

Wang Feng gave an awkward smile.

In the past, Zhao Fangyuan would be by my side at this time. He usually took care of all sorts of daily chores for me, and I was used to asking him about the little things.

After all, there are so many people above and below, and there are also matters related to industry, education, and logistics. If I had to oversee everything myself all the time, I would be exhausted.

Moreover, even Zhao Fangyuan didn't do it alone; he had the entire General Staff Department supporting him.

Wang Fenggang wanted to switch to an overhead view to see who these people were.

At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar and wearing round glasses noticed Wang Feng in the crowd walking towards them and blinked.

The person speaking nearby noticed his expression: "Professor Li, what's wrong?"

Professor Li strode forward, extending his hand as he jogged: "Sir?"

Wang Feng learned the identity of the person in front of him from the overview from an overhead perspective.

It turns out he was the vice president of Jinan Southeast Institute of Technology.

"Professor Li Hong, hello, hello!"

Seeing that his superior remembered his name, Li Hong beamed with joy: "Sir, what brings you here?"

Wang Feng: "I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd come and take a look."

As the two were talking, the people behind them also came over.

"Commander Wang?"

"Quick, quick, come here! Commander Wang is here for an inspection!"

The crowd formed a circle, surrounding Wang Feng in the middle.

Li Hong: "Sir, let me introduce you."

Halfway through the conversation, a middle-aged man in a suit suddenly rushed out and extended his hand: "Hello, sir!"

In front of everyone, Wang Feng couldn't conveniently switch directly to the overview panel, so he asked in confusion, "Who is this?"

Li Hong quickly introduced, "Sir, this is Bing Qiwen, a physics professor in our college."

Wang Feng said "Oh":
"physics?"

"This discipline requires a long period of accumulation. With the current tense progress of the war of resistance, there probably won't be much time for stable development. You all need to hurry up and work hard!"

Compared to fundamental sciences like physics, which are time-consuming and labor-intensive, applied engineering seems to be more suitable for current development.

These experts and scholars all "emerged" from the [System Panel]; they are people with official identities and backgrounds.

Since we are human beings, we are bound to have our own independent thoughts. All scientific research should serve the country. Now that resources are scarce, if we go in the wrong direction, it will be difficult to turn around. If we continue the research, the results will be useless in the war of resistance. If we stop the research, all the previous investment will be wasted.

Bing Qiwen: "Sir, the Taihang Mountain Laboratory I lead has already established a weapons research and development project group. As long as there is sufficient funding, we can see results in as little as three to five years!"

Upon hearing that it was the Taihang Mountain Laboratory, Wang Feng raised an eyebrow.

I recall this being a national policy decision?
Atomic energy research?
Upon hearing this, Wang Feng immediately perked up: "What weapon? Tell me more!"

Li Hong quickly chimed in, "Sir, it's windy outside, why don't we go inside and talk?"

Wang Feng readily agreed: "Alright, I want to hear what Professor Bing's weapons project is all about!"

With that, he walked into the administration building.

Behind him, Bing Qiwen walked up to Li Hong and asked, "Dean, are we not going to the Committee Office?"

Li Hong waved his hand, looking disappointed: "The highest-ranking officer is here, why bother going to the committee headquarters? Let me tell you, if your weapons project can catch Commander Wang's eye, let alone 500,000 in research funding, even 5 million is negotiable!"

Bing Qiwen slapped his forehead and quickly caught up with the group.

--------

A private meeting room.

Several researchers carried a huge stack of technical documents, piled up like a mountain in front of Wang Feng.

Bing Qiwen: "Sir, this is all the information we have for our weapons project. Please take a look!"

Wang Feng swiped through the papers: "You guys are quite well-prepared!"

"Not at all, not at all." Li Hong was afraid that Bing Qiwen couldn't handle it alone, so he helped him out. "The soldiers are fighting bloody battles on the front lines, risking their lives. We who are in the rear, no matter what work we do, must live up to the sacrifices of those heroes!"

Wang Feng smiled and closed the documents.

This is too complicated; he can't understand it at all.

In his previous life, he didn't even graduate from university, and his major was unrelated to his studies. So many years have passed, and he has long since forgotten the knowledge he learned.

It would be strange if you could actually understand it!

Wang Feng: "You guys give a brief summary of this weapons project."

Based on the information on the national policy tree, he was very certain that the research goal of the Taihang Mountain Laboratory was atomic energy weapons.

Haven't eaten pork, haven't seen a pig run yet?
Although I don't understand the detailed technology, I have a general understanding and a clear grasp of the general research direction.

That's how scientific research is; the worst thing isn't how difficult the topic is, but choosing the wrong direction.

As long as you keep following the right line of thinking, even if the technical staff's skill level is low, they can still manage to tinker with something.

Bing Qiwen: "Sir, the new weapon we're researching, to put it simply, is a very small but extremely powerful bomb. If we can successfully develop it, we'll only need one bomb."

He held up one finger and gestured back and forth in front of Wang Feng: "The explosive power of a single bomb is equivalent to the explosive power of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of tons of TNT!"

Seeing how engrossed he was in the demonstration, Wang Feng feigned shock: "Hundreds of thousands of tons, what's the underlying principle?"

Bing Qiwen smiled and said, "This year, Germany has achieved an important research result. To put it simply, in the study of uranium nuclei, they discovered the phenomenon of atomic fission. The energy released by a single uranium atom is extremely large."

He tried his best to explain, hoping to make Wang Feng understand what "atomic fission" was.

Wang Feng did not interrupt, but patiently listened to the whole thing.

"uranium?"

Bing Qiwen nodded: "Yes, it's uranium!"

Wang Feng: "So, what stage has your research on this new weapon reached?"

Bing Qiwen was troubled and said truthfully, "It's only just begun. The world's research on uranium, especially uranium atomic fission, is still a blank slate. We have no reference points to refer to when researching this new weapon."

"The most important problem right now is that we don't have enough uranium ore for research."

Li Hong added, "Uranium ore is very rare in Shanxi. Our college's research department has estimated that developing this new weapon would require at least a thousand tons of uranium, or even more."

Wang Feng frowned deeply. He didn't know how much it would take to develop atomic weapons, and even the weapons research departments of any national military or company in the world didn't know.

Thousands of tons of uranium, perhaps, is a conservative estimate.

Li Hong: "Sir, the most crucial thing is that we can only rely on importing such a large quantity of uranium ore, which is very costly."

Bing Qiwen looked at Wang Feng with anticipation, wishing he could hear the words "additional budget" the next second.

Wang Feng's brows relaxed.

Why do we need to import uranium ore?

He could count the number of large uranium deposits in China on his fingers.

"Perhaps we can try uranium exploration domestically."

Li Hong was taken aback: "Self-exploration, sir, will probably extend the research period by three to five years."

Uranium exploration requires the involvement of geologists, which significantly increases the time and cost in the early stages.

Wang Feng: "In my opinion, it would be better to conduct the exploration ourselves."

"Sir," Li Hong tried to say, but was interrupted by Wang Feng waving his hand.

As far as he knew, before the discovery of uranium atomic fission, uranium ore had almost no strategic value; its only use was in the production of ceramic glazes to improve color and increase gloss.

Currently, most of the ceramic glazes used in China are imported, and domestic uranium mines have not yet been developed on a large scale.

That makes things much easier.

Shanxi has no uranium mines, but it can mine uranium in other provinces under the guise of manufacturing glazes. In other people's eyes, uranium is not a valuable thing. It can't be eaten or drunk, and even if it is sold on the market, few people will buy it.

Even for long-distance transport, there is no need to worry about safety issues.

Bing Qiwen wanted to try again: "Sir, as long as our laboratory can obtain enough uranium, we can start research immediately!"

Wang Feng understood what they meant: "Your new weapon may sound a bit absurd, but I think this type of weapon, which relies on atomic fission to generate energy, has a promising future. How much budget do you need?"

Seeing that Wang Feng finally spoke, the two breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted from their shoulders.

Li Hong: "Sir, all the research funding for this project is currently being advanced by our college. We'll have to ask Professor Bing how much it will cost."

As he spoke, he frantically winked at Bing Qiwen.

Wang Feng thought for a moment, and before the other party could speak, he said directly: "How about this, the first phase budget is five million yuan. We will import a batch from abroad first, and the subsequent materials will be uranium mined domestically."

"If the budget is insufficient in the future, don't go to the committee, come directly to me."

"Research and development matters must be kept strictly confidential; not a single piece of information may be leaked to the outside world!"

Currently, there is no atomic energy weaponry available, and Bing Qiwen's budget estimates can go on and on. No matter how much is requested in the early stages, additional budgets will be required in the later stages.

Wang Feng knew this was a bottomless pit, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and crawl into it.

Even if it means selling everything we own, we must crack this technology as soon as possible!
"Five million?" Bing Qiwen was a little excited. For the past two months, his main work, besides organizing materials, has been running around raising money.

Developing a weapon that has never existed in the world before is too risky. Only one or two months have passed since the discovery of uranium atomic fission. Western powers have not yet figured out what this technology is all about, and many people have not even heard of this theory.

If you tell this to others, nine out of ten people won't believe you.

Money is needed everywhere now, and it's even more difficult to get a sufficient budget.

He had to beg and plead to get the small amount of funding the college had to provide.

With the data almost ready and formal research about to begin, the project would face cancellation if sufficient research funding could not be raised.

Bing Qiwen thought to himself, "Fortunately, Commander Wang is a man of great principle."

Wang Feng: "I believe that using uranium fission theory to study atomic energy weapons is a viable path. I will keep a close eye on the research progress. This research may be very difficult for us, but we should not shrink back because of the difficulty. That is not in the Chinese character. On the contrary, it is precisely because of this that we should start research and development as soon as possible!"

As he spoke, he walked up to Bing Qiwen and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't underestimate yourself. If you encounter any difficulties, tell me and I will do my best to solve them. You can focus on your research and development!"

"I'm giving you six years. You must successfully develop an atomic weapon within six years!"

Bing Qiwen was deeply moved.

Shrinking back is not in the Chinese character; it is precisely because it is difficult that our scientific research capabilities are weak.

That's why we must spare no effort to start researching ahead of the rest of the world—as the saying goes, "A slow bird flies early and enters the forest early, and a slow person studies diligently and becomes a talent early!"
Bing Qiwen: "Don't worry, sir. Leave this to us, there won't be any problems!"

--------

at the same time.

The front line of the War of Resistance against Japan in Changzhi.

Li Jiayu held binoculars, looking at the battlefield below the broken mountain, his brows almost furrowed together:
"Damn it, how exactly is this battle being fought?"

"Who was in command?"

Deputy Commander Luo Zezhou glanced at the map hanging on the wall: "It's the 104th Division!"

Li Jiayu cursed, "104th Division? What a joke!"

"Where's Li Qingyan? Bring him over here, I want to ask him how he led his troops. A defensive line defended by a regiment was breached by a Japanese battalion in just three hours!"

The 104th Division was originally the newly formed 6th Division of the Sichuan Army. Li Jiayu even served as its commander. Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, the troops were reorganized. The 47th Army was formed on the basis of the 104th Division and can be considered the core and direct force of the entire army.

Deputy Commander Luo Zezhou glanced at the front line and immediately complained, "Sir, the Japanese have brought in field artillery. Their firepower is too fierce. The brothers will have a hard time holding on!"

“Ding ding ding—!”

Before Li Jiayu could reply, a rapid telegraph call sounded.

"What happened?"

A short while later, Luo Zezhou came in with a telegram: "Sir, there's a problem at the rear. The Japanese have sent planes to bomb the civilian transport convoy. It's estimated that the 178th Division's combat supplies won't be able to get out today."

Li Jiayu was instantly enraged and slammed his fist on the table.

Luo Zezhou: "Sir, how about we ask the garrison troops resting in the rear for reinforcements? I don't know what's wrong with these Japanese devils today, their offensive is unusually fierce!"

Li Jiayu flatly refused: "No way!"

"The garrison has already done us a great favor by providing us with weapons and supplies. Now that we have suffered a defeat, we still have to ask them for help. If word gets out, won't we become a laughing stock among soldiers all over the country?"

"Get the 104th Division here!"

The communications officer standing nearby immediately picked up the microphone and turned on the dial.

After the call was connected, it was handed to Li Jiayu.

He took the microphone: "Hello!"

The faint sound of an explosion could be heard from the other end of the phone: "Sir, this is Li Qingyan from the 104th Division!"

Li Jiayu: "What exactly is going on at the front? It's only been eight hours since the start of the battle, and your unit has already retreated nearly four kilometers. What kind of behavior is this!"

Li Qingyan covered the microphone: "Sir, the Japanese are charging too fiercely, and they've been bombing our supply lines for the past few days. Brothers, we've been fighting on empty stomachs for days, and we really can't hold on much longer."

Li Jiayu frowned.

The voice on the phone was intermittent and very difficult to hear.

Without even realizing it, it must be that the telephone lines have been affected.

Taking advantage of the last moment, he shouted, "Don't give me those useless excuses! What you need to do now is to take back the lost ground!"

"Did you hear that?"

Li Qingyan replied on the other end of the phone, "Yes! I'll go organize a counterattack right away!"

Li Jiayu hung up the phone, picked up the binoculars again, and looked at the battlefield in the distance.

At that moment, the communications officer rushed over, his heels touching, and saluted: "Reporting, sir, urgent telegram from the front!"

"The friendly 3rd, 4th and 7th infantry battalions have advanced two kilometers and are requesting our unit to cover their flank defenses!"

After taking it, Li Jiayu cursed under his breath: "Those damn Japanese devils really know how to play favorites!"

Seeing that the garrison was well-equipped but short of ammunition, they turned around and concentrated their superior forces to launch a fierce attack on the 47th Army.

On the other hand, looking at the garrison, according to the strategic map, they were about to strike directly at the heart of the Japanese 114th Division.

In contrast, the Japanese army was in no hurry, throwing its main force onto the 47th Army's defensive line, clearly intending to trade one for one, even if it meant suffering heavy losses, to tear a piece of flesh from the front line.

Luo Zezhou held the telegram, his mind wavering: "Sir, how should my department reply?"

The defending army advanced with unstoppable momentum, and the 47th Army's overall defense line on the flank suffered a series of setbacks. It was clear that no reinforcements could be provided, and it was fortunate that they did not falter at this critical juncture.

Li Jiayu sighed: "Sigh, let's just answer the truth."

Given the stark disparity in strength, even if the Japanese had focused their main attack on the defending forces, the situation would certainly not be what it is now.

(End of this chapter)