Back in 1978, I was admitted to Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Chapter 383 Northwestern Polytechnical University's technology is amazing!

My uncle can't get involved any longer, or he might fall into an abyss. But Waseda Keiko and the power she represents will definitely have to pay the price!
At this moment, Qin Baoguo felt a little embarrassed. He wanted to help, but he didn't expect that this kind of project was not something he could get involved in. As the eldest brother, he wanted to help his younger brother, but in the end, he found that he was the one who needed help!

With mixed feelings, he followed the crowd and left the Datang Group headquarters. Then, on the campus of Northwestern Polytechnical University, they arrived at a detached building.

"At Northwestern Polytechnical University, many key projects related to national defense are underway, so you should not wander around casually. If you see something you shouldn't, you might never be able to leave the campus again. You will work here and cannot go anywhere else. As for accommodation, I will take you to a guesthouse off-campus later."

"Okay, Liangzi, I understand. Don't worry." Qin Ming was well aware of the special features of Northwestern Polytechnical University.

Waseda Keiko rolled her eyes and looked at a nearby tall building: "Is that your Fifth Department Building?"

"That's right, the Fifth Department Building. Someone will come to discuss the project with you later..."

The sky outside gradually darkened, and the day was over.

Qin Baomin treated everyone to a meal at a restaurant near the guesthouse, then arranged accommodations for several people before leaving.

"Da Ming, I want to go for a walk outside."

"I...I still need to look at these documents." Qin Ming held some documents from the project meeting that had just taken place that day and was looking at them very carefully.

"Then I'll go by myself, just like when I was in the capital."

"it is good."

Keiko Waseda wandered around, sometimes stopping to eat street food, sometimes gazing at ancient buildings in a daze. She walked and stopped, and finally entered a tea shop.

"Boss! What kinds of tea do you have here?"

"Da Hong Pao, Bi Luo Chun, Mao Jian, whatever you want, we have it."

"I haven't heard of these names much. Where I'm from, tea sellers just sell the product numbers. My favorite tea is number 3451."

"Really? That's really unfortunate. I only have No. 3450 tea here. Please wait a moment, I'll brew you a pot, please sit down and have a taste."

"Okay."

Keiko Waseda sat down, watched as the tea was brewed, and then extended her slender hand to hand over a 100-yuan note.

"Thanks, this is a tip."

"How can this be so embarrassing..."

"Take it."

"Okay, I'll pack a few pounds for you later." The shopkeeper took the money, and a corner of the note was sticking out from the center of the large ten-yuan note.

As the night deepened, it was already 10 p.m. when Waseda Keiko returned to the guesthouse. Many people were already asleep, but from a place with the national emblem hanging on it, someone made an excited sound.

"Great! We've been investigating this 3450 for two years, and we've finally locked onto our target!"

"Yes, thanks to the information Qin Liang sent us, otherwise we would still be searching for this person in the vast sea of ​​people!"

Starting in 1980, they received information that an agent codenamed 3450 was engaged in secret activities on the mainland, and that a man named Wang Youcai was also involved in intelligence transmission.

To this end, a special task force of more than ten people was formed in the hope of thoroughly investigating 3450 and the people associated with him.

But... it's too difficult!

Among the letters that have been seized, the origins are only Zhengzhou and Guangzhou. They started investigating in these two places but found no clues. It wasn't until later that they discovered that the envelopes used in the letters were printed by the Chang'an Printing Factory. Therefore, the person's real hiding place is very likely Chang'an!
Then they investigated Wang Youcai in Chang'an's household registration. There were two people in total. One of them was a reporter from Chang'an Daily who traveled between Zhengzhou and Guangzhou all year round. He was the most suspicious. They thought they had found a breakthrough and kept an eye on him for a whole year, but they got nothing!
"Tian Yuejin, with a junior high school education, used to work in the same factory as Wang Youcai. In 1980, Wang Youcai was transferred to Chang'an Newspaper, while Tian Yuejin took advantage of the trend of going into business and went to Guangzhou to do business." Wang Zhiqiang, the head of the special task force, carefully analyzed the information he had just obtained.

"This Tian Yuejin likely made contact with people in Guangzhou while doing business there, and then infiltrated back to act as an inside agent. For the past two years, he has been passing on intelligence about Northwestern Polytechnical University, but most of the intelligence is just hearsay and speculation. However, he has investigated the family situation of Qin Liang and Qin Baomin in great detail."

Wang Zhiqiang continued, "We should have found the clues long ago. Comrade Qin Baomin loves to drink tea and has been to his tea shop to buy tea. He certainly didn't reveal his work-related matters, but his family situation naturally came out when they talked about it."

"Yes, it was Tian Yuejin who investigated this situation, which led them to find Qin Baoguo and his son. So they sent a female agent to infiltrate Qin Ming's inner circle. Now, they've infiltrated Northwestern Polytechnical University. So... shouldn't we close the net now?"

“There’s no rush. We need to see what Comrade Qin Liang’s plan is. I guess he’s going to take this opportunity to trick the other side.” Wang Zhiqiang said, “Now, we can go find Wang Youcai and find out what’s going on.”

Hearing a knock at the door in the newspaper's staff quarters, Wang Youcai put on his coat and opened it. He was stunned to find a group of police officers in peaked caps.

"Comrade Wang Youcai, don't be afraid. We need to ask you about the situation." Wang Zhiqiang said, "We hope you can provide some clues about the unusual behavior of your former colleague, Tian Yuejin."

Tian Yuejin?
On the sofa, Wang Youcai recalled carefully, as if remembering something: "I remember, in 1980, Tian Yuejin came to visit me, saying that he hoped I could help him find out some information about Northwestern Polytechnical University under the guise of an interview. I refused at the time, thinking that there was something wrong with this person..."

"Then why didn't you report it at the time?"

"After all, we were brothers who once worked in the same factory and ate from the same pot..."

"Alright, don't leak this conversation from today."

"Yes Yes."

At the same time, Tian Yuejin closed the door of his tea shop and went straight to the station to buy a train ticket to Guangzhou.

Two days later, across the ditch, at the Aviation Development Center.

"Everyone, good news, good news!" Huang Xiaozong exclaimed excitedly.

"What news?" Peng Yuanxi asked, his head spinning.

"The news from Northwestern Polytechnical University is that they not only completed the aerodynamic design of the fuselage in half a month, but they also have the ability to improve the TFE31 engine. After their improvement, the engine's maximum afterburning thrust can be increased to 4.5 tons!"

4.5 tons!
Everyone was excited.

These two nine-ton engines are more than enough to give our light fighter jet a thrust-to-weight ratio of over 1 during air combat!
"We still have to thank Lao Xing's daughter. She did a great job for us; she's the one who brought this news back!"

"When will my daughter be back?" Xing Youguang asked.

"Don't rush, she still has much to contribute! Next, let's discuss the improvements to Garrett's engine. If there are no technical issues, we'll contact Garrett and have them contact Northwestern Polytechnical University..."

Xia Shuren, the person in charge of the Yunhan Project, nodded: "Great, bring their proposal over, we'll take a look!"

Engineer Zhang Xuebin took it and his eyes widened.

The entire engine has undergone a major structural change.

The gearbox was removed, the front fan was changed to a three-stage compressor and also functioned as a low-pressure compressor, the original low-pressure compressor at the rear was replaced with a high-pressure compressor, and the counter-current combustion chamber at the rear was improved...

The Garrett engine that had been giving them a headache lately was one whose supersonic performance was terrible because it was simply modified from the original engine. Now, this modification is equivalent to completely overhauling the original outdated design!
They had considered making such changes, but Garrett rejected them, saying that such improvements would be almost like a completely new design and would cost a fortune!

"How much will this improvement project cost?"

"They quoted 500 million over there."

Five hundred million!

When Huang Xiaozong said this, he felt a pang of regret, but Zhang Xuebin nodded: "Not much. Garrett quoted us a billion. It seems that the East's R&D does have a cost advantage. It's no problem to hand it over to them!"

You actually think it's cheap? Well, for such an advanced engine, it's certainly not expensive.

Huang Xiaozong took a deep breath: "So, this modification is technically sound?" "Yes! It should have been improved like this a long time ago!"

"Okay, then we'll... pay for it."

Three days later, at Northwestern Polytechnical University, at Datang Corporation.

Qin Baomin felt a little embarrassed, repeatedly calling Qin Liang over, but... these decisive matters still had to be decided by Qin Liang!

Sitting opposite him were Richard Garrett, the head of Garrett & Co., and Roger Connolly, the company's chief engineer.

“Mr. Qin, we heard from Mitsubishi Group that you have a perfect plan to improve our engine.” Richard was very excited: “So, we came here specifically to discuss the modification plan with you.”

"Yes, of course, no problem. As long as someone pays, we can make the modifications. However... after the modifications, we also need to own all the intellectual property rights to this engine."

The people on the other side were all taken aback. What did that mean? From now on, Northwestern Polytechnical University would also be producing our engines?
"Mr. Qin, isn't this a bit inappropriate? After all... this engine is ours."

"That's right, the engine is yours, but its performance is terrible. An engine originally designed for subsonic business jets is destined to be unsuitable for supersonic flight. You just wanted to add an afterburner to it and use it as a fighter jet engine. The fact that you haven't sold any of your engines abroad yet should say something, right? Without our help, this engine won't sell!"

Garrett's main business is manufacturing turbochargers. Although they manufacture aircraft engines, which is not a cross-disciplinary matter, it is still a marginal one.

They only have this one main engine, which is mainly for the business jet market. After adding an afterburner, they also wanted to expand into the fighter jet market. They approached many potential customers, but none of them wanted it.

Users aren't stupid!
Now only the people on the other side of the ditch want it, because they have no other choice!

Garrett's engines need improvement and upgrades to increase power, but... competitors are rivals, so don't expect other engine manufacturers to help them upgrade their technology. They can do it themselves, but it will inevitably take a long time and cost a lot of money.

Now, with Dongfang's help, it's obviously the best option. And with someone providing research and development funding, they're even more delighted. But... Dongfang insists on production!

Without Dongfang's help, this engine might not have sold. But now that Dongfang has this engine, Garrett's company will have even less chance of selling it! Dongfang's products are of high quality and low price, so why would users still go to the United States to buy them?

"Not to mention your small Garrett Company, even Rolls-Royce is cooperating with us and setting up factories here. Since you are unwilling, then forget it."

This reminded Richard Garrett, who immediately said, "Mr. Qin, could you please follow the cooperation plan with Rolls-Royce? Your product sales need to expand into new markets, not take away from our company's existing market share?"

"That's natural; we believe in win-win cooperation."

"Okay, that's settled then!" As long as it doesn't affect the existing market!

He looked at the people around him: "I will leave Roger Connery here, and he will be in charge of working with you to launch the new redesign as soon as possible."

"Sure. Send us all the technical documents and the prototype." Qin Liang nodded. "As soon as we get these, we'll start working immediately."

"Yes!"

Northwestern Polytechnical University, computer lab.

Keiko Waseda stared wide-eyed at the behemoth computer in front of her. In her memory, it seemed that only the United States' atomic energy research institutions had such advanced computers!

No aircraft manufacturing unit in the world has this kind of equipment!
Because complex calculations cannot be performed, the only option is to conduct experiments, wind tunnel tests, and repeatedly search for defects and make improvements. Under these circumstances, the aircraft development cycle will be very long, accompanied by a skyrocketing increase in research and development costs.

Now, everything is calculated on a computer, and the resulting shape is the best one!

Electronic devices operate silently, but countless fans whir and spin to cool this massive machine, creating a beautiful symphony when combined with the sound of the air conditioner.

That's right. It's only early spring now, and many places still need heating. So, in this computer room, we need to use air conditioning to cool it down!

"Where is the hard drive of this machine?" Keiko Waseda asked curiously.

"In the dedicated hard drive enclosure next door, it's essentially no different from the previous computer, except that it's faster," Professor Sha said calmly from the side.

During this period, Professor Sha happened to be at Northwestern Polytechnical University, so the project was assigned to him. Back then, the first design task that Northwestern Polytechnical University received was the J-7 fighter jet with a double delta wing, which was led by Professor Sha. Therefore, he had a high prestige and reputation at Northwestern Polytechnical University, and even people abroad knew about him.

His appointment to oversee the work surprised even Waseda Keiko. This... indeed, having the Qin family's influence makes all the difference.

"It's out! It's out!" Just then, a student shouted, "Professor Sha, the design of this new trainer aircraft is complete!"

The 23-inch professional graphics monitor displayed the computer's output.

The tandem two-seat configuration, with the front lower than the rear, features a slatted roofline extending from the partition between the two cockpits. This protruding slat indicates a high degree of utilization of airflow. The air intake is located below the slat. This layout looks incredibly secure!

With the leading-edge extensions pointing backward, it becomes a normal clipped delta wing with a medium aspect ratio. From the wing backward, the fuselage begins to flatten, and behind it is a layout of two engines, an all-moving horizontal stabilizer, and a tall vertical stabilizer.

The entire aircraft has a very smooth design, reflecting the top-notch standards of Northwestern Polytechnical University. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw its appearance.

"Beautiful, truly beautiful!" Qin Ming exclaimed. "I never imagined that Northwestern Polytechnical University's technical level was so high; they could even generate the aerodynamic shape of an aircraft on a computer!"

"Yes, the research and development level here is truly world-class!" Waseda Keiko said this not as a compliment, but from the bottom of her heart. This was the most advanced technology she had ever seen!

"Yes, we have the shape. Next, we need to send the data to our woodworking workshop so they can start processing it directly."

"pass?"

"Yes, we have already deployed a campus network, and we also have external networks that connect to each of our school-run factories. The design drawings here are sent directly through the network."

"When we get there, we'll still have to print it out, won't we?"

"No need, the CNC machine tools over there can receive this data directly."

“So advanced?”

"Ahem, for us, this is just a routine procedure."

Keiko Waseda's eyes sparkled. Stealing hard drives here would be difficult, but tampering with the internet connection outside would be much easier, as long as she had a network terminal...

“Alright, next, we should run the engine data,” Professor Sha said.

"Can engine data also be displayed on this computer?"

"Yeah, let's run the first three stages of fan blades first."

Woodworking workshop.

The CNC machine tool was spinning rapidly, cutting, and after about five hours, a beautiful airplane model was made.

"Okay, next, let's put it in our own wind tunnel to blow!"

Qin Ming and Waseda Keiko were shocked again: "Northwestern Polytechnical University has its own wind tunnel?"

"Of course we have one! Our university's aerospace program is our main focus, how can we do without a wind tunnel?" Professor Sha said with a smile. "Come on, let me take you there to see it!"

It was already evening when they arrived at the wind tunnel. Qin Ming was a little hungry, but he didn't care. He watched as the airplane model inside the wind tunnel was being tested, and data kept coming out. Many of the data were even better than the required indicators!

Awesome, awesome!
"Professor Sha, I...I want to stay here and pursue my doctorate!" Qin Ming could no longer hold back.

　PS: That's roughly how it looks.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)