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

Chapter 479 We're transporting oil pipelines, not rockets!

Red Flag 9?
This time, Qin Liang didn't use the Beidou terminal; instead, he started typing on his computer keyboard and quickly received a response.

"The HQ-9 missiles have already been produced. Since you need them so urgently, we'll send one of our Y-20 transport aircraft to deliver a battalion to you first!"

"Great, that's wonderful! We'll cover the shipping costs."

"No need, let us do it."

"No way, we'll pay! We were discussing sea freight before, but now it's air freight. Freight rates have gone up, so Sha will have to pay. Two million for one flight, how about that?"

"Two hundred thousand is enough!"

"No, it's only two million. That's not just the cost of fuel, but also the wear and tear on the aircraft!"

"Okay, you're too kind."

Sha, the capital, the airport.

The sun was blazing down on the earth; an egg placed on it would likely be baked. At the airport, the heat was even more intense.

but……

Strangely enough, even in this heat, there was a group of people standing at the end of the track watching!
Even with parasols overhead and cold drinks in their hands, they were still hot.

Sweat kept sliding down their foreheads, falling to the ground, and then... evaporating completely.

"Your Highness Sultan, it's too hot in here. Would you like to wait in the departure lounge?"

"No, of course not. We have to wait here. The Easterners have traveled thousands of miles to airlift equipment to us. Shouldn't we at least be respectful in our waiting?"

Just then, a roaring sound rang out in the distance.

The big guys raised their heads and looked up at the sky.

Two large aircraft appeared in the sky.

The fuselage is painted gray, making it difficult to see from a distance. It is wide and slightly bulky, with a high-wing configuration, four mounted engines, and a tall T-shaped tail fin.

The whole plane looks incredibly powerful!

Wow…

Reporters rushed out.

Sultan's guards became alert; if any reporters dared to approach, they would kick them away without hesitation.

Fortunately, the reporters simply scattered throughout the airport, each looking for what they considered the best spots to take photos.

Click, click!
The reason why a military airport was not chosen is because Sha wanted to make a high-profile display!

We have advanced equipment from the East. Let's see who dares to cause trouble on our territory!
As the roar drew closer, the landing gear deployed from both sides of the fuselage, revealing uniquely designed landing gear bays that maximized the use of interior space.

Closer and closer, finally, the wheels touched the ground and began to slide.

"Yun-20!" a reporter shouted.

"That's right, an Eastern transport plane. How did it end up here?"

Amid their puzzled gazes, the plane taxied onto the tarmac, and then... the rear cargo door slowly opened.

A roar sounded, and vehicles drove out from inside!
This is the advantage of large transport aircraft!
Even though some large passenger planes have a takeoff weight greater than the Y-20, their cargo holds are cramped and require special lifting pallets to load and unload cargo. They are lucky if they can transport some packages; trucks simply cannot fit inside.

And the transport planes have large cargo doors, so equipment can be driven directly out of them! The transport efficiency is top-notch!

The front of the car is angular, the STYER logo is clearly visible, it has three-section windshield wipers, and the paint has been specially sprayed in desert yellow.

What's this?
Countless people stared wide-eyed, and countless cameras clicked away.

The front of the car is visible, and the large round tube at the rear is also visible!
This is……

"Red Flag Nine!"

Since it's an Eastern transport plane, it naturally carries Eastern equipment! Although the military parade was over a month ago, everyone still remembers it.

At this moment, seeing this missile being launched, many people instinctively thought of something else.

Everyone said that Sha had purchased the Hongqi 9, but I didn't expect him to get his hands on it so quickly!
A HQ-9 missile battalion consists of one command vehicle, four communication and maintenance vehicles, one missile control vehicle, one target search radar vehicle, one target illumination radar vehicle, and eight missile launchers.

Overall, a total of sixteen heavy trucks would be sufficient.

The interior of the Y-20's cabin is still limited in space, with a width of 4.5 meters, a height of 4 meters, and a length of 20 meters. This means that two trucks can be placed side by side, which is almost the limit of zero distance.

Forget about rearview mirrors; they have to be disassembled. Even so, only four can be loaded onto one plane, requiring two flights to be completed.

However, outsiders don't know this!
The first transport plane carried all the missile launchers. It was quite impressive to see four missile launchers drive off.

On the second transport plane, radar vehicles and command vehicles also drove off one after another. Even if a second flight is required, the equipment delivered in the first flight is enough to form a basic combat unit!
Everyone's eyes widened.

"Sha's anti-aircraft missiles have arrived!"

"I heard it can intercept fast-moving runners!"

"Yes, it can shoot down planes and missiles, it's practically all-powerful!"

Finally, a reporter couldn't resist any longer and headed towards Sultan.

"Your Highness Sultan, could you say a few words to us?"

"That's right, Your Highness Sultan. Is my military equipment going to be shifted entirely eastward?"

Seeing the expectant looks on the faces of the reporters, Sultan smiled and said, "That's right, everyone. We, the Shah, are not short of money. If we're going to buy, we'll buy the most advanced in the world. This is just the first HQ-9 missile system. Its arrival will allow us to better protect our capital!"

In any country, the capital city is the most important.

With an advanced air defense missile system, the capital must be protected first. As long as the capital is safe, other losses are tolerable.

"Is your air defense missile system designed to prepare for potential future conflicts?"

“That’s right, the situation ahead will be very serious. We, the Saudis, must prepare for the worst. Of course, we must also do our best. In addition to military deployments, in order to take care of the crude oil transportation for our other Arab brothers, we, the Saudis, have decided to invest heavily in building an east-west oil pipeline!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

what?
Running east to west?

This is absolutely a big investment!

"Excuse me, what is the oil transportation capacity?"

"Who will be responsible for building it?"

This news is far more powerful than the Red Flag 9! There are huge profits involved.

"Of course, our Eastern friends will undertake the construction! As for the oil transportation capacity... it is designed to transport five million barrels of oil per day, but if needed, it can be increased to more than seven million barrels. We, Sha, have an unshirkable responsibility to maintain the balance of the world's energy supply."

Sha has once again become the core of OPEC!

Upon receiving this news from Sha, the other countries were deeply saddened.

Shipping is blocked!
Fortunately, it can be transported by land, but...

If the oil pipeline goes through Sha's control, then how much crude oil is exported is entirely up to Sha!

It seems unlikely that they will be able to increase oil production behind OPEC's back in the future.

The key issue is that this pipeline can't be built in a short time. The tough times ahead are still ahead, and it's uncertain whether the Americans can defeat Langtu...

Everyone was still feeling uneasy.

In the East, at a certain port.

In the dead of night, a large number of cylindrical pipes were loaded onto a huge oil tanker.

"In 1978, my country developed a wide and thick plate rolling mill in Wugang, which can roll steel plates with a width of 4.3 meters. It was thanks to this rolling mill that we were able to manufacture this 50-inch oil pipeline."

Qin Liang stood on the dock, watching the loading process, while a person in charge explained things to him.

Oil pipelines are made of rolled steel plates.

The width of the steel plate determines the maximum diameter of the oil pipeline, and the relationship between the two is simply the value of pi.

If the width is insufficient... two pieces can be spliced ​​together, but this will reduce the load-bearing capacity and increase the risk of failure. This is not done internationally.

Fifty inches, or 1270 millimeters, is exactly the widest steel plate that a 4.3-meter wide rolling mill can produce.

"It's still not enough. In the future, we need to have a 5.2-meter rolling mill so that the pipe diameter can exceed 1.5 meters."

"President Qin, can Northwestern Polytechnical University help?" This...

Qin Liang sighed, "We can't have everything from Northwestern Polytechnical University!"
Just then, the crane stopped.

"Comrade Qin Liang, as you have arranged, the first batch of 30,000 tons of steel pipes has been loaded onto the ship!"

"Well done, everyone! Let's get going!"

"Yes!"

The ship, over 400 meters long, slowly left the dock with the help of tugboats. At the stern, a huge steam turbine drove the propeller, making a whooshing sound.

Sea Giant, set sail!

That's right, it's this oil tanker!
We came from Mexico, first taking the Pacific route, which led us to the East. It's not cost-effective to send empty pipelines to the Middle East, so we'll bring a batch of oil pipelines with us!
When Sha took over the Hongqi-9, he announced the oil pipeline construction plan to the public, and... he gave it to us, Dongfang, without going through the bidding process. This shows his absolute trust in us!
We cannot betray this trust!
So, after seeing off this oil tanker, the next step is to return to the capital and coordinate with the engineering team to carry out construction abroad. We must coordinate well and not lose face for the East!

Let's start showing off the power of the infrastructure powerhouse!

The eastern sky slowly began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Sea Giant, on the bridge.

Captain Zhao Dexing gazed at the vast sea outside, his expression complex.

“Captain, this is the first time our tanker has transported oil through a pipeline!” crew member Ma Jie said.

“Yes, but this is also related to oil. Maybe next time they'll ask us to bring some containers over.” Zhao Dexing smiled.

On the ship, he was the only one who knew the secret; the other crew members were kept in the dark!
After all, this is a matter of great importance!
I hope you have a safe journey.

Zhao Dexing unconsciously glanced at the Beidou navigation terminal that had been installed next to him.

After the BeiDou system expanded to provide global services, many cargo ships sailing at sea have been equipped with this type of terminal.

It can locate and communicate; how much does a maritime satellite phone cost? This kind of equipment is definitely the most suitable choice!

Cargo ships from various countries are adding these features; after all, anyone who uses them knows how amazing they are!
However, the Sea Giant was originally used as a floating oil depot and did not have this feature installed until now, when it changed owners.

Hopefully it won't ring; no news is good news.

Ding Dong!

Just then, a sound rang out.

What I feared most has come to pass.
Zhao Dexing looked at the screen and saw the words: weather forecast.

Weather forecast!

Who says Beidou terminals can only be used for positioning? The SMS function has already been developed, and based on SMS, other functions have followed.

For example, weather forecasts!

Cargo ships sailing at sea need to know the weather conditions. Although this is mentioned on radio broadcasts, it is over and done with, while text messages can be saved!

The biggest problem at present is that it is only available in English.

After all, English only needs 26 letters to represent everything, and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System is now used all over the world, making English the most suitable international language.

Of course, Northwestern Polytechnical University has now developed an operating system that allows users to select the language without a Chinese character card. In the future, other terminals will follow suit, and Chinese and other languages ​​will be displayed one after another. Just be patient.

Zhao Dexing breathed a sigh of relief, and his mood improved even more after checking the weather.

"The weather forecast in the United States can only predict the next two days, but the weather forecast here can predict a whole week!" Ma Jie exclaimed.

"Because this place has the world's most advanced computers with powerful computing capabilities," Zhao Dexing said. "Medium-term forecasts are very important. I heard that in the future, they will be able to forecast the weather for half a month, which is a great thing for us people who make a living at sea."

"Half a month? Our Eastern technology is truly amazing!"

"That's for sure. If things continue to develop this way, our East will soon rise peacefully and become the world's number one!"

Reconnaissance satellites flew overhead.

There's no way to defend against this, and there's no need to defend against it; it will eventually be discovered.

CIA.

"What kind of bulk carrier is this? I've never seen one like it before."

"Yes, this proportion is incredible!"

The intelligence analysts looked at the photos with complex expressions.

"Wait a minute, why do I feel like this ship looks a lot like the Sea Giant?"

When they compared the two photos taken from above, they were even more astonished.

"This Sea Giant is being used as an oil pipeline transport ship!"

"Yeah, it's just... Easterners are so stingy."

"Northwestern Polytechnical University is stingy. They make so much money, yet they don't even let empty trucks go. Besides, doesn't loading and unloading take time?"

"So they chose oil pipelines. Loading and unloading are simple, taking less than a day, and they can even load and unload during the unloading process. These Easterners..."

"Speaking of which, this oil tanker is really versatile. It can be converted into many types of ships, such as container ships, bulk carriers, and cargo ships..."

The intelligence analysts made a few remarks and then threw the photos away. It was just a normal business transaction, nothing to be particularly concerned about.

Their most important task right now is to find the secret supply transport ship!
According to intelligence, Sha bought a special weapon of mass destruction from the East, which is said to be in transit. They must find it!

In recent years, Sha has become increasingly disobedient. Now, he even dares to openly clamor for making friends with the East, and even implies that the East should replace the United States.

This infuriated them and fueled their desire for revenge. If they found such a ship, they would definitely board it for inspection and intercept it on the spot. "Hmph, let's see who's the boss of this world!"

As for whether it will push Sha to the Soviet Union's side... it shouldn't be that bad. Being able to stand with the East is already the bottom line. Their position is different from that of the Soviet Union.

Besides this task, another was to gather intelligence on Langtuo, who was clearly also preparing for war during this time.

Images from reconnaissance satellites kept appearing on the screen; they observed them carefully, and then…

"Look, what is this!"

"Leading wing, twin engines, twin vertical tail, could this be a MiG-29?"

"No, no, this aircraft is bigger than the MiG-29, and it has a tail cone between the two engines. This is a Su-27!"

Su-27!

The Soviet Union's most advanced fighter jets have actually appeared in... an abandoned air force base in Langtuo!
what does this mean?
The intelligence analyst felt a chill run down his spine.

"Quickly, send it to the Pentagon immediately!"

Pentagon.

“Since even the Poison Spider was equipped on Langtuo, it’s possible that the Su-27 was also involved. However… if we’re not mistaken, this equipment was likely operated by Soviet pilots,” Hunter Harris said. “Unexpectedly, the situation on the Far East battlefield is about to repeat itself.”

Everyone present had complex expressions.

They never imagined that decades later, they would be facing each other again.

“However, our technology will show the Russians what despair is. Their electronics are too poor, and they don’t have any stealth aircraft, so we can completely overwhelm them.” Hunter Harris didn’t find it challenging at all; he was quite relaxed.

"Suppress them? That's the Soviet Union's most advanced third-generation fighter jet, far superior in performance to the Tomcat in Lang Tuo's hands!"

“No, no, even the most advanced aircraft are useless. The era of one-on-one combat is long gone. Now it's all about system-on-system warfare,” Hunter Harris said. “We’ve already negotiated with Oman to lease their air force base to deploy F-117s. At that time, our stealth aircraft will…”

"Deploying F-117s? That plane has no secrets anymore; it was shot down over Sakhalin Island. The Soviets analyzed the wreckage thoroughly long ago!"

Hunter Harris looked at the speaker: "Swift, so what do you suggest?"

At least our air force has stealth aircraft, but what about your navy? Your A-12 has only just begun development!

Swift did not answer.

The navy really doesn't have a stealth aircraft. We need to speed things up and develop the A-12 as soon as possible!

Northwestern Polytechnical University, you'd better hurry up and finish!
"Gentlemen, this matter is of extraordinary significance." Just then, a cold voice rang out.

"Does this mean that Langtuo is going to completely side with the Soviet Union? If so, will Soviet supplies be transported through Langtuo in Afghanistan?"

Everyone's expression changed.

Now, when the Soviets transport supplies from the north, they have to pass through mountainous areas and are ambushed by various guerrilla groups.

If we establish a connection with Langtuo, the border with Langtuo is all desert, making it extremely difficult to launch an ambush!
(End of this chapter)