Courtyard House: Initial Donation of 50 Million

The emergence and official deployment of the Type 81 automatic rifle was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake. The ripples it created quickly spread from the firing range of the Red Star Precision Machinery Plant to the entire General Staff Department, the General Logistics Department, and even higher decision-making circles. The astonishing data in the test reports—accuracy, controllability, ergonomics, and especially its revolutionary tactical expansion capabilities—brought a jolt to the eyes of military leaders accustomed to a hodgepodge of foreign and domestically produced weapons, igniting a burning passion within them. A sense of pride and urgency—"We have it too, and perhaps even better"—simultaneously surged within them.

But Wang Huanbo's thinking didn't stop with the finalization of the "August 1st" rifle. In his far-sighted military understanding, an excellent rifle was merely the starting point, not the end, of a modern infantry system. True combat power came from a systematic, universal, and modular equipment system. This was especially true for individual weapons. The historical Type 81 rifle family was a successful attempt, but it still had shortcomings due to the limitations of the era and technology. Now, with a more forward-looking design concept and a preliminary technological foundation, why not go further and create a truly meaningful, era-leading "August 1st" rifle family?

This idea became clearer and more urgent as he chatted with Li Yunlong, who had come in a great hurry to "urge delivery" and "get a taste of the new gun".

"Old Wang, no, Chief Engineer Wang!" Li Yunlong hugged the Type 81 rifle with the highest serial number, which he had practically "monopolized," his eyes shining with delight. "This rifle is fucking good! It's far superior to the old-fashioned Hanyang rifle I used back in the day, to the Japanese Type 38 rifle, to Chiang Kai-shek's Type 24, and even to the AK-47 the Soviets use now! It's just..." He clicked his tongue, revealing a hint of the greed typical of a field commander, "...it just feels like just having this 'long rifle'..." "That's not enough. Look, a platoon with just riflemen isn't enough firepower. If we had a gun with a longer range, more bullets, and the ability to keep firing for longer, to suppress enemy fire or take out distant machine gun positions, that would be perfect! And sharpshooters need good gear, right? The current Mosin-Nagant is good, but it's too slow. You fire one shot, then pull the trigger, which is incredibly frustrating when you encounter moving targets or need to follow up!"

Wang Huanbo smiled; Li Yunlong's words had hit the nail on the head. This was precisely the key weakness in the infantry squad's firepower composition—the lack of sustained suppressive fire and precise sniper fire. The historical Type 81 rifle family, including the Type 81 assault rifle, the Type 81-1 folding-stock rifle, and the Type 81 light machine gun, was, to some extent, designed to address this need. However, while the Type 81 light machine gun shared ammunition and some parts with the rifle, it was essentially a "reinforced rifle" with a heavier barrel and drum magazine feeding. In terms of range, accuracy, and sustained fire capability, it still lagged behind a true squad automatic weapon, and lacked modular expansion capabilities. As for sniper rifles, that came later with the Type 85 and Type 88.

"Commander Li," Wang Huanbo refilled Li Yunlong's tea and said slowly, "what you've said is exactly what we're going to do next."

"Oh?" Li Yunlong's spirits lifted. He put down his teacup, leaned forward, and said, "Really? Tell me quickly!"

"Based on our current Type 81 rifle," Wang Huanbo picked up a pen and paper and sketched out a simple plan, "first, we'll develop a squad-level light machine gun. The core idea is: on the excellent platform of the Type 81, significantly lengthen, weight up, and strengthen the barrel to improve muzzle velocity and range accuracy; for ammunition, we'll mainly use large-capacity drum magazines, such as 75 rounds, to ensure sustained firepower; but at the same time, we'll retain the ability to use standard 30-round rifle magazines to ensure logistical commonality and ammunition feeding flexibility in extreme situations. Most importantly," Wang Huanbo pointed on the drawing, "it must maintain an extremely high parts interchangeability rate with the current Type 81 rifle. My initial idea is to reach over 80%! The bolt, recoil spring, firing mechanism, and even some internal parts should be completely interchangeable. This way, if the machine gun malfunctions on the battlefield, infantrymen can remove good parts from their own rifles and replace them, immediately restoring most of their combat effectiveness, or vice versa. This will greatly improve battlefield survivability and logistical support."

Li Yunlong's eyes lit up: "Great! This is great! The parts are interchangeable, this is a brilliant idea! It saves so much trouble! And it's so much easier to carry! Go on!"

"Secondly, there's the designated marksman rifle/sniper rifle," Wang Huanbo continued drawing. "Also based on the Type 81 platform, but with a greater emphasis on ultimate accuracy. The barrel will be longer and heavier, possibly with a free-floating design to reduce external interference; the receiver and barrel will be more securely integrated; and it might be designed to fire more powerful ammunition, such as the Type 53 7.62x54mm rifle cartridge currently used in our machine guns, which has a longer range and stronger penetration. Ergonomics will be more suitable for precise aiming, such as an adjustable cheek rest and a more comfortable grip. Of course, it will also maintain considerable parts commonality with the basic rifle, such as around 60%, to simplify logistics and training."

"Regarding the tactical expansion you mentioned," Wang Huanbo marked the crucial "Red Star Standard Tactical Rail" on both sketches, "on the squad automatic weapon, a 4x or even higher magnification optical sight can be mounted. Combined with a long, heavy barrel, at a distance of 400-800 meters, it is no longer just a suppressive weapon, but a powerful tool for precise point-killing and anti-materiel operations. The lower handguard rail can simultaneously mount a foregrip and a foldable bipod, facilitating rapid switching between positional and mobile warfare. As for sniper rifles, high-magnification scopes are standard, and they can even integrate more professional rangefinding and night vision modules."

Li Yunlong was so excited he stood up, pacing back and forth in the room, as if he could already see his soldiers wielding these new guns, invincible on the battlefield. "Let's do it! Chief Engineer Wang, let's go with this plan! Whatever support you need, just say the word! I, Old Li, may not have much else, but I can help you expedite the production of raw materials and coordinate testing sites and personnel! I'll talk to headquarters! This is such a good thing, we must support it!"

With the strong support of Li Yunlong, the "super salesman" and "representative of the demand side," Wang Huanbo's "August 1 rifle family" plan was quickly submitted as a joint report by the Red Star Factory and the General Logistics Department. The top leadership, still basking in the excitement of the Type 81 rifle, saw this more systematic and forward-looking blueprint for "rifle family" development and approved it almost without hesitation: "Approved in principle. Concentrate resources and accelerate development. Strive for practicality, reliability, and advanced technology."

With the order issued, the design institute and workshops of the Red Star Precision Machinery Plant once again entered a state of high-speed operation. Wang Huanbo distributed the initial concepts and technical specifications, established two core task forces for the "squad light machine gun" and the "sniper rifle," and took on the role of chief designer, overseeing the overall direction and technical challenges. Those young engineers who had participated in the development of the Type 81 rifle were now the backbone, eager and enthusiastic. What an honor and challenge it was to participate in the design of a complete family of firearms!

The crucial battle has begun.

Squad Light Machine Gun Team (Project Code: QBZ-81 LMG):

The primary challenge was the barrel. Balancing range, accuracy, and heat dissipation during sustained firing proved insufficient with traditional chromium-molybdenum steel. Wang Huanbo recalled the steels and processing techniques used in some high-performance gun barrels in later generations. Through family connections, he managed to obtain samples and heat treatment data for some special alloy steels (the source was, of course, cleverly concealed). The materials engineers were overjoyed, experimenting day and night, adjusting the composition and heat treatment curves, aiming to obtain a new type of barrel steel with high strength, wear resistance, ablation resistance, and good thermal stability. Simultaneously, the barrel's shape was redesigned, becoming thicker and more robust, especially the muzzle section, to allow space for a high-efficiency muzzle brake/flash suppressor, and a quick-change barrel structure was designed (although the initial version might not emphasize this function, an interface was provided).

The drum magazine was another challenge. With a capacity of 75 rounds, it needed to ensure smooth, reliable feeding without jamming, and the structure couldn't be too complex or bulky. Engineers disassembled every drum magazine and disc they could find (including some World War II trophies), combining them with the feed ramp design of the Type 81 rifle, repeatedly calculating spring force, follower angle, and internal guide rail curves. The resulting blueprints were piled up to half a person's height, and the prototypes filled the scrap bins. Finally, a relatively simple 75-round drum magazine prototype was born, using a double-row, double-feed (pre-research) feeding system, and combining high-strength engineering plastics (which were already in small-scale production) with stamped steel parts. Although not lightweight, its feeding reliability reached a satisfactory level in bench tests.

The bipod design was also quite ingenious. It needed to be lightweight and sturdy, deploy quickly, lock reliably, and fold without affecting grip or the mounting of the grenade launcher. It also needed to be adjustable in height and elevation. The engineers drew inspiration from some heavy machine gun bipod designs but made them more sophisticated. They ultimately used welded steel tubing, with high-strength pins and locking knobs at the hinges, enabling rapid deployment/folding and fine-tuning.

Sniper Rifle Team (Project Code: QBU-81 DMR):

Their core pursuit was accuracy. The free-floating barrel, a core concept proposed by Wang Huanbo, meant that the barrel was rigidly connected only to the front of the receiver, without contacting the handguard or other parts, thus avoiding deformation caused by temperature, humidity changes, or external pressure affecting the ballistics. This required a redesign of the front section of the receiver and the handguard interface, demanding extremely high machining precision. The barrel itself was of paramount importance, using special steel sourced from the same source as the squad automatic weapon but with stricter selection criteria. It employed cold forging (Wang Huanbo again "borrowed" a future manufacturing concept) and chrome plating of the bore to ensure the smoothness and consistency of the inner wall. The rifling twist rate was also meticulously calculated to optimize the flight stability of the Type 53 machine gun cartridge (a full-power rifle cartridge).

Ammunition adaptation was a challenge. Switching from an automatic rifle firing intermediate-power rifle cartridges to a sniper rifle firing full-power cartridges required redesigning the bolt, chamber, recoil spring, and even the firing pin to withstand higher chamber pressures and longer cartridge cases. Engineers had to start from scratch, calculating stresses and testing materials. Fortunately, the basic design of the Type 81 rifle provided a basis for many structural modifications that could be scaled up.

In terms of ergonomics, the adjustable cheek rest and rubber base, the more vertical and comfortable pistol grip, and the smoother trigger pull (aiming for 3-4 pounds) have all been considered in the design. Of course, the "universal" top rail has been perfectly inherited, and its length and strength have been strengthened to accommodate longer and heavier scopes.

Standardization was a guiding principle throughout both projects. Wang Huanbo demanded that, while meeting performance requirements, parts be shared with the basic Type 81 rifle to the greatest extent possible. The squad automatic weapon achieved an astonishing 82% commonality rate (based on detailed calculations), and the sniper rifle reached 65%. This meant that in an infantry squad equipped with the Type 81 rifle family, soldiers could interchange most key parts, greatly simplifying training, maintenance, and field emergency repairs. The burden on ordnance officers and frontline soldiers was significantly reduced.

Testing is the sole criterion for verifying truth.

When two new rifle prototypes, which looked similar to the basic Type 81 rifle but differed in every detail, were placed on the table in the Red Star Factory's classified testing workshop, everyone held their breath.

Squad AMA (Squad Automatic Weapon): With its longer and more robust build, thick barrel, large 75-round drum magazine (also usable with 30-round magazines), foldable bipod, and 4x optical sight mounted on the rail above the handguard, it looks like a "heavily armored warrior" from a rifle unit. It weighs approximately 4.8 kg unloaded (with bipod and empty drum magazine), significantly heavier than a basic rifle, but lighter than traditional light machine guns (such as the RPD).

Sniper Rifle: With its more austere and precise lines, the long, free-floating barrel is almost flush with the flash suppressor. A high-magnification 6x optical sight (early version) is mounted on an extended rail. The adjustable stock and cheek rest, along with a specially designed integrated folding bipod (for enhanced stability), give it the aura of a professional "hunter." It fires larger 7.62x54mmR rounds and weighs approximately 5.2 kg unloaded.

The military dispatched a larger acceptance team, including leaders and experts from the General Staff and General Logistics Department, and also specially selected experienced machine gunners, snipers, and ordinary infantry from several elite units to form a joint testing group. Li Yunlong was naturally one of the team leaders. Looking at the two new guns, his eyes widened like saucers, and he kept muttering, "Good heavens, they actually made it!"

The tests were conducted in a more complex, real-world environment.

Reliability/Environmental Adaptability Testing: Sandstorms, mud, freezing temperatures, scorching heat… the two new rifles, along with the basic Type 81 rifle, underwent rigorous testing. After firing 300 rounds rapidly (simulating emergency suppression), the barrel of the squad automatic weapon was hot enough to fry an egg, but there were no jams or significant drops in accuracy. The sniper rifle, after being left to stand still for several hours in temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius, maintained reliable first-shot accuracy. The benefits of high versatility became apparent: minor malfunctions were intentionally created during testing (such as recoil spring failure or firing pin breakage), and soldiers quickly replaced the faulty parts with spare parts from spare rifles, rapidly restoring the rifles to normal operation.

Accuracy and range testing:

Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW): Using a bipod and a 4x scope, short bursts (2-3 rounds) at a chest target at 400 meters showed a surprisingly dense dispersion, with most rounds remaining within 20 centimeters. At 600 meters, long bursts of fire against a half-body target maintained a controllable trajectory, effectively creating a covered kill zone. With a 75-round drum magazine, sustained fire tests demonstrated its firepower sustainability far exceeding that of rifles using 30-round magazines, making it significantly more effective in suppressing enemy assaults or sealing off passes.

Sniper Rifle: This is the true king of accuracy. Using specialized sniper ammunition (optimized from Type 53 machine gun rounds), a skilled marksman achieves a first-shot hit rate exceeding 90% at 600 meters; at 800 meters, it still maintains a considerable hit probability against stationary human targets. Even more remarkably, thanks to its semi-automatic firing mode and relatively gentle recoil (compared to bolt-action rifles like the Mosin-Nagant and the SVD sniper rifle), it offers a significant speed advantage when engaging multiple targets or firing follow-up shots.

Ergonomics and tactical flexibility test:

The soldiers were full of praise for the bipod and grip combination of the squad automatic weapon, noting its rapid deployment and height adjustment, allowing for a quick and stable firing posture whether prone, kneeling, or positioned in fortifications. The addition of a 4x scope enabled the gunner not only to provide area suppression but also to accurately engage light and heavy machine gun positions, mortar operators, and even vehicle observation ports at medium to long range, significantly increasing its tactical value. The interchangeability of drum magazines and standard magazines also provided greater flexibility for ammunition resupply for the assistant gunner or infantry.

The sniper rifle's adjustable cheek rest allows shooters of different body types to find a comfortable cheek position, and the excellent trigger feel greatly improves firing accuracy. The integrated bipod provides excellent stability when deployed, offering a solid platform for accurate long-range shooting.

The comparative tests were brutal and direct. The new Type 81 squad automatic weapon (SAW) competed head-to-head with the Type 56 SAW, a copy of the Soviet RPD, currently in service with the military. The Type 81 SAW achieved a comprehensive victory in accuracy, controllability, ergonomics, and especially in its mid-to-long-range precision strike capability and tactical versatility. The Type 81 sniper rifle, in particular, captivated several veteran shooters present who were accustomed to the Mosin-Nagant or the Type 53 carbine (sniper version). Its semi-automatic rate of fire, higher accuracy, and more comfortable operation led them to declare, "Switching to this rifle would double our combat record."

The test report, once again delivered at top speed, with even more impressive data and the almost fervent praise from frontline officers and soldiers, reached the highest decision-making level.

The decision-making process was much faster and more decisive than when the Type 81 rifle was finalized. The top leadership clearly saw the enormous advantages of a "weapon family": simplified logistics, reduced costs and training difficulty, and enhanced overall firepower and tactical flexibility. This wasn't just about a few good rifles; it was an upgrade to the infantry squad and platoon firepower system!

In the early spring of 1958, an order signed by the Central Military Commission was officially issued:

"Formal approval and finalization: "

The Type 1958 squad automatic weapon (SAW) was introduced as the standard automatic weapon for infantry squads, gradually replacing the existing Type 56 squad automatic weapon and some light machine guns.

The Type 1958 sniper rifle (abbreviated as Type 81 sniper rifle) was issued to the troops as the standard weapon for infantry platoon and company-level marksmen.

The defense industry sector and relevant military industrial units are required to immediately begin formulating production process standards, training skilled workers, and preparing for mass production, with the Red Star United Industrial Corporation as the technical lead and main production unit, so as to achieve combat capability as soon as possible!

The news sent the entire Hongxing Factory into a frenzy once more. From engineers to workshop workers, everyone's face beamed with pride and excitement. They had not only manufactured advanced weapons, but also participated in building a leading equipment system! At the celebration rally, Wang Huanbo addressed the entire factory, saying only one sentence: "This is just the beginning. 'August 1st' is not merely a weapon family designation; it should become a spirit—a spirit of self-reliance, pioneering spirit, and the pursuit of excellence among Chinese workers and engineers! In the future, we will create even more and better 'August 1st' weapons!"

Inside the workshop, the brand-new production line began its commissioning. Machines roared, sparks flew. The "August 1st" rifle family—assault rifles, squad automatic weapons, and sniper rifles—gleaming with a deep blue luster, like a trinity of inseparable steel brothers, were about to depart from here for military camps across the country, for border islands, and for every inch of land they needed to defend. They would not merely be weapons in the hands of soldiers, but also the steel backbone that this ancient nation had once again erected after enduring countless hardships, and a firm declaration of facing the future and no longer being subject to others.

In his study in the west wing, Wang Huanbo's gaze had already turned to a more distant horizon. The success of the weapon family had proven the power of modular, universal, and systematic design principles. This path was not limited to light weapons. His thoughts drifted to more complex armored vehicles, air defense systems, and even the more distant future… The road must be walked step by step. But with the spirit of the "August 1st" Army, with this group of people whose wisdom and passion had been ignited, he believed that no peak was insurmountable. On the study wall, the teacher's inscription, "Science and technology serve the nation like pillars of strength; a loyal heart illuminates history," shone brightly under the light.