Great Power Long Sky

The atmosphere in the smoke-filled war room was oppressive.

Feng Liang looked at this person and then at that person, then suddenly smiled and said, "You guys have set a trap for me, aren't you? Waiting for me to jump in, huh?"

Xu Hailiang was taken aback and quickly said, "Deputy Division Commander, I absolutely did not mean that. We were drafting this request report when the Chief of Staff was here, and the Chief of Staff knew about it."

The implication is quite clear.

If it weren't for this exchange, the one with the headache now would be the division chief of staff, Lou Wanggao. But since Lou Wanggao knew about this matter and even let the 7th Regiment push it forward, it means that he agreed to do it this way.

Feng Liang was helpless; he was now in a difficult situation.

In Li Lu's view, from the perspective of Deputy Division Commander Feng, it would be more prudent to have the 7th Regiment report to the division headquarters. However, doing so would make him, as the deputy division commander, seem rather irresponsible in this matter.

Li Lu concluded that "wanting both" was Feng Liang's psychological state at this moment.

This deputy division commander is no longer a reliable candidate.

He didn't know much about this deputy division commander; he'd heard he was transferred here when the army-level organs were abolished and converted into command posts.

After thinking for a moment, Li Lu said, "Deputy Division Commander, how about this? Let's not submit the report yet. Let's try it out first, verify our ideas with practice, and use the results of the practice as the basis."

Everyone nodded slightly.

Undoubtedly, Li Lu proposed a relatively conservative approach, a compromise.

Even Fang Zhenwei looked at Feng Liang with anticipation in his eyes—this plan doesn't require approval through procedures, nor does it require you to take primary responsibility; it's the most suitable solution.

Under everyone's expectant gaze, Feng Liang slowly but firmly shook his head and said, "No, you can't carry out such a dangerous training method without the approval of your superiors."

Well, this isn't just a lack of responsibility, it's downright being a "miser".

They showed not even the slightest bit of ambition.

However, looking at this matter from another perspective, even Li Lu, who has a radical ideology, knows that under the current circumstances, there are quite a few people who share similar ideas with Feng Liang.

From the early 1950s, when the people had to donate money to purchase Soviet aircraft, to the present, the national economy has never had a good year.

Such a large country, having gone through several wars since its founding, has come to where it is today step by step. With many people still struggling to meet their basic needs, the value of an airplane is astronomical.

Many people have a historical misconception that my country's aviation technology was completely backward before the beginning of the 21st century. In fact, the fundamental reason was a lack of money.

The current wage level for employees is about four or five hundred yuan, the price of pork is about four or five yuan per jin, and the price of rice is one or two yuan per jin.

Li Lu, a lieutenant pilot at the deputy company level, earns a salary of just over 500 yuan, which is similar to that of a regular employee.

In terms of living standards, if you can earn four or five hundred yuan a month these days, you can live very comfortably because you have strong purchasing power.

Feng Liang looked around, taking in everyone's expressions.

He slowly stood up and said the following words.

"In your eyes, I am a deputy division commander who lacks responsibility, and I will not explain myself."

"Now, I would like to speak from the perspective of ordinary people about my concerns."

As soon as he said that, everyone raised their eyebrows in surprise and waited for him to continue.

Feng Liang asked, "Do you know how much a J-6 fighter jet costs when exported overseas?"

Feng Liang answered himself, holding up one finger, "One million two hundred thousand US dollars. The cost of the J-7E is ten times that of the J-6."

The J-7E is a new aircraft, having only been in service for a few years. The export version has an even slightly better avionics system, which shows how much determination the country has made to earn foreign exchange.

At this point, everyone understood that Feng Liang was considering the issue from an economic perspective.

Feng Liang continued, "According to our conversion method at the time, 1.2 million US dollars was approximately equal to 1.2 million RMB. Converted, the cost of the J-6 was 1.2 million RMB."

"Pilots below the rank of deputy battalion commander earn a little over 500 yuan a month, which is about the same as the salary level of most employees across the country."

"One J-6 fighter jet is equivalent to the salary of Li Lu and most workers across the country for sixteen and a half years; one J-6 fighter jet is equivalent to the output value of a large-scale local factory; and one J-6 fighter jet is equivalent to the daily operating expenses of an infantry company for eight years!"

"In some inland areas, the cost of one J-6 fighter jet is equivalent to the entire annual expenses of a town, or the food expenses for all its personnel for a year!"

"Where does the military's money come from? Where does the country's money come from? And where does the salary and allowances we pocket come from?"

"It was the grain that the vast majority of farmers painstakingly scraped together, bit by bit, from their own mouths!"

As Feng Liang spoke, he became increasingly agitated, his face turning bright red.

The war room fell silent instantly, everyone feeling a profound sense of awe.

Looking at Deputy Division Commander Feng, who was clearly somewhat out of control, Li Lu felt a pang of guilt.

In the current air force, pilots like Li Lu learned a principle when they were studying at flight school—the plane is more important than the people.

This is determined by the times and circumstances. If we only look at this issue from a human perspective, it's easy to talk when you're not in the situation.

Most of the pilots come from rural areas. They know the hardships of farmers and understand their greatness even more after joining the army.

If they had to choose between the plane and their own lives, what would they choose?

Preserving the precious aircraft meant preserving the hard work of farmers and ordinary people; the People's Liberation Army had no other choice.

This is the spirit of selflessness.

Feng Liang softened his tone for a moment, then put on a stern face and said, "Let's adjourn the meeting here for today. Everyone, think it over carefully. Meeting adjourned."

He got up and left.

The others stood up, but Feng Liang walked for quite a while and they didn't move.

Fang Zhenwei waved his hand and said, "Go back to work."

Everyone else left except for Xu Hailiang and Li Lu.

The three of them stood there, silent for a long time.

Fang Zhenwei packed up his notebook and other materials, walked up to Li Lu, and said in a deep voice, "Deputy Division Commander Feng was caught up in the counterattack a few years after graduating from flight school. His 24th Division participated in the counterattack for five years."

"Later, some of them were transferred to the southeast and assigned to the 29th Division, which was the predecessor of the 87th Regiment. After the 87th Regiment was reorganized, Deputy Division Commander Feng was transferred to work at the army headquarters until the army headquarters was abolished and replaced by a command post."

"During the Southeast Air Defense War, Deputy Division Commander Feng shot down an F-4 fighter jet."

Upon hearing this, Li Lu looked at Fang Zhenwei in surprise.

Fang Zhenwei gently patted Li Lu on the shoulder and continued, "When I worked at the military headquarters, I was under the command of Deputy Division Commander Feng. He had already left the front line at that time. One thing I'm sure of is that Deputy Division Commander Feng wasn't afraid to take responsibility."

After saying that, Fang Zhenwei turned and walked away without even glancing at Xu Hailiang.

Xu Hailiang jogged after him, leaving Li Lu alone in the operations command room.

At this moment, Li Lu had figured it out.

Deputy Division Commander Feng did not agree with the training model reform he proposed. How could a pilot with a combat kill record not know which training model is closest to actual combat?

He knew it, but he had to make a choice!

Between saving money and increasing combat effectiveness, Feng Liang chose the former, because by doing so, he meant that the country could allocate more funds to national development and people's livelihood.

Every penny saved by the military means a penny more for the country to use for economic development; the calculation is very clear.

Unable to destroy the enemy's aircraft carrier?

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the People's Liberation Army has never prioritized attacking enemy aircraft carriers, because it knows that the gap between them is enormous.

The current strategy of the People's Army is to be ready to let the enemy in at any time to fight a major battle. From a strategic perspective, it is mainly based on passive defense.

I don't have the capability to retaliate and reach your homeland, but if you come to attack me, I will annihilate all your invading armies. If you can afford the cost, then come.

We tried it once in the early 1950s. If you want to try it a second time, then go ahead.

Under this strategic guidance, whether or not your aircraft carrier can be destroyed is not important. Regardless of whether your aircraft carrier can get onto land, in the end, it will still be the army that carries out the invasion and occupation, and it will still rely on people.

This is the current overall national defense strategy.