Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

(To reiterate regarding the "little black" incident, it's because I've written about several leaders, but the standards for "little black" are different each time. What's acceptable in the beginning might not be acceptable in the end, which is why I keep changing the names. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to readers.)

October 20, 1953, Beiping, Hailiqin Hall.

This is a small meeting room next to Yitang, which is rarely used. But today it was full of people.

On both sides of the long table sat 01, 02, 03, Comrade Liu, Comrade Chen, the General, Marshal Fu, Minister Li... almost all the important leaders in Beijing were present.

Zhao Ping'an sat at one end of a long table, with a thick stack of documents in front of him.

02 Opening: "Today's meeting is not for formalities; let's hear Comrade Ping An's report. What has he accomplished in the past four years, and what are his plans for the future? Comrade Ping An, please begin."

Zhao Ping'an stood up, looked around, and then sat down again.

"Leaders, let me start with something that everyone is concerned about."

He pulled out a piece of paper from the documents; it had a few lines of text on it.

"Mr. Lin, are you still having difficulty eating?"

Mr. Lin, who was sitting diagonally opposite, was slightly taken aback, and then revealed a rare smile.

"Now I can eat five ounces of grain a day, and sometimes I can even eat some meat."

Zhao Ping'an nodded.

"When I first met General Lin in 1948, his condition was very bad. He suffered from chronic insomnia and gastrointestinal disorders, and could barely eat two ounces of food a day. At that time, I thought to myself, these veteran comrades have fought all their lives, and their ailments outweigh their war achievements. Is there anything I can do?"

He opened a document.

"In 1949, I imported a batch of modern medical equipment through special channels, including X-ray machines, electrocardiographs, biochemical analyzers, surgical monitoring equipment, and CT scanners. Subsequently, three modern central hospitals were established in Beiping, Shanghai, and Shenyang."

"At the same time, I developed recuperation plans for a group of veteran comrades, including General Manager Lin, 501, 201, and General Manager He."

Combining nutrition, rehabilitation medicine, and psychological adjustment, a dedicated medical team has been trained and equipped.

Over the years, the results have been as follows: General Manager Lin can eat normally again, the arrhythmia in 501 has significantly improved, Liu Shuai's headaches have decreased by 80%, and General Manager He's stomach problems have been basically cured.

Zhao Pingan paused for a moment.

"Does the General still feel pain from his arthritis?"

The general stretched his shoulders.

"That's strange, I didn't feel much pain last winter."

Zhao Pingan smiled and continued flipping through the documents.

"There's another thing, called the 'Barefoot Doctor Program.' Around 49, with the submission of the nine-year compulsory education textbooks, I submitted the relevant documents."

So, starting in 1950, I promoted the "Barefoot Doctor's Manual" nationwide. The training model was very simple:

Three months for literacy, one month for written training, and two months for practical application. Those who are already literate go directly into the three-month training program.

"Over the years, we have trained a total of 300,000 barefoot doctors."

It covers 80 percent of the counties, 50 percent of the communes, and 30 percent of the production brigades nationwide.

The infant mortality rate has decreased by 40%. This can be considered a temporary and basic solution to the problem of establishing a medical system in China.

Zhao Pingan closed the document and looked at the people present.

"Leaders, this is the report on the medical aspects. Consider it... a small token of my appreciation."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

02 spoke first: "Comrade Ping An, you saved not only our lives, but the lives of hundreds of millions of people. This achievement is no less significant than winning a battle."

01 waved his hand.

"We know about the medical matters. Let's talk about industry. Although we've all read your reports, you always bring something new to them."

"How much have you actually accomplished in the past few years? We honestly have no idea."

Zhao Pingan opened another document.

"Then I'll give you a few numbers."

"Steel: In 1949, the national steel production was 158,000 tons."

In 1953, Ansteel alone produced more than 10 million tons of steel annually.

Benxi Steel has a capacity of three million tons.

Two million tons of steel produced at the Shijingshan Steel Plant in Beiping.

Tangshan steel plant, two million tons.

Taiyuan Steel Plant, 1.5 million tons

Baotou Steel Plant has a capacity of 1.5 million tons.

Wuhan Steel Plant has a capacity of 1.5 million tons.

Ma'anshan Steel Plant, one million tons

Chongqing steel mill has a capacity of one million tons—out of the national total capacity of 25 million tons.

Comrade Chen's teacup stopped in mid-air.

"Coal: The eight major mining areas of Fushun, Fuxin, Kailuan, Datong, and Huainan have completed modernization, with annual output exceeding 150 million tons."

"Electricity: The installed capacity of the Northeast Power Grid is 18 million kilowatts, the North China Power Grid is 8 million kilowatts, the East China Power Grid is 6 million kilowatts, and the total installed capacity of the country is 35 million kilowatts. This is 19 times the 1.85 million kilowatts in 1949."

"Oil: Daqing Oilfield produces 8 million tons annually, Shengli Oilfield was successfully explored last year and has already reached a production capacity of 2 million tons this year. Including Yumen and Karamay, the national annual production has exceeded 12 million tons. Refining capacity is 6 million tons."

Machinery: Shenyang No.1 Machine Tool Factory, with an annual output of 800 five-axis CNC machine tools and 20,000 ordinary machine tools.

The first megawatt-class hydroelectric generator unit rolled off the production line at Harbin Electric Machinery Plant.

The 30,000-ton die forging hydraulic press at Fularji Heavy Machinery Plant has been put into operation.

The Luoyang Tractor Factory is under construction, with a planned annual production capacity of 150,000 units.

"Automotive: FAW Changchun produces 5,000 Jiefang trucks per month, with a cumulative production of over 170,000 vehicles."

Nanjing Automobile Factory's Yuejin light truck production capacity is 1,000 units per month.

The Beiping Automobile Factory produces 800 jeeps per month.

National annual production capacity has exceeded 100,000 vehicles.

"Aircraft: Shenyang Aircraft Factory has produced a total of 3,200 Type 2 fighter jets, and Harbin Aircraft Factory has produced a total of 800 transport and trainer aircraft. The annual production of aero engines is 2,000 units."

He paused, then looked up at the crowd.

The conference room was so quiet you could hear the wind outside the window.

Fu Shuai opened his mouth, but no words came out.

The general slammed his hand on the table.

"Good heavens! Three thousand two hundred planes! Why didn't I see that many at the front lines?"

Zhao Pingan smiled.

"General, what you see is only the front-line combat troops. There are also training troops, reserve troops, and rotation troops."

On the air force side, there are currently 1,200 aircraft on the front lines, and another 800 in reserves. In a real conflict, we could deploy a maximum of 1,000 aircraft at a time.

The general was stunned.

Zhao Pingan continued scrolling down.

"Let's talk about the defense industry."

"A total of 4,500 Type 59 tanks were produced."

"The Type 56 rifle family has a total production of eight million rifles and an annual ammunition production of two billion rounds."

"The RPG-7 rocket launcher has been completely domestically produced, with a cumulative production of 500,000 units and 10 million rockets."

"Sixty towed 155mm howitzers were produced per month, with a total of 1,100 in service; one hundred and twenty 122mm howitzers were produced per month, with a total of 2,500 in service."

He looked up at everyone.

"There is one more thing that I would like to ask the leaders to take a look at in person."

"What?" the general asked.

"A new generation of tanks. Made by ourselves."

03. His eyes lit up.

"A new generation? Even more powerful than the Type 59?"

"Yes. In early 1951, I provided a complete set of blueprints, material formulas, and three prototype vehicles."

The research department of Shenyang Arsenal established a special task force and spent two years and nine months successfully reverse-engineering the technology.

In August of this year, the first domestically produced prototype rolled off the production line, having passed 1,000 kilometers of road testing and live-fire testing.

Protection, firepower, and mobility have all met expectations.

"Small-scale trial production can begin next year, with a planned annual production capacity of 200 vehicles."

Fu Shuai stood up and walked to Zhao Ping'an's side.

"Comrade Ping An, when can we see this thing?"

Zhao Pingan looked at 02.

02 laughed.

"Then let's make arrangements to go to Shenyang in a few days."

After finishing the report, Zhao Pingan took a sip of water.

02 said, "Comrade Ping An, tell us about your proposal to revise the plan."

Zhao Ping'an nodded and opened the last stack of documents.

"Distinguished leaders, we originally had a draft of a 'Five-Year Plan,' with the goal of producing 16 million tons of steel, 100 million tons of coal, and 10 million kilowatts of electricity by 1957. That was set in 1952, and now it seems a bit conservative."

He pushed a form to the center of the table.

Industrial Development Program (1953-1957) (Upgraded Version)

In the conference room, everyone was looking at that table.

Comrade Chen looked at it for a long time, took off his glasses, wiped them, and then put them back on.

"Comrade Ping An, these numbers... are not a joke?"

"no."

"In five years, steel production increased from 250,000 tons to 100 million tons, more than doubling?"

"right."

"The oil production capacity has been increased from 12 million tons to 60 million tons, a four-and-a-half-fold increase?"

"right."

"To increase electricity consumption from 350,000 kilowatt-hours to 150 million kilowatt-hours, quadrupling it?"

"right."

Comrade Chen remained silent.

Minister Li began, "Comrade Ping An, what about the technology? The equipment? The personnel?"

Zhao Ping'an was prepared.

"In terms of technology, advanced technologies accumulated during the war can be transferred to the civilian sector."

Aero-engine technology can be used to develop gas turbines and industrial steam turbines;

Tank technology can be used to develop tractors and construction machinery;

Radar technology can be used to develop radio and communication equipment;

Missile technology can be used to develop civilian rockets and sounding rockets.

"In terms of talent, I have already built a number of technical schools in major industrial bases to promote the 'part-time work, part-time study' model."

Five million skilled workers and 500,000 engineers will be trained in five years.

Now we can select a group of outstanding comrades to build and promote this system across the country.

At the same time, we can also select outstanding young people to study in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

"In terms of industrial layout, the Northeast, as the leader, continues to double;"

North China, Central China, Southwest China, and Northwest China are following suit simultaneously. I've already drawn it on the map.

Zhao Pingan took out a map, which was densely marked with red circles, blue lines and arrows.

"Ansteel will expand to 20 million tons, and Baosteel, Wuhan Steel, and Panzhihua Steel will also start operations."

Daqing aims to expand to 20 million tons, and Shengli aims to expand to 10 million tons.

Xi'an focuses on aviation, Chengdu on electronics, Mianyang on nuclear power, Lanzhou on petrochemicals, Baotou on rare earths, Wuhan on heavy machinery, Nanjing on semiconductors, and Shanghai on precision manufacturing…

As he was talking, he realized that everyone was staring at him.

The general asked, "Comrade Ping An, can we finish all of this in five years?"

Zhao Ping'an remained silent for a few seconds.

"Leaders, my principle in doing things is: set goals first, then find solutions. There are always more solutions than problems."

02 looked at 01.

01 hadn't said a word, just listened. Then he spoke.

"Comrade Ping An, I have a question for you."

"01 Please speak."

"You just said you'd catch up with the US in ten years. How do you plan to achieve that goal?"

Zhao Ping'an did not hesitate.

"01. In 1949, we couldn't even manufacture a single car ourselves."

Now, we can produce 100,000 cars, 3,000 airplanes, and 4,500 tanks a year.

Why can't we produce two million cars and one hundred million tons of steel in five years?

He paused.

"It took the Americans fifty years. We took ten years because we stood on their shoulders."

The technology is readily available, the equipment is readily available, and we can now obtain far more cash and equipment than the United States currently possesses through our channels;

The remaining issue is people – workers can be trained, engineers can be trained.

Ten years is enough time for us to train a group of core industrial workers with professional skills.

I've calculated that in 10 years, there will be approximately 6500 to 7000 million American workers, which is about half of their total population.

His industrial capacity accounts for approximately 25% to 30% of the world's total.

We currently have a population of nearly 600 million, and in 10 years, it may exceed 700 million. We only need to train one-tenth of that population.

Based on the premise that it takes 2 to 3 years to train one qualified worker, maintaining the existing system for 10 years would allow us to train no fewer than 2500 million workers.

Therefore, I believe that expanding the system nationwide...

We can train more workers over the next 10 years.

I am confident, have the resources, and have a plan to do it.

01 nodded.

"Okay, we support you."

He stood up and walked up to Zhao Ping'an.

"Comrade Ping An, I have approved your plan."

Zhao Pingan stood up.

01 She reached out and shook his hand.

"But remember, you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. You can't rush it."

"I see."

By the time the meeting ended, it was already dark.

The leaders left one after another, leaving only 02 behind.

He sat in the chair, looking at Zhao Ping'an.

"Comrade Ping An, we've approved your plan. But there's one thing I need to make clear to you."

Zhao Ping'an waited.

"This plan is too big. So big that some people don't believe it, and some people are afraid."

Next, you may encounter various obstacles.

Some will say you're reckless, some will say you're boasting, some will scrutinize your accounts and find fault with you.

Zhao Ping'an nodded.

"I see."

"It's good that you understand." 02 stood up and patted his shoulder.

"The organization will support you. But there are some things you'll have to take charge of yourself, since you're the expert in the technical aspects."

He walked to the door, then turned back.

"By the way, we're going to Shenyang in a few days to see the tanks. Get ready. General Lin and the other generals are getting impatient."

Zhao Pingan smiled.

"it is good."

02 Push the door open and go out.

Zhao Ping'an was alone in the conference room, looking at the map on the wall.

Five years, 100 million tons of steel, 2 million vehicles, 6,000 aircraft—this is just the first step.

Zhao Ping'an looked at the red circles, blue lines, and arrows on the map again.

Then I tidied up the documents, pushed open the door, and went out.

This is just the beginning of an industrial Cthulhu. In our past life, we took 70 years to catch up with the other side's 200 years.

Now that I control the system myself, and all the devices and data are open to me, shouldn't I reduce the time by half?