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

Zhao Ping'an had only been lying down for less than an hour when he was woken up by the sound of a car.

He opened his eyes and glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was 1:40 a.m.

The winter nights in Shenyang are very quiet. If a car comes by at this time, it's either an urgent matter or something important.

A knocking sound soon followed.

"Sir, a guest is looking for you. He says he's from Beiping," the guard's voice rang out from outside.

Zhao Pingan put on his coat, went over and opened the door.

Air Force Commander Liu stood at the door, his overcoat still carrying the chill of the outside air, and his hat brim still covered with unmelted snow.

Two guards followed behind him, stamping their feet in the corridor.

"Commander Liu?" Zhao Ping'an was taken aback. "What brings you to Shenyang?"

Commander Liu waved his hand, telling the guards to wait outside, and strode in.

"Comrade Ping An, I've heard about all your treasures." He took off his coat, draped it over the back of the chair, and rubbed his hands together. "I flew here overnight; the train was too slow to wait."

Zhao Pingan poured a cup of hot water and handed it to him: "What's the rush?"

Commander Liu took the cup, but didn't drink it. He placed it on the table and stared at Zhao Ping'an.

"How many paratroopers can the An-12 carry? Can helicopters really transport vehicles? Let me see that Lynx little vehicle with my own eyes."

Zhao Ping'an laughed; this really suited Commander Liu's fiery temper. "Commander Liu, it's the middle of the night..."

"I can't sleep if I don't look at it," Commander Liu interrupted him. "Let's go, let's go now."

Zhao Ping'an sighed, picked up the phone, and asked for the factory manager, Zhang Guangfa.

"Old Zhang, I'll have to trouble you again. Commander Liu is here and wants to inspect the equipment."

Zhang Guangfa paused for a second on the other end of the phone: "Now?"

"Now."

Without saying a word, Zhang Guangfa said, "I'll open the door right now."

The two men, wearing overcoats, walked towards the factory area.

The snow has stopped, and a thin layer has accumulated on the ground, making a crunching sound when you step on it.

The factory buildings were dark in the night, with only a few searchlights illuminating the test field area.

Commander Liu walked quickly, with Zhao Ping'an following beside him.

"News travels fast in Beiping," Zhao Ping'an said.

"How could we not be quick? Your report just went up this afternoon, and the rest of us already knew about it. The lower-ups are keeping it a secret, but we know about this project and are eagerly anticipating it." Commander Liu said without turning his head.

"Once you build your An-12, it can be loaded onto vehicles by helicopters and airdropped by Lynx fighters. The lower levels may not know, but once you submit this report, can you suppress the news here?"

Zhao Ping'an didn't respond. That's true; for leaders at the level of Air Force and Navy commanders, the development of corresponding equipment is not confidential.

When I entered the workshop, all the lights were already on.

Zhang Guangfa stood at the door waiting, next to the Lynx parked, its silver-gray body still covered in snow that hadn't been wiped clean.

Commander Liu walked straight over and circled the lynx three times.

He squatted down to examine the chassis, suspension, and tires, and reached out to touch the steel plates on the car body.

How much does it weigh?

"One 1.2 tons," Zhang Guangfa said.

How many vehicles can the An-12 tow?

"The payload is more than enough, but due to the size of the aircraft, four can be accommodated without any problem."

Commander Liu stood up, patted the roof of the car, and his eyes shone frighteningly bright under the lights.

"Four vehicles, that's two shifts. They don't need to run; they can just drive off and fight."

He turned to Zhao Ping'an: "How much is one of these?"

Zhao Ping'an shook his head: "The price hasn't been set yet. We'll build a thousand vehicles first and distribute them to various units for testing."

"A thousand vehicles?" Commander Liu was taken aback. "That many?"

"Not many," Zhao Ping'an said. "The Air Force wants them, the Army wants them, and the Navy wants them too."

Yunnan province wants to use them for weapons testing, and I'm even thinking about whether the Northwest could get a batch for patrol purposes.

After all, the agricultural reclamation corps had a bumper harvest, and the factories were making a lot of money, so they couldn't pay the employees much in wages and benefits.

After paying taxes and contributions to the state, and setting aside funds for next year's seed and seedling imports and construction,

I still have a lot of funds left, and there's no research institute there, so I thought I might as well buy the rest.

Firstly, it can reduce some of the research funding. Although the funding here comes from higher authorities, we can raise some ourselves, which can ease the burden on those authorities.

"But aren't we about to go to Tibet? I think these lynxes might come in very useful. Let's stockpile some there first, and then we can just requisition them from within the region when someone needs them. It's better than waiting to produce them ourselves, isn't it?"

"You, you, aren't you just passing the buck? Wasn't the plan drafted by Comrade Chen and you two together? It's only because of you; if it were anyone else, you can imagine how many leaders would have punished them..."

Commander Liu chuckled and joked, then turned back to look at the Lynx, as if examining some precious treasure.

The next stop is the helicopter workshop.

Two helicopters were parked in the center of the factory, their searchlights shining down from above, making them look like two giant beasts.

The larger one, with its rotor folded, was crouching there, much larger than the one next to it.

Commander Liu walked over to the smaller one first.

"A fledgling eagle?"

"Yes, we call it 'Young Eagle-8'," Zhang Guangfa said, pointing to the fuselage.

"Medium-sized multi-purpose aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 12 tons, an internal cargo capacity of 4 tons, and an external payload of 3 tons. It can carry 24 to 32 soldiers."

He walked to the tail of the plane, opened the cabin door, and pointed inside: "A Lynx can fit inside, and another squad of people can be crammed in."

Commander Liu peeked out and looked at the Lynx that had been driven over next to him.

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Guangfa reversed the Lynx into the parking space and parked it steadily in the cargo hold.

Even with the cabin door closed, you can still see the figures of people inside the vehicle through the porthole.

Commander Liu walked around the aircraft once, then suddenly pointed to the ports on the fuselage that were covered with rubber caps.

"What is that?"

Zhang Guangfa repeated his previous explanation to Zhao Ping'an: "Weapon rack interfaces. Rocket pods and machine gun pods can be modified in a week."

Commander Liu didn't say anything and walked towards the big one.

The Mi-6, with its rotors folded and stub wings extended outwards, sat there like an iron mountain. Commander Liu stood beneath it, looking up at it for a long time.

"Can this thing transport tanks?"

"It can't transport tanks, they're too heavy," Zhang Guangfa said. "But it can transport armored vehicles, 122mm heavy artillery, and heavy engineering machinery. It has 12 tons inside the cargo hold and 8 tons externally. The Lynx can carry two vehicles, and the external loader can lift one more."

Commander Liu turned around and looked at Zhao Ping'an.

"Comrade Ping An, with this, we can airdrop our heavy equipment too. You really gave the Air Force some good stuff."

Zhao Ping'an smiled and said, "I was just thinking that since it's almost the end of the year, I should give everyone a New Year's gift, right?"

Commander Liu gestured towards Zhao Ping'an with his hand, then turned back and excitedly patted the landing gear strut of the Mi-6.

The dull thud of metal echoed through the factory.

It was already 3 a.m. when I got back to the guesthouse.

Commander Liu was wide awake, sitting in his chair, staring at Zhao Ping'an.

"Comrade Ping An, can you recommend someone to me?"

Zhao Ping'an looked at him, puzzled.

"Give me someone from your armored independent brigade," Commander Liu said.

"My airborne division is still just light infantry; they can only run on two legs after jumping down. With Lynx helicopters, helicopters, and An-12 transport planes, I need someone to train them and lead them in combat. But for armored and mechanized warfare, you need the most capable fighters from independent brigades who are also good at leading troops. You need to give me someone to choose from."

Zhao Ping'an thought for a moment and said, "I have two candidates. Wang Dashan and Wang Dahai are both veterans of the Independent Brigade and are now commanders of armored regiments."

"Regimental Commander?" Commander Liu was taken aback. "Isn't your bodyguard a brigade commander now? How come they're still...?"

Zhao Pingan waved his hand: "They're both good at fighting, but they didn't have the same opportunities as Liu Dazhu."

Liu Dazhu was lucky; he got there first, then went to Cambodia, made a name for himself, and rose through the ranks.

They are both still leading troops in China, currently serving as deputy brigade commanders and regimental commanders of armored brigades, each overseeing thousands of personnel. They are knowledgeable about equipment and training.

Commander Liu's eyes lit up: "I want both!"

Zhao Pingan shook his head: "I can only give you one."

Why?

"I just thought of that, because of what you just said. The navy might need more people too," Zhao Ping'an said.

"Commander Xiao is having a headache because the Marine Corps is going to be downsized."

Commander Liu frowned: "I've heard about the Marine Corps downsizing. 110,000 men, just like that? They gave them two years, but how can Old Xiao not be anxious?"

"So, I have to give him one too. That unit needs to achieve something so the leaders can see it, so we can apply to keep it..."

Commander Liu was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Alright, one it is. Who?"

"Wang Dashan," Zhao Ping'an said.

"Let him lead the paratroopers in mechanized assault training. How to use the Lynx, how to coordinate helicopters, how to form formations with An-12s—I'll give him the materials so he can develop a set of tactics. He's been a regimental commander for so many years; managing troops is no problem for him..."

Commander Liu nodded: "Within a year, I want to see troops capable of fighting."

Zhao Pingan smiled.

"Commander Liu, that depends on your standards. By your standards, if we can fight a war for a year, then it's definitely possible."

But don't forget, I still have a lot of great products under development, so you have to give him time.

We will receive the equipment next year and the year after, train our personnel to apply it proficiently, and establish a training system. It seems that it will take shape in three years and become fully operational in five years.

Ten years from now, we can sit here and discuss who is number one in the world.

Commander Liu looked at him. He hadn't expected these words before he came, but now that he heard them, he felt invigorated.

After a while, Commander Liu stood up and shook Zhao Ping'an's hand.

"Okay, I'll wait."