Chapter 29

When Hu Jiefang heard his comrade Heng Jianyun mentioned, he was about to interject, but was silenced by a look from Hu Shiwu.

Hu Wenhui then continued, "Uncle Heng is my father's comrade-in-arms and is now the company commander of the 16th Army's reconnaissance company. Mayor Wang probably knows that there is a project for a simulation machine at the 501 Factory. When Uncle Heng saw the simulation machine we were testing, he thought of modifying it into an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for the front lines. However, there are some technical difficulties, and we might need to import some American electronic equipment, so I had the idea of keeping some dollars for the modification funds..."

Wang Yichun fell silent. It was 1984, and the Sino-Vietnamese Self-Defense Counterattack was experiencing its second major offensive since the war began in 1979.

The battles to recapture Laoshan and Fakashan were capturing the hearts of the entire nation, making it the biggest news story of the year, aside from the Southern Tour of the Emperor. In this atmosphere, Hu Wenhui's proposal to support the PLA in modifying weapons undoubtedly placed him on a high moral and political ground.

Fortunately, Hu Wenhui did not block all avenues, but instead said he would "keep some dollars," indicating that the distribution issue was still open for discussion.

"Wenhui's idea is excellent. After acquiring so much money, you still think of supporting the PLA in combat. This is something all adults should learn from!" Wang Yichun sighed, nodding. "With this awareness, the municipal government and the people of Xiucheng will certainly support you. Tell me, how much foreign exchange do you plan to keep for importing foreign equipment?"

"Um, 1.5 million dollars," Hu Wenhui said, adding a bit more to his psychological price. His bottom line was 1 million dollars. The original asking price for the red dot sight patent was 1 million dollars. The extra 2 million dollars was thanks to Wang Yichun's "support." Anything over 1 million dollars was pure profit in Hu Wenhui's eyes.

"1.5 million..." Wang Yichun frowned, scrutinizing Hu Wenhui. "Wenhui, what products do you plan to import that require so much money?"

"Mayor, I believe the lives of PLA soldiers are priceless!" Hu Wenhui said solemnly.

Well, I'm talking about data, and you're talking about sentiment! Wang Yichun had a look of exasperation on his face but couldn't react.

How could he counter such a politically correct slogan? If he said anything more, it could become a political blemish for life. Don't forget, Wang Yichun had been in the cowshed, and he was truly wary of such matters.

"Alright, we'll follow Wenhui's suggestion. The municipal government will help you convert 1.5 million dollars into 4.2 million RMB..."

Wang Yichun paused, suddenly realizing what he had said. 4.2 million RMB was about to belong to an individual.

In an era where a ten-thousand-yuan household was enough to boast to the neighbors, Wang Yichun had always felt a sense of unreality about Hu Wenhui's wealth. It wasn't until the number 4.2 million came out of his mouth that he realized how much wealth this was.

And the owner of this huge fortune was merely an 18-year-old high school student.

Realizing this, Wang Yichun suddenly lost interest. He stood up and forced a smile. "That's it. I have other work to do, so I won't disturb you further."

"Mayor, let me see you out," Hu Jiefang hurriedly went to open the door for Wang Yichun, taking the opportunity to stretch his legs.

But Wang Yichun waved his hand and walked out on his own. "No need, you must have a lot to do at home. I'll go out by myself."

Hu Jiefang watched Wang Yichun walk out of the courtyard, then turned to see that everyone's faces had already turned from cloudy to sunny.

"Dad, no need to say more, Wang Yichun's impression of you will definitely soar!" Hu Wenhui raised his thumb, mimicking Hu Jiefang's gesture, and patted his chest. "No need to say more, if the city has arrangements, we will of course follow the organization's requirements!"

"Tsk, tsk, if I were Wang Yichun, I wouldn't promote anyone else if I didn't promote such a cadre."

"Hey, I'm just being true to myself. If it were 30,000 or 50,000, and the organization needed it, I would certainly support it. But the key point is still up to your mother." Hu Jiefang sat on the sofa that Wang Yichun had vacated, rubbing his thigh and smiling. "After all, we've been married for over 20 years. The look she gave me when I came in was the one we agreed on when you were born. I play the red face, and your mother plays the white face. Unfortunately, we haven't used it many times over the years."

"Ha ha, I'm not that skilled, but my father-in-law is a great actor!" Xiao Yeqin laughed heartily. "Just the way you scolded Hu Jiefang, it was really impressive!"

"Hmph, if that little brat thinks he can get his hands on my grandson's money, he must think the Hu family is a soft target. 1.5 million, I'll give him a face, but he can't swallow it all!" Hu Shiwu stubbed out his lit cigarette and smiled. "None of us can do it, but in the end, we still rely on Wenhui to hold the fort. Good job, even bringing in the PLA, I didn't think you could come up with such an excuse."

"Uh, Grandpa, this isn't an excuse at all."

...

"What? Help us modify our equipment?" Heng Jianyun's mouth dropped open, looking at Hu Jiefang and Hu Wenhui in surprise.

Hu Wenhui nodded seriously and said, "Uncle Heng, I proposed the idea of a drone not as a single combat equipment, but as part of a highly informatized combat system framework."

"Highly informatized combat system? What's that?" Heng Jianyun shook his head like a rattle drum, puzzled. "Don't tell me you made it up, Wenhui. I've never heard of it."

Hu Wenhui sighed, not surprised by Heng Jianyun's reaction. The Chinese military's understanding of informatized combat systems only came after the Gulf War.

It was rumored that before the Gulf War, the PLA generally believed that Saddam Hussein would lose, but he would cause enough trouble for the Americans before losing. At least in private, the military equipment of Iraq in 1991 was more advanced than that of the PLA in some aspects.

Not to mention, the destroyed five-wheeled vehicles in the Iraqi desert were enough to make the PLA leadership collectively grimace.

After that, the PLA finally recognized the advantages of informatized warfare and precise strikes, bidding farewell to the era of firepower coverage and full-scale bombardment.

Hu Wenhui was not surprised that Heng Jianyun lacked this awareness and tried to explain. "The concept of an informatized combat system is very complex, and I can't describe it simply. A superficial understanding would only lead to misunderstandings, so I won't go into the details. I'll just say one thing: an informatized combat system can change the current military operations from being plan-centered to action-centered."

"Plan-centered? Action-centered?" Heng Jianyun frowned, feeling he was on the verge of understanding something but couldn't quite grasp it.

Hu Wenhui nodded and said, "Let me give you an example. Why did Dong Cunrui blow up the bunker?"

"Uh, why? Because if he didn't, the enemy's fire would cause heavy casualties to our attacking forces."

"Then why couldn't the attacking forces delay the attack and wait for Dong Cunrui to find a way to support the attack?"

"Because the attack plan was..."

Heng Jianyun suddenly exclaimed, "Ah!" He finally grasped the elusive inspiration and understood what it meant to be plan-centered in combat.

In simple terms, non-informatized forces operate in a plan-centered manner. In war, the driving force is one plan after another. When combat units enter the battlefield, they must follow the plan. If unexpected situations arise, the combat units must overcome them and then continue according to the plan.

For example, Dong Cunrui blowing up the bunker—because the plan was to launch a full-scale attack at that moment, the bunker had to be destroyed before then! No support? Then he had to use himself as support!

This is the characteristic of a plan-centered combat method. Once the plan is executed, the combat process cannot be changed. This method has a low tolerance for errors.

The action-centered combat method brought by an informatized combat system greatly increases flexibility compared to the plan-centered method.

Dong Cunrui had no support to blow up the bunker? No problem, delay the full-scale attack by a minute, and he can take his time to find a way. Or report the bunker's coordinates to the artillery unit, and a few shells will do the job without needing to send explosives. Or, simply pause the attack in the direction the bunker is blocking and wait for a breakthrough elsewhere, then attack from behind.

Once the military evolves to an informatized combat method, its flexibility and error tolerance improve significantly. The military no longer needs to use human lives to bridge the gap between reality and the plan.

This is not to say that the spirit of sacrifice is unimportant, but to ensure that their sacrifices are more valuable and that the war's objectives can be achieved with less bloodshed.

Heng Jianyun was not the type of officer who clung to tradition. Those who clung to traditional combat methods could not be company commanders in the PLA's reconnaissance companies. In the 1980s, the PLA's reconnaissance companies were like future special forces, and only those with flexible minds could handle the job.

By analogy, Heng Jianyun understood what it meant to be plan-centered in combat and began to grasp the essence of an action-centered informatized combat system—precise control and feedback of every aspect of combat through an informatized system.

Heng Jianyun felt that the door to a new world was slowly opening before him.