Chapter 58

The next day, Lin Qiangsheng finished his English class at school, made a brief appearance in front of Teacher Liang Ke, and hurried back to the car factory.

The current school curriculum was still quite relaxed. Many college students who had been admitted to universities were still taking remedial high school courses. There were quite a few students with gaps in their foundational knowledge! Even Chen Yao was nervously catching up on her high school knowledge.

Naturally, Lin Qiangsheng became the only big idler in the class! Since staying at school made most of the students hate him, it was better for everyone to be out of sight and out of mind!

On the wasteland of Jiang'an, the roof of the modified factory had already been completed, and the interior had begun to be paved with cement.

Now, Lin Qiangsheng had started to redesign vehicles for the military. Since these were military vehicles, they definitely couldn't use civilian jeeps like the Wrangler to fill the ranks. From any perspective, the Wrangler seemed too delicate.

Military vehicles, of course, needed to be rugged and powerful. Only a muscle car would suit the needs of the battlefield. So, on Lin Qiangsheng's blueprint, there appeared a massive, muscular, and robust vehicle—the military Humvee!

Actually, Lin Qiangsheng initially wanted to design the Dongfeng Mengshi, but he found that the Mengshi's front end was much more complex than the Humvee. Why make a military vehicle so fancy! So, he decided to go with the Humvee, which was simple, convenient, and easy to manufacture.

The vehicle used a 4.3-liter four-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled diesel engine. Lin Qiangsheng hoped for an ideal power output of over 100 kilowatts, with a four-speed manual transmission and a range of 500 kilometers.

The engine layout was the same as the Humvee's, with a mid-engine design to achieve a balanced weight distribution, resulting in a large hump in the middle of the front seats.

The steel frame, welded together, had five heavy-duty cross beams that could fully absorb the stress from driving on rough terrain. This structure gave the off-road vehicle unparalleled strength and flexibility.

The military vehicle was designed as a high-mobility, multi-purpose infantry carrier. It could easily cross ditches and steep slopes. It was also an excellent multi-platform vehicle, capable of serving as an infantry transport, ambulance, 107mm rocket launcher carrier, and heavy machine gun carrier.

Its pickup truck variant could even mount a high-caliber machine gun, a recoilless rifle, or a 32- or 16-barrel rocket launcher.

From any perspective, this vehicle was far superior to the 202 currently used by the military!

Gao Jun's eyes lit up as he looked at it. Although Gao Jun was a political officer, he did not underestimate the value of military equipment. He was not one of those red instructors who only shouted slogans and urged soldiers to charge recklessly.

Looking at the muscular military off-road vehicle on the blueprint, Gao Jun excitedly exclaimed, "Great! This is exactly what our military needs! I'll take the blueprint back to the division headquarters and show it to the leaders!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded, and Gao Jun ran out with the blueprint. A moment later, he ran back, anxiously asking, "What's the name of this vehicle?"

"Humvee! I call it the Humvee!" Lin Qiangsheng said.

Gao Jun repeated it twice, slapped his thigh, and laughed, "What a great name, Humvee!"

The leaders of the 69th Division were also stunned by the vehicle's appearance!

They had only thought about using the opportunity to request a war to replace the old equipment in the military, but they never expected to get such a shocking new vehicle!

Division Commander Zhang Tixin came over again, personally telling Lin Qiangsheng that they would do their best to support him with whatever he needed.

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said, "Alright! I need the Engineering College's research institute to help us study metal materials and processes, and I need the researchers to assist us!"

Zhang Tixin nodded and said, "No problem, the Special Materials Research Institute of the Military Engineering College can help you."

Zhang Tixin personally took Lin Qiangsheng to the research institute and visited Director Liu. Seeing the division commander come in person with a letter from the division headquarters, Director Liu immediately agreed to activate the institute's supporting factory.

This small factory was inside the Engineering College's campus, set up to support the college's special materials program. As Lin Qiangsheng and his group entered the factory, they were immediately surrounded by over a dozen pairs of eyes!

"This is Comrade Zhang Tixin, deputy division commander of the 69th Division stationed in our province. Let's give him a warm welcome!" Liu Chaoli loudly said to the five or six workers in the factory.

It was then that Lin Qiangsheng realized that Zhang Tixin was a deputy division commander.

With the sparse applause from the workers, Liu Chaoli awkwardly smiled and said to a middle-aged man in his forties with thick glasses, "Yang Wanmi, take the comrades around the factory and assist them with their research!"

Yang Wanmi, who was thin and had sunken cheeks, nodded with a cold, distant expression.

Liu Chaoli gave a dry laugh and pulled Zhang Tixin aside to talk. Zhang Tixin nodded.

Lin Qiangsheng roughly heard that the research institute was also in a difficult situation, with costs for materials, electricity, and other expenses. Zhang Tixin agreed to cover all the research costs.

Lin Qiangsheng and his group toured the factory and were satisfied with the equipment. He asked Director Liu to call in Yu Mingquan from the research institute. The old man, upon hearing about the experimental project, immediately became more energetic and happily ran over.

When Yang Wanmi saw Yu Mingquan, his eyes changed, and he said, "Teacher Yu!"

Yu Mingquan, seeing Yang Wanmi, nodded happily and said with a raised eyebrow, "Yes, Yang Wanli. I'm out now, and I feel much freer! Ha ha..."

Lin Qiangsheng felt that both of them were a bit odd, so he didn't pay much attention to their conversation. Whether they called him Wanli or Wanmi, it was all the same to him.

Lin Qiangsheng took out the blueprint and data, unfolded it, and began to describe the performance of the Humvee military off-road vehicle, the required engine power, and the matching power system to Yu Mingquan and Yang Wanli.

Military researchers were indeed military researchers. They didn't need much explanation. The researchers of this era were eager to get their hands on projects, and they were all hungry for work.

To increase the power of the four-cylinder diesel engine, a turbocharger was necessary. Lin Qiangsheng chose the BMW 1973 KKK turbocharger, hoping it could boost the four-cylinder diesel engine to the desired power.

He gave the blueprint to the researchers and asked them to study it, aiming to produce a batch of prototypes within two months. Since the off-road vehicle would need continuous improvements, he wasn't in a hurry. If it didn't work out, they could use a non-turbocharged engine first.

To reassure the six researchers, Lin Qiangsheng gave each of them 30 yuan as a resettlement fee, along with cloth coupons, food coupons, and meat coupons, which moved them to tears.

Yang Wanli, holding a small stack of money and tickets, said softly, "Thank you, thank you, comrade!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and asked, "Teacher Yang Wanli, can I ask you a question? Why do they call you Yang Wanmi?"

Yang Wanli smiled and rubbed his lips, but before he could explain, someone else spoke up.

"The Dongfeng 113 fighter jet, known as 'Double 2.5,' had a flight speed of 2.5 Mach and a ceiling of 25,000 meters. Yang Wanli was one of the designers of the project. Now, he's the only one still at the Military Engineering College, while the others have left or scattered. So, everyone gave him the nickname 'Yang Wanmi,'" the old man Yu Mingquan explained.

Since leaving the research institute, Yu Mingquan had been particularly active, eager to make up for lost time.

Yang Wanli gave a bitter smile, filled with沧桑 (沧桑 means "沧桑" in Chinese, which can be translated as "沧桑" in English, but in this context, it means "weathered" or "worn out") and reminiscence.

On July 21, 1961, the Ministry of Aviation and the Aviation Research Institute jointly issued a document stating that, according to higher-level instructions, to shorten the front lines and concentrate forces, the development of the MiG-19 and MiG-21 should be prioritized, and the Dongfeng 113 project should be temporarily put on hold. Although the document stipulated that some work on the Dongfeng 113 could continue, it was effectively halted. The Dongfeng 113 project was thus shelved. Some of the teachers involved in the Dongfeng 113 design at the factory were transferred back to the college, and the graduating students were assigned to the Aviation Research Institute. Thus, the "Double 2.5" Dongfeng 113 project came to an end.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at Yang Wanli, who was in his forties. He must have been in his passionate youth when the Dongfeng 113 project was shelved 17 years ago, and it must have been a significant blow to him and his team!

"Where did it fall short?" Lin Qiangsheng asked Yang Wanli.

Yang Wanli's body trembled, and he replied, "Materials! Processes!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and said with a serious expression, "Then let's focus on these areas! I support you!"

Yang Wanli looked at Lin Qiangsheng with an incredulous and puzzled expression.

Lin Qiangsheng added, "Yes, our car factory supports you. My father is Lin Xiangrong! Do you know him? He's the factory manager! The car factory manager!"

---

(End of the page)