The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 35 Wang Tiezhu's Excitement

It took several days to complete the design drawings of the 'Type 78' heavy machine gun.

Liu Tao took the factory's 212 jeep, left Panshan Machinery Factory and headed for the provincial capital.

This 212 jeep is specially allocated to the factory director. No other jeep is allocated to Panshan Machinery Factory.

These days, China's automobile production capacity is alarmingly low. Last year, the country's total automobile output was only 14.9 units, of which the annual output of sedans was only 2640 units, trucks 9.61 units, and motorcycles 2.19 units.

Yes, in this era, motorcycles are counted as cars, not listed separately.

As you can imagine, cars are a rare commodity.

And this was because the previous factory director was Wang Tiezhu, who enjoyed the treatment of a deputy-department-level cadre, so he had a 212 jeep, otherwise he would not have had it.

Liu Tao was lucky thanks to Wang Tiezhu.

The mountain road is winding and we encountered many transport vehicles heading to Panshan Machinery Factory along the way, some of which were transporting weapons and ammunition, while others were transporting construction materials to Panshan Machinery Factory.

We stopped and started along the way and met many other cars.

Thanks to the previous road widening, this mountain road is much easier to travel on than before.

It took two and a half hours to reach the Provincial National Defense Management Office.

After registering and verifying his identity, Liu Tao was released and he came to the director's office with ease.

At this time in the office, Wang Tiezhu, wearing reading glasses, was looking at the documents attentively.

At this position, he no longer manages a single factory as before, but is in charge of the entire province's military industry system.

Liu Tao waited for a while, and only knocked on the door after seeing that Wang Tiezhu had finished reading the documents.

"dong dong dong~~"

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Wang Tiezhu's voice sounded. He slowly raised his head and saw Liu Tao walking into the office. Wang Tiezhu was stunned for a moment, then said happily, "Comrade Liu Tao, why are you here? Why didn't you call in advance?"

Liu Tao smiled and said, "Director, I came here specially to give you a surprise."

"Oh? What surprise?" Wang Tiezhu said with a smile, "You have given me enough surprises. At a meeting a few days ago, the superiors and military leaders specially praised you and called on everyone to learn from you."

Now Liu Tao's name is no longer just in the military industry system, but has spread beyond the system.

The provincial leaders and the military leaders all remembered Liu Tao's name and treated him like a treasure.

Being able to independently develop several types of weapons and equipment is simply amazing, and is an extremely rare talent in the country.

"I have developed a heavy machine gun recently. Its performance is much better than that of the Type 53 heavy machine gun and the Type 67 dual-purpose light and heavy machine gun. Now the heavy machine gun sample has been manufactured." Liu Tao said with a smile.

Wang Tiezhu's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Ever since the addition of millet and rifles, the army has suffered from a psychological disease called "fear of insufficient firepower". Especially after crossing the Yalu River and facing the most advanced United Nations forces in the world, this "fear of insufficient firepower" reached its peak.

After all, they are rich and powerful, with bombs dropped from the sky, impenetrable tanks on the ground, logistical supplies obtained through cheats, and mindless firepower.

It was also at that time that the Chinese army learned what the theory of superior firepower was and what "Van Fleet ammunition" meant!
Since then, the Chinese army has been treating the "fear of insufficient firepower". Wang Tiezhu couldn't wait to ask: "How is the performance?"

"The total weight is 26.5 kg, the gun body weighs 17.5 kg, and the gun frame weighs 8.5 kg. Soldiers can carry the machine gun while walking. The effective range can reach 2000 meters. It can use 12.7 mm bullets, armor-piercing bullets, armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullets, and armor-piercing explosive incendiary bullets." Liu Tao said: "The power is very fierce, even light armor can't stop it. Facing low-flying armed helicopters or fighters, you can also use it for high-altitude shooting and act as an anti-aircraft machine gun!"

"Good! That's great!" Wang Tiezhu became excited.

In his mind, it has already emerged that on the battlefield, such a heavy machine gun has become a battlefield weapon and the enemy's nightmare.

It is entirely possible to greatly enhance infantry firepower.

"Such a heavy machine gun can be installed on a vehicle or a ship to serve as a firing point," said Liu Tao.

After Liu Tao's continuous optimization and improvement, the performance of the 'Type 78' heavy machine gun is extremely outstanding and has definitely reached the world's advanced level.

"After hearing what you said, I can't help but want to see it with my own eyes!" Wang Tiezhu's face was full of excitement. "If the troops were equipped with such advanced heavy machine guns, they could shoot more monkeys and save many lives."

Although the "Red Dragon's Roar" operation was a success, it also suffered heavy casualties. Moreover, during the battle, the troop commander discovered that the enemy's weapons and equipment were much more advanced.

In terms of light weapons, heavy weapons, and air force, our side is actually inferior to the enemy!
This is such a great irony.

The light weapons that performed most brilliantly on the battlefield were the 'Type 78' pistol, 'Type 78' automatic rifle and 'Type 78' heavy sniper rifle.

The Type 78 heavy sniper rifle, in particular, could even destroy the enemy's main battle tank, shocking commanders at all levels.

The only thing that hurts the military is that the 'Type 78' heavy sniper rifle is too expensive. The gun is expensive, and the bullets are expensive too!
"Director, organize an expert review team, and we'll see for ourselves when the time comes." Liu Tao smiled and said, "I came to see you this time for another matter."

"Oh? What's the matter? As long as it doesn't go against the principles, I will definitely help you if I can." Wang Tiezhu said.

Liu Tao then talked about the real purpose of his visit. If it was just the Type 78 heavy machine gun, he would only need to make a phone call to report and there was no need to come all the way here.

"Didn't the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee last year make a policy of internal reform and external opening up? I am ready to respond to the call of the Party and the country, sell the weapons and equipment in the factory, and earn foreign exchange." Liu Tao looked at Wang Tiezhu.

Wang Tiezhu frowned, "This is nonsense. The primary task of Panshan Machinery Factory is to produce as many Type 78 guns as possible. The troops are still waiting for the replacement of equipment."

Now the troops on the eastern and western fronts are waiting to replace the "Type 78" gun family, and the Panshan Machinery Factory cannot produce enough even with three shifts.

The Fifth Ministry of Machine Building was also coordinating with other military factories to produce the "Type 78" gun family, but production line debugging and trial production would take time.

The quality of some of the products currently produced is far from that produced by Panshan Machinery Factory, and the troops are very dissatisfied.

Now all the pressure is on Panshan Machinery Factory, but Liu Tao is actually thinking about exporting weapons abroad.

"Director, if you don't think ahead, you'll have immediate worries!" Liu Tao said, "I'm also looking at the long term and making plans first."

"The number of troops in the country is now about 600 million. Judging from various news reports, our superiors will definitely cut the number of troops, and the scale of the reduction will not be small." Liu Tao hinted at something.

News about disarmament often appears on the radio and in newspapers.

After all, the problems exposed by the "Red Dragon's Roar" this time are shocking.

Although the army is large in number, only a part of it remains trained.

(End of this chapter)