Time goes back a few years to a research institute in mainland China.

The 66-year-old Mr. Zhu silently packed his belongings and put them in his bag. Looking at the office he had brought with him for more than ten years, Mr. Zhu shook his head and walked out of the office.

"I wish you a safe journey, and come back often when you have time." The door was crowded with farewell crowds, and everyone gave warm applause to bid farewell to this legendary figure who had made great contributions to the artillery cause of the Republic.

"Hahaha, definitely, definitely!" Seeing that many of the students in the crowd were students he had taught, Mr. Zhu laughed and said, when people get old, they have to step back and give up their positions to the young people, so that they can serve the country on their behalf.

Contribution.

"Wait a minute, teacher." Just as Mr. Zhu walked out of the building, shouting came from behind. One of Mr. Zhu's students caught up from behind and shouted: "The country still needs you."

"You need me, what's wrong?" Hearing the call, Mr. Zhu turned around, looked at the student and asked.

"It's that third-generation water tank. It needs you." Due to confidentiality regulations, students couldn't go into too much detail, so they could only use a water tank instead.

"I can't do this, so I'd better find someone else."

Having been immersed in the weapons industry for decades, Zhu Lao knew what the students were talking about as soon as he heard it. However, Zhu Lao was engaged in artillery and was really a layman on water tanks.

Shaking his head, he sighed.

"No, teacher, wait, wait." Seeing Mr. Zhu continue to leave, the student hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, took Mr. Zhu's arm and begged: "It has been decided above, you will be in charge of the third generation water."

cabinet project.”

"You said I'm an artillery person, why are you asking me to make tanks? This is really...I can't do it." Mr. Zhu didn't understand the appointment of his superiors. It didn't matter whether he retired or not, as long as the country needed it.

, my old bones can still support it.

It's just that artillery and tanks have nothing to do with each other. Mr. Zhu was afraid that taking on this task would affect the process, which would be a crime for both himself and the country.

"Teacher, there is really no one left in the third-generation water tank. Please come. There is a reason why the higher-ups chose you. Teacher, although you are engaged in artillery, you not only have a solid technical foundation, but also have the ability to command.

Be open-minded and able to accept new things.

With you here, the third generation water tank will definitely succeed."

The student begged bitterly.

"But I have already retired. If you ask me to be the chief teacher again, I am not being modest. I am older and my energy is not as good as before. I can't do it." Mr. Zhu shook his head and declined politely.

"Teacher, don't you want others to call you Chief Teacher again for the rest of your life?" the student continued to plead.

"The commander-in-chief is great."

The student's words touched Mr. Zhu. He looked at the rising sun and sighed, "Okay, I'll take this task, but I promised you in advance that you have to do your best if you want to do it, and you can't give me a false pretense."

"Teacher, don't worry, we will do our best whether we do it or not." The student said loudly.

With the support of the students, Mr. Zhu, who had retired, returned to work and served as the chief engineer of the third generation water tank.

However, the difficulties in developing a third-generation water tank are beyond everyone’s imagination.

"Meeting now!"

People who have been on the battlefield are all about acting vigorously and resolutely. On his second day as chief engineer, Mr. Zhu gathered the people together to discuss the technology of the third generation water tank.

"Our goal is third-generation water tanks. Do we have the experience of successful second-generation water tanks?" Mr. Zhu asked first.

"This, it seems not!"

Zhu Lao's question made everyone present lower their heads.

When the Republic's first generation tank, the Type 59 tank, appeared, the gap with foreign countries was not very big, only a few years away.

But in the following decades, due to various reasons, military industrial enterprises were greatly impacted, resulting in very slow progress in the development of new tanks.

As a result, decades have passed and everyone is still working on one generation of tanks.

We have developed the Type 59 modification, the Type 59 magic modification, and the Type 59 enhanced magic modification. Although the Type 59 modification has made it fly, it still cannot change the template of the first generation tank.

"Is there no reference model? Foreign ones will do, too." Mr. Zhu knew that the tanks of the Republic were lagging behind, but he didn't expect to be so lagging behind. He had no experience with second-generation tanks at all.

"There are several abroad, and they all took a lot of effort to get." The following students, you look at me, I look at you, and finally take out a piece of information.

"At this time, Israel, a powerful country in the Middle East, developed the Merkava main battle tank in the early 1970s and equipped it in 1978. The biggest feature of this tank is the front-mounted engine."

The student took out a model and pointed it out, "The car body is cast and formed in one step. At the same time, an armor plate with a good bulletproof shape is welded to the front upper armor. The right side is higher than the left.

There is a space behind this layer of cast armor, a hollow armor, which can be filled with diesel fuel with high stability and inertness, followed by another layer of armor. This structure gives the tank better protection against armor-piercing shells and anti-tank missiles.

.

Because the engine is front-mounted, the ammunition is placed at the rear of the vehicle body, in a special ammunition box and placed on the ammunition rack. 48 rounds of artillery shells are arranged in the special ammunition boxes and ammunition racks on the left and right sides, and there are only 6 rounds

Emergency shells are installed in the turret, and flammable shells are placed in the rear.

The bomb rack can be removed to make room for a group of commanders, 4 stretchers, or 10 infantrymen. It has strong infantry delivery and support capabilities.

And because the engine is in the front, even if it is penetrated, it will be protected by the engine, so the members can just run away."

"No, no!" Looking at the information sent to him, Mr. Zhu shook his head, "The engine is in the front, and the armor on the front is only a thin layer. Who can guarantee that the armor on the front will not be penetrated.

Israel doesn’t have to worry, because their opponents are rich people in the Middle East. They can only buy rubbish who have no manufacturing ability, and buying can’t buy good goods, just like a woolly bear.

The tanks exported are all monkey versions, so there is no need to worry about threatening their tanks, but we cannot. Our opponents are our neighbors to the north and the black and white chicken.

If front-mounted engines are really so good, why have no other major countries adopted this approach except Israel?"

"Well, then this one is like this."

The students nodded and found that what Mr. Zhu said made sense. Israel adopted a front-mounted engine because its opponent was a tycoon from the Middle East in the desert. Other countries did not follow suit with the gourd topic.

So he nodded and PASSed off the program in front of the engine.

Then, in anticipation of Mr. Zhu, he took out another piece of information.

"This is the highest level of Western water tanks. Hans Cat's Leopard II tank is a main battle tank developed in the 1970s and began delivery in 1979. It is the most advanced tank in Europe.

Firepower, protection, and mobility are all outstanding. Compared with its peers, it is just like the Panther tank in World War II, standing out from the crowd."

"What about the manufacturing industry?" After hearing the students say that firepower, protection, and mobility were all out of the question, Mr. Zhu had an ominous premonition in his heart.

"this!"

When the teacher asked about the manufacturing industry, the student was a little embarrassed and took out a thick pile of information, "This is probably a table. Hans likes to pursue perfection when producing things, so..."

"It's good, but it's a pity that we can't do it." After taking the information and looking at it briefly, Zhu Lao shook his head helplessly.

This gap is also too big. Compared with domestic production technology, there is at least a twenty-year gap, which cannot be made up with hard work.

"Then we only have this one." After two consecutive models were rejected by the teacher, the students had no choice but to take out the last one, "This is the monkey version of the T-72 exported by Mao Xiong in exchange for items from the Kandahar market.

tank.

Compared with the original monkey version of the T-72 tank, the equipment was severely reduced, the design was wild, and the manufacturing was rough. It followed the low-cost road and used the tank and tank crew as toilet paper. I never thought that it would come back after it went to the battlefield."

"Although the design is wild and the workmanship is rough, it is just right for us, so we chose it."

After days and nights of research, Mr. Zhu finally overcame all opinions and started the road to the domestic third-generation water tank based on plagiarizing the low-end version of T-72.

Many people don't understand Zhu Lao's choice of the T-72 tank as the basis. They think it was a product of Mao Xiong in the 1960s. It has been more than 20 years now. Taking the whole as a starting point, the design is not going to be lagging behind. Why not

One step at a time, based on Hans' Leopard 2 tank.

You know, in recent years, the country has had close relations with Europe and the United States, and they are even willing to sell them aircraft, let alone tanks.

But when it was actually developed, everyone discovered it.

Even the monkey version of the T-72 tank is difficult to manufacture domestically. In fact, the debt was too serious in the past and needs to be paid back bit by bit.

However, under the leadership of Mr. Yi Zhu, everyone solved one solution after another, making it possible for the third generation water tank to appear. However, even so, Mr. Zhu was still worried.

Because it knows that even if it designs a tank more powerful than the T-72, there will still be a gap compared with the advanced tanks in the world, and it must find a way to catch up.

Finally, the opportunity presented itself.

The neighbor to the north, Mao Xiong, has a problem, and China has the opportunity to obtain internationally advanced tanks.

"Why haven't you come yet?"

One day in early 1992!

At a certain secret port, Mr. Zhu and a group of people looked at the sea anxiously, hoping to see the expected figure as soon as possible.

"Teacher, it's windy at the pier, so you'd better wait in the car, otherwise you'll catch a cold if the wind blows on your body." Seeing Mr. Zhu's nose running down, the student stepped forward and said.

"No, if I don't see hope, nothing will happen to me. What time is it now and when will the ship arrive?" Mr. Zhu waved his hand to express that he was fine.

"According to the appointed time, the ship will be visible in five minutes. However, teacher, after all, it is a 10,000-ton ship. Even if it arrives, it will take time to unload the things. Just wait in the car.

You are a treasure of the country. If something happens, it will be a loss not only for you, but also for the country." Seeing that Mr. Zhu's face turned a little blue, the student waved his hand, and two security personnel immediately came forward and carried Mr. Zhu away.

Got to the car.

"Teacher, you take a rest in the car, I'll watch for you outside." After telling the security personnel that Mr. Zhu could not get out of the car under any circumstances, the student returned to his seat and looked at the sea anxiously.

"Coming!"

Seeing the approaching freighter, the crowd waiting on the dock breathed a sigh of relief.

Although there is still some time before unloading, everyone feels relieved when they see the ship arriving.

"Hello, I am Li Mubai from the Eastern Group. Are you Mr. Zhu?" About half an hour later, a young man in military uniform came to Mr. Zhu and said hello.
To be continued...