In that dimension, Kalashnikov was a very rare longevity for the Soviet Union and Russia. He lived to be ninety-four years old. And the cartridge-type assault rifle invented by him became one of the most popular weapons in the twenty-fourth century.
Century, the most produced rifle! The total output of the original version, various imitations, and improved products exceeds 100 million, and it is widely equipped in a large number of countries.
It always appears at the forefront of local wars and has become the cheapest killing tool.
According to Chinese martial arts, fighting is the only way to stop fighting. You must have a hand-held weapon, but do not use the weapon rashly. Use the coercion of this situation to prevent war from happening.
In Yang Mingzhi's view, normal countries desperately develop weapons not to attack other countries, but to protect themselves and achieve a balance of force in the global military.
Facts have proved that it is difficult for mankind to maintain sanity. Once a big country shows weakness, another big country will launch an attack. Today, this kind of attack is a pure hot war, a total war.
Only after this world war has the great power game gradually turned into an economic confrontation. It is also a form of war, but it is too gentle and seems to be unable to be noticed by the most ordinary people.
The same is true. When the old Kalashnikov knew this, he gradually regretted and became sad.
Does he feel like this now? How is that possible!
Now in 1942, the war has forced all citizens of the warring countries, young and old, to take up arms when necessary. Kalashnikov is obsessed with the desire to create excellent weapons so that his beloved compatriots can
Fight with better weapons to reduce casualties.
This is the simplest idea of weapons developers in war.
Including Oppenheimer of the United States, and a group of experts involved in the plan. It was not until they actually planted a mushroom in the desert that they began to worry about the consequences of such a terrifying weapon attacking the city. The joint letter to dissuade was written.
A lot of it was submitted to Congress, but the Congressmen gave it back with a simple reason. If using it can save us from the death of a million young men, why not do it?
Kalashnikov was only in his early twenties. Yang Mingzhi only remembered what this man looked like when he was old and had no idea of his handsomeness when he was young.
At this moment, when Fedorov got the opportunity, of course he had to grandly introduce his old friend, saying that "he is an important supporter of my ideas." In a sense, Fedorov almost regarded Kalashnikov as his own son.
.
Being favored by a leading figure in Soviet firearms research and development did not make Kalashnikov feel complacent.
At this moment, Kalashnikov was in awe when he saw a young general who looked like a Mongolian and had several medals on his chest.
Regardless of his recent recovery, Kalashnikov stood in front of Yang Mingzhi and saluted the standard military salute. His face looked quite serious, and his respect was beyond words.
But this move made Yang Mingzhi feel extremely unnatural.
Those engaged in the field of weapons research and development, especially the research and development of light weapons, inevitably have to study Kalashnikov's masterpiece in depth. There are many things that Yang Mingzhi could not say. For example, the firearms that will be inspected by Stalin today can be traced back to their origins.
It is the work of this young man in 1946.
Stalin was a great man, wasn't Kalashnikov the same? Even if this great man is still unable to show his greatness, even because the world line has changed, Kalashnikov in this time and space will not have great achievements in history.
.
However, there is no doubt that he is a very good firearms designer.
Yang Mingzhi returned the military salute and nodded deeply.
And said to Fedorov: "The young man you mentioned is really a talented person. It seems that he is also engaged in the research of small arms."
"Yes, Comrade General." Kalashnikov took over from the teacher and replied personally: "I accept the teacher's invitation to come to Moscow to see your new gun. I think I can learn some key knowledge from you and learn about it.
My own research provided some inspiration.”
"Of course! If you want a blueprint, I can personally give you a copy."
"Is this...is this really okay?"
Kalashnikov knew what this meant. Even if the Soviet Union's "intellectual property rights" belonged to the state and the people, it was quite difficult to obtain a complete manufacturing blueprint for a weapon.
He marveled at General Berekov's generosity and was so excited that his body trembled.
"Of course." Yang Mingzhi suppressed his inner guilt with a decisive answer.
At this moment, Yang Mingzhi felt very guilty for robbing a young man of his future research results. Although this sense of guilt was meaningless. He had not created it at all, and he had not even written the drawings. How could he plagiarize others?
Where is the suspicion?
However, if Kalashnikov did not develop any assault rifles in this time and space, wouldn't this young man be buried?
Yang Mingzhi continued to ask: "I heard that you are also trying to develop new light weapons. What are they?"
"Well... it's a submachine gun. I think my design is more sophisticated and can replace the Bobosha Type 41 that is being used on a large scale by the army."
"You have great ideas! However, I think your efforts may fail. I'm sorry, but this should be the fact."
"Yes! You are right." Kalashnikov shrugged: "The submachine gun has been mass-produced. Even if my new submachine gun is favored by the Minister of Weapons and Equipment, it will be difficult to equip it on a large scale."
"Oh? You don't know Comrade Ustinov?"
"Him?!" Kalashnikov shook his head vigorously. This action fully reflected his youth. "How could I possibly know such a talented person? Being cultivated by Comrade Fedorov is already a huge blessing to me.
pleasure."
Hearing this, Yang Mingzhi let out a long sigh, with mixed feelings in his heart.
Kalashnikov, he is talented, but now, this person's talent has not been reflected at all.
Maybe it's because he is still very young, or maybe he just lacks opportunities.
If you think about it carefully, there is a huge accidental factor behind Kalashnikov's success in that dimension.
The first-generation AK47 was relatively simple in shape and not fine in workmanship. In fact, there was nothing to be done about it. Kalashnikov traveled all the way from Central Asia to Moscow with a prototype gun. The weapon he developed in his small workshop-level micro research institute,
It's amazing how beautifully crafted it can be.
A little simplicity can be tolerated. The review committee, especially Ustinov himself, paid great attention to the shape of the cartridge rifle.
The products of other design bureaus that participated in the selection at the same time, such as Simonov's, Tokarev's, etc., have rather peculiar appearances.
Although everyone uses the same bullet, that is, the intermediate-power bullet developed by Simonov, the ballistics of various rifles using this bullet are similar, and even the ballistics of cartridge rifles are relatively different.
So what? The simplicity of the cartridge rifle is only temporary. It is very resistant to wind and sand, and small stones in the gun will not affect the shooting. The most important thing is its cute shape, especially what Ustinov fell in love with at first sight!
The shape of the cartridge rifle is simply tailor-made for the Russians. Therefore, Yang Mingzhi's АБ42, which was modified for the AK47, immediately caught Ustinov's attention.
Yang Mingzhi continued: "Comrade Fedorov supports you very much, which shows that you are a talented person. Now tell me, where is your research institute? Is it too far away from our city of Novosibirsk?"
"In Kazakhstan."
"Kazakh?"
"Yes. That's where I was born."
Kalashnikov is happy to explain his past during this period. Unlike history, he was injured in the leg during the all-out counterattack in early 1942 and was sent to the rear to recuperate. But the leg injury does not heal instantly, even if
After recovering from his injury and being discharged from the hospital, he still had to walk with a limp for a period of time. Yang Mingzhi noticed this problem the first time he saw him.
Because of his leg injury, it was impossible for Kalashnikov to return to the army immediately and continue fighting.
To make matters worse, there was still a problem with his legs, and he almost couldn't join the reserve force. It is said that only when the war reaches the most critical moment, Kalashnikov can continue to be a tank soldier.
Such an encounter made him very depressed during his recovery days, and he was sent back to his hometown.
However, he finally had time to study some books on small arms written by Fedorov. As if he had found a treasure, he even boldly wrote to Fedorov directly, which later developed into a phone call.
He was able to communicate directly with Fedorov via long-distance phone calls, which was why the First Secretary of Kazakhstan valued this young man very much.
After all, Kalashnikov is not unknown. He made some improvements in military weapons a few years ago, which brought honor to the Kazakh people.
Just this summer, shortly after his recovery, he developed a new submachine gun, and the prototype was highly praised by the First Secretary.
In fact, there are also strong practical reasons for this.
Since the war started, the area east of the Ural Mountains has gradually become the largest source of troops for the Soviet Union. Millions of Kazakh youths have taken to the battlefield. Military recruitment has also begun in several central Asian republics.
All industries in the entire Union Republic are tilted towards supporting the war. At this time, a talented young man from Kazakhstan invented a new submachine gun. How can it not be exciting?
Now, Kalashnikov talked about a major opportunity of his in front of Yang Mingzhi.
It turned out that although the new automatic rifle developed was not favored by the military, it received the attention of at least two people.
One is supported by the First Secretary of Kazakhstan himself, and the other is Lieutenant General Bragun Lavov, the director of the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy.
Fedorov is a great fighter, then Bragonlavov is another great fighter.
Due to the war, the former Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy moved all the way to Central Asia. It can be said that the safest place in Eurasia now is Central Asia. It is a republic of the Soviet Union, and the surrounding countries
They are all allies, and the international security situation is excellent.
Therefore, quite a few high-level Soviet schools have relocated to Central Asia, Siberia and the Urals to continue and accelerate the training of military talents to support the war.
Kalashnikov proudly revealed that in the spring of 1943, he would be sent to study at the Dzerzhinsky Artillery Academy, currently located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
"It will take until next spring for my body to fully recover. Hopefully, I will learn more knowledge there."
Yang Mingzhi nodded: "Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are not too far from Novosibirsk."
"Ah?" This statement shocked Kalashnikov, "That's 1,700 kilometers!"
"Is it this far?"
Yang Mingzhi banged his head hard: "It seems that I underestimated the size of the Soviet Union."
At this time, Fedorov stood up and said proudly: "Comrade Kalashnikov has extraordinary talents, but he still needs more knowledge. I think he will learn a lot by taking advantage of this opportunity today."
"
"Of course, I am also willing to teach him more skills."
A thought passed quickly, and Yang Mingzhi suddenly had a bold idea.
He held his shaved chin, looked at Kalashnikov himself, and suddenly asked: "After you finish your business in Moscow, will you return to Kazakhstan as soon as possible?"
"Of course. Unless I have other tasks, I don't have any at the moment."
"Oh? So you are on a business trip?"
"Yes."
Yang Mingzhi never expected that Kalashnikov had his own job. What is very interesting is that he continued to work at the tractor factory where he had worked when he was eighteen years old. Without incident, he ate rations every day.
When I came to Moscow for the first time, the factory decided that this was a very critical business trip.
For that tractor factory, Kalashnikov, who returned from injury, was a well-known hero. The hero was not complacent at all, but wanted to make greater contributions to the country. How could this ambition not be supported by all parties?
After completing his mission, Kalashnikov could not stay in Moscow for a long time. He had limited time and limited funds in his pocket.
"Alas! What a pity." After hearing the other party's explanation, Yang Mingzhi deliberately looked embarrassed.
"Comrade General...you..."
Then, Yang Mingzhi grimaced: "Don't you think that in the next six months, you will focus solely on building tractors, even tank chassis, and only develop new guns in your spare time? Isn't this a huge betrayal of your talent?"
"This..." Kalashnikov was speechless, "I really want to go to the Artillery Academy, but..."
"Now, you have a big opportunity in front of you." As he said that, Yang Mingzhi took a step forward and looked directly at the young man.
"Opportunity? What opportunity?"
"Go to Novosibirsk, to the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, to my weapons design bureau in Pripyat."
"Ah?! This..." For a moment, Kalashnikov was at a loss.
Regarding Yang Mingzhi, he did not believe that the young Kaspersky would instantly accept the invitation he threw out, so he continued: "Do you know my design bureau? Do you know our major achievements?"
"Well, I know something about it. They are probably some rocket launchers and rocket-propelled grenades. They... were all developed by you, Comrade Lieutenant General."
"Yes, this is only part of it. Now, I will focus my research and development on new automatic rifles, and I need a large number of skilled researchers. Since you have no major tasks in the next six months, please come to my research institute. You see
how?"
"This..." At this moment, Kalashnikov's heart was already pounding.
The biggest mission of his trip to Moscow was to visit the shooting range experiment of Comrade Berekov's new gun, accompanied by his teacher Fedorov.
In fact, Kalashnikov got off the train late last night and stayed overnight at Fedorov's villa. When he learned that Stalin would personally participate in this shooting range experiment, he was so excited that he almost lost sleep.
A weapons experiment actually alarmed Stalin himself. Who caused this result? It was the equally young Berekov in front of him!
Yang Mingzhi didn't understand Ka's uneasiness, and thought that the other person's frown was a sign of hesitation.
"Well, I don't need your immediate reply. After today's shooting range experiment is over and you have seen the excellent performance of the firearms I developed, it will not be too late to make plans."