A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

"Hey! After saying so much, how about we..."

When Lao Wang saw that his old leader had difficulty walking and had come to him personally, he quickly tried to lead him into the dormitory to sit down.

But as soon as he turned around, he heard Jiang Xia's even and deep snoring coming from inside the room. He froze on the spot, scratched his head, and looked troubled.

He was a little reluctant to wake up the exhausted kid...

Letting the old platoon leader just stand there? That's even more outrageous.

Fortunately, Liu Huaqing saw through his embarrassment, nudged him with his cane, and moved to the stone bench under the old locust tree at the dormitory entrance: "Alright, stop fussing. Let that kid sleep, we'll talk here. Let's put that weird little boat thing aside for now, no rush. I came here today mainly to talk to you about... 021!"

Old Wang was taken aback by Liu Huaqing's seemingly random "021" and quickly followed, his face full of confusion: "Old Platoon Leader, what's 021? A new code? Or some new mission?"

Seeing his bewildered expression, Liu Huaqing couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head: "What are you thinking? It's a ship, our navy's new ship—the Type 021 missile boat."

"Missile boats?!" Old Wang's eyes widened instantly, his voice involuntarily rising before he quickly lowered it, leaning forward and asking urgently, "Our missile boats? Old platoon leader, you mean... you've really mastered the blueprints for the 'Mosquito' missile we got back from 'Big Brother'? And you've got them up and running so quickly?!"

A fleeting image flashed through his mind of a few years ago, during a secret escort mission, of several sleek little boats moored in a port of a friendly country.

The leader in charge at the time told them in a low voice that it was the Alliance's latest "Mosquito"-class missile boat, a "sea assassin," a technology that our country had always dreamed of...

"Yes! The lead ship has been launched!"

"Hey! It has to be one of our men! Old platoon leader, isn't this that big project you took charge of after you were transferred to headquarters? This is a major achievement!"

Old Wang's beaming expression still brought a smile to Liu Huaqing's face.

In particular, the research institute he mentioned, at this time, Comrade Hua Qing was concurrently serving as the director of the Seventh Naval Research Institute. This Type 021 missile boat was the first project of the research institute. It was through this project that the fourth phase of the research institute initially established a ship research and design system.

The successful manufacture is indeed a great achievement and a source of pride for the shipbuilders of the Republic. As early as 1959, in accordance with relevant technical agreements, the blueprints and data for the Soyuz Type 6621 (i.e., the Type 205 "Osa" class) missile boat were delivered to our side.

Faced with this world-leading high-speed missile boat at the time, China concentrated its strongest technical forces, with the Hudong Shipyard responsible for the first construction. Technical personnel overcame numerous difficulties, including incomplete data and unfamiliar processes, and successfully launched the first vessel in 1963, achieving a breakthrough from scratch. It was designated Type 021.

It's worth noting that this vessel, which is only about 27 meters long, has a full-load displacement of about 80 tons, is powered by three M50 high-speed diesel engines, and is designed to have a maximum speed of over 40 knots.

It was thanks to this speedboat that, in an era when the Chinese Navy was severely lacking in large main combat vessels, our predecessors, with their tactical thinking of "small size, high speed, surprise attack, and wolf pack tactics," and relying on the deterrent power of anti-ship missiles, became a "maritime suicide squad" for defense and attack in near-shore waters.

……

Hearing Lao Wang's praise, Liu Huaqing's smile slowly faded.

He stroked his cane and sighed, "The credit belongs to all the technicians and workers. Being able to go underwater is indeed a breakthrough, going from nothing to something, it's remarkable. But, Xiao Wang..."

"To be honest with you, this 'sharp knife' is still... not enough to cut anyone, and it's even a bit difficult to swing."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Old Wang was stunned.

"Going into the water is only the first step." Liu Huaqing sighed, unconsciously tracing lines on the ground with the tip of his cane.

"The road from 'being able to launch' to 'being able to fight' is much longer and more difficult than we initially imagined. You're one of us, so I'll tell you the truth—this submarine is now in the water, but it's far from being truly combat-ready. There are a lot of problems, some of which... are even bottlenecks."

The joy on Old Wang's face froze: "A bottleneck? It means... the missiles haven't been deployed yet?"

"Hey! Has Factory 331 gotten itself into a frenzy?!" Old Wang suddenly got a little angry, his voice rising involuntarily before he quickly lowered it again, his face full of incomprehension and resentment.

"When I was helping that kid sort through his manuscripts that he had scattered everywhere a couple of months ago, I clearly saw the 'Hailuzi No. 2' test summary report officially submitted by Factory 331! The data and parameters were so exciting that even a rough guy like me was thrilled!"

This thing… isn’t it a sharp blade tailor-made for our navy? They’ve already developed it, how dare they not let us use it first?!

Yes, Old Wang followed Jiang Xia, ostensibly as a bodyguard, but in reality, Jiang Xia often conscripted him to help sort out those perpetually unresolved blueprints, drafts, and various meeting minutes.

Through constant exposure, he became more knowledgeable about the progress of some top-tier projects than many advisors in specialized departments.

Old Wang's loyalty to the Navy is beyond question. Because he can't forget his comrades who lie buried in Gold Gate.

Perhaps it was because of this crushing defeat that the Navy has never been able to stand up straight.

Although the Southeast Navy, which had little presence in the early stages of the campaign, was only responsible for providing ships and crew, if they had some equipment that could provide support...

Eh!

"No! Don't get excited and start acting recklessly!" Liu Huaqing shook his head, his expression becoming even more complicated, a mixture of pride and helplessness.

"Missiles... are probably the part we don't need to worry about too much right now. That 'Sea Drop No. 2' is indeed impressive; I've heard it uses many novel ideas that we wouldn't even dare to imagine. It's a top-notch card in our hands. But the problem is..."

Liu Huaqing paused, then slammed his cane heavily on the ground, as if trying to smash that sense of powerlessness into the earth: "A good horse without a good saddle, a sharp knife without a whetstone!"

The missiles are sharp, but the search and tracking radar on our submarine is basically just a patchwork of the 'Wasp' blueprints, it's not up to par!

That command system, called "Fangjie," worked fine in the land-based test shed, but once it was installed on a ship and set sail, a mere level three wave would cause the target echoes on the radar screen to become a jagged mess! With your eyes blurry and your arms swaying, no matter how sharp your "sharp knife" is, what can you actually hit?

Liu Huaqing sighed again, with the unique frustration of someone "born as a stepmother": "Yes, I heard that when Comrade Jiang Xia and his team were working on missiles, they also paved the way for the even more powerful pulse-Doppler radar technology. It seems they even tested it on the 'Airborne Early Warning and Control System-1' for the Air Force, and everyone said it was very effective."

But that good stuff… right now, I hear it's mainly being used by the Air Force first, and then further developed. Our Navy…”

Liu Huaqing shook his head and didn't continue, but Old Wang instantly understood the meaning behind his unfinished words.

That's right, the navy is like an unwanted stepchild now...

To put it bluntly, it's because we're poor!

For us, with limited national strength and all industries waiting to be developed, the limited cutting-edge technological achievements will inevitably be prioritized for areas that are considered to be able to form strategic deterrence the fastest or face the most direct threats.

In most people's subconscious, the navy, especially the surface fleet, is still a "future branch of the military" that requires patience and waiting.

Many years ago, a naval commander looked at his rusty old ship, tears streaming down his face, and lamented, "Our China has such a vast sea area, yet we don't have any decent warships to protect it. As the naval commander, I truly feel ashamed before my countrymen..."

And our very own director of the Strategic Deception Bureau, when talking about this period of history, suddenly burst into tears on the spot...

Following Jiang Xia around, Lao Wang had heard the kid complain a lot about the "information silos" and "internal friction" between departments, but only now did he truly feel how concrete and helpless this kind of gap was when it fell on the front-line troops.

"Old platoon leader, do you mean to send your son to your place to help take a look?"

Old Wang started plotting how to trick the simpleton into visiting the old platoon leader's research institute.

Or tell him that the research institute offers dried deep-sea fish.