In 1993, the military had a 3 billion yuan funding gap.
The leader circled a name, but approved neither money nor personnel.
Jiang Chen's plan was to sell lottery tickets.
Three months later, lottery sales topped 3 billion. He didn't take a cent in bonuses, heading straight to the firing range instead.
A colleague laughed at him. "Just change a rifle's stock. You think you can redesign a tank?"
He didn't argue. He went straight to the blackboard and drew seventeen ways to modify the engine's parameters.
The master, Old Li, slapped the table, then studied the board for three hours.
Later, during high-altitude testing, the Type 88 climbed to 4,000 meters without its fire-control system going dark. His superiors asked what he wanted to do next.
"Sink an aircraft carrier," he said.
The roomful of experts shook their heads. In 1993, an aircraft carrier was a moving firing range, not a target.
He didn't request missiles. He requested rocket artillery.
Two months and seven days later, the Mengshi 3D prototype rolled off the production line. It had a range of 500 kilometers and a speed of Mach 5.8.
On the day of the strait test, all eight rockets fired at once, sinking the target ship 460 kilometers away.
Three days later, the Yanks announced they were canceling their freedom of navigation operations.
A prince flew in to ask whether the artillery could be sold.
Jiang Chen said yes: six million dollars per launcher, two hundred in all.
The prince then asked if they had anything with greater range.
"We do," Jiang Chen replied. "A range of 300 kilometers, with an error of 1,700 kilometers."
The prince wired a deposit of one billion dollars.
Old Li, who had slapped the table all those years ago, now tells everyone he meets:
"That kid's hand was shaking as he drew those parameters. I could tell."
Three million, how to write it? Do you believe it
Even though I'm clueless, I enjoyed watching it.
Come on come on come on come on