Chapter 47: A Great Joy for the Navy

The Vice President, who had been silently waiting for the results, exclaimed with excitement, "President, we succeeded!"

"Yes, we have finally succeeded!"

Lü Guangjun was equally overcome with emotion.

The secondary modification of the 051B was a success; their combat capability had officially stepped into the era of modernization!

This meant that China's navy now possessed the capability to independently produce modern warships! Although they had only just crossed the threshold of modernization, that threshold was precisely where the difficulty lay!

Now that the threshold had been crossed, the navy's warships were about to undergo a massive transformation.

The metamorphosis into a modern fleet was not far off!

"The second shot in the counterattack against Western technological blockades has been fired successfully at my 408 Research Institute!"

Lü Guangjun's emotions surged violently.

From now on, they would finally no longer have to spend money to purchase Slava-class warships from the Soviet Union.

Song Haidong murmured, "President Lü, was this truly our own independent research and development?"

"Captain Song, yes!" Lü Guangjun affirmed.

"Good, good, good."

Song Haidong's heart swelled with emotion, and a surge of intense bitterness seemed to be rushing out from within him.

As the captain of a ship, he had been on board his vessel when facing the American carrier strike group.

At that time, he had felt the profound gap between his own ship and the enemy's.

Facing the Western claims that "a single guided-missile destroyer can take on several of our navy's destroyers without taking damage," Song Haidong had felt bitter yet helpless.

One must understand that at that time, the navy only had a few guided-missile destroyers, and even combined, they couldn't damage a single enemy destroyer. The gap was simply too large.

They hadn't believed it before, but when the 956E arrived, they believed it; the others were telling the truth.

At this moment, the smile on Song Haidong's face was almost overflowing. While excited, his eyes also turned slightly red.

For those three years, the navy had practically felt as if it had vanished; the outside world saw no movement, and everyone was just suppressing their frustration.

Now, things were different. Their own country could finally build its own modern warships.

The era of mounting land artillery on ships was completely in the past.

All the grievances vanished in an instant.

It was too early to hold their heads high with pride, but they could finally stand tall!

"The secondary modification of the 051B is a success. Once it is confirmed by the leadership, it will be called the 051C from now on!" Lü Guangjun continued. "However, compared to the 956E, there is still a significant gap. We still have a long way to go."

"I am already very satisfied. After all, this is our own independently developed modern warship. As the old saying goes, 'It's better to have it yourself than to rely on others'!" Song Haidong was in high spirits.

Originally, he and a group of naval officers and soldiers commanded the 051B.

Now, the 051B had suddenly transformed into the modern 051C, and he would become its first captain. More importantly, the 051C was independently developed, which held immense significance for the naval soldiers.

What a tremendous honor that was.

Just thinking about it made him so happy he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

"Although the 956E entered service in '81, our technological gap with the Soviet Union exceeds 20 years!"

Changing the subject, Lü Guangjun spoke with full confidence.

"The most critical hurdle has been cleared. I believe we will gradually catch up!"

Having been stuck at the threshold of modernization for so many years, the various bitternesses were too much to share with outsiders, but now that they had finally crossed it, everything was worth it.

Thinking of what Su Dingping, Sun Yongguo, and the others were doing, Lü Guangjun felt even more confident.

Though Song Haidong didn't know where Lü Guangjun derived such immense confidence, he was willing to believe him.

"President Lü, when can the 051B be mass-produced?"

"That will depend on the attitude of the leadership. As you know, this year's military budget hasn't been finalized yet. If things move quickly, we can set up the full production lines for the warships and missiles within two months."

Song Haidong muttered to himself, "This is, after all, our first independently developed modern warship. The leadership will surely make it a priority!"

At this moment, he could already imagine the sight of his navy cruising the seas with a brand-new fleet of 051Cs.

When that time came, if those surrounding jackals wanted to come and test them, Song Haidong felt he could at least break a few of their legs.

"Captain Song, prepare to head back. I also need to organize the materials to report to the leadership," Lü Guangjun instructed. "By the way, Captain Song, this matter must be kept confidential."

"Don't worry, I know the rules!" Song Haidong said with a smile.

Subsequently, the 051B sped toward the port.

Lü Guangjun and the two Vice Presidents walked onto the deck, looking out at the boundless ocean with profound emotion.

"If it weren't for that period of studying with Comrade Su Dingping last time, we would still be staring blankly right now," one of the Vice Presidents remarked.

"Indeed. I wonder how things are going with Comrade Su Dingping and Comrade Sun Yongguo."

"Half a month has passed; their progress must be even greater than ours!"

Nodding, Lü Guangjun said, "Once the researchers involved in the 051B's secondary modification have fully mastered the relevant technologies, we must find time to visit them again. We need to learn more and strive to carry out a third modification of the 051B as soon as possible."

"The gap between the current 051B and the 956E is still not small. We must hurry."

...

Beijing, the internal airport of the Naval Military Region.

A group of people had long been waiting at the airport.

Suddenly, a loud roar came from the distance as an attack helicopter flew in rapidly.

After the helicopter landed, the reception personnel rushed forward.

"Greetings, Chief."

Xu Dongguo nodded to the group and strode toward the briefing hall with his guards.

Halfway there, another guard hurried up to him.

"Chief, President Lü has sent an urgent encrypted telegram."

Lü Guangjun?

Xu Dongguo paused.

The day before yesterday, he had said the secondary modification of the 051B was successful and they were preparing for assembly. Could it be...

Thinking of this, Xu Dongguo hurriedly took the telegram and began to read.

The telegram recorded all the test results of the 051B.

After reading the data, Xu Dongguo's mood improved significantly, and a smile couldn't help but appear on his face.

The relevant data exceeded his expectations.

This wasn't just a minor improvement; it was a massive upgrade.

Once the 051B was mass-produced and commissioned, it would greatly enhance the overall strength of the navy. Facing the Japanese "Eight-Eight Fleet," even if they met at sea without the support of the army, they would have the confidence to fight.

The guard asked softly, "Chief, what happened to make you so happy?"

"Good news—great news for our navy! Our navy is about to experience its greatest development in twenty years!"

Carefully putting away the telegram, Xu Dongguo remarked with emotion.

"Comrade Dingping's contribution is immense!"

Lü Guangjun and the others had only been studying with Su Dingping for half a month, yet they had achieved such great results. He was already looking forward to what kind of surprises Sun Yongguo and the others would bring him next.

By then, perhaps they could truly go toe-to-toe with the Eight-Eight Fleet.

Given enough time, in the future, the navy could face the Japanese Eight-Eight Fleet without fear! Even going toe-to-toe with the American fleet would not be impossible.

Xu Dongguo was very confident in this.

Time! Our navy needs more time to close the gap with the enemy!

Pulling his thoughts back, Xu Dongguo said, "Let's go. We shouldn't keep them waiting."

(End of Chapter)