Chapter 575 Going back on one's word
Chapter 575 Going back on one's word
February 2, Jiuquan Base.
Tan Yaoxun came to Shao Quanzhong anxiously and said, "Marshal, it's a bit hasty to carry out a manned launch now."
"In the past few years, we have conducted seven spacecraft test launches. Two launches failed, one spacecraft remained in orbit around the earth and did not return, and one spacecraft burned up when returning to the earth, killing several stray dogs."
"Only the last two test launches were successful. The two-in-seven chance of risking one's life was too dangerous. We should have tried a few more times and only sent someone into space after everything was safe."
Shao Quanzhong looked at Tan Yaoxun seriously, "We succeeded the last two times, didn't we? For the sake of national interests, this risk is worth taking."
"If successful, it will make the opponent despair. Even if the astronauts really die, as long as we publicly verify that we have this technology, it will still have a great effect."
"If the two giants really fight each other in hand-to-hand combat, even if we win, I'm afraid we will lose millions of young men. I can't bear to do that unless it's absolutely necessary."
Six handsome officers stood side by side in front of Shao Quanzhong, all wearing captain's shoulder straps. They were all astronauts selected in recent years.
They were selected from more than 3400 pilots under the age of 35. They are in good health, optimistic and courageous. Each of them has passed 4 to 5 weightlessness trainings, more than 40 parachute trainings, and 95 centrifuge experiments...
Shao Quanzhong smiled and nodded to everyone, then turned back and whispered, "They are all good guys, you can choose any one of them. I only have one request, the first one to go to heaven must be a pure descendant of Yan and Huang."
Well, this eliminates one person, but of course he will still have chances in the future.
In the end, the remaining five candidates were selected by measuring their pulse. Most of the candidates could not hold back their excitement, but Captain Huang Zulian's pulse remained stable at 64 beats per minute, and he was selected with good psychological quality.
Outside the launch site, there were many reporters, cameras were ready, and the rocket had already started the 20-minute countdown.
The technician in charge of designing the spacecraft helped Huang Zulian put on a 90-kilogram space suit, helped him lie down in the spacecraft cockpit, closed the hatch and locked it.
Suddenly, Tan Yaoxun's voice came from the intercom, "Is the hatch closed? Is it misaligned?"
The technicians tested it repeatedly and said, "No problem."
Tan Yaoxun replied, "It's not normal. The airtightness sensor is not responding. Is there still time to dismantle and reinstall the hatch?"
Tan Yaoxun was mainly responsible for designing the rocket, but the space capsule was actually designed by people from other technical teams.
"We've got time, but please inform Captain Huang on the radio."
The engineers urgently unscrewed 32 nuts, checked them carefully and then re-tightened them. They saw Captain Huang smiling and waving at them, and whistling a tune that sounded like "Two Tigers".
Everything seemed normal here. In the main control room two kilometers away, Tan Yaoxun made up his mind and ordered the launch.
As the whole world watched, the rocket took off into the sky. The engineer in charge of the repair came over and said, "Report, the indicator light of our airtight sensor is broken."
Tan Yaoxun's back was covered in cold sweat. Anything could have happened. Fortunately, it was not a problem with the spacecraft. He was not superstitious at all, so he folded his hands and began to pray.
The Dongfang 1 spacecraft was safely launched into space. During the waiting period, Shao Quanzhong announced publicly that Captain Huang in the space was promoted to major.
Shao Quanzhong was showing off in the front, not knowing that in the main control room behind, Tan Yaoxun was trembling with fear.
Radar showed that the rocket had put the spacecraft into an orbit with an apogee 100 kilometers higher than the predicted value.
There are many reasons for this, such as insufficient machining accuracy of the spacecraft and rocket separation device, insufficient accuracy of the rocket controller, etc. The errors accumulate and when faced with the first cosmic speed, a small error can lead to a huge difference.
Originally, the spacecraft had a braking device that could compensate for this error, but at the critical moment, one of the parts broke - the brakes failed.
Rockets and spacecraft have hundreds of thousands of parts in total. If any of these parts fails, an accident will occur.
Manned space flight is a task that tests the strength of hard industry and organization, and it cannot be accomplished without a great country. Even with the full strength of Daxia, it is actually very difficult to achieve it with the current foundation.
There were many small mistakes in this public launch, but we are thankful that no big mistakes were made.
Fortunately, the spacecraft orbits the earth in a range, not a point, so it can still orbit the earth at a high altitude.
The spacecraft circled the earth in the sky, traveling 108 kilometers. After minutes, the Vostok spacecraft crashed into the earth.
Ahem, it's smashing. A spacecraft is not a space shuttle, it can't fly or land by itself, it can only "splash down".
The astronauts could not withstand the impact, so when they were 4 kilometers away from the ground, the hatch opened and the newly promoted Major Huang parachuted out - the first manned space flight, and it was extremely simple.
When Huang Zulian landed, he felt like he was in a dream. After cutting off his parachute, he looked around in his orange space suit and found that this was not the grassland he had planned, but a small piece of cultivated land.
A woman and a little girl leading a calf were working in the fields, staring blankly at the man who fell from the sky.
Daxia didn't have paratroopers, but instead had an air assault brigade composed of helicopters, so the common people were full of mystery about this guy who came down from the sky alone, "You came from the sky?"
Major Huang was in a very good mood, "Yes, I came from heaven."
Then he staggered out his shortwave walkie-talkie and called headquarters.
The location where he landed was 400 kilometers away. When he heard Major Huang's voice, Tan Yaoxun collapsed in his chair and was finally relieved.
Tan Yaoxun will no longer be needed for subsequent operations, and he will have to be an unsung hero for a long time.
Glory goes to Huang Zulian, who was cheered by audiences all over the world when he returned to the base in the helicopter that came to pick him up.
His schedule was already full, and he was going to visit all parts of the world to publicize Daxia's leading aerospace industry. In another time and space, Huang Zulian was killed in the battle against the Japanese pirates and became a martyr. Here, he became a world-renowned star, and the world was completely different.
Live broadcast of the success of manned space flight, no one knows the bumps and bruises behind it, only the infinite scenery of Daxia.
An hour later, Hailing TV released video footage and high-definition photos of the Earth taken on the spacecraft. This was the first time that humans saw their home from the perspective of the universe, verifying that Huang Zulian had indeed made a space trip.
In fact, photos and videos were also taken during the two previous successful unmanned flights, but releasing them at this time has a very different meaning.
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"The country led by Marshal Shao has never launched any war of aggression. Daxia's strength is achieved through the hard work of 400 million Daxia people, Marshal Shao's heavy investment in science and technology, and his respect for scientists."
"On the contrary, look at Cleveland, who threatened to annex his neighbors to the north and south, to annex that big island full of ice and snow, and to annex that innocent country where a large amount of iron ore had been newly discovered. Isn't this more like a Waldersee-like character?"
"There is a saying in the East that a country, no matter how big it is, will perish if it loves war. Cleveland wants to rely on his soldiers to bully people everywhere, and he wants to use force against King Wing without reason. This will lead the Federation into the abyss just like Waldersee."
"I urge everyone to be alert and not follow him. Learn from Shao Dashuai and his Daxia, work hard to make money, let more scientists play their abilities, and let hardworking people become middle class. This will live up to Garfield's expectations."
"Joining the new order presided over by Marshal Shao is our only way out."
This is Mark Twain's remote speech, which was played over and over again to the people of the Union.
In the country villa, Cleveland had just finished watching the live broadcast of Daxia's manned space flight, and the photo of his own palace turned into ruins was still on the table.
Francis was massaging his back and he was trembling all over. Da Xia's technology was overwhelming his own and it was not safe here either. Was he going to give in to Da Xia?
"Report, your phone."
After answering the phone call, Cleveland gritted his teeth and delivered a new recorded speech, claiming that "we must make a decision based on our own conscience and resolutely not surrender to hegemony."
After the recording was sent for publication, Cleveland moved to a more secret place to hide.
Cleveland's statement had some supporters and some opponents, but factory owners in most eastern cities were cursing.
The workers have all fled to the countryside, the factories have all stopped operating, and we still have to pay for our loans and raw material payments.
At this time, angel-like bankers appeared and gave them sufficient loans.
Although the interest rate is a bit high, it doesn’t matter if you can’t pay it back. You can use the factory shares as collateral. As for the price, it can’t be too high, right?
Two months later, the Eight-Nation Joint Force arrived in the Caribbean and announced a "peacekeeping" mission.
At this time, everyone was shocked to find that Shao and Cleveland had not declared war on each other yet, and they were here to "maintain the peace."
Yes, if you think about it carefully, the two warships were "bombed by mistake". General Luke asked the other side to attack him, and they verified that he was not exaggerating. Although the bombing site was very sensitive, only Luke died, right?
Cleveland, who had been in hiding, suddenly emerged and announced that he would "follow public opinion" and accept the mediation of the Eight-Nation Alliance.
Sign a treaty of friendship with King Yi and return Guantanamo Bay to the British. Give up the trusteeship of Puerto Rico and return it to Marshal Shao.
There was only one request from Daxia that was not met, that of Daxia stationing troops. However, it was not finalized, and the solution would be negotiated with Daxia within four months.
Cleveland's whirlwind diplomacy made a 180-degree turn in just half a month, and the situation eased immediately.
Workers returned home and factories resumed operations.
The angel from the bank found the factory owner again and asked, "Do you want to redeem the factory shares you mortgaged to us? I can give you more loans."
After all this, the factory is still there, it just stopped production for a period of time, but the factory owners all have to bear the loan.
The Federation returned to the rhythm familiar to the vampires, and their wealth expanded rapidly after a decade of pause. As for the damage caused to the Federation by Cleveland's policies that fluctuated between left and right, that was not something they had to consider.
Marshal Shao's mediation was successful, King Yi was safe, and the mediated countries returned to their respective homes.
Daxia's two aircraft carrier formations, one stationed in Guantanamo and the other in Puerto Rico, monitor the Caribbean Sea.
Wu Ziyi stayed in the Federation and negotiated with Cleveland about Daxia stationing troops on the East Coast to prevent Cleveland from proposing to annex other countries again.
Cleveland kept delaying, and four months later, the new palace was completed after half a year of construction.
Due to the rush to build the new palace, it is relatively simple. The only bright spot is the construction of a solid underground fortress hidden dozens of meters underground.
Cleveland met Wu Ziyi in his office 20 meters underground with a sneer on his face.
"Mr. Foreign Minister, please tell Marshal Shao that I think Daxia is going too far and I absolutely do not agree to Daxia stationing troops there. At the same time, our troops will try to recover our interests in the Caribbean."
"If Marshal Shao thinks I'm too arrogant, then go ahead and fight me. If you want to start a war, I'll continue. If you're not afraid of arousing the anger of the people of the Federation, go ahead and throw missiles at my head. Now I'm not afraid anymore, I'll just sit here and wait, hahahaha!"
The talks between Cleveland and Wu Ziyi broke down and the news spread quickly.
Cleveland issued orders from the safety of his underground headquarters, and federal troops began to gather in large numbers.
Cleveland's inconsistency is said to have angered Marshal Shao, who jumped up and down and cursed, and Daxia also began to mobilize for war.
(End of this chapter)