Before reading this article, please click "Follow", which is convenient for you to discuss and share, and brings you a different sense of participation, thank you for your support.
In October 1955, just after the National Day, the land of China was still filled with joy and excitement. At this time, an even more exciting news reached the ears of the Party Central Committee and the people of the whole country.
After many hardships, under the direct interrogation of Premier Zhou, Qian Xuesen, an engineering physicist who had been stranded in the United States for many years, finally returned to the motherland in exchange for 11 American pilots and prisoners of war.
At that time, Qian Xuesen arrived at Heilongjiang, and Zhu Zhaoxiang greeted Qian Xuesen and arranged the next visit plan. When Qian Xuesen mentioned the names of the two people and wanted to meet them, he stumped Zhu Zhaoxiang on the spot.
What is the origin of these two people that Qian Xuesen cares about? Why couldn't his request for a meeting be met?
The origin of the Kazakh military industry
The names of these two are Luo Shijun and Zhuang Fenggan, and they were Qian Xuesen's friends in academia in his early years. Logically, Qian Xuesen's return across the ocean to support national construction should not be an obstacle to his simple request to meet friends.
But not only did Zhu Zhaoxiang, who received Qian Xuesen, dare not take his own ideas, but even the United Front Work Minister at the time, who received the news, finally replied to this: "It is difficult for us to meet this request, and these two friends of Qian Xuesen are now people from the Kazakh military industry."
What is the origin of the Kazakh military industry? Could it be that just a university gate could stop the steps of the United Front Work Minister and Qian Xuesen? The answer is yes. Because the supporters behind this military university are General Chen Geng, Premier Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao Zedong.
It was in 1952, before the flames of war on the Korean battlefield were extinguished, and a central order directly summoned Chen Geng, the acting commander of the Korean battlefield at that time.
What awaited Chen Geng was that the central authorities decided to let him single-handedly establish the first military academy on the mainland.
Although Chen Geng was the principal during the Red Army period, he was still stunned to let him do this, so he wanted to shirk it at first.
But the president, the prime minister, promised full support for his work and Soviet assistance, and he finally agreed.
This is the origin of the Kazakh military industry, although Chen Geng was quite reluctant before he did not agree, but when he officially took office, it was indeed resolute.
After the school address was chosen in Harbin, Gao Gang did not cooperate with his work, and he directly ran to Zhongnanhai to sue Gao Gang.
The school was short of funds and equipment for construction, and he personally went to run Chairman Mao's relations to "complain" to the leaders. With his efforts, soon the construction of Kazakhstan's military industry was included in the key projects of the first "Five-Year Plan", and the state and government gave a high degree of policy support.
Moreover, due to Chen Geng's special care and the great attention of the chairman and premier to this matter, the Kazakh military industry project is also a rare project that can directly "reach the heavens and listen".
Just as Chairman Mao personally revised and approved the "Precepts" for the establishment of the Kazakh military industry, and established the purpose and target direction of the Kazakh military industry.
In addition to local resistance and problems other than funds and equipment, the biggest problem of the Kazakh military industry at that time was the lack of scientific and technological talents.
Chen Geng also asked Premier Zhou for a special order to call scientific research talents nationwide, and Qian Xuesen's two friends entered the Kazakh military industry under such circumstances.
But the reason why Qian Xuesen couldn't see the two friends directly was not because of Chen Geng's obstruction. It was because in the international environment at that time, in order to prevent the prying eyes of US imperialism, the construction and research work of the Kazakh military industry adopted the principle of secrecy.
Because the Kazakh military industry at that time not only brought together the most cutting-edge military science and technology research on the mainland, but also had expert advisers sent by the Soviet Union to serve in it. Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is difficult to enter the Kazakh military industry without the approval of the provincial and ministerial levels.
The enthusiasm of General Chen Geng
But in fact, since Chen Geng took charge of the Kazakh military industry, his attention to Qian Xuesen, a military front-end talent, can be described as close.
As early as before Qian Xuesen returned to China, he reported to Peng Dehuai, hoping that Qian Xuesen could visit the Kazakh military industry to guide the research work after returning to China.
So when the college's phone called Chen Geng and asked whether Qian Xuesen was allowed to visit the school, Chen Geng immediately agreed. Chen Geng was in Beijing at the time, and he immediately couldn't sit still and flew back to Harbin.
Therefore, when Qian Xuesen, accompanied by Zhu Zhaoxiang and others, stopped in front of the door of the Kazakh military industry "king" shaped building.
Out of it came a group of officers, the leader wearing glasses, with a witty smile, but it was difficult to hide his sharpness, he stretched out his hand to Qian Xuesen and said: "Welcome welcome, I am Chen Geng."
This surprised and moved Qian Xuesen, because he knew that Chen Geng had been dealing with affairs in Beijing before. Now Gan Gan braved the cold and suddenly "fell from the sky" across thousands of miles to appear in front of him, which undoubtedly shows great respect and importance for himself.
After the guest and host sat down, Chen Geng said very humorously:
"This Kazakh military industry has always said that it must be kept secret, but everyone knows that we still regard the rags of the Yankees as treasures." Concealment is nothing more than not wanting the Americans to know the specific level of our development, which is a secret for the Americans, and of course it is not necessary for Mr. Qian."
Although these words were generous and had the unique humor of Chen Geng's character in them, the reaction was more of the mainland's backwardness and self-deprecation in the field of military research during that period.
Under the leadership of Chen Geng, Qian Xuesen visited the wind tunnel laboratory of the Mainland Air Force and the rocket ignition test of the artillery engineering department at that time.
He highly praised the Kazakh military industry for being able to take the first step with its own methods in more than a year.
At this time, Chen Geng remembered that in September 1954, he accompanied Peng Dehuai to the Soviet Union to visit the atomic bomb explosion and actual combat confrontation exercises.
He was hungry for the amazing combat power of atomic bombs and rockets, so he asked Qian Xuesen: "Mr. Qian, look, can we Chinese get a missile"?
Qian Xuesen's direct answer was three words: "Of course it can." He also added: "Chinese is not shorter than foreigners, they can do it, we can naturally do it."
These words simply made Chen Gengle blossom at that time. You must know that Mr. Peng has always let his Kazakh military industry research this technology.
At the reception banquet behind, Qian Xuesen also met his two old friends Luo Shijun and Zhuang Fenggan, and Chen Geng was chatting hotly. But the next day, Chen Geng did not accompany Qian Xuesen and returned to Beijing in a hurry.
He first went to see Mr. Peng, and the first voice he said when he entered the door was: "Commander Peng, the missile and rocket technology you entrusted me with research is eyebrows."
He then told Mr. Peng about Qian Xuesen's original words and Ren Xinmin's proposal on developing mainland rockets, and Mr. Peng couldn't sit still and said that he would "invite Qian Xuesen to the Ministry of Defense for an interview."
In the conversation between Qian Xuesen and Mr. Peng later, Chen Geng also refused to miss the side at all.
Qian Xuesen focused on analyzing the current difficulties in developing rockets on the mainland, and gave an in-depth explanation of the problem of self-control of rockets.
After mobilizing Mr. Peng's enthusiasm, Chen Geng again trumpeted the dialogue scene between Mr. Peng and Qian Xuesen again when he visited his teacher during the Whampoa period, Marshal Ye Jianying, the day before New Year's Day.
Ye Shuai also felt itchy in his heart, and directly asked Chen Geng to bring Qian Xuesen over for dinner on New Year's Day.
On the New Year's Day that night, Ye Jianying, Chen Geng, and Qian Xuesen did not talk about family reunion, and the topics were all rockets and missiles. Here, Qian Xuesen has begun to form his own series of detailed plans for the setup of the rocket department, budget, personnel, etc.
This made Chen Geng after the meal feel that China's own rocket industry could not be delayed, and directly pulled Qian Xuesen to find Premier Zhou to decide on this matter.
Premier Zhou was very happy and immediately gave Qian Xuesen the task of forming written materials on personnel transfer, capital budget, and institutional setup for discussion by the central authorities.
Qian Xuesen's enthusiasm for work was unprecedentedly high, and in just over a month, a "Opinion on the Establishment of the Mainland's National Defense and Aviation Industry," which condensed his painstaking efforts, was placed on the desk of Premier Zhou's office.
Since then, the mainland's rocket and missile research work has officially embarked on a journey.
Of course, from the advancement and development of the whole thing, it is not difficult to see Chen Geng's enthusiasm and efforts. Even in the process of Qian Xuesen later transferring scientific research talents from various places to form the Aviation Industry Committee, Chen Geng's Kazakh military industry also contributed a lot of talent transfer.
In Chen Geng's own words: "When the Kazakh military industry was established five years ago, various departments across the country gave great support. Now that the Fifth Academy (Missile Research Institute) has been established, it is time for Kazakhstan's military industry to return to the country."
And as early as after Chen Geng met with Qian Xuesen in 1955, he set up a missile major within the Kazakh military industry with the support of Marshal Nie Rongzhen.
The Five Academies headed by Qian Xuesen were formally established, and the first batch of cadets of the Kazakh military industry were about to graduate, directly sending more than 100 people to the research work of the Five Academies.
Even though the time came to 1958, Chen Geng, who was bedridden at the time, was still concerned about the research work of the two bombs on the mainland.
The central authorities' decision to give atomic bombs and missile test ranges was implemented, and at the same time, Tang Kai, Zhang Yunyu, and others were recommended to the central authorities, effectively advancing the preliminary work of the two bombs.
According to statistics, in the development of "two bombs and one satellite" and in the field of aerospace technology alone, dozens of top technical talents in the field such as Ren Xinmin, the "father of the two bombs", Zhong Shan, an academician of Chinese engineering, and Fang Guolong, the power analysis designer of the Shenzhou spacecraft, have emerged in the Kazakh military industry.
So, today we have become one of the world's leading space powerhouses and nuclear-armed Powers. We should not forget Senior General Chen Geng, Academician Qian Xuesen and all the staff of that era.
It is precisely because of their tireless efforts day and night, their tenacity to take root in the desert and fight the Gobi, that China has today's international status.
This article is original by "History Has Words", has opened the whole network to protect rights, unauthorized reproduction shall not be prohibited, infringement must be investigated.
Finally, due to the rules of the platform, you will only be recognized as an iron fan if you have more interaction with me. If you like my article, you can click "Follow", and you can receive the article push as soon as you become an iron fan.