However, driven by Ba Yuzao (in fact, Ba Yuzao was influenced by the drawings and materials given to him by Yang Shuoming, and was full of confidence), the designers of the "Xiangyu" company designed the aircraft with a more avant-garde attitude, hoping to finally win the favor of the Chinese side.

In the past, under the influence of Western aircraft design ideas, Chinese aviation designers had doubts about the benefits of using retractable landing gear for aircraft, and the popular view at that time was that the flight resistance reduced by using retractable landing gear would be offset by the increase in the weight of the mechanical device, and the early retractable landing gear was manually operated by the pilot, and the failure rate was also high, so the "Xiangyu" company decided to use a fixed landing gear with a fairing after a comprehensive analysis. Previously, the pilots of the Chinese Army Air Force, based on their previous combat experience, believed that the stress generated by the fighter during the vigorous maneuver would make the ordinary cantilever wing unbearable, so Ba Yuzao decided to add a kind of tension line similar to that used on the "Qingfeng 12" monoplane fighter outside the main wing.

According to the experience of fighter pilots who participated in World War I and combat against each other, the winner of air battles during this period was often the side that was able to spot the opponent first, and many Chinese pilots firmly believed that a good vision was an indispensable winning factor for a fighter. In addition, because the airborne radio station was not yet mature, and the pilots had to communicate with each other through visual signals, the enclosed cockpit would be difficult for the fighter pilots of the time to adapt to it (in the early days, the cockpit glass also produced optical distortion, etc.). In short, despite the creation of a new fighter with speeds of more than 200 miles per hour (about 322 kilometers), the designers of Ba Yuzao and the Xiangyu decided to stick with the classic open cockpit design.

The "Xiangyu" has made the greatest concessions to the conservative demands from all quarters, but the designed "Qianyi" monoplane still does not lose its avant-garde temperament, and looks more like a competition plane to participate in the Cleveland Air Festival than a fighter sold to the Chinese army and navy. Its sleek lines and short wings helped the Qianyi achieve astonishing speeds, but it also led to a deterioration in the aircraft's surname, which many Chinese War Department officials did not agree with. It took only three months for "Xiangyu" to manufacture three "Qianyi" prototypes, and in the following five months, test pilots flew the prototypes for many test flights, and the "Xiangyu" new fighter was finally put into mass production under the code name "Qingfeng-123." At the same time, the Chinese army aviation ordered 25 "Qingfeng-12" biplane fighters to cope with the possible risks of using only new monoplanes.

Like the previous prototype, the Qingfeng-121, the Qingfeng-123 uses a 600 horsepower (about 441 kilowatts) air-cooled engine. If you take out the data of the surnames of the two and compare them on paper, you will find that the top speed of the "Qingfeng-123" is 234 miles (about 377 kilometers), which is 20% faster than the "Qingfeng-121". The range of the Qingfeng-123 is 375 miles (about 604 kilometers), which is much higher than that of the Qingfeng-121. However, due to the congenital inheritance of the low wing load of the Qingfeng-121, its climb rate (2920 ft/min, about 890 m/min) is 24% higher than that of the Qingfeng-123, and the practical ceiling (31400 ft, about 9571 m) is also 4000 feet (about 1219 m) higher than that of the Qingfeng-123.

What really worries Chinese War officials is the Qingfeng-123's 82 miles per hour (132 kilometers) per hour landing speed (about 27 kilometers per hour higher than that of the Qingfeng-121), which is dangerous for the most skilled pilots, and the narrow landing gear spacing increases the chance of accidents when the plane lands. To this end, the Chinese War Department asked the "Xiangyu" company to add a flap landing device to the already produced "Qingfeng-123" (the "Qingfeng-123" thus became the first mass-produced aircraft with flaps equipped with the Chinese army aviation), which can reduce the landing speed of the aircraft to an acceptable 73 mph (about 117 km/h).

The new aircraft was also favored by the Navy, but the designers of the "Xiangyu" knew in their hearts that even with the use of the new flap system, the stall speed of the "Qingfeng-123" would not reach the standard for the "aircraft carrier" that was being carried out in secret, so the naval model of the "Qingfeng-123" was not developed at the same time, as usual (in this way, the carrier-based aircraft forces of the Chinese Navy did not receive the first monoplane fighters until 1927).

A flight accident with the prototype of the "Qingfeng-123" prompted the "Xiangyu" company to revise the design for the second time, and in this near-fatal flight accident, the plane fell forward on the ground and crushed the test pilot's neck. In the past, the upper wing part of the biplane could play a certain role in protecting the personnel on board when the aircraft carried out the action of "holding the big top". However, the "Qingfeng 123" has eliminated this life-saving function due to the lower wing layout, and Ba Yuzao has raised the pilot's headrest of the production "Qingfeng-123" by 8 inches, and installed a reinforced metal rod inside it. The introduction of the new headrest caused a "hump-like" bulge to appear on the back of the "Qingfeng-123", which became a distinctive feature of the aircraft in appearance.

The "Qingfeng-123" is equipped with two synchronous machine guns at the bottom of the cockpit, both of which are 7.62 mm caliber, and some are one 7.62 mm caliber machine gun with one 12.7 mm caliber machine gun. The aircraft can also carry aerial bombs of up to 200 pounds (about 90 kilograms) on fuselage pylons for ground attack missions.

Although the Qingfeng-123 is a world-class fighter, its appearance has not aroused enthusiastic responses around the world, and the unofficial nickname "Fat Bird" given to it by some foreign pilots who have flown it -- probably named for its wide wings and fat fuselage -- is obviously not a good idea. For many Chinese pilots, who are accustomed to flying responsive biplane fighters, the arrival of the "Qingfeng-123" made them feel a little difficult to adapt to in a short period of time.

After weighing and comparing, the Chinese Army Aviation finally decided to purchase 120 "Little Fat Birds", except for 3 prototypes, most of them are basic production "Qingfeng-123" (a total of 117), and there are also 15 "Qingfeng-123B" (unchanged called "Qingfeng-123A") that are scheduled to use improved air-cooled engines. The improved "Renhe 203" air-cooled engine adopts the fuel injection working mode, which can significantly improve the high-altitude surname energy of the carrier aircraft. However, at present, only 3 "Xiangyu" engines have been obtained, and the remaining 12 "Qingfeng-123" can only temporarily use the carburetor engine installed on the "Qingfeng-121", and these "hybrids" are called "Qingfeng-123C". It is expected that after the engine supply improves, these "Qingfeng-123C" will be upgraded to the standard "Qingfeng-123B".

Despite the success of the development of the monoplane fighter, Ba Yuzao was not satisfied, and his heart was still full of desire for more advanced aircraft.

Ba Yuzao opened the atlas in his hand, and he inadvertently flipped to the back of the atlas, and what was drawn there were some planes full of fantasy.

Some of these planes resemble bats in the night sky, some resemble winged cigar smoke, and amazingly, the tails of these planes are spewing long flames and flying in the sky like rockets!

Maybe one day, these planes will really become a reality?

The current bayuzao is not sure yet.

But he knew that Yang Shuoming's seemingly impossible whimsical ideas, whether in aircraft design or shipbuilding, had become a living reality.

"How dare he think about it." Ba Yuzao looked at the planes that Yang Shuoming painted for him, and muttered to himself, "If these planes are burning oil, how much oil do they need!" ”

Thinking of Yang Shuoming's trip to the Siberian occupation zone this time, with Ding Wenjiang and other famous geological experts with him, he vaguely felt something in his heart.

"Hope you're right." Ba Yuzao stared at the picture in his hand, "In that case, our China will be completely different from before." ”

The next morning, somewhere in Central Siberia.

"Dear Ding, we've drilled so deep, do we want to continue?" An American technician said to Ding Wenjiang, "Are you planning to let General Yang see the oil here appear in front of him before he leaves?" ”

"Yes, Mr. Frank, I hope to see a well spewing oil spewing out here before he leaves." Ding Wenjiang said in a resolute tone, "As long as there is no oil, we will drill down." ”

"But are you so sure that oil will be drilled here?" The American technician named Frank shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands a little helplessly, "You know, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment, my dear Ding, this is the first experience I have learned since entering this industry." You can desperately look for a place to drill wells, you can drill in a place where oil should theoretically be gushing out. But you can still fail. suffered heavy losses and ended up going bankrupt. This is the law of nature, and no one can resist it. ”

"I know." Ding Wenjiang smiled confidently, "I'm sure." ”

"I don't understand where your confidence comes from," Frank continued, "you know, China's oil industry is just beginning, and in terms of geological exploration technology, it can't be compared with the United States, but you firmly believe that there will be oil here, and your stubbornness now is repeating my bad luck back then." Although I don't want to see you repeat this bad luck. I've never believed in finding oil here, but as an employee of your company, I can only try to find the right place to drill in this uninhabited land, rather than just staring at one spot. ”

Ding Wenjiang looked at the Americans who were persuading him bitterly, and a smile appeared on his face again.

Of course, he could not tell the Americans the relevant materials and information that Yang Shuoming had given him, and if the Americans knew how many oil fields he had found in China with the guidance of this "epoch-making" information and his profound professional knowledge, they would definitely drop out their eyes in surprise.

So far, the location of the oil-producing area provided by Yang Shuoming has not been missed once.

"Listen to me, keep drilling." Ding Wenjiang said, "Don't worry, Mr. Frank, I know what I'm doing." ”

Frank glanced at the rig again, but there was still no movement on the rig, and Frank sighed, turned and strode towards the rig.

"Won't you come with me to see it?" The American said.

"Okay." Ding Wenjiang said, following him quickly.

At this time, on the drill tower, the workers are working on the machine, and several Americans are pointing and supervising their work, these Chinese workers have only been here for half a month, but now they have learned how to drill wells, how to drive the machines, how to lengthen the drill pipe that extends into the ground, how to deal with a large number of excavated soil clods and then extend the drill pipe down, how to change the drill bit, and how to press liquid mud into the drill hole. The stone chips float out when the drill bit is working continuously.

That is, they have learned how to dig holes, drill wells, find oil.

Just when Frank and Ding Wenjiang had just climbed onto the drill tower, the drill tower suddenly came out of the ground with a loud sound like thunder, and as soon as Frank heard this voice, he immediately yelled: "Extinguish the boiler!" Right away! ”

Hearing Frank's roar, the workers guarding the boiler immediately reacted, and the action was quite fast, just when the sound like a dragon roaring came out in Ding Wenjiang's ears, the stoker by the boiler had already started to work desperately, extinguishing the boiler with sand and water.

"Poof......" The black spray column suddenly shot out from the derrick along the drill pipe, and in just a moment, Ding Wenjiang felt as if he had fallen into an oil pit, and his whole body was covered with oil.

Standing in front of him, Frank was stunned by the sound of the blowout, and he stood there in a daze, only to see a huge oily dragon nearly a hundred feet high erupting from the ground, and then it seemed to be a "black rain", and his straw hat and body were all splashed with raindrops - oil droplets.

"We've found oil! Checkmate! ”

An officer broke into a mansion in a hurry and reported loudly to Yang Shuoming that he might have been too excited about the relationship and forgot to salute Yang Shuoming.

Yang Shuoming, who was resting in his residence in the town, heard this, immediately jumped up, got into an armored car escorted by the guards, and rushed towards the location of the oil well outside the city.

When Yang Shuoming came to the first oil well in Central Siberia, the people who worked here had a shiny glow on their faces, beards and hats. Even though the oil stained everyone, no one minded. Some of the families of the workers who rushed to hear the news, the children and their mothers, even ran forward to wet their heads, and the children frolicked and chased each other with oil, while the mothers opened their hands and excitedly caught the black liquid gold. American workers near the rig even knelt beneath the huge oil fountain, ripped off their clothes, bare their chests, raised their heads to meet the black rain falling from the sky, and then fell on their backs laughing.

Yang Shuoming looked at the excited people, and he was always moody in front of outsiders, and he also showed a faint smile.

Although he knew that this would be the case, when the moment came, he still felt a sense of accomplishment in writing a myth.

Rockefeller, who was the oil magnate back then, exclaimed that "the land floating on the oil that was ignored" now belongs to him.

Now the land here already belongs to the "China Petroleum Company" under the "Renhe Group", which has not been established for a long time, and already owns the land here and the exploration and exploitation rights of this land, and the cost is insignificant.

At this time, Yang Shuoming saw that Ding Wenjiang was climbing up the iron ladder outside the drill tower. He excitedly hung his body outside, letting the oil-scented air pass through his hair, and Frank, who was covered in oil but smiling, couldn't help but take a deep breath of oily air when he saw the military vehicle coming quickly from a distance.

He knew that the young general in the military vehicle was destined to become one of the richest people in the world.

"Dear Ding, it turns out that your judgment is correct."

"He said there would be oil here, and I believed him, and we all believed in him all the time." Ding Wenjiang replied softly.

"Who is he?"

Hearing Ding Wenjiang's words, Frank couldn't help but be stunned.

"Nothing." Ding Wenjiang saw Yang Shuoming, who jumped out of the armored car and leaned over to pick up a handful of oil to watch carefully, smiled, and didn't say anything more.

Yanjing, Yang's Mansion, back garden.

The sky in the early morning is cloudless, a blue color, the air in the garden is exceptionally fresh at this time, and the breathing feels particularly comfortable and refreshing, although Huang Yunzhi sitting in the garden is smiling, but at this time, she is not as happy as she seems.

Just now, she received a telegram from Yang Shuoming from distant Siberia, and the content of the telegram was very simple:

"Honey, we've found the oil field, we can wait and count the money."

Of course, she understood what a huge fortune her husband had gotten.

But now, what she wants is not wealth.

Although no one will be disgusted with money, since she became his wife, she has become numb to the feeling of wealth.

Even without the oil, the income from the production of drugs such as penicillin and sulfonamides from the pharmaceutical industry system she controls alone would be enough for the couple to last for the rest of their lives.

Of course, if it weren't for the fact that a lot of this money was "misappropriated" by him to the army and political axes.

(To be continued)