Chapter 767: Century Military Parade

After the national flag was raised, the military parade began.

That is, the troops to be reviewed lined up, and the reviewers passed in front of the line to review.

A specially modified extended version of the Hongqi sedan drove along the red-carpeted Jinshui Bridge onto Chang'an Avenue and stopped in front of another car that had been waiting for a long time.

There was silence between heaven and earth.

Li Liangxin saluted the old man opposite:

"Comrade Chief, the troops to be reviewed are ready. Please review, the commander-in-chief of the military parade, Li Liangxin!"

"Begin!"

"Yes!"

As the military parade march was played again, two Hongqi cars started in an alternating manner and slowly drove towards the troops to be reviewed that had been ready.

"Hello, comrades!"

"Hello, Chief——"

"Comrades, you have worked hard!"

"Serve the people!"

The greetings and answers, back and forth, sonorous and powerful, gathered into a huge sound wave, echoing over the ten-mile long street, like the echo of history.

"Grandpa."

On the viewing platform, a teenage boy wearing a red scarf turned his head and looked at the old man behind him.

The latter was wearing a 58-style air force uniform, and his figure was slightly hunched, but against the background of the uniform, he still looked energetic.

"Why do they answer like that?"

When the voices gradually subsided, the little boy stood on tiptoe and leaned close to the old man's ear and asked.

"Answer what?"

The old man couldn't understand his grandson's question for a while.

"The grandfather who was sitting in the car just now kept saying that the comrades had worked hard, shouldn't the answer be that they hadn't worked hard?"

Obviously, for children in elementary school, this logic is more straightforward.

Now, the old man understood and smiled happily.

"How can it not be hard?"

He answered slowly:

"Being a soldier is hard, not only hard, but also dangerous... Grandpa can't lift his arm when it's cloudy and rainy, it's the wound left by being a soldier when he was young..."

He raised his head slightly, his slightly turbid eyes slightly brightened, as if he saw himself when he was young decades ago:

"But, because our army serves the people, so, whether it's hard or dangerous, it's secondary and acceptable."

"So, our army is called the People's Liberation Army..."

"In a few years, you should learn this text."

The old man touched his grandson's head:

"To fight, there will be sacrifices, and death is a common occurrence. But we think of the interests of the people, think of the suffering of the majority of the people, and we die for the people, which is a worthy death..."

...

While the old and the young were talking, the review car had returned to the north of the Jinshui Bridge.

Although today's celebration is customarily called the "50th Anniversary National Day Parade", the real "parade" actually only occupies a small part of it.

First, the duration of the parade was too short. The leaders walked by in a car and it was over in five minutes.

Second, for other spectators, the parade did not feel much participation. After all, it was impossible for everyone to ride in a car together, and the almost endless queues in the distance could not be seen clearly from the viewing platform.

As for the National Day, it is a celebration for all.

The people who made the celebration plan also knew that they must let everyone enjoy the feast for the eyes.

So, the main part is still the parade-

The troops on parade passed in front of the reviewing stand to be reviewed.

The atmosphere on the scene also became warm again after the big leader delivered a speech.

Li Liangxin may be the commander-in-chief of the parade with the best Mandarin since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

At least the words "parade, start" were clear.

As his voice fell, the military band played the parade march again.

The first of all the columns was naturally the three-service guard of honor holding the military flag.

Chang Yuanchao, who was next to Chang Haonan, almost instinctively straightened up a lot.

Comrade Chang used to be a grassroots cadre in the army more than 20 years ago, and later became a policeman after demobilization, and even went to the front line to fight.

That's how he got the second-class merit.

And the third-class merit is a routine award after serving in the third and fourth-class marginal areas for a certain number of years.

Chang Yuanchao's eyes followed the three-service guard of honor, until they crossed the Xihuabiao and changed back to marching in unison, and then he turned back with some reluctance:

"In fact, when I first joined the army, I also applied to join the guard of honor, but I was rejected because my height did not meet the standard."

Although accompanied by the sound of the parade march, the viewing platform was separated from the opposite side by a whole street and the Jinshui River, so it was not so that the voices could not be heard.

Chang Haonan looked at Chang Yuanchao suspiciously:

"Dad, with your conditions...how dare you go..."

Fearing that he would undermine Chang's self-confidence, he did not finish the sentence.

"Well... the selection standards for honor guards also change with the times. When I was young, I was considered tall among people of the same age, and I could have met the minimum standard for honor guard selection."

"But when it came to my year, I had filled in my application, and the armed forces suddenly said that the standard had been raised by 3 centimeters, so I was selected to the field troops..."

Obviously, this incident weighed heavily in Lao Chang's memory, otherwise he would not have remembered it for so many years...

Chang Yuanchao's height in 1999 was only slightly higher than the average level of northern men, but if it was put more than 20 years ago, it was indeed quite conspicuous as he said.

Lao Chang turned his attention back to the subsequent queues passing in front of him.

For Chang Haonan, a reborn person who had already watched the documentary of this military parade, the marching column was actually not much different from the previous life, so there was not much to watch.

In the 1999 military parade, the emphasis was placed on the construction of the military system and talent training for the new century, so there were an exaggerated 5 columns of students from the academies of various military services, so that the commentator did not explain them one by one, but squeezed the three in the middle together.

The only change was that due to the increase in the number and size of the equipment columns, the original two militia columns were reduced to one.

However, for people like Chang Yuanchao who had served in the army, it was obviously still a bit unsatisfied.

"Dad, is there any of your old troops here?"

Taking advantage of the gap between the foot column and the vehicle column, Chang Haonan leaned over and asked.

"My old troops were later laid off..."

There was a little nostalgia in Chang Yuanchao's eyes.

But the nostalgic look was soon replaced by excitement and joy.

Because a rolling torrent of steel had appeared on the street in the distance.

When the tanks of the first vehicle column appeared in everyone's sight, the applause on the scene even overwhelmed the roar of the diesel engine and the sound of the rubber tracks rolling over the asphalt road.

The military band also played the "Tank March".

Even the leader on the Tiananmen Tower couldn't suppress the smile on his face when he waved his hand...

As a man, who doesn't like armor and artillery?

...

Since it is not Chang Haonan's main focus, China's ground equipment is still relatively monotonous at the moment.

No fancy elements.

So, just like in the previous life, there were three tank columns.

The commentator naturally did not reveal the equipment model directly, but named it in the way of tank squadron x and new main battle tank, and then entered the routine evaluation link.

But those who are more knowledgeable can still see that the first one is the last generation of "round head" of the six teams of road wheels, the 88B main battle tank.

Chang Haonan noticed that the frequency of foreign guests who were invited to the ceremony holding up various cameras or telescopes in their hands was obviously much higher than before.

At this time, the Chinese military is not very open, and the military parade is a rare opportunity to observe Chinese weapons and equipment at close range.

Whether you regard China as an imaginary enemy or want to buy some equipment from China, you can't miss it.

"These tanks seem to be a little bigger than the model they showed in the last military parade?"

In the front row of the foreign envoys' viewing area, a brigadier general wearing a US Air Force uniform lowered his voice and said to his companion who was holding a camera and focusing.

Ralph J. Jodich II, Chinese name Zhou Ruifu, is the military attaché of the United States stationed in China.

As an F15E pilot, his understanding of tanks is basically limited to distinguishing between enemies and friends from a bird's-eye view.

Therefore, in his opinion, the difference between the models of these semicircular turrets is not very big.

The colonel next to him is the technical counselor of the military attaché's office, Chinese name Bai Lide.

At the beginning of the year, he was still in Europe preparing for the Allied Operation, and was transferred from Europe to China two months ago.

"Last time... I think you might be talking about the model they call the Type 79 tank."

As an army officer, Bai Lide's specialty is to study armored combat. In addition, he had read some materials before coming here, so he naturally knew what Zhou Ruifu was talking about:

"Although they look a bit similar, that was just the first generation of tanks modified with our and British technology, and this... they should be called the Type 88, which is already a more advanced model among the second generation tanks."

After explaining, perhaps worried that his leader still had no idea, he added:

"It's probably similar to our M60, firepower, mobility, and protection."

Zhou Ruifu nodded, and this time he obviously understood-

A model with a technical level roughly equivalent to the early 1970s.

No need to worry too much.

The tanks in the second column are the Type 96 basic model.

For most people at the scene, this is the first time they have seen a domestic tank that does not have a round head.

Even if you don't understand weapons and equipment, just from the appearance, the angular turret is more like the advanced models on TV.

The atmosphere at the scene was even more heated than before.

Zhou Ruifu didn't react much. In his opinion, since the Chinese would put a model equivalent to the M60 on the parade, it means that they probably don't have any better models.

The actual situation...

It's really about the same.

The performance of the basic model 96 is really not much better than 88A/B.

In most of the information at this time, this model actually retains the original 88C name.

Obviously, this can only be regarded as a deep modification of a second-generation tank.

This time, even Bai Lide only took two photos.

For someone like him who knows the business, it can be seen at a glance that the tanks of the first two columns use similar chassis.

So just take some turret details.

Then, Bai Lide pointed the camera at the third team that had not yet arrived.

An important job of the technical counselor of the military attaché's office is to track the development of military equipment in the host country.

This is even public.

And the tank of the latter model can be said to be the only ground equipment he is interested in today.

Looking at Bai Lide who kept pressing the shutter button and drove without sparing film, Zhou Ruifu also leaned over to look.

"Those tanks seem... different?"

In fact, if it was the earliest prototype, an outsider might not be able to immediately see the difference between it and the previous 96.

But the ones that are now on the parade have undergone a major round of changes.

Especially the chassis, which has undergone earth-shaking changes.

Although the power pack is still the 1,200 horsepower version, the overall design has begun to move closer to the 99A of later generations.

It is a huge leap that can be seen with the naked eye.

However, the turret retains the oldest version without the wedge armor.

The combination feels a bit top-light and foot-heavy.

"We have been tracking this model since the early 1990s."

Bai Lide did not put down the camera, and said while pressing the shutter:

"But the Chinese are very strict about keeping it secret. We have obtained some pictures and technical information, but many of the contents are self-contradictory. It is obvious that they are throwing smoke bombs."

"Two years ago, the rubbish in the Army Intelligence Department guaranteed that they had obtained the technical plan of China's latest tank, but compared with the real thing today... it is completely different."

The tone was very disdainful.

Zhou Ruifu, who was next to him, was a brigadier general of the Air Force, so he naturally couldn't spray along, but he couldn't help but curl his lips.

Intelligence errors kill people.

He thought of the B2 bomber that was shot down a few months ago for no reason.

To this day, no one knows the whole process of its shooting down.

No one knows how the other party can stably detect stealth aircraft.

In fact, the Army Intelligence Department was completely wronged this time.

The appearance they speculated through a few blurry photos was actually very accurate.

But in the past two years, Project 9910 has changed to a completely new plan...

Not far from the two, their Russian counterparts are doing almost the same thing.

"It seems that there is no trace of T72 or T80..."

Andrei Lipilin touched his chin and said to himself.

He knew that China had obtained a T80 and more than one T72 through some channels and conducted detailed tests. Therefore, he had always speculated that even if China's third-generation tanks were not imitations, they should be inextricably linked to these two models.

But what we saw today is completely different.

"The turret still looks a bit like the T72A... Especially the seat ring size is exactly the same. Considering that it is also a three-person crew, I guess the loader should have adopted our design."

A lieutenant colonel next to him was holding a telescope in his hand. After hearing what Lipilin said:

"But this turret and chassis look completely inconsistent. It should be just a temporary filler. When it is mass-produced, it will be replaced or additional armor will be added."

"I just don't know what the inside of the tank looks like. I don't know if I can find a chance to take a look..."

...

On the Tiananmen Tower, General Zhang leaned out slightly and looked at the neatly lined square formations from a distance. He couldn't help but think of the scene when he was the commander of the 127th Division.

Twenty years ago, his troops also lined up like this for inspection and drove directly to the battlefield in southern Xinjiang.

The difference is that there were only more than 30 light tanks, a hundred or so old artillery pieces, and trucks that could only undertake transportation tasks parked behind these troops.

He won that battle.

He also made great military achievements.

But the process was extremely difficult.

In the absence of advanced technology and equipment, the only things the army can rely on are experience and will.

However, both of these can only be produced through the tempering of blood and fire.

And the process of tempering is inevitably accompanied by sacrifice.

A lot of sacrifice.

When the country needed a large number of young people to invest in development and construction, batches of brave, loyal and strong pioneers fell on the battlefield.

Later, he was promoted all the way, from division commander to army commander, to military district chief, and then to his current position.

But the scenes of commanding operations on the front line in those years always lingered in his mind and could not be shaken off.

He also thought more than once that if he had equipment and resources equivalent to the US military in the 1960s - even without more advanced ones, he didn't know how many young comrades' lives could be saved.

And today...

Main battle tanks, self-propelled artillery, tactical missiles...

The things he expected back then, and even the things he didn't dare to expect back then, were all lined up here to accept the inspection of the motherland and the people.

As one of the highest-ranking commanders of this army, General Zhang inevitably had a sense of excitement that he had achieved his wish.

However.

This feeling only lasted for a moment, and he was vigilantly suppressed.

"It's not time to be proud..."

Mr. Zhang reached out and adjusted his military cap, secretly admonishing himself in his heart.

More than three years ago, he also personally commanded the deterrent joint military exercise.

It's just that the final result...

It's hard to say that it's satisfactory.

Outsiders watch the excitement, insiders watch the doorway.

Although the scene of the exercise can be called unprecedented, and the exercise organization can be considered smooth.

But in the second half of the 1990s, the participating troops still used the first and second generation of domestic equipment as the main force, and the exercise format was still the traditional one.

The commentary of "Thousands of troops crossing the strait" has a good effect in terms of propaganda, but from a military point of view, the beach landing format that still relies on landing ships and assault boats can undoubtedly no longer meet the combat needs of the new era.

In fact, even this traditional form of warfare is constrained by the dilemma of insufficient resources-

During the Normandy Landing in 1945, the Allies still had 13 battleships to provide fire support to the land, while the People's Liberation Army three years ago had to move the army's artillery onto the landing ship due to insufficient firepower...

The moment of complacency and joy just now was immediately replaced by an invisible pressure.

Although the country has gradually begun to increase its investment in national defense construction after 1996, there is still a lot of pressure to accelerate military construction without affecting economic development.

Not only external, but also internal.

"The task is heavy and the road is long..."

General Zhang's eyes changed slightly.

...

However, only a few people can think of General Zhang's level.

Most people at the military parade still have a simple mentality-

Today's tanks and artillery are much better looking than those seen on TV before...

And Chang Haonan's perspective is obviously the most special among all people.

As a reborn, he was more interested in the difference between this parade and the last one.

The third tank team was the first obvious change.

18 tanks, all Type 99 prototypes.

Although they have not been finalized and put into service, at least they don't need to use Type 96 to fill the gap.

He turned his head and glanced at Zhu Yusheng next to him.

But he found that the latter was also looking at him at this time.

The old and the young met eyes, and then nodded to each other at the same time.

Chang Haonan could see that Zhu Yusheng's thin body was shaking slightly.

Obviously due to excitement.

The model designed by himself was reviewed by the motherland and the people.

For any weapon designer, it is a supreme honor.

Thinking of this, he subconsciously raised his head and looked at the sky to the west.

His home court has not yet begun...