Chapter 119: The Blueprint of the Space Age

To establish a university that truly nurtures elites, one cannot simply follow the path of other private institutions—hanging a signboard to turn a profit. At the very least, it must qualify for the first tier of admissions or possess the authority for independent recruitment.

Li Fu favored independent recruitment, as it was the only way to secure the specific talent he sought. However, this was also the most difficult goal to achieve. China is not the United States; very few schools in China possess such autonomy, and those that do are almost exclusively the elite institutions within the "Big Four" alliance.

Even for these prestigious schools, the quota and ratio for independent recruitment are not particularly high, and they are frequently criticized by the public for being opaque, biased, and unfair—often viewed as nothing more than a back door for the children of the elite.

Therefore, for Sanjiang University to obtain independent recruitment status was, frankly, a hopeless endeavor—even with Li Fu as a Nobel laureate, a Chinese academician, and a top-tier scientist of national treasure status.

This was why Li Fu had to take the route through Mr. Wang. Li Fu was well aware of the immense influence and power held by the elderly gentleman before him. If he were willing to help, combined with the massive contributions Li Fu had made to the "Shenjian" aerospace fighter project, there was a real chance of securing that authorization.

Under normal circumstances, Li Fu would never have troubled the old man, and for any other matter, the old man certainly would not have intervened. But when it came to education—a grand, century-long endeavor to cultivate talent and a cause truly beneficial to the nation and its people—the old man was willing to support him.

The old man knew full well that Li Fu’s net worth could easily rank him first on the rich list. It was only because the Fuyun Technology Group was not publicly listed that his wealth remained undisclosed to the general public. Li Fu was certainly not the type of person who would try to make money by running a university.

The old man preferred to believe that Li Fu was a pure scientist, driven by a desire to educate and a wish to see his hometown prosper—a sentiment evident from the fact that Li Fu had established his company right there.

"Establishing a university is a noble cause. But if you are going to do it, you must do it right. Education has far-reaching consequences; you must never mislead the youth," the old man said slowly, looking at Li Fu with great solemnity.

"I understand." Li Fu nodded gravely, hearing the old man’s support in those words. Just as he had anticipated, for matters that benefited the nation and the people, the old man was more than happy to lend a hand.

"You mentioned the interstellar and cosmic eras just now. Do you truly believe we will enter these eras soon?" With the topic of education settled, the old man turned his thoughts to Li Fu’s earlier comments. He knew that as a core scientist behind China's "Shenjian" aerospace fighter, Li Fu undoubtedly had his own insights into the future of technology.

"Of course. Since our country’s success with the aerospace fighter, travel to and from space has become incredibly convenient, and the costs have been reduced to a very low level."

"China’s Tiangong space station is now larger than all other man-made objects in space combined. The fact that dozens of astronauts and scientists work there around the clock is proof enough: the space age has arrived."

"In the future, China can build factories in space, develop energy sources, mine resources on the moon, and even land on Mars to attempt terraforming—turning it into a second Earth. The entire solar system can become our backyard, with countless resources waiting for us to extract."

"I estimate that the space industry will become a pillar of our national economy. Whether it is resource extraction, energy harvesting, space manufacturing, space agriculture, orbital transportation, planetary engineering, or interstellar migration—every single one of these fields holds immense wealth."

Li Fu nodded. Thanks to the emergence of the aerospace fighter, China’s space technology was advancing rapidly. The massive Tiangong space station could sometimes even be seen with a telescope.

"The scenario you describe is truly fascinating. However, while the cost of space travel has decreased, the production cost of an aerospace fighter is not cheap. Our country has only three of them so far; we simply don't have the excess funds to build more."

"To reach the level you are talking about will likely take decades." The old man shook his head slightly. Each fighter cost over 30 billion yuan, and that was just the base cost; if other factors were included, the price was at least 50 billion. Even with the country's current wealth, it was hesitant to produce too many.

"The country's current model for space development is a bit outdated. Private capital is actually quite substantial, and the future development of space will inevitably require the participation of private forces. If the country wants to develop quickly in this area, it should open up to domestic private entities as soon as possible and let more people participate."

"Aerospace fighters are expensive, but that is because they use many rare and precious metals. While these metals are scarce on Earth, they are abundant in the universe. Not to mention anything else, the reserves of rare metals on the moon alone are staggering—far richer than what we have here on Earth."

"If we can stake our claim on the moon early and secure more resources, the cost of aerospace fighters will drop significantly. Furthermore, for simple travel within the universe, we don't even need aerospace fighters—since there is no gravity in space, a standard spacecraft would suffice."

"If we can foster a situation led by the government with active participation from private capital, China’s power in space will expand rapidly."

"The current situation is like the early days of the Age of Discovery on Earth. We are still in the dark about the world outside. What we need to do is bravely take the first step and secure as many resources in the solar system as we can, as early as possible. If we do this, even if other countries develop the technology later, they will not have the resources to keep up."

"Conversely, if we lag behind in the space age, we risk being bullied and pushed around again, just as we were a century ago. If Westerners occupy more resources, our descendants will be constrained at every turn, making it even harder for us to rise again."

"The solar system may seem vast, but in reality, it is quite small. The resources may seem immense, but as we move toward the interstellar and cosmic eras, these resources will start to seem scarce."

Li Fu pondered for a long time before speaking slowly. He had gained a deep perspective from the history of the Great Han Technological Empire; they had always prioritized resources, often claiming them even when they had no immediate need, simply to lay a foundation for their descendants.

Of course, Li Fu had his own selfish motives. To participate in space exploration legitimately, he needed government approval. If the country opened up to private power, he could develop alongside them, allowing him to introduce more technology that would not only boost his own growth but also help China secure the resources of the solar system.

"Private power, seizing resources..." The old man pondered this, his mind racing. Li Fu’s words had opened a completely new perspective on how to view the coming space age and how to formulate strategies to accelerate China’s development.

After a long silence, the old man nodded slowly. Li Fu was correct; the space age was essentially a race to see who could seize more resources to lay the groundwork for the future.

"Resources... seizing resources. We in China have often been forced into helplessness because of a lack of resources—take our birth policies, for example. If we had vast, sparsely populated lands like others, we wouldn't have needed such policies."

The old man sighed deeply. His generation, having lived from the founding of the nation to the present, had endured much. They understood the scarcity of resources. Even though China was often called a land of vast territory and abundant resources, it was, in truth, resource-poor. When the population explosion occurred, they had no choice but to adopt those difficult policies.

If China were like Canada or Russia, with a small population and vast territories, they would never have needed to restrict births. Everything had been a matter of necessity.

"If we can be the first to secure the resources of the moon, and use it as a base and springboard to reach Mars, transforming it into a habitable planet, then our descendants of the Yellow Emperor will not have to worry about land and resources for a very long time."

Li Fu nodded, painting a magnificent picture: terraforming Mars, claiming it as the exclusive cradle for the descendants of the Yellow Emperor.

"Just hearing you describe it makes me excited. The space age... it’s a pity I am already getting on in years. The future will have to rely on you young people."

The old man sighed again, wishing he could borrow another five hundred years from heaven. But Li Fu saw much in the old man’s eyes.