ushernet Chapter 732 In ancient times, people would sit up late at night to ask for advice; now, the ahoge (a
Chapter 732 In ancient times, people would sit up late at night to ask for advice; now, the ahoge (a
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, as if the leaders were exchanging opinions in hushed tones. Then the voice of the older leader, who had sounded gentle but doubtful earlier, came through again, this time with a more serious tone.
"Alright. The selection of personnel isn't a big deal; the main thing is..."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone, as if someone wanted to use a more tactful tone. After a long while, a voice finally came through the receiver:
"Comrade Jiang Xia, we are very encouraged by your ambition. However... this advanced 'Chinese language' is something that we have worked hard to develop and is world-leading. Now, to take it out to the international stage without reservation, to participate in the formulation of standards, and let foreigners learn it... isn't that a bit too... disadvantageous? Wouldn't it be safer for us to keep it to ourselves for now and wait until our advantage has expanded?"
"The Northeast has submitted its 'homework' this year, and the data looks great, but even so, it's still only at the level of 44... Everyone says the league has helped us a lot, but little do they know, they've also been the ones robbing us the most..."
Jiang Xia listened attentively, knowing that his old leader's concerns were very real. The older generation genuinely felt a sense of unease, having been burned before, and maintained a cautious attitude towards engaging with the outside world.
Yes, I'm talking about the alliance.
Taking advantage of the leader's complaints, Jiang Xia suddenly remembered that although Mao Zedong had driven out the Soviet Union, he had caused quite a commotion in Northeast China.
Not only did they pack up 70% of their heavy weapons and 90% of their industrial equipment and send them back to China, but they also gave us only 30% of their light weapons through "tacit transfer" or "barter trade." In an instant, Northeast China went from being the "world's fourth industrial region" to a "demolition zone."
Hey, you guys didn't know that 45 years ago, our Northeast big brother's industrial capacity was the first in Asia and the fourth in the world!
While the Allied powers' "right to spoils of war" as victorious nations was indeed legitimate, extending "spoils of war" to the entire Northeast industrial system clearly exceeded the scope of "military supplies" as per international practice. In essence, it was a systematic plundering under the guise of "reparations."
The factories, railways, gold, and machine tools in Northeast China were mostly the result of our thirty years of accumulation, ten years of investment in the interior of China, and fourteen years of blood and tears during the War of Resistance Against Japan. What the Alliance took away was not just a pile of machines, but also the "original capital" of China's post-war reconstruction.
So, friendship? Pshaw!
Jiang Xia was filled with mixed emotions, although... but...
The C programming language is inherently different from other technologies.
It's not a precious gem that will only gather dust if hidden away; it's essentially a "language," a set of "rules," born to be widely used and connected. Only by forming a large-scale ecosystem, enabling developers and manufacturers worldwide to use it and integrate it into their technological systems, can its value truly grow exponentially.
The more people use it, the richer the ecosystem becomes, and the more solid our technological dominance will be. Holding onto it will only cause us to miss the best opportunity to set the rules of the game.
Jiang Xia sighed. The past is past, let's look to the present!
Leaning against the carriage wall, he said in a light but firm tone, "You're saying that as if you're worried about your good seeds being sown and others growing good crops. But think about it, if we don't set rules for how to plant the seeds, and others plant them haphazardly and end up with some deformed fruits and vegetables, then they'll say our seeds are bad. That would be a real loss!"
"Oh? What do you mean? Explain in detail."
"You think of C language as something like dumplings in a teapot? You can't keep it hidden away. Right now, everyone in the international computer industry is groping their way in the dark. If we set the standard for this language, it's like putting up a lamppost in the dark—whoever wants to walk this path has to follow our light. The more smoothly they use it, the more they'll be dependent on the rules we've drawn. This isn't a loss; it's like carving our 'rules' on someone else's turf."
"But..." The voice on the other end of the line hesitated, "Our voices carry little weight internationally right now, will they even acknowledge it?"
Whether we admit it or not depends on how tough our weapons are.
As soon as the words were spoken, silence fell on the other end of the microphone. However, hushed discussions could still be heard through the microphone.
Jiang Xia noticed a few pieces of chalk on the bookshelf, and too lazy to find a small blackboard, he casually picked one up and wrote a row of characters on the mahogany table:
if (we_give == 1) {
you_get = core_tech;
} else {
you_get = NULL;
}
He then threw down the chalk and gave a haughty laugh.
The three soldiers in front of him were puzzled, but they still dutifully took out their notebooks and copied down the line of text. After obtaining Jiang Xia's consent, one of them ran to the communications vehicle.
After a while, the sound of printing paper being distributed came through the microphone.
Hehehe, with data communication, message transmission is so convenient!
Elders, are you satisfied with the results so far?
If things go smoothly with Dr. Lan Ying, and you manage to set up a card and board game room online, allowing you and your friends scattered across the country to get together and play cards, that would be wonderful...
But then I thought, if there weren't such convenient communication, wouldn't I have been able to take a few more photos?
Ah... there are gains and losses, our ancestors were right!
What are you writing?
"This is the logic of the C language. We write 'whether to give or not to give core technology' as a conditional judgment—if we don't give it (we_give=0), they will always get nothing (NULL). But conversely, if we set this rule, they have to write it according to this format if they want the program to run."
“These few lines of text look simple, but programmers all over the world who want to use the C language have to accept this 'if-else' rule.”
As Jiang Xia explained, he added a few more strokes to the end.
"while (tech_evolution == 1) {
we_set_rules;
} ”
The remaining two soldiers' eyes widened, one of them grabbed it again, and then sped away...
“Boss, when the alliance moved the machines back then, it was like robbing ‘hardware.’ Once they took it, it became theirs. But C language is ‘software rules,’ like a chess notation. We write out the notation so that everyone can play according to it. In the end, no matter who wins, they have to say, ‘This game was played according to the Chinese notation.’”
"We suffered for decades when the machinery from Northeast China was taken away because back then we only had 'things' but no 'rules'. Now it's different. C language is like the chessboard we drew ourselves. If others want to join the game, they have to listen to us and say 'the horse moves in an L-shape, the bishop moves diagonally.' This isn't a loss; it's about having the 'right to the rules' in our hands, which is much more reassuring than hiding a few precious gems."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the microphone, but this time the silence contained less hesitation and more relief.
Finally, a sigh came: "You rascal, you always manage to explain things clearly. Alright, the chessboard matter will be handled as you say."
The rustling sound of paper being passed around could be heard again.
"What did you write this time, kid? 'We...set...rules'? Does that mean we're setting the rules?"
"Hehe, I didn't know you were convinced so quickly... Let me show you my skills."
“Look at this cycle—as long as technology keeps moving forward (tech_evolution=1), the power to set the rules will always be in our hands (we_set_rules). Just like a teahouse in old Beijing, we are the manager, and no matter how many customers there are, the rules for refilling tea and water must be followed by us.”
After thinking about it, Jiangxia added another paragraph:
if (you_break_rules) {
ecosystem_crash;
}
The remaining soldiers looked at Jiang Xia with some frustration, quickly finished copying, and then asked speechlessly, "Jiang Xia, is there anything else?"
"That's it! Last loop."
……
"Look, the last paragraph is a red line drawn for outsiders. If they try to break the rules, the entire technology ecosystem will collapse. At that time, it won't be us begging them to use it, but them begging us not to change the core logic—it's like railway tracks. We lay standard gauge tracks, but if they insist on using narrow gauge tracks, the trains can't run, and they'll be the ones in a hurry."
Finally, he slammed the chalk down on the table, his voice brimming with a touch of boldness: "The most crucial sentence is this..."
Jiang Xia emphasized the initial we_give variable:
"This variable looks simple, but it's actually our strength. Back then, when the alliance snatched machines, they could use them immediately; but now, with this code, we're giving them 'usable' permissions, while keeping the core capabilities of 'modifying, building, and upgrading' firmly in our hands."
The more widely they use it, the more inseparable they become from this ecosystem, and the stronger our initiative in deciding whether or not to give it to them becomes.
Ultimately, this isn't about handing over the precious jade; it's about letting go of a kite with a string! The string is always in our hands; we can reel it in when we want, and we decide how high it flies.
"If I give it to you, you will get it; if I don't give it to you, you won't get it even if you force it."