Anti-Japanese War: Starting from Yaobai

Chapter 2902 Laoyeling Arsenal!

Ma Ping'an received Duanwu's instructions and did not dare to delay. He hurried to the communications room to send a telegram to Markov.

When Markov left, Duanwu gave him a radio, so Ma Ping'an could contact Markov whether he returned to China or not.

Soon, we received a reply from Markov, saying that he was still on the grasslands of Outer Mongolia.

Maklov said it would take at least three more days for them to return to the Soviet Union.

Ma Ping'an didn't bother to exchange pleasantries, and hurriedly told Duanwu's request: "Mr. Markov, our anti-Japanese brigade is now facing a huge threat from the Japanese Second Division. The captain hopes that you can help sell us some more weapons and ammunition, especially submachine guns, a large number of submachine gun bullets, and anti-aircraft machine guns. The more the better."

Markov was silent for a moment, and then he replied: "Mr. Pan, I really want to promise you right away and help you solve this urgent problem. But I am not back home yet, and I heard some bad news."

Ma Ping'an's heart suddenly tightened, and he asked in a telegram, "What's the news? Mr. Markov, please tell me quickly."

Maklov replied: "General Bazarov is under investigation. As you know, he has always been an important source of arms trade between us, and many things need him to coordinate. Now that he has problems, I am afraid that the weapons and ammunition will have to be slowed down."

After hearing this, Ma Pingan felt a surge of despair in his heart. He sent a telegram anxiously: "Mr. Markov, we really can't wait! The Japanese Second Division may attack us at any time. Without sufficient weapons and ammunition, our anti-Japanese brigade will be very passive."

Maklov also knew that the situation was urgent. He comforted him, "Mr. Pan, don't worry. I will try to find a way to get you some weapons and ammunition through other channels as soon as possible. However, the progress will definitely not be as fast as before, and the quantity may also be limited."

Ma Pingan sighed helplessly, and then sent a telegram: "Mr. Markov, that's all we can do. Please do your best. The life and death of our anti-Japanese brigade depends on you."

Maklov replied solemnly: "Don't worry, Mr. Pan. I, Maklov, will always be a friend of Brother Qi and Mr. Pan. I will do my best to help your Anti-Japanese Brigade overcome this difficulty."

"Thank you so much!"

Ma Ping'an thanked him and then hurried back to find Duanwu to report the matter.

Duanwu was still staying in the conference room, because in addition to the matters concerning the Second Division, he was also planning to go to the arsenal after getting a reply from Marklov, hoping that the Anti-Japanese Brigade could achieve freedom in weapon trajectory as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, Ma Ping'an's face was not looking good when he came back. Duanwu had some guesses in his mind, but he still asked: "Old Pan, how is it? What did Markov say?"

Ma Ping'an told Duanwu the whole situation.

After hearing this, Duanwu frowned and remained silent for a long time.

But he quickly raised his head and said with a smile: "Old Pan, don't mind. Even if Markov has encountered difficulties temporarily, we can't just sit there and wait for death. Notify all team members to strengthen training. At the same time, arrange for Jiang Li and Ma Hu to send more people out to gather information and pay close attention to the movements of the Japanese army. Our anti-Japanese brigade has never relied on the charity of others to fight. Even without the Soviet weapons and ammunition, we can still win the battle!"

Ma Ping'an felt relieved when he saw Duanwu's confident look.

He nodded heavily and said, "Yes, Captain! I'll arrange it right away!" However, at this time, Duanwu said, "Old Pan, the base will be handed over to you first. I will go to the arsenal to take a look, and bring some weapons to the arsenal, and see how the black troops over there are training."

At this time, Ma Pingan also remembered and said: "If the arsenal can mass-produce Type 38 submachine guns, we will no longer need to buy weapons and ammunition from the Soviets. This will save a lot of money."

Duanwu nodded and said, "Yes, and I will also bring those damaged anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons to see if they can be repaired. If they can be repaired, it will be great. Well, you go and do your own thing. I will go find Zhao Laonian and ask him to take people to pack up, and I will go to Laoyeling."

"Yes!"

Ma Ping'an took the order and left, and Duanwu went to find Zhao Laonian.

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Four hours later, Duanwu, along with dozens of soldiers and Zhao Laonian, arrived at the arsenal in Laoyeling, exhausted.

Director Wang had been waiting at the factory gate for a long time. When he saw Duanwu, he immediately went to greet him with an excited look on his face: "Captain, you are finally here! I have something important to report to you."

Director Wang said this as he led Duanwu into the factory.

Duanwu nodded and said, "Lao Wang, I also want to hear about the recent situation of the arsenal. Can you tell me how the production of the Type 38 assault rifle is going?"

Director Wang brought Duanwu to the production workshop and pointed to the busy workers and said, "Captain, the production of the Type 38 assault rifle is now gradually on the right track. After continuous exploration and improvement by our craftsmen, the production process has become more and more mature, and the output is also steadily increasing. However, due to the high processing precision requirements of some key components, it will still take some time to fully meet the needs of our anti-Japanese brigade."

Duanwu picked up a newly produced assault rifle, examined it carefully, and said, "Old Wang, the quality of this gun cannot be ambiguous. Our anti-Japanese brigade will rely on these guys to fight the devils in the future. As long as the quality is good, it doesn't matter if the output is increased slowly. By the way, how is the current output?"

Director Wang nodded quickly and said, "Captain, don't worry. I will personally monitor the quality and will not allow any sloppiness. As for the output, if we produce at full capacity, we can convert about 60 Type 38 assault rifles every day."

Duanwu nodded with great satisfaction, because if there were sixty pieces a day, there would be six hundred pieces in ten days. As long as he was given enough time, the anti-Japanese brigade would be self-sufficient in weapons and equipment one day.

Of course, this is not enough. A submachine gun alone cannot cope with all battles.

Duanwu hopes that his arsenal can not only be modified to produce firearms, but also manufacture modified machine guns, heavy machine guns, and even various types of artillery, and manufacture artillery shells and bullets.

So the current arsenal is still far from the arsenal in Duanwu’s mind.

So next, Director Wang took Duanwu to another workshop, where there were several Japanese Type 99 light machine guns that were being modified.

Director Wang pointed at the machine gun and said, "Captain, according to your request, we are modifying the captured Japanese Type 99 light machine gun. The original Type 99 light machine gun had many problems, such as poor ammunition supply and heat dissipation. After research, we have improved its ammunition supply system and heat dissipation device. The modified machine gun has greatly improved its firing rate and stability!"

Duanwu looked at the modified machine gun with interest and asked, "Old Wang, how reliable is this modified machine gun? Can it stand the test in actual combat?"

Director Wang said confidently: "Captain, we have conducted many test firings, and the modified machine gun has performed well. However, the specific actual combat effect still needs to be tested on the battlefield. But I am confident that it will become a major weapon of our anti-Japanese brigade!"