The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 473 Clothing Factory Arrived

"Oh? Director Ding is back?"

He Wei's thoughts were interrupted, and his attention was immediately shifted to Ding Lunshi, who held the corrupt official position of Director of the General Affairs Department of the Assault Corps.

"Yes, the sentry reported that they were not wearing military uniforms and did not have any identification, so they did not dare to let them in. The sentry did not know Director Ding, so they had to stop them outside the camp gate and call the headquarters to report."

He Wei nodded, thinking that he had already commissioned him to go to Hong Kong Island before the Spring Festival to order a large number of bedding production machines, raw materials, medical supplies, as well as a batch of bedding and helmets. His return at this time was probably because the business he handled for him had come to fruition.

Thinking of this, He Wei suddenly felt happy.

At this time, Chief of Staff Wang Yuanling also came over and said to He Wei, "Captain, let me host today's sand table tactical simulation. You and Director Ding have important matters to discuss."

He Wei nodded, thinking that the tactical simulation based on the sand table had been going on for more than a month. Under his high standards and strict requirements, the officers of the General Staff had made rapid progress in tactics and command decision-making. The officers were becoming more and more proficient in all aspects of their business. It would be fine to let Wang Yuanling temporarily host today's tactical simulation.

Therefore, He Wei immediately announced that today's tactical simulation would be presided over by Wang Yuanling. After informing Wang Yuanling of the two tactical topics he had thought of, he hurried back to the headquarters and personally called the sentry at the entrance of the camp, and then let Ding Lunshi in.

Soon, Ding Lunshi came to He Wei's office.

Seeing the people coming into the office, He Wei stood up from behind his large desk with a smile on his face and was about to greet them. However, before He Wei could get close, Ding Lunshi stopped at the door of the office, stood at attention with rough hands and feet, and then gave an extremely non-standard military salute with his palm facing outward: "Report to the commander-in-chief, Ding Lunshi, the director of the General Affairs Department of the rear of the assault corps, comes... comes to see the respected commander-in-chief!"

Well, He Wei was also stunned and confused for a moment, and then he realized that this guy had obviously entered the role of the corrupt official he had given him, the director of the General Affairs Department of the Assault Corps, who enjoyed the treatment of a major general. He began to regard himself as a soldier and enjoyed this identity very much. Look, he was already using military etiquette towards him.

However, Ding Lunshi had never received any military training, so his etiquette was really unsightly. When He Wei saw Ding Lunshi again after several months, he only felt that he had become fatter, and his mental state and complexion had improved, even better than when he first met him in Wuhan.

His fat belly pushed his oversized suit up high in his unqualified military posture. He pointed a trembling hand at He Wei and stood at the door of the office, as if he was blocking the door.
What's even funnier is that he has never learned military etiquette, nor does he understand military terminology, but he actually came to "see the respected captain-in-chief" as if He Wei was the emperor.

After a moment of stunned silence, He Wei smiled again and waved to Tao Heiwa who was trying to hold back his laughter. He then satisfied Ding Lunshi's desire for a military identity and gave Ding Lunshi a standard military salute, saying loudly, "Welcome back, Director Ding! The ceremony is over!"

Ding Lunshi was obviously enjoying it very much. He laughed so hard that he went into the office immediately. But when Ding Lunshi came in, He Wei realized that there was someone blocking the door.

The man was dressed in a suit and tie, wearing a yellow western-style hat and a pair of glasses, looking like an elite. Seeing that he looked unfamiliar, He Wei asked, "Director Ding, who is this?"

Ding Lunshi then introduced: "Captain, this is Mr. Huang Shengmo, who is responsible for purchasing the clothing factory for us. Oh, by the way, he has been appointed by you as the director of the clothing factory of our assault corps, which is equivalent to the treatment of a colonel, hehe."

"Hello, sir!"

Huang Shengmo smiled and nodded to He Wei, and extended his hand to He Wei. He Wei thought to himself, no wonder this man looks a bit like a British gentleman and speaks with a Cantonese accent. It turns out that this man is the comprador named Huang who ran the clothing business in a British-owned factory in Hong Kong Island and was kicked out by the foreigners.

However, he will be the director of the clothing factory under Mr. He from now on, so we should get along well and maintain a good relationship.

After He Wei exchanged a few words with Huang Shengmo, he asked them to sit down. Tao Heiwa brought them tea, and then they started chatting. Just as Ding Lunshi said, Ding and Huang were appointed by He Wei as the director of the General Affairs Department of the Assault Corps and the director of the Clothing Factory respectively. These two compradors who were once very down and out were now making a living under He Wei. Both of them were smart people and knew it was not easy to climb up to He Wei's high branch when they were down and out. Therefore, they were respectful to He Wei and treated He Wei as a subordinate treats his superior. Especially Huang Shengmo, who was extremely respectful to He Wei when he met him for the first time.

Seeing the two of them like this, He Wei became more easy-going, so the atmosphere was very harmonious for a while.

As expected, He Wei's guess was correct. Ding Lunshi and Huang Shengmo's return this time did bear fruit. The two had been busy with various businesses in Hong Kong Island during this period, mobilizing various relationships, purchasing and purchasing a series of things that He Wei needed, and all of them were of high standards, completing the purchase list drawn up by He Wei intactly.

After completing the purchases in Hong Kong Island, the two mobilized their previous connections and channels to organize the transportation of various materials. Since He Wei allocated them sufficient funds, they had connections and money, and the transportation and delivery of this batch of purchased materials was also extremely smooth. The two came back this time with a large amount of supplies to report to He Wei.

He Wei was overjoyed when he heard about it, and said excitedly: "Haha, you two did a great job. I will give you a great credit this time. Where are the supplies now? How long will it take for them to reach the temporary capital?"

Ding Lunshi puffed out his chest and said proudly, "Captain, there's no need to wait. The stuff is now on the transport ship near Chaotianmen Wharf. The machines, raw materials, medical equipment and medicines are parked by the river waiting to be shipped. As long as you send someone to pick them up, they can be unloaded immediately."

He Wei originally thought that the two had rushed to the secondary capital first, and that the large quantities of materials would not arrive for a few days. However, he did not expect that the two were escorting the entire journey, and the goods were at Chaotianmen, so he was even happier and said with a smile: "Okay, very good, I will send someone to load the goods immediately. Oh, by the way, are there your people watching over Chaotianmen? How can the people I send to pick up the goods meet and contact them?" Huang Shengmo said respectfully: "Sir, all transport ships are guarded by my and Director Ding's men. As long as the people you send report our names, they will immediately organize the unloading of the ships and the goods."

"Okay, I'll send someone right away."

After saying that, He Wei couldn't wait to call the Third Independent Motor Vehicle Battalion assigned to the Assault Corps and gave them the task of going to Chaotianmen Wharf to transport supplies. After being assigned to the Assault Corps, the Third Independent Motor Vehicle Battalion lived a very comfortable life and enjoyed the same treatment as the officers and soldiers of the Assault Corps. They ate and drank well every day, but they did not have many business duties to perform. Apart from transporting the new recruits of the Assault Corps, they occasionally went to receive supplies issued by the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs. In short, they did not have any heavy transportation tasks.

As the saying goes, one should be grateful to those who have done good for him. Now that he had an opportunity to work for the Assault Corps, the battalion commander of the Third Independent Motor Vehicle Battalion patted his chest and guaranteed that there would be no problem and that the materials that He Wei asked to transport would be delivered without any defects. In order to ensure safety, He Wei also asked Yang Biao, the commander of the special forces company directly under the Corps, to bring people to unload and escort the goods.

Ten minutes later, 160 German-made Opel Lightning military trucks of the Third Independent Motor Vehicle Battalion carrying the special forces company drove out of the assault corps' camp and headed straight for Chaotianmen Wharf.

He Wei also learned more specific information about this batch of supplies during his conversation with Ding and Huang.

This batch of supplies included equipment from the clothing factory, raw materials, various medical supplies, as well as 35 sets of special tactical vests for the assault corps bought by He Wei for emergency use, sets of standard spring and summer single-piece uniforms of the National Army, and imitation German-style M helmets produced by the Jiehe Iron Works in Hong Kong Island.

Among these, the largest share and the highlight are definitely the equipment and raw materials from the clothing factory.

According to Huang Shengmo, the machines he purchased from the clothing factory are all the most advanced clothing production machines. The quality of the finished products is absolutely first-class, and the output and types of products produced are sufficient to meet the combat training needs of the assault team. Huang Shengmo often handled the military clothing business when he was in Hong Kong Island. Song Ziwen's Tax Police Corps of the Ministry of Finance and the Guangdong Army in Guangdong have all ordered clothing from his British garment factory. He also took over the business of making military uniforms for the Central Army. Huang Shengmo is very familiar with the current standard military uniform style parameters and corresponding military product types of the National Army.

In short, once this factory is put into production, it will be able to provide the assault corps with uniforms, blankets, tents, socks, underwear, canvas raincoats, sportswear, straw mats, bamboo hats, suede shoes, rubber-soled cloth shoes, leggings, military caps, belts, gun covers for light and heavy machine guns, spare barrel covers, gun cleaning cloths, gun covers for mortars and barreled artillery, bandages, military ranks, and badges.
Anyway, as long as it is the standard size of bedding, equipment, cloth accessories for weapons and other various things of different sizes specified by the current national army, the factory can produce them all as long as there is sufficient and continuous supply of raw materials.

In addition, the factory can also quickly put into production the tactical vests unique to the assault corps, and its estimated output is also very encouraging. Among various categories, the most in-demand ones are actually single-layer military uniforms and cotton military uniforms. According to Huang Shengmo's estimate, once the clothing factory is put into full-speed operation, it can produce 2,000 sets of high-quality single-layer military uniforms or 1,500 sets of cotton military uniforms every production day, which is much more than the previously estimated output.

Moreover, this output is calculated based on the highest quality finished products. The materials and craftsmanship are all calculated according to the highest standards. If we have to settle for the second best and appropriately reduce the quality of the products, for example, the sophistication of the materials and craftsmanship, this output will continue to increase.

This production volume is more than enough to meet the needs of the Assault Corps, and we can continue to purchase more machines and expand production in the future. There is still room for output to continue to increase, which can fully guarantee the Assault Corps's needs for bedding and clothing.

A clothing factory that can manufacture military products can also manufacture civilian products for sale and make a profit. In other words, this factory can not only meet the needs of the assault corps, but also make profits for He Wei in return. He Wei is very satisfied with this. After all, this purchase of materials has spent more than half of the funds in the assault corps' accounts. In addition, the recent recruitment, training, and education require money everywhere, so the expenses are indeed not small.

According to the report of Li Youcai, the chief steward and logistics director of the assault corps, although the deposits in the account of the assault corps are still sufficient and the daily funding provided by the Ministry of Military and Political Affairs to the assault corps has not been cut off, if they continue to spend money in this way, the danger of eating up the funds will become greater and greater.

Therefore, open source is very necessary.

He Wei was very pleased and praised: "Director Huang, your introduction just now was very good. You have handled the business of this clothing factory very attentively. Thank you for your hard work. Now that my Assault Corps has this clothing factory, we don't have to worry about clothing in the future."

Huang Shengmo said respectfully: "Sir, this time I not only brought a full set of production machines, but also used my previous relationships to purchase a lot of raw materials at low prices. The preparations for production are already sufficient. In addition, I have also recruited a lot of relevant talents and skilled workers. Most of these workers are from Guangdong Province. They feel that there is instability over there and there may be a war at any time, so they are very happy to come to the rear of the temporary capital to work. In other words, our factory has no shortage of technical strength. What we lack now is the construction of the factory and the recruitment of workers. As long as the factory is completed and the number of workers is sufficient, our factory can immediately start production."

"Oh?"

He Wei was delighted again. He was more and more satisfied with Huang Shengmo. He smiled and said, "I have already chosen the approximate address of the factory. It is in this county. There is a mountain nearby and a cave. It is big enough to build a factory. The specific address and layout of the factory are up to you. As for the workers, you can recruit them by yourself. Don't treat them too badly. It is best to recruit mainly female workers. After all, our new recruits are currently recruited in two nearby counties. We can't let all men work in the factory. This will affect the recruitment of new recruits for our headquarters. In addition, it is more suitable for women to do the work of sewing and mending. All subsequent matters are still left to you. You can ask Director Li Youcai of the Logistics Department for the required funds."

"Sir, you are really straightforward and quick to speak. Please rest assured, leave this matter to me."

Huang Shengmo's words were just a casual flattery, but they were also true. He Wei was indeed very straightforward in doing things. He didn't have any hypocritical courtesy when handling specific matters. He trusted people and didn't doubt them. He gave He Wei a lot of freedom when doing things, which made Huang Shengmo feel very comfortable.

After that, He Wei looked at Ding Lunshi again and said, "The business you two helped me handle is related to the rear route and logistics support of my assault corps, which is very important. The next specific construction still needs your efforts. The task I gave is a clothing factory, a rear wounded hospital, and a front field hospital. Director Huang will be responsible for the construction of the clothing factory, and Director Ding will cooperate with Ling Zhi, the captain of the medical team of my corps, to build the two hospitals. The sites of this factory and two hospitals are both near Longyan Mountain in Tianxi Township, Ba County. For the specific construction and funding, you still need to talk to my corps's chief steward, Li Youcai, the director of the logistics department. Haha, those who are capable should do more work. You two have joined my assault corps not long ago, and these rear industries and service construction still need to rely on you more."

Hearing He Wei laying out the construction tasks again, Ding Lunshi and Huang Shengmo both looked serious, and then said in unison: "Please rest assured, sir!"

(End of this chapter)