Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry.

Chapter 157 Seven and a Half Thoughts
After traveling at high speed and stopping many times along the way, the delegation arrived in Wuyuan in a low-key manner ten days later.

"Brother Cangbai, you must have had a hard journey here. I have prepared some wine to welcome you. I hope you will not mind the simple living conditions in the frontier." When Qiluban met Chief of Staff Ye, it was like meeting an old friend after a long separation.

"Brother Yisheng, you are too polite. I am sorry to bother you during this period of time, Brother Yisheng." Staff Officer Ye responded with a smile.

"No, no, I can't even invite you, brother. Come on, Brother Cangbai and the two experts, let's drink this cup!" Qiluban raised the wine glass and laughed heartily.

Ren Zhong and Jiang Chongjing, who were standing beside Staff Officer Ye, raised their glasses and drank them all.

The two of them were just there to accompany the guests drinking tonight, so they didn't need to think too much, so they just let Staff Officer Ye and Qi Lu chat and laugh about everything under the sun.

Ren Zhong did not expect that someone like Qiluban was so talkative. During the two-hour cocktail party, there was not a dull moment between the two of them. When talking about the Northern Expedition, the two of them seemed to have found a confidant.

But there is nothing substantial.

However, Wang Jingwen, the guest brought by Qiluban, chatted with Jiang Chongjing and Ren Zhong in a casual manner, so as to prevent the two of them from being bored.

After chatting for a while, Ren Zhong discovered that this man was an expert in water conservancy, so he deliberately picked up some topics related to water conservancy. Sure enough, Wang Jingwen was quickly led by Ren Zhong's topics, and the two of them had a lively exchange of ideas on the management of the Yellow River.

Frankly speaking, if Ren Zhong had not specifically searched for knowledge on water conservancy development when he was engaged in large-scale production, he would not have been Wang Jingwen's opponent if he had simply relied on common sense. However, after Ren Zhong had nearly a hundred years of new experience and achievements in water conservancy management in the main world, the views he put forward were not only refreshing, but also quite earth-shattering. Although Wang Jingwen could not believe some of them, Ren Zhong's words were so sure that Wang Jingwen did not dare to deny them easily.

I have great admiration for Ren Zhong's imaginative ideas.

Although Qiluban did not communicate much with Jiang Chongjing and Ren Zhong, he was obviously observing them secretly during his communication with Staff Officer Ye. As for Ren Zhong and Jiang Chongjing, Qiluban did not expect that the younger one would be more outstanding!
This gave him some extra confidence.

Honestly speaking, when the contact person first told him that the border region wanted to trade with him, Qiluban's first reaction was to refuse.

Because he believed that Wuyuan had no possibility of developing its own military industry, even the simplest bullet production.

Apart from the desert and grassland outside the Great Wall, there are not many people. If he had not insisted on immigration to the border for more than ten years and at the same time persisted in developing the Hetao water conservancy, how could Suiyuan have such a well-trained army and sufficient food to maintain the good situation in Hetao!
However, tonight, Qiluban only met with the negotiation team to feel the situation out briefly, and had no intention of discussing serious matters over the dinner table.

So the drinking session ended after more than an hour.

"Brother Ren, how do you feel after talking to Wang Jingwen?" Staff Officer Ye asked directly after returning to his residence. "They have strong doubts." Ren Zhong did not hide his feelings. "They asked us indirectly how we know the mineral resources in Suiyuan. This is what they can't understand the most, because they themselves don't know where there are iron and copper mines in Suiyuan."

"I pretended to shirk responsibility because I got a map of mineral resources outside the Great Wall from a foreigner by chance, which included Suiyuan. Wang Jingwen seemed to believe it but not to, but we don't need to think about it. As long as we find the iron ore in the place we have planned, this problem will be solved."

"Tomorrow I will take their people to look for ore. Staff Officer Ye and Minister Jiang will negotiate here. Although we may not come to any conclusion, we can have a preliminary understanding of their position. Once I confirm the iron ore, the negotiations will be accelerated immediately. At that time, I will assist Staff Officer Ye in bargaining with them."

"Okay, let's do as you arrange, Brother Ren. You take a few guards with you tomorrow. We are very safe in Wuyuan City. Let Wang Qiao and his men go with you as guards. Although the Seventh Route Army has dealt a strong blow to the Suiyuan bandits, there are many bandits outside the Great Wall, and it is inevitable that some will slip through the net. We still better be careful." After listening to this, Staff Officer Ye said thoughtfully.

At the same time, Qiluban and Wang Jingwen were also discussing this matter.

"Brother Jingwen, do you think the iron mine mentioned in the border area is real, or is it just a lie?"

"Commander, I don't think they are trying to deceive us. Although we don't know how they know it, they are obviously very sure about this matter. The Mr. Ren Zhong who came today is young but knowledgeable. He has knowledge in many areas at his fingertips. He doesn't look like a young man at all. Among all the people I know, he is the best in terms of broad knowledge." Wang Jingwen replied.

"Especially in the area of ​​water conservancy, this person's insights are profound and his ideas are bold, which is second to none. At first glance, they seem absurd, but upon closer examination, they are indeed very reasonable and he has thought of things that others have not thought of."

"The most important thing is, if they are not sure, wouldn't it be fooling themselves and asking for trouble if they came all the way here?"

"I think the commander might as well consider if there is such an iron mine. What requirements can we put forward to meet our needs?"

"If I can really complete my own iron mine and ironworks, I naturally hope to have an output of tens of thousands of tons of steel a year. Especially as they say, using wrought iron to make bullets, if this route is feasible and I can produce tens of thousands of tons of iron, I won't have to worry about a shortage of bullets and artillery shells." Qiluban said firmly.

"I'm afraid it won't be easy. Even the capital hasn't developed such a crucial technology as making bullets from wrought iron. It will probably cost us a lot for the border area to come up with such advanced technology. From what I know, their demand for food this time may be a very large number. After all, the border area's food production is much worse than Suiyuan's. Food shortage has always been a big problem for them. They will definitely take this opportunity to make harsh demands on Suiyuan, perhaps even tens of millions of kilograms every year." Wang Jingwen nodded and said with some embarrassment.

"I really appreciate Mr. Ren's point of view. In this land outside the Great Wall, we should work together with the border region to fight the enemy. According to Mr. Ren, the border region intends to counterattack in the north to the south bank of the Yellow River. In this case, we should consider attacking Jiuyuan. If our army is well-trained and well-fed, a hundred thousand troops may be able to swallow up the Japanese First Cavalry Brigade stationed in Jiuyuan in one fell swoop."

"There is no rush to fight back against the Japanese invaders in Jiuyuan. If this arsenal can indeed be built for us, why not give them 10,000 tons of food? We are short of everything else in Hetao now, except for this food! If we can really build our own arsenal, even if we can produce one million bullets, several thousand artillery shells, and tens of thousands of grenades a year, Jiuyuan will be just a piece of cake for me!
I am not worried about not being able to take Jiuyuan. I don't take a mere brigade seriously. I am worried that if Jiuyuan moves, the Mongolian troops will follow suit, and then they may attract the main force of the Kwantung Army. If we don't have our own military supply channels at that time, we will be in a passive situation.

Of course, if we can be self-sufficient in ammunition, we won't be afraid. In the battlefield outside the Great Wall, the Japanese can only send out one or two divisions at most. In such a vast area, one or two divisions will be just that much under the joint attack of the 120th Division of the Border Area. Although we may not win, it will not be a big problem to hold on! "

The third update, late but here it is!
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(End of this chapter)