Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry.

Chapter 158 The First Test

"Bang", with a crisp sound, the human-shaped target a hundred meters away fell down.

"It's really good! Brother Cangbai, your iron-cased bullets are not inferior to copper-cased bullets at all. With such an achievement, the border area is truly amazing in terms of ordnance technology." Qiluban put down the Zhongzheng in his hand and looked at the target that fell to the ground in the distance. His expression moved slightly and his tone was a little fiery.

"Brother Yisheng, our two armies are neighbors, protecting the north together. We should look after and support each other. Naturally, our border region will not keep the technology of iron-cased bullets to ourselves. We are willing to share this technology with Brother Yisheng to help Suiyuan enhance its national defense capabilities." Staff Officer Ye said with a smile.

"I haven't seen you share it with your old superior who is so close to you." Qiluban was dissatisfied in his heart when he heard this, but his face showed that he was very pleased. "Brother Cangbai, Suiyuan has been neighbors with the border area for many years. We have never been ambiguous in fighting the Japanese. It is bitter and cold outside the Great Wall. Suiyuan is also raised by a stepmother in the war zone. All the supplies are left over by others, and sometimes there are none. Otherwise, with a hundred thousand troops in Suiyuan, why would we be trapped in the Hetao area and unable to move?"

The Seventh Route Army was half true and half false, and there was a certain amount of grief and indignation in what he said. Staff Officer Ye casually echoed, "Who says it's not true? Hundreds of thousands of soldiers in our border region are fighting on the front lines, and now they don't have any supplies. The government also has many constraints, so they have to rely on captured food and self-reliance. Not to mention the shortage of weapons and ammunition, even eating is a big problem. To be honest, Brother Yisheng, our border region is now short of food. It has reached the point where the average person only eats half a catty a day, and it is difficult to sustain two meals a day."

Staff Officer Ye took the opportunity to get the topic straight to the point.

"I've heard for a long time that Brother Yisheng has made great achievements in frontier reclamation and has built Suiyuan into a place on the border where food is plentiful and people are well-fed. I'm here this time to share the border region's military technology with us to strengthen our national defense, and on the other hand, to ask Brother Yisheng for help."

It's not that the border region has not negotiated with the Seventh Route Army about the purchase of food. In these chaotic times, besides weapons and ammunition, the second most important thing is food. The border region and the Eighth Route Army base have a lot of penicillin to trade. Although they don't have much money, they still have enough to buy millions of kilograms of food.

After only a few negotiations, Qiluban just laughed it off.

At this moment, Qiluban saw that Staff Officer Ye went straight to the point. He knew that today Staff Officer Ye would lead him to test the iron-cased bullets in the border area, which would not be so simple. Sure enough, he did.

"Brother Cangbai, you are too kind. I don't have such ability. I really don't deserve the reputation of being the Jiangnan of the Great Wall. I am so ashamed. The life in Suiyuan is bitter and cold. We can barely get enough food and clothing. If I had surplus food at home, how could I not support your troops?" The Seventh Route Army made excuses as usual.

"I don't know how to produce this iron-cased bullet. How many can you produce in a day? If Suiyuan also has such a capability, we will drive the Japanese invaders from outside the Great Wall back to the Northeast sooner or later." Qilu half-squinted his eyes and looked at the human-shaped target that his men had just brought over. His eyelids twitched, and a big hole appeared in the iron-cased target. The penetrating power of this bullet seemed to be stronger than that of a copper-cased bullet!
After playing with the few remaining copper-cased bullets in his hand, Qiluban's heart became hot. He had to get this technology no matter what. No matter whether he could find iron ore in Suiyuan or not, with this iron ore bullet technology, he could find a way to get more than a thousand tons of steel from the rear.

But in addition to iron, there are also propellant and explosives to load the bullets. Qiluban stared at the bullets in his hand, his thoughts flying. It took him a long time to react and shook his head. After all, compared with the border area, his side was still far behind in attracting talents.

If I could use this technology, why would I, the King outside the Great Wall, be so secluded in a corner that I am not worthy of the title?

Staff Officer Ye observed the situation and knew that Qiluban was tempted. He secretly approved of the negotiation strategy set by Ren Zhong. At this moment, no moral principles were as reliable as actual benefits.

He took out more than a hundred rounds of bullets to demonstrate his strength. No matter whether it was the Hanyang type, the Zhongzheng type or the Czech type, the 7.5-round rifle had been tried and there was no problem at all. These were the most important types of firearms in Suiyuan. If the ammunition supply for these firearms could be solved, the 7.5-round rifle would basically be irresistible.

Sure enough, that's the case now.

It's a pity, if the border area's own production capacity is not enough to meet its own needs, it would be much better to directly exchange bullets for food, so that the chickens can be kept in their own hands, and only the eggs need to be exchanged. Staff Officer Ye sighed secretly in his heart, one should not be too greedy, if this technology can be exchanged for 5000 tons of food, as long as the current difficulties are overcome, the border area will surely make rapid progress next.

With the talent of Ren Zhong, he has secretly planned a lot for the border area. If the 100,000 acres of newly reclaimed land can increase the amount of grain by tens of millions kilograms, then the border area will no longer have to depend on others for anything!

"For one production line, if there is no shortage of raw materials and labor, it will be no problem to produce more than 7.92 standard iron-cased bullets a day. If the workers are more skilled and work in shifts 24 hours a day, with people stopping but machines not, it is also possible to produce more than 2 rounds. However, in this way, the machinery will wear out greatly. It may wear out in three to five years instead of ten years." Staff Officer Ye responded.

This is a semi-modern production line that uses mechanical punching presses and machine tools. Compared with manual punching presses, its efficiency is naturally much higher.

"Hiss" Qiluban took a deep breath, this area really cannot be underestimated.

Then his eyes became even hotter.

When it comes to something that is so easy to verify, he is not afraid of being deceived by Staff Officer Ye.

"Brother Cangbai, let's be frank. How much manpower do we need to invest in a production line like this, and how much will it cost?" Qiluban didn't want to waste any more time. If he delayed using such a magic weapon for even a day, it would be a waste of his own strength.

"Brother Yisheng, originally, money doesn't matter between us brothers, but our border area is in a period of shortage, and we are in urgent need of 10,000 tons of food. So for this set of equipment, let's not talk about money, but help each other and share what we have." Staff Officer Ye seemed casual, but he was actually nervous inside. He asked for a big sum first to test the other party.

Qiluban was silent for a moment, "Brother Cangbai, I agree with brothers sharing what they have, but Suiyuan is poor and has few people, so we really can't afford so much food."

Seeing that none of the seven and a half men refused to die, Staff Officer Ye was certain.

As for how much grain there was in Suiyuan, the border area actually had no real evidence. After all, not only was the statistical work of that era backward, but who would talk about the core data casually?

However, Staff Officer Ye didn't know why Ren Zhong was so sure that Suiyuan could produce at least tens of thousands of tons of grain, but judging from the results of the test, it seemed that the news was correct.

Staff Officer Ye couldn't help but make up his mind that the original bottom line of 5000 tons seemed to be able to be raised a little bit.

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(End of this chapter)