Show the sword, start from the guerrillas

Not long after the Ping'an County meeting ended, the Beishan base entered the preparations before the autumn harvest! Because each company had added new members and needed to be adjusted, the comrades in the company took turns to stand guard and do the preparations before the autumn harvest!
There is no need to clean up the threshing ground in autumn harvest, usually the corn is transported back to the village to dry slowly. However, during the autumn harvest, corn stalks and straw are used as silage, and the silage pool must be cleaned out in advance. Then, the roads in the base area also need to be repaired, and the guillotines need to be sharpened to facilitate the next work.

Of course, the ones who do these jobs are the infantry, engineers, and the transport team's baggage soldiers, and the artillerymen do not need to participate!

Do you think it's easy for artillerymen who don't do farm work? You're wrong!
At Zhangzhuang, on the Pingliao Highway, all the comrades from the mortar platoons of the seven infantry companies of the main first regiment gathered together. Under the command of the Shuyou Regiment, they formed small teams according to the arrangements of their respective combat groups and ran for their lives.

"Everyone, run! This is a 10-kilometer march and no one can slack off! Each squad leader must keep an eye on their soldiers. It's only 10 kilometers and we have to finish the march in two hours!" Shu Youtuan was also running, shouting loudly as he ran.

Puff, puff... The artillerymen were sweating profusely as they ran, and the passers-by on the road were curious, but they had no idea what these Eighth Route Army soldiers were doing?

That's right, because a certain degree of confidentiality is required, especially in a busy place like the Pingliao Highway, the artillerymen's gun barrels, seat plates, brackets, etc. are all packed in wooden boxes of uniform specifications and carried on the soldiers' backs, making it impossible to see what is inside!
As for the uniform specifications, the wooden box containing the gun barrels, regardless of color, length, or style, is the same as the box containing 18 mortar shells! According to the weight of the mortar shells, 18 shells weigh 23.4 kilograms, and the box weighs 25 kilograms. This load is already considered a heavy-duty armed off-road vehicle.

Well, the gunner and the second gunner should be lighter, after all, the whole gun weighs only 16 kilograms. Why is the weight lighter than originally planned? The reason is very simple. 19 kilograms is the weight of the 31-year type, and Li Yuexuan referred to the design of the 63-year type, and then took a quality supplement in the process.

Well, the 31-year model mostly uses low-carbon steel, so the bracket and the gun body are made thicker. On Li Yuexuan's side, the gun body uses a train axle, and the bracket and the base are forged from rails, so the quality is lighter. Of course, it is heavier than the later 63-type due to the shortcomings of technology and machinery.

Well, this is actually not a big problem. The key issue is the gunner and the second gunner. These two not only have to arm themselves for off-road driving, but also have to lead the entire artillery team to set up mortars, debug parameters, etc. after arriving at the destination, so they need better physical strength to complete these tasks.

As for the ammunition handlers, they don't need to do that. They just need to carry the shells to the location and then deliver ammunition to the second gunner.

In fact, weight is not the point. The point is that except for the gunner, the second gunner and a veteran as the backbone, the rest of the soldiers in the 60th mortar combat platoon are rookies. If rookies want to grow, they have to practice more!
If nothing unexpected happens, the artillerymen will conduct armed cross-country marches every day, while the infantrymen will stand guard and help the people with their work. This is the daily routine of the Beishan Detachment!
But sometimes, the unexpected happens! For example, on September 9, the headquarters, which had said that they were not interested in the 28 mortar, suddenly called the Beishan Detachment!

That’s right, it was a telephone. The signalmen specially “borrowed” a telephone line from the Japanese and set up a telephone line between the headquarters and Liangjia Village, connecting several places in the middle.

"Hello?" In Liangjia Village, Zhu Xingyu held the phone and said seriously.

"Who is this on the other end of the line? I'm Zhang..." Minister Zhang's voice was filled with some enthusiasm on the other end of the line.

"Reporting to the commander, Zhu Xingyu is waiting for instructions!" Zhu Xingyu stood at attention quickly. "Oh, Xiao Zhu, haha, I heard that after the attack on Yangquan, you Beishan is doing very well! And the Independent Regiment and the New 1st Regiment are also doing very well! By the way, ask someone to call Youshun over first, don't hang up, I want to understand the situation..."

Zhu Xingyu quickly asked the signalman next to him to call Li Yuexuan, then he picked up the phone and answered a series of questions from Minister Zhang. When Li Yuexuan came over, Zhu Xingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, quickly handed the phone to Li Yuexuan, and ran to light a cigarette.

"Minister Zhang, you're looking for me?" Li Yuexuan was also very nervous. After all, after the phone line was connected, there were very few calls, and it was Minister Zhang who called. Was there something wrong?

"Xiao Li, I heard that you secretly made hundreds of 60 mortars?" Minister Zhang's first question made Li Yuexuan not know how to answer.

"Well, Minister Zhang, didn't the headquarters say that it would not interfere with the production of new mortars?" Li Yuexuan asked weakly.

"Haha, don't worry, it's a good thing!" Minister Zhang said, "According to what the headquarters has learned, the Beishan Detachment is equipped with the latest 60 mortars. Although it has not been tested in actual combat, we have analyzed it and feel that the 60 mortars have great advantages and are being promoted throughout the army! Since you have secretly built hundreds of them, why don't you send some to the headquarters!"

"Minister Zhang, this is a good thing! But we did not secretly build hundreds of guns. So far, there are only 410 guns at most!" said Li Yuexuan.

"Hahahaha... Listen, listen, 410 guns, that's all! You kid... How many do you have in stock now?" asked Minister Zhang.

"Uh...door 210, do you think it's okay?" Li Yuexuan asked in a low voice.

"Well, then send 210 mortars to the headquarters! As for the shells? You just need to organize some information and send 1000 rounds. The ammunition factory at the headquarters can also produce them! You kid, do a good job! Okay, give the phone to Zhu Xingyu, and let him arrange the follow-up matters!" Minister Zhang said.

"Yes!" Li Yuexuan quickly put the phone away, then covered the other end of the receiver, signaling Zhu Xingyu, who hadn't taken a few puffs yet, to answer the phone.

Zhu Xingyu was helpless, so he quickly put out his cigarette, took the phone, and consulted Minister Zhang about the situation. After Zhu Xingyu hung up the phone, he smiled and said to Li Yuexuan, "Hey, our brigade commander got 10 tons of brass and plans to send it to the headquarters. Let's send someone to the headquarters to deliver the mortars and bring the brass back!"

"That's a good thing! I think it would be best to just send a large group over. On the one hand, it will ensure safety, and on the other hand, it will also be a good exercise for long-distance marches!" Li Yuexuan said. (End of this chapter)