Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 111 Mine, everything is mine

Because the Japanese began to deploy troops to the battlefield behind enemy lines, battles began to occur frequently in the guerrilla zone to which the New Second Regiment belonged, and the Japanese and puppet troops would go to the countryside to carry out sweeps every now and then.

However, the number of troops each time was small, and they were mainly puppet troops. Therefore, Chen Chengxing did not mobilize a large force, but dispersed the main force and had the guerrillas cooperate with him to fight against the devils.

That day, Wei Dayong suddenly reported: "Captain, Captain Qin is back."

When Chen Chengxing looked up, he saw Qin Sheng walking in from the regiment headquarters gate.

"Qin Sheng, you're finally back. How is it? Is everything going well?" Chen Chengxing stood up and welcomed Qin Sheng in.

"Oh, don't mention it. The Japanese are now controlling Northeast China very strictly. Several comrades and I were almost caught when we first entered the country. Fortunately, we ran fast." Qin Sheng still feels scared when he talks about it now.

They had just got off the train and hadn't done anything yet when the Japanese gendarmerie came looking for them. They didn't even know how they were exposed.

"Comrades, are you all okay?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"It's nothing. I let them rest first." Qin Sheng said.

"Captain, this time, in addition to bringing back beet seeds, we also brought a master craftsman from the sugar factory." Qin Sheng said excitedly.

Now most of the Chinese people's industries in Northeast China have been taken away by the Japanese. The better ones can still avoid disaster by losing money, but the unlucky ones will most likely lose their lives.

The master craftsman of this sugar factory lost his boss because he was killed by the Japanese and the factory was destroyed. He had no wife or children and ended up living on the streets.

If Qin Sheng and the others hadn't run into him, he might have frozen to death. After all, it's already very cold in Northeast China.

"Really? That's great! Where are the people?" Chen Chengxing said happily.

With a skilled craftsman, a sugar factory can be set up at any time.

"Outside." Qin Sheng said.

"How can we leave it outside? Please come in quickly." Chen Chengxing said as he stood up and walked out of the command center.

As soon as he walked out of the regiment headquarters gate, Chen Chengxing saw a person squatting at the foot of the wall on the left.

"Oh, I'm sorry for the delay. Please forgive me." Chen Chengxing hurriedly stepped forward and greeted.

"I am Chen Chengxing, the leader of the New Second Regiment. Welcome, welcome."

The old man squatting at the foot of the wall saw someone coming out and quickly stood up.

"Hello, Captain Chen, my name is Ma Youfu, you can just call me Lao Ma." Ma Youfu said with fear and trepidation.

When had he ever seen such a high-ranking official as the regiment commander, and who was so polite to him?

"Master Ma, come with me into the regiment headquarters, let's sit down and talk." Chen Chengxing said, pulling Ma Youfu's arm.

Ma Youfu did not dare to resist and followed him into the regiment headquarters.

However, Ma Youfu still didn't dare to sit down, so Chen Chengxing could only force him to sit on the seat and poured him a glass of water.

"Master Ma, do you know how to make sugar?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"I understand, I understand. I used to do this. I can make both white sugar and brown sugar." Ma Youfu said.

"Okay, okay, then do you know how to grow beets?" Chen Chengxing asked.

"I know a thing or two." Ma Youfu nodded.

The raw materials of the sugar factory where he worked before were all grown on contracted land, so he knew how to grow sugar beets.

"Then do you think it can be grown in Shanxi?" asked Chen Chengxing.

This is the issue that Chen Chengxing is most concerned about. In later generations, Shanxi produced a lot of sugar beets, but he really didn't know whether the current varieties could be grown.

"It is possible to grow beets, but the land for growing beets must be fertile. I'm afraid the yield from the yellow soil in this mountainous area won't be very high," explained Ma Youfu.

The Northeast is all black soil and the land is fertile, so there is no problem growing sugar beets. However, most of the soil he saw along the way in Shanxi was yellow soil, which is much worse than black soil.

"As long as it can produce, we can expand the planting area to increase the yield." Chen Chengxing breathed a sigh of relief.

If the soil is not fertile enough, then manure will be used.

Now the breeding team has become more regular. Pig manure and chicken manure can be dried and fermented before being turned into the fields. The humus for raising earthworms is also a good thing.

Although it may not be possible to take care of too much land, it is better to have some than nothing.

After all, Chen Chengxing didn't plan on the annual output, as long as it was enough.

Moreover, the residue left over from beet sugar production can be used to feed cattle and sheep, so nothing will be wasted.

"It would be fine if there is enough land, but we can't plant it this year. We have to wait until next year," said Ma Youfu.

Just now he said that the issue of soil fertility is actually a cost issue. After all, if the cost of leasing the land is high, the sugar factory will have no profit.

If cost is not a concern, quality can be compensated for by quantity.

"Okay, Master Ma, you go down and have a rest first. I will still rely on your guidance next year. Before the beets are harvested, please see what is needed to set up a small sugar-making workshop. I will find someone to contact you." Chen Chengxing said.

"Qin Sheng, take Master Ma to a settlement and provide him with conditions and treatment comparable to that of a team leader like me," Chen Chengxing ordered.

"Yes!"

Ma Youfu, who was standing by, was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes when he heard that he was treated the same as the head of a regiment. He had never received such attention before.

After Ma Youfu left, Luo Ping finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Old Chen, what are you doing? Isn't it good to grow potatoes on that piece of land? Why grow beets to make sugar!" Luo Ping said. "Old Luo, you don't know this." Chen Chengxing laughed.

"Then tell me, what should I know?" Luo Ping asked.

"Sugar is easy to store and carry, and can replenish soldiers' physical strength in time during combat.
The most important thing is that it can also be used in the military. Not only can the power of black powder be increased by adding sugar, but sugar can also be made into propellant with saltpeter. "Chen Chengxing explained.

White sugar is a strategic material. Even in Taiyuan, you can't buy much white sugar.

"So it's quite useful?" Luo Ping asked curiously.

He didn't understand what propellant was, but he did understand that adding black powder and sugar could increase the power.

"Let's arrange it first. Even if it's just to provide nutritional supplements to the soldiers, it would be nice." Chen Chengxing said.

"Then I'll let Luo Yongan from the logistics department take over the arrangements, and we'll make plans after the baby is born." Luo Ping said.

"Okay." Chen Chengxing nodded.

Chen Chengxing only needs to give instructions for these things and provide some ideas when necessary. If he has to do everything, he will be exhausted.

In mid-December, when Chen Chengxing was reading the battle reports of various troops at the regiment headquarters, the system prompt suddenly occurred to him.

[Side quest: Bullet completed! ]

【Rewards are waiting to be claimed! 】

[Rewards are being distributed]

[Information obtained: Arsenal.]

[Arsenal: A stronghold was built in the Lianggou Coal Mine in the southeast of Fu'an. Inside the stronghold are many equipment for making guns and cannons (please click here to view the specific equipment list). ]

[Side quest released: Mine, all mine. ]

[Mission objective: Seize the equipment of Lianggou Coal Mine Arsenal and use it in your own arsenal.]

[Task reward: Research papers: 2.]

Just when Chen Chengxing heard the system prompt, the communicator's report was heard outside the door.

"Report! Commander, the 9th Guerrilla Brigade has sent us urgent information!"

Chen Chengxing took it and took a look, it was exactly the information about the arsenal.

"Old Chen, what's wrong?" Luo Ping, who heard the communicator's report outside the door, also walked over from his room.

"When the 9th Guerrilla Brigade was fighting guerrilla warfare in the Zhongshan area, they received intelligence that there was a group of puppet troops at the Lianggou Coal Mine and there was a small arsenal in the stronghold." Chen Chengxing casually handed the intelligence to Luo Ping.

This was determined by the guerrillas based on the equipment of the puppet troops when they were fighting against them.

Many of these puppet soldiers were using brand new firearms, and they looked like they had just been produced.

The intelligence provided by the 9th Guerrilla Brigade was very general, and the system's intelligence did not show the specific situation of that group of puppet troops. If one wanted to understand the situation, one had to conduct on-site investigations.

"What do you think? Fight?" Luo Ping asked.

"Fight! This is a godsend opportunity. If we can get these equipments, our New Second Regiment will be even more powerful." Chen Chengxing said.

The current output of the Erlangdong Arsenal is still too small to support the high-intensity combat of the New Second Regiment.

"Then fight." Luo Ping nodded.

If the Erlangdong Arsenal can be put on track, it will be a great thing for the new Second Regiment.

"Do you want to assemble the main force?" Luo Ping asked.

Although Lianggou Coal Mine is more than 50 miles away from Fu'an, the Japanese in Fu'an can first take a train along the Tongpu Railway to Guozhuang and then head south. In that case, they only need to walk 20 miles on the road to reach Lianggou Coal Mine.

If the Japanese choose to provide full support, they can arrive in 2 hours at most.

陈成兴想了想说道：“不用了，我带1营和2门步兵炮去就行了，到时候汇合在那附近活动的第5、第7、第9三支游击大队应该就够了。”

Although these three guerrilla brigades were not fully armed and their troops were not fully staffed, they still numbered about 3 to men in total.

At that time, the 1st Battalion will be the main force in the attack, and the guerrillas will be enough to cooperate in the attack, and there is also a county militia brigade there.

"If the infantry artillery is not enough, bring two more. The intelligence says that the puppet army has built many artillery towers and bunkers in that area." Luo Ping said with some concern.

"No need, just let the artillerymen bring more artillery shells." Chen Chengxing said.

Generally, an infantry artillery squad can only carry 20 artillery shells when marching. If they want to carry the standard 40 shells, they have to increase manpower and pack horses.

However, Chen Chengxing estimated that it would not be useful to attack artillery towers and strongholds. After all, in order to guard against the support of the Japanese, the New Second Regiment would definitely launch the attack at night.

At that time, the mortars could approach the artillery tower at night, and then flatten it to attack the artillery tower and bunkers.

As long as the turrets and bunkers are not made of concrete, mortar shells are enough to destroy them.

According to the guerrillas' observations, there were no particularly tall artillery towers in that area, so Chen Chengxing judged that the artillery towers built by the puppet army should be made of brick, wood or even earth.

"Okay." Seeing that Chen Chengxing had made his decision, Luo Ping stopped trying to persuade him. Luo Ping was still clear about Chen Chengxing's abilities.

After making the decision, Chen Chengxing did not wait too long. He immediately ordered the first battalion to assemble urgently, and then set off in a mighty manner.

(End of this chapter)