Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 185, page 184: They need bullets. The universal milling machine has arrived; let's make bullets.

The game is about to begin.

The athletes from the Taishan Aviation Security Team are not tall, but they have strong legs and are skilled climbers.

The selected Red Army soldiers were relatively thin, not intentionally, but all the Red Army soldiers were thin.

Shu Zhitao took two pebbles, struck them as a signal, and announced the start.

Two figures nimbly rushed down the mountain. Although the competition was for entertainment purposes, both of them were very competitive.

The speed of going downhill is almost the same. Due to inertia, you need to maintain a certain speed while controlling your body balance, otherwise you will fall down the mountain and roll down the mountain.

The two ran down the mountain in small steps, jumped into the stream, and swam across with all their might.

Upon reaching the riverbank, without even bothering to dry themselves, they almost simultaneously climbed up the earthen slope beside the stream.

The mountain ahead was their biggest challenge and the one that would consume the most of their energy.

The security guards, who received excellent nutrition every day and were also skilled climbers, started to take the lead along the way.

Behind him were thin Red Army soldiers who, though lacking explosive power, possessed remarkable endurance and maintained a safe distance from him.

And so, the two of them struggled to climb up the mountain from the ravine.

The security guard was the first to arrive, and he happily waved to the other side of the mountain.

But they discovered that the Red Army soldiers were still climbing, and if they stayed any longer, the enemy would catch up.

He hurried down the mountain; as a mountain dweller, he knew how to get down the ravine faster.

These mountains, with soil on the outside and rocks on the inside, have valleys where water flows down, and people slide down the original mountain water trails at the fastest speed.

As they descended rapidly, the security guards didn't forget to shout at the Red Army soldiers, looking quite pleased with themselves.

He reached the foot of the mountain without any trouble and gradually relaxed his pace. The physical exertion along the way had been too great for him.

Once I stopped, I felt exhausted, and my legs felt like lead, making it impossible to walk.

I need to rest for a while.

At the same time, the Red Army soldiers climbed to the top of the mountain and slid down the ravine.

Seeing this, the other four members of the Taishan Security Team who were watching from the mountain shouted, "Run! He's coming after us!"

The security team members, who hadn't had a proper rest, looked back and immediately ran towards the stream.

By the time he swam over, the other person had also entered the water.

When the security team member reached the mountainside, panting, the Red Army soldier came up behind him again, at the same distance.

This shift happened gradually, with a huge advantage being slowly leveled.

At this point, Fang Shouxin and Fang Shun understood the Red Army's secret.

This is a group of warriors with extraordinary endurance. Their endurance comes from their willpower and belief, which is why they are able to persevere in the face of formidable enemies.

When the two arrived at the mountaintop almost simultaneously, Fang Shouxin exclaimed, "You've won."

Shu Zhitao shook his head: "A win is a win, and a loss is a loss. We were a step behind, and you won this time. Now let's discuss that matter."

That matter, of course, refers to the airdrop; to maintain secrecy, he didn't even tell his subordinates.

The three of them reunited and began to discuss the matter.

Shanghai Airport.

Fang Wen left work on time, went home to eat the meal his wife cooked, and then went out for a stroll.

When he passed by the pilots' dormitory, he made a point of going over to take a look.

Without a French translator, Lin Shuiwang remained the leader of the group of French pilots and lived in the dormitory.

Fang Wen went to Lin Shuiwang's dormitory and talked with him.

How are they?

"Everything else is fine, but he's a bit too lecherous. He's always hanging around the girls in the flight attendant group, and those girls are completely infatuated with him."

Fang Wen and Lin Shuiwang shared the same view: in Fang Wen's opinion, the French concept of romance was simply lust.

He didn't want these French pilots to seduce girls and then be irresponsible, causing the girls' parents to come after him.

Therefore, Fang Wen felt he should have a serious talk with those guys.

He and Lin Shuiwang went to the French pilots' dormitory, gathered everyone together, and held a meeting.

"I want to make one thing clear: the attitudes of Chinese and French people towards relationships are different. If you like a respectable girl here, you need to take on family responsibilities. Therefore, I hereby declare that dating within the company is strictly prohibited. If discovered, the consequences will range from deduction of salary and bonuses to dismissal and compensation."

Upon hearing this, the pilots immediately became quiet. They were there to earn money, and they couldn't let a little lust ruin their good job.

Several people expressed in English that they would never cause trouble at the company, and only then did Fang Wen leave.

Lin Shuiwang gave a thumbs up: "General Manager, it has to be you. They don't listen to me."

"Your flattery skills have gotten worse," Fang Wen said with a laugh as he left.

As he walked along the road outside the airport, people greeted him from time to time, and Fang Wen responded with a smile.

After going around in circles, Fang Wen returned home and took out the small cauldron.

He wanted to try absorbing the energy of two mysterious items at the same time.

This idea is feasible.

But the results were not good.

Despite absorbing the energy of two mysterious items simultaneously, the total amount of energy remained largely unchanged.

He was making estimates.

The energy absorbed from the amber cross alone is 1.

The energy absorbed from both the amber cross and the bronze tripod is 1.1.

Although the total quantity increased by 10%, the quality deteriorated.

If absorbed at the same time, the two different energies cannot be combined and need to be digested separately.

Fang Wen judged this situation to be due to differences in beliefs.

The cross represents faith in Christ, while the bronze tripod represents a totem worship practiced by the ancient Indians.

These two things are not the same thing, so of course they cannot be combined and absorbed together.

He couldn't help but wonder if he needed to become stronger to be able to absorb different faiths at the same time.

After cutting off the energy absorption of the bronze cauldron and placing it in the hidden safe, Fang Wen glanced at his wristwatch.

It's time.

He took out the telegraph machine and received a report from western Hunan.

As the radio waves rang, Fang Wen recorded the Morse code and then translated it.

[Contact was established with a part of the Third Red Army; they urgently needed ammunition.]

Currently, the Third Red Army has a large number of Hanyang rifles as its weapons, and they are consuming a lot of ammunition without receiving replenishment.

From what we understand, the soldiers' ammunition reserves are no more than ten rounds, and the only way to replenish them is by capturing them.

After reading the telegram, Fang Wen pondered.

The Hanyang rifle was produced by the Hubei Gun Factory in Hanyang, which copied the German M1888 Mauser rifle. Therefore, it was also known as the "Type 88 rifle".

Its caliber is 7.92 mm, its capacity is 5 rounds, its muzzle velocity is 600 m/s, and its sight range is 2000 m.

It is a very good long gun produced domestically.

The 7.92mm Mauser rifle bullet production line that he brought back from the United States was also prepared for this.

Where is that equipment now? The Cincinnati, an ocean liner that departed from San Francisco, is sailing on the ocean.

The cargo ship spent a month adrift on the ocean, and except for a stop in Honolulu, it never stopped.

In addition to the cargo, there were three Chicago Mafia members on board.

These three were Al Capone's most trusted men. For the remaining $10 and for the future of his 10% stake in the casino company, they had to ensure the cargo ship reached Yangon port.

Therefore, even when the ship had passed through the Strait of Malacca and was only one leg of the journey away from its destination, they did not relax.

After all, this was their last chance for a group of mafia members who had no other options.

Finally, after traveling hundreds of miles, the cargo ship arrived safely in Yangon.

Two mafia members were guarding the cargo on the ship, while one went ashore to find a contact.

He held up a piece of cardboard with Chinese characters written on it and spoke in broken Chinese.

"I'm looking for this person."

The cardboard sign read "Shao Sishen".

Many locals at Yangon Port couldn't understand his broken Mandarin, but they knew the signboard was written in Chinese.

One of them came to a small shop near the port and talked to the shopkeeper: "There is a foreigner who is carrying a cardboard sign with Chinese characters on it and talking to people everywhere."

"Really?" The Chinese shop owner told his wife to mind the shop while he went to see what was going on.

He saw the words on the cardboard.

Isn't that the most famous person in the Chinese community recently?

It was that person who came to Yangon that established Yangon's first airport.

Everyone is waiting for the airport to open so they can fly home to visit their families.

By the way, Shao Sichen should be at the airport right now.

He simply boarded a passing oxcart and headed to the airport to deliver the message.

Upon learning that someone was looking for him at the port, Shao Sicheng immediately went to the port and spoke with the American mafia member.

Once the decision was made, a large group of port workers were hired and began unloading the cargo.

The goods were placed in the Chinese warehouse, and at the same time, Shao Sishen contacted Fang Wen by telegram.

The goods from the United States have finally arrived.

Fang Wen immediately drove his F.220 to Yangon.

The plane landed at the newly built airport, which, although rudimentary, was already in use.

Before I even went to the warehouse to check the goods, I was warmly invited by the local Chinese community to a welcome banquet.

In a local Chinese restaurant, Fang Wen, accompanied by Shao Sishen, met with prominent figures in the local Chinese community.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone raised their glasses.

After finishing the first drink, everyone chatted amongst themselves, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

Fang Wen said to Shao Sishen, "The environment here is quite nice."

Shao Sichen replied, "That's true. The British don't really care about things here. Take the airport for example, I have to go all the way to Calcutta to get the permit. Besides, the local Chinese are very united, which makes things easier."

Shao Sishen's words gave Fang Wen some ideas.

It is said that a cunning rabbit has three burrows, and the Xiangxi Airport is more than enough as a bomb factory and a strategic bombing launch point.

It doesn't seem appropriate to place the bullet production line near Xiangxi Airport as well.

Yangon is actually not far from China, and we can even establish a secret air route between Xiangxi Airport and Yangon.

This allows workers on the bullet production line to be sent here, and the bullets produced, along with other seaborne goods, to be shipped back.

Furthermore, a refinery is also located here, providing access to oil from Myanmar and the Persian Gulf.

The fuel problem was thus solved.

From this perspective, Yangon's dialect becomes much more valuable.

In addition, the close-knit Chinese community here makes things easier.

Thinking of this, Fang Wen smiled, stood up, and raised his glass: "Gentlemen, I will be making many investments in Yangon in the future. I hope we can support each other and develop together."

The Chinese businessmen smiled as they raised their glasses and drank the toast of mutual benefit.

During the banquet, the land and factory buildings for the bullet factory were discussed.

After the banquet, Fang Wen, led by Shao Sishen, arrived at the warehouse where the supplies were stored.

There were two 1710 engines, 10 universal milling machines, conveyor belts, motors, conveyor belt bases, and other such items.

Looking at this pile of stuff, Shao Sichen shook his head and said, "I don't know anything about running a bullet processing plant."

“Huo Duanyang understands. I’ll bring him over after I transport the engine back,” Fang Wen said with a smile.

Then, the two 1710 engines were placed on a trolley, and the workers pulled from the front and pushed from the back, sending them from the tail of the aircraft into the cabin.

At the same time, Fang Wen also got himself a universal milling machine to take back with him.

The plane took off and flew directly to Xiangxi Airport.

After the plane landed, Fang Wen had the security team transport the two engines to the warehouse for storage, and then mysteriously said to Huo Duanyang, "I'll take you to see something good."

Huo Duanyang looked at the equipment and exclaimed, "A universal milling machine, and it even has a manual punch press!"

Upon closer inspection, he exclaimed, "This must be specially made for bullets! Look at the notch on the stamping press, it's 7.92 millimeters!"

Fang Wen exclaimed, "You've learned something at the Jinling Arsenal, haven't you? What do you think of this equipment?"

"That's fantastic." Huo Duanyang said, "This should be bullet production equipment modified from a universal milling machine. A manual stamping machine can make cartridge cases and bullets. Universal machine tools have many uses, such as making bullets, cartridge case bases, internal cartridge case structures, and gun barrel rifling."

Fang Wen added, "We can also use precision jigs on a universal milling machine to hold the cartridge case in place. We can use a milling cutter to precisely drill holes in the bottom of the cartridge case to install the primer. I have nine of these machines; do you think we could make bullets with them?"

Huo Duanyang nodded: "Of course, but I don't know how to do it."

Fang Wen took out a manual and smiled, "I know. How about we learn how to make 7.92mm bullets these next few days?"

These words greatly intrigued Huo Duanyang, and the two began to study them in depth.

Making bullets requires more than just having equipment like universal milling machines.

We also need materials.

The armor material for 7.92mm Mauser rifle bullets, according to the latest specifications, is copper-plated steel, which provides both strength and good corrosion and wear resistance.

The core material of a conventional bullet is made of lead to enhance its weight and stability.

However, under current conditions, copper-clad steel cannot be used; other materials must be chosen.

Iron is too hard to make bullet casings and is likely to damage the rifling, so it was the first choice to be discarded. Lead and tin are also unsuitable because they tend to soften under high temperature and pressure, resulting in a "lead-like" effect. Therefore, copper became a more suitable choice.

Therefore, the first step is to use a manual stamping device to stamp the copper material into the shape of a bullet.

This process requires operators to have certain skills and experience to ensure that the stamped projectiles meet the design requirements.

Huo Duanyang originally thought it would be difficult to do, but when he actually tried, he found that the general manager actually had a talent for this.

He watched as the general manager went from being unfamiliar with the project to becoming proficient, completing the production of a pure copper-clad lead-core bullet.

Furthermore, he also recorded his operating techniques.

Yes, that's the most important thing. We can't let the general manager make the bullets in the future.

Huo Duanyang immediately realized what was happening and assisted him, carefully recording the details and various parameters of the entire operation.

(End of this chapter)