Republic of China: Ace Pilot

Chapter 597 Braised Luncheon Meat Canned Food Taishan Pine Medium Tank Improvement
Fang Wen followed Shunzi to the food factory.

As the production site of Taishan's compressed military rations, this food factory has been established for more than three years. In addition to compressed military rations, it also produces some candies and preserved fruits for employee benefits during holidays and for customer feedback from Taishan Airlines.

Now, the factory has added another production line for the production of Taishan luncheon meat.

Before even tasting it, Fang Wen watched the production process.

Shunzi then explained from the side.

"General Manager, we went to the northern Myanmar base last time and learned some scientific production techniques. When we came back, we optimized the production process of the food factory and made sure that the workers had clear division of labor. The same applies to the luncheon meat production line."

"Is that so? I'd like to hear more." Fang Wen replied with a smile. Shunzi was becoming more and more mature, no longer the young man who failed the flight apprentice exam a few years ago. He could now handle things independently at Xiangxi Airport.

Fang Wen listened to Shunzi's explanation while watching the workers operate the equipment.

Workers carried wooden buckets containing sweet potato starch and poured 100 jin (50 catties) of sweet potato starch into the mixing tank.

Two hundred catties of water were added to the stirring vat, and then two strong workers used jujube wood sticks to stir it repeatedly in one direction.

You need to stir until there are no dry lumps at the bottom of the bowl, and the starch is completely dissolved in the water, turning into a very thick paste.

On the other side, workers sauté spices, onions, garlic, and other ingredients in rapeseed oil, then let it cool so that the spices can infuse in the oil.

Next comes making the broth base.

The workers placed a large iron pot on the earthen stove, poured in the prepared starch paste, lit the firewood, and stirred it repeatedly clockwise along the bottom of the pot with an iron shovel.

This step is done by experienced chefs, who need to stir the mixture close to the bottom of the pot to prevent the starch from settling and burning.

Once the bottom of the pot burns, the taste changes, and there's no point in continuing to make the whole pot of starch paste. In these times of scarcity, extra care is needed.

Once the starch paste has changed from a "milky white thin paste" to a "semi-transparent thick paste", the firewood must be removed immediately, spiced oil added, and quickly stirred with an iron spatula. Then, pour it into a coarse porcelain basin and let it cool in a cool place to room temperature.

Next comes the processing of the meat.

Cut pork with equal parts fat and lean into 1-inch cubes, lay them on a bluestone cutting board, and chop them with two cleavers in a "cross-cutting" motion until the cubes become coarse minced meat.

Pour the minced meat into a large wooden basin, add small free-range farm eggs, rapeseed oil, salt, granulated sugar, white pepper powder, soy sauce, and rice wine.

Two workers stand facing each other, their hands reaching into a wooden basin to "stir" the meat—they need to stir until the minced meat becomes sticky, allowing the seasonings to fully penetrate the meat.

Water needs to be added twice during the process. Each time, mix until the water is absorbed by the minced meat before adding more water.

The prepared minced meat mixture is mixed with the cooled starch paste. Workers stir it from the bottom up to ensure that the minced meat is coated with starch paste until the mixture becomes "viscous and flowable" (the paste can slowly drip off when both hands are lifted).

The next step is to steam the luncheon meat to shape it.

Using prefabricated tin boxes from the base in northern Myanmar, the inner walls are wiped with lard. The mixture of minced meat and starch is poured into the mold. Each time a box is filled, it is necessary to gently press it with the palm of the hand to remove the air bubbles inside, so as to avoid voids after steaming. The surface is then smoothed with bamboo strips.

These steaming boxes were placed on a wooden rack, placed in a large iron pot filled with water, covered with a clean gauze, and the iron pot lid was tightened. The water was brought to a boil over high heat and then reduced to low heat.

The steaming time is 2 hours.

After steaming, let it sit for 15 minutes, then let it cool in a cool place.

Once cooled, the finished product doesn't need to be removed from the tin box; simply adding a sealing lid transforms it into canned luncheon meat.

At this point, Fang Wen had a complete understanding of the production process of canned luncheon meat.

He took a sealed can of braised luncheon meat from Shunzi, pried open the lid with a dagger, cut off a piece, and ate it.

This is the original flavor, which is the taste of Hebei-style braised pork.

The first taste is a light salty freshness, followed by the aroma of pork slowly spreading out. The chewy texture of the coarse meat chunks is very noticeable. The soft and glutinous texture of the stew is wrapped around the firm minced meat. The aftertaste has a hint of sweet onion and a lingering garlic flavor. It's not too strong in flavor, but it goes very well with rice.

"It tastes good, suitable for soldiers from the north. Do you have any other flavors?" Fang Wen asked.

“Yes.” Shunzi picked out three cans from the pile. “There are also spicy, smoked, and savory flavors.”

Fang Wen tasted them one by one.

The spicy version has a pungent aroma of chili powder that you can taste as soon as you take a bite. It's not a spiciness that hits your throat directly, but a "warm spiciness" that slowly seeps into the minced meat. The spiciness is accompanied by the freshness of the meat and the glutinous texture of the braised meat. After eating, there is still a lingering fragrance in your mouth.

It's very appetizing.

The smoked version has a distinct smoky aroma upon first bite, somewhat reminiscent of the smoked bacon Fang Wen ate at the Xiangxi airport, but it's not overpowering and doesn't mask the meat's natural flavor. Furthermore, the minced meat is firmer due to the smoking process, giving it a "the more you chew, the more fragrant it becomes" texture.

Fang Wen asked in surprise, "How was this made?"

“We have local workers from western Hunan in our factory. They suggested using pine shavings and cypress branches for fumigation, which produces a faint woody fragrance without any off-flavors. I adopted this suggestion and tried it out. General Manager, what do you think?”

“Some people may like it, but it’s not widespread,” Fang Wen concluded.

He put down the smoked canned goods and tasted the last one, the soy sauce-flavored version.

The rich aroma of soy sauce, the umami of soy sauce and the mellowness of sweet bean sauce are combined together. The minced meat is fully soaked in the sauce flavor, making it particularly flavorful when chewed. The stew also has a darker color from the sauce.

The aftertaste has a hint of star anise and cinnamon, not obvious but it enhances the aroma. It goes well with rice or noodles, and is somewhat like "braised meat that doesn't need to be stewed".

After tasting the four types of canned food, Fang Wen thought they were all pretty good.

Only the soldiers themselves will know which one is more popular with them.

However, all of these have one problem: they contain little meat.

This formula was also developed by Shunzi to address the shortage of raw materials.

Meat is in short supply across China today.

Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, although there was warlord infighting in China, the meat supply was still able to barely meet the needs of a portion of the population.

With the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, traditional small-scale farming methods were greatly affected by the war, directly leading to a sharp drop in the total amount of meat.

Not to mention those little devils, they were all bandits who couldn't stand the sight of even a little bit of good stuff, leaving no chickens, ducks, cattle, or sheep in their wake.

Therefore, the only way to improve the nutritional supply of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army was to find a solution from abroad.

Shaking off his thoughts, Fang Wen instructed, "Shunzi, you did a great job. Besides these four flavors, you should also research European and Soviet flavors."

"General Manager, are you planning to sell canned goods to Europe and the Soviet Union?" Shunzi asked in surprise.

"Okay, you can start preparing now."

Fang Wen did not mention that the war would soon cause the complete collapse of the production systems of various materials in Europe and the Soviet Union, and that the United States would gain a large number of orders from it. Fang Wen planned to let Taishan also gain some benefits from this war.

He and Shunzi talked about personal matters again.

It's about the child and his father, Fang Shouxin.

"If your father gets married, would you agree to it?"

"You mean the one at my dad's house? Why would I disagree? She's very good to my son. As long as my dad marries her, I'll change my mind." Shunzi replied with a grin.

That's good. Fang Wen didn't have to waste any more words to resolve the family issues of Fang Shouxin and his son.

Fang Wen then patted Shunzi on the shoulder: "Alright, I'm going back now. I'll try to redesign the can lids. Once the meat supply is secured, you guys need to go all out on production. You can hire more local staff."

"it is good."

Shunzi saw Fang Wen and Gong Xiuneng off from the factory. The two then boarded a plane and took off under the watchful eyes of Shunzi and the others.

The plane departed from Xiangxi Airport, flew at a speed of over 500 kilometers per hour, and flew directly over Guiyang and Kunming without stopping. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes to reach the base in northern Myanmar.

It was already evening when Fang Wen got off the plane and went to his accommodation at the base to rest.

The next day, I got up early to learn about the current situation at the base.

During the more than two weeks that we were away, the generator sets that the Soviet Union had brought in were already operating normally.

The coal transported from China, the heavy oil from the Myanmar Oil Company's refinery, and the heavy oil from their own refinery can meet the fuel needs of the thermal power generators.

With ample electricity, production at the factory in northern Myanmar no longer requires shift scheduling.

Meanwhile, the tank castings delivered at the same time were also transported to the base in northern Myanmar by water. Because there is no dedicated tank manufacturing plant, these castings have not yet been used for actual production.

Although the tanks could not be transported to the far north or sent to the New Fourth Army scattered in various places, they could be used by the Independent Regiment.

As long as the Independent Regiment possessed a batch of Taishan Pine medium tanks, Fang Wen believed that the Independent Regiment's defensive zone would be impenetrable to the Japanese army.

That way, they could establish a foothold in the Guangdong region and contain the Japanese army.

Therefore, Fang Wen immediately set about overseeing the construction of the tank factory. The Taishan Pine medium tank had enjoyed a brief period of glory a year earlier, with two medium tanks completely overwhelming Japanese tanks.

Unfortunately, it was later destroyed by Japanese aircraft when the mobile troops retreated to the southern Shanxi area.

Fang Wen had memorized the production process. When he was preparing to build the tank factory, the first thing he did was to write down the production process.

Meanwhile, the base's logistics and infrastructure departments also began expanding in the northwest area of ​​the base.

This includes machining workshops, assembly workshops, and vehicle assembly and testing workshops.

Of course, not all processing steps have to be completed at the tank factory.

The multiple factories at the northern Myanmar base are complementary; after completing their own tasks, some functional workshops can provide processing and production services for other factories.

The aircraft manufacturing plant, artillery shell factory, and other sister units at the northern Myanmar base have already accumulated a foundation in heavy processing and precision manufacturing. As long as the process is well integrated and the division of labor is coordinated, the mass production speed of the Taishan Pine Tank can be doubled.

This production plan, which incorporated the concept of "resource sharing," was quickly implemented under his leadership.

The core components of the Taishan Pine tank, such as its tracks and gun barrel, rely on large forging and stamping equipment. These machines are already in use in aircraft and artillery shell factories, so there is no need for the tank factory to build them again.

Multipurpose hydraulic presses and large gantry milling machines can be used for machining rocket bodies, aircraft structures, and tank bodies.

For example, the frontal armor of the Taishan Pine tank needs to be stamped into an "arc-shaped shield" using 15mm thick alloy steel plates (to resist the 47mm gun of the Japanese Type 97 tank). The hydraulic stamping press can complete the arc-shaped pressing in one go. After stamping, the armor plate is directly machined with mounting holes on the gantry milling machine in the aircraft factory with a precision of 0.1mm to ensure the fit with the vehicle frame.

Aircraft manufacturers have mature "aluminum alloy and steel welding technology". This submerged arc welding technology is used for welding fighter jet fuselages and can also be used to weld the load-bearing frame of tank chassis.

As for track plate forging, the track plates of the Taishan Pine tank need to be forged from manganese steel into an "I-shaped structure". This structure is wear-resistant and fracture-resistant. The die forging press of the shell factory can press the track plate blanks in batches, which saves the trouble of repeated construction and equipment procurement.

After forging, the shells are directly subjected to "tempering and heat treatment" in the quenching furnace of the shell factory, saving the tank factory the cost of building its own heat treatment section.

In addition to technical support from various sister factories, Fang Wen also plans to apply some new technologies to the Taishan Pine medium tank.

The television camera remote fire control device can be used for aiming the main gun of a tank.

Rocket launchers can also be mounted on the flanks of the tank to increase the effectiveness of group combat.

The tank's kinetic energy also needs some improvements.

The original Pratt & Whitney 1340 engine provided sufficient horsepower and kinetic energy, but its full potential was not realized.

Fang Wen now has a better understanding of machinery, and therefore has made improvements to the power system of Taishan Pine.

The proposed solution involves adding a new hydraulic torque converter to the tank's transmission system, thereby changing the braking method.

The flow state of the working fluid in the hydraulic torque converter changes, generating greater resistance, which consumes the engine's power and achieves braking.

This method can smoothly reduce the tank's speed without cutting off power, and it has less impact on the transmission system.

July passed quickly.

Inside the tank production workshop, the first improved Taishan Pine tank completed its final assembly and underwent testing at the test site.

Fang Wen, as the first test pilot of the improved Taishan Pine Tank, and two other engineers climbed into the tank.

Fang Wen is the train conductor and driver.

The other two engineers served as gunner, machine gunner, and communications officer, respectively.

As the engine started, a roar came from behind the vehicle, and Fang Wen controlled the tank to move forward.

He activated his mechanical senses and gave the tank a thorough check-up.

The tank's overall performance is 10 percent better than the old version.

Frontal defense increased by 20% (the curved shield can deflect part of the power of a direct frontal shell, and if the angle is good, it can even deflect the shell directly).
With the change in braking, the tank's maneuverability has improved significantly, allowing it to perform sharp turns that were previously impossible.

Fang Wen, who drove the tank around, was very satisfied with his work.

He then had two engineers conduct a firing test.

Because the enemy's armor was thin and didn't require much penetration, the artillery used this time was a 75mm short-barreled gun.

However, the added television-guided remote fire control system increased the effective range from 500 meters for visual aiming to 1000 meters.

The machine guns, however, remained unchanged.

Finally, the rocket launchers on both sides of the tank were tested.

This type of equipment does not fire while in operation, as that would be impossible to fire accurately. Instead, it receives firing data from the front, calculates the firing parameters, adjusts the firing direction, and then fires.

However, it could be described as a small 'Katyusha' rocket launcher towed by a tank.

Unfortunately, the rockets have a mediocre hit rate, but their area-of-effect damage is decent.

Once the tank has passed the tests, it means that the tank has passed the test.

Fang Wen had been busy with this for a long time and wanted to take a break.

He then put aside his work and flew his plane to Yangon.

After landing in Yangon, Fang Wen drove directly back to headquarters. He stayed in his top-floor residence for a while, but couldn't sit still, so he went downstairs to wander around.

Inside the headquarters building, all departments are busy at work. After years of integration, Taishan Airlines has become a sophisticated machine, and it continues to develop with the joint efforts of its employees.

After looking around, Fang Wen went to the administration department and entered Fang Shouxin's office.

Fang Shouxin was reading a document, wearing reading glasses.

"What's wrong? Can't you see clearly?" Fang Wen asked with concern.

Fang Shouxin looked up and saw Fang Wen, explaining, "It's probably because I injured myself practicing martial arts when I was younger. My eyesight has deteriorated a lot in the past six months. Wearing glasses will help, and it won't affect my work."

"Take care of yourself. By the way, I talked to Shunzi, and he said he wouldn't object to you getting married."

Fang Shouxin's face immediately turned red. "Young Master, why are you saying all this?"

"Alright, I won't say anymore."

Fang Wen smiled and left the administration department, going to the general manager's office and asking his assistant Zhao Junping to bring him the intelligence documents from this period.

Each intelligence report represents the situation in various aspects in July.

The fighting between the Soviet Union and Japan at Nomonhan was nearing its end, and neither side had any intention of escalating it.

Since the Battle of Manshi Road, the Japanese army has not launched any further offensives into the Taihang region, but instead has stationed a large number of troops for defense along the Pinghan Railway.

In Central China, the Japanese army began to launch offensives along the Yangtze River towards the surrounding areas, plundering various local resources along the way.

In South China, Japanese troops confronted the National Revolutionary Army in the Zhanjiang area.

In Europe, Germany has deployed seven army groups, approximately 88 divisions, with 2800 tanks and over 2000 aircraft in the German-Polish border region.

In mid-July, the German army held a "large-scale military exercise" on the border, which was actually a live-fire drill.

Tank units simulated breaking through Polish defenses, and the air force practiced bombing tactics against Polish railway hubs and airports, making no attempt to conceal its military deterrence intent.

By this time,
In Europe, the focus remains on using diplomatic negotiations to ease tensions and avoid war.

Soviet and German diplomats were in close contact, and neither side knew how short this honeymoon period would be.

Britain and France were still dealing with Germany, since the interests they were giving up were not theirs anyway.

Poland is persisting, but there is no one behind it.

Looking at this intelligence, Fang Wen couldn't help but sigh, the game behind the war is truly complex.

But then he saw a piece of intelligence closely related to Mount Tai, and his expression turned serious.

Just last week, Britain and Japan signed an agreement in Tokyo in which Britain acknowledged that Japan had "special interests in the occupied territories of China," promised "not to interfere with the actions of the Japanese army in China," and even agreed to close the Burma Road for three months.

The Burma Road was a vital passage for China to obtain foreign aid, and its closure for three months had a significant impact.

Is it really going to shut down?

Fang Wen had no intention of resting, so he left headquarters and went directly to the Governor-General's Office in Burma.

(End of this chapter)