Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 141 Old Zhang is not human

Border Region Arsenal

As the sun rises, everything comes back to life, the air is fresh, and a new day begins.

Li Muzhi got up early, stretched, got dressed, got out of bed, washed up, and then went to the canteen for breakfast.

"Hello, director!"

"Hello, director!"

"Hello, director!"

……

Whether they were skilled workers, ordinary workers, or managers, everyone greeted Li Muzhi warmly.

Originally...

Zhang Wanhe provided Li Muzhi with a very high-quality breakfast, even better than that of other workers in the arsenal, which included eggs.

Li Muzhi told Zhang Wanhe that it wasn't good to treat him specially, but Zhang Wanhe insisted that Li Muzhi must eat better.

Moreover, everyone at the arsenal had no objection to this, believing that Li Muzhi was qualified.

Finally, at Li Muzhi's insistence, the food rations for the other workers in the arsenal were adjusted to be the same as Li Muzhi's.

In other words, the workers can eat an egg for breakfast every day.

As a result, the workers at the arsenal held Li Muzhi in even higher esteem and worked even harder and more diligently.

It's tough on Minister Zhang; with these higher standards, the logistical burden has increased even more.

Fortunately, Comrade Zhang demonstrated a spirit of not being afraid of hardship and not complaining, and he managed to keep up with the food standards. He withstood the pressure.

"Hello everyone, hello everyone." Li Muzhi responded with a smile, then went to the window to get his food and casually found a table to sit down.

Li Muzhi was drinking pumpkin porridge made from a mixture of white rice and millet. He peeled an egg and had only taken one bite when he saw several high-ranking personnel from the Huangyadong Arsenal sitting down next to him with their food.

"Wow, the food here is so good, I almost don't want to go back," exclaimed Lao Lu, a graduate of the Iron and Steel Engineering Department of the University of Berlin.

Although they could get enough to eat for breakfast at the Huangyadong arsenal, there were no eggs included.

Dr. Zhang, a metallurgist, joked from the side: "Old Lu, a few meals were enough to win you over. People who didn't know the situation might think you studied eating at the University of Berlin."

Lao Gao, a graduate student in the Physics Department of Yenching University, also laughed: "If you eat a few meals here, you won't want to go back. Wouldn't the director of our Huangyadong Arsenal still have to come over and fight with Director Li?"

"Hahaha!" Everyone laughed along with them.

Li Muzhi laughed and said, "Gentlemen, when you return to the Huangyadong Arsenal, I will definitely ask Minister Zhang to send you some more good food."

Although he really wanted to retain these top talents, Li Muzhi couldn't be so direct about it.

"I'm not going back, I'm not going back, I don't want to go back." Old Lu waved his hand. "I feel like after spending a few days with you, Director Li, I've found my direction."

Li Muzhi said, "At the Huangyadong Arsenal, didn't you have any direction?"

Lao Lu explained, "That's different. I feel like this direction allows me to better utilize my abilities."

Old Gao nodded in agreement: "I feel the same way. It seems like we're playing an even bigger role here at the border region's arsenal."

Old Zhang laughed again: "It's over, it's over, none of us want to go back. The factory director of our Huangyadong Arsenal will definitely come and fight with Director Li. Who are we supposed to help then?"

"Gentlemen, you are the pillars of the Huangyadong Arsenal, how could I dare to wield a hoe?" Li Muzhi said with a smile. "You can come to my place anytime you have free time in the future."

It's clear that Lao He is doing a good job.

These bigwigs all feel a sense of belonging here and don't want to leave.

Of course, Li Muzhi still couldn't show it too obviously.

"We're not leaving, we're not leaving, none of us are leaving." The group waved their hands, it was unclear whether they were genuinely staying or half-joking. Then, they changed the subject and looked at Li Muzhi: "Director Li, with that cannon on your shoulder, how do you control the accuracy and range of the shells without them being accelerated by the rotation of the rifling in the barrel?"

That day, the conversation ended there.

But these guys were itching to try it, and Li Muzhi was always busy, so the big shots couldn't find an opportunity several times.

Today, I finally found it.

"How do you control the accuracy of our Hell Cannon shells?" Li Muzhi asked in return.

"The tail fin is for balancing," Lao Lu said.

Li Muzhi nodded and said, "That's right. The balancing fins help the shell stay balanced during flight. If the shell can fly in a balanced manner, the accuracy can be controlled. The same goes for the shells of our shoulder-mounted cannons. In order to ensure the range, the shell body is made a little longer so that it can hold more fuel. The shell body is aerodynamic, so it can hit farther and more accurately."

"How far can it shoot?" Old Lu asked.

The Hell Cannon's shells have a range of over two kilometers. Can this shoulder-mounted cannon even reach half that range?

"Well, I'm still considering it," Li Muzhi replied.

This wasn't Li Muzhi deliberately being mysterious. Once Li Yunlong got the locomotive back and the power problem was solved, Li Muzhi would find an opportunity to ask Li Yunlong and the other combat regimental commanders for their opinions.

It depends on what attack range is most suitable.

As for why the Hell Cannon has to fire more than two kilometers, it's because the range must be guaranteed.

Because we cannot allow enemy guns to threaten the Hell Cannon.

but!

The longer the shells travel, the more fuel and weight are required.

The sugar from the arsenal is very precious. We can't produce it ourselves, so we should save as much as possible.

Therefore, the combat distance of the fighting troops is the most suitable.

After all, our rocket launchers aren't just for dealing with enemy tanks and bunkers; they're also for providing tactical support on the battlefield.

For example, attacking enemy machine gun positions or enemy grenade launcher soldiers.

Our rocket launcher needs to achieve diverse combat effects.

"Then you can give me a rough distance..." Old Lu didn't finish his sentence.

A guard's voice came from outside: "Factory Director, Minister Zhang and the others are back! Come out quickly, Minister Zhang is back!"

The guard's voice was filled with excitement and anticipation; clearly, Zhang Wanhe had successfully disassembled and retrieved the locomotive.

Upon hearing this, Li Muzhi immediately laughed and said, "Gentlemen, we can discuss the shoulder cannon issue later. I have to go out right now."

The locomotive has been disassembled and returned, so we can start working on the power unit right away. Li Muzhi has been waiting for this for a very long time and can't wait any longer.

When Lao Lu and his companions heard this, they were all stunned.

Minister Zhang's return couldn't be more ill-timed; he's interrupted us again. Nevertheless, the group remained excited and followed Li Muzhi out.

Li Muzhi has already discussed with him how to convert the locomotive into a power source, and they will all help him with that.

Seeing Li Muzhi come out, Zhang Wanhe was as happy as a child and shouted to Li Muzhi, "Little Li, hahaha, I got your beloved locomotive back for you, and I also dismantled and brought back the two iron turtle heads from the Japanese devils. Come and see your treasures!"

Li Muzhi quickly stepped forward and inspected the valuable parts. Like an old farmer who had grown watermelons and was seeing them growing well, he couldn't stop smiling: "That's great, Minister Zhang, Brigade Commander Chen, you've both worked hard."

Power is the foundation of the military industry, and now we've finally reached this point.

The men around Li Muzhi, including Lao Lu, had exceptionally bright smiles on their faces as they looked at the disassembled locomotive parts they had brought back.

Can an arms factory without power be called an arms factory?

With this locomotive converted into a power source, the strength of the border region's arsenal will directly surpass that of the Huangyadong arsenal.

Their faces were filled with excitement. With that motivation, we can better utilize our skills.

The brigade commander smiled at Li Muzhi and said, "Little Li, you should know that I'm a straightforward person. How can mere words of comfort compare to..."

Before the brigade commander could finish speaking, Zhang Wanhe interrupted, "Hey Lao Chen, you're being way too impatient. You've got this stuff back, and you're not even getting your men to help unload it? Instead, you're already asking Xiao Li for things."

"Hahaha." The brigade commander laughed heartily, showing no embarrassment whatsoever. He turned to Blind Cheng and said, "Move these things into the arsenal, and handle them with care! Anyone who breaks anything, I'll kill him!"

"Yes, Brigade Commander." Blind Cheng nodded and immediately led his men to move the goods into the warehouse.

"Place it according to my instructions," Li Muzhi said, acting as the commander.

The parts should be arranged according to Li Muzhi's instructions, which will save assembly time and increase efficiency.

"Okay, Director Li."

The locomotive parts were put into storage one by one, and then the armored train parts were also put into storage quickly.

Of course!
They also brought back a large quantity of rails and sleepers, as well as disassembled train carriage parts.

As for grain, there's no need to put it here at the arsenal and take up space.

Zhang Wanhe has other arrangements to make.

After everything was stored away, Zhang Wanhe immediately said to the brigade commander, "Old Chen, you've worked hard too. Take your troops and go back to rest as soon as possible."

The brigade commander glared at him and cursed, "Old Zhang, this is a bit too inhumane! I worked so hard to bring the Japanese locomotive back to your logistics department, and you won't even give me a drink of water, and instead of settling my wages right away, you're kicking me out!"

Zhang Wanhe explained with a smile, "Brigadier Chen, you've been up all night and must be exhausted. Why don't you go back and rest first? We can talk again when you're rested. How could I, Old Zhang, possibly mistreat you?"

"No, I can't sleep until we've settled the wages." The brigade commander waved his hand, looking at Li Muzhi. "Little Li, you were the one who asked our 386th Brigade to get this locomotive for you, and you even provided thirty artillery shells beforehand, but in this battle, we still ran out of shells. Look at this..."

"How about this, the arsenal will replenish all the shells you used in this battle, and we'll also give you an extra thirty rounds. What do you think?" Li Muzhi said with a smile.

"Hahaha." The brigade commander was delighted to hear this. "Alright, alright, we'll do it your way."

Immediately, the brigade commander turned to look at Zhang Wanhe: "Old Zhang, I remember you said you wouldn't treat us unfairly, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"

Zhang Wanhe immediately retorted, "Hey Lao Chen, you can't be this shameless! Little Li has already replenished all the shells you used up in this battle, and even gave you an extra thirty rounds. That's already very generous. How can you still be so greedy!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Wanhe added, "Your men Li Yunlong and Ding Wei also took away more than seventy of my artillery shells and more than twenty boxes of hand grenades. Do you believe I'll deduct it from your wages?"

"Old Zhang, look at you, if you put it that way, then there's no point in talking about it." The brigade commander immediately waved his hand, no longer bothering to argue with Zhang Wanhe about this trivial matter.

That tightwad, he might actually skimp on the money, and then we'd be at a huge loss.

This deal was definitely worth all our hard work!

All the used shells were replenished, and Li Muzhi gave us an extra thirty shells. Combined with the more than seventy shells we had previously obtained from Zhang Wanhe, it was equivalent to us gaining more than one hundred shells.

It's always good to be content.

The brigade commander yawned widely and said to Li Muzhi, "Little Li, once the shells are made, send someone to deliver them immediately. I won't bother you any longer. You should hurry up and get the locomotives working. Our combat troops are waiting for you to supply us with ammunition and weapons."

The shells haven't been manufactured yet; the brigade commander needs to wait.

Li Yunlong and Ding Wei have not yet returned, and the brigade commander should be waiting at the arsenal.

But now that the Japanese have lost the train, they are in a bad mood and have nothing to lose, so the brigade commander must return to the brigade headquarters to take charge.

Even when sleeping or resting, one must stay at the brigade headquarters.

"Don't worry, we'll definitely make the most of it. Commander Chen, take care. I won't see you off." Li Muzhi nodded.

"No need to see me off." The brigade commander waved his hand and led his men away.

As soon as the brigade commander left, Zhang Wanhe couldn't wait to go up to Li Muzhi and said, "Little Li, you're really something. You prepared two groups of people in advance and dismantled two iron turtles. What do you plan to do with these iron turtles?"

“It’s definitely going to be a power plant upgrade,” Li Muzhi said. “Now that we’ve brought back the ironworks, we need to hurry up and start steelmaking! Steelmaking requires so much energy. A single locomotive isn’t enough; we need a new locomotive.”

"The main problem is that the iron turtles burn oil. We've robbed quite a bit of oil, but if we just sit around and do nothing, it'll probably run out in a day," Zhang Wanhe said.

There is a Yanchang Oil Reservoir in our rear area.

However, the output is not high.

Oil is needed by various government agencies, factories, and other organizations in the border region.

If we were to rely on the Yanchang Petroleum Plant for oil supply, it would definitely have a significant impact.

Moreover, the journey is long, and it is difficult to transport the oil safely.

Therefore, it is unrealistic to expect the oil supply from the oil refinery to be extended.

"Minister Zhang, how could you be so clever all your life, yet so foolish this time!" Li Muzhi pointed and said, "We're out of fuel, but the Japanese have some. We can go and steal it. As long as we provide enough artillery shells to our troops, why are you worried about not being able to get fuel?"

This oil is different from white sugar. The Japanese can hide white sugar and not use it, but the combat troops can't always be so lucky.

Fuel is different.

The Japanese army needs logistics support for its cars, its tanks need to be deployed, and even its airfields need to be accessed.

In short, it's much easier for combat troops to spot the Japanese soldiers' fuel than to steal their sugar.

"Yes, yes, haha." Zhang Wanhe nodded with a smile. "Then you should hurry up and modify the power system."

Comrade Zhang was so eager for Li Muzhi to solve the power problem today so that the steel could be smelted immediately.

When the time comes, we'll first manufacture iron pots to address the issue of the troops lacking iron pots, which is affecting their meals.

Only when the troops are well-fed can they have the strength to fight the Japanese and seize more supplies for the logistics department.

After all, the development of logistics cannot rely solely on individual combat units; it requires the collective effort of everyone.

The more the merrier!
(End of this chapter)