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

Chapter 142 Did you waste all your time reading this book?

Li Muzhi gave the staff some training in advance.

Therefore, once the locomotive parts were disassembled and brought back, Li Muzhi was immediately able to direct the people to assemble the parts.

The original locomotive doesn't need to be changed, as it still generates heat by burning coal.

Heat causes water to boil and produce steam, which then provides mechanical power.

The power provided by this steam can be directly used in machinery.

Because this is inherently a form of mechanical power.

But it won't work in an ironworks.

The main energy source for iron and steel plants is electricity!

Therefore, we must build a larger generator and connect it to the steam power source to convert the mechanical energy generated by the steam into electricity.

In this way, the excess steam power will not be wasted, but will be converted into electrical energy.

Fortunately, Li Yunlong managed to retrieve enough copper wire, and Li Muzhi had already prepared a larger generator in advance.

As for the locomotives of the two armored trains, they will be left aside for the time being.

We'll do that after the locomotive's power system is modified.

Li Muzhi and his men were working with great enthusiasm. Whether it was the workers in the arsenal or the big shots like Lao Lu, everyone was full of energy.

During the assembly process, Li Muzhi also continuously explained things to them and imparted a lot of new knowledge to them.

This further enhanced Li Muzhi's image in their minds, but questions also arose:

"Factory manager, how do you know so much? We've never heard of any of this before."

"Factory manager, did you teach yourself all of this?"

"Director Li, I feel that as a physics graduate student, I can't even catch up with your basics."

……

"Learning is a boundless sea, and I have been fortunate enough to read many books that have been introduced from abroad, which has helped me to understand more things."

Li Muzhi naturally couldn't reveal his identity as a transmigrator. He said with regret, "It's just a pity that these books weren't preserved because of the war. Otherwise, I would definitely have shown them to you."

"It's alright, isn't everything in these books stored in your head, Factory Manager? That's a form of preservation!"

……

"Factory manager, Commander Li and the others are back."

Li Muzhi was leading his men in a flurry of activity assembling machines when someone excitedly ran over, "Commander Li and his men said they stole some things, but they don't know what they are. They want you to go and see what they are right away."

"Continue assembling according to my instructions," Li Muzhi said to Lao He and the other senior talents. "If you encounter any problems along the way, don't assemble it haphazardly for now, and notify me immediately!"

Li Muzhi has already instilled the concept in them, but practice and concept are completely different things.

These parts are all very important, and none of them can be damaged.

"Okay, factory manager, go ahead and get busy." Lao He and the others nodded and continued assembling the machines.

Li Muzhi then stepped out of the assembly workshop and into the courtyard outside the arsenal.

Besides Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Gao Liujin, Li Muzhi also looked at a bespectacled, seemingly refined Eighth Route Army officer.

His clothes weren't as dirty as Li Yunlong's. He was clean and tidy, and his beard was neatly shaved. He looked completely different from Li Yunlong and the others.

I don't know who this person is.

Seeing Li Muzhi come out, Li Yunlong immediately came up to him with a grin: "Brother Li, hurry up and see what your brother brought. I hope it's not some dirty stuff."

We finally got a chance to storm Yuehua Station. If what we steal isn't worth much, we'll make a huge fool of ourselves.

Li Yunlong immediately had some samples brought out and placed in front of Li Muzhi.

Li Muzhi then withdrew his gaze from the clean-cut Eighth Route Army officer and turned to the person in front of him.

Li Muzhi saw that the substance was white granules, pinched a little and smelled it; it didn't smell bad.

Li Muzhi carefully tasted it again and found it to be salty and refreshing.

Li Muzhi's expression brightened: "Commander Li, this isn't some dirty stuff, it's potassium nitrate."

Potassium nitrate is an inorganic compound, commonly known as saltpeter or nitrate.

Some people may not understand the term "fire saltpeter" or "earth saltpeter".

But if you put it another way, you'll definitely understand.

There's a classic saying from later generations: "One part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, three parts charcoal, add a little sugar and you have Tsar Bomba!"

This "one nitrate" refers to potassium nitrate!
This is an important raw material for manufacturing gunpowder and explosives.

"What is potassium nitrate?" Li Yunlong, an uncultured and rough man, naturally had never heard of such a professional chemical name.

Liu Weidong then said from the side, "This is an important raw material for making gunpowder."

"Go away, scholar, I didn't ask you." Li Yunlong rolled his eyes and turned to look at Li Muzhi. "Brother Li, look at all this potassium nitrate I brought back, what can I exchange it for?"

"Do you want a hand grenade, or a cannonball from the Hell Cannon?" Li Muzhi asked.

Although the exact amount of potassium nitrate brought back by Li Yunlong's troops has not yet been tallied.

But at first glance, this is no small amount.

As for the fact that the bespectacled Eighth Route Army officer knew that potassium nitrate was an important raw material for making gunpowder, this made Li Muzhi a little curious about his identity.

This person seems to know a little about gunpowder.

"Brother, I trust you. Just give me whatever you think is fair." Li Yunlong had learned his lesson from Li Muzhi before, and if he told Li Muzhi the amount in advance, he would most likely say less. So he shifted the blame to Li Muzhi.

"How about this, Commander Li, you put this batch of goods into the warehouse first, I'll have someone tally it up, and then I'll settle the payment with you. Is that alright?" Li Muzhi said to Li Yunlong.

“That works too, I trust your character, brother.” Li Yunlong nodded.

Li Muzhi immediately summoned people to tally and store the contents. Just as Li Muzhi was about to speak with the clean-cut Eighth Route Army officer, Ding Wei approached him: "Director Li, look, I brought back some paint. Can you tell what kind of paint this is?"

Gao Liujin, standing to the side, held his breath and didn't utter a sound.

Li Yunlong stole potassium phosphate, an important raw material for making gunpowder.

If the paint we got isn't worth much, then all that arguing with Li Yunlong all the way here would have been for nothing.

This is so embarrassing!
Therefore, Mr. Gao was very nervous and dared not breathe.

Ding Wei had a bucket of paint brought out and placed in front of Li Muzhi.

Li Muzhi opened it for inspection and was quickly pleasantly surprised: "Commander Ding, this is a good thing too."

"Then what is this?" Before Ding Wei could speak, Gao Liujin blurted out.

Hahaha!
Now that we've confirmed it's a good product, our argument with Li Yunlong wasn't in vain.

The weight on Gao's heart immediately lifted.

“This is sealant,” Li Muzhi replied.

Bee paint?
Upon hearing this, Gao Liujin scratched his head and exchanged a glance with Li Yunlong; neither of them had ever heard of this term before.

Gao Liujin couldn't help but ask, "Could this be paint left by bees?"

Li Yunlong cursed, "Gao Liujin, you son of a bitch, you have no culture. Don't spout nonsense in front of me. Standing next to you lowers my cultural level!"

"You mean paint made from bee droppings? Bee droppings are just bee droppings, there's no such thing as bee paint!"

Gao Liujin retorted, "Give me a break, Li Yunlong. Don't overestimate yourself. With your level of education, is there any room for you to decline?"

"Stop arguing, both of you." Ding Wei pinched the two men and looked at Li Muzhi: "Director Li, just tell me what this thing is for?"

Ding Wei had never heard of any sealant before, so he asked Li Muzhi to explain it.

Before Li Muzhi could speak, Liu Weidong spoke up: "Sealant paint, as the name suggests, is paint used for sealing. The reason why the bullets made in our border region are prone to getting damp and not shooting far is because they are not sealed. This sealant paint is specifically for sealing the gap between the cartridge case and the bullet, right, Director Li?"

“Yes, that’s right, this is…” Li Muzhi looked at the man with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He hadn’t expected that this man would know about sealant.

"Hello, I am Liu Weidong from the New Third Regiment of the 115th Division," Liu Weidong introduced himself with a smile.

"Oh, so you're Commander Liu from the 115th Division." Li Muzhi immediately showed great respect.

Li Muzhi greatly admired Commander Liu, and now he had finally met him in person.

This Commander Liu is no ordinary man; he can even procure a general's sword and five thousand catties of white sugar.

Now that we see that his team has more members than Li Yunlong's, in some ways, this guy's abilities seem to be even greater than Li Yunlong's.

"Go away, go away, don't talk, no one will think you're mute!" Li Yunlong was already annoyed with Liu Weidong, glared at him twice, then turned to Li Muzhi, "Is this sealant more valuable than my potassium nitrate?"

“Commander Li, this isn’t about comparing or not comparing,” Li Muzhi shook his head and said, “Potassium nitrate is an important raw material for manufacturing gunpowder and explosives, and our army’s logistics have a huge demand for gunpowder. This sealant can seal the gap between the cartridge case and the projectile, preventing the ammunition from getting damp. When the ammunition is fired, because there are no gaps, the energy of the primer will not leak out, and the projectile can also obtain more energy, resulting in a higher initial velocity…”

"Director Li, don't talk to me about initial speeds or anything like that. Just tell me how many cannonballs from Hellfire can be exchanged for this sealant!" Gao Liujin shouted impatiently from the side.

The cannonballs for this hell are running low, and Gao has already been choked once.

He is now more eager than ever to get enough ammunition.

"How many shells can this sealant be exchanged for?" Ding Wei asked, looking at Li Muzhi.

Our successful attack on Yuehua Station this time was mainly due to the fact that the Japanese had withdrawn their heavy troops from Yuehua Station, and that we had enough shells from the Hellfire Cannons to bombard those strong fortified positions.

Now that they've run out of shells, Ding Wei wants to replenish them immediately.

"Let me have someone count the numbers first," Li Muzhi replied.

"Okay." Ding Wei nodded and had someone bring over the sealant. Gao Liujin was also busy and had someone bring it over as well.

When Li Muzhi had the puppies counted and put into storage, Liu Weidong smiled and had someone bring a dozen or so puppies to Li Muzhi: "Director Li, take a look at these dozen or so puppies, how many cannonballs from the Hell Cannon are they worth?"

The Hell Cannon worked well, and Liu Weidong also tasted its benefits.

Sure enough, he immediately opened his mouth and asked for cannonballs.

Before Li Muzhi could answer, Gao Liujin immediately laughed: "Scholar, I'm telling you, you're really desperate for money. You bring a dozen puppies and you want to exchange them for cannonballs from the Hell Cannon? Do you think Factory Director Li is stupid, or are you the stupid one?"

Li Yunlong chimed in, "Scholar, go somewhere cool and stay there."

Li Muzhi looked at the puppies that Liu Weidong had brought over; these little creatures were fluffy and incredibly cute.

Judging from their appearance, these are puppies of Japanese military dogs.

The significance of military dogs to the army is beyond doubt.

Li Muzhi reached out and petted a few puppies. One of them was very well-behaved and rubbed its body against Li Muzhi's palm, wagging its little tail vigorously.

Li Muzhi then picked up the puppy.

This puppy looks a bit silly and cute, but it's noticeably more active than the other puppies.

His eyes were black and bright like jewels, full of spirit, like an elf.

Li Muzhi immediately took a liking to the puppy, continuing to pet it while smiling at Liu Weidong: "Commander Liu, for a little puppy, I'll give you a cannonball from Hellfire, how about that?"

"..."

Gao Liujin stood there stunned, wondering if he had misheard.

Is a tiny creature really worth that much for a cannonball from the Hellfire Cannon?
Li Yunlong paused, looking at Li Muzhi: "Brother Li, you're not joking, are you?"

Li Yunlong was thinking about it in his heart.

If this puppy is worth that much, is Liu Weidong stupid?

Did you waste all your time reading this book?

You keep a dozen or so puppies, and then when they grow up, they have puppies, and when they grow up, they have puppies again.

Finally, once you've built up your dog fleet, and one dog can be exchanged for a Hell Cannon shell, aren't you going to fire it?
(End of this chapter)