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

Chapter 149 Everything is ready except for the cannon on the shoulder!

Time stands still in the mountains!
Li Muzhi led all the workers at the arsenal to work overtime to meet the deadline.

The generator connection was completed, the transformer connection was completed, and the generator successfully generated electricity.

The steel plant's boiler successfully melted the first batch of molten steel!
Until this day!
The first marching pot was created.

Comrade Zhang lifted the heavy iron pot with both hands, his face full of excitement: "This is the first pot made by our border region's arsenal. It is of great significance! It means that from now on, we can gradually provide the troops with cooking utensils."

"Minister Zhang, now that we can smelt iron ourselves, shouldn't we start making bayonets and helmets right away?" someone shouted.

"No rush, let's solve the problem of feeding the entire army first," Zhang Wanhe said.

While bayonets and helmets were important, the biggest problem was getting food.

Moreover, forging bayonets is not a simple matter.

Unlike iron woks, it doesn't require much skill; it only takes one or two steps to make.

There are several steps involved in forging a good bayonet.

And another one!
The cannons and bounding mines on our shoulders must be produced as quickly as possible.

The fighting outside is fierce right now. The Japanese and the Jin-Sui Army's elite troops are locked in a fierce battle. Our troops, however, are not out on the offensive and are resting.

But we'll have to fight the Japanese sooner or later, so we can't let go of the artillery and bounding mines on our shoulders.

"Send this pot to headquarters as quickly as possible," Zhang Wanhe called over. "The first batch of rice cooked in this pot must be eaten by the headquarters leaders first."

"Yes, factory manager." Someone immediately took the pot to headquarters.

The pot was sent to headquarters, and Zhang Wanhe came to Li Muzhi's place.

Li Muzhi had just assembled twenty bounding mine prototypes and handed them to Kong Jie: "Commander Kong, go and test the lethality of these bounding mines."

Normally, a bounding mine will bounce to a height of one or two meters and then explode after being triggered.

But that's the normal height.

Since the Japanese soldiers were generally short, Li Muzhi lowered the height of the mine jump accordingly.

By inflicting severe damage on the lower body of the Japanese soldiers, rendering them incapacitated, we can also conserve some fuel.

"Yes, Director Li." Kong Jie was extremely excited and ordered his men to move the twenty bounding mine prototypes away.

Kong Jie had already heard from Li Muzhi that this was a mine that would bounce into the air and explode if stepped on.

Kong Jie was really looking forward to the ability to kill enemies from any angle in the air.

Testing this thing is easy.

We can go out and find any group of enemies, pretend to retreat, and lure them into pursuit.

"Hey, Director Li, when will the sample of that artillery piece on your shoulder be ready?" Comrade Kong Jie took the sample of the bounding mine but didn't leave.

There's nothing we can do.

We didn't report the artillery on our shoulders to the brigade commander in time, and he gave us a good scolding.

Now, Comrade Kong has learned his lesson.

He was keeping a close eye on the progress of the cannon on his shoulder at all times.

"Commander Kong, what's the rush? Let's get the mine-jumping test successful first," Li Muzhi waved his hand.

Li Muzhi has already had the workers working on the rocket launcher.

But the most crucial element lies in the rockets.

Li Muzhi has already asked Li Yunlong and his men for the combat data; there are still some details about the rocket that need to be optimized.

Therefore, Li Muzhi needs some more time to perfect his work!

"Okay." Kong Jie then withdrew.

"Xiao Li, why did you give Kong Jie so many bounding mines? For testing, ten or eight would have been enough," Zhang Wanhe said after seeing that Li Muzhi had given Kong Jie twenty bounding mines for testing.

Zhang Wanhe has already seen the initial test of this bounding mine.

If you step on it, you will actually bounce up from the mud.

Of course, the test Zhang Wanhe was watching was a test that used soil as explosives.

A bounding mine can be jumped on, but it will not explode.

In Zhang Wanhe's view, there were no problems with the initial tests conducted by our arsenal.

There shouldn't be any problems with this battlefield test, since our explosives can detonate normally, and there's no need to give Kong Jie so many bounding mines.

Saving half is also possible.

"Hehe." Faced with Comrade Zhang's stinginess, Li Muzhi chuckled and said, "Giving Commander Kong more bouncing mines, more data, is always a good thing."

Li Muzhi didn't know what the battlefield was like. If Kong Jie had lured out a lot more Japanese soldiers, then having more bounding mines would be easier for Commander Kong to escape.

“Alright, I can’t argue with you.” Zhang Wanhe didn’t dwell on the topic any longer and asked, “When exactly will the cannon on the shoulder be completed?”

Now, not only the combat troops, but also the headquarters are paying great attention to this weapon.

Just a short while ago, the headquarters leaders were still asking Zhang Wanhe about it.

Zhang Wanhe also gleaned some clues from the words of the headquarters leader.

That is, the Japanese tank regiments are particularly arrogant on the battlefield now, and their elite troops and the Jin-Sui Army have been defeated several times.

Now, we're on a united front, with our guns pointed at the same enemy.

Seeing the Japanese so rampant, our troops didn't go to help them. Even though Comrade Zhang was the logistics minister, he felt it was a bit inappropriate.

"Minister Zhang, please give me a little more time." Li Muzhi couldn't give a definite answer either. After all, he knew that rocket launchers had extraordinary battlefield significance.

The sooner we can develop it and supply it to the combat troops, the sooner we can deal with the Japanese mechanized forces, the better things will be for both our side and our allies.

But these details really can't be taken lightly.

While rocket launchers are effective on the battlefield, they also have drawbacks.

That is, the rocket leaves a long trail of flame as it flies through the air, which is equivalent to revealing the gunner's position.

Therefore, Li Muzhi was determined to ensure that every rocket launcher was of the highest quality.

The launch cannot go wrong.

Once the enemy is eliminated, the problem of this exposed position can be effectively resolved.

If the rocket launcher malfunctions and fails to eliminate the enemy in time, the gunner's position will be exposed. Even if they relocate immediately, they will easily be attacked by the enemy in retaliation.

“I’ll give you a little more time. How many days exactly?” Zhang Wanhe asked, then explained, “It’s not that I’m rushing you, it’s just that the headquarters leaders can’t wait any longer. They say that the Japanese mechanized forces are too rampant, and the pressure on the elite troops and the Jin-Sui Army is immense. If we don’t launch an attack, both Commander Yan and the bald man from Shancheng will attack us in the media for not engaging in combat.”

“About a week,” Li Muzhi replied. “Complete the assembly and testing within a week, and equip the combat troops.”

“Alright, that’s my reply to the headquarters.” Zhang Wanhe nodded immediately after receiving the specific time.

After a week, these Japanese soldiers should be exhausted.

According to the headquarters commander, although they fought fiercely against the Jin-Sui Army and their elite troops, the supply of ammunition was still not smooth, and they did not receive much material.

When the time comes, our troops will be able to launch attacks with shoulder-mounted artillery, and we can easily take advantage of the situation and reap the benefits.

"Minister Zhang, Factory Director Li, and Regiment Commander Gao are here to visit." At this moment, someone came to report.

"Xiao Li, you keep working here, I'll go take care of him," Zhang Wanhe immediately said to Li Muzhi.

As long as Zhang Wanhe was at the arsenal, he would receive any visitors on behalf of Li Muzhi.

In short, do not waste Li Muzhi's time as much as possible, and let him focus on developing new weapons.

"Okay, please give my regards to Commander Gao." Li Muzhi nodded and continued working on the details of the rockets.

Zhang Wanhe then went to the reception room, where Gao Liujin was already feeling extremely uneasy.

Seeing Zhang Wanhe come out, Gao Liujin hurriedly asked, "Minister Zhang, where is Factory Director Li? Why isn't he here?"

Gao Liujin is really anxious.

Although the cannonballs from the hell cannon were sent to him, but!

Now another mechanized unit of the Japanese devils has been transferred over, and the mechanized unit in Ueno Village has also been replenished with tanks.

In other words, the Japanese now have two mechanized units cooperating with their infantry to show off their power on the battlefield!
Although the Hell Cannon was powerful, its mobility was still inferior to that of the Japanese mechanized forces.

So, Gao Liujin is eager to get his hands on the cannon on his shoulder.

As long as we can contain the Japanese mechanized forces, then we can immediately start seizing the military trains.

“Commander Gao, Factory Director Li is extremely busy right now, working on shoulder-mounted cannons. His time is very precious.” Zhang Wanhe’s attitude was very serious. “In the future, try not to bother him when you have nothing to do.”

"Minister Zhang, don't you want to seize the Japanese military train as soon as possible?" Gao Liujin retorted.

"Of course I'd like to, but the shoulder cannons haven't been built yet, so there's no use in rushing," Zhang Wanhe replied.

On Zhang Wanhe's side, the transport team is all ready.

Li Mu's so-called dismantling team was also ready.

Now, everything is ready except for the cannon on our shoulders!

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Gao Liujin scratched his head.

"About a week."

"That long?" Gao Liujin stared wide-eyed. "That's way too long!"

"Commander Gao, as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait," Zhang Wanhe reassured him. "When the time comes, once the artillery on your shoulder comes out, it will be a sharp sword drawn from its sheath. You should go back and train your troops. There are also new documents to be issued from headquarters, so you'd better prepare in advance."

"What new document?" Gao Liujin asked.

"The headquarters commander said that these shoulder-mounted cannons will be issued to the combat troops, and not a single one can be captured by the Japanese." Zhang Wanhe said in a serious tone, "If anyone dares to lose even one on the battlefield and it is captured by the Japanese, the regimental commander will be dismissed."

"Is it that serious?" Gao Liujin's expression turned serious.

Losing a shoulder-mounted artillery piece is punishable by dismissal for a regimental commander; that's far too harsh a punishment.

"Nonsense!" Zhang Wanhe said solemnly, "The Japanese have a stronger military industrial capacity than us. If the Japanese capture these shoulder-mounted cannons and manufacture them, and use them on us, just imagine how much pressure that would put on us!"

The Japanese grenade launchers and mortars were already putting a lot of pressure on our troops.

If they were to also have shoulder-mounted artillery, it would be adding insult to injury for the troops!

"That's true." Gao Liujin nodded. This good stuff really shouldn't fall into the hands of the Japanese.

To put it bluntly, even if the entire group is wiped out.

We also need to use explosives to completely destroy the cannon on the shoulder beforehand, so that not even a shell fragment is left for the Japanese.

"So, Commander Gao, you should go back and make the necessary preparations."

"Minister Zhang, I'm sorry to bother you. I'll come back in a week." Gao Liujin said goodbye.

"it is good."

……

(End of this chapter)