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

Chapter 217 Newcomers Arrive at the Border Region Arsenal

When Li Yunlong's troops passed by the New First Regiment, Ding Wei also happened to be leading the New First Regiment out, and the two went to the assembly point together.

"Old Li, you're awesome!" Ding Wei noticed Yan Kai and immediately praised Li Yunlong.

This time, in order to buy time for our border region's arsenal, the troops are to jump to the outer edge of the encirclement and cause trouble in the enemy's undefended rear.

Although the Japanese troops had no rear area, the risk was still very high.

If things go wrong, we could become an isolated, besieged force.

And Li Yunlong actually brought Yan Kai along again. What does that mean?

This means that at crucial moments, the Jin-Sui Army can be brought in again.

"Hehe." Li Yunlong chuckled and boasted, "I volunteered to the brigade commander to go and cause trouble behind enemy lines. How can I do that without some backing!"

Ding Wei asked, "So how did you manage to trick Yan Kai into coming over here again?"

Logically speaking, Yan Kai should have remained vigilant after being used by Li Yunlong once.

Even if Yan Kai himself wasn't on guard, with so many people on the Jin-Sui Army side, surely not a single one of them was vigilant?

Yan Kai is a close relative of Commander Yan, and a powerful figure in the arsenal and finance departments there.

“That Yan Kai is no good. He’s eyeing our five truckloads of tungsten ore, our Brother Li, our Hell Cannon shells, and our rocket launchers,” Li Yunlong said irritably. “Tell me, with so many things he’s eyeing, do you think I’ll let him have them for nothing? I just used a little trick, and you’ll see, he obediently came with me, blindfolded.”

"He's still eyeing our five truckloads of tungsten ore. What's going on?" Ding Wei asked suspiciously.

Ding Wei could understand why the Jin-Sui Army was concerned about Li Muzhi, the hell cannon shells, and the rocket launchers.

But the other party is still eyeing our five truckloads of tungsten ore; they're reaching out way too quickly.

“That’s how it is…” Li Yunlong told Ding Wei the truth.

Upon hearing this, Ding Wei cursed, "This Commander Yan is such a hypocrite."

Ding Wei then added, "However, since they mentioned equipment, they must want to exchange it for our tungsten sand. I think we can discuss this with headquarters."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong glared at him and said, "Old Ding, aren't you afraid the headquarters leaders will scold you?"

This is tungsten ore, a strategic metal!

The fact that the Japanese soldiers were getting desperate further illustrates the value of this tungsten ore.

If you, Ding Wei, mention this to the headquarters leaders, wouldn't they be furious?
“Old Li, what’s the rush?” Ding Wei said calmly. “Commander Yan has offered to give the equipment to our arsenal. If we don’t accept it, wouldn’t we be letting down Commander Yan’s kindness? Right now, the development of our arsenal is more important than anything else.”

“But tungsten ore is also important,” Li Yunlong pointed out. “Even if Commander Yan himself doesn’t know how to refine it, he can’t sell it because the Japanese have blockaded the sea, land, and air. Giving it to him is a way of helping to preserve it. But even if the Japanese are driven away in the future, we will most likely still have to fight them. When they take this tungsten ore to exchange for weapons with the great powers, won’t those weapons end up coming at our heads?”

"What if the tungsten ore is fake?" Ding Wei laughed.

"Fake tungsten sand?" Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's eyes widened, and his expression gradually changed: "You mean to say..."

That's right, how could Old Ding, that cunning strategist, be so out of his mind? It turns out our guy was planning to use fake tungsten sand to exchange for Commander Yan's real equipment.

As for fake tungsten ore, Brother Li is so capable, there shouldn't be any problem with him making fakes, right?

Anyway, Commander Yan didn't know how to refine it, nor did he have the corresponding equipment. He didn't even know how to test tungsten sand.

Once the appearance is done well enough to fool the eye, it's practically getting something for nothing.

Ding Wei's expression was serious and earnest: "Do you really think our tungsten ore is so easy to covet? How can we do it without paying a price?"

"Then I'll immediately send someone to the border region's arsenal to communicate with Brother Li in advance and see if he can produce some fake tungsten sand ahead of time." Li Yunlong acted swiftly and decisively.

If Li Muzhi can handle it, it's not too late to report to headquarters later.

"can."

Li Yunlong quickly dispatched Sun Desheng on horseback to the border region's arsenal, while he and Ding Wei led their troops to the rendezvous point.

……

Border Region Arsenal

"Xiao Li, how's your flashbang coming along?"

Logistics Minister Zhang Wanhe happily approached Li Muzhi, even though Li Muzhi had only just begun his work, Zhang Wanhe couldn't wait any longer.

Zhang Wanhe heard from Li Muzhi that this flash weapon was named a flashbang.

Throw him into the room, and it won't matter if the enemy closes their eyes or turns away.

The brightness of this flashbang is equivalent to the simultaneous explosion of 800 light bulbs.

This is the light of millions of rays, which can burn the retina and sensory nerves in an instant, causing temporary blindness. But that's nothing; if the effect is good, it can also cause permanent damage.

“Minister Zhang, as I said, it will take a day or two. We’ve only just begun,” Li Muzhi replied.

This flashbang wasn't made by Li Muzhi alone; it involved mixing the powder, manufacturing the projectile, and processing the parts.

Li Muzhi arranged for other people to do it according to his requirements.

If Li Muzhi were to complete this task alone, the timeframe would be significantly delayed.

That's the advantage of having assistants and right-hand men; you don't have to do everything yourself.

Immediately afterwards, Li Muzhi said to Zhang Wanhe, "Minister Zhang, you need to speed up the training of new recruits at the arsenal. Your efficiency is a bit slow. Why haven't the new recruits been sent over yet?"

Although the border region's arsenal has borrowed skilled workers from other arsenals to expedite the production of weapons and ammunition, these workers, being from other arsenals, still need to be returned; the other arsenals cannot afford to delay for too long.

The border region's arsenal needs to quickly train more military industrial personnel.

Furthermore, as the border region's arsenal grew and expanded, with the addition of branch factories, it also required more military industrial personnel.

Therefore, early training is undoubtedly necessary and cannot be delayed.

Even if the Japanese launch a mopping-up operation now, while we are preparing to relocate, we must also seize the time to train talent.

That's right.

Although I don't want to move, I still have to make preparations for the relocation.

If the combat troops don't perform well in battle, we'll be forced to relocate.

Of course, it would be even better if the combat troops were doing well and we didn't need to relocate.

Zhang Wanhe said, "The main problem is that your requirements are too high, Xiao Li. You want a college student, not an illiterate one. And you said it would be best if they had studied physics, chemistry, and mathematics, not just someone who can read and write. You want someone quick-witted and energetic, not a rigid bookworm. You want..."

Li Muzhi interrupted Zhang Wanhe: "Minister Zhang, as I've told you before, it's like an ironclad camp with ever-changing soldiers! The border region's arsenal urgently needs to cultivate a core group of highly skilled technical personnel. Once this core group is established, they will be like an ironclad camp. In the future, they can both handle production for the border region's arsenal and incubate more elite workers. It's like we've planted a crop, but the output is continuous."

This wasn't because Li Muzhi had high expectations, but rather because he wanted to lay the groundwork for cultivating elite workers in advance.

This is like the foundation of a house; the more solid the foundation, the higher the house can be built.

“Hehe, yes, yes, you’re right!” Zhang Wanhe didn’t refute Li Muzhi. He chuckled and changed the subject, saying, “I came here not to urge you to send me a flashbang, but to tell you some good news. The back office has selected twenty-eight college students according to your requirements. They either studied physics or chemistry, and they all meet your requirements. Take a look, here is the list.”

After Zhang Wanhe finished speaking, he handed the list to Li Muzhi with a smile.

Twenty-eight people?

Li Muzhi was pleasantly surprised to hear this.

In his view, his demands were already very high.

If we can gather ten people, that would be pretty good.

This is not to say that the Eighth Route Army lacked talent; on the contrary, there were quite a few elite talents in the Eighth Route Army.

There was a severe shortage of highly educated individuals everywhere, and the Japanese blockade was so tight that many people couldn't be sent across the blockade to the World War II zone.

Especially with highly educated intellectuals like these, let alone ten, having three or five would be considered a stroke of good fortune.

Twenty-eight people were sent over from the rear at once.

On the surface, there are twenty-eight people.

In fact, they will become the cornerstone for the future development and growth of the border region's arsenal.

"Where are they? Take me there right away." Li Muzhi said, eager to see the people as he took the folder containing the list.

“They’re in the conference room now,” Zhang Wanhe said.

"Let's go, let's go to the conference room right away." Li Muzhi immediately put down his work and headed to the conference room.

On the way to the conference room with Li Muzhi, Zhang Wanhe reminded him, "Xiao Li, there are a few troublemakers here, just like that Commander Li. Although he is educated, he has a bad temper and often disobeys orders. You'd better be prepared."

Originally, when this troublemaker was sent over from the rear, Zhang Wanhe wanted to send him back immediately.

But then I thought, since the person has already been delivered, I might as well let Xiao Li take a look.

Maybe Xiao Li can subdue him.

Of course, if Xiao Li can't handle them, he can send them back himself.

"Hehe." Li Muzhi chuckled and said, "Young people are bound to be impetuous at times. To be honest, I actually like troublemakers the most."

In this world, people with personality are never mediocre.

Putting aside other things, let's take Li Yunlong as an example.

He was fiercely independent and unruly.

He often disobeys orders and is always stubborn and defiant!
However, when they encountered the Sakata Regiment, they managed to defeat them with their light weapons.

Whether it was Chu Yunfei, a top student from the Whampoa Military Academy, or Kong Jie, a man of tough fighting style, they all suffered terribly when they encountered the Sakata Regiment, even in a single skirmish.

Li Yunlong, on the other hand, was engaging in a head-on, bayonet-to-bayonet battle, a direct confrontation.

Take, for example, a writer surnamed Han from later generations. In his youth, he was rebellious and did not follow classroom rules. For instance, he did not take notes in Chinese class and even joked with the teacher, "My Chinese is the best in the whole city."

When he entered high school, he was held back a year due to academic problems, and eventually dropped out of school because he failed 7 subjects.

When he left, a teacher asked him what he would do next.

This writer surnamed Han said he could make it through writing, but the teachers all shook their heads and laughed, not believing it was even possible.

However, the truth is that this writer surnamed Han not only supported himself through writing, but also became a dazzling young writer of that era and a star on television.

He even made movies, and one of them grossed over 3 billion yuan!
In short, every capable and talented person has their share of troublemakers.

A prickly horse is like a wild steed; once tamed, it can run faster and farther than other horses.

"Hehe, let's take a look then." Zhang Wanhe chuckled as well.

(End of this chapter)