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

Chapter 57 The road must be taken one step at a time.
Faced with Li Muzhi's joking attitude, Zhang Wanhe still said, "That's true, but the problem you've created for the combat troops is a bit too big."

"We're also providing them with workers, tools, and hell cannons, right? I believe the combat troops have a way to handle this," Li Muzhi said confidently.

Putting everything else aside, just take Li Yunlong as an example. In critical moments, he always has a solution.

Not to mention that behind Li Yunlong stood a brigade commander, whose reputation was well-deserved.

Li Muzhi believed that as long as the cannonballs from the Hell Cannon were plentiful, robbing the Japanese trains would be nothing to them.

"Alright, alright, I'll find you some people and tools first. Once the cannonballs for the Hell Cannon are made, we'll..." Zhang Wanhe didn't think too much about it. At this point, he remembered something and immediately asked, "By the way, how many cannonballs for the Hell Cannon can we make with these three thousand catties of white sugar?"

"I plan to manufacture five hundred rounds..." Li Muzhi didn't finish his sentence.

Zhang Wanhe's eyes widened again, like the moon in the sky: "Five hundred rounds? Really? Can they really make that many?"

When we finish building eleven cannons, each cannon will be able to receive nearly fifty shells on average. After that, who will dare to call us the "poor Eighth Route Army"?
Li Muzhi explained, "I only use some of the sugar inside to make the cannonballs for the Hell Cannon; we still need to make some of our regular cannonballs."

As for building rockets, there's no need to reveal that beforehand.

“Yes, yes, that’s right. We still need to manufacture conventional shells. Our troops have very few mortar and infantry gun shells that we’ve captured, so we can’t afford to run out of supplies.” Zhang Wanhe nodded.

The battlefield significance of the Hellfire cannon is undeniable, but the significance of small-caliber artillery is still indispensable.

Then Zhang Wanhe asked, "How many conventional shells can be made?"

"It's hard to say for now." Li Muzhi needed to reserve materials for rockets, so he couldn't make that many conventional shells. "There should be a few hundred, but the main problem is that there's not enough sugar."

To ensure a sufficient number of rockets, the number of conventional artillery shells will be less.

"A few hundred conventional shells are better than nothing." Zhang Wanhe was still very happy to hear that a few hundred conventional shells could be made, but then he said self-deprecatingly, "The 386th Brigade sent more than three thousand catties of white sugar, which made me so happy. I thought there was so much white sugar. But now that I hear what you say, sigh, more than three thousand catties of white sugar is indeed too little."

"So, Minister Zhang, it would be best if we could produce our own sugar," Li Muzhi said, pointing to the sugar.

"Don't worry, the beet planting will definitely not be neglected." Zhang Wanhe nodded emphatically, then remembered something and asked, "By the way, is the arsenal's iron supply sufficient?"

"No rush," Li Muzhi said calmly. "You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Once the power problem is solved, iron won't be an issue. We can just let the combat troops scavenge from the Japanese railways."

With the Hellfire Cannon and rocket launcher, the Japanese defenses on the railway lines won't be as tough to crack as before.

With the defense threat to the railway line resolved, the railway tracks are practically free.

Then there is.

By paralyzing the Japanese railway lines, it became easier to block the Japanese logistics and indirectly support the front-line battlefield.

“That’s right, that’s right. We have enough cannonballs for Hell Cannon. Going to the Japanese railway and tearing down the tracks is definitely a shortcut.” Zhang Wanhe smiled broadly.

If we're lucky, the Japanese train might derail, and we can even make some money off it – a sure-fire way to profit.

"Li Muzhi, I'll contact other arsenals right now to get manpower and tools." Zhang Wanhe, who was originally a little sleepy, was now full of energy and not sleepy at all, as if he had been injected with a hundred doses of chicken blood.

The personnel and tools from other arsenals cannot arrive immediately; their military production cannot be stopped, and this will take time. Kan Xuan. Zhang Wanhe left quickly, and Li Muzhi walked back to the arsenal workshop and instructed Lao He: "Lao He, gather the key personnel and hold a meeting first."

"Okay." Old He nodded.

Soon, the key personnel of the arsenal gathered together. Although it was already late at night, they were all like night owls, staring at Li Muzhi with their big, bell-like eyes.

Their eyes were filled with respect and admiration for the young director of the arsenal.

Even if Li Muzhi asked them to go through fire and water, they would not flinch.

Li Muzhi began, "Let's first talk about the production of the Hell Cannon shells. Based on the feedback data, I think our shells need some optimization. For example, the assault shells, although their explosive power is not weak, still have some excess power. I plan to reduce the amount of explosive charge and also lower the proportion of sugar added. Then there are the fragmentation shells, which mainly rely on nails and iron balls to kill densely packed crowds, so the kinetic energy of these nails and iron balls only needs to be sufficient, and we don't need to use so much explosive. Then there's the projectile body; I think there are still some details that need optimization, such as the balancing fins..."

"These are the revised specifications for the shells. Take them and produce a sample first. Once the test is successful and there are no problems, continue production based on this sample." Li Muzhi took out several small notebooks containing the optimized new data and handed them to the key personnel.

After reviewing the document, the key personnel nodded in agreement: "No problem, factory manager, we'll make the changes according to your requirements right away."

“There’s something else,” Li Muzhi continued. “Reserve half of the sugar sent by the 386th Brigade. Don’t touch it for now; I have other uses for it.”

"Factory manager, shouldn't we use this half of the sugar to make cannonballs for the Hell Cannon?" Old He asked curiously.

“The army can’t rely on hellfire cannons all the time when it’s fighting,” Li Muzhi said.

"So you're reserving half of this sugar because you're planning to use it for other weapons?" A key member looked at Li Muzhi with gleaming eyes. "Factory Manager, what are you planning to do?"

"I only have some initial ideas right now," Li Muzhi said tactfully, not wanting to be completely honest with them. "I'm still researching it."

"Factory manager, we're waiting for your good news." The key personnel had no doubt that Li Muzhi would definitely figure it out soon.

"Let me reiterate one last time. I understand your enthusiasm for military industry development, but I must reiterate this seriously: 'Sleep time and quality must be guaranteed. When it's time to leave work, you must leave. No one is allowed to voluntarily get off work overtime!'" Li Muzhi's expression turned serious.

"Military production cannot afford to be overworked. Any accident could cause our arsenal to be completely destroyed."

"Anyone who violates this rule will be expelled!"

Although Li Muzhi had divided the arsenal workers into three groups, they could take turns.

But these workers are so incredibly dedicated that even when it's time to leave work, they still want to do a little more.

In later generations, bosses would prefer employees like this.

But this is exactly not the case in military production!

"Yes, factory director."

"Meeting dismissed."

……

(End of this chapter)