Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 256: Exchanging Grain for Weapons, Tractor Factory!
On the way to Jining, Chen Ming called Xu Desheng along.

For no other reason than for his stomach.

Chen Ming's own alcohol tolerance was not good, and he definitely couldn't outdrink the Russians, nor would he allow himself to get drunk.

At times like these, Xu Desheng's massive drinking capacity, capable of knocking out Russians, becomes extremely important.

No, this is the Big Brother now, not the Russians, Chen Ming thought to himself.

"Comrade Desheng, it's time to test you again. You can't let us down this time."

Chen Ming smiled and said to Xu Desheng.

"Don't worry, leader. As long as the Party and the people need me, I, Xu Desheng, will never let you down, even if I drink myself to death."

"To say that I can outdrink 10 or 20 people is definitely an exaggeration, but I don't even consider 10 or 8 a threat."

Xu Desheng licked his lips, patted his stomach, and said with a smile.

He hasn't touched a drink for almost a month since he hosted the delegation last time.

To buy twenty tanks, the base area tightened its belts and cut back on food and drink.

The revenue from 42 years of production was already poor. If it weren't for Chen Ming establishing a production and construction team and calling on everyone to reclaim wasteland and plant grain, the situation would have been much worse.

There might even be people who starve to death.

In these days when even food is scarce, how can there be enough grain to brew wine?

The liquor prepared by the base area was partly raised spontaneously by some of the wealthier locals, and partly secretly purchased from other places.

Even in years of great disaster, there are still quite a few people who use precious grains to brew wine.

To them, what did it matter whether the common people starved to death? As long as they had alcohol to drink and could make money, they were willing to dump the grain.

Under these circumstances, the entire base area was deprived of its alcohol rations.

Even Li Yunlong, who always loved alcohol, took out his hidden liquor to support the weapons exchange, and when he was hungry, he could only eat fried soybeans.

Li Yunlong may have many minor flaws, but when his efforts are needed, he will definitely be the first to step forward without hesitation.

Upon arriving in Jining, Chen Ming and Xu Desheng met with representatives of the second batch of transported supplies.

As expected, it's Pavel again.

"Dear Comrade, we meet again!"

Pavel greeted Xu Desheng warmly as soon as he saw him.

He certainly didn't like Xu Desheng very much, but he liked the five thousand liters of liquor that Xu Desheng had traded last time.

The Battle of Stalingrad is now raging, and resources are being poured into the western front.

The Far Eastern Army, a remote second-line unit, received very limited supplies.

After the weather turned cold, the efficiency of transporting supplies decreased again.

When he was in the army, he only had a few bottles of his treasured vodka left.

Keep in mind that Pavel was a Soviet Army colonel and division commander. If even Soviet Army division commanders were in such a state, what about others?
The alcohol involved in this tank trade amounted to a full 5,000 liters, which, calculated at 500 milliliters per batch, amounted to a total of 10,000 bottles.

As the key figure in negotiating this deal, Pavel should at least get a few hundred bottles, if not a thousand or two.

Pavel was happy at the thought that he would have an endless supply of alcohol to drink throughout the winter.

They naturally became much more enthusiastic towards Xu Desheng.

"My dear comrade, let me introduce you. This is my superior."

Xu Desheng introduced Chen Ming to Pavel.

Upon hearing this, Pavel's gaze towards Chen Ming immediately became more respectful.

According to the military ranks, the other side is two ranks higher than us.

As for strength, Pavel had participated in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol and knew the madness of the Japanese.

Although the Soviet army defeated the Japanese army with superior resources and modern soldiers, it also paid a high price.

During his command of the battle, Chen Ming eliminated far more Japanese soldiers than just Nomonhan.

Regardless of his strength or rank, Pavel believed that Chen Ming deserved his respect.

"Dear comrade-in-arms, hello, I am Chen Ming." Chen Ming extended his hand.

Due to political sensitivity, the two sides do not salute.

Because the Soviet Union needed to maintain a facade of neutrality, Chen Ming changed the approach to a handshake.

“Dear Comrade, your Russian is very good.”

Pavel extended his hand and shook hands with Chen Ming, smiling as he spoke.

Chen Ming could speak Russian, as could many of our army's generals.

The headquarters established a Japanese language training class in 39 and also added Russian language courses.

In 41, Yan'an also began specialized Russian language training.

Knowing that he would inevitably have to deal with the Soviet army in the future, Chen Ming naturally learned Russian as well.

With the help of the Level 5 learning badge, which increases learning speed by 100%, Chen Ming quickly mastered Russian and Japanese.

With his English foundation from his previous life, it can be said that Chen Ming is now fluent in four languages.

"Thank you for the compliment."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Ming spoke:
"It's cold outside, let's go into the city first. The city has prepared excellent spirits and delicious food."

Pavel's eyes lit up at the mention of spirits and food, and he became much more polite.

The group entered the city together.

As for the transported supplies, Chen Ming and Pavel need not worry about that.

Based on the experience from last time, someone will handle it properly.

Upon entering the banquet hall, the table was laden with dishes, this time prepared by a Huaiyang cuisine chef.

As for why the main force of the independent detachment was from Shanxi Province, yet they hired chefs specializing in Huaiyang cuisine to cook, that remains to be seen.

Huaiyang cuisine has become the mainstream cuisine for state banquets in later generations, satisfying the dietary needs of many countries and diverse cultural backgrounds, and possessing universality in international tastes.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call the Soviet Union a culinary desert now. The Soviet military representatives ate with gusto, their mouths greasy from the abundance of dishes on the table.

Xu Desheng, as the co-host, also got them completely drunk.

Xu Desheng bore the brunt of the firepower, taking on several Soviet soldiers single-handedly.

Seeing that the time was right, Chen Ming steered the conversation to the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.

Pavel gets excited when this is mentioned, after all, he's on the winning side.

So, fueled by alcohol, Pavel boasted about how brave his division had been, how they had routed the Japanese.

However, opinions on the actual situation vary from person to person.

However, Chen Ming did not expose the other party and instead played the role of the straight man.

Pavel felt extremely satisfied with the flattery from Chen Ming, an officer two ranks higher than him.

Boasting is something that's ingrained in men's genes.

Listening to Pavel's boasting, Chen Ming said at the opportune moment:
"You must have captured a lot of enemy troops back then, after all, you wiped out so many Japanese soldiers."

"Of course, the spoils at that time were almost piled up into a small mountain."

"Huge piles of guns, ammunition, and artillery, in countless quantities."

Pavel patted his chest and said.

"So what did you do with these weapons? Did you use them yourselves?" Chen Ming continued.

“We look down on the Japanese's rubbish; it's all outdated stuff that's still gathering dust in the warehouse,” Pavel said proudly.

It's normal for countries with their own industrial systems to look down on the weapons of other countries.

After all, from a logistical perspective, supplying with standardized weapons is more efficient.

Our military does not have its own industrial system, and the use of a mix of foreign-made equipment is a last resort.

Hearing what the other party said, Chen Ming felt more confident.

Therefore, the idea of ​​trading grain for Japanese weapons captured by the Soviet army was proposed.

Pavel was excited when he heard this; another deal was coming!

He gained a lot from the tank deal, not just from the alcohol.

Once the drinks are returned, such a large quantity of drinks will be distributed to his superiors, which will likely lead to a promotion for him.

The concept of a society based on personal relationships isn't unique to China; other countries naturally follow it too.

"I need to ask for your instructions on this."

Pavel began to speak.

Upon hearing about the deal, Pavel sobered up a bit.

So he immediately ordered someone to report the situation.

With hundreds of tons of weapons seized, a colonel like him naturally couldn't make the decision.

The Far East Command responded quickly.

They agreed to exchange weapons for grain, which could be obtained by exchanging grain of equal weight.

For the Far East Army, this batch of Japanese weapons had no other use than being stored in warehouses.

Even if you melt it down and recast it, you'll still lose money.

The cost of melting down the wreckage of artillery and tanks and recasting them is much higher than building a new tank or a new cannon.

Tanks and artillery are not made of pure metals; the various alloying elements inside need to be separated before they can be recast, otherwise the quality will not be up to standard.

The Soviet army had its own industrial system, producing weapons in batches, so naturally they looked down on the Japanese.

But what the Soviet army didn't want, we did!
Who cares about alloys or quality?

If it can be repaired, use it as is; if it can't be repaired, melt it down and give it to the people to make kitchen knives and iron pots.

In short, any piece of iron, even if it's of substandard quality, is an extremely precious thing.

The Far East Army offered a price of one ton of weapons for one ton of food.

What an extravagant description! The weapons are described in tons.

In addition to Japanese weapons, the Far East Army also inquired whether Chen Ming was interested in the Far East Army's scrapped tanks and artillery.

The Soviet Army generally disposed of damaged weapons by towing them back to base for dismantling and recycling, and by abandoning them on the battlefield.

With the war situation urgent, experienced maintenance personnel from the Far East Army have been transferred to the eastern front, leaving many damaged tanks and artillery pieces without repair.

After the German occupation of Ukraine, the Soviet Union lost 38% of its grain production, which plummeted to less than 30 million tons in 1942, only 31% of its pre-war production.

Meanwhile, in order to ensure the supply of soldiers, the Soviet Union used 25% of its grain for brewing and rationing, which further reduced the already scarce food rations.

For the Soviet army at that time, a ton of grain was more valuable than a ton of steel.

But for us, a ton of steel is more valuable than a ton of grain.

This is the gap between agricultural and industrial countries.

The exchange terms proposed by the Far East Army hit Chen Ming right where it hurts.

A Type 38 rifle weighs less than eight pounds, so exchanging it for eight pounds of grain is a fair trade.

It's important to know that during this period, a Type 38 rifle could be exchanged for over 500 jin (approximately 250 kg) of grain on the black market (excluding famine-stricken areas).
One bullet can be exchanged for several kilograms of grain.

Not to mention other artillery pieces, scrapped tanks, and the like.

It can be said that the difference in value between these transactions of exchanging equal weight of grain for weapons and ammunition could be tens or even hundreds of times.

For our army, this is a purely profitable deal!
Moreover, for the Soviet army, completely unusable guns and artillery were usually not collected and were of very low value.

Only weapons that are capable of being repaired but cannot be repaired due to the current situation, and which must be stored away until the conditions are right, are worth collecting and storing.

Chen Ming had two large repair shops at his disposal.

Originally there was only one, but after the talent was trained, it was expanded, with one set up as the headquarters and the other set up in the arsenal of the fourth district.

There are two large repair shops. If these "scrapped" weapons can be transported back, a significant portion of them can be repaired and added to the troops.

Rifles with worn-out rifling are still in use, so why can't these repaired weapons be used?
A good weapon is one that can kill the Japanese invaders.

Chen Ming readily agreed to the terms of the deal and reported the situation to his superiors.

Upon learning of this, headquarters made the decision without hesitation.

"Change it, it must be changed."

"If each of our 500,000 troops eats one or two ounces less of grain a day, we can get 25 tons of weapons and ammunition in return. Where else can you find such a windfall deal!"

Indeed, our army has a huge base. Even if each person eats one or two less grains per day, we can accumulate a thousand tons of grain in just over a month.

A thousand tons of grain in exchange for a thousand tons of weapons and ammunition, even if they are "scrapped" weapons and ammunition, is worthwhile.

Even if only half or even 30% can be repaired, the profits are still huge.

If you don't believe me, just ask any regiment of a thousand people: if you ask them to eat one or two less grains of rice today, and then give them 13 Type 38 rifles, would they do it?
Take Li Yunlong's regiment as an example. After some key members were separated to form new units, Li Yunlong's regiment still has 5,000 men left.

If each of these 5,000 people ate one or two ounces less grain per day for a year, they could exchange it for 15,000 Type 38 rifles (calculated based on an 8-pound Type 38 rifle).

When Li Yunlong found out, he was so happy he almost fainted. When he woke up, he would have to kowtow twice, otherwise he would feel that the other party had lost out too much.

Therefore, headquarters had no reason to disagree with this transaction.

This is practically a giveaway.

Headquarters also knew that the Soviet army was being so generous after the independent detachment had achieved results on the grasslands.

We need to stand on our own two feet before others will respect us.

After receiving feedback from headquarters, Chen Ming continued negotiations.

The first batch of weapons and ammunition to be exchanged for 500 tons of grain was finally agreed upon.

To show sincerity, grain could be transported first, followed by weapons and ammunition, which would then be transported back by Soviet transport teams.

At the same time, Chen Ming also sent a batch of gifts to Pavel.

This wasn't a free gift; after finalizing the deal to exchange weapons for food...

Chen Ming pointed out that among so many "scrapped" weapons were tanks.

Furthermore, the Independent Detachment was already preparing for the annihilation of the Japanese 3rd Tank Division in Baotou.

We will also acquire a large number of scrapped tanks at that time.

We hope the Soviet army can provide some repair technology and equipment.

After Pavel reported the incident, the Far East Command responded.

We cannot provide tank-related technology and equipment.

However, considering that an independent detachment was still needed to draw the attention of the Japanese Kwantung Army, it was proposed that they could provide assistance to a tractor factory.

This is non-military aid, so they'll have a better explanation later.

After all, tank technology is too sensitive, so civilian tractor factories are much better off.

Both sides knew that if they could build tractors, how far away could they be building tanks?

P.S.: Dear readers, my birthday falls on National Day, so I'm celebrating with the nation. Could you please give me some monthly votes as a birthday gift? Thank you so much!
(End of this chapter)