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

Chapter 259 Chen Ming Tests the New Chief of Staff!

The chief of staff was amazed when he saw the 107mm rocket launcher.

"I never imagined we had rocket launchers!"

The chief of staff exclaimed in surprise when he saw the brand-new 12-tube 107mm rocket launchers displayed in the warehouse.

"This is a rocket launcher that we copied after we obtained a dud from the Soviet army on the border of Outer Mongolia. It has a caliber of 107 mm."

"This is our powerful weapon for close to medium range firepower coverage, capable of carpet bombing in a short period of time!"

"Its power is astonishing. If used suddenly on the battlefield, it can catch the Japanese off guard and play a huge role."

"However, current production is not high, with only 4 rocket launchers and 300 rockets produced per month."

"Now, a single salvo can basically wipe out a month's worth of production."

Chen Ming explained to the chief of staff.

After hearing this, the chief of staff did not feel at all that the output was low.

This is no ordinary weapon; it's a rocket launcher with a caliber exceeding 100 millimeters!
A monthly output of over 300 rounds is already quite impressive for us.

"Hello, Chief!"

Upon seeing Chen Ming and his group arrive, all the workers in the workshop gathered together.

"Let me introduce you. This is Lao Song, an eighth-level lathe operator in our arsenal, responsible for the manual polishing of rocket turbine nozzles."

"The accuracy of our rocket launchers is inextricably linked to Old Song's hands."

Chen Ming smiled and introduced Lao Song, the director of the rocket artillery workshop and also an eighth-grade lathe operator, to the chief of staff.

In order to differentiate the skill levels of different workers within the arsenal, Chen Ming adopted an employee skill level assessment system.

The workers were divided into eight levels according to their skill level.

Level 1 is for apprentices, and Level 8 is the highest, representing the most skilled workers.

Within Arsenal 417, there were only thirteen workers who could reach level eight.

Each one is a treasure kept at the arsenal.

For the arsenal, they were more valuable than their weight in gold!

Old Song was an eighth-grade lathe operator at the arsenal. Besides being skilled himself, he was also very good at teaching his apprentices.

They trained six level-seven workers, twelve level-six workers, and countless others below level six.

Therefore, Lao Song held a high position and prestige within the arsenal, possessed numerous honors, and was even able to serve as the director of the important rocket artillery workshop while still holding the position of a worker.

The salary they received exceeded 30 yuan per month.

They also enjoy a range of benefits, including high-ranking medical care, childcare, paid leave, and various subsidies.

It can be said that, in terms of allowances alone, the treatment of an eighth-grade worker was dozens of times that of Chen Ming.

This is also a preferential treatment that our army gives to skilled workers, ensuring that they are well-dressed and have a high social status.

Of course, the senior technical workers at the arsenal deserve this treatment.

Take Lao Song for example,

The tail of the rocket needs to be machined with eight angled nozzles, and each nozzle needs to maintain a specific deflection angle with the axis of the rocket body.

The deflection angle error must be controlled within ±0.1°, otherwise it will cause the ballistic trajectory to deviate.

The inner wall of the nozzle needs to be polished to a mirror finish to ensure uniform gas flow.

Advanced lathe operators need to be proficient in machining complex curved surfaces and manually adjust the lathe tool compensation parameters.

It can be said that every rocket produced by the arsenal had passed through Lao Song's hands.

This is the key to the accuracy of the rockets fired by Factory 417!

Old Song felt a little embarrassed when he heard Chen Ming say that.

"Thank you, sir! You flatter me; I am unworthy of such praise!"

"We were able to complete the mission thanks to the help of our comrades!"

"The technology was developed through everyone's exploration, and the credit belongs to the collective!"

"Haha, as expected of the pillar of our arsenal, your awareness is truly high," Chen Ming said with a smile.

"Old Song, this is our unit's chief of staff, Chief of Staff Liu."

Chen Ming introduced it to Lao Song.

"Hello, Master Song." Chief of Staff Liu extended his hand.

Seeing the chief of staff extend his hand to shake his, Old Song looked at his own dark, calloused hand and said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Sir, my hands are too dirty."

No worker in the workshop has clean hands.

As the mainstay of the workshop, Lao Song was no exception.

Upon hearing this, Chief of Staff Liu immediately said:

"No, the hands of working people are the cleanest!"

As he spoke, he tightly grasped Old Song's greasy hands.

At this moment, a clean hand grasped a greasy hand, building a bridge.

Old Song felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he felt the warmth emanating from the chief of staff's hand.

Old Song was a worker at the Taiyuan Arsenal under Commander Yan. After the Japanese captured Taiyuan...

Old Song was unwilling to be a slave of a conquered nation, so he fled Taiyuan and joined what was then the Independent Second Regiment.

He became a worker in the maintenance company.

Now, however, he is entrusted with the organization's trust, and his treatment and status have undergone a dramatic transformation compared to before.

He was naturally extremely grateful.

"Thank you, sir! I will definitely work even harder to live up to the organization's trust!"

"That's more like it," Chen Ming said with a smile, holding their hands.

After a brief introduction, Chen Ming got down to business.

"Old Song, how's the production of our 107mm rockets going?"

Upon hearing Chen Ming's question, Old Song immediately replied:

"Reporting to the commander, we have now increased our rocket production by 50%."

“My two apprentices have already improved their skills and can share some of my work.”

"Once their technology is fully up to standard, we can enable them to produce independently, and then our output will double."

The two apprentices Old Song mentioned were naturally the two most talented among his six level-seven workers.

The most crucial step in rocket production still requires manual polishing.

The number of qualified skilled workers determines the production capacity of rockets.

Currently, the training of technical personnel in the arsenal is developing steadily and positively.

Over time, production will increase and the scale will grow larger.

Achieve true prosperity!

Chen Ming was very pleased to hear Lao Song's answer.

"Great! At this production rate, we'll have enough firepower to support our offensive next year."

"But Lao Song, if we can appropriately reduce the precision, can we increase the production capacity of rockets even further?"

"The Japanese are moving around frequently now. When the weather warms up next year, there will definitely be a big battle between us and the Japanese."

"If we can increase firepower, we can reduce the casualties of our soldiers and sacrifice fewer soldiers."

Chen Ming spoke up.

"Sir, how much can we reduce the precision appropriately?"

Old Song asked. Words like "appropriate" and "a little" are difficult to judge without specific quantitative definitions.

"Yes, the maximum accuracy can be increased to within 500 meters."

"Rocket artillery is an area-effect weapon. As long as there are enough of them, an error of 500 meters is still acceptable. In extreme cases, it can be reduced to 800 meters."

Chen Ming spoke up.

Nowadays, thanks to Lao Song, an eighth-level worker, the accuracy of the 107mm rocket launcher can be accurate to within 100 meters.

That was already a very good, even top-tier, level in the world at that time.

However, the pursuit of precision in the past was a product of insufficient resources.

Now that the independent detachment has captured most of Suiyuan and parts of Chahar, where resources are plentiful, it is possible to consider reducing precision in exchange for increased firepower coverage.

The effect of firing one rocket is definitely not as good as firing ten.

If you can provide firepower coverage, who's going to engage in precision strikes?
As for the cost issue?

The production costs are completely different; the costs are only raw materials, fuel, and labor.

The only cost of an arsenal is labor costs.

Mines are mined by people, transportation relies on trains burning coal and mules and horses eating grass, and production is done by workers.

Therefore, even if the production scale of the arsenal increases, it will not increase costs too much.

Upon hearing Chen Ming's words, Old Song quickly calculated in his mind and immediately replied:
"If we lower the standards, I'm confident I can increase production to over 25 rounds per day!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming exclaimed with delight:
"Really? There's no joking in the military."

Old Song nodded firmly: "Really! If the requirements are lowered, all six of my level seven apprentices can produce it, and even my level six apprentices can do some auxiliary work."

"However, allocating some machine tools here in this way will affect the production of other weapons."

After listening, Chen Ming nodded:
"The war is only a few months away now. Let's prioritize the production of rocket artillery and put other weapons aside for the time being."

"I'll talk to Comrade Jia about these things when I get back, and I'll also have Comrade Zhang Wanhe from the Logistics Department coordinate the resource allocation."

"What you need to do in your rocket production workshop is to put production into it without any worries, produce more rockets, and wipe out the Japanese devils."

"Yes, sir. I guarantee to complete the mission and live up to the organization's expectations!"

Old Song immediately saluted.

"Alright, I'll wait and see. If you succeed, I'll personally commend you."

Chen Ming said with a smile.

After inspecting the rocket artillery production workshop, Chen Ming, accompanied by his chief of staff, inspected other weapons production workshops.

Afterwards, Chen Ming went to see Zhang Wanhe, the head of logistics.

To achieve a daily production of more than 25 rockets, 15 tons of steel and 1.6 tons of gunpowder would need to be allocated each month.

This is a huge problem that requires Zhang Wanhe to mobilize and increase production.

For example, the allocation of raw materials for gunpowder needs to be increased, and the supply of materials and workers in steel plants also needs to be increased.

The production of other weapons also requires Zhang Wanhe's coordination.

However, the base area is now very large, and the base area is stable because of the strength of the troops.

The allocation of resources is more efficient, as they can be transported by train, further improving efficiency.

The Tongpu Railway used to be one of the Japanese army's lifelines. After it was cut off by the Independent Detachment, it also became the Independent Detachment's lifeline for transporting blood!

At the same time, winter is coming, and it's the off-season for farming. Chen Ming can mobilize a large number of people to support production, so there's no need to worry about manpower.

This is the advantage of a stable rear area; in terms of both efficiency and production, it is infinitely better than an unstable place.

While our army fought the war behind enemy lines, the Japanese were unable to turn the occupied areas into a stable rear.

Unable to sustain the war through war, they ultimately fell into a state of resource scarcity and expenditure exceeding income.

After communicating with Zhang Wanhe, Zhang Wanhe also made a guarantee that he would complete the task assigned to him by Chen Ming and win this "logistics battle".

This was the first time he had fought such a rich "battle" since joining the Independent Detachment.

It has a strong mass base, abundant resources, high stability, and a solid economic foundation.

It felt somewhat unreal to Zhang Wanhe.

"I had heard before that the Independent Detachment was like a nouveau riche, very wealthy."

“In the past, I, Old Zhang, would argue with the cadres below for a long time over a few boxes of hand grenades. They thought I, Old Zhang, didn’t want to give them away and was saving them for future use.”

"If I really had that much, how could I refuse? I'm just so poor I have no other choice."

"Now it's great, if I get a hundred or two hundred boxes of hand grenades, I, Old Zhang, won't even blink."

Looking at the independent detachment's resources in his office, Zhang Wanhe couldn't help but sigh.

Of course, he was just saying it without batting an eye.

Those who are used to using weapons understand the value of ammunition even more.

After expressing his feelings, Zhang Wanhe began his work.

Following Chen Ming's orders, manpower was mobilized to allocate resources and increase production.

Prepare logistical support for next year's tough battles.

As expected of the talent Chen Ming obtained from the senior teacher, his professional skills are truly outstanding.

They meticulously sorted out and resolved countless problems in the vast base area, one by one.

Issues such as the supply of raw materials to the No. 1 gunpowder plant of Arsenal 417, the recruitment and replenishment of workers for the No. 2 steel plant, and the allocation of mules and horses for the transport team.

Zhang Wanhe has handled everything.

His only task was to mobilize resources regardless of cost, increase the output of the arsenal, and ensure a smooth war next year!
After the inspection, Chief of Staff Liu gained a concrete understanding of the situation of the independent detachment.

We gained a detailed understanding of troop strength, weaponry and ammunition, troop deployment, and troop missions.

Chen Ming also began to conduct a professional assessment of the chief of staff.

"We have now surrounded the Japanese 3rd Tank Division in Baotou."

"Now that winter has arrived, the Japanese tanks in Baotou are unable to move and are trapped like turtles in a jar."

"According to intelligence, two Japanese Kwantung Army divisions appeared in Rehe, and the Japanese in North China were also moving supplies."

"It's obvious they're going to attack us next year. I'd conservatively estimate they might deploy three divisions."

"With the addition of the 3rd Tank Division in Baotou, we will then be facing at least four Japanese divisions."

"If the Japanese had been more ambitious, they might have fielded five or six divisions."

"In this situation, my Chief of Staff, what are your thoughts?"

Chen Ming was in the command post, asking the chief of staff for instructions.

Although his chief of staff performed exceptionally well later on.

But now, things are different. He lacks experience and doesn't know if his abilities can meet Chen Ming's requirements.

After all, people at different times will definitely have different abilities.

Take Chen Ming from three years ago, for example. At that time, he was just the captain of a small squad in a district. Asking him to command a large-scale operation would have been completely daunting.

After three years of battles, both big and small, and through gradual learning and growth, he is now a completely different person.

The main force commanding the independent detachment, along with the local armed forces and militia within the base area, may not be the most powerful, but at least they could keep things under control and avoid chaos.

As Chief of Staff Liu listened to Chen Ming's analysis of the situation, he knew that the other party was testing him.

Whether she could gain Chen Ming's approval depended on her answer this time.

After careful consideration, he then shared his opinion:

"Given the current situation, I believe..."

P.S.: Today is my birthday, so it's a celebration with the nation. Can I hear one of those lines? You know, that one...

(End of this chapter)