Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

"15.6 kilometers," Zhao Ping'an repeated, his expression calm and composed.

But a smile crept into my heart. Old Xu, I love seeing you so clueless.

As expected, when it comes to providing emotional value, it all comes down to you, Lao Xu!

Old Xu gasped, his face filled with utter shock.

He's knowledgeable; the artillery currently equipped by our army, whether it's captured Japanese 150mm howitzers,

Other mountain artillery pieces, however, mostly have an effective range of less than ten kilometers.

To be precise, depending on usage and maintenance, most of them will only travel a little over 7 or 8 kilometers, and those that can reach 11 kilometers are a very small number of "long-arm" products.

This 15.6-kilometer range means that it can fire freely from outside the range of most enemy artillery.

This means that we have a huge tactical initiative and security!

"My precious...this is a true national treasure!" Old Xu's hands trembled with excitement.

"Our entire army... no, even if we were to search through all our assets, we probably... probably don't have many of these advanced heavy artillery pieces!"

You've brought in twelve guns all at once... That's practically the configuration of two standard heavy artillery companies!

He suddenly grabbed Zhao Ping'an's arm: "Ping'an! These cannons and these trucks must be kept strictly confidential! Their value is too great!"

Zhao Ping'an nodded: "I know. That's why we brought them back overnight and chose the most secluded place. We also arranged for a battalion to patrol and guard the area."

Old Xu nodded repeatedly, then circled the cannons and trucks several times, muttering to himself.

"Great!" "Our brigade has really been upgraded!" They couldn't hide their joy.

After a long while, he seemed to remember something and hurriedly said something to Zhao Ping'an.

"I have to report this matter in detail right away!" he said, turning around and walking away quickly, his back view radiating excitement.

Zhao Ping'an watched Lao Xu leave, shook his head and smiled.

These days, Lao Xu has been contacting his superiors unusually frequently regarding penicillin and previous teaching materials.

It is said that they have spontaneously formed a fixed pattern of "daily records, weekly reports, and monthly meetings," making them exemplary liaisons.

Over the next few days, Zhao Ping'an organized a team to further inspect and conceal the artillery trucks.

On the other hand, an urgent problem must be solved: the driver!

The five of them alone couldn't possibly handle all that equipment.

Just as Zhao Ping'an was pondering how to poach people from other places...

"Brigade Commander," a soldier from the 1st Regiment named Sun Dayong said, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"This big car... looks more complicated than a donkey cart or horse-drawn carriage, but... I think the principles are about the same?"

"Hold the direction, accelerate when you step on the gas, and stop when you step on the brake? I...can I give it a try?"

Another soldier from the 3rd Regiment named Li Shuanzhu also mustered his courage:

"Brigade Commander, I used to drive a cart for my employer back home, and I've seen cars run before. I watched you explain it to me just now, and I even went up to stand in the driver's seat when they were driving. It didn't look difficult to me, but I'm really itching to try it myself."

Zhao Ping'an's eyes lit up.

He was worried about not being able to find a driver! These soldiers, though lacking formal training, were quick-witted, bold, and meticulous.

Anyway, there's plenty of open space here. At worst, it's just a matter of stepping on the brakes. You know which one is the brake, so just step on it.

I learned to drive myself in just two days, why don't you let them try?

"Want to learn? You're welcome!" Zhao Ping'an immediately agreed. "But let's get this straight: this thing is valuable and a powerful tool, so if you're going to learn it, you must learn it seriously and be disciplined!"

Zhao Ping'an immediately found a relatively flat and spacious open space about 500 meters away, marked out the area, and personally became the coach.

We'll start by teaching the most basic things: instrument reading, how to hold the steering wheel, and how to coordinate the clutch, accelerator, and brake.

He taught with patience and meticulousness. The soldiers learned with great eagerness.

Soon they took turns getting into the car for "hands-on" practice, slowly moving forward, turning, stopping, and starting again in the open space.

Although Shaanxi Automobile heavy trucks are large, they benefit from relatively advanced power steering and clear gear positions.

In practice, it is much more user-friendly than many of the "purely mechanical beasts" of this era.

This greatly accelerated the learning process for the soldiers.

It has to be said that the composure and decisiveness of soldiers who have come from the battlefield are hard to match for people in peacetime.

Even if an accidental misoperation causes the vehicle to jerk or stall, the soldiers training inside only turn pale.

He was able to immediately follow Zhao Ping'an's instructions, calm himself down, depress the clutch, and try again.

There will never be a situation like in later generations, where people frantically "step on the gas" and end up "screaming chickens."

By the time Lao Xu returned, travel-worn and exhausted, with the latest instructions from his superiors, Zhao Ping'an's "driving school" had already taken shape.

Sun Dayong and Li Shuanzhu, the two who were the first to express their desire to learn and were also the most talented, were already able to perform relatively smooth starts, straight driving, turns, and reversing on the open ground. Although they were still a bit clumsy, they were already showing promise.

Seeing this, Lao Xu was initially pleased, but then a mixture of embarrassment, helplessness, and a bit of amusement appeared on his face.

"Ping An, there's something..." Old Xu pulled Zhao Ping An aside, rubbed his hands together, and looked a little unnatural.

"What's wrong, Lao Xu? Any new instructions from above?" Zhao Ping'an asked.

"The instructions...were there." Old Xu sighed, his voice lowered, tinged with embarrassment.

"Didn't I promise you a couple of days ago that we'd use the equipment ourselves? But who would have thought... you'd make such a big fuss this time?"

Twelve state-of-the-art 122mm heavy artillery pieces, twenty-five large trucks… After I reported the situation, the leaders… the leaders took it very seriously.”

He paused, glanced at the imposing cannons in the distance, and his tone became even more awkward:

"The commanders... well, they have indeed 'set their sights' on these heavy artillery pieces. Of course, they don't want them all, but... we hope they can have a holistic view."

After all, such heavy firepower, when placed at the level of the entire theater of operations, can play a greater strategic role…”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ping'an was taken aback for a moment, then, seeing Old Xu's unusually embarrassed expression, he suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Ping'an patted Lao Xu on the shoulder.

"Old Xu, the stuff is for our troops. The higher-ups have a holistic view and need to allocate it, which I completely understand and will resolutely obey. However…"

Then, changing the subject, a sly glint flashed in his eyes:

"We've given away the cannon, the person who fired it, and the vehicle that pulled it. Should we... exchange some of it for something else?"

Since the leader can't come for dinner, you're taking the pot away too, right? You should at least leave me some food, shouldn't you?

I also plan to train some more talent. Otherwise, not to mention that we only have cannons but no one knows how to use them, and no one in the automobile industry knows how to drive them, wouldn't all this equipment be wasted?

As you've seen, Lao Xu, the equipment they're giving us over there is getting better and heavier; it's gradually become something we can't just carry back on our shoulders.

We'll definitely need trucks to deliver more in the future, so let's train some drivers first. We can't keep the same few people working non-stop.

There are only 25 trains on this trip, and there are only 5 of us, so we can manage. But what if there are 50 or 100 trains next time?

Upon hearing this, Old Xu's eyes lit up, and the embarrassment on his face was instantly replaced by shrewdness:

"Yes! Comrade Ping An, you're right! We can provide the cannons, and the quantity is negotiable, but we absolutely need technical personnel, and their training and development must begin immediately!"

I'll report this to the higher-ups again! Just watch me, I'll definitely bring back a batch of valuable talent for you!