The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 296 Make do for now (Two chapters combined)

(I feel like people don't like farming storylines, so I'll speed up the pace.)
The emergency meeting that Hu Biao had originally planned to convene an hour later was postponed until the evening.

Because Fan Ergou, the orderly, rode a mule to a few newly dug cave dwellings located in a secluded valley more than four miles away from Zhangjiayu.

This relatively secluded location is also the newly built arsenal of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

When Chaozi and Wizard were notified to attend a meeting, Chaozi, who was extremely busy at the time, muttered a curse:
"Go ask Hu Biao if there's something extremely urgent that requires a meeting. If it's not that urgent, we can talk about it in two more hours, or better yet, we can just come here for the meeting."

By then, our first batch of equipment will be finished, and we can show it to him.

Upon hearing this, Fan Ergou dared not delay and immediately rode his mule to report to Hu Biao.

Upon hearing this, Hu Biao thought that although the food shortage was urgent, it wasn't so urgent that they couldn't even wait two hours; on the contrary, Chaozi and the wizard had been acting rather mysteriously these past two days.

When asked what kind of equipment they planned to make, they refused to say, only saying that he would know in due time, which made him look forward to it inexplicably.

So Fan Ergou was sent on another trip to tell the others that the meeting would be postponed.

Furthermore, the news that the meeting location had been changed to the arsenal was relayed to the other time travelers, as well as to Zhao Zheng, the senior cadre sent by our Party.

So, around dusk that day, a group of more than a dozen people gathered in the valley where the arsenal was located.

Before the meeting even started, Van Gogh was already shouting, "Iron Man, Kim Jong-un, hurry up and bring out what you've been working on these past few days, so we can all see what you've got to see."

Then I quickly convened the meeting; I still needed to go back and train my men on firearms maintenance.

The others remained silent, but the urgency in their eyes was palpable. They had been eagerly anticipating the first batch of equipment from the arsenal for the past two days.

Faced with everyone's urging, the wizard and Chaozi didn't dawdle any longer.

The two immediately went into the cave behind them. When they came out, they had a small basket in their hands, which probably contained the equipment they had been tinkering with over the past two days.

However, after Hu Biao and his men saw what was in the basket, they were quite disappointed.

Inside the basket were dozens of Mauser 7.63mm pistol rounds. Judging from the rough bullet tips, they were reloaded bullets.

There were seven or eight hand grenades with wooden handles, and the wood for the handles wasn't completely dry yet.

There was a rectangular wooden box, though no one recognized it at first glance.

However, after taking a closer look, veterans like Lao Yu and Mr. Nan Ze were able to deduce that this thing was an upgraded anti-personnel mine.

Both broadswords are 80 centimeters long, with handles that can be gripped with both hands, and weigh around four kilograms. They are traditional Northwest Army broadswords, so there's not much to say about them.

The last piece of equipment was a lump of iron, not much bigger than the palm of your hand.

Good heavens! At first glance, no one could figure out what it was.

Upon noticing details such as the barrel, roughly the length of an index finger, and the cast iron trigger, Xiao Cui, the nurse, held the gun in her hand and then hesitantly asked:
"This is a gun, a pistol?"

Before Chaozi and the wizard could answer, Zhao Zheng, who had been silent until now, spoke up, confirming Xiao Cui's statement:
“That’s right, this is indeed a pistol, or more accurately, it should be called a ‘single-handed pistol.’ I’ve seen this kind of weapon in other bases.”

Upon hearing the name 'Du Yi Jue', the onlookers finally understood what it was, and their faces showed obvious disgust.

How so? The Du Yi Jue is a type of firearm that was widely homemade during the Republic of China period.

Not only during the War of Resistance Against Japan, but also in the county brigades and district squads of our Party's base areas, this weapon was widely used.

It is said that for a considerable period after the founding of the People's Republic of China, militia members and land reform workers used this weapon and remained active for a long time.

Any blacksmith with even a modicum of skill can easily forge a unique yoke.

These things come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but they also share some common characteristics.

For example, the gun barrel has virtually no rifling, so if the target is a little far away after firing, the bullet will lose its accuracy; even if it hits the target, the bullet's power cannot be fully utilized.

It uses pistol and rifle bullets, has no magazine or ejection mechanism, and can only fire one bullet at a time.

After firing, the gun needs to be broken in two, the spent cartridge removed, and a new bullet inserted before it can be fired again.

It is a single shot, can only fire one shot, and is prone to being broken open, hence the incredibly descriptive name "Unique Breaker".

To be honest! Just thinking about how our ancestors fought to the death against the heavily armed Japanese invaders with such crude equipment during the long war...

Hu Biao and the others did not look down on this unique individual at all.

However, on other battlefields, those who once looked down on even the Japanese officers' Mauser C96 pistols were truly speechless at the fact that they were using a single-barreled pistol.

Fortunately, Hu Biao suppressed the urge to complain and took the unique peg from Xiao Cui's hand.

With considerable clumsiness and slowness, he laboriously pried the gun open, first loading a reloaded bullet, and then closing it again.

Finally, he raised his hand, aimed at a straw figure made of wheat straw about twenty meters away, and decisively pulled the trigger.

Suddenly, with a 'bang' of a gunshot, a plume of black smoke billowed from the muzzle, but the bullet missed the straw man, and it was unclear how far it had gone.

This marks Hu Biao's fifth time traversing this distance.

The total number of bullets fired by this guy is quite alarming.

So this guy is definitely skilled with rifles, pistols, submachine guns, and light machine guns; he just lacks experience with heavy machine guns.

Therefore, this result can only be attributed to the poor accuracy of the gun used by Du Yijue.

To ensure accuracy, you probably need to be very close to your opponent, ideally firing directly at their face.

In addition, the propellant loaded in the reloaded bullets should be the old-fashioned granular black powder; the problem of black smoke when firing this is not too big.

The somewhat unacceptable aspect is that it still results in a significant reduction in both range and power.

After putting down the single-handled grenade, Hu Biao remained silent. He picked up another grenade with a wooden handle, removed the back cover, pulled the fuse, and immediately threw it at the straw man.

The wooden-handled grenade exploded almost immediately after landing.

The standing scarecrow was blown apart, sending straw flying everywhere.

However, when Hu Biao and the other veterans, as well as the warehouse manager, a former PLA sergeant, saw this scene, their initial anticipation vanished, and their disappointment grew even stronger.

They discovered two major problems with this wooden-handled grenade.

First, the fuse was of poor quality, making the timing of the explosion uncertain.

In other words, you must pull the cable and throw it immediately. If you want to hold it in your hand for a few seconds before throwing it, you don't want the Japanese to have a chance to pick it up and throw it back.

More likely, it will explode in your hand before it's even fully exposed.

Secondly, its power was insufficient; it wasn't the kind of explosive that could split something in two upon impact, as some legends suggest. It was merely enough to scare the Japanese soldiers.

However, because the quality of the cast iron cartridge case at the top is generally average, the number of fragments produced is limited.

Furthermore, because the explosives used were granular black powder, the resulting shockwaves and flying fragments were somewhat less powerful.

Subsequently, Hu Biao stopped testing the anti-personnel mines.

He noticed that the thing was quite large, so he figured it must have contained at least two or three kilograms of gunpowder, ensuring its power.

Disappointed with the single-pronged grenade and the wooden-handled grenade, everyone lost interest in talking for a while.

Seeing this, the wizard couldn't help but complain: "Hey! What kind of attitude do you guys have? Who are you looking down on? Back in Taierzhuang, my buddy and Mo Shuiyan led a group of people and even made a grease gun and a DIY mortar launcher."

They've improved it again recently, and the technical level will only get higher.

The key problem is that we don't have any machines at hand; everything has to be done by hand.

We don't even have the most basic chemical materials, like sulfuric acid. Although I know how to make sulfuric acid in earthenware jars and I've started making smokeless gunpowder, it still takes time.

After the words fell, Chaozi immediately followed up with his own complaints:
"Yes! I'd like to make you black powder shotguns, bolt-action rifles, mortars, and rocket launchers first."

Once the basic chemical processes are resolved, we will convert everything to a better model of modern gunpowder.

The key issue is that we have nothing right now. We haven't even had time to organize people to mine iron ore and coal. We need to be given time to train personnel and solve the problems of raw materials and machinery.

Otherwise, would I just conjure it up for you in a flash?

After hearing the complaints from the two men, Hu Biao and his team realized that they had indeed been too hasty and had not considered the need for a gradual approach to industrial development.

It's quite remarkable that Chaozi and his team have achieved their current results in just two or three days.

Hu Biao, being a bachelor, immediately apologized to the two men:
"I'm sorry, both of you! I was a bit presumptuous."

From now on, you two will be in charge of all military production in the base area. We will only help you solve problems and will not interfere in any other way.

Then Hu Biao and his group discussed with Chaozi and the wizard the issue of increasing the production quantity of the above equipment.

Indeed! Apart from anti-personnel mines, the other equipment mentioned above doesn't seem very useful, but it's still better than having your men empty-handed, isn't it?

Throughout the entire process, Zhao Zheng remained as low-key as ever, simply acting as a listener on the sidelines without saying another word.

However, as his eyes darted around, it was clear he was thinking about something.

******
Using the knuckles of his right hand, he tapped the small table in front of him several times, drawing everyone's attention, before shouting:
"Have you all finished eating? We'll start the meeting right away; there are three girls here, so please don't smoke."

"That's not like you even have cigarettes to smoke." Mr. Nanze, who hadn't smoked for two days and had a matchstick in his mouth, couldn't help but complain.

However, after he finished complaining, his expression turned serious.

The reason for this was that after they had personally tested the weapons created by Super and the Wizard, and discussed some issues related to subsequent production, it had become completely dark.

So we had a simple meal at the arsenal.

During the meal, Hu Biao brought up the main topic of today's meeting: how to solve the problem of feeding the ever-expanding Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

I explained it to everyone, which made them aware of the seriousness of the problem.

After all, humans are creatures that can overcome difficulties in other areas, but they get hungry if they don't eat for a day! Their legs would go weak if they didn't eat for two or three days, so how could they talk about fighting the Japanese?

So while everyone was eating, they were all quietly thinking about how to solve the problem.

After the meeting began, the warehouse manager put forward his ideas:

"The problem with food is not really that big. Didn't we get back ten or twenty thousand yuan in legal tender, Jin yuan and silver dollars from Fanjiazhang Village last time? Oh right! We also got ten small yellow croakers and some gold and silver jewelry."

In another week, all kinds of autumn grains will gradually be ready for harvest.

We can just use this money to buy directly from the villagers; we get the grain, and they get the cash—it's a win-win situation, isn't it?

“Yes, but this method is not enough,” Hu Biao said after pondering for half a minute.

Then, he explained his reasons: "The land in Pingding County is barren, and the yield of various crops is very low. The villagers are barely able to feed themselves."

Buying less food from them won't solve the problem; if you buy too much, they'll go hungry too.

Besides, while that sum of money seems like a lot, industrial development in the base area requires starting from scratch, and there are expenses everywhere. This amount is far from enough.

In response to Hu Biao's statement, Lao Ma, the novice, offered a suggestion:
"How about we organize the villagers to start production and help ourselves? It's better to rely on ourselves than on others."

"So, it's about providing guidance to the villagers, improving their breeding techniques, developing soil fertilizer and earthworm-based chicken and pig farming techniques, and establishing some small-scale factories to support their livelihoods?"

“It’s possible, but it’s still not enough,” Hu Biao said again.

The explanation given was: "I think we can start promoting self-help through production immediately. This is a good way to improve the lives of our fellow villagers, but it will take too long. At the earliest, it will not be effective until next year."

In the short term, we cannot solve the problems that we urgently need to address.

Chaozi picked up where he left off and shared his thoughts: "Keep the necessary amount of medicine, send the rest to Annie and AT, and then have them buy food?"

Such a suggestion was one that even he himself couldn't help but shake his head at after it was put forward.

There's no other reason than that the distance was too far, and along the way, they had to face checks by the Japanese and their puppet troops. Therefore, the limited and precious transport capacity could only be used for machinery and raw materials.

It's a real shame that they were used to transport grain.

In the end, Van Gogh offered a good suggestion: "Go and get grain from those landowners, big and small. Why should they be able to eat and drink so well?"

Even if we need to consider a united front, uniting all forces that can be united, and avoid actions like overthrowing the local tyrants and redistributing land, we can still differentiate between different groups.

We buy grain from large households with no bad records at normal prices.

For those who are not too badly treated but are relatively wealthy, a little punishment, such as asking them to donate some money or grain, will be enough to let them off the hook this time.

Those corrupt and wicked wealthy households who colluded with the Japanese and committed atrocities were dealt with leniently; their money and grain were all confiscated, and their people were publicly executed as a warning to others.

From any perspective, we have a point; they are traitors and sellouts! Everyone has the right to kill them.

“This method is quite good. Adding this will make it almost perfect.” Hu Biao nodded in approval.

Thus, the agreement was reached for the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment for the remainder of the year.

The government will simultaneously employ a combination of measures, including self-help through production, purchasing grain from surrounding areas, and targeting disreputable large households and gentry, to address the current and future grain shortages.

After settling the issue of food supplies, Hu Biao breathed a sigh of relief.

Instinctively, I wanted to light a cigarette, but when I reached into my pocket, it was empty. I then remembered that I had used up my last cigarette while using the toilet last night.

If you want to buy cigarettes, you'd probably have to walk sixty miles of mountain road to Pingding County.

An idea suddenly popped into his head, and he couldn't wait to say it:
"How about we set up a cigarette factory? There are still some tobacco plantations in Pingding County and the surrounding areas."

Upon hearing this suggestion, the eyes of the male transmigrators lit up; Chaozi even shouted at the top of his lungs, "Great! I'm a hundred percent in favor, I know the technology in this area."

The reason these men were so excited was definitely not because the establishment of cigarette factories had solved their smoking problem.

More importantly, they all knew this story:
In 43, the Huainan Anti-Japanese Base Area of ​​our Party produced a cigarette brand called Pegasus; it sold extremely well, even in Japanese territory.

Even many puppet troops actively came to the base area to purchase goods, which made the Huainan Anti-Japanese Base Area quite profitable and solved many major problems.

Therefore, their Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment could definitely do something about it.

In the future, thanks to Annie and others' channels, they will be able to sell to Taiyuan, or even further afield.

The only minor issue was that the warehouse manager hesitated before asking a question: "What's the name of the cigarettes we produce? Pegasus? That doesn't seem right. That's called Flying Donkey..."

(End of this chapter)