The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 303 Time is running out (Bonus chapter 150 for the emergence of the Shadow Master)

When Mina made up her mind to go to Taiyuan to stay with her cousin Annie and enjoy a life of luxury.

Hu Biao and Zhao Zheng had already left the cave dwelling and were walking together in Zhangjiayu under the exceptionally bright moonlight tonight.

No other reason than that, after reading the telegram, Hu Biao realized that they didn't have much time left.

Once the Wuhan lockdown ends on the 27th of this month, the Japanese will be free to deal with the situation, and the good days for the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment will be over.

Therefore, from now on, we must consider how to deal with the Japanese invaders' frenzied attacks on our base areas.

Although Zhao Zheng was not a time traveler and knew nothing about the history that was about to unfold, he agreed with Hu Biao's assessment.

And so, the two of them went out together and wandered around.

More precisely, the two of them intended to use this method to take stock of their current resources; this was also their greatest source of confidence in dealing with a future Japanese attack...

First, the two walked past a row of newly dug cave dwellings.

Looking at the cave dwelling where the lights were now off, the worry on Hu Biao and Zhao Zheng's faces unconsciously lessened.

Although the main force of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment has been dispatched to develop other areas.

However, at their headquarters in Zhangjiayu, they did not stop recruiting. Every day, strong young men from the surrounding villages and towns would come to join Commander Hu and the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment.

Today, a fully-equipped guard company, a fully-equipped engineer company, and a fully-equipped communications platoon have been successfully established in Zhangjiayu.

In addition, there are some understaffed transport companies, medical platoons, cooking squads, machine gun companies, and other units directly under the regimental headquarters.

The regimental headquarters in Zhangjiayu now has a size of about 600 people.

If things continue at this pace, by the time the Japanese launch their attack, Hu Biao will have a Class B regiment under his command without even needing to rely on the troops he has spun off.

The only drawback is that the equipment is a bit lacking.

Apart from the relatively sufficient self-produced equipment such as single-edged shovels, broadswords, and wooden-handled grenades, all other proper weapons are in severe shortage.

Fortunately, they received good news a week ago.

That batch of equipment allocated by the Ordnance Department finally crossed the Zhongtiao Mountains and entered the territory controlled by Yan Xishan's Jin-Sui Army.

Although Yan Laoxi was stingy, he probably wouldn't dare to covet this batch of equipment.

It was even easier when they passed through the base areas of our Party. Although the headquarters could not easily reveal the secret that the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment was one of their own, it could still order them to pass through.

Therefore, no matter how much the transportation of this batch of equipment was delayed, it would still arrive before the Japanese attack...

As they walked, Hu Biao and Zhao Zheng unknowingly arrived at the village entrance. Suddenly, a wary voice rang out:
"Halt. Password."

"Gaoshan, report back." Hu Biao and Zhao Zheng replied as they stopped.

"Bone, password correct. Please give instructions, Commander Hu and Chief of Staff Zhao." Only after such a voice rang out did a sentry cloaked in disguise appear from the shadows a dozen meters away, continuing to salute them.

Theoretically, the Japanese would not have used force against the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment before the Battle of Wuhan ended.

However, this is not a reason for Hu Biao and his men to lower their guard; especially since their arsenal is a place that needs to be kept strictly secret.

Therefore, they set up a large number of sentry posts in the area surrounding Zhangjiayu.

Moreover, at each sentry post, in addition to a visible sentry, they also arranged a hidden sentry whose location was not fixed each day, which can be regarded as a double insurance.

In addition, during the day, they would mobilize the village children and villagers to be vigilant against the arrival of strangers.

And believe it or not! The results were quite good. In just one month, they had captured five spies sent by Pingding County.

Two of them were even identified from among the new recruits.

Because of his penchant for asking questions, he exposed his identity. "Keep on guard," Hu Biao instructed the sentry as he returned the salute, then left the village and headed towards the valley several miles away.

The arsenal and a series of small industrial workshops there were the biggest source of confidence for the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment in dealing with future Japanese attacks.

It is also the greatest hope for the continued development and expansion of the base area in the future...

******
After passing four visible and hidden sentry posts, Hu Biao and Zhao Zheng finally entered the valley.

Compared to when they first came here and tried out those unique pieces of equipment, the valley has undergone an astonishing transformation.

Under the moonlight, right next to the entrance, there was a row of large water vats and a large pile of jars and pots.

Don't underestimate these jars and pots; the wizard, a master's graduate in chemical engineering from a modern dimension, has used them to create quite a few good things.

For example, sulfuric acid was first produced using the cylinder tower method, then nitric acid and ether were further produced, and then nitrocellulose was manufactured.

Finally, they went a step further and created smokeless gunpowder.

Therefore, the propellant in the reloaded bullets produced by the Zhangjiayu Arsenal is no longer the granular gunpowder that is weak and produces black smoke when fired, but a more powerful smokeless gunpowder.

And the invention of smokeless gunpowder was just the beginning.

According to the wizard, nitroglycerin can be made soon, which will allow for the further production of an even more powerful dinitro smokeless drug.

This technology could actually be used to achieve breakthroughs in the future arsenals of the Jin-Cha-Ji base area, even under harsh conditions.

However, that would have to wait until 1943. The arrival of the Northern Jiangsu Independent Regiment advanced this technology by at least four years.

In addition, due to various limitations, the initial estimate for the production of dinitro smokeless drugs will be very limited.

Fortunately, Hu Biao and his team have always attached great importance to increasing production, and by the end of this month, production in this area will at least triple.

Following the rows of jars and pots, Hu Biao and his companion arrived at a cave dwelling.

Only after lifting the thick curtain did the room become bright and airy.

This was thanks to the battalion of Zanana and Xiao Henan, who, along with the captured coal mining machinery, delivered electric lights and wires, finally solving the electricity problem in the valley.

Before they were sent back, Chaozi had already finished making the camel-shaped pot machine.

This thing can even power a generator by burning firewood, producing a continuous stream of electricity. After connecting it to wires and light bulbs, there's no longer any need to worry about open flames igniting gunpowder in the valley.

As for the thick curtains at the entrance of the cave dwellings, they are merely to prevent the light from being exposed, a small measure of light control.

Upon entering the cave, instead of greeting the wizard who was busy working with various bottles and jars, the wizard immediately delivered a huge piece of good news:
"Damn it, Deputy Chief of Staff Zhao, I've already made the penicillin."

The penicillin mentioned above was not a product of large-scale industrial production, but rather something that wizards made by hand using traditional methods.

To be a little more specific, the first step is to let foods like steamed buns or fruits get moldy. Once the moldy substance turns green, it can be collected.

Next, the mold is placed in a culture medium made from corn juice and cultured for seven days.

Finally, activated charcoal is used for extraction, and animal experiments are conducted to test the drug's efficacy. This is how penicillin is produced using rudimentary methods.

Of course, the above theories and processes are simple to talk about, but in practice they are far from easy to implement, with a low success rate and very meager output.

Furthermore, compared to regular penicillin, it has disadvantages such as insufficient purity, inadequate efficacy, and greater side effects.

But no matter what, it's still penicillin!
With only one kilogram they could carry on each crossing, a quantity far from sufficient, who knows how many lives of Chinese soldiers and civilians they could have saved?

For this reason alone, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to award the wizard a medal weighing a ton...

(End of this chapter)