The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 533 is on a separate page (an extra chapter for 2018...1985).

The next morning, a little after 9 a.m., in the south gate of Xinning County, at the entrance of a courtyard.

"You damn bastard! What exactly are you planning to do about the weapons and equipment problem?"

The wizard called out these words to Hu Biao, who was mounting his horse and seemingly unsure of where he was going next, his face showing great concern.

The two people standing nearby, the cross and the welder, didn't say anything, but their eyes and brows showed the same worry.

So, is it possible to get guns and cannons in Xinning?
They really could, and in considerable numbers; they could easily acquire thousands of guns and a dozen or so cannons.

Unfortunately, these guns and cannons were quite outdated, consisting of matchlock guns, smoothbore muskets, and even the famous matchlock musket of the Xiang Army.

The cannons were also the kind of mountain-splitting cannons that the Hunan Army used back then.

These outdated guns and cannons are quite useful for fighting between two villages or for hunting, but they are completely useless against the Japanese.

The only real guns available were the county's security regiment and police station, which together possessed over two hundred old-fashioned Hanyang rifles.

One Czech light machine gun and a dozen or so Mauser pistols of various types.

Leaving aside the fact that Hu Biao confiscated them all at once, leaving the question of what these people would use in the future; a mere two hundred guns were simply not enough for a force of five thousand men.

As for proper artillery, there wasn't a single one, not even a 60mm mortar.

Unfortunately, today is already the 6th, and according to the military's training plan, weapons training will begin in a few days.

But now the brothers don't even have weapons, so how can they train them?
We can't all practice with wooden guns, can we? Even if it's enough for some training, we can't take wooden guns to the battlefield.

Hu Biao, on the other hand, spends his days riding around on horseback, seemingly in no hurry at all. Today, I saw him preparing to go out again, this time with Annie.

The three wizards, who were drawing DIY equipment design blueprints, couldn't help but shout out the opening line.

After hearing the wizard's question, Hu Biao, who was riding a rather tall horse, turned around and replied casually:
"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing."

"Once I'm done with today, I'll get to work on this tomorrow and resolve the issue completely."

After saying this, he and Annie each mounted a warhorse and, led by Jiang Tao, the head of the security regiment, hurriedly left.

"Damn it! What kind of trick does this guy have to pull out his gun and use it?"

Watching Hu Biao, Annie, and the others disappear completely in a short time, the wizard muttered a curse under his breath.

Then, turning back to the two men beside him, Cross and Welder, he said very solemnly, "That damn bastard is unreliable no matter how you look at him. It seems that the three of us need to work harder."

Upon hearing this, both the cross and the welder nodded vigorously, their expressions filled with a sense of mission.

But when I thought about the equipment and manpower I currently have, and that there are only a dozen days left, I couldn't help but feel a headache coming on...

The reason why these three people behaved in such a way is actually quite simple:
The wizard is the security director of a military industrial unit in a modern world and a senior member of the time-traveling team.

Unfortunately, the military manufacturing talent in Mo Shuiyan's and Chaozi's teams did not qualify for this time travel, so they took on the task of manufacturing the equipment.

Considering the tight schedule and heavy workload, the team assigned the welder and the cross-shaped worker to be his assistants.

To be honest, the wizard had missed two or three time travels already, so now that he had another chance, he was naturally full of enthusiasm.

During his last crossing, Shizi was constantly chased and beaten like a dog by the Japanese, and he couldn't use any of his personal strengths.

So when the two received this task, they were ready to give it their all and show others what they were capable of.

However, as the saying goes: the gap between reality and ideals is bigger than that between a person and a dog.

On the afternoon of the day they entered Xinning City, the two of them thoroughly investigated the city.

As a result, it was discovered that in 1941, Xinning County had no machine processing capabilities whatsoever, apart from a few small handicraft workshops.

Although the county government has a generator, it cannot find any old-fashioned machine tools or any mechanical processing personnel.

However, blacksmiths, carpenters, stonemasons, and leatherworkers, thanks to the powerful appeal of the deadbeat, could easily gather hundreds of people, and the number of other apprentices to assist them was even greater.

What to do? Of course, we should use what we have to make some equipment; we can't just sit idle.

After some discussion, the three of them reached a preliminary agreement.

First, using the bearings, ball bearings, and cutting tools they brought with them, they quickly manufactured a few simple small drilling machines and lathes. With these simple machine tools, it was certainly impossible to manufacture guns; even if they forced it, they couldn't produce many.

However, they were able to use these to process the seamless steel pipes they had brought with them into rocket launchers, a powerful weapon against armor and fortifications.

All things considered, we can make at least thirty rocket launchers, which should be barely enough.

Secondly, basic chemicals such as acids and alkalis are also nowhere to be found in Xinning City. The wizards who use traditional manufacturing techniques naturally know them, but it's too late.

Therefore, they could only manufacture some granular black powder to make other equipment.

For example, explosive charges, wooden-handled grenades, rocket launcher ammunition, landmines, and smoke grenades; these homemade weapons are certainly less powerful, but they are better than nothing.

The third point is a completely new weapon: rocket artillery.

More accurately, it is a DIY rocket launcher improved from the ancient 'Congreve rocket' of the Great Yin Empire.

The wizard, the cross, and the other two also knew that compared to a proper rocket launcher, this thing was much less powerful and its accuracy was questionable.

However, it is still a type of long-range firepower capable of striking targets several miles away.

Besides! As long as there are enough of them, if they are all fired at once in a general direction, they can catch the Japanese off guard and give them a good beating.

In short, after Ang Cong finalized the plan, the three of them each brought some small craftsmen and got busy with the plan.

I only get about four hours of rest each day.

Fortunately, the wizard had already gotten used to this back in the Pingding County base area; the cross and the welder should also be able to get used to it.

******
At the same time, while the wizard and the other two were frowning and discussing the equipment manufacturing plan.

Hu Biao, who was being teased by the three people, was laughing and socializing with them.

There was no other way! Didn't he know the importance of weapons and equipment and that the problem needed to be solved as soon as possible? Of course he knew, but he had reasons he couldn't refuse.

Putting everything else aside, just recruiting five thousand people at once means their daily meals are a huge drain on resources.

Other expenses, such as clothing and footwear, camp construction, and material supply, also amount to a huge sum, requiring an astonishing amount of money.

Instead of behaving like a socialite, Hu Biao could socialize with the local gentry and dignitaries, have a meal with them, watch a play, and promise to take care of one of their younger relatives and help them get a better future.

Or they might negotiate deals involving pharmaceuticals, US dollars, and British pounds, allowing them to gain some real advantage.

With so many supplies and manpower to help with the work, do you really think they'll just fall from the sky?
Chen Tang and his men could still train their troops with peace of mind and eat and drink to their hearts' content at every meal; while the wizard and his men were complaining about him, they could still formulate so many kinds of weapon manufacturing plans?
That's overthinking it; the troops probably won't last a single day.

However, today's situation is somewhat different, because Hu Biao has returned to Hujia Village to pay respects to his ancestors.

He was supposed to come back to pay respects to his ancestors on his first day back, but the elders said the ancestral hall was in a bit of a state of disrepair and needed some repairs and tidying up.

In addition, we also need to prepare a surprise for such a promising junior as Commander Hu, which is why it was delayed by a few days.

Today, everything was finally settled. In the ancestral hall of the village, which had long since disappeared in the modern world, Hu Biao respectfully knelt down in front of the ancestral tablets of the Hu family, and after bowing three times and nine times, he lit an incense stick.

Then I finally found out what the so-called surprise was.

Surprisingly, in the family genealogy, a separate page was dedicated to Hu Biao and Hu Tuanzuo.

Good heavens! What Chinese person wouldn't want such an honor? Hu Biao was so excited that his face turned red.

However, what made him even more excited and blush even more was what happened next.

After carefully writing Hu Biao's name and details on a brand-new page of the family genealogy, the clan chief looked up at Annie beside him, his eyes full of inquiry.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Hu Biao and Annie understood the meaning:
Should we also add this Chief of Staff An to the family genealogy?

Hu Biao was about to say that it wasn't necessary since Annie hadn't officially married him yet; but Annie nodded solemnly without even hesitating.

The clan chief immediately began writing "Hu An Clan" after Hu Biao's name on the clan genealogy.

Having figured out what "Juanshi" meant, Hu Biao, that good-for-nothing, looked at Annie and his face turned bright red with excitement...

(End of this chapter)