Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 121 Our chance to get rich has arrived!

Li Muzhi did not expect that several key parts were missing from the batch of equipment that Li Yunlong brought back.

Faced with Zhang Wanhe's question, Li Muzhi could only nod regretfully: "That's right, Minister Zhang, we are indeed missing parts. Without them, we can't make bullets."

Zhang Wanhe quickly looked at Li Yunlong: "Commander Li, are you sure you brought everything back and didn't leave anything behind?"

The brigade commander glared fiercely at Li Yunlong: "Li Yunlong, you son of a bitch, I've always turned a blind eye to the good stuff you capture. But if you try to mess with me again, believe me, I'll kill you!"

Li Yunlong looked bewildered, paused for two seconds, then looked past the brigade commander and Zhang Wanhe at Li Muzhi: "Brother Li, did you really see that clearly?"

Ding Wei, standing to the side, looked somewhat enlightened. At first, he was actually a little puzzled as to why the Japanese would be so foolish as to use equipment to fish.

It seems that the Japanese devils were cunning and had a trick up their sleeve.

Gao Liujin and Lao Zhou, who were standing to the side, also looked at Li Muzhi with solemn expressions.

Although the two men envied Li Yunlong for having developed equipment to manufacture bullets, and were now lacking key components, neither of them felt any schadenfreude.

After all, whether the arsenal could produce bullets was closely related to the two of them.

When Li Yunlong asked him a question, Li Muzhi didn't speak, but just nodded.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong couldn't believe it and shouted, "How is this possible? I really brought everything back, how could a crucial part be missing!"

"Ding Wei, are you sure you've brought everything back?" The brigade commander didn't ask Li Yunlong anymore, but instead asked Ding Wei, who was standing next to him.

"Brigade Commander, we really brought them all back." Ding Wei nodded and explained, "The Japanese must have kept something in reserve."

"That damned Fujita Ichiji!" Upon hearing this, the brigade commander jumped up and down angrily, cursing, "You dare to play this trick? You're asking for trouble!"

"Brigade Commander, I will immediately lead the troops to attack Heyuan County and tear that little devil Fujita Ichiji to pieces!" Li Yunlong immediately set off to attack Heyuan County with murderous intent.

You dare to mess with me? You're dead meat!

Ding Wei quickly advised, "Old Li, don't get agitated, don't ruin things."

Then, Ding Wei immediately said to the brigade commander, "Brigade commander, we have important military operations to conduct next, and we can't afford to cause any unforeseen complications."

Fujita Ichiji's tricks are truly infuriating.

But now that the Japanese encirclement and suppression forces have been put on hold, it's the perfect opportunity to attack the Zhengtai Railway and seize military trains.

How could we let important matters fall into place by dealing with a mere Fujita Ichiji?

After Ding Wei's reminder, the brigade commander calmed down and said, "That's right, that's right, then let that little devil Fujita Ichiji live for a couple more days."

Li Yunlong couldn't wait any longer and said with red eyes, "Brigade Commander, I'll deal with Fujita Ichiji first. It won't interfere with the important matters later."

"No, you are not allowed to go anywhere without my orders!" The brigade commander's words were firm and unquestionable, forcefully suppressing Li Yunlong.

Then, the brigade commander turned to Li Muzhi and said, "Little Li, you can put this equipment in the warehouse first. After I finish the power work for you, I'll try to see if we can get the key parts back."

"Brigade Commander Chen, don't rush. Let's solve the power problem first; that's the most important thing," Li Muzhi reassured him. "Once the power problem is solved, I'll try to find a way to replace this crucial component."

"Xiao Li, can this critical part be repaired?" Zhang Wanhe asked first.

“It certainly can’t compare to the original parts,” Li Muzhi replied, “but at least it can get this batch of equipment running with some difficulty.”

Zhang Wanhe then turned to the brigade commander and said, "Let's get the key parts back."

If it's barely started, the efficiency will definitely be low.

Who knows, the parts might break down on the second day after it's been driven for just one day.

"Don't worry, I'll make Fujita Ichiji obediently take out the key parts." The brigade commander was very confident.

Fujita Ichiji's decision to hold back was indeed infuriating.

But after calming down, the brigade commander realized that dealing with a mere Fujita Ichiji and getting him to take out the remaining parts would be a piece of cake.

Little did the brigade commander know that he wouldn't even need to lift a finger; Fujita Ichiji would bring out the crucial component himself.

Of course, this is a story.

The brigade commander said to Li Muzhi, "You can leave this equipment here for now. We'll settle the bill after I get the key parts for you."

The equipment has been acquired, but key components are missing, and the brigade commander is in no mood to settle the bill.

To be precise, I was too embarrassed to pay the bill!

We need to get all the parts back before we can settle the bill properly.

What kind of nonsense is it to build a bunch of unusable equipment?

Zhang Wanhe, who was standing nearby, quickly agreed: "Okay, okay, no problem, we'll do it your way, Commander Chen."

Li Muzhi nodded in agreement: "Since Brigade Commander Chen has said so, I respect your opinion."

Li Yunlong and Ding Wei had no objection to the brigade commander's actions.

We were tricked by the Japanese. They rushed to settle accounts before we could even replenish the supplies for the arsenal. We weren't in the mood for that.

"Old Zhang, Little Li, once you've made enough shells, send someone to my brigade headquarters immediately. I'm heading back now." The brigade commander prepared to take his leave.

To seize military trains from the Japanese army, it's not as simple as just launching a direct attack with cannons. There's a lot of preparation work to be done.

For example, we need to figure out the Japanese troop deployment in this area, and how many Japanese reinforcements they can send when the attack begins.

Most importantly, we still need to find a way to get information about the Japanese military train transport.

Anyway, since we're going to rob military trains, we definitely can't rob empty ones.

We have to rob the military trains that are fully loaded. Whichever train has the most lucrative deal, that's the one we'll take!

"Brother Li, I'll head back now," Li Yunlong said to Li Muzhi.

Ding Wei also said, "Director Li, Minister Zhang, we're going back now."

"Let me see you off." Although the lack of key parts in the bullet equipment was a bit disappointing, it was still a fruitful day, and Zhang Wanhe and Li Muzhi both wanted to see them off.

"No need, we have our own legs." The brigade commander turned around and left with Ding Wei and Li Yunlong.

Old Zhou also said, "Gentlemen, I'll head back now."

Gao Liujin didn't move, but instead approached Li Muzhi and said, "Director Li, can I ask you a question?"

"What are you asking? Hurry up and come back with me." Old Zhou grabbed Gao Liujin and tried to leave.

You've caused so much trouble, the brigade commander and division commander are waiting to deal with you.

"I just have one question." Gao Liujin refused to budge and looked at Li Muzhi: "Can I ask you something? I just heard the 386th Brigade say they're going to do something big, and it's related to some kind of power source. What is it?"

Li Muzhi turned to look at Zhang Wanhe, as if asking: This is a secret of their combat unit, should I tell them?

Zhang Wanhe said directly to Gao Liujin, "The arsenal is lacking power. Let the 386th Brigade help us seize a locomotive."

Stealing the locomotive?

Upon hearing this, Gao Liujin's eyes widened immediately: "Then they must attack the Japanese railway! This is a major operation!"

"This is a major operation for them, what business is it of yours, kid? Come back with me!" Old Zhou grabbed Gao Liujin and dragged him away, saying to Li Muzhi and Zhang Wanhe, "Gentlemen, we're leaving."

Gao Liujin was being dragged along by Lao Zhou, and whispered in Lao Zhou's ear, "Lao Zhou, our chance to make a fortune has come."

"What opportunity to make money? You son of a bitch, it's uncertain whether you can even save your life when you get back, let alone make any money!" Old Zhou cursed.

"Didn't you hear what Minister Zhang said? The 386th Brigade is going to attack the Japanese railway line and seize military trains!" Gao Liujin said excitedly. "As long as the 386th Brigade attacks, the Japanese will definitely send large numbers of troops to reinforce it, leaving their rear vulnerable. What if we take our hell-cannons and launch a surprise attack on the Japanese rear..."

"What are you doing? This is an important military operation of the 386th Brigade. Don't meddle and ruin it!" Old Zhou roared solemnly. "They're working on powering our arsenal. This is no joke. If anything goes wrong, you'll be in big trouble even if you have ten heads."

Although Old Zhou's tone was solemn, he was also thinking to himself: Gao Liujin's words seemed to make sense. He should report to the division headquarters as soon as possible after he got back.

After the combat troops left, Zhang Wanhe instructed people to move the machinery and equipment into the arsenal's warehouse.

Li Muzhi said from the side, "Minister Zhang, I didn't expect that the combat troops could be sent to the ironworks. We need to choose a place for the ironworks."

“No problem, I’ll choose this location.” Zhang Wanhe nodded and asked, “Are there any requirements for the location?”

"It should be like the Huangyadong Arsenal, easy to defend and difficult to attack," Li Muzhi said.

The Huangyadong Arsenal was once attacked by the enemy, but it was saved because it was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

"Are there any distance requirements?" Zhang Wanhe asked.

"Of course, the closer to the arsenal, the better."

"Okay, I understand." Zhang Wanhe nodded.

"There's something else."

"whats the matter?"

"Old He said he has a way to get those senior key personnel from the Huangyadong Arsenal to stay on their own. What do you think about this?" Li Muzhi asked Zhang Wanhe tactfully.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wanhe looked troubled: "If you want those specific technical workers, that's no problem. But if you want to keep these highly skilled talents, I'm afraid it will be difficult to handle."

Zhang Wanhe already knew that Li Muzhi wanted to retain a few targeted workers. This was not a big deal and could be easily handled.

But Lao Qi and the others are the backbone of the Huangyadong Arsenal. If we pull them over, won't the Huangyadong Arsenal cause trouble in front of the headquarters leaders?

As the Minister of Logistics, if I can't keep the rear stable, especially the arsenal, I'll definitely be punished.

"Minister Zhang, if it really can't be done, you shouldn't force yourself." Li Muzhi could understand the pressure Old Zhang was under.

The Huangyadong Arsenal is of extraordinary significance. Although we can act first and report later for the sake of arsenal production, how can we shut down the Huangyadong Arsenal?

"No, since you, Xiao Li, have brought it up, I'll give it a try. At worst, I'll get a severe scolding from the headquarters." Comrade Zhang quickly nodded in agreement.

"Minister Zhang, thank you." Li Muzhi expressed his gratitude.

If we can retain these highly skilled talents, it will be of great significance to the future of the border region's arsenal. They will become Li Muzhi's most solid right-hand men!

"No need to thank me, isn't this all for making weapons for our army?" Zhang Wanhe said solemnly on the surface, but in his heart he thought: If I had a choice, I would rather lose a piece of flesh than be scolded by the headquarters leaders.

(End of this chapter)