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

Chapter 123 Cannon on the Shoulder
Border Region Arsenal

"Director Li, your new hand grenade is quite powerful, even more powerful than the Japanese melon hand grenade."

Kong Jie arrived at Li Muzhi's place with a smile, praising the power of the new hand grenade from the border region's arsenal.

In the past, the quality of hand grenades in the border region was so poor that sometimes they would explode in two pieces.

The quality of the grenades in this area right now is truly impeccable.

The explosion was extremely loud and powerful.

Kong Jie's soldiers took it to test, and it completely baffled the puppet troops.

The puppet troops thought they were being shelled and surrendered.

Kong Jie obtained the weapons and ammunition of a puppet army company without lifting a finger.

"What are the specific figures?" Li Muzhi reached out his hand.

"Oh right, right, I almost forgot to give you the data." Kong Jie quickly took out the data and handed it to Li Muzhi.

Li Muzhi took it and checked it. After confirming that there were no problems, he said to Kong Jie, "Commander Kong, thank you for your hard work. When the grenades are finished, I will give you twenty boxes."

"Thank you, Director Li, thank you, Director Li!" Kong Jie was overjoyed.

Although these grenades are not as powerful as the Hellfire Cannon, the fact that they were made and that I could take twenty boxes of them speaks volumes.

This shows that Director Li really doesn't treat us like outsiders. When new equipment is built in the future, our Second Regiment will definitely have a share.

Li Yunlong's side works themselves to the bone to get what they want, while we can get it just by digging coal in the logistics department. What a great deal!

"No need to thank me, go and rest, I still have things to do here," Li Muzhi said with a smile.

"Yes, Director Li." Kong Jie left happily.

Li Muzhi came to Lao He and handed him the data provided by Kong Jie: "Lao He, this is the data reported back from the combat troops. The test results are good. We'll make two hundred boxes of the new hand grenades according to this method."

Although four thousand catties of white sugar is a considerable amount, we also need to produce cannon shells, rockets, and bounding mines, so we can't just go ahead and make these new grenades.

Unless, soon the troops below send more sugar.

"Okay, good." Old He took the data and nodded.

"Have the workers make samples of the items on these drawings." Li Muzhi then took out the blueprints for the mine's components.

The power source issue hasn't been resolved yet, and the ironworks hasn't been built, but that doesn't prevent us from making some parts first.

"What is this?" Lao He took the blueprints. He was very certain that the new cannon that Li Muzhi was going to build would not contain these parts.

“Didn’t the combat troops bring back an ironworks? Once the ironworks is built, we can convert the locomotives that the combat troops seized back into power sources and start smelting iron,” Li Muzhi explained. “I’m preparing to set up bounding mines.”

"Bounding mine?" Old He was clearly hearing this term for the first time and didn't quite understand: "It sounds a bit like a landmine?"

"You can think of it this way: a bounding mine is a landmine that bounces into the air and explodes after being triggered," Li Muzhi explained. "Traditional landmines are buried underground, and although they can still kill the enemy, their lethality and range are limited. But this bounding mine bounces into the air, and the iron ball inside, along with the explosive fragments, can kill from every angle, maximizing its lethality. Those Japanese devils like to charge in groups, right? Bury a few underground, and let's see if they still dare to charge in groups."

Upon hearing this, Lao He was immediately full of admiration: "Factory Director, your idea is absolutely brilliant! If the landmines explode in mid-air, the Japanese army's mass assault will definitely be halted. If used properly, their power is no less than our Hellfire cannon's destructive shells."

"The parts are still the same as always, they must meet my requirements and be up to standard," Li Muzhi said sternly.

At that time, every single one of these bounding mines must meet quality standards.

Otherwise, every time a mine goes unused, it would be a disrespect to the Japanese army's charge!

"Yes, factory director."

"How many shells have been produced for the Hell Cannon?" Li Muzhi asked.

"If I get off work today, I'll have forty of them," Lao He replied.

"So fast?" Li Mu was surprised; this was much faster than he had expected.

"Factory Director, I was just about to report to you." Lao He was extremely excited. "Those senior talents at the Huangyadong Arsenal have worked together to improve the process by using the scrap materials handed over by the combat troops, which has greatly increased efficiency."

Upon hearing this, Li Muzhi felt admiration.

Those high-ranking bosses at the Huangyadong Arsenal are really something else.

Their real purpose in coming here is to prepare for us to dismantle the Japanese trains.

However.

They do their jobs very well, but visiting the arsenal workshop is just a side job for them.

As a result, by simply taking a break and working together, a few people can significantly increase production capacity, which is truly admirable.

Li Muzhi still asked, "How is this done to increase efficiency, especially the preparation of explosives? Can this also be improved?"

Putting everything else aside, the preparation of explosives is a slow and meticulous process that cannot be done carelessly in the slightest.

"You'll see for yourself," the old man said with a smile.

"Alright, I'll go take a look." Li Muzhi strode quickly to the workshop.

In the workshop, the senior talents from the Huangyadong Arsenal all smiled and greeted him as he approached, "Director Li."

Li Muzhi smiled and said, "I heard from Lao He that you helped improve the industry, which can greatly increase the production speed of the Hell Cannon's shells, so I came to take a look."

"Haha, we've made a fool of ourselves, Director Li. Compared to you, we're far from being good enough. We've only done our bit." These senior talents were all very modest.

"Everyone is contributing to our military's defense industry; there's no question of who's better or worse," Li Muzhi said politely. Li Muzhi quickly reviewed the process and was truly impressed by the genius-level improvements made by these highly skilled individuals.

The preparation of explosives cannot be taken lightly, so it was left untouched.

The main improvements were made to the casting of the projectile body and the welding of the balancing tail fins.

It saved manpower and significantly improved the results.

"Thank you all for your improvements to the shell manufacturing process," Li Muzhi said, expressing his gratitude.

"Director Li, don't mention thank you. Didn't you already say it's all for the military's industrial development?" The senior personnel responded with smiles. Then, Lao Gao, a graduate student in the Physics Department of Yenching University, approached Li Muzhi and asked curiously, "Director Li, we heard from Lao He that you're going to build a cannon that can be carried on one's shoulder?"

As we all know, artillery is fired from the ground.

Who put it on their shoulder?

The recoil force of artillery is so strong, how could a human shoulder possibly withstand it?

This is also one of the details of Lao He's work.

To keep these people here, there has to be some kind of gimmick.

A cannon carried on one's shoulder, wow, isn't that even more sensational than the Hell Cannon?
As long as these people are interested, they won't leave easily.

"Hehe." Li Muzhi chuckled and nodded: "That's the idea. Although the Hell Cannon is useful, it is still inconvenient to transport. Our army still needs light artillery. If this artillery can be carried on the shoulders of soldiers and is as easy to carry and move as a gun, it will definitely be of great significance to the battlefield."

"Then how do you deal with the recoil force when a shell is fired?" asked Dr. Zhang, a metallurgist.

"It's very simple. If the back of the breech isn't sealed, and it's left open, the recoil will be gone," Li Muzhi explained.

If the rear of the gun barrel is open, the recoil force is lost?
When Lao Zhang, Lao Gao, and the others heard this, it was as if they had heard a foreign language.

As we all know, the firing of a shell relies on sealing the back of the cannon to prevent the energy of the primer from leaking out, and using the energy of the primer to propel the shell out.

If the breech is left open, the energy of the primer will escape from the back, so how can the shell be propelled out of the barrel?

Seeing the doubts on their faces, Li Muzhi explained, "Gentlemen, have you ever heard of ancient rockets? A gunpowder barrel is tied to the front of the arrow. After it is lit, the burning gunpowder barrel generates thrust, propelling the arrow forward!"

"So you mean to put fuel inside these shells so they can fly on their own?" Old Gao and the others understood immediately, looking thoughtful.

If that's the case, then the shells can carry their own fuel, and the fuel can provide the power they need, which makes sense.

Upon hearing this, one of them couldn't help but say, "Director Li, what you're doing is a bit troublesome. If you ask me, since this shell can carry its own energy and fly out, why bother with a cannon barrel? Just dig a hole in the ground, ignite it, and fire it. Wouldn't that be much better?"

Upon hearing this, Li Muzhi was filled with admiration.

Check it out!

The thinking of these top talents is truly different; isn't this exactly the concept behind our 107mm rocket?

Li Muzhi explained with a smile, "It's no problem for a shell to fly on its own, but its trajectory is an issue. After all, this shell doesn't undergo the spin acceleration of the rifling, so its accuracy can't match that of standard artillery..."

Before Li Muzhi could finish speaking, Zhang Wanhe ran over excitedly: "Little Li, more sugar has arrived, come quick!"

"Gentlemen, I'll tell you about the cannon on the shoulder later." Li Muzhi was naturally delighted to hear that more sugar had been delivered.

He also understood that the reason these people knew about the rocket launcher was because Lao He had deliberately leaked it to them.

I explained half of it to them and left the other half unsaid, keeping them hanging for now.

"Director Li, why don't you tell us first?" These people couldn't contain themselves.

This is just like the bride running away right before the wedding night; who could stay calm?

They all understood that if the shoulder-mounted cannons were actually built, a single soldier could carry them and run quickly, which would be of terrifying significance on the battlefield!
"Gentlemen, our factory manager has work to do, please let him go ahead with his tasks," Old He said, promptly helping Li Muzhi out of the predicament.

Li Muzhi walked out, and the group of people looked at Lao He: "Lao He, how much do you know about the cannon on that shoulder?"

"Gentlemen, all I know is that the factory director is making shoulder-mounted cannons; that's all I know," Old He explained.

"No, no, Lao He, you have to find out the truth for us, or we're not leaving."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'll definitely ask you once the factory manager is done with his work." Old He picked up on this topic, took out the blueprints that Li Muzhi had just given him, and said, "Our factory manager is going to make a new weapon called a bounding mine. Could you guys help him get the parts?"

"What bounding mine?"

"It's a landmine that explodes in mid-air after being stepped on, capable of killing from all directions without blind spots, especially effective against Japanese group charges!" Lao He said.

"Hey, your factory director's idea is pretty good." The senior talents at Huangyadong Arsenal immediately praised it.

The Japanese army's group charge had a huge psychological impact on the troops. It was like a sharp knife, under the cover of artillery fire, stabbing straight at our heart.

Our army lacks artillery to contain the enemy's firepower. If we were to lay these landmines halfway through the Japanese group's charge, the effect would definitely be outstanding.

"Of course! Look who that is! That's our factory manager. Do you think anyone else has that kind of brain?" Old He boasted while pleading, "Gentlemen, please, could you help me with this part?"

This is another of Lao He's methods.

Only a few of you experts can make this part; our workers here can't. So, for the sake of production, you have to stay and teach others, right?

As long as you can stay, we have ways to keep you from leaving.

"Okay, then we'll help you with it." These few people only knew about the military industry and were experts at it, but when it came to manipulating people's hearts, they were no match for Lao He. They fell right into Lao He's trap.

……

(End of this chapter)