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

Chapter 127 Li Yunlong, that son of a bitch, really drank too much.

"Hehe, brother, I've found you a business opportunity," Li Yunlong said mysteriously.

"Find me business?" Li Muzhi paused, puzzled. "What kind of business?"

Before Li Yunlong could answer, Zhang Wan and Kong Jie arrived.

Although Li Yunlong brought Li Muzhi a lot of good food and a case of wine, Zhang Wanhe still said, "Commander Li, why did you come to the arsenal empty-handed? Shouldn't you bring some equipment or sugar with you every time you come?"

Li Yunlong retorted, "Old Zhang, look at your greedy face! Do you think this equipment and sugar are like roadside stones that you can just pick up anywhere?"

"Haha." Zhang Wanhe chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Commander Li, I was just joking with you. You just said you wanted to find a business for Xiao Li. I'm interested in business. You can tell me about it."

"Old Kong, you've worked hard mining coal here, sit down and eat with us." Li Yunlong ignored Zhang Wanhe, thinking, "I'm not going to talk to you."

"Old Li, I need to deliver artillery shells to the brigade headquarters." Kong Jie didn't sit down.

“I’m right here. When I go back, I’ll just take the shells with me. That’s fine,” Li Yunlong said to Kong Jie. “Anyway, the brigade commander hasn’t gotten any specific intelligence on the Japanese military train’s transport yet. This battle won’t start today, so it won’t waste any time.”

Li Yunlong was surprised; the arsenal's shell production efficiency was quite fast, a significant improvement.

"That's fine then." Kong Jie sat down without ceremony.

The food that Li Yunlong brought was something that the logistics team, despite having good food, couldn't afford to eat.

Given the chance to vent his frustrations and benefit from the situation, Lao Kong naturally wouldn't hold back.

After Kong Jie sat down, Li Yunlong turned to Li Muzhi and said, "I went to Chu Yunfei's place for a banquet, and Chu Yunfei told me that his superior wants to buy our Hell Cannons..."

Before Li Yunlong could finish speaking, Zhang Wanhe, who was sitting next to him, immediately interrupted, "Li Yunlong, is this the kind of business you're negotiating? Don't be ridiculous! We don't even have enough Hell Cannons for ourselves, how could we possibly sell them! If you're going to sell, why don't you sell the ones you already have?"

Kong Jie, who was standing nearby, was also surprised. He hadn't expected Li Yunlong to instigate Li Muzhi to sell the Hell Cannon. This guy had really gone too far after drinking that much alcohol.

If the brigade commander finds out about this, he'll definitely burn you, Old Li, to the ground!

However, Kong Jie remained silent. As far as he knew, there was only one Hell Cannon left in the arsenal, which had been reserved by Regiment Commander Liu of the 120th Division.

Even if Li Muzhi wanted to sell, there was nothing he could sell.

Of course, if they manage to get their hands on large-diameter steel pipes later, that would be a different story.

"Hey Zhang, what's the rush? Let me finish what I have to say to Brother Li." Li Yunlong glanced at Zhang Wanhe.

"In short, that's it, we're not selling!" Zhang Wanhe shook his head again.

Someone from the Jin-Sui Army had already contacted Zhang Wanhe, wanting to buy the Hell Cannon, but Zhang Wanhe refused outright.

Just kidding, why would we sell?
Zhang Wanhe didn't understand warfare, but he could sense it.

Once the Japanese are driven away, we'll most likely have to fight them again.

If we build this hell cannon and sell it to them, they'll just copy it. What good will that do us?

"Old Zhang, I'm talking to Brother Li, not you. Go find somewhere cool to stay." After drinking, Li Yunlong became incredibly bold and dared to directly order Old Zhang around.

"Li Yunlong, this logistics arsenal is my territory!" Zhang Wanhe said sternly. "If you keep spouting nonsense, believe me, I'll call your brigade commander!"

Zhang Wanhe has already figured out Li Yunlong's weaknesses.

This guy is fearless, but if you bring out his brigade commander, he immediately becomes a coward.

"Old Zhang, I think your position as logistics minister is a bit unsuitable. There's a small broadcasting position at headquarters that I think would suit you perfectly!" Li Yunlong was most annoyed by people reporting on him, the brigade commander, and immediately bared his teeth.

"Minister Zhang, calm down first," Li Muzhi said to Zhang Wanhe. "Let's hear what Commander Li has to say first. What, you don't trust me? Do you think I'd be stupid enough to leak our technology to them?"

When Zhang Wanhe heard that Li Muzhi's words made sense, he looked at Li Yunlong and said, "Li Yunlong, then you can continue."

Li Yunlong ignored Zhang Wanhe and looked at Li Muzhi: "Brother, it's like this, Chu Yunfei's superiors said that as long as we are willing to sell the Hell Cannon to them, we can set the conditions, as long as they are not too excessive."

“Even if the conditions are unreasonable, we won’t sell,” Zhang Wanhe added.

"Give me a break, Lao Zhang. You're clearly no businessman," Li Yunlong cursed. "If I could ask for more, I'd just ask that bald guy for the First Arsenal of the Ordnance Department!"

The First Arsenal of the Ordnance Bureau was formerly the Hanyang Arsenal, founded by Zhang Zhidong in 1889.

When the Japanese invaded, the Hanyang Arsenal was moved to the mountain city and renamed the First Arsenal of the Ordnance Department.

It is now one of the most important arms factories in the hands of the bald man.

Kong Jie joked from the side, "Old Li, I think it would be more cost-effective to just take the bald guy's spot."

"Hahaha, Old Kong, you look like you're not very bright, but you're actually quite good at business." Li Yunlong laughed. "How come I didn't think of that?"

"Oh my, Li Yunlong, you think you're so smart, while Baldy is a fool!" Zhang Wanhe curled his lip, "You're dreaming way too much."

Li Muzhi looked at Li Yunlong and asked, "Commander Li, did they really say they wanted us to set our terms?"

Li Yunlong didn't say anything, so Zhang Wanhe immediately turned to look at Li Muzhi: "Little Li, you're not really planning to sell it, are you? We're going to give our last Hell Cannon to Commander Liu, and we don't have any more."

Li Yunlong immediately said to Zhang Wanhe, "This is not a problem, I have it here."

"Are you going to sell that cannon you have?" Zhang Wanhe didn't believe Li Yunlong would sell the Hell Cannon he had.

Moreover, with the attack on the Japanese infantry line imminent, how could they possibly leave the support of the Hell Cannon?

“Of course I won’t sell the door I have,” Li Yunlong shook his head. “Then you’ll sell the one Commander Ding has?” Zhang Wanhe asked again.

"How could I possibly cheat Lao Ding?" Li Yunlong shook his head.

Kong Jie couldn't help but gasp: "Li Yunlong, you son of a bitch, are you trying to sell the Hell Cannon that the division commander has?"

If Li Yunlong won't sell, and Ding Wei won't sell, then the only thing left to sell is the cannon in the division commander's possession.

That bastard Li Yunlong really drank too much.

Even the brigade commander wouldn't dare, how could you!

"Old Kong, our division commander has four cannons. I don't think selling one would be a big deal..." Li Yunlong didn't finish his sentence.

Kong Jie immediately stood up: "Minister Zhang, Factory Director Li, I'm a little tired, I'm going to rest."

After saying that, Kong Jie left without looking back.

This is nothing serious, my foot! That's a division commander!
That madman Li Yunlong actually dares to covet the Hell Cannon in the division commander's hands. The division commander will definitely be furious then.

We tried to freeload a meal here, but it's led to a huge problem. It's not worth getting dragged into this mess by that kid Li Yunlong.

Therefore, Lao Kong wisely decided to leave.

"Hey, hey, Old Kong, what are you afraid of? He's just a division commander, hey, hey, Old Kong..." Li Yunlong wanted to call Kong Jie back to eat, but Kong Jie didn't turn around and his figure disappeared.

Li Yunlong cursed, "That Kong Erlengzi, he's been digging coal for the arsenal for two days, and he's getting more and more timid."

"Li Yunlong, is it because Commander Kong is cowardly? He's worried about being implicated by you." Zhang Wanhe turned his head and cursed, "If you want to sell the Hell Cannon from your division commander, just go and talk to your division commander yourself. Why drag Little Li into this? I think you're like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken—you have no good intentions!"

Zhang Wanhe could tell that Li Yunlong wanted to negotiate with his superior through Li Muzhi.

That bastard, if you're so capable, go and talk to your superior yourself.

Aren't you brave? What are you afraid of?

Faced with Zhang Wanhe's attitude, Li Yunlong retorted with his neck stiff: "Am I afraid? I'm worried that I might have negotiated too low a price. That's why I came to discuss it with you, Brother Li."

Immediately afterwards, Li Yunlong asked Li Muzhi, "Brother, what do you think of this matter?"

"The arsenal is still missing a few key small lathes. If we could trade them for Hellfire cannons, we might consider it," Li Muzhi pondered.

As for large lathes, forget about them; even Commander Yan doesn't have one.

Back then, Taiyuan was lost, and so was the Taiyuan Arsenal.

Commander Yan only moved a small portion of the machinery and equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal beforehand; the majority of it ended up in the hands of the Japanese.

The arsenal has small lathes, but they're all scrap.

After all, scrap can't be compared to good quality.

What? Selling the Hell Cannon to Commander Yan? Isn't that leaking the technology?
how can that be!

The Hell Cannon is not a technological product at all; it's just a large-caliber steel pipe welded to a base, with a detonation device installed on the base.

Moreover, this detonation device was still a very primitive gunpowder ignition method, a technology that existed even in the Qing Dynasty.

The real technological challenge lies in the shells!
Chu Yunfei's superiors said they wanted to buy our cannons, but they didn't mention buying cannonballs.

Therefore, this cannon can be completely exchanged for a small lathe, and we'll keep the shells for ourselves. No matter how high the price, we won't sell them.

Upon hearing Li Muzhi's words, Zhang Wanhe immediately looked at him and asked, "Little Li, aren't you afraid of leaking the technology to the other side?"

Although Zhang Wanhe understood the significance of this small lathe, the technology of our Hell Cannon cannot be leaked.

If the top leaders at headquarters find out, they'll be furious.

Li Muzhi explained, "Minister Zhang, you've seen these cannons before. They're just large-diameter steel pipes that have been welded and cut. The detonation method is still the most primitive gunpowder ignition. The main technology is in the shells. We don't need to sell the shells."

"Well, well, we still need to report to the headquarters leaders first." After hearing what Li Muzhi said, Zhang Wanhe still felt that it was necessary to report to the headquarters leaders.

This is, after all, a hell cannon.

There are only eleven doors in total.

Each one is extremely valuable.

But a well-preserved miniature lathe is definitely more valuable than a hell cannon!
“Of course I have to report it,” Li Muzhi nodded. “I will write the report myself, explaining the key points and interests involved, and you can show it to the headquarters leaders later.”

"Alright," Zhang Wanhe agreed first.

“Brother Li, since you think this business is worth doing, then you should talk to our commander when the time comes.”

After Li Muzhi and Zhang Wanhe reached an agreement, Li Yunlong immediately adopted a blame-shifting attitude.

Do you really think that Old Li has drunk too much and is not thinking clearly?

That's a division commander, you know.

(End of this chapter)