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

Chapter 170 Minister Zhang, Logistics Department is celebrating the New Year!
Despite this, Haruno Sato issued orders to his troops through Lieutenant General Shinotsuka.

They abandoned their attack on the Jin-Sui Army and its elite forces, and instead focused on encircling and intercepting the Eighth Route Army.

But it was too late in the end.

After all, besides the cover provided by rocket launchers and hell cannons, Li Yunlong's side had more than a thousand military horses, making the march very fast.

Kong Jie even brought thirty bounding mines, which he buried completely.

The bounding mines served as the last line of cover, halting the advance of a large battalion of Japanese soldiers.

Ding Wei and Li Yunlong successfully covered Kong Jie's entry into the mountains.

"Haha, today's battle wasn't satisfying at all, it wasn't satisfying at all!" Li Yunlong laughed and said, "There weren't enough rockets, not enough. Otherwise, I would have liked to charge out and have a couple more battles with those little devils."

Ding Wei said, "Old Li, what's the rush? If we take the Japanese arsenal back, we'll definitely get enough rockets. Then, we can have a proper fight with the Japanese."

"Haha, that makes sense, that makes sense!" Li Yunlong laughed again.

Kong Jie said, "Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, you shouldn't underestimate the Japanese. You saw it yourself: we attacked the Cui Village arsenal, and all the Japanese troops abandoned their attacks on the Jin-Sui Army and their elite troops, turning their attention to us. We've become a thorn in their side. If you dare to show yourselves again, the Japanese will definitely..."

Kong Jie was relieved that he had managed to acquire enough military horses from Kuroshima Morita in advance.

Otherwise, if we can't keep up with the marching speed and get surrounded by the Japanese, the three of us might all be dead today.

Li Yunlong interrupted Kong Jie: "Kong Erlengzi, you should just stick to being a coal miner and keep a close eye on Brother Li's side. You don't need to worry about things on the battlefield. When have I ever suffered a loss in a war?"

"Alright, Lao Li, stop bragging. Let's hurry up and get the stuff to the arsenal." Ding Wei said seriously, "Our arsenal is in a very important location. These workers captured from the Cui Village arsenal, even though they're blindfolded, can't be brought directly to our border region arsenal. Find a place to drop them off up ahead and let Minister Zhang and the intelligence department handle it when we get back."

The workers at the Cui Village arsenal, though of great value, must have undergone rigorous screening.

You can only use it after confirming that there are no problems.

"Okay, sure, sure." Kong Jie and Li Yunlong both said they had no objections.

……

Eighth Route Army Headquarters Logistics Office

"Minister Zhang, what you've done is going too far."

On the phone, Director Xu of the Huangyadong Arsenal sounded very annoyed. "We've already transferred several of our top experts from the Huangyadong Arsenal to the border region arsenal, and they haven't been returned yet. Now you want to borrow a large number of my workers, and you want them all to be skilled. Minister Zhang, are you just going to abandon military production at the Huangyadong Arsenal?!"

“If we’re not going to do it anywhere else, of course we should keep going.” Zhang Wanhe said seriously into the phone, “I’m asking you to transfer as many skilled workers as possible to help at the border region’s arsenal, not to transfer them all.”

“Minister Zhang, from what you’re saying, you want to transfer them all,” said Factory Director Xu.

"Well then, Director Xu, you can name your terms, as long as they're not too unreasonable." Zhang Wanhe didn't say much more to Director Xu; they were both shrewd people, why pretend?

You, Factory Director Xu, are complaining to me just to take the opportunity to make some demands.

"Minister Zhang, my condition is certainly not unreasonable, but I doubt you'll agree to it," Director Xu said, his voice barely concealing his excitement.

That's right, the reason he complained to Zhang Wanhe was precisely because he was waiting for Zhang Wanhe's attitude.

"If you want to borrow equipment from the border region's arsenal, I'm afraid that's not possible," Zhang Wanhe said preemptively. "The border region's arsenal is currently operating at full capacity to produce weapons and ammunition, so the equipment cannot be transferred."

The border region's arsenal now has a lot of equipment, which makes other arsenals envious.

Zhang Wanhe had considered it as well.

Let's reallocate these machines to other arsenals to bolster their strength and balance things out.

After all, supplying ammunition to the troops relies on all the arsenals, not just the arsenals in the border region.

But they still didn't do it.

The main problem is that we don't have enough equipment, so we can't distribute it all.

Then there is.

Li Muzhi is exceptionally capable, so the equipment will definitely perform at its best with him.

Therefore, Comrade Zhang has no plans to adjust the equipment for the time being.

Unless there are extra devices available later.

"Minister Zhang, don't worry, you can relax about this," Director Xu said immediately. "Everyone knows that the equipment in the border region's arsenal is your precious possession, you won't transfer it easily, I don't want your equipment."

"Then what do you want?" Zhang Wanhe asked.

"Hehe." Director Xu chuckled twice, then said, "I don't need anything else, I just want Li Muzhi, the new director of the border region's arsenal, to come and visit my Huangyadong arsenal for a few days when he has time. What do you think..."

"You old Xu!" Zhang Wanhe interrupted before the other man could finish speaking, "You actually dared to make a move on Xiao Li, I knew you were up to no good!"

Factory Director Xu chuckled, "Factory Director Li has very strong military capabilities. He asked me to come over and talk to him about some technical problems I'm facing. He could help me solve them, optimize them, and maybe even give some suggestions on building something new. What do you think?" "Let's talk about it after Xiao Li has finished developing the conventional artillery shells," Zhang Wanhe said, not refusing. "If you have any technical problems, you can send someone over to the border region's arsenal to discuss them with Xiao Li. Then..."

Before Zhang Wanhe could finish speaking, Factory Director Xu interrupted, "No, that won't be necessary. I'll be waiting for Factory Director Li to come over as a guest."

Factory Director Xu thought to himself, "I'm not stupid."

The logistics team, the transportation team, several key workers, and senior talents like Lao Qi were all left behind at the border region's arsenal and never returned.

If I send more people over, and they also stay, wouldn't I be wasting another talented person?

Anyway, this technical problem isn't that important right now, I'm not afraid to wait a while.

Of course!
Director Xu's main hope was that Li Muzhi would come to the Huangyadong Arsenal to see if he could get some new equipment.

Seeing the former junior arsenal of the border region thriving while our senior arsenal, Huangyadong, is falling further behind, we can't sit still.

"Director Xu, then you'd better hurry up and squeeze the workers over here for me." Zhang Wanhe said, and then hung up the phone.

We finally got the Huangyadong arsenal sorted out, and then came the other arsenals.

Just as Zhang Wanhe was about to call the next arsenal, someone rushed over, spitting excitedly in Zhang Wanhe's face: "Minister Zhang, Minister Zhang, it's New Year's! Our logistics department is celebrating the New Year! You should hurry over and take a look. Regiment Commander Kong and his men went out to test rocket launchers and came back from a Japanese arsenal with over a thousand horses carrying equipment and supplies."

Logistics staff celebrate the Chinese New Year!
Kong Jie was testing rocket launchers and ended up bringing back a Japanese arsenal!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wanhe sprang up from his chair, not even bothering to wipe the spittle off his face, and looked at the newcomer with surprise: "Are you sure it was Kong Jie who brought back an arms factory!"

The commanders of the following combat regiments competed for the qualification to test the rocket launcher, and in the end, Li Muzhi gave the testing qualification to Kong Jie.

Unexpectedly, Kong Jie's attempt to test rocket launchers with the New Second Regiment resulted in him accessing the Japanese arsenal; his luck was simply too outrageous.

The Japanese arsenal must have been located in a very hidden place, and it wouldn't be so easy to find.

Kong Jie actually managed to bump into it; it's like a windfall from heaven.

If this enemy's arsenal can produce airplanes and tanks, wouldn't we be rich?
"Yes, Minister Zhang, there are many people gathered there watching, you should go over there quickly."

"Let's go!"

……

Border Region Arsenal

"Brother Li, what are you busy with? Why aren't you out yet?"

Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, and Ding Wei arrived at the gate of the border region's arsenal with equipment and supplies and waited for a while, but Li Muzhi still hadn't come out. Li Yunlong was really curious. What was Li Muzhi busy with? Could there be anything more important than bringing back a Japanese arsenal?

Lao He explained to Li Yunlong, "The equipment malfunctioned, and the factory manager is working hard to repair it."

"Can't this equipment be repaired later?" Li Yunlong asked.

“Commander Li, if that equipment can’t be repaired in time, it will greatly affect the iron smelting,” Lao He explained. “Once the furnace is running, it can’t be stopped halfway. Once it stops and restarts, not only will it consume a huge amount of electricity, but the furnace’s lifespan will also be reduced.”

"We need to fix it as soon as possible, we really need to fix it as soon as possible, we can't rush Brother Li." Although Li Yunlong didn't know much about military industry, he knew what it meant if it affected iron smelting.

Immediately afterward, Li Yunlong sighed and said, "If we let Minister Zhang handle this, we're definitely going to suffer a loss."

Ding Wei chimed in, "Yes, Minister Zhang doesn't recognize the machine. He doesn't know its value. What will happen then..."

Before Ding Wei could finish speaking, Zhang Wanhe rushed over excitedly and said to Li Yunlong and Ding Wei, "Don't worry, you two. You won't be treated unfairly. It doesn't matter if I don't know how to appreciate things. Once Xiao Li is done with his work, he'll definitely recognize them."

"I wonder how long it will take Brother Li to repair that machine," Li Yunlong said, looking towards the arsenal.

This is a bit like a child going out and making a lot of money, then coming home expecting praise from their parents.

As it turned out, the parent was busy and didn't have time, making the wait truly frustrating.

Kong Jie, who was standing nearby, spoke up and said to Zhang Wanhe, "Minister Zhang, why don't we let Lao He inspect and put the materials and equipment that he recognizes into storage first, and leave the ones that he doesn't recognize until Director Li comes out?"

“Okay, that’s fine too.” Zhang Wanhe nodded, then turned to Lao He and said, “Lao He, then hurry up and see how many good treasures the Japanese arsenal has brought back.”

"Okay." Old He nodded excitedly, feeling extremely honored.

Previously, it was the factory manager's job to inspect the equipment brought back by the combat troops. Now he's doing it himself. Hehe, isn't that the same as being the acting factory manager?

This is a good sign; perhaps I'll soon be promoted to deputy factory director.

Li Muzhi was originally the deputy director of the border region's arsenal. After he was promoted to director, his original position as deputy director became vacant.

No one has been assigned to this position yet; Lao He and a few other elderly people are secretly vying for it.

(End of this chapter)