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

Chapter 176 Li Muzhi is the soul of the border region's arsenal
As the sun rises, all things awaken, and a new day begins.

Border Region Arsenal

Li Muzhi got up, washed up, ate breakfast, and was about to go to his office.

Logistics Minister Zhang Wanhe led over thirty workers over with a smile and said to Li Muzhi, "Little Li, these are the first batch of skilled workers transferred from other arsenals."

Upon seeing this, Li Muzhi exclaimed happily, "Minister Zhang, you're incredibly efficient!"

The border region's arsenal is now producing a wider variety of weapons and ammunition, but it is short-handed.

Li Muzhi suggested that Zhang Wanhe order the transfer of personnel through headquarters, but Minister Zhang said he wouldn't bother the headquarters leaders and would give it a try.

Unexpectedly, Comrade Zhang is quite competent in his role as the logistics minister.

The first batch of over thirty people arrived; it was a real lifesaver.

"Of course, we have to be efficient. The headquarters leaders have said that as long as your military production needs it, I will fully cooperate." Zhang Wanhe's expression was very serious. "The second batch of people will arrive tomorrow afternoon, about forty people in total. As for the third batch, I'm afraid we can't spare any. After all, you don't want novices."

“Alright, Minister Zhang, with two batches of skilled workers in place, we have enough manpower.” Li Muzhi nodded and said, “When you have some free time, try to find some more quick-witted and efficient people. I can have Lao He train them in his spare time.”

Li Muzhi meant that the personnel transferred from other arsenals couldn't possibly be left unreturned.

The significance of other arsenals is equally important.

Our border region arsenal needs to hurry up and train more workers.

"Okay, no problem." Zhang Wanhe nodded repeatedly. "I'll go get back to work."

Comrade Zhang handed the workers over to Li Muzhi and then immediately disappeared.

"Gentlemen, my name is Li Muzhi, and I am the director of the border region's arsenal. I thank you for coming to support my work here. Thank you." Li Muzhi turned around and expressed his gratitude to the workers.

The workers' attitudes instantly became heated:
"You're Director Li? You're so young."

"I heard that you, Director Li, built a cannon with just a few steel pipes. Director Li, you are amazing."

"Director Li, it is our great honor to meet you."

"Director Li, what are you saying? We're all family, it's only right that we come here to help."

……

"Haha." Li Muzhi laughed. "Gentlemen, let's not waste any more time on small talk. The arsenal's production tasks are very tight. Once these tasks are almost completed, we can have a proper chat then."

"Yes, yes, Director Li." The workers all nodded.

"Go and call Lao He over." Li Muzhi sent someone to inform Lao He.

Soon, Lao He arrived and happily handed Li Muzhi a Type 92 infantry gun shell, saying with a smile, "Factory Director, look, this is a sample shell for the Type 92 infantry gun that was just made."

The workers standing nearby were all shocked when they saw this.

As is well known, none of our Eighth Route Army's arsenals have the capacity to produce standard artillery shells.

As soon as we arrived at the border region's arsenal, we saw that they had produced prototype shells for the Type 92 infantry gun.

Even if it's just a prototype, as long as it passes the test, it's still a shell.

That has a completely different meaning.

Because the arsenal could not produce shells, the artillery pieces captured by the troops were running out of ammunition and were being used very sparingly.

Even the use of each infantry gun shell required approval from the headquarters commander.

Once the arsenal could produce artillery shells, the shackles around its neck were finally removed.

The border region's arsenal is truly remarkable.

They used to be at the bottom, but in such a short time, they've jumped to the top.

Of course, the most remarkable person is the newly appointed factory director, Mr. Li.

"Wow, Lao He, you're incredibly efficient!" Li Muzhi praised as he took the sample bullet.

Lao He laughed and said, "It's mainly because you, the factory director, are efficient. You got the machine working yesterday, and Lao Qi and the others rushed to finish it, and that's how we produced the prototype."

Li Muzhi took the tools and, while measuring the size of the shells, said, "These workers are skilled craftsmen that Minister Zhang just got from other arsenals. Go and arrange things for them right away."

"Great! These people have arrived just in time!" When Lao He first saw these people, he thought they were just ordinary people. He was overjoyed to find out they were skilled workers. He immediately said to the workers, "Gentlemen, thank you for your hard work. Please come with me. The production schedule is really tight. You've come at just the right time."

"It's not hard work, production is the most important thing." The workers nodded and followed Lao He to the workshop immediately.

Lao He also had assistants, who quickly arranged for the workers to be assigned to their posts.

He went out to see Li Muzhi again, because whether the piece was up to standard depended on the factory director's attitude.

Seeing Lao He come out, Li Muzhi asked, "How's it going with your persuasion of Lao Qi and the others?"

With the assistance of highly skilled personnel, Li Muzhi no longer needed to do many things himself; these personnel would handle everything directly, acting as his right-hand men.

"Factory manager, please give me a little more time," the old man said confidently. "I'm sure I can get them to stay on their own."

“No rush, there’s plenty of time,” Li Muzhi said to Lao He. “Minister Zhang has already confided in me about the situation. The director of the Huangyadong Arsenal wants to invite me over. If I can help them solve their technical problems and give them some creative suggestions, then this matter of high-level talent is… hehe.”

Li Muzhi chuckled twice at the end, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Lao He laughed heartily: "Haha, factory manager, then I can rest assured that I can keep the people here."

Remembering something, Lao He leaned closer to Li Muzhi and said, "Factory Director, our regional arsenal can't do without you. Don't go to the Huangyadong arsenal and get left behind by someone else."

In short, Li Muzhi is now the soul of the border region's arsenal.

If you go to the Huangyadong arsenal as a guest and never come back, you'll have lost a lot of money.

"Don't worry, I'm the director of the border region's arsenal. I know exactly where I should be," Li Muzhi said.

After the dimensions of the bullet were measured, Li Muzhi exclaimed in surprise, "The first one is already up to standard. That's a bit unexpected."

Even when it comes to making bullets, there are always defective products at the beginning, requiring repeated adjustments to the machine.

The prototype shell for the Type 92 infantry gun passed the test on its first attempt, which surprised Li Muzhi.

Lao He laughed and said, "This is mainly because you, the factory director, have done a good job of debugging the machines. Of course, Lao Qi and the others who made the prototypes are also very skilled."

"Now that the size of the bullets is not a problem, let's hurry up and manufacture twenty of them, then measure them to confirm that there are no problems, and then let the combat troops test them," Li Muzhi said.

"Yes, factory manager." Old He nodded and left happily.

As usual, Li Muzhi inspected all the workshops and then checked the equipment that had been repaired the day before.

The equipment has been repaired, but!

But once the furnace is started, it can't be stopped.

If it's stopped, the furnace will crack and become unusable.

Hopefully!

Hopefully, the Japanese will give us some time to produce enough weapons and ammunition so that our combat troops can cope with their mopping-up operations.

Back in his office, Li Muzhi took out a pen and continued drawing blueprints for the 107mm rocket.

Li Muzhi has already taught how to make conventional artillery shells. Old Qi and the other senior talents can do it themselves. Li Muzhi only needs to supervise and test the quality.

His focus now needs to be on the 107mm rocket.

Rocket launchers are classified as light tactical artillery and can only engage light targets at the tactical level; they cannot engage large targets.

The Hell Cannon is a heavy weapon capable of striking large targets, but using it to attack medium-sized targets would be a waste of materials.

Furthermore, the Hell Cannon is not very mobile and requires mules to pull it. If something were to happen to one of the mules in the combat unit, pushing the cannon by men would be quite difficult.

Therefore, combat troops still urgently need a medium-sized artillery piece with strong mobility and appropriate firepower.

These 107 rockets are undoubtedly the best choice.

It doesn't need a cannon barrel or a gun mount; you can fire it simply by digging a pit.

Soldiers can move around freely by carrying artillery shells, making them small targets and highly concealed.

Of course.

Due to the limited conditions at the border region's arsenal, Li Muzhi could not directly copy the structure of the later 107mm rocket.

He needs to make corresponding modifications based on the strength and conditions of the border region's arsenal.

Of course, some other equipment will also be needed.

If we could get information about the Japanese's next arsenal from the managers of the Cuicun arsenal, and if that arsenal could produce artillery and had been taken over by the army, then that machine could definitely be used to make 107mm rockets.

Li Muzhi made a few strokes, then stopped to ponder.

Since the arsenal currently lacks the capacity to produce dry cell batteries, and the dry cell battery inventory in the logistics warehouse is also very small, Li Muzhi removed the battery ignition device.

However, lighting it with a match still has its drawbacks.

That means it doesn't work well on rainy days.

The Hell Cannon can be fired by lighting a match on rainy days because Li Muzhi made a rain and windproof device on the ignition part of the Hell Cannon.

But this definitely won't work on the 107mm rocket.

The body of the 107mm rocket must be smooth and fluid. Adding anything else to the body will affect the trajectory of the 107mm rocket and its accuracy.

After thinking for a moment, Li Muzhi decided to use the grenade pull cord method.

The grenade's pull cord is convenient to use; it doesn't require a match to light it, simply open the cap and pull the cord to fire.

Make a small hole in the tail section of the 107mm rocket to serve as the pull cord, and then add a cover to the outside.

In this way, even if the environment is gloomy, damp, or rainy, you don't have to worry about it getting damp.

With the firing method resolved, the next detail to address was the modification of the crosshair.

If you fire a 107mm rocket from a pit without a sight, it will just fly randomly, which is a waste of ammunition.

If the sight is like a gun's, and it's placed on the bullet, it will also affect the bullet's flight trajectory.

Li Muzhi drew a longitudinal axis along the missile body. When the troops used it, they could measure a certain distance from the bottom forward and then place a twig or grass root about one or two centimeters long as a sight.

Its main features are convenience and ease of use, allowing users to source materials anytime, anywhere.

The problem with the sights was only half solved when someone knocked on the door: "Factory Manager, Commander Gao from the 120th Division is here, urgently needing your rocket launcher."

Li Muzhi put down his pen and paper, nodded, and said, "Let him in."

"Yes."

Soon, Gao Liujin rushed in and blurted out, "Director Li, how many rocket launchers have you made here? Give them all to me."

"Commander Gao, is there some kind of emergency?" Li Muzhi asked with a serious expression.

"The Japanese are going to finish repairing the railway in Zhangjiakou by noon today, and their military trains have already started running," Gao Liujin said. "We need to cut off the railway line again so that their troops can't get supplies and ammunition. By the way, we'll also dismantle the locomotives for you."

Originally, the plan was to wait until Li Muzhi had built fifty rocket launchers before taking action.

But there is no way.

The battlefield changes that quickly.

The Japanese were incredibly efficient at repairing the railway.

If we start working two days later, the Japanese military trains will have already delivered the supplies to their troops, and then we'll be under a lot more pressure.

"Go find Lao He and tell him to bring me all the qualified rocket launchers and rockets." Li Muzhi didn't hesitate and immediately called someone over to pass on the message to Lao He. "By the way, wait a moment."

Li Muzhi turned to look at Gao Liujin: "Commander Gao, do you have an infantry gun? What model is it?"

"Type 92 infantry gun," Gao Liujin replied.

Li Muzhi then said to the man, "Have Lao He load the twenty Type 92 infantry gun shells as quickly as possible, and once the measurements are correct, give them to Regiment Commander Gao."

The shell casings, explosives, primers, and shell casings for the Type 92 infantry gun were all prepared in advance.

We can start assembling it as soon as possible.

"Okay." The man quickly ran off.

Gao Liujin looked at Li Muzhi with some surprise: "Director Li, you've made the infantry gun shells so quickly?"

Once the six-pound infantry gun's shells were used up, the thing became nothing more than a scrap metal lump, gathering dust in the warehouse.

Now that the border region's arsenal has produced artillery shells, hahaha, our scrap metal has instantly been transformed back into a formidable weapon for killing the enemy.

"Commander Gao, this is just a sample bomb loaded with explosives. We haven't had time to test it yet," Li Muzhi said solemnly to Gao Liujin. "Since you're going to fight, why don't you take this opportunity to test it and bring the data back to me?"

"I don't need to return these twenty shells I gave you for testing, right?" Gao Liujin asked.

"Of course not."

"Okay, no problem, no problem, haha." Gao Liujin laughed happily, "Then I can rest assured to test you."

Li Muzhi pulled a small notebook from the drawer and handed it to Gao Liujin: "This is a summary of rocket usage experience from Commander Kong's side. Take it and study it as soon as possible."

"I can't read..." Gao Liujin scratched his head and looked at Li Muzhi: "Director Li, can you read it to me?"

“Surely there are some literate people in your unit,” Li Muzhi said.

"Okay, that's fine too." Gao Liujin put the notebook in his pocket.

Soon, Lao He arrived at Li Muzhi's place with eighteen rocket launchers and more than two hundred rocket shells: "Factory Director, we have brought the rocket shells and rocket launchers, but the shells for the Type 92 infantry gun will take another half hour to prepare."

Assembling the shells, gunpowder, and explosives is a slow process that cannot be rushed; it takes time.

Gao Liujin was quite pleased to see that there were eighteen rocket launchers.

Although there weren't as many as fifty.

He had heard that Kong Jie, a coal miner, had taken down eight Japanese tanks with twelve rocket launchers!
Kong Jie's twelve rocket launchers could take down eight Japanese tanks; with my eighteen rocket launchers, I could take down at least twelve.

If they took down twelve tanks, the Japanese tank regiment would be completely wiped out.

"The shells for the Type 92 infantry gun will be assembled in half an hour. I'll send someone to deliver them to you. That should be fine, right?" Li Muzhi turned to ask Gao Liujin.

"It won't cause any problems, that's fine." Gao Liujin nodded.

The cannonballs for the Hell Cannon were delivered ahead of schedule, and the transport team also arrived ahead of time.

All we need to do is bring the rockets and rocket launchers over.

As for the sustained firepower of the Type 92 infantry gun, that's icing on the cake.

"Alright then, Commander Gao, this is all the rocket launchers and rockets we have for now. Hopefully, it won't delay your mission." Li Muzhi pointed to the rockets and rocket launchers for Gao Liujin.

"That's enough. We'll take down one Japanese tank regiment to prevent them from outflanking the convoy. Add our Hellfire Cannons and infantry guns, and that's more than enough." Gao Liujin nodded repeatedly and quickly left with the supplies.

Of course, the dismantling team from the arsenal also quickly followed Gao Liujin there.

(End of this chapter)