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

Chapter 330 Hurry up and develop radar

"Be gentle, try to be as gentle as possible."

During the transport of the radio wave direction finding equipment, Li Muzhi repeatedly instructed the movers to be careful.

Following Li Muzhi's instructions, all three radio wave direction finding devices were moved to his laboratory.

This radio wave direction finding device cannot be used directly. Li Muzhi had to disassemble it and repurpose the important key components inside.

"Director Li, the items are all set up. We won't bother you any longer." The movers put the items away as instructed by Li Muzhi.

"You've worked hard, you can go now." Li Muzhi nodded.

After the movers left, Li Muzhi took out his tools and immediately began to disassemble the device.

Soon, the first radio wave direction finding device was disassembled. This important component was removed and carefully installed on the radar test.

The indicator light illuminates immediately upon power-on.

Li Muzhi was overjoyed: "Li Yunlong has really been a great help. Now that the indicator light is on, the radar is working properly."

Li Muzhi quickly disassembled the key components of the other two radio wave direction finding devices.

One of the tests went very smoothly, while the other broke due to the vibration of the parts. Li Muzhi took out a part that he had disassembled from the radio and put it on top of the other part. Finally, the indicator light lit up.

Li Muzhi sat down happily, took out the radar blueprints he had drawn earlier, and then planned the details of the changes on the blueprints.

Just as the details were finished, Xiao Gu's hushed voice came from outside the door: "Minister Zhang, Factory Director Li has instructed that he is working and no one is allowed to disturb him."

It was lunchtime at that moment.

Li Muzhi said to Xiao Gu outside the door, "Xiao Gu, I've finished my work. Please let Minister Zhang in. Also, please go to the cafeteria and get me a meal."

The equipment has arrived, and Li Muzhi needs to hurry up and get the radar working.

I won't go to the cafeteria.

"Yes, Director Li," Xiao Gu replied.

The door opened, and Zhang Wanhe walked in with a smile.

Zhang Wanhe immediately noticed Li Muzhi's relaxed brows.

These days, Li Muzhi has been frowning constantly as he tries to overcome the radar problem.

Now that his brow has relaxed, it seems that Li Muzhi has solved the radar problem.

Zhang Wanhe immediately asked, "Xiao Li, have you solved this radar problem?"

"It wasn't me who conquered it; it was Commander Li who gave me a shortcut," Li Muzhi explained, shaking his head.

"Li Yunlong is giving you a shortcut?" Zhang Wanhe didn't quite understand what Li Muzhi meant.

Li Yunlong is a master at fighting, but he's completely clueless when it comes to military industry. He probably can't even recognize all the screws. How could he let Li Muzhi take a shortcut?
That sounds like utter nonsense!

Li Muzhi pointed to the three radio wave direction finding devices and said, "These are three radio wave direction finding devices that Commander Li brought to me. They were captured from the Japanese. With some modifications, they can be used as core components of a radar."

"That's great, that's really great! I never expected that Li Yunlong would come to my aid at such a crucial moment," Zhang Wanhe said happily. "I heard that the kid came back from the front lines, but instead of taking a break, he brought some things here, so I came to see what they were. I never expected that they would be such a treasure."

With these three key technologies, radar could be developed quickly, which is of great significance.

Li Muzhi then said to Zhang Wanhe, "Minister Zhang, besides Regiment Commander Li, there are also Regiment Commanders Ding and Gao. They suffered heavy casualties this time, so you must treat them well in terms of logistics. Don't be stingy with flour, rice, weapons, ammunition, and personnel."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I've already made arrangements with my deputy ministers, and the supplies are being prepared for them." Zhang Wanhe nodded quickly.

Putting aside the three radio wave direction finding devices in front of them, the fact that they managed to obtain equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal deserves a heavy reward.

This time, Comrade Zhang was unusually generous and not stingy at all.

Okay, enough of the nonsense.

The main reason was that the headquarters leaders were overjoyed when they heard that the equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal had been acquired, and they gave it special approval.

"Hmm." Li Muzhi nodded and asked, "Minister Zhang, when will the equipment that Commander Li and his team brought arrive here?"

“Although the equipment has been transported to a relatively safe place, the Japanese are now searching for it like madmen, and the journey is still quite far.” Zhang Wanhe’s brows furrowed again. “The equipment can only be transported back in batches secretly. If there are no problems with the first batch, it will take about a week.”

This is also a very frustrating point.

The equipment has arrived, but it cannot be put into use immediately.

It's like you urgently need money, and a large sum of money is yours, but you can't get it right away.

Li Muzhi took it in stride, saying, "Minister Zhang, since the equipment is already in our hands, the most important thing now is to keep it from being exposed. It's better to bring it back slowly than to lose it again."

“That’s true,” Zhang Wanhe said, his expression annoyed. “The main problem is that the war situation is getting worse and worse. The Japanese definitely won’t give us much time. Once a new sweep begins, even if we get the equipment, we won’t have enough time, just like before.”

“Minister Zhang, I’ve thought about it,” Li Muzhi said. “I plan to send some knowledgeable technicians over there to select the equipment first. We’ll prioritize shipping over the equipment we need here. As for the rest, I don’t think we need to ship it here. We can just find an opportunity to move it to the rear.”

The Second World War Zone was, after all, a war zone, and the Japanese mopping-up operations would not stop. Military production needed a stable environment.

To put it bluntly, if the Japanese were to discover the border region's arsenal one day and all that equipment couldn't be moved in time and had to be destroyed, it would be an incredibly painful loss.

Li Muzhi had also considered whether to move the border region's arsenal to the rear.

But the current situation simply doesn't allow for that.

Moving a factory and taking your family with you is a big job, and it can't be done in a short time.

and.

The weapons and ammunition being produced by the border region's arsenal are extremely valuable to the troops, and production cannot be stopped for even a day.

Therefore, Li Muzhi felt that most of the equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal should be moved to the rear.

Once this equipment is operational in the rear and can quickly provide weapons and ammunition to the troops, the production of the local arsenal will be less critical, and we can consider relocating the factory.

“Okay, no problem, that’s fine, absolutely fine.” Zhang Wanhe nodded and said, “Then hurry up and choose a technician, I’ll have someone send him over.”

Remembering something, Zhang Wanhe continued, "I sent the follow-up Hellfire cannon shells to Yan Kai's side, but he hasn't received the data for these two Hellfire missiles yet. What do you think about this..."

The reason why the data on the two Hellfire missiles was not sent back is simple: they haven't been used on the battlefield yet.

That Yan Kai is definitely not giving up and still wants to dismantle it.

Li Muzhi calmly replied, "It's alright. If the data isn't sent back, we'll just focus on producing the Hell Missiles that our own troops need." The production of these Hell Missiles is only about twenty per day, which isn't even enough for our own needs.

Instead of distributing it to the Jin-Sui Army, they kept it all for themselves.

“The main problem is that we need skilled workers,” Zhang Wanhe said, annoyed. “They don’t use Hellfire missiles on the battlefield, so it’s hard to find workers to trade.”

When Zhang Wanhe sent the follow-up shells of the Hell Cannon to Yan Kai, it was difficult to administer the preventative measures, and in some cases, the shells didn't even get fired.

Now, Yan Kai shows no sign of wanting to make any further deals.

All he could think about was how to crack the Hell Cannon shell and Hell Missile technology.

This really put Zhang Wanhe in a hurry.

The Taiyuan Arsenal has so much equipment; once it's all operational, it will require a large number of skilled workers.

If we don't bring in workers from the Jin-Sui Army, the labor shortage will be too great.

"When Commander Li took over the equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal, didn't he also capture a lot of senior military industrial personnel and skilled workers?" Li Muzhi said. "These people can be sent to the rear and, after being modified, they can be useful. At that time, the leaders in the rear will definitely quickly select those who are quick and efficient for training, and the workers will definitely be able to be dealt with well."

“Training also takes time and costs; it’s not as good as having experienced technicians readily available,” Zhang Wanhe said. “Besides, if a new technician is careless and breaks the equipment, it would be a huge loss. No, I still have to urge Yan Kai to use the Hell Missiles as soon as possible.”

Li Muzhi asked, "How is the battle going on with their Jin-Sui Army?"

The Jin-Sui Army repelled Kawashima with their hell cannons.

They're blind. The follow-up shells have been delivered, and the Jin-Sui Army's Hell Cannons are now well-stocked with ammunition. They probably won't use the Hell Missiles easily, and urging them is likely useless.

"Kawashima hasn't retreated, but he hasn't attacked either. The fighting is temporarily at a standstill," Zhang Wanhe said. "Anyway, as long as these Japanese don't retreat, the fighting will definitely resume. Once Kawashima's planes bomb the Hell Cannon, let's see if the Jin-Sui Army will use Hell Missiles."

"Director Li, your lunch is here." At that moment, Xiao Gu came in carrying a lunchbox.

"Thank you for your trouble, Xiao Gu. You should go eat too," Li Muzhi said to Xiao Gu as he took the lunchbox.

"Yes, Director Li." Xiao Gu nodded, greeted Zhang Wanhe, and went to the canteen.

Li Muzhi opened the lunchbox and found a serving of braised pork with potatoes, a serving of stir-fried greens, and rice at the bottom.

Li Muzhi picked up a piece of potato and put it in his mouth. It was soft, sweet, and delicious. "Minister Zhang, has the elite army contacted you recently to purchase Hellfire missiles?"

In Li Muzhi's view, instead of directly urging the Jin-Sui Army, it would be better to use his own troops to put pressure on the Jin-Sui Army.

These Hellfire missiles are limited in number, and the Jin-Sui Army is holding them back, so we'll say we're selling them to our elite troops.

“Of course.” Zhang Wanhe nodded. “I was already discussing the specifics with them, but then there was some friction between them and our combat troops, so I decided not to sell and just leave them hanging for now.”

"What friction?" Li Muzhi asked.

"What's wrong? Didn't Commander Li tell you?" Zhang Wanhe looked at Li Muzhi suspiciously.

Li Yunlong brought equipment to Li Muzhi, could it be that he didn't tell Li Muzhi about the fact that the elite troops wanted to secretly seize Li Yunlong's equipment?

To say that these loyalist troops are too despicable and shameless is an understatement.

Fortunately, Li Yunlong used underground transportation to transport the equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal; otherwise, if his own troops had gotten the better deal, it would have been disastrous.

"No." Li Muzhi shook his head.

Zhang Wanhe gritted his teeth and said, "The elite troops set up an ambush on Li Yunlong's retreat route, intending to intercept the equipment in Li Yunlong's hands. As a result, Li Yunlong did not take the equipment with him. Instead, he tricked the elite troops into fighting the Japanese. Li Yunlong took the opportunity to lead his troops to retreat smoothly."

"I see." Upon hearing this, Li Muzhi was indeed filled with resentment.

These elite troops are eyeing the equipment; if they're so capable, why don't they go and seize it from the Japanese? What kind of skill is it to rob friendly forces?

“Xiao Li, let’s put this business with the elite troops on hold for now and let them wait and see,” Zhang Wanhe said. “Anyway, once we get the equipment back from the Taiyuan Arsenal, we won’t lack those basic military facilities.”

“We don’t lack basic military industrial facilities, but we lack raw materials,” Li Muzhi said. “Although the other party is despicable and vile, we still have to go through with this deal.”

The Taiyuan Arsenal's equipment was able to produce millions of bullets for the Japanese army every month, one of the prerequisites being a sufficient supply of raw materials.

Having equipment and people is not enough without raw materials.

"I'll make my own decisions about business matters," Zhang Wanhe said, seizing the opportunity. "You don't need to worry about Xiao Li; I'll figure out a way to get the military raw materials."

What plan do you have in mind?

"The Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics has already sent me the sewing machine. I'm going to negotiate with them," Zhang Wanhe said. "Xiao Li, you should hurry up and get the radar working."

The Direct Army is an army, while the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Zhongtong) is an organization. Although they belong to the same camp, their natures are different.

Through the Central Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (CBIS), they could also control those officers of the elite army.

The so-called internal investigations have revealed many wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice, which even the officers of the elite military are afraid of.

"Alright, Minister Zhang." Li Muzhi nodded and ate a few more mouthfuls of rice.

"Xiao Li, I won't keep you from eating or working any longer." Zhang Wanhe stood up. "When will this radar be ready?"

"We have the core equipment, but there's still a lot of work to be done on the details. It should take about ten days," Li Muzhi replied.

"That's great! I need to report this to the headquarters leaders right away," Zhang Wanhe said happily, while also urging, "Find the technicians for the screening equipment as soon as possible."

"I'll handle this matter after I've eaten," Li Muzhi nodded.

Finding technicians is a minor issue; the main problem is getting them to recognize the equipment and confirming that it can operate normally, which takes time.

"Okay." Zhang Wanhe left happily.

Li Muzhi quickly finished his meal. Unexpectedly, Xiao Gu ate even faster and had already returned from the canteen. She took the lunchbox from Li Muzhi and said, "Factory Director, let me wash it for you."

"Okay." Li Muzhi nodded and said, "When you go wash the lunchbox, find Lao He for me."

"Yes, Factory Manager." Xiao Gu took Li Muzhi's lunchbox and left quickly.

Li Muzhi returned to his chair, took out paper and pen, and quickly wrote down the equipment needed by the border region's arsenal.

It's not just the equipment needed to manufacture seamless steel pipes; other equipment is also required.

For example, manufacturing guns, expanding the production scale of Hellfire missiles, expanding the production of Hellfire cannon shells, and so on.

(End of this chapter)