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

Chapter 343: Elm Pimples
Li Muzhi led the Emperor on a walk, his brows slightly furrowed.

The captain of the guard remained silent, knowing that Li Muzhi was deep in thought.

Li Muzhi was indeed thinking that the most significant way to increase the radar's scanning range was to increase its power.

However, increased power means increased electricity consumption.

Hand-cranked generators can meet the increased power requirements, but this increase in power places higher demands on electronic components.

Li Muzhi planned to go back and test the limits of the reinforced electronic components.

If the limits of this electronic component are excellent, then we can calculate how much more power to increase.

In short, the goal is to maximize the radar's scanning range.

This differs somewhat from radar systems of later generations.

Later military radars had very wide scanning ranges, but their main purpose was not to cover the range, but to detect the enemy first.

On the battlefield, being the first to spot the enemy means having the priority to attack, or the initiative.

Li Muzhi no longer needs to detect the enemy first; he only needs to expand the scanning range as much as possible, which is much easier than in later generations.

After wandering around for a while, Li Muzhi had thought things through and his brows relaxed.

The captain of the guard laughed and said, "Director Li, it seems you've figured out another difficult problem."

"Pretty much." Li Muzhi nodded and smiled. "It's lunchtime, let's go eat together."

After eating, Li Muzhi resumed his work.

"Director Li, you go ahead. I still need to make a round of inspections." The guard captain waved his hand.

The location of the border region's arsenal was not discovered by enemy agents, but the guard captain dared not let his guard down for a moment.

The Japanese sweep could start again at any time; their espionage activities are very frequent.

"Alright." Li Muzhi did not insist, nor did he interfere with the captain of the guard's work, allowing the captain to take the Emperor away as well.

"Hello, director."

"Hello, director."

"Hello, Director Li."

When Li Muzhi arrived at the canteen, both the workers and Kong Jie's soldiers greeted him warmly.

"Director Li, what have you been busy with lately?" Li Muzhi got his food and sat down. Kong Jie, carrying his food, also sat down next to Li Muzhi.

"What else could I be busy with? Thinking about building new stuff, huh?" Li Muzhi put a spoonful of rice into his mouth and looked at the many unfamiliar faces in the canteen. These unfamiliar faces were eating the canteen food, making sounds of praise, but their eating habits were not flattering, like starving ghosts being reincarnated. He then said to Kong Jie, "Commander Kong, it seems that your troops have expanded again?"

“We’ve recently expanded by another battalion.” Kong Jie didn’t mince words and said, “But Director Li, don’t worry about it. These extra troops haven’t been eating your meals. My troops take turns eating here every day. They don’t come to eat when they’re not mining coal.”

"Hehe." Li Muzhi chuckled and said, "Why should I care? Logistics is managed by Minister Zhang, not by me."

"Haha." Kong Jie laughed and said, "I'm relieved that you say so, Director Li."

In reality, these new recruits were in poor health, and they ate more than the other soldiers when they came here to eat.

In this respect, they eat more, so the logistics require more supplies.

Li Muzhi was so magnanimous and didn't "meddle in other people's business," which naturally made Kong Jie feel very comfortable.

"Commander Kong, there's something I need you to prepare for recently." Li Muzhi took another bite of food, then turned to look at Kong Jie.

"Director Li, please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything," Kong Jie said quickly.

"That's right, there will be new measures being implemented at the border region's arsenal soon, and workers and students will all need to learn military skills," Li Muzhi said. "Commander Kong, your troops have many experienced veterans. Could you perhaps select some of them to help teach them? Don't worry, you won't be working for nothing."

Kong Jie was stunned for a moment after hearing this: "Director Li, what you're saying clearly shows that you don't trust me and the head of the guard, right? With me and the head of the guard working together to protect the arsenal, what's the point of these students and workers learning military skills? It's a complete waste of time. They should be putting all their energy into military manufacturing and learning. Our troops don't lack people to pull the trigger, what they lack are logistics and military manufacturing personnel, and they lack highly skilled technical personnel."

“Commander Kong, I don’t distrust you and the guard captain.” Li Muzhi shook his head and said solemnly, “After all, we are in wartime now. Workers and students can’t always be under the protection of the army. There are always places the army can’t reach. Sometimes, when the army can’t stabilize the situation, workers and students can take up arms to help in time. They are also a valuable military force.”

"But wouldn't this delay production and the students' studies?" Kong Jie didn't object, but still raised a question.

"The premise for letting students and workers learn military skills must be based on not interfering with production and study," Li Muzhi said.

"Okay, if you put it that way, then there's no problem." Kong Jie nodded readily. "How many people do you need?"

"We'll have to wait for the plan to be finalized, then I'll let you know," Li Muzhi estimated before saying, "You should be able to prepare twenty people for now."

"No problem, no problem." Kong Jie readily agreed and moved closer to Li Muzhi: "Director Li, if you also want to learn military skills, I can personally teach you."

"Hahaha." Li Muzhi laughed. "Sure, no problem. Whenever I'm less busy and have more free time, I'll definitely learn military skills from Commander Kong."

Li Muzhi has a lot of tasks at hand right now and no free time.

In his later years, Li Muzhi actually handled a gun and was quite accurate at shooting.

However, military skills are not just about shooting; there are also many other life-saving skills on the battlefield.

I'll definitely need to study these things more carefully later.

After all, Li Muzhi couldn't guarantee that the rear would always be absolutely safe.

The Japanese sweep was no joke.

The deputy chief of staff was killed in the anti-mopping-up operation.

If even high-ranking commanders have fallen, who can guarantee the absolute safety of the rear?

"Alright, then it's settled." Kong Jie laughed, then changed the subject and asked, "Director Li, I heard from my brigade commander that you're working on radar. When will it be ready?"

When Kong Jie was called over by the brigade commander, and the brigade commander told him that Li Muzhi was working on radar, Kong Jie was completely dumbfounded.

Fortunately, the brigade commander didn't get angry this time; he just told me to stay close.

As luck would have it, Kong Jie ran into Li Muzhi in the cafeteria and immediately came over to inquire about him.

You should know that Li Muzhi hasn't been coming to the cafeteria much lately; he usually asks Xiao Gu to get his food.

"The core issue has been resolved; there are still details to be addressed," Li Muzhi said. "We can definitely get the radar sorted out before the air defense weapons are even built."

"My brigade commander said that this radar can also detect Japanese aircraft. Is it really that amazing?" Kong Jie asked curiously.

“If it’s not that amazing, why would I bother with it?” Li Muzhi said to Kong Jie.

"As long as we can provide early warning of Japanese planes, and have anti-aircraft weapons to back us up, we won't be afraid of Japanese planes anymore." Kong Jie was very excited, his tone filled with extraordinary respect and admiration: "Director Li, you are truly a blessing from heaven for our army, a star descended from the sky! Don't worry, as long as I, Kong Jie, have a breath left, even if my troops are wiped out, I will not allow any enemy to harm me..."

"Hey Commander Kong, if you can't speak properly, then get the hell out of here!" Before Kong Jie could finish speaking, Zhang Wanhe's loud cursing voice came from behind him, "I don't care if you curse your troops to be wiped out, but don't drag Xiao Li into it. Let me tell you, if you ever utter such unlucky words again, your troops can forget about eating here."

Zhang Wanhe has returned from contacting Yan Kai. The logistics warehouse doesn't have enough Hell missiles, so they need to come to the border region's arsenal to get more.

Zhang Wanhe planned to eat before picking it up, but he ran into Li Muzhi and Kong Jie in the canteen.

Zhang Wanhe brought over the food and overheard Kong Jie spouting nonsense again, so he immediately started cursing him without any politeness.

"Haha, Minister Zhang, you're here too. Haha, I've finished eating, I'm leaving now." Kong Jie chuckled, finished his meal in a few bites, and slipped away. Zhang Wanhe placed the food on the table and sat down opposite Li Muzhi.

Li Muzhi still smiled and said, "Minister Zhang, Commander Kong was just using an analogy, just an analogy. Don't take it too seriously."

“Even if you’re using an analogy, you can’t say it like that. He should have said that if the Japanese troops ever crashed into the arsenal, he, Kong Jie, should have wiped them all out. Instead, he said he’d wipe out his own troops. So, is the battalion he expanded just a bunch of useless idiots?” Zhang Wanhe cursed. “I just don’t understand. They were both trained by the same brigade commander. Li Yunlong is such a smooth talker, spouting nonsense, while Kong Jie’s words are like those of a blockhead.”

It was obvious that Comrade Zhang hadn't missed the fact that Kong Jie had expanded his battalion and was eating in the mess hall.

"Hehe." Li Muzhi chuckled and changed the subject: "Minister Zhang, you seem to be in a good mood. Is there some good news?"

"Hehe." Zhang Wanhe chuckled and said to Li Muzhi, "I just made a deal with the Jin-Sui Army. We can exchange them for 160 skilled workers."

"One hundred and sixty skilled craftsmen, is that many?" Li Muzhi was pleasantly surprised.

At present, the border region's arsenal only has a few hundred workers, and these are borrowed from other arsenals because the production tasks are tight and the workers have not yet been returned.

Even though we are working hard to train new workers, it still takes time for them to become skilled craftsmen.

Zhang Wanhe managed to gather 160 skilled workers from the Jin-Sui Army. Once the first batch of equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal arrived, production would increase significantly.

By then, there will be enough manpower to manufacture these air defense weapons.

"One hundred and sixty is more than that?" Zhang Wanhe boasted to Li Muzhi, "Just you wait, it won't be long before I bring most of the workers from the Jin-Sui Army over here."

The reason Zhang Wanhe didn't dare to guarantee that he could bring everything over was because the Jin-Sui Army wasn't stupid; how could they possibly give away all their assets?

Otherwise, if no one operates their equipment, wouldn't the production of weapons and ammunition come to a standstill?

"Minister Zhang is so confident, fine, I'll wait and see," Li Muzhi said with a smile. "So, what are you giving the Jin-Sui Army?"

"You might not believe it, but I'll just give them a Hell Cannon and ten shells, plus thirty Hell Missiles. Don't you think we've hit the jackpot?" Zhang Wanhe said with a laugh.

"I never would have guessed, Minister Zhang, you really have a talent for business," Li Muzhi laughed. "If you had been born two or three hundred years earlier, I reckon Hu Xueyan wouldn't have been a thing in the Qing Dynasty."

The border region's arsenal produces about twenty Hellfire missiles a day, but sometimes, when the workers are particularly efficient, they can produce up to thirty.

This means that a day's production of Hellfire Missiles, plus one Hellfire Cannon and ten shells, can be exchanged for 160 skilled workers. This is a really lucrative deal.

Some might say, setting aside the Hell Missiles, giving away even one Hell Cannon is like giving away one less.

That's not how it works. Once we can manufacture large-diameter seamless steel pipes, then the production of these Hell Cannons will increase.

"Hahaha." Zhang Wanhe laughed loudly, "You flatter me."

After eating a few mouthfuls of food with his head down, Zhang Wanhe continued, "After I finish eating, I'll go to your warehouse to pick up the goods. Then I'll quickly hand over the work to Yan Kai and bring back the skilled workers and their families. We need to get the political commissar to review the situation and then arrange for them to start working as soon as possible."

It's not like we can just bring this person back, put them under the control of their family, and immediately put them to work in the border region's arsenal.

We still need to investigate first. Yan Kaiming is clearly not honest, and it's possible that this skilled worker has informants or spies among them.

We need to find this informant/spy.

“Minister Zhang, perhaps we could arrange for these skilled workers to work at the fake arms factory first,” Li Muzhi said to Zhang Wanhe. “It’s probably unrealistic for political officers to thoroughly screen out all the people in a short time. But if we give them a chance to work at the fake arms factory, I don’t think any spies would easily miss it.”

“Hmm, that’s one way,” Zhang Wanhe said. “Let’s have the political work department handle it first, and then try it out at the fake arsenal.”

The Jin-Sui Army coveted our arsenal. Once this undetected spy was found, he stayed in the fake arsenal, mistaking it for our real one.

Given the chance, he will definitely find a way to send out intelligence.

If you keep a close eye on the area, you'll be able to catch them red-handed every time.

"Oh my, I've been thinking about this. Li, you seem to have a knack for screening spies," Zhang Wanhe joked. "If you're not busy one day, the intelligence department might want to borrow you for a couple of days."

"Minister Zhang, you flatter me. I was just saying that casually. How can I compare to the professionals in the intelligence department?" Li Muzhi shook his head.

The Japanese military's intelligence agencies were powerful, and the intelligence capabilities of the Kuomintang's Military Intelligence Bureau within the elite army were also strong. One reason for their strength was that they had sufficient resources to train intelligence personnel.

Our martyrs, despite the impoverished conditions and harsh environment, did not neglect their intelligence work, which is truly admirable.

"Haha, just kidding. They want to borrow you to go over, but I'm not willing to." Zhang Wanhe laughed and continued, "This time, I've brought in another batch of intellectuals. Originally, there were more than fifty people, but other departments each took a few, so there are forty people left. These people can arrive before dark today, so please make arrangements for them in advance."

"Are all these intellectuals students?" Li Muzhi asked.

“Some are students, and some are disabled or wounded soldiers from combat units, missing limbs,” Zhang Wanhe explained. “Their injuries have healed, but they are no longer suitable for combat. They are educated, so I also selected some people to serve in the logistics department.”

“Okay, I understand. I’ll talk to Lao He about it later.” Li Muzhi nodded, showing no sign of discrimination against disabled or injured people.

They are all precious heroes who have made contributions to the country on the battlefield, and Li Muzhi respects them too much to even think about it.

Some processes in military production can be performed by people with disabilities.

"Hmm," Zhang Wanhe hummed in response.

"How long until the first batch of equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal arrives?" Li Muzhi asked.

"Let's wait three more days," Zhang Wanhe said succinctly. "The main problem is that the Japanese spies are too active, and the underground transportation lines are being delayed."

"Safety is the most important thing, it's okay to go slowly..." Li Muzhi nodded, not finishing his sentence.

Then they saw the guard captain rushing into the canteen.

Upon seeing Zhang Wanhe, the guard captain quickly approached him and said in a serious tone, "Minister Zhang, we just received news that the Japanese have started another mopping-up operation. Headquarters wants you to go there immediately."

Has the Japanese launched another sweep?

Zhang Wanhe and Li Muzhi were both taken aback upon hearing this.

Zhang Wanhe immediately cursed, "Are these little devils on fire? They haven't even done their preparations, and they're already in such a hurry to start the mopping-up operation?"

Every time the Japanese army launched a mopping-up operation, they had to prepare a large amount of logistical supplies in advance.

The troops also had to deploy and form ranks.

But the Kumamoto Division had only been back for a few days, so their logistical supplies were probably not ready, and their troops were probably not fully replenished.

Why are you in such a hurry to launch a sweep? Don't you know there's a saying here: "Haste makes waste."

Perhaps it was the combat troops' takeover of the natural gas plant that angered Yoshio Shinotsuka.

Despite his cursing, Zhang Wanhe quickly stood up and said to Li Muzhi, "Have someone pack up the Hell Missiles, Hell Cannons, and shells and send them to my office. I'm going to headquarters now."

“Okay.” Li Muzhi nodded.

Zhang Wanhe carried the food, ate it as he quickly left.

The guard captain greeted Li Muzhi, grabbed two steamed buns from the canteen, and continued his patrol.

After finishing his meal, Li Muzhi explained the matters to Lao He.

Back in the lab, Li Muzhi immediately began testing the limits of the reinforced electronic components.

(End of this chapter)