Film and Television World Life Record

Bury half of a gasoline drum in the ground, fill it with propellant, then separate it with a wooden board or other material, put the explosive charge bundled into a disc inside, and then ignite the propellant to launch the 10-kilogram explosive charge to a distance of 150-200 meters.

This weapon had an absolutely astonishing caliber; it was said to be as big as the barrel itself. The massive explosive charge produced a powerful blast that could blow away bunkers, men, and horses in its path. Many of the fallen enemies often had no visible wounds, yet they were bleeding from all seven orifices—they died from the shockwave.

Unfortunately, it was invented a bit late; the "Flying Thunder Cannon" made its first appearance in 1947 when the eastern gate of Shanzhou was attacked.

However, it made a deep impression on the enemy on its first appearance. A few "flying thunder cannons" blew up the enemy's main bunker and caused it to collapse. From then on, the seemingly simple explosive launcher began its legendary combat career.

In the Huaihai Campaign of 1948, the "Flying Thunder Cannon" once again demonstrated its formidable power in the battle to annihilate Huang Wei's army corps.

At that time, Huang Wei's 12th Army Corps was surrounded by seven columns in Shuangduiji, Anhui. Relying on the terrain, Huang Wei began to organize his troops to build a large number of bunkers and trenches. He also arranged hundreds of vehicles in a circle and then piled up sand in another circle, creating a three-layered defensive fortification. He believed that our army did not have heavy artillery and that they could wait for reinforcements to arrive here.

However, he was unaware that our army had dug out a site in front of his position to bury "flying thunder cannons". On December 6, our army took the lead in sounding the battle horn. More than 180 "flying thunder cannons" fired in three rounds in turn, instantly dropping more than 10000 kilograms of explosives onto the position.

Huang Wei's painstakingly built, seemingly impregnable position was reduced to ashes by the "flying thunder cannon" in just 20 minutes. Under the fierce artillery fire of our army, Huang Wei's corps held out for 90 minutes before surrendering one after another. Many of them lost their will to fight after being bombarded by the shells, muttering, "So tragic, so tragic."

The prisoners said at the time, "I have never seen such a powerful cannon. It is so powerful that no cover can help it. It is even more powerful than our cannons."

Because of the devastating destructive power of the "Flying Thunder Cannon," many soldiers, still haunted by its effects, called it the "Heartless Cannon." Those who died under its fire had no visible wounds, yet their internal organs were shattered. After this battle, the "Heartless Cannon" became more widely known than the "Flying Thunder Cannon."

Subsequently, in order to counter tanks, armored vehicles, and dense formations, our army continuously improved its technology, launching stones and cluster grenades. The methods became increasingly varied and powerful, and were gradually adopted by various field armies in combat.

The Flying Thunder Cannon last truly distinguished itself in Korea. During the main force's retreat, a remnant regiment was tasked with covering the rear.

Then they made a "heartless cannon" using gasoline drums and explosive packs, firing two rounds simultaneously. The resulting explosion and destruction were devastating. In addition to the soldiers who were killed directly by the bomb, many of those who were not hit by the bomb were also killed by the shockwave!

According to later recollections by the British troops, they originally intended to launch a fierce attack, but were devastated by an unknown type of shell, and were unable to organize an effective offensive for a long time.

Our rearguard troops took the opportunity to break free of the encirclement.

Unfortunately, the lack of artillery was a last resort for our army during a period when it lacked artillery and guns. Later, as various weapons and equipment were gradually improved, it was eliminated by history.

Now, the War of Resistance has just begun. Compared with the Japanese, our army is particularly lacking in heavy firepower. Although the "heartless cannon" has many shortcomings, it can make up for some of the lack of firepower to a certain extent.

According to Li Mu's description, the technicians created the legendary "Heartless Cannon" in half a day. However, the initial results were not good; it only flew a maximum distance of 100 meters and required digging a clay tube in advance, making the preparation time too long.

Most importantly, a gasoline can only be used two or three times before it becomes unusable.

Li Mu was at a loss about how to solve these problems. He had only looked at the information online and knew some basic principles, but he had never seen the actual product. As for how to make it, that would depend on the efforts of technical personnel.

Next, the technicians conducted numerous experiments, and eventually several university professors from related disciplines also participated. Through repeated experiments, they finally found a solution.

The method is quite simple: reinforce the outside of the gasoline drum with iron hoops, and separate the inside of the drum with thick jujube wood. The amount of propellant loaded in the rear half of the drum and the weight of explosives placed in the front half are actually in corresponding proportions and require careful consideration.

After numerous experiments, a flying thunder cannon was finally developed that can stably launch 12-16 kg of explosives to a distance of 100-150 meters, with a maximum range of over 300 meters.

Within a 10-meter radius of the blast point, any obstacle can be destroyed, and enemies within 20 meters will be rendered incapable of fighting.

That day, the development of the Heartless Cannon was completed, and Li Mu brought his team to inspect the results. Among them was a representative from the north, who had come to purchase supplies and had been specially invited by Li Mu.

With a command, the fuse was lit, and with a bang, the 15-kilogram explosive charge was thrown like a cannonball, instantly becoming just a black dot.

One hundred and fifty meters away was a dilapidated mountain village. Suddenly, a loud bang was heard, bricks and stones flew everywhere, the ground shook, and the village wall was blown away.

Then another seven or eight flying thunder cannons blasted down, completely destroying the entire village. Not only were all the village walls gone, but the ground looked as if it had been plowed, with huge craters everywhere.

Representative Fang looked at the Heartless Cannon in front of him, admiring it more and more. The simple structure and ease of manufacture made it perfect for them. They were the ones who needed the most weapons, especially heavy weapons.

After a long moment of shock, he said, "This weapon is perfect for the country and will be of great help in the current situation. What is this new weapon called?"

Li Mu said, "Flying Thunder Cannon!"

Representative Fang exclaimed excitedly, "Flying Thunder Cannon, what a great name!"

After saying a few more words, Li Mu instructed, "Deputy Officer Xu, have the technicians compile the technology and detailed steps for making the Flying Thunder Cannon and give a copy to Representative Fang."

Representative Fang said excitedly, "Thank you, thank you so much..."

Li Mu smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's all for fighting the Japanese. Also, we have plenty of gasoline drums here that are used to make the flying thunder cannons. If you need any, we'll send you a batch when we leave."

Representative Fang was even more excited, never expecting to encounter such a friendly force.

……

After this matter was finished, several universities gradually moved over.

Surprisingly, Shandong University was the first to complete the relocation. They had only recently moved to Anqing and had little to lose. Moreover, the journey from Anqing to Nanyang was by waterway, from the Yangtze River to the Han River and then to the Baihe River, a direct route. They quickly moved their teachers, students, books, equipment, and laboratory supplies over.

The second to complete the relocation were the College of Science and the College of Engineering of Beiyang University. Four heavy trucks and thirty light trucks made three or four trips back and forth, and finally all the teachers, students, books, equipment, laboratories and so on were moved over.

Then came Peking University. Because there were many teachers and students, there were even more items to be moved. Six heavy trucks and fifty light trucks made three or four trips, and they still hadn't finished.

After the students of the College of Science and Engineering of Beiyang University were transferred, a total of ten heavy trucks and eighty light trucks made several trips to move all the people and goods over.

Finally, Henan University seemed to feel that it was difficult to leave its old campus before the Japanese invaders had arrived, so it kept dragging its feet until it heard that several other universities had already gathered in Nanyang before it began to relocate.

With a large number of teachers and students, there was a great deal of material, equipment, and books that needed to be transferred. Ten heavy trucks and eighty trucks made seven or eight round trips to complete the transfer.

With this, all four well-known universities in China have completed their relocation.

Nanyang had already prepared school buildings, enough to accommodate all the students with some to spare. However, it was clearly not as good as the school's original facilities, but it was much better than schools that had been relocated to other places.

Once the faculty and students of these universities had settled in, Li Mu began to implement a plan that he had been brewing for a long time.

Through a selection process, Li Mu chose a group of people from the chemistry and biology departments of these universities. After consulting with them, those who were willing signed confidentiality agreements and were taken to a highly secluded base deep in the mountains.

This place was clearly newly built, and it was quite large, with laboratories and factories, but it was currently completely empty, with nothing inside.

Although it was empty, this was clearly no ordinary place; the defenses were extremely tight, with at least a regiment of soldiers stationed around it. Add to that the surrounding high mountains and dense forests, and escape would be virtually impossible.

Soon, another batch of technical personnel and experts in biology and chemistry were sent here. They were all recruited by Muwu Trading Company after screening them in various cities during this period and receiving high salaries.

Only then did they learn of their next task: to extract, cultivate, and produce an antibiotic.

At that time, almost no one in China knew about penicillin, and even abroad, not many people knew about it. Only a very small number of people began to try to extract penicillin.

This is also what Li Mu wants to see. The best way to keep it secret is that these researchers don't know what they've extracted or what they're going to do with it.

This involves enormous interests in the future, and in terms of confidentiality, no amount of secrecy is too much.

However, although we don't know what it is, we have been informed of the specific extraction, cultivation, and production processes.

Their task is to bring this process from paper to reality. Any equipment needed can be requested, and someone will help with the procurement.

Although the group was still a bit dazed, they were receiving such high salaries, and the accommodations and living standards here were excellent. In this war-torn era, this was already a rare treat, so what more could they ask for?

We do whatever they ask of us.

Chapter 421 Spending money like water

After arranging the experimental production of penicillin and the procurement of various equipment and supplies, Li Mu returned to Wuhan.

It's only been a month since my last trip to Singapore, so the amount of pig bristles and tung oil stockpiled in the warehouse is not as much as it was last month.

There was also some bad news: realizing the huge profits from these two supplies, some people with connections flocked in, including those surnamed Kong and Song.

Therefore, Li Mu knew that his days of making a fortune from pig bristles and tung oil were numbered.

Actually, this kind of business wouldn't last long anyway. The government would take over the centralized control of tung oil within a few months; only those with connections could get involved.

The situation with pig bristles was similar. After a while, half of the country fell to the Japanese, and the pig bristle business in the occupied areas was naturally small-scale, with no one else able to get involved.

With only half the country remaining, and so many people wanting to get involved, Li Mu will have less and less left.

Fortunately, Li Mu was already satisfied; with these two things, he already had the capital to start his own business.

Currently, he has approximately 3.8 million US dollars, 3 million silver dollars, over 900 kilograms of gold, and over 7 million yuan in Chinese currency.

Silver dollars, gold, and legal tender were all goods he purchased from abroad and sold domestically.

For example, three months ago, he purchased three million US dollars worth of various supplies in one go, filling up all the space.

Once these goods were shipped to China, they were sold at at least double or even several times the price. With an exchange rate of 2.4 silver dollars to 1 US dollar, these goods could be sold for more than 20 million silver dollars in China.

Of course, the currency used in China is legal tender, and most regular goods are traded in legal tender. Only for a few extremely scarce goods, Li Mu only accepts gold and silver dollars.

Nevertheless, they gradually acquired three million silver dollars and over nine hundred kilograms of gold. Due to the devaluation of the legal tender, one legal tender was currently equivalent to approximately 0.7 silver dollars. In addition to the silver dollars and gold, the legal tender they received amounted to over twenty million.

Of the more than 20 million yuan in legal tender, about 10 million yuan was left in Muwu Trading Company as payment for the purchase of pig bristle tung oil in the past two or three months, as well as to maintain the company's capital and foundation and keep it running.

The remaining 17 million yuan was mostly invested in various infrastructure construction projects in the Nanyang area, as well as in supporting the army, schools, talent development, and factory construction.

To date, I still have more than seven million yuan in legal tender.

In the future, to cope with the devaluation of the legal tender and some unforeseen risks, Li Mu will use silver dollars or gold as much as possible for transactions when shipping goods purchased from abroad back to China, and try to accept as little legal tender as possible.

They would also try to hoard as little legal tender as possible, using legal tender whenever possible within China, rather than spending silver dollars. They would treat silver dollars and gold as reserve currencies within China, minimizing the impact of legal tender depreciation.

……

Upon arrival in Singapore, after the transaction, this batch of pig bristles and tung oil brought in approximately US$1.7 million, with the next batch likely to fetch even less.

For Li Mu, this business really doesn't have much of a future.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance; penicillin was the next source of wealth, an even more lucrative source than pig bristles and tung oil.

Over the next few days, the weapons Li Mu ordered arrived one after another, resulting in another large expense.

Fifteen thousand Mauser 98k rifles, each equipped with five hundred rounds of ammunition, totaling a staggering seven and a half million rounds of ammunition.

For this, Li Mu paid $675,000.

One thousand Czech-made light machine guns also arrived, along with two thousand rounds of ammunition for each gun, for which Li Mu paid another two hundred and twenty thousand US dollars.

There was also an order for thirty Bofors M1930 75mm mountain guns, plus 10,000 rounds of ammunition, bringing the total expenditure to $510,000. That's equivalent to 510 kilograms of gold—"heartbreaking!" Indeed, the sound of cannons can turn gold into gold.

Two 3000-kilowatt steam turbine generator sets also arrived, costing nearly $200,000 more.