Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

Half a month later, through continuous experimentation, Zhou Zhen finally adjusted the proportion of rubber powder in the combustion bottle.

Adding rubber powder to the incendiary flammable ...

This greatly increases the power of Molotov cocktails in enclosed environments, and even in open environments, they are effective as long as there is a tailwind.

That day, Zhou Zhen was still tinkering with his Molotov cocktail experiment when Li Yunlong suddenly walked in, his face more serious than ever before.

"Brother Zhou, let's stop for a moment," Li Yunlong said.

Zhou Zhen wiped his hands and asked with some confusion, "Old Li, what happened?"

Li Yunlong was silent for a few seconds before saying, "I just received orders from my superiors to appoint you as the director of the Huangyadong Arsenal."

Zhou Zhen was stunned: "The director of the arsenal? Me?"

Although Zhou Zhen had always wanted to quickly delve into the military industry of the Eighth Route Army.

He created all these things to gain the organization's trust and prove his ability and value, but he never expected that everything he wanted would suddenly and inexplicably come true.

"Did something happen? Why were I suddenly appointed as the director of the arsenal?"

Li Yunlong's eyes dimmed as he explained, "Old Zhang... sacrificed himself. Half a month ago, Yamamoto's special forces attacked the arsenal."

To cover the transfer of workers and technical data, Old Zhang, the director of the Huangyadong Arsenal, led his guard platoon to cover the rear... but they were unable to evacuate.

Yamamoto's Special Forces!

Zhou Zhen was also extremely shocked at this moment.

"After comprehensive consideration, the organization believes you are the most suitable candidate at present."

Li Yunlong patted Zhou Zhen's shoulder with great force, conveying a deep sense of reluctance.

"I, Old Li, knew long ago that I couldn't keep you here. With your skills, it's a waste to keep you in our Independent Regiment."

"I never expected this day to come so soon. To be honest, I really hate to see you go."

"With you around, our regiment felt confident in our battles. You always managed to come up with something new every now and then. Now that you're gone..."

He shook his head and didn't say anything more, but he squeezed Zhou Zhen's shoulder hard again.

"But this is a good thing. It's both a sign of the organization's trust in you and a great stage for you to shine."

He took a deep breath, and his face regained its usual roguish and bold expression.

"Go there and do your job well. If you need anything or encounter any difficulties, just let us know. The Independent Regiment is your home."

Zhou Zhen looked at Li Yunlong, a man with a rough exterior but a loyal and affectionate heart, and sensed the reluctance and blessing in his tone.

He patted Li Yunlong on the shoulder: "Old Li, thank you. Without your unconditional trust, I wouldn't have achieved what I have today."

"Once I've set up the arsenal, whatever weapons or equipment you need, just tell me, and I'll get the approval."

"Good! That's exactly what I wanted to hear!" Li Yunlong laughed heartily, but his eyes were a little red. "Pack your things, the order is urgent, the soldiers escorting you have been arranged, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning."

"Tonight... let's have a good drink, brother! Consider it my farewell."

That night, Li Yunlong somehow got hold of a bottle of sweet potato liquor.

There was no lavish meal, only a plate of stir-fried soybeans, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a few cans of food obtained from the Japanese.

Actually, no one drank much at this meal, but everyone got drunk.

At dawn the next day, all the soldiers of the Independent Regiment got up early and stood in two rows to see Zhou Zhen off.

Zhou Zhen shook hands with all the soldiers, then shouted to Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang and the others who were still seeing them off: "Old Li, Old Zhao, Old Kong, don't see us off anymore, go back, the Independent Regiment has so much to do."

"Mountains may separate us, rivers may flow, but we'll meet again someday. Take care!"

"Take care of yourself!"

Zhou Zhen mounted his horse and, escorted by several soldiers, quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.

Zhou Zhen arrived at the Huangyadong Arsenal, hidden deep in the mountains.

The scene before him was even more shocking than he had imagined.

The arsenal was built in a remote village.

Even though it has been cleaned up, the earthen walls and stone walls still bear the marks of the explosion.

The charred wooden beams were exposed, and broken tools and parts were scattered all over the ground.

Some workers were silently clearing the rubble and repairing the still usable equipment, but a sense of grief and resentment hung over their faces.

Besides the chill of the mountains, there was also a faint smell of burning in the air.

He was received by several managers and technical staff from the factory.

They had heard of the legendary "Advisor Zhou" before.

They had initially assumed he was a serious, middle-aged intellectual, but upon seeing Zhou Zhen in person, everyone was stunned by his youth.

After a brief moment of surprise, the group quickly snapped out of it and came over to greet them.

Zhao Dajiang, who was temporarily in charge, walked up to Zhou Zhen and shook hands with him, saying, "Advisor Zhou, we've finally been waiting for you."

"Comrades, thank you for your hard work. The situation is urgent, so we can talk about polite things later."

"Take me on a tour of the factory to see the extent of the damage, the more detailed the better!"

Zhou Zhen didn't waste time with pleasantries and went straight to the point.

When the others saw that the new factory director, upon taking office, did not rest first but instead inquired about the factory's situation, they exchanged glances and all felt a greater sense of goodwill towards this young factory director.

Zhao Dajiang nodded heavily, released his hand, and stepped aside to lead the way: "Okay, Director Zhou, this way please, let's talk as we walk."

As he led Zhou Zhen toward the most severely damaged processing area, he spoke in a heavy and sorrowful tone.

"Because those Japanese soldiers came so suddenly, we didn't have time to move the equipment, so our production equipment was basically all destroyed in this attack."

"The spindle of the only simple water-powered machine tool was also destroyed by the enemy, and the fitter's bench and forging furnace were also severely damaged."

Next, he led Zhou Zhen to the last room, where several hand-cranked and foot-operated stamping machines were placed. The machines looked relatively intact but were of an older model.

"Alas! Right now, all that's left in the entire factory are these few stamping machines."

These few machines survived only because they were relatively lightweight, and we managed to hide them quickly; otherwise, they would definitely have been destroyed.

One of the experienced workers, surnamed Li, said with a pained expression.

Although he had anticipated on his way here that the situation might not be optimistic, he did not expect it to be this serious.

However, he discovered that in addition to the equipment damage, the morale of the comrades at the arsenal was extremely low.

So even though he was secretly worried, he wore a relaxed smile on his face.

He encouraged everyone, saying, "It's just some equipment! When our Eighth Route Army first started, we had nothing."

Comrades, don't lose heart. As long as everyone is safe, I guarantee the equipment will arrive sooner or later, and it will be even better than what we have now.