Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

"How could this be? I don't remember this being mentioned in the organization's handbook."

"Oh dear, this...this has wasted so many primers. That's what I was saying, why do soldiers keep reporting that sometimes the bullets don't fire?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dajiang was immediately filled with deep self-reproach.

Zhou Zhen patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "Old Zhao, don't blame yourself too much. In the end, this isn't a problem with the storage method; it's a problem at its root."

He softened his tone.

"Our factory's fuel supply has always been 'one meal before the next,' right? I bet even if the Japanese hadn't discovered it and blown it up, the stock in the cellar probably wouldn't have lasted more than a few days for normal production."

Zhao Dajiang looked up, his eyes red-rimmed, and gave a bitter smile.

"Director Zhou, that's true. This batch of primers was obtained by the brigade commander not long ago. If the factory hadn't been attacked by the Japanese, it would probably have been used up by now," Zhao Dajiang replied.

"So..." Zhou Zhen guided the conversation, "the key issue isn't whether we're careful or not when we store it."

"The primer is too sensitive, too dangerous, and the enemy is keeping a close eye on it."

"From the enemy-occupied area to our remote mountain valley, it's a long journey, crossing mountains and ridges, passing through blockades. Any mishap at any checkpoint, any unexpected bumps or knocks, dampness or heat could cause them to malfunction."

"It is unrealistic and unfair to expect those in charge of transportation to be absolutely foolproof."

"They risked their lives to get the stuff in; they did a great job."

"Yes, it's impossible to get these things without our comrades risking their lives to ensure proper transportation without any mistakes at any stage." Zhao Dajiang's agreement was an affirmation of this.

Zhou Zhen interrupted him, staring intently at him, and continued, enunciating each word clearly: "So, if we want to completely solve this problem and break out of this vicious cycle of 'waiting for rice to cook,' there's only one way—we need to create our own fire!"

"Create your own primer?"

Zhao Dajiang's voice instantly rose eight octaves; he was clearly startled by Zhou Zhen's idea.

Although he had heard of Zhou Zhen's deeds, he thought it was a pipe dream for the Eighth Route Army to make its own primer under such conditions.

As the head of the general affairs department, although he was not as proficient in specific processes as Master Han and other technical backbones, he was still clear about some common sense and difficulties in military production due to his exposure to the industry and the need to manage materials.

He knew that the base had tried to produce mercury fulminate before, but all attempts had ended in failure.

He instinctively wanted to shake his head, wanting to remind Zhou Zhen that this idea was too unrealistic and too risky.

But the words stuck in his throat and he swallowed them back down.

Because he saw the look in Zhou Zhen's eyes—it wasn't the fervor of a momentary impulse, nor the recklessness of the ignorant, but a firmness born of deep thought.

And what if?

This thought, like a spark, unexpectedly ignited in Zhao Dajiang's mind.

"Director Zhou... Director Zhou," Zhao Dajiang's voice lowered, and he asked uncertainly, "You mean... mercury fulminate? That stuff... with our resources, can we really produce it?"

Zhou Zhen took in Zhao Dajiang's reaction and understood his shock and doubt.

Instead of answering directly whether he could or not, he began to break down this seemingly impossible task in a calm and clear tone.

"Old Zhao, building your own primer sounds terrifying, but if we break it down and analyze it step by step, it's not necessarily an impossible feat."

"The chemical synthesis of mercury fulminate is actually not complicated in principle."

"The reason why everyone failed to synthesize in the past was ultimately because you did not control the purity of the raw materials and the temperature during the experiment well enough."

"But these are not too much of a problem for me. I will write down this knowledge in detail and guide the workers step by step until they learn it."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming serious: "There are actually only two things that really worry me."

"First, we need a stable and relatively pure source of raw materials."

"Secondly, there is the safety of the operators. In the process of synthesizing mercury fulminate, whether it is mercury, concentrated nitric acid or the mercury fulminate synthesized in the final reaction, it is extremely dangerous. If the operator is not careful, his life may be in danger. Even with professional guidance, it is still extremely dangerous."

"So I'm never worried about whether I can synthesize mercury fulminate. I'm only worried about how to prevent workers from getting injured once we start production."

Faced with the difficult question posed by Zhou Zhen, Zhao Dajiang, who has rich management experience, was much calmer than Zhou Zhen at this moment.

"Director Zhou, none of the comrades working in this arsenal are not sworn enemies of the Japanese."

"We are not afraid of sacrifice, we are only afraid of not being able to kill all those Japanese devils and avenge our loved ones."

"But..." Zhou Zhengang was about to speak when Zhao Dajiang interrupted him.

"If we were afraid of danger, we wouldn't have come out to start a revolution."

"Moreover, the dangers you mentioned can all be avoided in my opinion through strict procedures."

"As long as we can break down each step of the synthesis clearly, formulate detailed safety operating procedures for each link, and then provide the most rigorous training to the workers who perform the operations."

"Finally, the production units are broken down into smaller units for production. Even if an accident does occur, it can be controlled within a manageable range."

Zhao Dajiang's words suddenly awakened him. In this era of suffering and national subjugation, it was better to look forward boldly than to worry about the dangers that might come at any time.

Next, news spread like wildfire that Zhou Zhen, the new factory director, was going to make a primer.

"Making mercury fulminate yourself? Are you kidding me? Didn't Old Liu and his buddies try it back then? They almost blew up half of the cave dwelling."

"Young people have good ideas and high aspirations, but they take too big a step and are prone to stumbling."

"I think we have a chance. You know, Director Zhou studied abroad and he definitely knows more than we do."

"Exactly, he was the one who made that Molotov cocktail before. Who would have dared to think of that kind of thing back then? Maybe he can actually figure out how to make this kind of fire."

The factory was immediately divided into two factions: those who questioned and those who supported it.

Among them are many technical experts and veteran workers.

Zhou Zhen was well aware of the various rumors circulating in the factory, and in order to unify everyone's thinking, he decided to hold a factory-wide meeting.

"Comrades, I've called you all here today to discuss only one thing: whether our Huangyadong Arsenal should, and whether it can, produce its own primers."

Instead of giving a long speech, Zhou Zhen went straight to the point and presented the problem.

"If I say yes, then what about everyone else saying no?"

Zhou Zhen's words immediately drew laughter from everyone.

Once everyone's voices had quieted down a bit, he continued, "So whether it can or cannot be determined simply by drawing a conclusion, we need to explain why it can and why it cannot."