Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

One of the two workers who synthesized mercury fulminate was Old Liu, who had injured his ear after the arsenal's previous experiment to synthesize mercury fulminate failed.

Old Liu held the tiny bit of damp mercury in his hands, his hands trembling, tears streaming down his face.

His voice choked with emotion: "We've finally synthesized mercury fulminate."

It turned out that after that failure, Lao Liu had a hurdle in his heart. Back then, he was the best technician in the entire arsenal, but after that failure, he became depressed.

Zhou Zhen's appearance was like a ray of light to him.

So even though his hearing wasn't good, he listened very carefully when Zhou Zhen was lecturing.

If he didn't hear something clearly, he would repeatedly ask his colleagues for clarification.

Under Zhou Zhen's guidance, he realized how ridiculous his idea of ​​successfully synthesizing mercury fulminate had been.

He thanked Zhou Zhen with great emotion.

Old Liu was actually one of the few people who understood how powerful Zhou Zhen's operating manual was.

This manual breaks down the entire synthesis process of mercury fulminate like a skilled butcher dissecting an ox, clearly explaining the techniques and variations of each step to the operator. As long as the operator strictly follows each step, there is almost no possibility of failure.

And the facts quickly proved Lao Liu's point of view. After overcoming their initial nervousness, the other six trainees succeeded one after another.

Zhou Zhen, who was giving instructions from the side, naturally saw everything.

Furthermore, he would record the questions each student asked during their practice session.

Ultimately, these records will become learning materials for other workers.

There are no shortcuts to industrial development; we must take it one step at a time.

When the news reached headquarters that all eight key workers had been able to independently and safely synthesize mercury fulminate, the shock it caused was far greater than when the first synthesis was successful.

Holding the meticulously written and detailed manual, the headquarters leader was so excited that he slapped the table repeatedly: "Great! Well done, Zhou Zhen! With this manual, I think I can even synthesize primers."

"Ha ha……"

Upon hearing this, the other leaders burst into laughter.

"My comrades have told me countless times that our bullets often misfire. At the time, I felt helpless and ashamed. But now it's all good. We can produce our own primers. From now on, our soldiers' bullets will never fail to fire again."

"Then let's make more copies of the manual and send them to other arsenals so they can produce as much as possible. The soldiers on the front lines are short of ammunition," the commander said, clearly excited.

"Boss, I'm afraid that won't work. Firstly, Comrade Zhou Zhen repeatedly emphasized in the manual that synthesizing mercury fulminate is too dangerous. Even if we have the manual, we must go to the Huangyadong Arsenal for training and pass the qualification test before we can make it on our own."

After listening, the boss nodded emphatically: "Comrade Zhou Zhen is right to do this. I was a bit too excited. The safety of the workers is indeed not something to be taken lightly."

"And the second point?"

The chief of staff then wore a wry smile.

"Boss, the last batch of raw materials has all been sent to Comrade Zhou Zhen. Where are we going to get raw materials to produce for other arsenals?"

Upon hearing this, the boss immediately realized what was happening and his brows furrowed.

"Ugh! We're stuck on the raw materials again."

At this moment, even this decisive and efficient commander was extremely troubled by this problem.

"Don't worry, sir. The base has been short of raw materials for a long time. Comrade Zhou Zhen mentioned using the 'lead chamber method' to produce raw materials, didn't he?"

The chief of staff offered words of comfort.

"Hey! Comrade Zhou Zhen mentioned in his last report that I've been so focused on their synthesis primers lately that I completely forgot about this."

"We need to find a way to get the lead that Zhou Zhen needs. If that doesn't work, we'll ask our undercover comrades to come up with a solution."

The chief of staff nodded, "I'll make the arrangements now."

"However, it certainly won't be something that can be resolved in a day or two by Comrade Zhou Zhen. Some time ago, the Japanese special forces attacked our arsenal, causing a shortage of bullets for us."

"These days, the front lines have requested ammunition supplies multiple times. Isn't Li Yunlong a master at side businesses? Have him try to get some raw materials from the enemy."

The news that the Huangyadong Arsenal had successfully synthesized primers spread like wildfire to other arsenals at an astonishing speed.

"Have you heard? Director Zhou of the Huangyadong Arsenal has led his men to synthesize the primer."

"Really? So fast? Weren't you saying it would take many days to prepare?"

"That's absolutely true. I heard it from a comrade at headquarters."

"God...are we really going to have our own trump card? Am I dreaming?"

"That factory director Zhou is amazing! First it was boric acid, then it was the Xinshi cotton-padded clothes and the Molotov cocktail, and now he's even managed to get the primer working. People who have studied abroad are really something else."

"How could someone who's studied abroad be the same as us who eat sweet potatoes every day?"

Inside the Huangyadong Arsenal, rows of tables were set up on a spacious earthen dam square.

The food on the table was very simple, basically just mixed flour buns and wild vegetable dumpling soup. The only "meat" was a large plate of stir-fried eggs with chives that had very little oil.

Even so, everyone's face was filled with long-lost joy and excitement.

Zhou Zhen stood on a bench, holding a rough earthenware bowl in his hand, which contained half a bowl of sweet potato liquor.

He cleared his throat and glanced down at all the workers and soldiers below, their eyes burning with fervor.

"Comrades!" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a convincing power.

"Today's feast may not have a lot of food or wine, but I still want to celebrate with everyone."

"Celebrating our arsenal's successful synthesis of mercury fulminate with our own hands, ensuring that the bullets produced in Huangyadong will no longer be duds."

"Factory manager, we also salute you."

"Haha, good, cheers, comrades."

Although it was called drinking, each person was only allotted three small cups, but in the border region where resources were scarce, this was a rare luxury.

Everyone raised their glasses in celebration, and although there was little wine in their bowls, their spirit of finding joy amidst hardship resonated throughout the square.

After a brief celebration, the Huangyadong Arsenal quickly resumed its intense production pace.

During meals and breaks, the workers often discussed the techniques with each other. As their experience in successfully synthesizing mercury fulminate grew, more and more workers gradually mastered this dangerous technology through word of mouth and mutual discussion.

At the same time, at the headquarters of the Independent Regiment, Li Yunlong also received a new order from headquarters.

Kong Jie grinned mischievously at Li Yunlong: "Old Li, not bad! Your reputation for 'having a side hustle' has even reached the ears of the headquarters leaders."