Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

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The continuous barrage of bullets lashed out like flaming whips at the Japanese soldiers trying to climb ashore, leaving behind only mangled corpses in its wake.

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes.

As the gunfire gradually subsided, there were no longer any Japanese soldiers standing on the slope near the riverbed.

Lieutenant Yoshida was riddled with bullets from the light machine gun's ammunition belt.

Chen Chunsheng led his soldiers to carefully clean up the battlefield and confirm the results of the battle.

A Japanese elite squad of over sixty men was completely annihilated.

More than 40 intact Type 38 rifles, two light machine guns, two grenade launchers, and a quantity of ammunition were captured.

After careful consideration, it turned out that apart from the consumption of some bullets, the gains were quite substantial.

Standing on the battlefield where the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated, Chen Chunsheng looked at the soldiers excitedly collecting their spoils and the corpses of the Japanese soldiers who could no longer be arrogant. He let out a long breath, finally releasing the pent-up anger that had been building up in his chest for so long.

A young soldier picked up a brand-new Type 38 rifle, touching it with obvious delight. Suddenly, he looked up at Chen Chunsheng and said, "Company Commander, these new bullets... are really awesome."

Looking at the vast Taihang Mountains in the distance, Chen Chunsheng said in a loud and firm voice: "From now on, the roles of offense and defense will be reversed. The weapons produced by the Huangyadong Arsenal are all top-notch."

The news and the spoils were quickly reported.

Ding Wei pinched the bridge of his nose, a thick stack of recent enemy situation reports spread out on the table.

Recently, the Japanese have changed their activities on the outskirts of the base area.

These Japanese soldiers, in groups of sixty or seventy, were fast-moving, had fierce firepower, and would run away after a fight, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

Fortunately, Chen Chunsheng brought me some rare good news.

He lit a cigarette, took a few puffs, then stubbed it out. He stood up, walked to the telephone, and cranked the handle: "Switchboard, connect me to the Independent Regiment, find Li Yunlong."

The call was answered quickly, and Li Yunlong's loud voice boomed even through the phone: "Old Ding, the sun must have risen in the west today, you little rascal, you actually called me."

"Enough with the nonsense." Ding Wei cut to the chase. "Has your Independent Regiment recently encountered any small Japanese assault teams? Sixty or seventy men, with light machine guns and grenade launchers, specifically targeting villages on the outskirts."

Li Yunlong paused for a moment, his voice losing its lazy tone: "We've run into them before. A few days ago, Kong Jie led a group to fight them. They repelled them several times, but it was difficult to keep them here. They were like flies, impossible to shoo away, and impossible to kill completely."

He paused, then asked, "Did you run into that too?"

"Hmm." Ding Wei said with a bit of a headache, "My defense zone is in the same situation."

"However, that kid Chen Chunsheng pulled off something big yesterday."

Ding Wei laughed and said, "That kid Chen Chunsheng is quite bold, setting up an ambush on the bank of Lijiawa."

"Using our gunpowder bullets as bait, we lured all those Japanese soldiers to the riverbed."

"More than sixty people were killed in less than twenty minutes from the start of the firefight to its end, all of them left on the riverbank of Lijiawa. One Japanese lieutenant was riddled with machine gun bullets on the spot."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"...Are you fucking serious?" Li Yunlong asked in a low voice.

"The battle report is on my desk, and so is the list of spoils."

Li Yunlong gasped, then laughed, "I had high hopes for this kid from the start. He's definitely one of the soldiers I used to lead. He's not bad."

Ding Wei softened his tone and said, "Old Li, the main reason I'm talking to you today is to ask for your help with something. Chen Chunsheng won this time because of the powerful firepower and long range of the new bullets, but the quota allocated by headquarters is limited."

"Could you... help me get some more from Consultant Zhou?"

"I was thinking that since you're familiar with him, it would be easier for you to talk to him. Could you pass on a message for me, letting Director Zhou know that the bullets used by the New First Regiment weren't wasted?"

Li Yunlong chuckled and joked, "Not bad! Ding Wei, you're so tough even when asking for help."

"Old Li, just tell me if you'll help me with this favor or not. Don't forget, I gave you a whole cavalry battalion."

Ding Wei, unfazed, picked up the item he had given to Li Yunlong's cavalry battalion and began to explain.

This is an incredibly big favor.

"Good, good, good. How could I, Old Li, dare to refuse my great benefactor Ding's arrangement? If word gets out, I'll be seen as ungrateful."

"But there's something I need to tell you upfront: I can ask for you, but you'll have to exchange something for it."

"I, Lao Li, consider you my brother. I won't lie to you, even I, Lao Li, have to exchange things for ammunition when I go to Lao Zhou's place."

Ding Wei thought it made perfect sense. If they didn't exchange things, no matter how much ammunition Zhou Zhen had, it wouldn't be enough to go around.

"Tell me, what does Advisor Zhou need? As long as it's something my New First Regiment can get, I'll do my best to get it for you."

Li Yunlong didn't mince words and said directly, "All kinds of machinery, equipment, and industrial raw materials are acceptable."

"Okay!" Ding Wei thought for a moment and nodded seriously.

The new bullets proved remarkably effective in actual combat, bringing not only tremendous results but also a significant boost to the morale of the entire unit.

With the arrival of this batch of new bullets, the name of the Huangyadong Arsenal became increasingly well-known among the various units of the Eighth Route Army.

The bullet problem in the base area has been basically solved, and thanks to the great treasure that Li Yunlong acquired, producing artillery shells has become the current focus of our efforts.

After comprehensively considering the technical level and production capacity of the arsenal, Zhou Zhen ultimately chose the relatively safe ammonium nitrate.

When Zhao Dajiang pushed the door open and came in, Zhou Zhen was staring blankly at a draft full of chemical formulas.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Zhao Dajiang, his face lighting up with joy.

"Old Zhao, sit down," Zhou Zhen said, pushing the manuscript aside.

"Old Zhao, the problem of bullets for the current base area has been basically solved."

The reloading production line is now able to stably supply smokeless powder ammunition. Although ammunition production is still limited by raw materials and cannot keep up with the needs of all military units, at least the supply route is open. The next step is to find ways to expand production capacity.

Zhao Dajiang nodded, his face showing a rare moment of relaxation.

Zhou Zhen spoke modestly, but he knew in his heart that the Eighth Route Army had made tremendous progress by transforming itself from being able to reload black powder bullets to being able to produce primers and smokeless powder on its own.

If this had happened a year ago, he wouldn't have dared to even dream of it.

And all of this was achieved step by step by this young man leading everyone.

"So, factory manager, what are we planning to do next?" Zhao Dajiang asked proactively. He was already used to Zhou Zhen's work rhythm of solving one problem and immediately moving on to the next.

Zhou Zhen turned the draft over and pushed it in front of Zhao Dajiang.

Although he couldn't understand the complex chemical formulas and equipment design diagrams, he recognized the words written at the beginning—ammonium nitrate explosive.