Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

Chapter 54 Actions speak louder than words; the barrel manufacturing plant is in place.

"Old Xu, shall we go find the commander now?"

Zhao Ping'an hesitated for a moment. It wasn't that he didn't want to go, but he mainly wanted to collect the gold that night so he could make a big splash and exchange it for some things.

"How about... Lao Xu, I'll stay here for now. The penicillin factory just started production, and although it's running smoothly, I'm still a little worried. Why don't you go ahead by yourself?"

Just explain this plan and my ideas clearly to the leaders! Oh, and…

Zhao Ping'an pointed to the LRAS radar and other equipment placed to the side: "You must take these treasures with you! Especially the radar, let the leaders see its power with their own eyes, it will be more convincing for them to understand the technical foundation and foresight of my whole plan! Also, bring a few soldiers who have already learned the basic operation, so they can demonstrate it!"

"Alright, Comrade Ping An, I won't say any more. I'll take the things and report to the commander first." Old Xu thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Be careful on your journey, and take good care of this equipment." Zhao Ping'an nodded in agreement.

"I quickly compiled my initial factory construction plan, a list of materials that might need to be imported, and some ideas on worker selection and training into written materials."

"It's settled then!" Old Xu was also an impatient man. He immediately called on the soldiers who had been trained in radar operation to carefully repack the radar, detectors and other equipment, and prepare to set off.

Soon, a small team led by Lao Xu and escorted by more than ten elite soldiers, along with several mules carrying equipment boxes, quietly left the village and headed towards the mountain road in the northwest.

Zhao Ping'an stood at the village entrance, looking in the direction the other person had left, a thought flashing through his mind.

"Hiss~ Northwest? Northwest of Shijiazhuang?"

On second thought, oh well, if I miss this opportunity, there will always be another chance. There's no need to rush. I should just collect the gold first.

The day after Lao Xu left, just as dawn was breaking, Zhao Ping'an made his move.

Without waiting for approval, some things, once you've identified the right path, you have to get started.

Zhao Pingan personally drove a truck to lead the way, followed by four trucks, each carrying a squad of soldiers, and headed towards a mountain pass he had previously selected.

There was a cave there, which Zhao Ping'an had prepared as the "transaction location."

Several relatively simple but fairly accurate deep hole drilling machines and wire drawing machines are specifically used for machining gun barrel inner holes and drawing rifling.

An old but sturdy mechanical stamping press, not large in tonnage, but more than enough for stamping cartridge case bases, magazine parts, etc.

Two small coal-fired boilers that looked quite old, and a small steam turbine generator set with faded nameplates that were paired with them.

This thing is inefficient, and the noise and coal consumption are probably quite high, but it's the equipment that Zhao Ping'an decided on after much consideration.

Unlike trucks and artillery, you can buy advanced products from decades in the future. At worst, you don't need to maintain them. If there are any problems, you can just buy replacement parts or throw them away after use and buy new ones.

However, establishing an industrial system, or to put it more simply, setting up small factories, requires considering many more factors.

In this era, diesel fuel was precious and had to be imported, while coal could be mined near the base.

Although this power system is "clumsy, bulky, and crude," it is the most suitable for the current conditions.

In addition, there is a pile of high-strength alloy seamless steel pipes, which are the core raw materials for processing gun barrels.

"Move it! Be careful, this is what we built up!" At Zhao Ping'an's command, the soldiers and technical staff immediately stepped forward, shouting slogans.

These heavy iron objects were carefully moved out of the cave and loaded onto the truck.

On the way back, Zhao Ping'an already had a complete plan in mind. He didn't choose to set up the factory in a remote mountain area, as that would be too troublesome for resupply and personnel rotation. Instead, he chose the village where he was currently stationed.

The village is nestled against the mountains, relatively isolated, with a small population that has undergone preliminary screening, and its geographical location is not particularly advanced.

As long as security and guards are in place, it is entirely feasible to establish a small, high-precision gun barrel manufacturing core workshop here.

Back in the village, Zhao Ping'an immediately took action. He dug a cave dwelling at the foot of a sturdy earthen slope at the end of the village; it was spacious with thick walls.

With a few modifications, it would become an ideal factory. The guard company immediately sealed off the area, prohibiting any unauthorized personnel from approaching.

For the next few days, the entire village seemed to have transformed into a giant construction site, yet it was unusually quiet. There was no loud noise, only low commands, the clanging of metal, and the sounds of machinery being installed and tested.

The deep hole drilling machine and the wire drawing machine were fixed on a specially reinforced cement pedestal;

The stamping machine found its place;

The most troublesome thing was that steam power system.

The boiler and steam turbine generator were housed in an adjacent, specially reinforced and ventilated cave dwelling. A large chimney extended cleverly along the mountainside, and the exhaust vents were concealed and treated to suppress smoke. Truckloads of coal urgently transported from nearby small coal mines were quietly hauled in.

At the same time, Zhao Pingan placed another "order" through the system.

This time, he didn't exchange for production equipment, but for more "battlefield awareness" equipment: a set of LRAS-2 man-portable reconnaissance radar, 100 telescopes, and 100 civilian thermal imagers.

Zhao Ping'an had a premonition that these reconnaissance devices would have a greater role than he had imagined, and might be of great use in the future.

The four days flew by in a flurry of activity.

When Lao Xu returned to the village, travel-worn but excited, carrying the affirmative approval and further instructions from his superiors, he could hardly believe his eyes.

At the end of the village, there is a cave dwelling area. The exterior remains simple and quiet, but the interior is different.

The air was filled with a faint smell of cutting fluid and coal smoke, and the cave dwelling was brightly lit.

In the innermost core workshop, ten deep hole drilling machines and wire drawing machines are operating quietly and regularly.

To ensure they were always in good spirits, Zhao Ping'an divided the soldiers into groups of six, working in six shifts. Each soldier concentrated on practicing their skills for four hours a day, while the machines ran day and night.

"Old Xu, you're back?" Zhao Ping'an heard the noise and saw Old Xu at the cave entrance, so he quickly got up.

"This...this is already underway?!" Old Xu exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement as he looked at the orderly array of machines before him, especially the gun barrels being processed. "It's...it's actually quite impressive! Ping An, you're incredibly fast!"

Zhao Ping'an smiled and led Lao Xu around, showing them around: "The equipment is ready, the location is ready, and we trained the people ourselves."

Our soldiers have excellent learning abilities and discipline.

Now, with ten machines operating in six shifts, 4 out of the first batch of 60 technicians have become skilled workers who can operate independently and keep the scrap rate below 5%.

Although production volume is still low, the technology and processes have been successfully implemented. These barrel blanks, after some post-processing and combined with other parts sourced from various channels, can be assembled into rifles with decent performance.

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