bookmarkrole #158 - The first attempt
#158 - The first attempt
"Bang!" A crisp sound echoed as the human-shaped target, a hundred meters away, fell to the ground.
"Indeed impressive! Brother Cangbai, these iron-cased bullets of yours are in no way inferior to copper-cased ones. Such an achievement truly demonstrates the remarkable strength of the Border Region in terms of military industrial technology." Qi Lu Ban put down the Chiang Kai-shek rifle in his hand, his expression slightly moved as he looked at the fallen target in the distance, his tone somewhat fervent.
"Brother Yisheng, our two armies are neighbors, safeguarding the northern territories together. As the saying goes, 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' We should support and help each other. The technology for these iron-cased bullets, our Border Region will naturally not keep it to ourselves. We are willing to share this technology with Brother Yisheng to help Suiyuan enhance its national defense capabilities," Staff Officer Ye said with a smile.
"I haven't seen you share it with the old superior who's right next door," Qi Lu Ban thought to himself upon hearing this, but on his face, he expressed great satisfaction. "Brother Cangbai, Suiyuan and the Border Region have been neighbors for many years. When it comes to fighting the Japanese devils, we have never been ambiguous. This is a harsh and cold land outside the Great Wall, and Suiyuan is like a stepchild in the war zone. All supplies are what others have left over, and even then, they are intermittent. Otherwise, with my Suiyuan's hundred thousand troops, why would we be trapped in the small Hetao area, unable to move?"
Qi Lu Ban spoke half-truths, his words carrying a hint of grief and indignation. Staff Officer Ye casually echoed, "Who says otherwise? Our Border Region has hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting on the front lines, shedding blood in fierce battles. Now, not only do we not have any supplies, but the government is also imposing many restrictions, forcing us to rely entirely on captured resources and self-reliance. Not to mention the shortage of weapons and ammunition, even eating is a major problem. To be honest, Brother Yisheng, our Border Region is currently facing a severe food shortage, to the point where each person has barely half a catty a day, and even two meals a day are difficult to sustain."
Staff Officer Ye smoothly steered the conversation to the main topic.
"I have long heard that Brother Yisheng's land reclamation efforts on the border have been remarkable, transforming Suiyuan into a 'Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall,' with abundant grain and a prosperous population. This humble brother has come here, on the one hand, to share the Border Region's military industrial technology to strengthen our national defense, and on the other hand, to seek assistance from Brother Yisheng."
The Border Region had previously negotiated with Qi Lu Ban about purchasing grain. In this chaotic world, besides weapons and ammunition, the second most important thing is grain. The Border Region and the Eighth Route Army base had penicillin for barter trade. Although they didn't have much silver, they still had enough to buy several million catties of grain.
However, Qi Lu Ban had repeatedly brushed them off with vague excuses during several negotiations.
Now that Qi Lu Ban saw Staff Officer Ye getting straight to the point, he knew that Staff Officer Ye's intention in bringing him to test the Border Region's iron-cased bullets today wouldn't be so simple. As expected, it was coming.
"Brother Cangbai, you flatter me. How could this humble brother have such great abilities? This reputation of 'Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall' is something this humble brother dares not accept. I am ashamed, truly ashamed. My Suiyuan is a harsh and impoverished land, and we are only just barely able to feed ourselves. If we had surplus grain, how could we not support your esteemed department a little?" Qi Lu Ban habitually declined.
"I wonder how these iron-cased bullets are produced. What is the daily production capacity? If my Suiyuan also had such capabilities, we would drive the Japanese devils beyond the Great Wall back to the old forests of the Northeast sooner or later." Qi Lu Ban squinted his eyes, looking at the human-shaped target that his subordinate had just brought over. His eyelids twitched. The target, encased in iron sheet, had a large hole torn through it. This penetrating power seemed even stronger than copper-cased bullets!
Playing with the few remaining copper-cased bullets in his hand, Qi Lu Ban's heart grew fervent. This technology, he had to get his hands on it no matter what. Regardless of whether Suiyuan could find iron ore, once he had the iron-cased bullet technology, he could find ways to obtain thousands of tons of steel from the rear.
However, besides iron, there was also the propellant and explosives needed to load the bullets. Qi Lu Ban stared at the bullet in his hand, his thoughts racing. He was stunned for a long while before he reacted, shaking his head. In the end, his side was still far behind the Border Region in terms of attracting talent.
If such technology could be used for his own purposes, why would he, the 'King Beyond the Great Wall,' be relegated to a corner, his title somewhat undeserved?
Staff Officer Ye observed his expression and knew that Qi Lu Ban was already tempted. He secretly praised Ren Zhong's negotiation strategy. At this time, practical benefits were more reliable than any grand principles.
He had shown over a hundred bullets to demonstrate their strength. Whether it was the Hanyang 88, the Chiang Kai-shek rifle, or the Czech-style machine gun, Qi Lu Ban had tested them all, and there were no problems. These were the most important types of firearms in Suiyuan. If he could solve the ammunition supply for these firearms, Qi Lu Ban would basically be unable to refuse such a temptation.
As expected, that was the case now.
It was a pity that the Border Region's own production capacity was not enough to meet its own needs. Otherwise, it would be better to directly exchange bullets for grain. That way, they could keep the hen in their own hands and only exchange the eggs.
Staff Officer Ye secretly sighed in his heart. One shouldn't be too greedy. If this technology could be exchanged for 5,000 tons of grain, as long as they could overcome the current difficulties, the Border Region would surely make rapid progress.
With a great talent like Ren Zhong, he had already secretly planned too much for the Border Region. If the 100,000 acres of newly reclaimed land could increase the grain yield by ten million catties, then the Border Region would not need to act based on others' expressions!
"A production line, assuming there are no shortages of raw materials and labor, can produce over ten thousand 7.92mm standard iron-cased bullets per day. If the workers are more skilled, and they work in shifts 24 hours a day, with the machines running non-stop, it is possible to produce over twenty thousand bullets. However, this would result in significant mechanical wear and tear, and a machine with a lifespan of ten years would probably be worn out in three to five years," Staff Officer Ye replied.
This was a semi-modern production line using mechanical punching machines and machine tools, which was naturally much more efficient than manual punching machines.
"Hiss," Qi Lu Ban gasped, realizing that the Border Region was indeed not to be underestimated.
Immediately, his eyes burned even more intensely.
He wasn't afraid that Staff Officer Ye was deceiving him in something that was so easily verifiable.
"Brother Cangbai, let's be frank. For such a production line, how much manpower and cost would my side need to invest?" Qi Lu Ban didn't want to dawdle any longer. Such a magical tool would be a waste of his strength if delayed even for a day.
"Brother Yisheng, originally, between us brothers, money is not important. However, our Border Region is facing a difficult time with a shortage of supplies and urgently needs 10,000 tons of grain to help us out. Therefore, let's not talk about money for this equipment. Let's just talk about mutual assistance and exchanging what we have for what we need," Staff Officer Ye said seemingly casually, but in reality, he was nervous, trying to test the other party's reaction by making a high initial demand.
Qi Lu Ban was silent for a moment. "Brother Cangbai, I very much agree with the idea of mutual assistance between brothers. However, my Suiyuan is a poor land with a small population, and we really can't afford to provide that much grain."
Seeing that Qi Lu Ban didn't outright refuse, Staff Officer Ye felt reassured.
The Border Region didn't actually have concrete evidence of how much grain Suiyuan had. After all, statistical work in this era was backward, and no one would openly talk about core data everywhere.
However, Staff Officer Ye didn't know why Ren Zhong was so sure that Suiyuan could come up with at least 10,000 tons of grain. But based on the results of the probing, it seemed that this information was accurate.
Staff Officer Ye couldn't help but make up his mind that the original bottom line of 5,000 tons could be raised a little higher.
First update, requesting votes!