HCB Chapter 406: In attacking Ping'an County, I, Li Yunlong, didn't gain any benefit at all an
Chapter 406: In attacking Ping'an County, I, Li Yunlong, didn't gain any benefit at all an
Lin Zhenhua took the telegram handed over by Li Yunlong with an expression of disbelief on his face. The thing he had been most worried about did not happen in the base, but instead appeared in advance in Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment. This did not make Lin Zhenhua feel a bit lucky, but made him feel frightened and uneasy.
"Old Li, we have no way of knowing exactly what the situation is with the 358th Regiment. We can never rely on guesswork when it comes to this kind of thing. I plan to ask Doctor Wang Xuecheng to go there. I have talked to Doctor Wang Xuecheng a lot about this before. Let him check it out first and confirm whether it is true or not. Only then can we activate the emergency plan."
"Chu Yunfei also reminded us this time that the problem of letting the people drink hot water, wash their hands frequently, and take a bath frequently must be solved. The problem of public baths and public toilets must be solved before the New Year. Even if we have to put aside all the affairs at hand, we must prioritize this matter."
"Old Zhao, starting today, we will cut the coal supply to the coal-to-oil equipment and use the reduced coal for livelihood projects for the people in the base area. This is a plan I made earlier. It can be used now and must be completed before the New Year. We must also arrange our pharmaceutical production line and increase the production of pharmaceuticals. Give me full production of cold and flu pills and hot wind cold pills."
"Old Li, send a telegram to Chu Yunfei later and inform him of the results of our discussion. The medicine will be transported by air and will arrive in Niujiagou this afternoon. Ask Chu Yunfei to level out a piece of open space immediately for our transport plane to land."
Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang responded immediately and acted according to Lin Zhenhua's arrangement. As for the task of catching spies, it was handed over to Kong Jie and Ding Wei. Suddenly, the entire base became busy again.
After receiving the reply from Li Yunlong, Chu Yunfei immediately arranged for people to take action and leveled out a huge open space to provide a landing site for the independent regiment's transport plane.
"Brother Ligong, relying solely on ground transportation is not enough. We need to develop air transportation. Li Yunlong has a large number of transport planes that can transport hundreds of tons of goods every day. Let the brothers level out a few more open spaces in the rear for the independent regiment's transport planes to dock. We must find ways to increase the trading volume of materials on both sides. The originally estimated two-month trading time may be difficult to achieve. The Japanese devils don't want to see both of us grow stronger!"
Chief of Staff Fang Ligong said with some concern: "Captain Chu, the cost of air transport is very high. It is more cost-effective to transport medicines. If it is used to transport copper ingots and iron ingots, the price is too high. I think it will be difficult for Li Yunlong to agree!"
Chu Yunfei had a different opinion, and analyzed seriously: "The gasoline used by the independent regiment is all converted from coal to oil equipment. The cost of synthetic gasoline is definitely much higher than that of decomposing it from petroleum. If it were in normal times, the cost of air transportation would indeed be very high, but now it is wartime, the cost can basically be ignored."
"The only cost is the mining cost, which is very low. From this, we can infer that the cost of synthesizing gasoline for the independent regiment is very low, otherwise they would not have been able to stockpile it in large quantities. Opening up an air transport line between the two sides must have been considered by Li Yunlong. The reason why he has not proposed it may be related to the Japanese air force."
"According to our latest intelligence, the Japanese air force had to stop bombing the independent regiment due to a shortage of ammunition and fuel, which gave us the opportunity to open up an air transport line. Now is the best time for both of us. I plan to discuss this with Li Yunlong and take a transport plane to the independent regiment to discuss this matter this afternoon."
Chief of Staff Fang Ligong did not expect that Chu Yunfei had already made up his mind. He opened his mouth to persuade him, but when he thought of the serious situation he would face in the future, he had to swallow the words back and nodded slightly to show his support.
After two hours of full-speed flight, a large four-engine transport plane landed steadily on an open space outside Niujiagou. Chu Yunfei had been waiting for a long time. After the plane stopped, he immediately arranged for people to unload the medicines.
After shaking hands with the doctor Wang Xuecheng and exchanging a few words, Chu Yunfei handed the plane to Chief of Staff Fang Ligong to take Wang Xuecheng to the base. Chu Yunfei started chatting with the pilot and expressed his intention to follow him back. After asking for instructions via the radio, the pilot took a short rest for an hour and then drove the transport plane back to Maoershan Airport.
Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang came to pick them up at the airport, but Lin Zhenhua did not come because of something going on at the arsenal. As for Ding Wei and Kong Jie, they were busy catching Japanese spies and traitors and had no time to come.
Chu Yunfei got off the transport plane, exchanged a few words with Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang, then got on a three-wheeled motorcycle parked nearby and headed to the regiment headquarters under the driving of Wei Heshang. Half an hour later, the group arrived at the independent regiment headquarters. Duan Peng picked up the teapot and poured a bowl of tea for each person, then went outside to be on guard.
Li Yunlong and Zhao Gang were very curious about Chu Yunfei's purpose of coming this time, and had been waiting for Chu Yunfei to speak first. After all, it had been less than 12 hours since Chu Yunfei had sent a telegram for help, and now he came here in person. Could it be that the situation was out of control, and Chu Yunfei was planning to come and ask for help in person?
Chu Yunfei saw through the two men's thoughts at a glance, took a sip of tea, and said in a serious tone: "Brother Yunlong, Brother Zhao, I, Chu Yunfei, came here to discuss important matters. Before that, thank you very much for your assistance. We have received the medicine, and I have arranged for the chief of staff to send it to the hospital."
"I came here in person this time not for this matter, but to discuss the material trade between us. Last time there was a moderate snowfall, the road conditions were very bad, and our trading volume has not been able to continue to increase. The last transaction was forced to postpone the delivery for two days due to the muddy road, which had a great impact on both of us."
"I heard that your army has transport planes, which is a great thing for both of us. We can open an air transport line, which is not affected by ground roads and can transport around the clock. The copper smelting plant is only about 600 kilometers away from the independent regiment, and it only takes four hours to go back and forth. Including the time for loading and unloading materials, it takes eight hours at most to go back and forth."
"There is no problem with running two trips a day. This means that our daily trading volume can be increased from 20 tons to 3000 tons, and it can reach tons in a month. As long as we can maintain it for two months, the strength between us will have a big leap!"
Li Yunlong didn't expect Chu Yunfei to come here with this idea. He didn't agree directly. He thought for a moment before replying, "Brother Yunfei, air transportation is much more expensive than land transportation. My independent regiment is small and has to bear the cost of food, clothing, housing and transportation for hundreds of thousands of people. The pressure is too great. We can't afford the soaring costs caused by air transportation."
Chu Yunfei knew that Li Yunlong would not agree easily, and he also knew that this method of transportation was more beneficial to him. If he continued to trade at the same price, Li Yunlong would definitely suffer a great loss, and it might even be a loss.
"Brother Yunlong, I, Chu Yunfei, am not a mean person, and I don't want to take advantage of you. The cost of transportation will be borne by our 358th Regiment in half, so Brother Yunlong's pressure will be much less, and I, Chu Yunfei, can also take advantage of it. In the end, neither of us will suffer any loss. What do you think of my proposal?"
Li Yunlong knew that this should be Chu Yunfei's bottom line. It was impossible to ask Chu Yunfei for compensation for the loss of the transport plane, so the independent regiment had to bear it itself. This deal could be done. Chu Yunfei was still very generous in doing things. This was indeed a win-win situation for both parties.
Li Yunlong laughed with a smile on his face and said, "Brother Yunfei, I will take a small loss this time. Tomorrow I will arrange for a transport plane brigade to open an air transport line between the two sides. When we go, we will bring the weapons and ammunition that Brother Chu needs, and when we come back, we will bring the copper and iron ingots that we need."
"Transporting hundreds of tons of materials a day is definitely not a problem. When our light transport aircraft are put into service in large numbers, the daily transportation volume can reach 200 tons. By then, we can not only transport food, but also ore. I, Li Yunlong, am now a glutton. I will accept anything you ask for."
"Brother Yunlong, there are no outsiders here today. I have to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. The Japanese have already set their sights on us and have isolated us from the rear. If we two brothers don't stick together for warmth, we will be defeated by the Japanese one by one!"
"I, Li Yunlong, was lucky enough to capture Ping'an County last time, but I didn't get any benefits. The Japanese bombers blew up many good things. The three arsenals were completely destroyed by the Japanese bombers. I, Li Yunlong, really lost money last time. I didn't get any benefits, but I was disappointed."
"I only took advantage of the situation when we opened up the transportation lines between the two sides, and finally made up for some of the losses. Brother Yunfei should also know that I, Li Yunlong, received 700,000 to 800,000 disaster victims a few months ago. Life was hard. The soldiers under my command could not even get enough food, and they all looked pale. Otherwise, why would I think of ways to open a market? It was not just to raise food. I really took out all my family's wealth, without keeping a single bit. Even so, the Japanese came to make trouble, and my market was forced to close after only two or three months."
Li Yunlong started to complain to Chu Yunfei about his poverty, Zhao Gang's eyelids twitched. Chu Yunfei didn't want to argue about what Li Yunlong was up to. The two sides chatted for a few more words, and arranged for Chu Yunfei to stay temporarily. Li Yunlong went to find Lin Zhenhua and planned to leave early.