HCB Chapter 405: There is no smoke without fire. This should be true. I can take this ride!
Chapter 405: There is no smoke without fire. This should be true. I can take this ride!
"Brother Ligong, we must not panic at this time. In three days at most, we will get assistance from the independent regiment, so the brothers can hold on for another three days. In these two days, let our military doctors use all the medicines they have and do their best to treat them to avoid panic."
"The New Year is coming soon, so open up all our storage warehouses so that the brothers can have a prosperous New Year. The day before yesterday, we pulled in more than a dozen big fat pigs from the rear, plus more than 200 chickens and ducks, which is just enough to give the brothers some extra food. Cook them all for me in the next few days, and don't leave any of them, so that the brothers can eat to their heart's content."
Chu Yunfei also knew that this amount of meat was just a drop in the bucket for more than 3000 people. Each person could only get a pound and a half of meat at most. If bones were included, it would be about three pounds. This was not enough for everyone to eat for one day, but for ten days. In total, each person could only eat one and a half pounds of meat at most every day. It was impossible to eat as much as they wanted, so they could only add some oil and water.
Chief of Staff Fang Ligong suddenly remembered something and asked seriously, "Captain Chu, I got a piece of news earlier that Li Yunlong opened up an air transport line and bought a lot of compressed biscuits and canned food from outside. Is this true or false?"
Chu Yunfei had also heard about this incident, and he even asked Li Yunlong about it. At that time, Li Yunlong just laughed it off. Now it seems that this incident must be true, otherwise how could the independent regiment have so many canned foods to eat.
Li Yunlong said that the food was seized from the Japanese, which was definitely a lie. After all, the Japanese were not having a good time these days. Even if there were canned food, most of them were canned fish. As for canned beef, they were just some leftovers, and the taste was much worse than it was a few years ago.
Chu Yunfei has a lot to say about this. During the battle with the Japanese, he also seized some canned food from time to time. Although the quantity was not large, it could be used to satisfy his hunger from time to time.
The last time they had dinner, he had seen the canned beef that Li Yunlong was eating. The ingredients in it were all real and the taste was very authentic. This further confirmed Fang Ligong's guess. After all, there is no smoke without fire. Since the rumor has come out, it can basically be confirmed.
"Brother Ligong, please send a telegram to ask them later. If the Independent Regiment really has a channel to purchase canned food and compressed biscuits, we can also take a ride. Even if the price is a little higher, we can accept it. Anyway, we still have a lot of copper ingots in our hands, which can just be used to exchange with the Independent Regiment."
"Notify the fifth battalion commander and ask him to gather more people to mine the ore. Give me the explosives to use. I just got 30 tons of explosives from the independent regiment and plan to use them all for mining. We must take advantage of the great opportunity in front of us and find ways to mine more ore. Let our copper smelting plant work day and night to smelt all the accumulated copper ore into copper ingots."
"We can't miss out on the iron ore either. The Independent Regiment has a huge demand for crude iron. I just instructed us to build an ironmaking furnace two days ago. Light up the furnace today and quickly refine the iron ore we have stockpiled into crude iron and sell it to the Independent Regiment."
"As for the fine steel used to make the knives, I have already discussed it with Li Yunlong. We will exchange them at a price of 10 to 1. In close combat, bayonets are not as useful as broadswords. A few days ago, I recruited two brothers from the 29th Army Broadsword Team. I plan to take this opportunity to rebuild a broadsword team. If we really have to fight the devils in close combat, the broadsword team will definitely cause considerable damage to them."
"Our most urgent task right now is to expand our forces and prepare for war. We have been expanding our forces for some time, and have already recruited a battalion of new soldiers. It will not be a big problem to recruit two more battalions of new soldiers in the next two months. The only difficulty that really bothers us in expanding our forces is guns and ammunition."
"We bought 300 submachine guns from Li Yunlong a few days ago, plus rounds of ammunition. This deal is very cost-effective. In close combat, submachine guns are very powerful. The last time Li Yunlong attacked Niujiagou, he used fewer people than us, but the effect he achieved was several times better than ours, because we currently lack firepower."
"The old commander also gave me a batch of submachine guns before, but the bullet supply was too troublesome. Since the Taiyuan Arsenal was occupied by the Japanese, the supply of submachine gun bullets has been a big problem. The 600 submachine guns approved by the old commander did help our 358th Regiment break through the Japanese encirclement several times. This shows how powerful automatic weapons are. Sometimes they can really change the situation of the battle."
Chief of Staff Fang Ligong interrupted with a sigh, "Captain Chu, submachine guns are indeed very powerful, but we must also see their weaknesses, that is, their range is too short, and they can only be used in close combat. Once the distance between the enemy and us exceeds 150 meters, submachine guns basically have little lethality!"
"In addition to this, the consumption of ammunition is also a big problem. We can afford to equip ourselves with submachine guns, but we can't afford to use them. Unlike the independent regiment, we don't have our own arsenal and can produce bullets ourselves, so we don't have to worry about the consumption of ammunition. We are different. Their bullets are all purchased from outside, and they are used up one less bullet. If we really unleash our firepower recklessly, we will use up all our ammunition after just one battle."
"The Thompson submachine guns sold to us by the Independent Regiment are equipped with 60-round magazines and are very heavy to use. The advantage is that the firepower is sustained, but the disadvantage is also very obvious. It is too heavy. Ordinary soldiers can't use it at all. The ones who use them are the elite of our 358th Regiment. This kind of weapon does not meet the conditions for large-scale promotion."
"In fact, the weapon I am most optimistic about is the machine gun equipped by the independent regiment. This weapon is very convenient to use and can effectively provide fire support to the front."
Chu Yunfei stopped Chief of Staff Fang Ligong from continuing. He knew that Fang Ligong was going to talk about the shortcomings of the machine gun again. He felt that there was nothing to argue about on this matter. After all, it was too difficult to take into account both firepower and logistics. The current 358th Regiment simply could not do it. The only solution at present was to reserve a large amount of weapons and ammunition in advance to cope with the large-scale consumption in the future.
"Brother Ligong, this is the list of supplies I wrote last night. We must purchase them within the next two months, no matter how much it costs. No discounts are allowed on this matter. We can buy more, but never less."
"According to the news from the old commander, the Japanese will increase the strength of two divisions after the New Year. This is not good news for us. If we don't seize this opportunity and complete the expansion of strength as soon as possible, our 358th Regiment may really be eaten by the Japanese."
"The changes in the international situation have not had much impact on the domestic situation. It is impossible for external aid to arrive immediately. We still have to go through one to two years of hard times. In addition to this incident, what worries me most is the prediction of that college student that there will be a large-scale drought and locust plague in the next two to three years. At first, I didn't believe it and thought it was very likely that Li Yunlong was deceived by that college student."
"But I learned yesterday that the rainfall since the beginning of winter this year is indeed less than in previous years, and the growth of winter wheat is much worse than in previous years. This immediately aroused my vigilance. But I have promised Li Yunlong that I will sell him 200 million kilograms of grain. I must not break my promise on this matter. The only way I can think of now is to ask the old commander to find a way to support us, and then purchase another batch through secret channels."
"Brother Ligong, we are the two who are usually in charge of the communication with the Independent Regiment. This telegram must not be leaked, otherwise it will not only cause panic. After all, these are just speculations of that college student. If they don't come true, it will have a huge impact on the two of us. Let's do this secretly. First, buy enough food for our 358th Regiment for a year and a half. If the money is not enough, we can exchange it for medicine. We have obtained a lot of medicine from the Independent Regiment these days. On the one hand, we can use it to repay the favor, and on the other hand, we can use it to exchange for food."
"We still owe Li Yunlong ten tons of copper ingots and 600 stones of salt. We need to find a way to deliver these to Li Yunlong before the New Year so that we can discuss the next business."
Chief of Staff Fang Ligong had no objection to Chu Yunfei's arrangement. He also knew that the current situation was not as good as it seemed. The 358th Regiment was facing many troubles, and the relationship with the Independent Regiment must be well managed. There must be no foul play between the two sides at this time.
"Captain Chu, I will personally handle this matter, so you can rest assured! I have sent an emergency telegram to the fifth and sixth battalions, asking them to gather nearby civilians to help mine ore in exchange for food, salt and other necessities of life. After the Chinese New Year, it will definitely bring very good results!"
At this time, Li Yunlong also received an urgent telegram for help from Chu Yunfei. After translating the content using the code book, his face was filled with shock. He immediately went to the arsenal and found Lin Zhenhua to tell him about this matter, wanting to see what ideas he had.
"College student, Chu Yunfei would never lie about this matter, let alone use it to cheat us of medicines. Things may be just as he said. The thing we least wanted to see has happened. We must come up with a solution immediately, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous!"