Siheyuan: Game of Red Dust

Chapter 55: Deployment
Li Weidong and Zhou Zhenbei arrived at the top of the mountain. Li Weidong looked around and sketched a map in his notebook. He then looked down the mountain (the camp was facing the front) and said to Zhou Zhenbei:

"Uncle Zhou, have our troops declared martial law on the other side of the mountain?"

Zhou Zhenbei shook his head and said:
"No, because this place is very remote and rarely visited. Also, the terrain is difficult and vehicles can't pass through, so there's no martial law. There's usually a team of soldiers patrolling."

"Uncle Zhou, this won't work. This project is very important. This mountain must be completely sealed off to ensure that no outsiders can enter.

We also need to ensure there are no obstructions to our line of sight within 200 meters of our patrol route. Our patrol teams must be able to form crossfire, providing blanket fire on incoming enemies. We also have to consider air defense, but we won't rush it for now, as this is a converted air-raid shelter. "Li Weidong said seriously.

Zhou Zhenbei looked confused and said to Li Weidong, "Weidong, do we need such strict control measures?"

Li Weidong said, "Uncle Zhou, didn't the leader tell you the importance of this project?"

"Leader, he only said that this project is very important and we are responsible for protecting it. He didn't say anything specific." Zhou Zhenbei said.

"Uncle Zhou, let me tell you this. If this project is successful, it won't be a waste even if an entire army comes to guard it. The importance of this project is no less than that of a mushroom bomb. Besides, this is the mission of our guard regiment. What's wrong with strict control? Doesn't this show that our regiment has a strong sense of responsibility? Isn't this a good thing?" Li Weidong said.

"Dongzi, but..." Zhou Zhenbei said hesitantly.

Li Weidong quickly interrupted Zhou Zhenbei and said, "Uncle Zhou, why are you hesitating? This isn't something you can do on your own. Shouldn't you apply to your superiors?"

Why don't you just apply first and see if your boss agrees?"

"Yes, I'll write an application when I get back." Zhou Zhenbei said with sudden realization.

"By the way, Weidong, do you know anything about defense deployment?" Zhou Zhenbei asked doubtfully.

Li Weidong said seriously:

"Uncle Zhou, I'm going to tell you a secret. Don't tell anyone else."

Zhou Zhenbei nodded seriously upon hearing this, and then said to the people around him:

"You guys should avoid it for a moment."

Everyone was about to retreat, but Li Weidong quickly stopped them, saying, "It's not a secret. It's just my condition. There's no need to avoid it."

Now, Zhou Zhenbei and the others were even more nervous. Zhou Zhenbei quickly asked, "Dongzi, what's wrong with you? What's wrong? Is it serious?"

Li Weidong said seriously: "My teacher found it out for me at school.

My teacher said it was a terminal illness and could not be cured, it could only be alleviated.

That’s why my teacher taught me about weapons, hoping that my condition would improve.”

Zhou Zhenbei and the others had heavy expressions at first, but then they were stunned when they heard that learning to make weapons could alleviate their illness. What kind of illness could be alleviated by learning about weapons?

Everyone was thinking about it when Squad Leader Wang suddenly asked, "Weidong, what's wrong with you? Why do you need to learn about weapons to get better?"

Li Weidong suddenly smiled at them and said, "My teacher said that I have a severe fear of insufficient firepower. Haha."

Zhou Zhenbei and the others came over immediately, laughing and scolding Li Weidong.

After playing around for a while, Zhou Zhenbei asked Li Weidong, "Dongzi, tell me how we should deploy our regiment. I feel like your plan is more comprehensive than what we've considered."

"Uncle Zhou, I'm taking over your duties then." Li Weidong said.

"Here's my idea: build a square road at the foot of the mountain. Except for the one in front of the institute, which doesn't need to be guarded, we'll have a platoon stationed on each of the other three roads. Each squad on the road will be equipped with new rifles and new squad machine guns, with each squad having at least two machine guns.

Each platoon will send a squad to the top of the mountain to establish a machine gun position. Two rotary machine guns and two new heavy machine guns will be deployed on each side of the mountain. This heavy machine gun position will also be responsible for air defense. This firepower configuration is sufficient for the time being. Once my men arrive, I will research the anti-aircraft weapons." Li Weidong finished speaking in one breath and looked around.

Zhou Zhenbei and others were all shocked with their mouths wide open, only Nan Yi remained calm. After all, he was just an ordinary cook who was good at cooking but didn't know much about military affairs.

Zhou Zhenbei frowned and said, "Dongzi, isn't this configuration a bit high? Besides, not to mention that the new equipment hasn't been mass-produced yet, even if it was, our regiment can't allocate so much."

"No, Uncle Zhou, do we need to wait for distribution of equipment? What do I do? You just get the raw materials and I will make them for you. I will make as many guns for you as the materials you get. Why wait for distribution?" Li Weidong asked doubtfully.

Zhou Zhenbei slapped his thigh heavily and said, "How could I forget about you? When I get back, I'll contact the materials and strive to start production as soon as possible."

Li Weidong quickly said, "Uncle Zhou, don't worry. My equipment is still in your warehouse. Once the equipment is installed and debugged tomorrow, it will be ready in no time."

"Okay, then I'll write the application report when I get back." Zhou Zhenbei said.

Li Weidong didn't say anything else and continued to look around, thinking about the institute's air defense problem.

After much deliberation, I decided to make do with anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns for now. I'll figure out the rest after I develop computers!

Li Weidong thought for a while, then said to Zhou Zhenbei:

"Uncle Zhou, let's go back. I've seen enough. There's no problem for the time being."

Zhou Zhenbei said, "Okay, if you feel there's a problem, feel free to come to me. I'll solve small problems immediately, and if I can't solve any, I'll report it to my superiors as soon as possible."

Li Weidong smiled and nodded.

The group returned to the camp. After arriving at the temporary residence, Li Weidong said to Zhou Zhenbei:
"Uncle Zhou, please help us build a temporary kitchen first, and then we can cook for ourselves. After all, our working hours are irregular, and your cafeteria has fixed hours, so it's not very convenient."

Zhou Zhenbei thought for a moment and said to Li Weidong:

"I'll arrange it in a moment, is there anything else you need?"

Li Weidong thought for a moment and said, "I have a friend who exchanged some unplanned supplies from his hometown and wanted to exchange some tickets with me. I've been a bit busy these days and forgot about it. Squad Leader Wang and I will drive out and exchange the supplies later."

Zhou Zhenbei glanced at Li Weidong and said earnestly, "Dongzi, the country is controlling supplies now, so you should avoid these speculators."

Li Weidong said, "Uncle Zhou, don't worry. I don't do this. If I do buy, it's through the institute. I don't buy low and sell high. I just buy some unplanned materials at a fair price and give them to our institute."

Zhou Zhenbei looked puzzled and said, "Affordable? Then why doesn't he just sell it directly at the purchasing point?"

Li Weidong chuckled and said, "Does the purchasing point have foreign exchange coupons?"

Zhou Zhenbei suddenly understood.

"Where did you get the foreign exchange coupon? This thing is really rare."

"It's a reward. I have more than 2,000 yuan. This thing is of no use to me. I might as well exchange it for some unplanned supplies." As he said this, Li Weidong made a look of disgust.

Zhou Zhenbei was speechless. The foreign exchange vouchers that others coveted were despised by Li Weidong.

"Let Xiao Wang drive later. Be careful on the road."

"Don't worry, Uncle Zhou." Li Weidong said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)