Bright Sword: Follow Kong's fun and build the strongest military industry

Originally, everyone in the arsenal thought that with their current capabilities, they could only rely on existing resources to repair bayonets, make some black powder grenades and reload bullets, which would be good enough.

However, they did not expect that a huge surprise would hit the Eighth Route Army.

Kong Hao can truly be considered an all-rounder, as he solved the Arsenal's biggest problem with just one move.

He is now leading technical personnel to overcome the difficulty of propellant. Once propellant is developed, the day when the arsenal can produce bullets on its own will not be far away.

Therefore, during this period, Kong Hao would record down many of his strange ideas and opinions, which could be used for reference and learning by others later.

Engineer Zhang is making rapid progress. After all, there is no need to worry about the loss of raw materials, so the technicians can conduct experiments with confidence.

He divided all the technicians in the gunpowder factory into four groups, with each group responsible for experiments in a solubility range in order to find the optimal concentration of the mixed acid solution.

About two hours later, the horse technician from the second group was heard saying loudly:

"It has melted. The nitrocellulose in our group has dissolved."

Upon hearing the good news, everyone present gathered around and cheered excitedly.

They were happy that they had overcome another difficulty, which meant that the Arsenal had achieved another major victory.

Kong Hao also nodded with satisfaction, and continued:

"Now we have locked in this range, and we will do more experiments to improve the quality of nitrocellulose with slight concentration changes, find the best ratio, and then go into mass production."

After finishing the things here, he and Engineer Zhang visited other processes of producing smokeless gunpowder.

However, when he saw the technicians at the arsenal grinding the nitrocellulose with a stone mill, cleaning it, and then drying it on an earthen kang.

Then, a noodle cutting machine for making noodles is used to press the gelatinized nitrocellulose into a suitable thickness, and then a roller knife of appropriate size is used to cut the gelatinized nitrocellulose into small cubes like cutting noodles.

Finally, a wooden roller is used to repeatedly rock the chopped nitrocellulose and graphite powder, and what is obtained is the legendary propellant.

After introducing the entire process, Zhang Gong said embarrassedly:

"General Counsel, the conditions of our arsenal are limited at present. This is the best substitute we can find. It is definitely not comparable to the foreign big factories."

After hearing this, Kong Hao just waved his hand and said praisingly:

"Don't say that, this is already very well done, far beyond my expectations."

"No matter what method is used, as long as it can produce qualified bullet propellant, it is the best method, otherwise everything is empty talk."

"We will verify all the processes first and make improvements during the production process. One day, we will be able to carry out large-scale production."

"But there is one thing we must pay special attention to, that is, all processes must pay attention to safety. Once an emergency occurs, all personnel should evacuate immediately, even if all the equipment is damaged."

“At all times, people should be put first.”

Kong Hao knew how heavy a price the military workers of the Eighth Route Army in their previous lives had paid in order to develop qualified bullets and propellants.

Now that he is here, he must find a way to change some things so that these lovely and respectable people will suffer less harm.

After the visit, it was already evening. Kong Hao finally returned to the special operations team's training camp and summarized today's training results with the team members.

To be honest, he is the busiest person in the entire arsenal. He has to be involved in many things and handle many things personally. No one else can help.

After things here are over, he will have to go find Director Ren and Political Commissar Qin to discuss the next plan.

However, when he arrived at the arsenal office, he was told by the sentry that Director Ren and Political Commissar Qin had gone to the construction site and had not returned yet.

Kong Hao had no choice but to go to the construction site to look for it.

Fortunately, this place is not far away and can be reached in just over ten minutes on foot.

At this time, the construction site was bustling with people, and in order to provide lighting, many kerosene lamps were even lit, making the construction site very bright.

When Kong Hao arrived, he asked curiously:

"Director Ren, Political Commissar Qin, it's already eight o'clock in the evening and it's dark, why are there still so many people working?"

Political Commissar Qin was mainly responsible for this matter. He hurriedly explained:

"Xiao Kong, we have arranged two shifts for the staff, each shift is twelve hours, from eight in the morning to eight in the evening."

"The situation outside is very unstable right now. The Japanese are showing signs of launching a massive attack again. The head of the headquarters is sending telegrams every day to urge the progress of the project. He is eager to build the bullet production line tomorrow and produce a large number of bullets to support the front line."

"Of course, other factories are also very important and must be put into production as soon as possible. This will also reduce a lot of burden on the logistics department."

"With no other options, I discussed with the factory manager and decided to use the human wave tactic, mobilizing a large number of engineering personnel to carry out the construction in two shifts."

"During the day, we mainly do delicate work like measuring the ground and installing machines. At night, we dispatch people to do rough work like leveling the land and laying the foundation."

"This will save at least half the time and enable all factories to start operations sooner."

Looking at the bustling scene in front of him, Kong Hao's heart was filled with pride, and he was about to go down and lend a hand.

However, Director Ren stopped him and gave him earnest advice:

"We have a lot of strong young men in our arsenal. You won't be able to help at all if you go down there. You might even cause more trouble."

"The most important thing for you now is to use your brain and help solve the difficulties our arsenal is facing. This will reflect your greatest value as the chief consultant."

Kong Hao thought about it and felt that he was indeed impulsive just now.

"Director, today we have solved the problem of nitrocellulose not being able to dissolve alcohol. If nothing goes wrong, we will be able to produce the first batch of qualified smokeless propellant tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. After the subsequent verification is qualified, we can start the bullet production line."

After hearing this, Director Ren was very happy and praised it repeatedly:

"Okay, very good, Xiao Kong. We are assured that you are here with us technically."

"By the way, if you have any problems in life, just tell me directly and the political commissar and I will find a solution."

At this time, Kong Hao suddenly thought of something and quickly spoke again:

"Political Commissar, this time in Yangquan City, I reached an agreement with many local merchants to provide us with various daily necessities, including food, cloth, salt, pork, etc., at the lowest price."

"I have already paid for these things. The merchants will deliver the supplies to the base, and then the arsenal will send a transport team to bring the goods back."

When Political Commissar Qin heard about this good thing, he quickly agreed.

Now at the arsenal, due to the rapid increase in personnel, the consumption of materials is also increasing exponentially.

Moreover, most people are engaged in physical labor and must eat staple foods to survive. If they only eat sweet potatoes, they will not have the strength to move things.

But where can we get so much rice and flour? They were all saved from the mouths of the frontline soldiers, and the quantity was not enough, and sometimes they could not be delivered in time.

Now listening to Kong Hao's tone, this kind of supplies are available every month, and the quantity is not small. There are as much as 50 kilograms of food a month, which solves a big problem for the arsenal.