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

Most parts of a bicycle can be obtained by casting and can be processed and produced using folk methods. The only ones that require mechanized production are bearings and chains. This is a piece of cake for an arsenal that already has a certain industrial foundation.

Of course, the bicycles produced in this way are very ugly and very uncomfortable to ride. Their performance is far inferior to those produced by large foreign factories. At most, they will be scrapped after about two years of riding.

However, this type of bicycle is currently the most suitable for the Eighth Route Army, mainly because its parts are all cast iron and can be produced by ordinary blacksmiths. The arsenal is only responsible for machining and final assembly.

At present, the bicycle factory can produce 1,300 bicycles a month, which is mainly limited by the amount of rubber grass. The output will be increased after it is planted in large quantities in the future.

In addition, Minister Zhang will also purchase natural rubber from Southeast Asia through various channels for the production of bicycle tires, and try to produce as much as possible.

Although producing 1,300 bicycles a month may not seem like a large number, it can solve many problems for the troops.

At least the logistics department can form a special bicycle transport team to transport supplies quickly in emergency situations.

In addition, each major base will also be allocated some, which can be used as a means of transportation to save time and improve efficiency.

After all, the Eighth Route Army has a limited number of horses, and the cost of raising a horse is too high. Moreover, the horse must be fed with good concentrated feed, otherwise there is no way the horse can work smoothly. This is not raising horses, it is simply raising a group of uncles.

It's not like a bicycle. Once it's produced, you basically don't have to take care of it. At most you need to do some maintenance and add some lubricating oil every once in a while.

Everyone knew the benefits of bicycles before, but the price on the market was too expensive. One bicycle was at least equivalent to three months' salary for an ordinary worker in Shanghai. With the limited funds of the Eighth Route Army, they simply could not afford to buy one.

Most of them were seized from traitors and spies, and the small number was basically given to the armed work teams behind enemy lines.

Now that we have our own factory, we will definitely start mass production to equip the troops. As for the cost, it is almost negligible. This is the advantage of large-scale industrialized production.

However, Kong Hao became speechless when he saw the simple bicycle in the parking shed. If this kind of bicycle was placed abroad, he would probably be laughed at by his peers.

Secretary Meng saw this and quickly explained with a smile: "General Consultant, this is the first generation of bicycles. It is in the verification stage. It will be improved based on the actual test results later."

"In order to keep costs as low as possible, many parts have been removed. But it's still OK for a short ride, you just have to use a little more force when pedaling, and your butt will feel a little uncomfortable if you sit for a long time."

Kong Hao was not a pretentious person, so he and his secretary each received a bicycle and rode towards the steel plant, taking the opportunity to feel the difference between their own bicycles and those produced abroad.

But after riding for a few minutes, he felt a little regretful. If he had known the distance was so short, he would have run to save his butt from suffering.

When the two arrived at the outskirts of the steel plant, they were stopped by the sentry. Even though Kong Hao was the chief consultant, he had to check the relevant documents before he could feel at ease. This was a rule set by Kong Hao himself, and all confidentiality units must strictly enforce it.

Secretary Meng showed his pass to the sentry at the checkpoint, put his bicycle aside, and came to the steel plant area.

The director of the steel plant, whose surname is Ouyang and whose given name is Zu Zheng, was a former engineer at the Taiyuan Iron Plant. He is over 50 years old and has been dealing with steelmaking and ironmaking for most of his life.

Since the Japanese occupied Taiyuan, he was unwilling to work for them, so he moved to the countryside with his apprentice and family, bought a few acres of land, and lived a secluded pastoral life.

A few months ago, due to the rapid development of the arsenal, there was an urgent need for professional talents in various mechanical fields. Minister Zhang sent a large number of personnel to find those technicians and engineers who were scattered among the people because of the war. Ouyang Zuzheng was one of them.

When Ouyang heard that the Eighth Route Army had established a large machinery factory, he brought his apprentice and family to the arsenal without saying a word. He did not ask for any treatment, as long as food and accommodation were provided.

In the past few decades, China has been bullied by the great powers because of its weak industry. Even small fry like Italy dared to boss us around, making it impossible for all Chinese people to hold their heads up high on the Blue Planet.

When Ouyang was young, he set the dream of saving the country through industry. He started as an apprentice, and with his passion for research, he became a technician and finally an engineer.

But the Japanese invaders came and the Taiyuan Iron Works was also seized by the enemy. Everything became a bubble. This made Ouyang very sad. He thought that China would sink and would never recover.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. The Eighth Route Army managed to build such a large business in this remote mountain area. There are not only various machinery factories, but also bullet production lines, rifle and pistol production lines.

Although it is not as big as the original Taiyuan Arsenal, it will have a bright future if it continues to develop.

In addition, the Eighth Route Army was determined to fight the Japanese. Even if they produced one more bullet every day, they might be able to kill one more enemy and make a small contribution to the country.

In fact, to be honest, Director Ouyang is still Kong Hao's student, and he has often listened to Kong Hao's lectures on factory management.

"Chief Advisor, you are finally here. You may not know that during the time you were away from the Arsenal, we all seemed to have lost our backbone and were always feeling uneasy."

"In fact, I have always insisted on my opinion. Technicians have their own way of serving the country. It is the same to produce more weapons and ammunition and give them to the soldiers to fight more Japanese invaders. Even if we produce one more bullet every day, we have the opportunity to kill a small Japanese invader and make our own contribution to this country."

"If a genius of your level were to go to the battlefield and fight, if anything were to happen, it would be a huge loss. Unfortunately, I am a nobody and no one is willing to listen to my opinion."

In response to Director Ouyang's complaints, Kong Hao quickly said a few words of comfort and also promised to stay in the arsenal for a longer period of time this time.

In fact, there have always been two different opinions about Kong Hao. The military industry system certainly hopes that their chief consultant will stay in the arsenal every day to guide everyone's work. With Kong Hao around, effective solutions can be obtained no matter what happens.

The main reason was that Kong Hao had returned from the industrially developed Eagle Country. He had seen a lot of large-scale mechanized production and was familiar with many things in it. Unlike other people in the arsenal, they were at most factory engineers and had always been weak in factory management.