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

At this time, a tricycle convoy came from behind and saw the troops on the roadside. They hurriedly stopped and the team leader came forward to ask, hoping that the cavalry troops would give way.

After hearing this, Li Yunlong nodded in agreement. Seeing this, Chu Yunfei immediately had the war horses pulled aside to let the three-wheeled convoy pass first.

"Brother Yunlong, I've heard that your Eighth Route Army gets along very well with the people in the area under your jurisdiction. Now it seems that your reputation is well-deserved. If it were our Shanxi Suiyuan Army, the people would not dare to approach us when they saw so many troops."

"By the way, I just saw that the convoy was loaded with all kinds of supplies, and the vehicles they used were also weird-looking, with three wheels. I'm really enlightened today."

"Brother Yunfei, that's called a human-powered tricycle. It only needs one person to move forward quickly. Even though it's relatively small, it can easily pull 400 kilograms of cargo. If the layout is reasonable, even if it pulls 500 kilograms, it won't be a big problem."

"It was just a civilian transport convoy, mainly transporting some agricultural products to the town to sell. Now that our road has been repaired, it is most convenient to use human-powered tricycles to transport the goods. After unloading, other supplies can be transported to other places."

"There are quite a lot of transport teams like this, and their speed is not slow. They can easily travel 100 to 180 miles a day. Generally, the distance to a distant town is only 20 miles, and the team can transport supplies several times."

"In the past, long-distance transportation like this was done by horse-drawn carriages, but raising a horse is too expensive. Even a simple horse that pulls a cart consumes more food than a person. It's nothing like now. As long as the price is right, there are many good guys willing to do this."

"In addition to transporting goods, it can also transport people. A tricycle can carry three to four adults. It used to be very troublesome to go on a long journey, but now it is much more convenient. You can go whenever you want."

Of course, Li Yunlong said it more easily, but it was also a very difficult process.

At the beginning, there were not so many people pulling goods among the people. The main reason was that people ate poorly and their bodies could not keep up with the work. Basically, they would rest for a few hours after each trip before they could continue working.

At that time, the circulation of materials and personnel was actually not as convenient as it is now. After all, it required a lot of manpower and the unit price was high. Compared with horse-drawn carriages, it did not have an overwhelming advantage.

Until recently, a large number of wild animals appeared in our base, which suddenly broke the balance. A large amount of meat rushed into the market, directly driving down the relevant prices.

Moreover, people often come across big fat rabbits in their own fields or at home. At the beginning, the whole family would eat them sparingly, but if they hang more than two cured rabbits at home, they will basically choose to sell the ones they catch in the market in the future.

If you eat more meat, you will definitely be stronger and have better physical fitness. This is an eternal truth.

Next, more and more people will use tricycles to engage in the freight industry, and all kinds of materials will begin to flow. The base also promptly put tens of thousands of bicycles into the market based on market feedback, so that all the people can benefit.

Although Li Yunlong said it lightly, Chu Yunfei was greatly shocked after hearing it.

He only took a glance at the tricycle just now and assessed its value. This tricycle can carry both goods and people, and its speed is not slow. It is simply an ideal means of transportation.

As long as the road is built and leveled, it can be connected to nearby villages and towns. Logistics will be smooth and the prices of many goods will naturally drop, which will be of great benefit to everyone.

For example, woodcutters used to chop a load of firewood in the mountains and carry it to a town more than 20 miles away to sell it. This round trip took a whole day, which also resulted in the price of firewood in the town being very expensive, and ordinary people simply could not afford it.

Now that we have tricycles, we can carry five or six loads at a time, and a round trip takes only four hours. With more firewood in the city, its price will naturally drop, and the cost of living for the people will naturally decrease. With extra money, they can buy more food, and the living standards will be improved at once.

In addition, county towns and slightly larger towns are now promoting stoves and honeycomb coal, and delivering them by tricycle is the most appropriate way, and it can also provide various jobs for the people.

In Chu Yunfei's opinion, this mode of transportation is very reasonable. Ordinary people can use it to make a living in peacetime, and once war comes, it can be used to transport various logistical supplies, even bullets and artillery shells, to the army.

A bicycle has a transport capacity of 400 kilograms, which means it can carry three soldiers, all weapons and equipment, and a large amount of logistical supplies. If a thousand bicycles can be mobilized, wouldn't it allow an infantry regiment to maneuver quickly?

If there are 5,000 or 10,000 vehicles, the value generated will be even more immeasurable. Whether it is for civilian or military use, it will be an excellent choice.

Thinking of this, Chu Yunfei asked with a smile on his face: "Brother Yunlong, are these tricycles produced by your base? My 358th Regiment also wants to buy some to transport military supplies. I wonder what the price is?"

"Brother Yunfei, that's right. This is the latest product developed by our base. A tricycle costs about 80 yuan. You still think it's expensive. I guess you saw it just now. This tricycle has three wheels and uses more than kilograms of high-quality steel. The price I'm giving you is a friendly price."

In fact, including all the costs, the tricycle does not exceed twenty-five yuan, and it is sold to ordinary people for thirty yuan. Of course, most people cannot afford it, so they can only rent it, and the price is very reasonable.

And the price sold to Chu Yunfei was only 40 dollars, which was not too bad. On the contrary, it was a friendly price. If you buy it from those unscrupulous manufacturers abroad, they would not even give it to you unless the price is two or three times higher.

Primary industrial products like tricycles don't really have much technical content, it's just that the raw materials are more troublesome, especially the large amounts of steel and rubber required.

However, our newly built self-developed steel mills have unskilled technical personnel and relatively backward equipment, so the steel they produce is only mediocre and is just enough to produce bicycle parts.

This is what industrialization works like. Only by producing things in large quantities can the costs be spread out. After selling the bicycles, a large amount of funds can be obtained to open more steel mills, and the corresponding steelmaking technology will become more and more perfect.

When Chu Yunfei heard that a tricycle only cost 40 yuan, he thought it was a really fair price. You know, even in the big cities where the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was stationed, even a two-wheeled bicycle would cost 50 yuan, not to mention a tricycle with an extra wheel that could carry more things.

In fact, in his mind, such a good thing should cost at least sixty or seventy dollars. Since it was so cheap, he didn't hesitate and directly placed an order for one thousand tricycles. It only cost forty thousand dollars, which was a small amount of money.

When Li Yunlong heard that Chu Yunfei bought so much at once, he was extremely happy. He made 15,000 yuan in one go and could build another factory for the base.