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

You know, under the current circumstances, any weapon is valuable. Even a Hanyang rifle sells for 15 yuan on the market. This top-quality rifle is only yuan, and it comes with rounds of bullets. It is simply a great bargain.

"Director Kong, how much do you charge for bullets? If we can't keep supplying them, even the best rifles will just be scrap metal."

"Director Tang, twenty rounds of bullets for one dollar."

The reason why the price of bullets is so low is thanks to the advantages of the base's industrial cluster. Everything needed to produce bullets can be obtained within a radius of 20 kilometers from the base, and the transportation cost is almost negligible.

Especially the high-quality copper mine, which is located right next to the industrial zone. The copper ore is buried very shallowly and can be easily mined in large quantities using simple machinery. Because of its high quality, the smelting process is also very simple, which leads to very low production costs.

China has always been short of copper, otherwise it would not use copper coins as currency. The reason why the current price of bullets in the country is so expensive is because of the shortage of raw materials, especially refined copper.

But the situation is a little better now. Our base has added several new smelters in the copper mine area. In addition to meeting our own needs, the processed copper ingots have been provided on a small scale to other arsenals in the Kuomintang-controlled areas.

Of course, in order to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings from others, we put them on the market in small batches, which resulted in the price of refined copper ingots in the base being very cheap, only about 50% of that in the Kuomintang-controlled areas.

Many businessmen who transport supplies from other places, seeing such a good business opportunity, will definitely try to find ways to buy them back to produce bullets, usually one hundred kilograms or two hundred kilograms, and they will get several times the profit after transporting them back.

In the Kuomintang-controlled areas, anything related to copper is considered a strategic material, and many times it is not measured in terms of money. As long as it is transported back, it is a great achievement. The arsenals in the Kuomintang-controlled areas will definitely rush to get it, and all future business will be smooth there.

A 7.92mm rifle bullet requires 15 grams of copper. One ton of pure copper can produce bullets, and ten tons can produce bullets. If an extra tons can be produced per month, an extra million bullets can be produced, which is a huge improvement in the firepower output of other troops.

According to statistics from the industrial zone, about 120 tons of loose copper ingots are sold on the market every month. However, buyers are afraid of attracting our attention, so they buy them in batches of more than ten kilograms.

However, Kong Hao didn't care about these things at all. He wished that China had as many copper mines as possible. In addition to making bullets and artillery shells, refined copper had many uses in other fields.

After hearing the price, Director Tang thought it was a great deal, so after a brief thought, he gave a number according to his authority.

"Then we will first purchase 10,000 improved Ma Sihuan rifles and 2 million rounds of ammunition. We will purchase more in the future based on demand."

"Shenhui three hundred thousand oceans."

Next was the display of the Type 40 pistol, the side-loading Mauser pistol and the Czech light machine gun. These were also good stuff, and Director Tang was very excited to see them.

The Type 40 pistol, in particular, is very easy to use. It is just right to purchase a batch to replace the equipment of the mid-level generals of the Gui Army. As for the Mauser pistol, it is more suitable for the squad leaders and platoon leaders of the front-line combat troops to equip in large quantities. Not to mention the Czech light machine gun. Those who understand will understand.

Finally, Director Tang reported another number: 40 Type 800 pistols, 2000 Mauser pistols, and 600 Czech light machine guns, corresponding to 200 million rounds of bullets.

Kong Hao's offer was two hundred thousand dollars, which was a fair price.

Next, the three of them came to another area where artillery pieces were displayed, including grenade launchers, 60mm mortars and Type infantry guns.

When Commander Jiang saw this, he was surprised and said, "Captain Kong, you actually have artillery for sale! This is incredible."

It's no wonder that he behaved so out of control. These days, every army is short of heavy weapons, especially barreled artillery like the Type 92 infantry gun, which can only be captured from the Japanese. Moreover, the shells are in short supply, and there are not enough for his own troops to use. No one would be stupid enough to sell them for money.

However, our arsenal has already mastered the technology of the Type 92 infantry gun and has even developed a special production line for its production. The output is not high, only about 150 guns per month.

Each Japanese battalion had an artillery squad equipped with two Type 92 infantry guns, while each of our ordinary infantry regiments had an artillery platoon directly equipped with four Type 92 infantry guns. Calculated in this way, our monthly output was enough to arm more than 30 artillery regiments.

In addition, our 75mm mountain guns have been mass-produced, so we can sell some of the Type infantry guns to friendly forces to improve the combat effectiveness of other troops.

After all, at this time, the Japanese are still very powerful and are still on the offensive, while the Chinese army is still struggling to resist. This requires all troops to work together to fight the enemy.

"Director Tang, Commander Jiang, these artillery pieces are sold in limited quantities each month, and the price is very high, far from comparable to the previous light weapons."

After hearing this, Director Tang patted his chest and said, "It's okay if it's a little expensive. This kind of good stuff is not available in the current market even if you have money, especially the Type 92 infantry gun. It's the main artillery weapon of the Japanese. Our troops have suffered a lot from it. Every time we encounter it, we suffer heavy losses."

"Of course, on the other hand, if our troops were equipped with a large number of Type 92 infantry guns, the Japanese would be the ones having a headache."

"Well, according to our regulations, we can sell you one hundred grenade launchers with thirty thousand rounds of ammunition each month; thirty 60mm mortars with six thousand rounds of ammunition; and eight Type 92 infantry guns with one thousand two hundred rounds of ammunition."

"Our arsenal has limited production capacity. In addition to equipping our own troops, we can only squeeze out a portion of artillery to support friendly forces. In addition to your Guangxi Army, there are also Sichuan Army, Shaanxi Army, Hunan Army, Yunnan Army, Guizhou Army and Northeast Army, etc. Everyone needs these artillery, so we can't favor one over the other."

Hearing this number was far beyond Minister Tang's expectations. He originally thought that it would be good enough if he could buy one-third of it.

One hundred grenade launchers is only average, but they can buy 30,000 artillery shells, which is amazing.

In fact, the Gui army had fought with the Japanese for so many years and had captured some of their grenade launchers, but the Gui army's military industrial strength was not very good and it could not produce artillery shells suitable for grenade launchers, so the front-line troops were only equipped with a few grenade launchers.

But if we can obtain a large number of grenade launcher-specific shells, the firepower of the troops can at least be improved to a higher level. After all, as we are beaten more often, we will naturally learn the enemy's grenade launcher tactics. We just lack sufficient ammunition.

As for the thirty mortars, five new light mortar companies can be formed. Even Commander Li cannot ignore such an artillery unit.