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

People got used to it; as long as important intelligence came back from Shanghai and the Xingtian Special Forces were brought in, everything made sense, and no one found it strange.

Now that Kong Hao has returned, everyone can rest assured. Next, they're thinking about how to give the Japanese devils a good beating.

In contrast to the calm here, some parts of the base area are filled with undercurrents.

Zexian County in Shanxi Province is a transportation hub with an extremely important geographical location, connecting several surrounding areas.

Three months ago, in order to establish communication between the two base areas, the Eighth Route Army sent Li Yunlong's independent column to recapture Ze County and stationed a main force regiment in the county town.

By the way, with the arrival of our troops' weapons and equipment, all units have been equipped with the latest standard equipment, no longer the mixed bag of equipment from various countries as before.

This was incredibly good news for us logistics staff, and many of them even burst into tears on the spot.

Those who haven't worked in our military logistics can't understand the hardships and the moments that drive you to the brink of collapse.

Previously, some of our units had five or six different types of rifles in a single infantry company, such as the Type 38 rifle, the old-style rifle, the Hanyang rifle, the British Type 77, the Liaoning Type 13, etc. These rifles had vastly different calibers and required different types of ammunition.

On the battlefield, once the ammunition for a certain type of rifle runs out, soldiers can only engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy using their rifles. If they have bayonets, at least they can fight with the enemy with bayonets. If they don't have bayonets, they can only swing their rifles like wooden sticks.

In fact, everyone knows the impact of standardizing weapon calibers on the combat effectiveness of a unit, but unfortunately we had nothing back then and couldn't do it at all.

Now, after several years of hard work, we have finally succeeded. Looking back, it really wasn't easy.

After the standardization of weaponry and equipment, the old troop organization can no longer keep up with the current development. After all, the firepower output of an infantry company now is equivalent to that of an infantry regiment in the past, so there is no need for so many soldiers to charge with broadswords and spears.

For this reason, Ding Wei and Kong Jie were both promoted to column commanders. Each column had about 10,000 men, divided into three infantry regiments and column-level directly subordinate units, which greatly increased their strength.

The column's directly subordinate units included a 75mm mountain gun battalion, a mechanized battalion, an air defense battalion, an engineer company, a recoilless gun company, and a transport battalion.

Its actual combat strength far exceeded that of a Japanese field brigade, which made it much more flexible in terms of battlefield deployment.

Of course, it still can't compare to Li Yunlong's Independent Column; after all, he had the advantage of being close to the source, something that can't be envied.

However, as our troops grew stronger, the Independent Column only assigned a small part of its troops as guards, while the rest were transferred to the front lines to fight the Japanese invaders.

Zexian County was also recaptured by Li Yunlong's troops. After several months of development, it has become a logistics base for our army, specializing in producing large quantities of military supplies for the frontline combat troops.

Because Zexian County has a large river with a relatively fast current, it is perfect for hydroelectric power generation to supply the county's small industrial base.

However, precisely because of this, the hydroelectric power station became a thorn in the side of the enemy, who specially sent a large number of personnel to infiltrate our base area in an attempt to destroy our hydroelectric power station.

Without electricity, most of the machinery in the industrial zone cannot operate normally. Building a thermal power plant would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and most importantly, the coal used for power generation would have to be transported from a great distance, which would definitely delay the production progress of the industrial zone.

The enemy also saw this opportunity, so a large number of spies were sent to Zexian to carry out sabotage.

Xinxin Street is the most prosperous street in Zexian County. It is lined with shops, and a large number of industrial products produced in the revolutionary base area can be found here.

It actually includes all kinds of modified bicycles and tricycles, all kinds of lubricants, measuring tools, small machines and equipment, and all kinds of repair tools;

Daily necessities related to people's livelihoods include grains, canned goods, stoves, honeycomb briquettes, cured meat, pots and pans, sickles, hoes, shovels, kitchen knives, wool sweaters, cotton-padded clothes, and other household items.

This is also one of the benefits of rapid industrial development. As long as it's not large machinery and equipment, you can buy these things even in a small county town, and at incredibly low prices.

Moreover, as we recover more and more territory, the population is no longer a burden, but a huge asset.

The first to discover this situation were the poor people at the bottom of society. When Zexian County was occupied by the enemy, the people lived a life of unbearable suffering.

They had nothing to eat or wear, and were frequently bullied by Japanese invaders and traitors; it was a life that was simply inhuman.

But the day after the Eighth Route Army recaptured the area, everyone felt completely different from before, and could even be described as flattered.

Before the smoke of battle had cleared, the Independent Column dispatched a large number of troops to clean up garbage and repair houses on the streets, while also mobilizing a large amount of supplies into the city.

As long as they live in the city, each person will be given 20 jin of rice or wheat flour and a can of meat to ensure that every household has a month's worth of food, so that no one will go hungry.

A week later, large quantities of industrial products and grains were transported to the county town, and everyone discovered that the prices of various goods had plummeted.

Funds that could only buy one pound of grain can now buy three pounds; meat that was once a month can now be eaten every few days.

Originally, a family only had two sets of clothes, which were worn by whoever went out. Now, the whole family has new clothes to wear, and even clothes that they like.

This was a leap forward, transforming ordinary people who had grown accustomed to a life of misery into a life of luxury.

On the streets of the county town, you can often hear the crisp sound of slaps. This is not a fight, but someone hitting themselves to confirm it because they don't believe it.

The next step was to recruit a large number of workers to repair houses, clean up garbage, repair roads outside the city, and help the troops transport supplies, etc.

You could say that as long as you're not lazy and you have some strength, you can find work.

The wages weren't paid in cash; instead, they were given grain and canned food. A grown man could earn five pounds of grain and a can of meat every two days for a day's work, enough to feed his whole family.

If the elderly are living alone, they will be regularly given rice, flour, and cooking oil, and all their daily necessities will be provided to ensure that no elderly person goes hungry or cold.

Children should go to school when they reach the appropriate age. All expenses are free, and three meals a day are provided, which can also reduce the burden on the family.

After all, education must start from childhood, and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation can only be achieved through the efforts of generation after generation.