Industry began in 1937

However, before the messenger sent to contact Ma Tabizi could bring back any news, an even more alarming message reached Hekouji—the Eighth Route Army had arrived!

It's not a rumor, it's a real team, dressed in gray military uniforms, wearing leggings, and with "Eighth Route Army" armbands! There weren't many of them, about forty or fifty, but they moved swiftly and were very disciplined. They had already passed Qiannanyu and were heading towards Hekouji and Gouzi Village!

The cadres leading the team were surnamed Zhou and Gao.

"The Eighth Route Army? They... how did they get here so quickly?!" Zhang Juejiu's voice trembled.

Although he used the name "Jixi Civil Training Office," it was just a facade. The real Eighth Route Army was a regular force, a highly capable squad tasked with establishing base areas. Its influence and deterrent power far surpassed that of his ragtag army.

Zhang Juejiu's expression changed.

He had served in the military and as an instructor in his early years, so he was not entirely ignorant of the current situation.

He knew that the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had cooperated, and that the Eighth Route Army was a legitimate anti-Japanese force, still nominally bearing the designation of the National Revolutionary Army.

He could use the charges of "colluding with deserters" and "disobeying orders" to bully disorganized villages, but he was no match for the Eighth Route Army that actually came from the front lines in Shanxi.

They fought the Japanese devils with real swords and guns!

"General Manager, what should we do? If the Eighth Route Army goes to Gouzi Village, then we..." Lu Jiwu was also a little flustered. No matter how fierce he was, he knew that an egg couldn't fight a rock.

Zhang Juejiu forced himself to calm down and quickly weighed the options.

He absolutely could not win in a fight, and would immediately become a target of the Eighth Route Army, and all his possessions would be wiped out in an instant.

Hide? Where can we hide? Since the Eighth Route Army is here to establish a base, this mountainous area will probably fall into their hands from now on.

"Pass down the order!" Zhang Juejiu gritted his teeth and made the decision. "All units must restrain their troops and not engage in any conflict with the Eighth Route Army! We...we will retreat back to Luoluo Town!"

"Withdraw from Luoluo Town? Nagouzi Village..." An Qingshan was unwilling.

"Foolish!" Zhang Juejiu hissed. "The Eighth Route Army is clearly heading for Gouzi Village! If we confront them head-on now, we'll be courting death! Retreat first! Let's see how things develop! Tell the outside world... say we're giving the Eighth Route Army face, that we're all anti-Japanese armed forces and shouldn't fight amongst ourselves, so we're letting Gouzi Village go for now and seeing what happens!"

This excuse is weak and feeble, but it's the only way to cover up the shame in the face of guns.

Soon, the remnants of the Red Spear Society in Hekouji, led by Zhang Juejiu and others, fled in panic towards their old stronghold, Luluo Town.

The arrogant attitude of "flattening Gouzi Village" that they had shown when they arrived has now turned into a scene of devastation and the fear of surviving a catastrophe.

Almost at the same time that the Red Spear Society withdrew, the "First Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Team in Northeast China" led by Zhou Huan and Gao Yang also arrived at Gouzi Village.

Instead of disturbing the villagers, they camped on the hillside outside the village and sent only a small number of cadres into the village to contact Wen Shizhou, Third Master, and others.

The villagers witnessed this army, so different from the defeated soldiers and the Red Spear Society, with its disciplined military bearing and amiable attitude. In particular, when they learned that it was their arrival that had driven back the Red Spear Society, they cheered with joy and were moved to tears.

Third Master and the villagers insisted on slaughtering pigs and sheep as a reward, but Zhou Huan and Gao Yang firmly refused, only accepting some vegetables and coarse grains, and insisting on paying the market price.

Zhou Huan and Gao Yang only stayed in Gouzi Village for one day.

They were pressed for time; there was an even more important task in Jiangshui Town—to establish an anti-Japanese regime.

They highly praised the spirit of the villagers of Gouzi Village in their spontaneous armed struggle and heroic resistance against the enemy. They left behind several staff members to assist Wen Shizhou in further organizing the villagers and publicizing the anti-Japanese policy, and agreed to maintain contact.

Before leaving, Zhou Huan shook Wen Shizhou's hand and said, "Comrade Wen, your work here has been very successful! Gouzi Village is a very solid foothold! We must turn it into a strong fortress for uniting the masses and fighting against reactionary forces!"

After seeing off Zhou Huan and Gao Yangbu, the "distinguished guests" of Gouzi Village were not yet finished.

Zhang Xianyue, accompanied by several guards, arrived at Gouzi Village via another route. The main force of his advance detachment was still out on missions, but he himself needed to see this village, which had just experienced the ravages of war and was showing great potential.

Accompanied by Wen Shizhou, Zhang Xianyue met with Third Master, Zhao Dachui, and others, and held a simple mass meeting to explain the Party's policy of the anti-Japanese national united front and to explain why the Eighth Route Army came and for whom it fought. The villagers were deeply moved and felt that everything was suddenly clear.

After the meeting, Zhang Xianyue specifically requested to meet "Blacksmith Chen".

Led by Wen Shizhou, Zhang Xianyue arrived at the "blacksmith shop" outside the mine in the back mountain.

Chen Yuan had just finished cleaning up the tools from the battle, his hands still covered in oil.

Seeing this lean, capable, and piercing Eighth Route Army cadre, he was also somewhat excited.

"Chief Zhang... Chief Zhang." Chen Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

He had never heard of this person before, but he imagined that he would become a high-ranking leader in the future.

"Just call me Comrade, or Old Zhang." Zhang Xianyue was very easygoing. He looked around the workshop with great interest at the furnace, the chopping block, and especially the two man-made blowers and the grinding wheel. He then picked up a newly forged, gleaming woodcutter's knife and examined its blade.

Nodding in praise, he said, "Comrade Chen Yuan, you're remarkable! Comrade Wen Shizhou told me you could forge excellent ironware, but I didn't entirely believe him. Seeing it with my own eyes, I know he wasn't exaggerating! The workmanship and materials are no worse than some of the veteran craftsmen in our arsenal! Especially impressive is your ability to adapt to local conditions and create these labor-saving machines—you're very clever!"

Chen Yuan said a few words of modesty.

Zhang Xianyue's tone shifted, his expression turning serious: "Comrade Chen Yuan, with the nation in peril, our Eighth Route Army is fighting deep behind enemy lines, and what we lack most is weaponry and equipment, especially reliable cold weapons and skilled firearms repairmen. I see you have that potential. I wonder if you would be willing to produce some of the urgently needed supplies for our Eighth Route Army?"

Chen Yuan had already intended this, and immediately nodded: "Commander Zhang, anything that's needed to fight the Japanese, I'll do my best!"

"Great!" Zhang Xianyue's eyes lit up. "Right now, what we urgently need are two things: first, bayonets—many soldiers' rifles don't have bayonets, putting them at a disadvantage in close combat; second, gun repairs—many old rifles are missing spare parts. Can you think of a solution?"

"The bayonet is no problem. As long as there's a sample or blueprint, I can make one and guarantee the quality," Chen Yuan affirmed. This was the simplest thing for him and the flint platform. "Repairing firearms... it depends on what parts are missing. Some simple firing pins, springs, and small parts, maybe we can try to make them."

Zhang Xianyue nodded; this had exceeded his expectations.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked with a glimmer of hope, "What about bullets? Bullets are what we lack most. Sometimes each soldier only has three or five rounds, which is hardly enough to fight freely. Can you... produce bullets?"

Chen Yuan paused for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "Commander Zhang, bullets... I can't make them." He saw a clear disappointment flash in Zhang Xianyue's eyes, but then added, "Bullets require a complete production line, specific propellant, primer, bullet jacket material, and strict specifications and safety requirements. I... don't have the necessary conditions here at all. If I force them to be made, they might not only be unusable, but could also hurt our own people."

Zhang Xianyue sighed. He knew that this request was a bit unreasonable. Bullet production was a real military industry. Even the simplest reloaded bullet required specific molds and raw materials.

"However," Chen Yuan changed the subject, his tone becoming serious, "although I can't make bullets, I might... be able to make hand-operated machinery for producing bullets."

"What?" Zhang Xianyue didn't react for a moment. "Handmade machinery? Bullet production?"

"Yes." Chen Yuan explained, quickly organizing his thoughts, combining what he had seen sporadically online in his previous life about manually reloading bullets in the border region of Pakistan, as well as some early, rudimentary bullet production workshops.

"I don't have a complete bullet production line. But if it's a small-scale process that uses recycled old bullet casings for cleaning, shaping, reloading propellant, pressing in new bullets, and installing primers... this whole process can actually be broken down into relatively simple manual steps. Each step can be completed using specially designed, human-powered small machines."

As he spoke, he gestured with his hands: "For example, there's the small vise and punch used for stamping and trimming deformed cartridge cases, the small lever-type measuring spoon and funnel used for metering gunpowder, the manual screw press used to press the bullet into the cartridge case, and the special primer holder and cap press used to install the primer... These tools aren't too complicated in structure; the key is precision and durability. As long as the materials are good enough and the processing is meticulous, it can greatly improve the efficiency, consistency, and safety of reloading bullets, which is much better and safer than relying entirely on manual hammering and awl hammering."

Zhang Xianyue's eyes widened as he listened, and his breathing became rapid involuntarily!

He led troops into battle and knew all too well how precious bullets were!

The troops often risk their lives to collect discarded shell casings from the battlefield because they are valuable items that can be reloaded!

In the past, reassembly relied entirely on experienced veterans to do it manually, which was extremely inefficient, resulted in inconsistent quality, and was prone to danger.

If... if there really were a set of reliable hand tools and simple machinery specifically for reloading bullets, what would that mean for the troops?

This means that those mountains of old shell casings can be turned into bullets that can be used again on the battlefield more quickly and safely! It means that soldiers' ammunition pouches can be a little fuller!

"Comrade Chen... Comrade Chen Yuan! You... are you telling the truth? You really can make such a machine?" Zhang Xianyue grabbed Chen Yuan's arm, his voice trembling with excitement.

He stared intently into Chen Yuan's eyes, as if trying to confirm that this was not a fantasy.

"In principle, it should be possible." Chen Yuan nodded affirmatively, quickly assessing the capabilities of the "Flint" platform in his mind.

The platform cannot directly produce weapons, but producing these hand tools and simple machinery used for metal processing, stamping, and forming falls under the category of "civilian tools" or "production equipment," and theoretically should not violate the core restrictions.

The technical challenge lies in the machining of small, precision parts and the wear resistance of materials, which are precisely the strengths of the platform.

"However, I need time for design and testing, and I also need some steel. In addition, it would be best if you could give me several old cartridge cases and bullet samples of different specifications, and... if possible, I need to know the approximate process and difficulties of reloading bullets in our troops, the more detailed the better."

"Here! It's all yours!" Zhang Xianyue said without hesitation. "I'll have someone send you the samples immediately! As for the process... I'll report it to my superiors! Comrade Chen Yuan, if you can really accomplish this, you'll have made a tremendous contribution to our Eighth Route Army and the cause of resisting Japan! A truly great achievement!"

He paced excitedly around the workshop, then stopped and solemnly said to Chen Yuan, "Don't reveal this matter to anyone except Comrade Wen Shizhou for now! If you need any support, just ask Comrade Wen Shizhou, and I will do my best to coordinate! From now on, this place will be an important and secret supply point for our Eighth Route Army in western Hebei!"

A surge of warmth welled up in Chen Yuan's heart.

He knew that he had finally found the direction in which "flint" could play its most valuable role in this era and was most in line with the historical trend.

If we can't directly manufacture guns and cannons, then let's create more handy "tools" for those who can manufacture guns and cannons and make them roar again!