Canteen System Assistance Notes

Chapter 48 The curtain falls?

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2350 words

2020-10-28 12: 00: 00

Yan Laoxi attached great importance to his industry. He established the Shanxi Machinery Bureau, which smelted steel and manufactured guns and cannons. He also began producing cigarettes, fertilizers, and coins. Under his supervision, Shanxi's industry flourished, employing approximately 5 people and even establishing a vocational education system.

But what does Yan Laoxi value about these factories?

He valued the profits these factories brought him. Guns and ammunition were warlords' capital, fertilizer powder was the raw material for energy materials, the privately minted currency allowed him to compete with the central government, represented by preserved fruits, for economic control, and various light industrial products brought him a steady stream of income. So, when these factories became negatively impacted by raw material shortages, rising costs, and interference from preserved fruits, he stopped paying attention.

Historically, after the peak of production following the war between warlords, Yan Laoxi's industry has been in a slow decline. Take ammunition as an example - its production capacity of 7 rifle bullets a day was quite "excellent", but the Battle of Xinkou emptied all of Yan's bullet and artillery stockpiles; because of the promotion of fertilizer powder, Shanxi Province had a very good per-acre yield of land, and at that time even had good grain reserves, which even the Eighth Route Army could exchange for grain - but many workers still could not afford to buy enough food to feed their families.

It can be seen that behind the powerful "Jin-made Industry" is a weak body with a weak foundation, insufficient inventory and even insufficient attention.

So, what is Yan Laoxi’s real wealth?

It wasn't the secondhand Japanese machine tools, the old Martin open-hearth furnace, or the centrally-driven factory buildings powered by belts and steam engines, but rather the more than 50,000 industrial workers. It was these neglected, disposable workers, those with unpaid wages, those starving and unable to even support their families, yet those who toiled diligently to produce overtime for the war effort, who held up the last vestiges of Shanxi's industrial production.

Historically, on the eve of the fall of Jinyang, Lao Xi was still suppressing the workers' movement for wages. When Jinyang fell, he couldn't even find anyone to help him dismantle the machinery and destroy the factory. So, Lao Xi, you don't want these workers, so the Eighth Route Army stood up and said: We will "grudgingly" take on this trouble.

Then, Lao Xi would follow the principle of "If I don't want it, you don't want it either."

No, aside from Vice Chairman Zhao Daiwen, who, hoping to help his leadership "solve the problem of troublesome workers," simply approved the Eighth Route Army's permit. Meanwhile, the Communist Party members surrounding Governor Sun Shutang of Shaanxi Province were already so busy that they could host a buffet, and his permit slipped smoothly into the hands of the Eighth Route Army. Furthermore, thanks to the Eighth Route Army's "maneuvering," Nationalist troops along the way would even help escort the workers—after all, their food supply likely depended on these red-headed allies.

In the unoccupied areas of Shanxi Province, local Sacrifice Alliances organized themselves and set up numerous supply points and rest stops along the Jinyang-Fengling line, providing food and water to the evacuated workers and offering rest to the sick and injured. Active workers were organized and trained, forming what would later become the famous "Workers' Corps," which followed the 129th Division into the area and began their military careers.

During these precious few months of inactivity, subsequent statistics indicate that the Eighth Route Army took in over 20,000 to nearly 30,000 workers, along with their families, totaling nearly 100,000 people. This valuable wealth provided a powerful impetus for the industrialization efforts underway in the border region and the new coal and steel community being built in Huinong District.

In this way, the Eighth Route Army pulled workers and supplies, the Lao Xi fought on the front line, and the Japanese slowly advanced. Around November 20, 1937, the Japanese army finally climbed out of the overlapping peaks of the Biaolihe Mountain and followed the basins connected by Shanxi Province to attack Jinyang City.

With this, the Battle of Jinyang came to a close. The entire Shanxi Province campaign ended with the Japanese army capturing Jinyang, defeating the Nationalist army, and securing victory. Meanwhile, Fu Shuili, discontent with the loss of Jinyang, the endless wrangling, and wary of the Eighth Route Army's superior performance, ultimately deserted the Jin Army. Yan Laoxi abandoned many of his most cherished units and spheres of influence, retreating to Kenanpo, carefully clinging to his last remaining trump card. The 101st, further convinced of Guosu's inability to win domestic or international battles, abandoned any remaining illusions and plunged into the vast expanse of North China, exploiting the Japanese army's weaknesses and establishing a subsequent anti-Japanese base.

Regarding this situation, Chairman Mao stated, "In North China, the conventional war, led by the KMT, has ended, and guerrilla warfare, led by the Communist Party, has become the primary force." The Central Military Commission adjusted its deployment, deciding to use the 120th Division as the primary force to establish a base in northwestern Shanxi. The main force of the 115th Division would advance eastward to seek new opportunities in Shandong Province. The main force of the 129th Division and the 344th Brigade of the 115th Division would be reorganized to establish an anti-Japanese base in the Shanxi-Hebei-Henan region. As for a portion of the newly formed 165th Division, it would replace the historical 115th Division in the subsequent eastward advance, establishing the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base.

One-sided resistance is no longer an option; all-out resistance is imperative. Guerrilla warfare, led by the Eighth Route Army, will unfold in a completely new light across the vast land of North China. Behind enemy lines lie the Japanese army, puppet troops, the vast masses waiting to be mobilized, and friendly forces with ill intentions.

However, not all national army troops are so incompetent.

In an inconspicuous little village on the land around Tongpu Road that had not yet been occupied by the Japanese army, when an intelligence officer from the Eighth Route Army Intelligence Department approached the commander of the 17th Division, Zhao Shengling, he did not seem very surprised.

"Tell me, what do you want from me?" He nonchalantly invited the intelligence officer into his room. The 17th Division, having followed the Communist Party's advice and withdrawn promptly, avoided the Japanese attack and was now stationed along the Tongpu Road for rest and recuperation.

"Oh, I think I know. It's those big, heavy iron lumps in our defense zone, right?"

After a period of boring pleasantries, both sides quickly got down to business. In Yan Laoxi's final struggle, some of the larger equipment was eventually dismantled and transported south along the Tongpu Railway. However, most of it was abandoned by the Nationalist troops escorting it, or because the conscripted porters fled, it was left along the railway line.

Most of the area here is Zhao Shengling's defense zone.

With the intelligence officer supplying food and launching some gold and silver offensives, Zhao Shengling quickly agreed to the request to open a "food relief point" in his jurisdiction and take away some equipment: this was probably a very consensual transaction.

However, before leaving, he said this to the intelligence officer:

"I, Zhao, don't actually want your money. If it were me, you could take these lathes and equipment. As long as you can make guns and cannons to fight the Japanese, it would be a good deed. Rather than leaving them here to rust, I think they'll be more useful in your hands."

"But I still have a group of brothers under me. I have to let them have something to eat no matter what. For them, I have to lend a hand." Then, he sighed.

The intelligence officer looked at Zhao Shengling and nodded:

"Then on behalf of the Eighth Route Army, I would like to thank Commander Zhao."

"Wait!" Zhao Shengling suddenly called him. The intelligence officer was stunned and turned to look at the Kuomintang general who suddenly "attacked".

"Do you want to return the skin?"

"Well, Commander Zhao, what are you doing?"

"Let Brigade Commander Yu Wen take care of the division's affairs for me. Hmm... I'm going too. Comrade, please show me the way."

Chapter 49: Workers

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2147 words

2020-10-29 12: 00: 00

Du Youlin finally crossed the Yellow River and arrived at the rather mysterious "Red Border Area".

Along the way, he met many people. There were young students full of dreams, enthusiastically calling the place the Red City, as if arriving there would instantly realize their dreams, dedicate their youthful ideals to liberating China from dire straits. There were also highly motivated machinists who hoped to use their skills with the Eighth Route Army, producing guns and ammunition to supply to the frontline troops, so that they could fight another battle like the one at Fanzhi Pass—the victory at Fanzhi Pass, where the Eighth Route Army defeated a battalion and a half of the Japanese army, had already been published in the newspapers as a special edition. This made this red force famous in Shanxi Province, attracting many people to join the army and apply. In the gossip and rumors, the Eighth Route Army had become an invincible warrior, holding a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, invulnerable, and able to kill ten Japanese soldiers with one man.

Du Youlin just laughed at this. He knew that enthusiasm alone wouldn't change anything. Most people, like him, were just unemployed and came here to beg for a living.

In fact, in a sense, as long as Lao Xi is still willing to pay him a salary, he would rather go back to Jinyang to work.

As long as I don't work for the Japanese! Du Youlin didn't have a single good impression of the Japanese who bombed his house; but when he thought of the Japanese with planes and artillery, a feeling of fatigue would always replace that anger: They are so strong, can we beat them?

So far, he has no hope.

"Du Youlin! Du Youlin! Who is Du Youlin?"

A cadre in military uniform ran past the marching workers. Du Youlin recognized him; he was the team's "number two leader," a kind of instructor. Just like the "head shift" in the workshops of old, there was always a deputy, a "second shift." He figured that when the uniformed "head shift" was away, this "second shift" was the one who took charge.

"Sir, sir, I am, I am."

After settling his pregnant wife on the cart, Du Youlin bowed his head, trotted a few steps, and moved to the side. He hoped that this "military leader" would not cause him any trouble. Although this leader had basically not caused any trouble for the past few days and was very caring for the several frail family members of the team, his instinctive aversion to soldiers still made Du Youlin put on a professional, slightly ingratiating smile.

"Hey, what's the point of calling me sir? Just call me comrade." The officer took a deep breath and shook his head. "Comrade Du Youlin, when you signed up, did you write your occupation as furnace worker?"

"Ah, sir, yes, I'm a furnace worker at the Jinyang Iron Works."

The other party nodded and asked, "Can you forget about the word 'commander'? ... Hey, you're a furnace worker, how come you've become so skinny? There are many different types of furnace workers. What did you do before?" As he spoke, the soldier pulled out a pack of cigarettes from the homespun pocket of his jacket, tapped it in his palm, and took out a cigarette. "The one who loads the materials, the one who blocks the slag, the one who controls the air? I know, furnace workers all smoke. Come on, one!"

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Why doesn’t this official look like an official?

Du Youlin bent his body slightly and took the paper cigarette without a filter. The other party also took out one, put it in his mouth, lit the cigarette with a transparent lighter, and then handed the lighter over.

"Oh, oh, comrade, report, I used to be the slag remover, and sometimes I have to do the slag blocking work as well."

The other person's words emanated an air of expertise; he'd likely worked in the steel industry before. Du Youlin couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity, and his guarded attitude relaxed a bit. He followed suit, pressing the trigger on his unused lighter, lighting his cigarette and taking a deep drag.

The slightly pungent smell of tobacco was inhaled into the body, then penetrated into the brain, and even into every corner of the body, reaching the soul. Du Youlin exhaled a puff of smoke, as if bringing away the fatigue of this period.

"Jun...oh, I'm so sorry, look at my mouth...Comrade, to be honest with you, I haven't had a full meal in almost three months. In the past, I was in charge of the big blast furnace in our Jinyang Factory, and I was on the drill pusher shift. Every time iron was tapped, my fellow workers and I would drill the mud caps. Back then, tsk tsk."

He missed it.

"It was hard work, and I felt like I was soaked every time I got off work. But I thought it was worth it. At that time, I could even provide meat for my family twice a week!"

Du Youlin held up two fingers, a little excited: "It's not minced meat, it's a big meat dish!" But as soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his head and sighed, "Unfortunately, later, the Japanese came, and then the people from the Ordnance Department came. Later, the blast furnace fire was extinguished, and the factory wages stopped."

"This guy is like a deflated bladder, he's become thinner."

"You can't be a good ironworker if you're too thin." The comrade opposite suddenly said this, "Lao Du, you have to eat meat, steamed buns, and vegetables to keep your body in good shape. Like this..." He took out a piece of paper from the paper tucked under his arm, "We have built a new steel plant by the Yellow River! In a week or so, the furnace will be put into operation.

"You happened to have worked as a furnace worker before. I told a few leaders about your situation and after some discussion, we decided to let you go there. Are you willing to go?

"I know it's not easy to make a decision all of a sudden, but I used to be a steelmaker, so I know this job is not easy," he said, shaking Du Youlin's hand. "Old Du, you've managed furnaces, pushed drill bits, and plugged slag heads—this is really not an easy job. Having you here will definitely make a big difference.

"Besides, the treatment at the steel mill over there is definitely not bad. The furnace workers don't just get meat twice a week; they get meat every meal. Also, the buildings in the factory have been renovated, so there's enough space for your family to live in."

The comrade in military uniform said sincerely and eagerly, "Old Du, this is a real chance to shine! As long as we have steel, we can make more weapons and win another Fanzhi Pass victory, and another! Until we drive the Japanese devils out of our country!"

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Do you want to go?

Du Youlin was thinking, but his hand had already grasped the other person's hand.

Up to now, Du Youlin has not thought too much about the Anti-Japanese War and the Japanese, but he knows that if he can resume work and open the furnace, he can stop his little boy from starving and his wife will no longer have to sell her dowry.

So, what was so difficult about standing in front of the blast furnace again, putting on the hot and heavy protective clothing, drinking salty boiling water, and staring at the blinding flames as the mud cap was drilled through? For this goal, he was willing to wear blackened glasses and pick up the big and thick steel drill.

The flowing molten iron is the source of his life.

"I go."

He answered the question as if he couldn't help himself.

Chapter 50 Confusing Lao Du

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2587 words

2020-10-30 12: 00: 00

The Eighth Route Army soldier who was chatting with Du Youlin was named Lu. He was said to be a metallurgical expert who had studied metallurgy in Europe and had experience in managing blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces. He was a very powerful expert in the metallurgy field of the Eighth Route Army.

After learning of his identity, Lao Du was very surprised for a while, but the other party just laughed and asked everyone to call him "Lu Gangtie" directly.

"When we can fully utilize this consortium's 30-ton design capacity, you can call me by my real name again!" He jumped off the carriage and said with great enthusiasm, "Look! This is our future steel center!"

Du Youlin was a bit skeptical. After diverting from the road to Fushe, he and some of his fellow workers boarded a horse-drawn cart bound for Huinong. Along the way, the vehicle sped through numerous small villages and the county seat. Although he saw many construction sites, Du Youlin didn't think these small development sites could compare to the industrial zone in Jinyang.

What a joke! That's a 120-ton blast furnace, a 240-ton coke oven, and a 30-ton open-hearth furnace! Compared to the 40-ton blast furnace I worked on before, the 120-ton blast furnace is like a behemoth. Unfortunately, this thing was scheduled to be put into operation in October, and now it seems that the Japanese have gotten a bargain.

He knew that the Eighth Route Army lived in poverty, so what kind of ironworks would they be building? Du Youlin lifted the curtain of the carriage and jumped out.

amount……

How much iron did the ironworks designed by the Eighth Route Army plan to produce in a year?

He saw a huge, even gigantic blast furnace, with many twisting and swirling pipes and supporting brackets, so huge that it could even block out the sun - the cloudy sky he felt in the car just now was not because the clouds blocked the sun, but because the top of this thing blocked the sun.

There were hundreds... no, thousands of people working around. They were carrying or shouldering some spare parts, or driving a steam-belching camel locomotive, dragging larger structures. They were divided into groups of people and goods, rushing to different places.

"Lao Du, what's wrong?"

Lu Gangtie was clearly accustomed to people being shocked by this stuff. "What are you staring at? It's just a small 200-cubic-meter blast furnace. In the Western countries I visited back then, anything less than a 500-cubic-meter blast furnace wasn't even worthy of being called a blast furnace. Even Japan has four 1000-cubic-meter furnaces!" He pointed to some towering earthen mounds in the distance. "When we first started, we built a few earthen blast furnaces to make these components. They were only 20 cubic meters each. Now their mission is almost complete. Our main target is this—Blast Furnace No. 1 at Huinong Steel Plant!"

Fuck, a 20-cubic-meter blast furnace is almost bigger than the main furnace at Jinyang Iron and Steel Plant! You said this is a temporary earthen blast furnace used to make components?

"Ah, Brother Lu... a 200-cubic-meter blast furnace. Can you supply iron ore on time? Do you have enough coal? Do you have a coking coal workshop? Do you have enough auxiliary materials and flux? You know, without these, such a large blast furnace can't be operated!"

As if he had anticipated such a problem, Lu Gangtie stretched out his hand, circled it, and showed it to Du Youlin as if stroking the horizon.

"Those chimneys over there are from the coking plant. The coke oven gas will come through these pipes and into the air supply workshop, while the coking coal will be pulled here by a small train and pulled onto the charging bell by the charging winch over there." He nodded at the worker who was shaking a lever to push a rail flatbed car. "Look, the meter-gauge railway in the factory is almost finished. Over there, that half-open house is full of coking coal - it's a pity that the blast furnace hasn't started firing yet, and the synthetic ammonia plant and air separation plant next door haven't started operating yet. This coking coal gas can only be burned, which is a pity.

“Oh, then our ore doesn’t have flux, so it sintered together with the ore.

"The iron ore and coal mines already existed here. We can expand them and replace the manual labor of carrying ore with some machinery to increase production. The coal here in Huinong is very good. A lot of high-quality thermal coal goes directly to the power plant, where it's burned to generate electricity to supply the factory. As for the iron ore, it's magnetite, which is a bit difficult to burn, but it's rich in iron. The ore concentrator should have just started operating. Previously, we used electromagnets to manually select the ore, and over the past few months, we've accumulated quite a bit."

Lu Gangtie panted heavily, feeling a little regretful about his one-month absence.

"This place has been under construction since the beginning of the year, and now the blast furnace is almost finished. A few weeks ago, before I went to Shanxi Province, they had just installed the water-cooled bottom. Now, the furnace lining should be almost done, right?"

"What about steelmaking? How do we make steel at the Huinong Ironworks?"

Du Youlin felt that he could not find any fault with it, and even changed the way he addressed people from "you guys" to "we".

"The initial plan is to build two twin-burner open-hearth furnaces, one with a capacity of 200 tons, each with a capacity of about 100 tons. Let's build one first and then work on the second. In our Republic of China territory, there's more iron than steel, and there's a lot of pig iron being smelted in various places. We can buy some pig iron to make steel before we build the No. 2 blast furnace," Lu Gangtie said with ease. "This design is truly remarkable. According to the blueprint, when the two beds are fully loaded, they'll alternately produce steel. We can probably produce 600 tons of carbon steel a day!"

Du Youlin was already dizzy. He had no idea what a "twin-bunk open-hearth furnace" was, nor did he understand what an "amazing oxygen lance" was. He also had no idea what Lu Gangtie's lament of "It's a pity that we can't produce high-alloy steel and we have to rely on acid electric furnaces" meant.

He was already in deep shock when he heard the daily steel supply of 600 tons.

This is nearly 10 times the steel production of Jinyang Iron Works during its peak period!

"So, the central government is really too radical. New technology accounts for 60% of this time. Although most of these things are ready-made, I didn't see anyone combining them like this when I was in Germany. I'm afraid even the Americans wouldn't dare to do this!"

"This...shouldn't we be more cautious?" Du Youlin finally waited until Lu Gangtie finished his monologue. With his brain in a state of mental breakdown, he shuddered and said this in response, "I think it's amazing that we can achieve the same level as Anshan..."

This is the symbol of the most powerful steel mill in his mind - Anshan Iron and Steel! Of course, it should be in the hands of the Japanese now.

"Well...it should be like this. But!"

Lu Gangtie suddenly turned around, grabbed Du Youlin's shoulders, and said forcefully, "But this thing is technically feasible! The results of the demonstration show that it's feasible! Scientific reasoning says it can be done, but if the Americans can't, then why can't we? The world's steel development was also achieved by the British, Americans, and Germans through trial and error, so why can't we?"

"We believe in science! Science says that if a golden phoenix can emerge from this mountain valley, we can compete for the world's number one spot!" Du Youlin was shocked to find that the eyes of the expert opposite him were shining. This enthusiasm had never appeared in him before. At this moment, the guy who used Steel as his name had completely changed.

"This is a feat that has never been accomplished before! Our steel mill, though small, is something that will go down in history!"

"Fuck! Lao Du! Let's do it together! Anyone who doesn't dare is a bastard!"