Canteen System Assistance Notes

The barricades that previously required multiple people to cover and demolition workers to blow up at close range had now become simple obstacles that could be easily broken. In addition, the city wall had been occupied by us, and the machine guns on the top of the city could quickly respond to the firepower points inside the city and provide support. The several battalions of the 771st Regiment attacked the gate of Yushe Middle School without encountering much obstacles.

The resistance here was relatively fierce. The main building of the middle school was filled with sandbags by the Japanese army, and all entrances and exits were blocked. Several machine guns fired continuously at our army. There was even a hole in the roof, and grenades flew out from time to time, trying to attack our exposed firepower points.

Strangely, these grenades did not explode when they landed, but instead emitted white smoke everywhere, and a choking smell filled the city. At this moment, the sound of propellers came from the sky - the Japanese planes were coming!

Army aviation support and "decisive gas" were the Japanese army's usual tactics when faced with unfavorable situations. In the past, our army's offensive operations were often disrupted due to the lack of defensive equipment.

Aircraft are easy to say, the Japanese army's commonly used support aircraft at this time is the front army can

The Type 94 direct-assisted reconnaissance aircraft, which is designed for rapid deployment, has very poor ammunition and armament; and poison gas is very troublesome. Although the sneezing and vomiting poison gas mainly from the "red tube" is difficult to kill quickly, it will make the inhaler lose combat capability and unable to continue fighting.

In the past, our offensive would have been severely disrupted, forcing us to retreat and wait for the wind to change before attacking the Japanese from the upwind position. However, now, due to some poor advance warning, the 129th Division was well prepared for this situation.

Meet the "Coconut Shell Activated Carbon Adsorption Mask"!

After purchasing coconuts from the cafeteria, drinking the coconut water and eating the coconut meat, the coconut shells are sealed and activated by calcining, then crushed and packaged in cans. A rubberized rain cloth mask like a gangster mask is screwed on, and finally, two electrostatic filter cloths and one-way breathing valves removed from KN95 masks are added to create this unusual "World War I"-style gas mask.

The soldiers at the scene pulled out this strange mask from the bag at their side, put it on their heads, unplugged the filter canister, and blew out the breath they were holding with force. The choking smell was replaced by heavy breathing with the smell of sweat.

In the sky, two Type 94 helicopters were carrying two 25kg bombs. Before they could even get close to Yushe, the escorting Type 16s abandoned their observation mission and switched to air control operations, rapidly approaching from the direction of Changzhi. Seeing the two fighters approaching, the two-winged Type 94s haphazardly dropped their bombs and turned to flee, fearing they would be caught up by our forces.

But even after dropping the bombs, the two unlucky kids still couldn't outrun the agile "donkey". Under the crossfire of Scars and Lao Ganma, one Japanese plane crashed and another was damaged. They came and went in a hurry.

The poison gas failed, the planes were shot down. Had the Japanese troops at Yushe Middle School ever witnessed such a desperate scene? Just moments earlier, they had been cheering the poison gas launch and the arrival of reinforcements. Then, they saw the Eighth Route Army unsheathing their masks, designed to protect against "decisive gas." Their own planes, approaching from afar, were shot down by the Eighth Route Army's air force. The support from the remaining two regiments seemed a distant, elusive prospect, arriving at an unknown time.

At this moment, they couldn't even feel surprised that "the Eighth Route Red Army actually has airplanes", but only felt endless sadness.

Some began to cry, crouching with their rifles in fear; some became furious, ready to draw their bayonets and board the ship; many more were at a loss, unsure of what to do next. Soon, the bunker they relied on was once again breached by the Eighth Route Army's firepower, but they no longer had to worry.

It's a pity that the soldiers of the 771st Regiment who rushed into Yushe Middle School did not find the commander of the 36th Division, Wu Yinao, who was good at running away - he did not come to the front line to command directly, but was just remotely deploying - the one commanding here was the commander of the 223rd Regiment of the 36th Division, Shigeo Mashiko.

At the last moment of defeat, the commander of the regiment who organized the "Yoshiko Volunteer Corps" in this time and space and attempted to behead the Eighth Route Army took off his upper body clothes, burned the documents and the regiment flag, and then died in the command room filled with ashes, accompanied by his deputy.

The soldiers didn't care about anything else. They climbed onto the roof of Yushe Middle School, pulled out the Japanese army's plaster flag, and planted a red flag on the top of the school.

This is their moment.

Chapter 212: First Victory

The change of hands of Yushe and the death of Yizi Yishigeo announced the end of the Taihang anti-encirclement and suppression campaign.

Although the Japanese later assembled a powerful force of more than two regiments, providing front and rear cover, advancing step by step towards the camp and successfully recaptured the defensive support point of Yushe, due to the defense of our flanking troops and the blocking of the delaying troops, the Japanese army's marching speed could be said to be a tortoise's crawl. This gave our army more than a week to empty all the supplies in Yushe and evacuate before the Japanese army arrived, leaving behind an empty city.

Before leaving, the Eighth Route Army used the captured Japanese explosives to blow up the city wall of Yushe, making it unable to play a defensive role and unable to serve as a starting point for the Japanese invaders' attack.

Even if the Japanese army, having reoccupied Yushe, intended to rebuild its defenses, they wouldn't be able to sustain more than a battalion there with sustained logistics. By then, when the Japanese army's logistical costs had rapidly risen to unsustainable levels, our army could simply reenter, tearing down the city walls and moving supplies, like the villain in a delivery game trying to build a road from the Mir people.

Not only that, the Eighth Route Army also told the surrounding people about this news: they estimated that the villagers would be able to pick up all the blue bricks for building the wall in a few days. The Japanese army wanted to rebuild the city wall, but they couldn't find many bricks. They had to pay for the bricks themselves and then transport them from Jinyang City over a long distance.

Almost the entire attacking force of the 1st Independent Mixed Brigade, comprising over three battalions and their accompanying forces, totaling approximately 5,000 men; more than half of the 8th Independent Mixed Brigade, comprising two battalions and their supply train, totaling approximately 3,000 men; plus a regiment of the 36th Division, along with its artillery and supply train, totaling approximately 3,000 men. A total of over 10,000 Japanese troops were lost amidst the rolling peaks of the Taihang Mountains. Furthermore, our army captured a vast quantity of rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and even Japanese mountain artillery, along with ammunition, sufficient to arm several regiments. This battle was a resounding victory.

Our army suffered a total of about 8,000 casualties, including about 2,400 deaths and about 5,600 injuries. The injured soldiers were transferred to the Shangdang area of ​​the Changzhi Basin for treatment. Most of them survived with the help of sulfa powder, saline solution, iodine disinfectant, and the battlefield blood transfusion mechanism founded by Bethune.

Furthermore, in the direction of Jincheng, a Japanese division's attack was met with Wei Junru's classic layered resistance tactics. He repeatedly resisted and retreated, trading space for time. His 150,000-man advantage drained the Japanese 35th Division's offensive momentum, forcing it to retreat in disgrace. In this direction, at the cost of over 2,000 men, the Nationalist troops under Wei Junru's command eliminated approximately 600 men from two regiments of the 35th Division, preventing it from achieving its goal of capturing Jincheng, a victory nonetheless.

This can undoubtedly be considered a battle, a "competitive battle" by candied fruit standards. More importantly, this is the first time since the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression that our army suffered fewer losses than the Japanese army. It can basically be said to be a complete victory!

There was jubilation in Guosu and Shancheng. Many newspapers, big and small, competed to report the great victory of the national army in the "Southeast Shanxi Campaign".

The newspapers had to mention it, and they often exaggerated the "National Revolution".

The 18th Route Army of the Ming Army, under the command of Wei Junru, made brilliant plans and launched surprise attacks one after another, making the Japanese invaders cry for their parents and flee in panic.

On the other hand, the official newspapers of the People's Republic of China, such as the Central Daily News and the Saodang Newspaper, loudly publicized the contributions made by the 47th Army commanded by Wei Junru. In their descriptions, Wei Junru's soldiers worked together, held their positions firmly, and fought with their flesh and blood against the Japanese army that was several times larger than their own. They did not retreat even in the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and finally defeated the enemy and "achieved a great victory."

Although the Eighth Route Army was responsible for most of the enemy casualties, weren't the casualties on both sides similar? The Eighth Route Army lost over 2,000 people, and the Nationalist Army also lost almost 2,000 people! So the Nationalist Army must have contributed more than the Eighth Route Army!

Chiang Kai-shek was very happy. He sent a commendation telegram and bonus to Wei Junru's command headquarters, encouraging all the party and country cadres to continue to strive for excellence and contribute to the country. Considering that this was the first major victory, the National Government Military Commission, the nominally highest command organization of the National Army, was preparing to award medals to the commander of this battle.

The first merit was naturally given to Wei Junru, who commanded the overall situation. He was awarded a first-class Yunhui Medal to commend his great achievements in not fearing danger, fighting with martial arts, and defending against foreign aggression (referring to the layers of resistance to stop the Japanese army and annihilating more than 5600 Japanese soldiers), which set a precedent in the War of Resistance. The second merit belonged to Zhu Laozong, the deputy commander of Shanxi Province. He was awarded a second-class Yunhui Medal to commend the friendly forces for their courage and bravery in fighting, which effectively promoted the victory of the battle.

(referring to our army's annihilation of more than 10,000 Japanese troops); and the actual front-line command

Officer Chen Shukang only received a "Third Class Cloud Banner" to commend his ability to respond to emergencies, courage and strategy as a front-line commander.

In this regard, Chiang Kai-shek displayed remarkable classical tactics: he awarded a medal and a telegram of commendation to Zhu, the deputy commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province, while only sending a telegram of commendation, without a medal, to Yan Laoxi, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province. Although Yan Laoxi had been doing nothing during the campaign, sending telegrams and patting people on the back, he was the nominal commander-in-chief of Shanxi Province's war of resistance. He was truly adept at sowing discord and using small forces to control large ones.

And what about the Japanese army?

When did the Japanese army ever fight a war like this?

With the strength of two divisions and two brigades, the Central China Expeditionary Force could easily crush an entire Kuomintang theater of operations. But how come they couldn't even defeat a few Eighth Route Army troops in the Taihang Mountains? It's fine they couldn't defeat the Eighth Route Army, but why couldn't they even defeat the Kuomintang?

It would be fine if they couldn't defeat it, but why did so many people die in it?

For the Japanese rank-and-file, this situation was already part of their "established response plan." They dug out some previously captured weapons from their arsenals and presented them to the staff officers who came to assess the results of the battle. They explained that while the troops had suffered losses at the hands of the Eighth Route Army, they had also gained significant gains and inflicted heavy casualties. Ultimately, they could only consider the battle a victory, not a rout. Several martyred commanders, in their final moments, fought bravely against the enemy and paid homage to the Imperial Palace from afar, preserving the dignity of the imperial soldiers.

All in all, according to the battle report from the headquarters, the Japanese army still won a great victory.

But someone had to bear the loss of over 10,000 men. Soldiers aren't like leeks; once harvested, they'll grow back. The 36th Division had lost a regiment, the 1st Independent Mixed Division was practically wiped out, and the 8th Independent Mixed Division had essentially lost its combat capability. The Imperial Army was facing a counterattack from the Ministry of Finance back home, with budget constraints, recruitment difficulties, and even the possibility of military downsizing—how could these vacancies be filled?

No, someone has to take the blame!

Let Sugiyama Hajime take the blame? Impossible. While this campaign was the product of the "security rectification" and "focused attack" plans devised by General Bensho Tobi and his staff, as the commander of the expeditionary force, he would never make a mistake. Furthermore, Sugiyama Hajime has strong connections within the Japanese Imperial Headquarters and enjoys close friendships with the generals. He's likely to be promoted soon. How could he possibly shoulder the blame for a failure?

Should the 35th and 36th Brigades be blamed for their ineffective fighting? Never mind. One lost thousands of men, all its artillery, and most of its baggage; the other attacked for a long time but struggled to advance, achieving no results. The other two commanders who could be blamed both met Amaterasu. Furthermore, their ranks were too low to be held responsible for the failure of the entire campaign.

Everyone's attention eventually fell on Umezu Yoshijiro, then commander of the First Army stationed in Shanxi Province. This general had been forcefully implementing a "security rectification" strategy, insisting on "unwaveringly annihilating the Red Army" even as the Eighth Route Army was rapidly gaining strength. After some discussion, Umezu Yoshijiro was gloriously made the scapegoat for this failure: this general, who was about to take up his post in the Kwantung Army, was inexplicably caught in a cauldron and then sent to the reserve with an imperial decree, never to be associated with the Kwantung Army again.

Chapter 213: The Man Behind the Scenes (1) Hot Steel

"Mould the sand quickly and press firmly! Don't be lazy with the tinkering! We've got the tinkering machine, so we can't leave any air bubbles! Make sure the paint on the steel mold is even, and keep an eye on the flow meter at the water cooling port to ensure water supply!"

In front of Huinong Ironworks' No. 1 blast furnace, Du Youlin watched as a furnace of molten iron was loaded into a massive cradle suspended by an overhead crane. Then, with warning lights flashing, it was slowly transported toward the foundry area. Farther away, a small train pulling a molten iron torpedo car slowly made its way toward the twin-hearth hearth and alloy mixing furnace.

A hoarse male voice called out from the loudspeaker. He knew it was Lu Gangtie, without needing to distinguish it. "Comrades, the situation may be urgent, but you won't be able to eat hot tofu if you are impatient! Lu Gangtie won't listen to reason!"

All of Huinong Ironworks' blast furnaces and open-hearth furnaces are now operating smoothly, and production efficiency has doubled. The blast furnaces can release molten iron four times a day, and the twin-hearth furnaces can operate in a full 12-hour cycle. Not accounting for product losses, the twin-hearth furnaces can produce over 400 tons of steel and 800 tons of iron daily. Much of this iron is not smelted into steel or alloys, but is cast into cast iron for further processing.

The parts that are screened out by the yield rate are thrown back into the furnace for another round.

But looking around the world now, when it comes to metal casting, it is impossible for the Eighth Route Army to splice together and make an arc casting machine or a vertical bending casting machine. They don’t even have a vertical casting machine, let alone advanced things like continuous casting and rolling. Except for things like mortar shells that have huge production demands and can be equipped with water-cooled steel molds, many things have to use the old technology of sand casting.

"Safety in production is a daily reminder. Production safety is paramount."

Du Youlin muttered. As the furnace supervisor, he had to monitor the blast furnace's steel and slag discharge while also monitoring the sand casting area. If there was a production blockage there...

We have to contact the air door and the material clock to reduce the wind and slow down the material, so that the production

Production slowed down.

"The iron is finished, it's time to seal it!"

Du Youlin stepped on the mud blaster, and with a bang, a cloud of furnace mud hit the taphole. Another young worker operated the slag blocking machine, sealing the slag hole and allowing the blast furnace to resume its tapping cycle. The furnace shift had finally finished a strenuous work cycle and could relax a little.

Du Youlin only then realized that he was drenched in sweat. Although he was wearing a silver heat-resistant suit, the heat radiation from the molten iron could not be completely blocked by the suit. Moreover, the suit was not breathable. He felt as if his lower body was soaked in water. He quickly slipped back to the lounge, poured out the sweat from his shoes, broke off a glass bottle of salt soda, and gulped it down. Only then did he feel a little more alive.

"If you're dizzy, your hands are weak, or you feel exhausted, don't carry it! Get down and let someone else take over!"

Lu Gangtie's voice blared from the loudspeaker, but the amplified sound, which should have been loud, seemed hollow and lacked some power. It was unclear whether the speaker was broken or his voice was hoarse. He held the loudspeaker high, calling on the foundry workers, who were working extremely strenuous jobs, to come down and rest, not caring how long he had been working non-stop.

Du Youlin curled his lips. He had already produced two batches of students, and many of them could try to work in the furnace. In the future, he would be able to relax visibly. However, there were only three people in the entire Huinong who could take on the entire process from ore dressing to steelmaking and even post-processing like Lu Gangtie. He had no time to rest at all.

Should we find the instructor and take him back to force him to rest?

"Hey, buddy, where's the instructor?"

"Oh! We're busy with the second phase of construction recently. The instructor went there to help, so he's not here."

Stopping a man running to deliver some materials, Du Youlin was disappointed to discover that the few people in the factory who could handle Lu Gangtie were not there. After the completion of Huinong Phase I and exceeding the planned production capacity, construction of Phase II began in full swing. After a month of relaxation, the factory staff began to work hard again.

Damn, we are really short of people. Du Youlin scratched his head. It has been more than two years since the construction of Huinong District began, and people have always been a problem.

Although many workers from Shanxi Province and a large number of workers from the Jidong riot were added, the Huinong Factory was well built and had a huge production capacity in the country.

The requirements for workers are also quite high.

The training of furnace workers, lathe operators and technicians is relatively convenient. The young workers who come out of the newly established technical schools have a good foundation and can be good enough after some practice. Surprisingly, there is not much shortage of experts and factory managers who play the role of top-level guidance, control and overall overview. There are many "porters wearing glasses". On the contrary, there is an abnormal shortage of middle-level engineers such as foreman and assembly line supervisor in each work section. As a result, people like Lu Gangtie, who should have been sitting in a big job, frequently need to go down to the grassroots level to manage personally, which is exhausting.

"Lao Du! Why are you here? How's the blast furnace? Is the temperature normal? Is the molten iron level within the normal range? When will the next tap be?"

Du Youlin was making his way back toward the instructor's office when he was caught by a familiar voice. He looked up and saw it was Old Lu. This metallurgical veteran, who had studied in Germany, now looked like a buffalo, drenched in sweat. He was clutching his wicker helmet and chugging a bottle of Huinong Lemon Salt Soda.

"Old Lu! The blast furnace is in great shape and has been running smoothly for a long time. There won't be any problems. The next iron production will take a few hours, and the other foreman are watching!" Du Youlin grabbed Lu Gangtie's hand and shook it. He searched his pockets and found them empty. He could only offer his towel. "Old Lu, it's so hot on the front line. How can you, a skilled worker with German influence, not take care of yourself?"

"Why should I cherish them? Those foundries are the ones who are really tired! They're considered 'heavy manual laborers,' and they don't complain, so why should I?"

Lu Gangtie didn't care. He took the towel and wiped it. The freshly washed towel quickly turned into black cloth. He held the towel for a moment, then turned around and walked into the toilet next door, turned on the faucet and scrubbed Du Youlin's towel.

--―-—-——

Du Youlin wasn't so blind as to be so blind. Although running water was rare, it wasn't like he was completely unfamiliar with it. He hurriedly grabbed his towel and began to wash himself in the basin. "Old Lu, when I was at the Jinyang Iron Works, which big union was like you? You're always so proactive in everything."

"There's been a war lately, and the troops have huge demands and heavy production tasks. I wouldn't feel at ease if I didn't come and take a look."

Lu Gangtie's towel was taken away, so he scooped up water with his bare hands and washed his face. He clutched the soda bottle and stared out the window. "Our first phase of the plant only solved the problem of availability. It has a 200-cubic-meter furnace, a twin-bed flatbed, an alloy mixing and acid converter, a heating furnace, and a rolling mill—that's all we have."

"Warfare, war, guns, bullets, shells, all made of steel, all made of metallurgy. Just over 100,000 a year, that's not enough. How can it be enough?"

But isn't it enough for us to just be busy? When I first saw those German pilots and Japanese engineers at the Northwest Industrial Company, who wasn't sitting in their rooms drawing diagrams and writing reports? When something went wrong, they had to be invited to go to the scene. You're the same. Okay, you don't sit in an office, but spend all day on the front line with us dirty people, tired and hot, and the instructor has to catch you every day to let you sleep before you leave work."

Du Youlin shook his head and said regretfully, "You're a well-educated worker, and our factory doesn't give you any less treatment. Old Lu, can't you take a break?" "I can't sit still."

Lu Gangtie didn't say much, just muttered one sentence.

But even if you are really a steel man, how many nails can you hammer? "Du Youlin shook his head. This Communist Party steel worker was the one who saved his family from starvation, and he should be grateful to him. But seeing this benefactor "humiliating" him like this, he actually felt inexplicably angry.

"Okay, even if you say that 100,000 tons of finished steel a year isn't enough, it's enough, but you can't split it all up. You're already exhausted from just the first phase of the project, and when the second phase starts, that's a 50-cubic-meter blast furnace—oh, according to you, that's just the beginning—there's also the new refining furnace and top-blown furnace, and coordination with the air separation plant. Even if you split Lu Steel in two, could you manage it all?"

"Whether you can manage it or not, you have to manage it... Lao Du, do you know Spain?" Lu Gangtie was silent for a while and suddenly asked back.

"I know. The factory newspaper mentioned it. It's where the Fascists were causing trouble."

"I've been there before. When I was studying in Germany, I went to visit the local anti-fascist fighters. Spain was a very developed place a long time ago. The long-sprout box-type pistol in our team was made there. The local weather is also good. The local people grow grapes, olives, and a kind of wheat. It's considered a prosperous place."

Lu Gangtie looked up, his voice suddenly choking. "Such a wonderful place, it's a pity it's gone now, occupied by the Fascists. In April of this year, our newspapers reported that the Spanish people were ruled by the Fascist regime, that our comrades there had failed, and that the Fascists had taken cruel revenge on them."

"Perhaps factories of this or that kind will eventually resume production, but they will no longer be producing things for the people, but for fascism." He wiped his face and clenched the soda bottle in his hand.

"I was thinking, what was the purpose of our revolution and steel mill construction? It was for the people. But now that we've achieved results, how can the fascists and reactionaries just watch us and not come up with some evil ideas? If we can't protect our achievements, then the Huinong Iron Works, the Fushe Iron Works, the railway we're planning to build... wouldn't all be in vain?

"So I thought at the time, what happened to the Spanish people must not happen again here, absolutely not."

"I may not be good at fighting, but I can make steel and iron. Our steel will be turned into artillery shells, bullets, rifles, and bayonets; it will be turned into railroad tracks, steel bars, cars, and tanks!"

Just a few days ago, the devils came to attack our base and wanted to rob us.

Do you think I can still rest in peace with things from the Taihang area?

"If I could produce steel directly, I would throw myself into the steel furnace!"

Lu Gangtie became excited, but soon he took a deep breath and calmed down: "But what you said, Lao Du, is right. Man is made of iron and food is made of steel. The body is the capital of revolution. I will pay attention to rest from now on.

"Our comrades in the External Relations Department told me that in a while, we will have a wave of foreign aid coming - all of them are engineers we are short of." "Oh! That's great!"

"It's just..." He changed the subject and showed a strange smile, which made Du Youlin a little scared. "Just?"

"But Lao Du, you need to learn some foreign codes."

Chapter 214: The Man Behind the Scenes (⑵) Rolling Flow

"Everyone, did you hear that? Second Squad Leader, repeat it!"

Report to the platoon leader! On the boat, sit in your seats in order! Facing the captain, odd numbers go to the left, even numbers go to the right! Once on board, no matter where you are, soldiers and leaders, you all obey the captain! "Alright! Move forward, two columns, march in step—go!"

A platoon of soldiers, arranged by class, boarded a boat and settled on the side. Qiao Gong pushed the pole hard at the bow, and the boatmen behind him rowed in unison, pushing the boat out of the shallows and heading toward the mighty Yellow River. Old Wang's boat had just docked, moored on a riverbank with flags, awaiting the next wave of soldiers to board.

"Old Wang! Old Wang!"

As soon as they docked, a young man on the adjacent pier with a wooden pier waved vigorously at them. Old Wang squinted for a moment before recognizing him. "You young man! You left my boat a few months ago and ended up here?!"

The man turned out to be his former boatman, and now he actually saw him on the Eighth Route Army side.

It wasn't a big deal, as Old Wang was also one of the boatmen mobilized. However, the cunning Old Wang noticed that the formerly skinny man had become much stronger, with large slabs of tendon flesh covering his bare arms. In the past, only the best and kindest servants of the landlords could have such a figure.

What made Old Wang even more uncomfortable was that the young man had become the helmsman, a captain like himself. He was operating a large, rumbling engine in front of him with one hand and holding the tiller extending from the stern with the other, as if he were the captain of the ship. Moreover, the large engine on the boat was connected to a belt and extended into the bottom of the boat. When it was started, it could be seen that it had caused a stream of foam at the stern - it was obviously a small engine!

This Eighth Route Army soldier let him drive a small engine. If it were me, I would also be happy to do it...

-----—―—

"Master Wang? Master Wang!"