October 23, 1940, Qijiang County, Qijiang County Security Headquarters
"Old Zhao, don't our Eighth Route Army have transport planes?" Wang Yue asked Zhao Gang across from him in surprise.
After seeing off General Chen, Zhao Gang conveyed the headquarters' latest demand intention. The Eighth Route Army headquarters hoped to obtain some of the Li-2 transport aircraft in Wang Yue's hands. However, as far as he knew, the Eighth Route Army had captured several Japanese transport aircraft in Peiping. Those transport planes were even used to open air routes from Xi'an to northern Shaanxi and northern Shaanxi to Daxia Bay.
"The Japs' transport planes are not good. They fly low, are slow, and have a small carrying capacity. In the past week, the Japs shot down two of them." Zhao Gang said with some heartache. Among the crew members who died was one of his classmates from Yan University. Originally, he was envious of his old classmate for finally realizing his dream, but he never imagined that he would be shot down by the Japanese in just a few days.
"Didn't Kazuki Yamamoto already have a secret truce with us?" Wang Yue was even more confused. That guy Kazuki Yamamoto is a smart man, and he is not supposed to tear up the armistice agreement easily. The Eighth Route Army needs to rest and regroup, and the First Army needs to rest and regroup even more. The big break The attack almost exhausted the ammunition reserves of the First Army.
"It was not in Shanxi Province, but on the way back from transporting gold to Jiaodong. In addition to the seriously injured, there were 20,000 taels of gold on the plane," Zhao Gang explained.
"In other words, the headquarters hopes to use large transport aircraft to build stable routes and connect various base areas?" Wang Yue nodded. He must know that his transport aircraft is incredible. If the Japanese develop fighter jets step by step, the Li-2 transport aircraft will The advantage can be maintained until the end of the war. Of course, this is impossible. I believe that the Japanese will come up with targeted designs soon. Speaking of which, the Japanese have to thank themselves. They are helping them lay a solid foundation for the future. B-29 makes preliminary preparations.
"Yes, the fighting in Jin Province has stopped now, but the First Army's blockade of the base areas has become tighter. It is difficult to transport supplies. If you want to quickly support other base areas, the most effective way is to transport them by air. And your kind The transport aircraft has a large carrying capacity. It can pull up to five tons in a short trip, which is more powerful than a camel team." Zhao Gang nodded, and Wang Yue sent a lot of weapons and equipment to the headquarters. But the problem is that the Eighth Route Army headquarters is now empty. There are weapons and equipment but they cannot be transported out at all. In fact, the First Army's blockade on other materials has been relaxed, but they need to pay taxes as usual and limit the places to pass.
"I can provide you with ten transport planes similar to mine, but you must agree to one condition." Wang Yue thought about it for a while and said, he has twelve Li-2 transport planes in his hand, but they are all the same. So the purpose of setting up an ambush was to highlight the difference in his use of that aircraft, because he had used space to cheat too many times, making the range and load of that aircraft particularly outstanding, but in fact that was not the case at all. , he can take off the plane with low fuel, can continuously replenish fuel during the flight, can fill the cargo hold after landing, and he does not need to look at the instruments when driving. He dares to fly under any weather conditions, but the Eighth Route Army cannot ah!
"You said, there is an explanation from the headquarters, no matter how expensive the price is, we can accept it." Zhao Gang thought Wang Yue was struggling with the price issue.
"I'm not talking about the price. Just give me 200,000 yuan for supplies for a plane. If you don't have any, you can still owe it. My condition is that I hope the Eighth Route Army can guarantee not to allow alliance personnel and pro-alliance personnel to get close to the plane. ." Wang Yue said solemnly, although the Soviet-style weapons he obtained in the mountain city were all viewed by the alliance military attache, those weapons were different from the Li-2 transport aircraft, because these Li-2s were upgraded by Mikoyan Yes, by studying this aircraft, we can not only upgrade the alliance's existing transport aircraft, but also improve the manufacturing level of the alliance's large aircraft.
"Old Wang, you have to understand that we are comrades with them." Zhao Gang was a little embarrassed. Wang Yue's request involved very sensitive issues. He was willing to agree, but he was worried that his superiors would have different opinions.
"Old Zhao, we are different from their motherland. You have to understand that we are Chinese, and this is our first identity." Wang Yue said seriously. He did not have a good impression of the alliance during this period. Because compared with China at this time, this neighbor is too powerful, so powerful that it is suffocating.
"Old Wang, I will ask the headquarters for instructions on this, but I can't guarantee it." Zhao Gang replied hesitantly. He felt that what Wang Yue said was reasonable, but he knew that he could not express his opinion.
"Just ask for instructions. I believe your superiors will understand. By the way, the production of high-grade aviation fuel in the base has increased?" Wang Yue suddenly realized a problem. It seems that the Eighth Route Army's fuel consumption has been a bit large recently. Aviation fuel is Unlike ordinary gasoline and diesel, gasoline and diesel can be easily distilled in a big pot. This is how Rockefeller did it in the early days. Aviation fuel is much more stringent. Impurities need to be controlled and additives need to be added, otherwise the octane value cannot be determined. It meets the standard, but the power is not improved, and it is easy to stop in the air.
"It has improved. During the First Battle of Peking, we brought back hundreds of professionals from Peking. Experts from Huaqing University redesigned the technical route. Now the aviation fuel produced in northern Shaanxi has reached the standard of imported fuel." Zhao Gang heard this , with a smile on his face. The aviation fuel produced in northern Shaanxi can now not only meet his own needs, but can also be sold in small quantities to mountain city governments, which has greatly improved the economic conditions of the border areas.
"Old Zhao, don't say it, you are still the best." Wang Yue was a little embarrassed. He thought that his small oil equipment was already amazing enough, but he never thought that there was the possibility of further optimization. You really can't underestimate these old people. Seniors.
"Where is it? Experts have also said that the equipment you provide is economically optimal and minimizes the waste of crude oil. If it is not wartime, we still have to follow your technical route." Zhao Gang thought Wang Yue had some objections and quickly explained.
"It turns out that no matter what, we have solved the problem of high-octane fuel. Now our aviation fleet is just playing a small role, but it will indeed play a greater role in the future." Wang Yue smiled and said I understand, in this time and space, it is useless even if a small refinery produces high-octane fuel. No one dares to fill airplanes with that stuff. If you want to make money, the market for producing gasoline and diesel is more promising.
"Yes, the headquarters plans to transport one light infantry battalion's equipment for each sortie, and use this rare window period to complete the training of all Eighth Route Army troops and steadily improve the combat effectiveness of the Eighth Route Army." Although the temporary 68th Division has been armed to the teeth , but the vast majority of the Eighth Route Army troops are still not good enough, especially outside Shanxi Province. Even in the Battle of Peking, heavy weapons were only deployed to a certain extent. In terms of light weapons, they were still terrible, and the ammunition reserves were even less. So pitiful.
"It's a big deal, it's really a big deal." Wang Yue lamented that one battalion of the Eighth Route Army had more than 400 people and ten aircraft flying 20 sorties a day, which could transport equipment for 8,000 people, which is almost a division. Armed in one day It won't take long for the Eighth Route Army to complete the re-equipment of a division. Of course, supplies cannot just be weapons and equipment, clothing, food, and ammunition, which also require a lot of transportation capacity.
"Brother Wang, the superiors also hope to customize some small mechanical processing equipment, which requires low weight and small size. It is best to be the kind of equipment that can be transported by aircraft." Zhao Gang continued, saying that each base area of the Eighth Route Army has small arsenals and repair shops. , but like Lijiapo's, all the factories are small and dilapidated, and most of them are not as good as the former Lijiapo Arsenal.
"Arms factory equipment?" Wang Yue remembered something. Around 1940, the Eighth Route Army developed another wave of military industry. It seemed that this was the rhythm of a big development.
"Yes, if possible, the superiors also hope to support steel plants and chemical plants to form a complete industrial chain as much as possible. Of course, the most important thing is the equipment of the machinery factory." Zhao Gang felt that this was a bit difficult for Wang Yue. Currently, the market None of the mainstream equipment is very heavy-duty. If you want to customize the equipment, it must be customized. The design, production, and transportation are not cheap.
"I'll try my best to take a look. The European War broke out recently, and the shipping routes are not smooth. The prices of weapons and processing equipment are also rising." Wang Yue didn't dare to die. He mentioned this matter to Tasha, and Da Mao must be there. No, even if there is, it is still in the museum. Said's hometown does have similar equipment. It may not be enough for an arsenal, and whether it is backward enough or not is a problem. If it doesn't work, you have to go back to Binzhou to customize it and build a small machine. The factory asked the Eighth Route Army to use it first, and the deficient parts were supplemented with local methods.
"The chief also knows these situations, so he doesn't force it. After all, the current situation of the war of resistance is much better. As long as we develop in a down-to-earth manner, it will be there." Zhao Gang comforted.
"Say hello to the chief. The industrial equipment we ordered has begun to be manufactured. It is estimated that it will arrive in one or two months. If it cannot be done by then, we will make it ourselves." Wang Yue nodded and ordered 10,000 sets this time. Small industrial equipment has almost completed all industrial categories. If it can really be put into production, let alone small arsenals, the total industrial output of China can be doubled.
"That's right. In the past, the enemy made us no guns or cannons. In the future, we will make them ourselves without guns and cannons!" Zhao Gang was also very emotional. The steel plant in Qijiang County has completed the preliminary construction. As long as Wang Yue's equipment is available, By then, the second phase of construction can begin. Soon, a thousand small blast furnaces will be erected on the east bank of the Qijiang River, continuously producing steel, which will then be turned into bullets to hit the Japanese.
Some people died, but not completely...
