NIP #108 - Start construction of sub-base
#108 - Start construction of sub-base
After investigation and inquiries, out of the 600-plus people, over a hundred were determined to stay, unwilling to leave their homeland. The rest, mostly younger miners who had been captured from various places, were wary of returning and all agreed to follow the Eighth Route Army.
Although they didn't yet know what they would be doing in Heyuan, at least the Eighth Route Army would provide food, which was much better than toiling in the Japanese devils' dark coal mines.
"Old Ren, I'm leaving these men to you. The leader of the guard detachment that will escort you to Heyuan will be Li Hu, my guard. This guard detachment will stay with you long-term. There are 30 men in total, with one light machine gun, five submachine guns, and 25 old-fashioned rifles. Don't think it's too shabby; you're good at making things yourself, so you can replace them as you see fit." At the parting, Li Yunlong pulled Ren Zhong aside and said.
"Hu Zi, from now on, you stick close to Boss Ren and protect him well. If Boss Ren loses a single hair, I'll beat you!"
Hu Zi stood to the side, looking somewhat unwilling. Ever since Wei Heshang arrived, Hu Zi felt like the commander didn't want him anymore. Sure enough, today he was being sent to follow Ren Zhong. Hu Zi pouted and lowered his head.
"Hu Zi, what are you doing? I'm telling you to follow Boss Ren and learn something. Are you unwilling?" Li Yunlong said, exasperated. "If you could learn even one percent, no, one ten-thousandth of Boss Ren's skills, you'd be set. Don't be so ungrateful."
"But I want to fight the Japanese devils with you," Hu Zi muttered under his breath.
"Old Ren, I apologize for this. I apologize. Take good care of Hu Zi." Li Yunlong turned to Ren Zhong helplessly.
Despite Hu Zi's reluctance, Li Yunlong believed he would handle the matter well once it was entrusted to him. Ren Zhong's safety was paramount, and Li Yunlong didn't have many reliable people around him in that regard. Although Hu Zi's combat strength was far inferior to Wei Heshang, he would rush forward without hesitation to shield Ren Zhong from bullets in a critical moment.
"Alright, Old Li, I know what you mean. I'm counting on you this time. I'll take good care of Hu Zi," Ren Zhong replied with a smile.
Seeing Hu Zi's unwilling expression, Ren Zhong believed he would change his tune once he got his hands on the newly developed weapons.
Three days later.
Exhausted, Ren Zhong finally led the large group to a small village called Nangou on the edge of Heyuan.
Nestled deep in the mountains and relying on the water, Ren Zhong had researched the terrain and mineral resources of this area in the main world. The mineral resources were exceptionally rich. Coal was ubiquitous, with deposits everywhere. Although some were small, tens or hundreds of thousands of tons were not worth mining on a large scale in modern times, suitable only for small private coal kilns.
But for Ren Zhong, that was enough. Finding a small coal kiln would be enough for him for several years. Besides coal, there were also several iron, copper, and bauxite deposits, as well as non-metallic minerals such as clay and limestone.
It could be said that most of the main mineral raw materials Ren Zhong needed were readily available here, which was the biggest reason for him choosing this place as a new development base.
Zhang Dabiao had been waiting here for a long time, having prepared hot food for Ren Zhong and the others: corn buns and wild vegetable soup.
To modern people, this coarse grain was almost inedible, but the starving miners' eyes lit up when they saw it. At the command to eat, they grabbed the corn buns and devoured them.
"Dabiao, how's the development going here?" Ren Zhong asked while munching on a corn bun.
The information transmitted through the radio was very limited. Ren Zhong only knew that Zhang Dabiao was doing well here, but he didn't know exactly how well.
"Boss Ren, let me put it this way: the city of Heyuan is still controlled by the Japanese devils, but the countryside belongs to our Eighth Route Army," Zhang Dabiao said confidently. "If the commander hadn't forbidden us from attacking Heyuan County, we would have taken it long ago."
"Don't do that. We still need to be patient and develop secretly. Taking Heyuan County wouldn't be meaningful and would only attract the attention of the Japanese devils. Now, all the Japanese strongholds outside Heyuan City have been taken by us. Although Hirata Ichiro in Heyuan is very uncomfortable, he probably has to rack his brains to cover up this fact, or he won't be able to continue as the captain of the military police," Ren Zhong knew the development plot of the world of "亮剑" (Bright Sword) very well. Although this Japanese devil, Hirata Ichiro, was not good at fighting, he was very good at deceiving his superiors and subordinates.
Moreover, he was good at playing tricks. If Li Yunlong hadn't intervened, Chu Yunfei's battalion would have almost been turned against him!
Ren Zhong felt that keeping this kind of person around, although a scourge, was currently more beneficial than harmful, as it helped the Independent Regiment develop secretly in Heyuan County.
"Dabiao, you've done a great job in Heyuan. No wonder Old Li keeps praising you," Ren Zhong said to Zhang Dabiao with satisfaction. "Next, we need to do two things well: one is to build a new military industrial base and mine, and the other is to develop grain production. Both of these things are very important. The new base area must be solid, and neither is dispensable."
Zhang Dabiao nodded repeatedly. Although Ren Zhong didn't have any clear position in the Independent Regiment, Zhang Dabiao knew that even the commander listened to Ren Zhong. When Ren Zhong arrived in Heyuan, Li Yunlong had made it very clear that, except for military matters, everything else was to be under Ren Zhong's command!
This was a very clear order, and Zhang Dabiao needed to execute it whether he understood it or not.
Of course, after all the things Ren Zhong had done in Yangcun, Zhang Dabiao admired Ren Zhong wholeheartedly, and there was no possibility of disagreement.
"Next, we will first set up a bullet reloading factory. Among these miners, I will select some clever ones to train as workers. Most of the others will still do their old job of digging. I have already selected several mining points here, namely coal, iron, and copper mines. Tomorrow, I will take them to start building temporary accommodation and simple warehouses for storing ore at the mining points. Basically, we will follow the same approach as we did in Yangcun, building against the mountain and covering the roofs with vines for camouflage.
I will take you through the addresses of the mines, and then you will be responsible for the construction there. I will take another group of people to start building iron smelting furnaces and copper smelting reverberatory furnaces. We will refine steel and copper in Heyuan as soon as possible."
As Ren Zhong deployed the tasks, Zhang Dabiao recorded them carefully. Listening to Ren Zhong's meaning, the base being built in Heyuan was even larger and more complete than the one in Yangcun!
Zhang Dabiao was overjoyed.
Because next, it would be his turn to benefit from being close to the water!
Second update, requesting all kinds of tickets.