Chapter 37: Resolving the Resource Crisis! Production Line for the Type 56 Semi-Automatic Rifle!

On the official road not far from the exit of Huxia Ravine, Zhang Dabiao and the soldiers of the First Battalion were engaged in a fierce battle with the vanguard of the Japanese forces. It had to be said that the strength of these Japanese soldiers was formidable. After overcoming the initial chaos, they had quickly stabilized their position and begun to counterattack. Although they had suffered casualties, they were no longer completely defenseless. If the battle continued, the destruction of the Japanese vanguard was inevitable, but Zhang Dabiao’s First Battalion would also suffer heavy losses.

Just then, Shen Quan arrived with the Second Battalion, launching a sudden assault. "Brothers, attack!" Shen Quan ordered, charging into the fray at the head of his men. The soldiers of the Second Battalion followed closely, joining the battle. Since Shen Quan’s force struck from the rear, the Japanese were caught completely off guard. Their vanguard was thrown into disarray once more, and their casualties surged instantly. Seeing this, Zhang Dabiao’s eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Brothers, charge! Wipe out these devils!"

Following Zhang Dabiao’s command, the soldiers of the First Battalion launched a full-scale assault. With the First and Second Battalions attacking from both ends, the Japanese were completely trapped with no hope of escape. The Japanese soldiers, not being fools, realized that the arrival of the Eighth Route Army reinforcements meant their main force had already been defeated. Despair set in, and under this crushing pressure, their combat effectiveness plummeted, and their morale collapsed. In contrast, the soldiers of the New First Regiment were surging with momentum, fighting with fearless resolve. The outcome of the battle was no longer in doubt.

An hour later, the First and Second Battalions of the New First Regiment had completely wiped out the vanguard of the Takenuki Detachment. The ambush had finally come to an end. "Clear the battlefield," Zhang Dabiao and Shen Quan ordered their respective battalions.

***

Elsewhere, Zhou Weiguo and the others had returned to Huxia Ravine and successfully rendezvoused with the main force of the New First Regiment. The three Xu sisters immediately sought out Li Yunlong.

"Commander, thank you," Xu Yihang said sincerely. "Thank you for letting us have our revenge. We have personally killed Junichi Takenuki. If you hadn’t taken us in, allowed us to join the fight, and given us the opportunity for vengeance, we wouldn’t know when we could have avenged this blood debt. We will always remember your great kindness."

"I agree, thank you, Commander," Xu Jinchuan added. "From now on, our lives belong to the New First Regiment. We are at your disposal!"

"Me too, thank you, Commander," Xu Erhang chimed in with a blink.

Li Yunlong took a deep breath and said earnestly, "You weren't just avenging yourselves; you were avenging our fallen compatriots. Besides, our blood feud with the Japanese is far from over. We must continue to fight."

"Understood." The three siblings were invigorated by these words and acknowledged the order respectfully.

With the battle over, the remaining soldiers of the Third Battalion in the ravine finished clearing the field. Once the task was complete, the various units of the New First Regiment returned to Jinsui Town.

***

Three days later, Li Yunlong went to the Jinsui Town arsenal to find Wang Chengwei.

"Old Wang, there is a batch of equipment outside the town that needs to be received. It is a complete production line for a new type of rifle. Arrange some trustworthy men to haul it all back," Li Yunlong said directly.

Wang Chengwei was stunned. A production line for a new rifle? How could the Commander obtain such a thing? As the director of the arsenal, Wang was well aware of the state of domestic weaponry and production equipment. He knew how incredibly difficult it was to acquire such machinery; otherwise, the Eighth Route Army would not have been plagued by shortages of weapons and ammunition for so long. However, he did not ask questions and simply replied, "Understood!"

He immediately organized a team and appointed a reliable supervisor to oversee the matter. Once the work was underway, Wang returned to Li Yunlong with a look of frustration. "However, Commander, even though we have the equipment, I’m afraid we cannot produce the new rifles yet. Our raw material reserves are depleted; the remaining supplies were used up to manufacture ammunition."

***

Hearing this, Li Yunlong asked, "How is the mining and exploration team I asked you to form coming along?"

"It’s ready," Wang responded immediately. "Aside from the experts, everyone else is trustworthy. Many are wounded veterans from our regiment who can no longer fight on the front lines but are definitely reliable for manual work."

Li Yunlong pulled out a piece of paper and, consulting a map, wrote down several locations, marking each with the names of mineral deposits such as copper, iron, and limestone. He handed the paper to Wang Chengwei. "There are mineral veins near these locations. Take the exploration team and begin surveying and mining."

Wang’s eyes widened in astonishment. Though he couldn't fathom how Li Yunlong knew the locations of these deposits, he trusted the Commander's judgment implicitly.

"Understood," Wang said, his face beaming. "If we can extract these minerals, our arsenal won't lack raw materials for a long time."

Subsequently, the arsenal staff brought back the production line for the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle. Wang immediately arranged for specialists to assemble and calibrate it.

***

A week later, the Type 56 production line was fully assembled and tested, ensuring the machines were functioning properly. Wang Chengwei called the regimental headquarters to report the good news. Li Yunlong arrived at the arsenal immediately. He then handed the official production blueprints for the Type 56, which had come with the line, to Wang.

With the production line and blueprints in hand, the Jinsui Arsenal was ready to begin manufacturing. Wang looked at the incredibly detailed and complex diagrams with excitement. "A new rifle! Just looking at these blueprints, I can tell this thing is no simple piece of work. This doesn't seem to be the traditional rifle we are used to, is it?"

Being a technician rather than a firearms expert, his ability to glean even a little bit of insight was impressive.

"Focus on the development, and you’ll see soon enough," Li Yunlong said with a mysterious smile.

The Jinsui Arsenal began the development of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle based on the blueprints. With the production line already in place, the path to production was clear.

Meanwhile, the Eighth Route Army headquarters finally received some news regarding Li Yunlong and the New First Regiment...