Chapter 90 Zhao Gang's Arrival and Uninvited Guests
Chen Xiao asked Tian Xiaoyu to write a letter home. The brigade commander thought about it and asked him if it was too high-profile, but seeing that Chen Xiao insisted, he let him do it.
After finishing his work, the brigade commander went into each production workshop for an inspection and found that the machines and machine tools here were much better than those at the Shuiyaozi Arsenal.
The Shuiyaozi Arsenal is almost entirely staffed by manual labor, but here it’s done by electricians.
He went to look at the five or six water wheels that were driven by the underground river. The five or six water wheels drove five or six generators, which Chen Xiao had found when he went to the artillery tower.
And the most important one is the vortex hydraulic generator set that can drive the iron smelting furnace.
Seeing so many generators, he understood why Chen Xiao didn't want to leave.
There is no need to worry about bombing here. As long as there is a battalion of people who are familiar with the terrain, they can withstand the attack of a Japanese division in this maze.
This is truly a Feng Shui treasure land, no wonder it is called Babao Cave.
Unfortunately, the transportation of incoming materials, finished products, and daily supplies are too difficult.
He asked Comrade Feng Lin who came over after hearing the news: "Comrade Feng Lin, I heard that you have hidden some of the machines?
But I see there are still many machines in the holes of the production workshops!"
Feng Lin saluted quickly and said, "Brigade Commander, before this, I was worried that the Japanese would follow the teacher's trail and chase us.
Therefore, some smaller, easy-to-hide and relatively important machines were dismantled and hidden in some secret branch caves.
The big ones in the production workshop are difficult to dismantle. There are not enough gantry cranes, so it is difficult to dismantle them. We can only do it slowly.
I don't even know how the teacher installed it in the first place. The heaviest component weighs about 700 to 800 kilograms each.
There was no gantry crane at that time, and he only got it later."
The brigade commander thought about the headquarters' record of Chen Xiao, which said he was very strong, so he made a joke: "Maybe Chen Xiao carried him up there, hahahaha!"
In fact, the brigade commander didn't know that those machines were actually installed by Chen Xiao one part at a time.
A few hundred kilograms, no big deal!
"Then with the current manpower, when can we dismantle and reassemble it?"
The brigade commander asked, these things are very important, although not as important as Chen Xiao, but there are three gun production lines, two bullet production lines, and dozens of machine tools.
joke!
This huge amount of wealth is quite rare even within the Eighth Route Army.
Although they are Chen Xiao's property now, it seems that Chen Xiao has never taken these things seriously. They are just tools he uses to train skilled workers and students.
"The teacher just gave the order for Wei Dayong to take over the defense of the cave, and all of our workers have been involved in dismantling the machines.
If more than a hundred people work together, it will take about three days to dismantle and assemble.
There are so many things, and with only one or two hundred of us, it's difficult to transport them!
We need five or six hundred people!"
Feng Lin made an estimate before giving the exact answer.
Monk Wei is now telling Chen Xiao about the process of selecting people this time, and Zhao Gang is following behind with about 500 people, who are one step slower than himself.
Zhao Gang, as a tall man with long legs, never thought that it would be so difficult to move his legs.
The way was led by several people who were brought by Monk Wei to escort the atlas, as well as Fang Dafu, who had been to the Babaodong Arsenal before. He was not worried that the team would take the wrong path.
But even for these 120 kilometers, they had to hide their tracks during the day and travel quickly at night. These 120 kilometers were covered by a continuous march of one day and one night.
Although he had trained himself at the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, he had never run such a long distance. He was instantly overwhelmed with admiration for the Red Army predecessors who had walked the 25,000-mile Long March.
How did they leave?
However, compared to Zhao Gang, whether it was Liu Qiang who supported him, Fang Dafu who came to replace him from time to time, or the other trainee soldiers, they were all much better than him.
Although he looks a bit tired, he hasn't reached his limit and still has the strength to fight.
There is also combat effectiveness, which is what Liu Qiang and Fang Dafu insisted on. Rapid marches are acceptable, but a certain amount of physical strength must be retained for emergency use.
"Vice Principal, we're not far away, right in front!
Hold on a little longer! "
Even an ordinary veteran cannot run more than 120 kilometers in one breath, let alone Vice Principal Zhao, who is not a veteran.
This willpower is really good. Liu Qiang and Fang Dafu can't help but accept it.
"Okay! Then let's work harder and reach our destination as soon as possible. Pay attention to safety and do a good job of investigation!"
Although Zhao Gang had never led troops to fight in a war, he had read the records of the school's vice-president.
That’s right!
Such a newly opened and bustling small school actually has a school history.
From the time Chen Xiao trained them, and then took them to capture the artillery tower for the first time, to when they went to rob the grain transport team, the most formal battle was the very successful ambush with Yamamoto's special forces.
In the end, Chen Xiao said one sentence: "No matter what unit it is, as long as he does not do a good job of checking the scouts, then there is a risk of being ambushed!
Therefore, it is very important to check the position of the vanguard! "
As a top student at Yanda University, Zhao Gang can be said to be outstanding in terms of reading ability, comprehension ability, and memory.
So he took this sentence very seriously. Although he did not lead troops very often, it was precisely because of this that he had to be more cautious.
"Don't worry! Vice Principal, our scouts are 3 kilometers ahead and 500 meters on both sides. Even if something goes wrong, we can respond in time when we hear gunshots."
People of this era did not have walkie-talkies. Yes, they had them in the United States, but there were no portable walkie-talkies on the Asian battlefield.
Therefore, the purpose of all the reconnaissance that goes out a few kilometers ahead is to check the situation and come back quietly to report without being discovered, so that the main force can be prepared.
If someone discovered you, they would just shoot you. In that era, especially in the mountains, the sound of gunfire could be heard very far because it was generally quiet.
The sound of gunfire is an alarm.
What Zhao Gang was most worried about was that after all the hardships he had come here, the Babaodong Arsenal had already been captured by the Japanese army.
Not only will we not be able to get the machine, but even Chen Xiao will fall into the hands of the Japanese army. That's the end of us!
Fortunately, when he finally arrived at his destination after so much trouble, he saw Eighth Route Army soldiers standing at the guard post, and the one leading them was a monk.
His heart finally settled down: "Wei Dayong, come here!"
Monk Wei had also seen them a long time ago. While asked the soldiers to go in and report, he went to meet Zhao Gang and the others.
"Vice Principal, you are finally here. I was worried that you might run into the enemy on the way!"
Zhao Gang asked anxiously: "How is Principal Chen? Where is he now?"
Monk Wei quickly reassured him: "The principal has woken up, but he is wrapped up like a rice dumpling. He said he just had an operation and the doctor picked out more than a dozen shrapnel."
Suddenly, one of the cadet soldiers guarding the rear came over and reported, "Report to the vice-president, we are being watched!"
