Preparation for the three stores is mainly divided into two steps:
The first is vigilance work.
Although the three stores have convenient transportation and abundant supplies, the disadvantage is that there are many people talking, especially since this is a market, and it is easy for enemy spies to sneak in and leak rumors.
So after Zhang Wanhe discussed with Li Yunlong and others, they felt that the Sixth Branch Factory must be located outside the village, so as to prevent villagers from coming into contact with secrets.
If the villagers don't know the secrets of the Sixth Branch Factory, then the enemy agents will naturally not be able to get any valuable information.
On the other hand, it is necessary to strengthen the villagers' anti-espionage and anti-reconnaissance awareness.
These are left to the guerrillas and village chiefs. If the people are mobilized, the enemy's spies will not only be unable to obtain information when questioning them, but they will also be exposed immediately.
Finally, the independent regiment should be stationed outside the arsenal, which can serve both confidentiality and protection purposes.
The second step is to build a factory.
The Sixth Branch Factory must be built in a cave, because only in this way can it be possible to avoid bombing by Japanese planes... It took a lot of effort to get a few production lines, but if the Japanese bombed them all at once, it would be a big loss.
In this regard, because of the experience in Lujiagou and the fact that there are many natural caves in the nearby mountains, it is not a big problem.
The problem is that all these projects must be completed by independent groups.
This is for confidentiality reasons. If the recruitment of villagers is completed, it is likely that the internal structure of the arsenal will be leaked.
At this time, there were only about 500 people in the Independent Regiment... Some of the wounded were recuperating and could not participate in labor, so there was a slight shortage of manpower.
However, this problem was quickly solved. Zhang Wanhe made a call to the headquarters, and with a wave of his hand, the leader sent an engineering battalion.
At this time, the Sixth Branch Factory is the most important, and everything else can be put aside first.
So the next day we started working in full swing.
The villagers thought that the Independent Regiment was just building houses and tiles in the mountains to set up a camp for themselves. No one knew that the troops were opening and widening the caves in the mountains one by one, and even digging out artificial caves to build production workshops.
Then a generator modified from a car engine was shipped from Dahuai Village.
However, the generators in Dahuai Village are not enough... Dahuai Village also has to ensure the basic operation of the arsenal.
So I had to get a few cars from Li Yunlong to dismantle the engines and modify them.
This made Li Yunlong feel distressed, and he was about to have an attack while gritting his teeth.
Zhang Wanhe just said coldly: "Do you want a gun or a car? This car is just sitting here gathering dust. Do you dare to drive it randomly? If you don't dismantle a few of them, what should you do if the production line can't run?"
"
After saying this, Li Yunlong lost his temper.
In fact, cars are really not suitable for the Eighth Route Army.
It's not that there are no roads. Roads can be repaired. The point is that the targets of cars are difficult to hide.
For example, if you use a car to transport salt to Dingbian, you can indeed transport it in large quantities and quickly.
The problem is that there are enemy planes in the sky. Once discovered, they can only wait for death in a dilemma on the highway. Unlike mules, horses and the like, they can disperse and hide as soon as they are driven into the wild.
This is also the reason why the Eighth Route Army hates the Japanese planes so much...the planes have no way to deal with them and can only swallow this breath.
Therefore, Li Yunlong also said to Wang Xuexin: "Xiao Dongbei, next time we will buy something that can masturbate and take down the Japanese planes. Then we will see who dares to say that our cars are useless!"
"Captain!" Wang Xuexin replied: "We have to take our time, we haven't even written these horoscopes yet!"
During this period of time, Wang Xuexin had the most leisure time.
Because he has only one mission: "Keep communicating with Sun Erwei and try to learn the necessary information!"
This requires a lot of information.
For example, how much electricity is needed for the production line, the size of the production workshop, and the requirements for workers, etc.
Sun Erwei couldn't explain this clearly in the telegram for a while, so he simply called back: "Wang, I will bring you a production manual in a few days!"
"How many days will it take?" Wang Xuexin thought that Sun Erwei wouldn't come so soon. Aren't things shipped from Yingjiang to China? It would take a month to ship them across the ocean, right?
But what a coincidence.
Yingjiang passed the Lend-Lease Act a few months ago, so he shipped a batch of Springfield rifles and ammunition to Third Brother, intending to transport them into China in batches by road as supplies to support the stubborn army.
(Note: The Lend-Lease Act was passed in March 1941)
But now, Yingjiang is eager to get the formula of the viscous gasoline in Wang Xuexin's hands, so he plans to transport part of it, namely 20,000 rifles and 10 million rounds of ammunition, to the Eighth Route Army... and then transport it by transport plane.
And also requested the cooperation of Nianjun Airport.
It is said that this was strongly protested by the stubborn army.
But of course this won't work, Yingjiang doesn't even bother to respond... As I said before, this is a deal, not an aid. If the stubborn army has the ability, he will also come up with something to make a deal!
Then the first batch of equipment, 10,000 rifles and 5 million rounds of ammunition, was shipped to Xi'an a few days later, and Sun Erwei also arrived in Xi'an on the same day.
Sun Erwei even hoped to borrow the stubborn army's car to transport these rifles and ammunition.
However, considering the possibility of being bombed by the Japs, the idea was finally given up... At this time, the Japs had occupied Yuncheng and Zhongtiao Mountain. The straight-line distance between Xi'an and Yuncheng was only 200 kilometers, and the 98 light blast could fly there in half an hour.
As mentioned before, if a car encounters a bomber on the road, it will basically die.
Finally, Sun Erwei contacted Wang Xuexin, who immediately reported the situation to the chief.
Then this won't be a problem.
Just kidding, these are rifles and ammunition that the Eighth Route Army is in urgent need of. How could something happen to it? Of course, the sooner you get it, the better.
The scene was huge. Several regiments of the Eighth Route Army were heading for Xi'an, riding in mule carts and horse-drawn carriages, and there were many soldiers pushing wheelbarrows.
Those piles of guns and ammunition were loaded into boxes of various transport vehicles and transported to the base area, just like being moved by ants.
The stubborn soldiers all had fire in their eyes as they looked at it, but they couldn't stop it. They could only watch helplessly as the Eighth Route Army carried away their equipment in front of them.
After that, the chief sent 500 rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition to the three stores.
This was discussed between the commander and the chief of staff, because as mentioned before, the independent regiment at this time was regarded as a model unit. Any new equipment would be used by the independent regiment, and the experience would be used to teach other units.
This made Li Yunlong extremely happy. He smiled from ear to ear and praised repeatedly: "The chief is very interesting. We have enough for each of us!"
Then he thought about it, slapped his thigh again and regretted it: "Damn it! If I recruit more soldiers, wouldn't I be able to earn more guns?"