While Jiang Cheng was traveling around the world and Nanjing was preparing intensively for war, the Eighth Route Army began a new deployment.
——Yanchuan
At this time, Yanchuan has become an industrial center in the border area. A large number of heavy factories have been built here, and the leading troops of the transportation troops from Taiyuan have already arrived here.
Chairman Mao, accompanied by Ren Bishi and others, looked at the long queue and was filled with admiration.
"Chairman, what are these batches of?" Lin Boqu asked curiously.
"Mr. Lin, these are petrochemical machinery. Yan Laoxi really has a lot of good stuff. Come on, let's go to the factory and have a look." Chairman Mao waved and took the lead riding a white horse to the oil factory.
The oil plant in Yanchang is not big, and through hard work, it can produce 3 tons of oil per day.
Chairman Mao looked at a pipe-like thing several meters long that came off the cart and asked curiously, "Comrade, what is this?"
The person carrying the things was a young man. Although he didn’t know Chairman Mao, seeing so many people, he knew he was the chief. He quickly saluted and said, “Report to the chief, this is the casing, through which the oil is dug out and transported to the smelting plant.”
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Chairman Mao nodded, looked at it carefully, shook his finger and said, "Look, it's written in English. It seems to be foreign goods."
Ren Bishi looked at it and said, "It's American."
Chairman Mao patted the casing and sighed and said, "We have to import everything and can't manufacture anything. We are unworthy descendants."
Lin Boqu pointed to the towering oil plant and said, "Chairman, with our Red Party, one day we will be able to build anything we want, but those foreigners will be unable to do anything without our Chinese products."
Chairman Mao laughed loudly and said, "That's good. I hope all of us can see that one day. Let's go to the salt factory again."
The value of salt can be seen just by looking at how rich the salt merchants were in the past. Even in later generations, salt was a monopoly system. Of course, although the profits of salt in later generations were considerable, the price was no longer beyond the reach of the people.
It should be noted that the purification of coarse salt is not as simple as some novels say, and filtration is only the first step.
The second step is to add excess barium chlorate to remove sulfate radicals and generate barium sulfate precipitate, which is filtered; the third step is to add excess sodium hydroxide to remove magnesium ions and generate magnesium hydroxide precipitate, which is filtered; the fourth step is to add excess sodium carbonate to remove
Calcium ions and barium ions generate calcium carbonate and barium carbonate precipitates, which are filtered; in the fifth step, add an appropriate amount of hydrochloric acid to remove excess sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate, and use pH test paper to control the amount; in the sixth step, evaporate and crystallize again to make table salt.
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Of course, the salt in that era was not so picky, and it was not poisonous even if it was eaten. This has been the case for thousands of years.
Yanchang County, Qingjian County, and Zichang County all have abundant rock salt resources. In addition, caustic soda, hydrogen and chlorine can be obtained by electrolyzing saturated salt water, and then hydrogen and chlorine react to generate hydrochloric acid.
Therefore, salt chemical industry is an extremely important chemical industry.
The salt factory is next to the rock salt mine. Shanxi also has mineral salt, so the equipment is universal. Mine salt is also called well salt. In fact, the method is very simple. It is to dig a very deep well and then use pipes to inject water into it to dissolve the salt mine into brine.
, and then pump the brine into the salt-making device to perform a series of evaporation, drying and other processes. However, it is simple to say, but not simple to do. Most of the mineral salt is 280 to 500 meters underground. It is difficult to dig such a deep well.
One can imagine.
Over the long years, we Chinese have continued to develop well salt technology, and in the Qing Dynasty, we drilled the world's first well over a kilometer deep, the Shenhai Well, in the Zigong Salt District of Sichuan.
The extended salt well is not that deep, only six to seven hundred meters. I can only see one or two pipes continuously extracting and inputting something. Chairman Mao went over to take a look and saw that the well was bottomless. And such a well
There are many more ahead.
Chairman Mao smiled and said to an old man who looked to be sixty years old, "Mr. Li, you are a native of Shaanxi. Please tell me what this salt well is about."
The person called Mr. Li is Li Dingming, a native of Shaanxi. He was a scholar in the Qing Dynasty. He was proficient in medicine and education and was an upright man. He was the director of the "anti-counterrevolutionaries" during the encirclement and suppression of the Red Army. When the border area was established, he was attracted by the spirit and spirit of the Red Party.
After being infected by the call, his thoughts changed and he joined the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government as a non-party person and served as a member of the parliament.
Li Dingming smiled and said, "Look, Chairman, this pipe is for delivering water, and the other pipe is for collecting water. After the brine is taken up, it enters the salt fields. Look, the patches are all salt fields. After drying, these salt fields will
You can get salt, but this is coarse salt and cannot be eaten."
Ren Bishi asked curiously, "Why can't I eat it?"
Li Dingming pointed to the nearest salt field and said, "Look, what's weird about this salt field?"
Chairman Mao, Ren Bishi and others came up to take a look. Chairman Mao frowned and said, "Why is the water so dark?"
A young man in charge of production next to him nodded and said, "Chairman, you have good eyesight. This is called black brine."
Li Dingming then said, "Little comrade, where is the yellow brine?"
The man smiled and said, "Mr. Li is an expert. The yellow brine is in the salt well on the other side, but we can see it when we go to the salt field."
Chairman Mao nodded and said, "Let's go and have a look."
Everyone came to a factory building and saw only two large pipes in a large pool. Yellow brine and black brine were continuously poured into a large pool through these two pipes.
Li Dingming said, "Both black and yellow brine are poisonous, but all things are mutually reinforcing each other, black brine is yin, and yellow brine is yang. When the black and yellow brine are mixed in a certain proportion, the yin and yang will be reconciled, and the toxicity will be incompatible, making it edible.
Bailu. As the saying goes, the yin pole generates yang, the yang pole generates yin, and the extremes of things must reverse. The way of heaven and earth is really wonderful and wonderful." He shook his head as he spoke, seeming to be sighing at the wonder of all things in the world.
Everyone was confused by what he said. Chairman Mao saw the young man next to him smiling, as if he knew something, so he pointed at the young man and said, "Little comrade, tell me."
The young man smiled and nodded and said, "Report to the Chairman, black brine contains a large amount of sulfate ions, which is harmful to the human body, while yellow brine contains a large amount of barium ions, which is toxic and tastes bitter. Barium ions and sulfate ions
When these two harmful substances, ions, are mixed, they will react and produce barium sulfate precipitation, which can be filtered out to remove the toxins."
Well, although this is still a bit confusing, everyone finally figured out what was going on.
Chairman Mao sighed, "How do you know this principle? What is your name?"
The young man said, "My name is Gao Xiang. I went to college for three years, majoring in chemical engineering. I came from Peking after July 7."
Chairman Mao nodded and said, "College students, tell me about the situation in this factory."
Gao Xiang said, "Our salt farm, coupled with the chemical plant, can produce 30,000 kilograms of edible salt every day. We are still increasing the production. I believe that in six months we can reach a daily output of 40,000 to 50,000 kilograms. The daily output of hydrochloric acid is more than 1,000 kilograms. The daily output of caustic soda is also increasing."
It’s almost this amount. The main reason is that the factory has just been established and is still in the debugging stage, and the workers are not very skilled in the equipment.”
Chairman Mao nodded and said, "Okay, if there are two tons a day, it will be six to seven hundred tons of salt a year, and people eat about two kilograms of salt a year. There are more than two million people in our border area, so let's count three million."
, that means six million kilograms of salt are needed, and you will cover it all with this extension. According to Comrade Ren Chi’s rules, we also have the salt fields in Qingjian County and Zichang County. These extra salts can be sold first and secondly.
Produce industrial products. You workers who are fighting on the front line have no less merit than the soldiers on the battlefield."
Ren Bishi also smiled and said, "Chairman, I see, we need to come up with some rewards to boost the morale of the worker brothers."
Gao Xiang hurriedly said, "Report to the Chairman, our workers are now holding activities to work for an extra hour on the anti-Japanese front line every day. People stop and the machines do not stop. All of us are willing to shed the last drop of blood for the anti-Japanese war and the early liberation of the nation."
Everyone nodded, then a guard came in and said, "Report, Mr. Zhu's telegram."
Chairman Mao took it, looked at it, waved the telegram and said, "Boss and others have arrived in Luliang and know that I am here. They asked me to go to Luliang to have a look. There are so many military orders. It seems that I have to go."
After several days of transportation, all the supplies and personnel have arrived at a safe place, and the main force of the Eighth Route Army has also moved to the mountainous area in northwest Shanxi. Although the Japanese army was severely damaged by the Eighth Route Army, they still judged that the Eighth Route Army was just a group of guerrilla troops who only knew how to conspire. China
The real main force of the army is the Shanxi-Sui Army led by Yan Xishan and Wei Lihuang. Putting the main attention on the Eighth Route Army will only give the Shanxi-Sui Army a breather. Shanxi is Yan Xishan's territory. As long as Yan Xishan is given time, he can
Then hundreds of thousands more troops could be drawn out. Juichi Terauchi ordered the Fifth Division to call back and prepare to participate in the Shandong Battle. A brigade of the 20th Division was stationed in Taiyuan, and another brigade and the 109th Division went to pursue Yan.
Xishan.
——Lu Liang
At this time, Luliang had become a military city. Luliang was the nearest big city to the border area. Only a few dozen miles away was Wubao City, the bridgehead of the border area.
Mr. Zhu and everyone were watching on the mountain, when a guard said, "Here we come, the chairman is here."
Everyone looked quickly and saw a group of cavalry running towards them quickly.
"Let's go and greet the Chairman." Mr. Zhu said to Mr. Peng with a smile. After saying that, the two of them ran down the mountain side by side. Soon, the two groups of people came close to each other, and only saw Chairman Mao riding a white horse.
Smiling and calling, "Boss, how are you?"
Mr. Zhu laughed loudly, pointed to the queue of large trucks that were still transporting goods on the roadside and said, "Old Mao, we have moved a lot of Yan Laoxi's property this time."
Chairman Mao chuckled and said, "It's good to move. If you don't move, everything will be cheaper for the Japanese. Come on, let's go to the city to talk."
——Eighth Route Army Headquarters
After everyone sat down with a smile, Chairman Mao asked, "How is it? What is the combat effectiveness of the Japanese?"
Mr. Peng was the first to say, "Strong, very strong. Mr. He has the most say."
He Long put down his pipe and stood up and said, "Chairman, I, He Huzi, have been fighting in wars all my life. This is the first time I have seen such firepower. It is much stronger than the firepower of the White Army. But in a real fight, we are not afraid of him."
, but I’m afraid the losses will not be small.”
Chairman Mao shook his head and said, "We can no longer fight positional warfare. How much will we lose this time?"
Mr. Zhu said, "Since entering Shanxi, more than 2,700 people have been killed, and more than 5,000 have been injured. They were mainly lost in the annihilation battle of Qinglong Town and the interception battle of Taiyuan City. Although the Japs in Qinglong Town have no heavy casualties.
Although they have no firepower, their marksmanship is very accurate and their bayonets are very tenacious, but together we all annihilated at least 10,000 Japs, and I am afraid the puppet army also has this number."
Chairman Mao nodded and said, "As long as the Japanese have guns, the puppet army can have as many guns as they want. The most important thing is the real Japanese. Japan's industrial level is very strong. A rifle can produce hundreds or thousands of rifles a day, but raising
It takes at least seventeen or eight years for a Japanese to grow up and be able to pick up a gun. The enemy's physical strength is the key to our elimination."
Mr. Zhu went on to say, "The situation in Shanxi is now very clear. The frontal war is basically over. The situation in Shanxi will then change from the frontal battlefield to the battlefield behind enemy lines. Our main job has also changed from assisting the White Army in fighting side wars behind enemy lines.
What we are best at is developing base areas and fighting guerrilla warfare."
Chairman Mao nodded and said, "So, all of us, from the military cadres to the grassroots soldiers below, must re-transform our thinking. Everyone must know that the War of Resistance Against Japan cannot be rushed. The difference in national power between China and Japan means that we can only fight a protracted war. All
Soldiers and instructors must be clear that they cannot mistakenly think that the Japanese army is in ruins just because of recent victories. In addition, they must pay attention to the fact that our development base this time is different from ours in Yan'an and Jinggangshan. There, we drove away the White Army.
The army wants to attack the local tyrants and divide the land, and we have the support of the people. But in Shanxi and other places now, we cannot directly drive away the White Army, we cannot directly attack the local tyrants and divide the land. What do you think we should do?"
Everyone had discussed it many times before, and their minds were clear. Liu Dake knocked on the table with his pen and said, "Reduce rent and interest, establish a united front, talk about unity and independence, resolutely attack the Japanese, insist on guerrilla warfare, and protracted war."
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Chairman Mao immediately looked at Liu Dake. Liu Dake joined the Red Youth League at the age of 23, joined the Red Party at the age of 24, and organized the labor movement at the age of 25. After that, he worked in the white area for a long time and had extremely rich experience in mass work. Chairman Mao smiled.
He said, "Comrade Dake is very experienced in this issue. His words can be said to hit the nail on the head. It will be the main theme of our future work."
Suddenly, everyone glanced at Liu Dake. Only Mr. Zhu exhaled softly, feeling much relieved.
Chairman Mao continued: "The development of base areas must adhere to self-reliance and develop people's livelihood. The Anti-Japanese War is not only a military war, but also a political struggle and a mental remoulding. All comrades in the base areas must not only lead the villagers to fight against the Japanese, but also
We also need to lead the villagers to live a new life."
Everyone couldn't help but wonder. It was not easy to survive fighting behind enemy lines. We also had to develop people's livelihood. How could we do this?
Chairman Mao looked at everyone and stood up and said, "Does everyone think that in the base area, the people can live as usual? It would be good if we can repel the Japanese raids. How can we develop people's livelihood? Then I want to tell comrades, wrong
Now, development is not just about developing the economy, but more about developing the mind. It doesn’t matter what kind of backwardness we have. We must not fall behind in our thinking. We must develop the minds of the people in the base area and let the people learn. Only the people understand why we should resist Japan and why we should.
Ge Ming, why are we falling behind, and how can we no longer fall behind and no longer be beaten, so that our nation can truly stand up."
Everyone's eyes are getting brighter and brighter. Indeed, most of the people at this time are still ignorant, and most of their hearts are still confused. And we Red Party members want to polish the hearts of the people and let them understand that
Why has our nation, which has been in the East for thousands of years, fallen to this day? The Beiyang people only know how to use Western machinery and buy Western weapons. The White Party people only know how to engage in elite education and rely on foreigners. Only our Red Party can
We can truly awaken the masses, rely on the people, and strive for self-improvement! History tells us time and time again that the army and people without ideological arming, even with the most advanced weapons, cannot exert their effectiveness, while the army and people armed with advanced ideas cannot
The people, even with crude weapons, can often achieve final victory.
Chairman Mao felt that the ideological unity was almost complete, so he said, "Next, Mr. Zhu will arrange the specific work."
Mr. Zhu stood up and said, "The next year or even three years will be the time for our development behind enemy lines. According to the spirit of the central government and the actual situation, the deployment is as follows. The 120th Division is centered in the Luliang Mountains, heading north to Datong, and south
Arriving at Ji County, Linfen, the northwest Shanxi base area was established. The 129th Division was centered on Wutai Mountain and Taihang Mountain, heading west to Shijiazhuang and Baoding, to Laiyuan in the north, and to Jingjing in the south. The Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area was established. The 115th Division was centered on the southern section of Taihang Mountain.
As the center, the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong Border Region will be established. The Shanxi New Army will enter the Taiyue area and establish the Taiyue base area. At the same time, it will move closer to the other three large base areas, and finally strive to connect all the base areas into one."
Lin Sanhu said worriedly, "Have we made the stall too big at once? Our strength is too weak. If the Japanese army concentrates its forces, divides our army and then defeats them one by one, our army will be in danger."
Chairman Mao nodded and said, "Comrade Lin Sanhu is right to worry. The situation in which the enemy is strong and we are weak will not change for a long time. Therefore, our army must fight steadily and do not rush for success, and do not ask for anything from the base area."
When establishing and expanding the army, we must pay special attention to political issues and the excellence of combat techniques. Our Eighth Route Army has strict military discipline and a harsh war environment behind enemy lines. What we fear most is not the fierceness of the Japanese, but the vacillation of those within us, so we must constantly check our minds.
As long as our armed forces are rooted in the masses, our anti-Japanese base areas will be fortresses that the Japanese can never break in."
Soon, the Eighth Route Army began to divide into separate groups. After replenishing ammunition supplies from Yan'an, it began to advance toward base areas in all directions.
Chairman Mao, Mr. Zhu, Mr. Peng and others stood at the top of the city, looking at the Eighth Route Army marching in all directions. Their hearts were full of hope. These were seeds. When they took root and sprouted and blossomed everywhere, it was time for the strategic situation to change.