Among the mining resources in Belarus, the most abundant reserves are sapropel and peat. After the changes, this area will eventually become a huge coal field.
In addition, Belarus is also very rich in rock salt reserves, especially in Gomel Oblast.
Gomel not only has many sodium salt mines, but also a huge potash salt mine.
Her rich rock salt resources were transported to Soviet Russia on a large scale during the Soviet era. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, half of the Russian Federation's salt needs relied on imports from Belarus.
In addition to peat and salt, deep underground in Gomel Oblast, there is an oil field with reserves of 300 million barrels, and an aluminum mine. However, these mineral resources are generally located one thousand meters underground. During the war, the Soviet authorities had no conditions to explore.
When they were discovered one after another, the Soviet Union had entered the Khrushchev era.
Sitting on a treasure trove, there is no way to know because it cannot be discovered.
On the other hand, resources such as peat are on the surface, and some salt mines are also located on the surface. These two resources are easy to obtain and only require careful investigation.
After the temporary meeting ended, Yang Mingzhi made a bold decision. He would go to the excavation site in person to witness the discovery of a salt mine!
There are no geological experts in the entire Guerrilla Republic, and Yang Mingzhi actually cannot guarantee whether there are really rock salt veins underground. He believes that salt mines exist, and at most the excavation process will have twists and turns.
With excitement about the unknown, Yang Mingzhi struggled to fall asleep. Driven by strong excitement early in the morning, he packed up his army commander, ate two potatoes, and got into the jeep that had been prepared.
On August 12, the salt mine excavation project organized by the headquarters began.
After sleeping in the wilderness for a night, Bielski noticed more than a hundred people coming from a distance early in the morning when the fog was still thick. When he got closer, he saw that they were all carrying shovels.
The visitors revealed their identities. They were all workers transporting ore in the mining area, as well as some armed supervisors. Due to work adjustments, some people came to the place where the salt was found and started digging downwards.
This is just the beginning!
Belsky no longer had to dig dirt hard, and he resumed his old profession - writing manuscripts.
The discovery of salt really deserves a special mention. He now realizes that his superiors attach great importance to digging for salt, and large-scale excavation work will begin today.
"If we really dig a salt mine, we will create a miracle. I must be prepared to write the most inspiring article!"
A small number of workers from the sulfur mines were the first to arrive at the expedition team's camp, and then the area where the camp was located became an excavation area. Because thousands more people came later, when those people arrived, the massive excavation officially began.
This small group of workers acted as an advance force, centered on the expedition camp, and planned an area of 500 meters in length and width as an excavation site.
After planning the scope, they immediately started clearing the wormwood stalks on the land. This work continued until 9 o'clock in the morning. With the arrival of nearly 2,000 strong men carrying shovels, the excavation work was in full swing.
It was actually the officers and soldiers of the 1st Guerrilla Brigade who were responsible for the main excavation work. Yang Mingzhi's motivation for sending them to perform this task was very simple - the unit's organization was relatively complete, and the grassroots soldiers had not experienced bitter fighting.
Yes, men should be responsible for digging. At present, most of the troops are still in the process of training after the war. Excavation on a large scale is a hard job. Soldiers who have experienced hard battles cannot go through a new round of "hard battles".
Brigadier Fyodorov has no objections to his new mission. His experience as a puppet soldier has always made him feel guilty, and he will not give up any opportunity to make meritorious deeds.
His subordinates also had a similar attitude. Now some militiamen have been added to the army. While the strength of the troops has increased, the overall strength of the soldiers has declined somewhat.
The level of their weapons and equipment has been improved, but their organizational coordination needs to be honed due to the addition of new units. Perhaps the whole brigade digging holes together is an activity to enhance organization.
"Brothers! Keep your eyes open when digging, we may dig a salt mine at any time! Remember, the first one to dig a salt mine will be rewarded!"
During the march, Fyodorov did not forget to do some mobilization.
Antonov, who was in charge, didn't realize how positive these mobilizations were. When digging, everyone had to dig spade by spade. If there really was a salt mine underground, I'm afraid I would have to dig more than ten meters to find it. The worst is worst.
The problem is still the seepage of groundwater. If the salt mine is not dug by then, everyone will suffer from athlete's foot after being soaked in the mud for a long time.
1 Guerrilla Brigade assembled in Blacksmith Village. Guerrilla Republic put all the train cars together, and the three locomotives provided power together, loading the entire guerrilla brigade officers and soldiers. At the same time, this mode of transportation also set a new record, Guerrilla Republic
The small train can already transport an army of 2,000 people in one go!
After all, with nearly two thousand people in tow, the train drove slowly to Catfish Village. It continued toward the sulfur mine without stopping, and stopped at the end of the track. At this point, they were less than five kilometers away from their destination.
Distanced.
Yang Mingzhi did not meet the 1st Guerrilla Brigade. He took a jeep and went to Catfish Village first, because according to the plan, the civilians who would settle in the salt field in the future would be selected from the refugees who temporarily lived in Catfish Village.
The work of organizing the refugees to go south is naturally in charge of the village chief Boboski. He received the order last night and organized people to go to the refugee camp to issue notifications that night. Regardless of resources or not, a thousand families must move south to settle. As for the refugees,
Said that they have lost the right to choose and their future must be completely subject to the arrangements of the guerrilla republic.
Boboski's work was very effective, and he even overfulfilled the task! The order he received was only to organize a thousand families to go south. As a result, most of the refugees expressed support. There were nearly 5,000 refugees and more than 1,500 families.
Eager to settle down in a new settlement.
Yang Mingzhi's jeep drove directly to the entrance of the collective farm Soviet office, where Boboski waited for a long time to welcome the commander.
When Yang Mingzhi entered the village, he noticed that many residents were preparing for something. The roads in Catfish Village were full of people dressed as civilians.
"Refugees, are they already going south?" Boboski thought that Yang Mingzhi was very familiar with it. He also knew that most of the refugees were crowded in the controlled army barracks, so the temporary dense population in the village was reasonable.
He entered the office, drank a glass of water and asked directly: "How is the matter you were asked to do? I saw a lot of people running around on the road. Are they preparing to go south?"
"I was about to report this to you. I have completed the task you assigned me, and..."
"And how?"
"Those refugees, after investigation, almost all came from a town called Lilchuch. They were neighbors and friends who lived together. Even after being expelled by the German army, they got together to evacuate. Therefore, they generally
We are willing to move to a place collectively and build a home together, just like Lierchuch before."
"Haha, Lierchuk. I have given the settlement a new name, called Salt Village. But they are all residents of Lirchuk, so it would make sense to name it New Lirchuk."
"The settlement naming issue is your consideration. I have completed the task now, but I still need your approval for all the refugees to go south. Look at this..."
"Since they have been neighbors for a long time and know each other, it is very convenient for us to manage them by moving them to one place. Now you can organize the able-bodied refugees, including some young women, and give them working tools to gather them together. I
Hopefully they can go south today and join in the excavation."
"Okay, I'll do it right away. Please take a rest here."
"No need, I want to go south immediately. In the afternoon! I want to see the people from your organization participating in the excavation in the afternoon."
"Yes! Comrade Commander!" Boboski saluted with a military salute and watched Yang Mingzhi go out.
…
The process from discovering the salt crystals to organizing 2,000 people to start digging took less than twenty-four hours.
Belsky believed that this was a manifestation of the Soviet superiority. He stood next to the construction site, holding a pen with enthusiasm and recording impassioned words in his notebook.
Suddenly, the sound of a car horn attracted his attention.
Who is here? It’s the commander himself! Why is he here!
Obviously, the visit of the commander himself fully proves the command's concern for salt excavation.
As soon as the jeep stopped, he hurried over.
"Comrade Commander! Communist Youth League member Belsky reports to you!"
Yang Mingzhi looked up at him and gave him a military salute: "It's the famous journalist Comrade Bielsky. You have become one of the discoverers of salt. Congratulations."
"Well, I'm afraid I've made a great contribution on this issue."
"Oh? What's going on?"
In any case, I had participated in the Battle of May with the commander himself. If I wanted to get more honors, I had to show myself in front of the commander. Besides, when it came to digging for salt, I was indeed the first to dig the deep hole.
The sweat and hard work you put in should be praised!
Yang Mingzhi didn't come here to chat with him.
"Comrade Belsky, thank you for your contribution to the organization. Now, there should be as many as two thousand people working hard to excavate here. Please write an article about this grand event. This is your biggest task. Now, that Antonov
Where?"
After some perfunctory work, Yang Mingzhi looked around and finally met with Antonov, who was temporarily in charge of the discovery.
Yang Mingzhi never came here to take a look and then leave. The production of salt is related to the stamina of the guerrilla republic.
Antonov was also very knowledgeable. He led Yang Mingzhi to the deepest pit so far, pointed at it and said: "This deepest pit was the first one we dug. Specifically, Comrade Belsky dug it himself.
.”
"That reporter?"
"Yes! He dug down three meters yesterday and unearthed a large amount of sapropel containing salt crystals. As you can see, after the comrades of the guerrilla brigade arrived, I thought it was necessary to use this deep pit as a benchmark to dig further down.
Excavate. If there is a salt mine buried underground, we will be the first to discover it through this pit."
"So, Bielski has made meritorious service." Thinking of this, Yang Mingzhi regretted his perfunctory treatment of the man just now. "Okay, you can continue. Since Bielski has made meritorious service, I will apply for him.
A medal. By the way, where is Fyodorov?"
"There he is, the man with the bare arms."
Following Antonov's guidance, Yang Mingzhi still didn't see the brigade commander of the guerrilla brigade. There was no other reason. Digging work was a hard job. When the soldiers were sweating, most of them had taken off their shirts for greater efficiency.
Already.
Looking around, the huge excavation site is covered in white flowers. It is really difficult to distinguish the officers among them.
Yang Mingzhi finally talked to Fyodorov, and he got a promise: "We will dig deep, and we will dig at least five meters underground in one day. Even if groundwater seeps out, we will continue to dig."
"
The words were very encouraging, and Yang Mingzhi returned to the ground after giving verbal support. He estimated that it was unlikely that a salt mine could be found by digging five meters. Currently, a large amount of salty soil is being transported continuously. In fact,
Just isolating these salts from the soil is a huge gain.
"Send someone to take care of this soil, and I will organize a team of mules and horses to transport it away. Others will dig down as far as possible. I hope you can create a miracle."
Yang Mingzhi estimated that if he continued Fyodorov's encouragement, he would be able to turn into a strong work enthusiasm. Similarly, he also made the decision to stay at the excavation site and catch a ride until he got a satisfactory answer.
The tent serves as your bed.
Everything was as he expected, and the 1st Guerrilla Brigade burst out with a strong enthusiasm for work. In addition, as many as two thousand people worked at the same time, and the work efficiency was very fast due to the large number of people. Baskets filled with salty soil were continuously pulled to the ground.
Yang Mingzhi also noticed that workers from the sulfur mines supporting this area were building primitive cranes using felled tree trunks. Obviously, the excavation progress in the afternoon will be further improved.
As for digging, if the Guerrilla Republic had a professional excavator, it would be easy to dig ten meters a day. It would not be difficult for the arsenal to build a steam-powered excavator, but it is not necessary for the time being.
Because in just one morning, the 1st Guerrilla Brigade actually dug down five meters into twenty pits!
It's just a pity that what was dug out in these pits was still saline mud. The sapropel mud has been pressed very hard, and there are a lot of salt crystals sandwiched in it. The only thing worth celebrating is still the magical underground water, which has no seepage.
out.
At this point, Yang Mingzhi also had to sigh at the magic of this landform.
At noon, the soldiers returned to the ground to bake potatoes and eat them. They used the ubiquitous mugwort stalks as fuel and cleared a piece of grass. Some soldiers also caught catfish and bass from a nearby pond, which slightly enriched their lunch.
Sitting around the campfire, Yang Mingzhi skillfully pulled the roasted potatoes out of the fire with a wooden stick, peeled off the dust on the surface, broke them open, and nibbled on the fragrant potato starch inside.
As he ate, he muttered: "It's been a whole morning and we still haven't found any salt mines. Maybe we have to dig down twenty meters."
"If we can dig 20 meters to find a salt mine, our people will work very hard and complete the task in a short time."
Fyodorov's words were touching. Yang Mingzhi threw him a baked potato and continued: "In the afternoon, thousands of refugees should move here, and soon large-scale housing construction will begin in the nearby forest. By tomorrow,
The 1st Guerrilla Brigade will no longer fight alone. By then we will organize 6,000 people to dig together and dig down thirty meters. I won’t believe it. The salt crystals in the soil appear out of thin air.”
"Yes! There must be a salt mine underground!" Antonov asserted. "There is no underground water, and there are more and more salt crystals in the hard sapropel mud. This is very telling."
"Oh, maybe we are about to dig out rock salt!" After that, Yang Mingzhi stood up, "As the commander, I shouldn't be idle. Just treat me as an ordinary worker, and my guards and I will all participate in the excavation." (To be completed.)