Chapter 685 The baby is quiet, either sleeping or… (Thanks to ‘Gengzi’ for the reward)
“preparation!”

“put!”

boom!
boom!
boom!
In the wilderness of Xinzhou, the New Second Regiment outside Xin County is conducting live-fire target practice. Soldiers are shooting live ammunition in three shooting postures: standing, kneeling, and lying, to improve their familiarity with firearms.

“First Ammunition Production Team, passed!”

At the same time, the ammunition inspectors from the arsenal were also there, but this was not freshly produced ammunition, but ammunition that had been tested on the production line and was being inspected a second time on the training ground. This was also Xu Chaoyang’s requirement. He did not want the ammunition produced by the Xin County Arsenal to be like the “Lao Huangyadong-made” ammunition in history, which would easily get stuck in the gun, cause jams, stink bombs, etc.

“Old Yang, how are the soldiers’ experience?”

When Xu Chaoyang rushed over from Xin County, Lao Yang had already been observing on the training ground. While the recorders from the army and the arsenal were recording at the same time, he, the mother of 217, was still holding a notebook and recording silently.

“There’s nothing wrong with the ammunition. After all, it’s our old production line in Dagu. You should go to Ekou to take a look. I’m afraid Mancangzi is too careless and doesn’t take the test seriously.”

The Xin County Arsenal not only received the first batch of bullets, but also artillery shells. All of them were produced strictly in accordance with the Japanese Type 92 infantry artillery shells. They have now been shipped to Ekou, and the first batch has reached a huge number of 100 shells!

That’s one hundred Type 92 infantry gun shells!

“I dont go.”

Xu Chaoyang pouted and said, “Aren’t the Japanese attacking Wuhan? Didn’t they throw the shells to Tuanchengkou for the Fifth Division? Well, I’ll let Mancangzi test the shells at Ekou and scare those bastards to death!”

“You said so too, why are you fighting with the devils? We are not quiet enough, we can launch a surprise attack on the devils after the preparations are completed. But this time, we are training and testing ammunition openly, afraid that people around you don’t know that you, Xu Chaoyang, have a weapon in your hand, right?”

Xu Chaoyang smacked his lips and said, “You don’t understand.”

“Do you think that Itagaki Seishirō can stay at the entrance of Tuancheng obediently? The scouts of the Fifth Division may come to Xinzhou many times a day. Do you think we can hide it if we want to? What will happen when the soldiers go to the battlefield if they don’t conduct live-fire training?”

“Besides, am I just trying to scare the devils? I’m trying to make Old Lady Yan hear it, too!”

“Otherwise, if I lead my troops out to fight the Fifth Division, won’t I have to think about my old base?”

Yang Jingyu seemed to understand something. He turned his head and looked at Xu Chaoyang, his lips split with joy: “Can I go with you?” He had already thought in his heart that he would guard Xin County after Xu Chaoyang led his troops out of Xinkou.

“Not only can you follow me, but this time, I’m going to show you something new.”

“What’s new?”

Xu Chaoyang said mysteriously: “Blitzkrieg!”

“What the hell?”

“My two leaders, you can’t touch the electricity randomly. If you touch it, it will make a noise. We are electricians in our family…”

“Get lost, go away!” Xu Chaoyang cursed at the recorder of the Tianjin Arsenal, and then the recorder formally saluted Xu Chaoyang: “Report to the commander, the rifle bullets produced by each group of the arsenal have been tested, and there are no problems.”

Xu Chaoyang nodded and shouted to the distance: “Haozi, pull up Liu Gener’s machine gun company and try out the newly produced ones…”

He wanted to say that he wanted to try the newly produced ‘Oerlikon ammunition’, but the sound of the rat came out so smoothly that he couldn’t say the rest of the words.

“Ugh.”

Xu Chaoyang turned and left, but Wang Tianhao in the distance ran over here and said, “Director, why are you leaving your words halfway?” His name is Wang Tianhao, but he is not the rat in Xu Chaoyang’s mind.

“It’s none of your business. Ask Liu Gener to pull up the machine gun company and test the Oerlikon ammunition.”

“Yes!”

……

Outside Xin County, at the foot of Lingshan Mountain, smoke and dust were rolling.

The armored vehicles were marching in a line. When they reached the foot of the mountain, they suddenly opened fire at the gap between the two mountains – da da da da da!
The vehicle-mounted machine gun was firing, the mud wall on the training ground was riddled with holes, the scarecrows behind the wall were knocked down one after another by bullets, and bullet marks like raindrops were left in the crevices of the mountains.

tom!
When the tank following the armored vehicle passed by, the muzzle of the gun suddenly stretched and retracted while moving slowly, and a shell landed at the base of the mud wall at a slightly offset angle, directly blowing the mud wall down – boom! The moment Xu Chaoyang rushed over, he looked at the billowing smoke rising from the training area as if he was watching fireworks in the daytime. However, after the mechanized troops lined up neatly in the smoke, Feng Yaohe pushed open the top cover of the tank turret and stuck his head out.

Now he is no longer in the artillery battalion, and Xu Chaoyang has transferred him to the 1st Cavalry Battalion as the battalion commander. Although this unit has no number, this artillery expert who has fought in the “Tank War” with Xu Chaoyang in the tank is the most suitable candidate in his hands.

“Good job!”

Xu Chaoyang smiled as he looked at the knocked-down mud wall. The operation of the Xin County Arsenal meant that the entire 217th Army had entered the final stage of substantive training. The bullets and artillery shells coming off the production line had the entire army entering a period of live-fire training. How could he not pay attention?
Feng Yaohe immediately turned around to look in the direction of the voice. Seeing that it was Xu Chaoyang, he quickly got out of the tank, jumped out, and trotted to Xu Chaoyang, saluted and shouted, “Hello, Chief!”

Xu Chaoyang returned the salute and asked, “How about the new batch of shells?”

“Let me tell you, these are all molds that were remade according to the standards of the ‘cannonballs’ that we snatched back from the Japanese army camp. The gunpowder ratio was also copied strictly according to the standards of their cannonballs after analyzing the Japanese cannonballs. How is the effect?”

In fact, with the capabilities of the “Dagu Factory”, if they wanted to manufacture tank shells, especially the Type 95 light tank shells, they didn’t even have the most basic molds. After all, when he was in Dagu, Xu Chaoyang didn’t have any tanks, so who would have thought of making shells?

But it doesn’t matter. Not only do they have the real tank shells of the Japanese, but they also have top mathematicians like the “Two Kings” and a whole group of geniuses recruited by Xu Chaoyang from Tianjin and Beijing. It was in such an environment that these people designed molds suitable for their arsenal, and then made tank shells based on the appearance of Japanese shells.

This was not something that happened overnight. Ever since Xu Chaoyang connected electricity to the Xin County Arsenal, the experts had already begun their research work, and the results were not produced until the end of the autumn harvest. This was a workload that took the experts three full months of almost non-stop work.

A shell, a tank shell, could keep so many experts indoors for three months in Xin County at that time. The difficulty is unimaginable. In fact, it is not that it is difficult to produce shells, but it is too difficult to use the existing equipment of Dagu Factory to produce shells that can be used by tanks…

“Commander, do you want to hear the truth?”

“I’m here to hear the truth!” Xu Chaoyang raised his hand and punched Feng Yaohe in the chest.

Feng Yaohe said with obvious dissatisfaction: “Commander, to be honest, the shells we produce are obviously not as powerful as those produced in Japan…”

Xu Chaoyang sighed when he heard this. He had thought of this a long time ago, but: “But the damn devils won’t sell me artillery shells!”

He turned around and discussed with Feng Yaohe, “Why don’t you go and try to build some connections with them?”

“How could I know any Japanese?” Feng Yaohe just finished speaking when he found that Xu Chaoyang’s negotiating expression was instantly retracted. It was not a negotiating expression at all. It was clearly saying, “You are so picky!”

“Chief?”

“Ok?”

Xu Chaoyang walked towards the stopped armored vehicles and tanks. When he got close, he reached out and touched the iron sheets. The feeling of crushing the Japanese under the tracks that day reverberated in his mind…

“A few days ago, before the live ammunition was distributed, I saw someone carrying a box of miscellaneous items into the arsenal. What was that? Was it some new stuff?”

“Is this the right question for you?” Xu Chaoyang suddenly stopped and looked back at Feng Yaohe: “Why are you running to the Arsenal for no reason?”

Feng Yaohe smiled and said, “I have to wait for the live ammunition!”

“The oil has been distributed a long time ago, but the live ammunition hasn’t been delivered yet. Without live ammunition, I can’t drive these soldiers around every day to waste oil. That stuff is so precious. You’re still cursing when the higher-ups ask for it…”

It’s over.

This time it’s completely over.

Even a lazy guy like Feng Yaohe began to crave live ammunition. If he didn’t fight the Japanese again, all the momentum accumulated from the victory in Xinzhou would be dissipated!

Xu Chaoyang looked at Feng Yaohe and said with a sly smile: “Want to fight?”

Feng Yaohe swallowed hard and said, “Commander, I still remember the feeling of fighting tanks that night. It’s addictive!”

Xu Chaoyang suddenly straightened up and shouted: “I command!”

Snapped!
Feng Yaohe immediately stood at attention.

“From now on, the First Cavalry Battalion…” Feng Yaohe was already laughing: “Wipe all the armored vehicles of this unit clean like new, without leaving any oil or mud. Otherwise, the entire battalion will be within five kilometers. Follow my order!”

Xu Chaoyang had a feeling that if he didn’t find something for the soldiers under his command to do after they had their fill, they would start thinking about getting into trouble. There’s a saying that goes, ‘If a kid is quiet, he’s either sleeping or making trouble’!
(End of this chapter)