Kong Dewen also thought of gunpowder.

If an arsenal wants to grow and grow, no matter what ammunition is built, it cannot be separated from this thing, and the types of gunpowder required by different ammunitions are also different.

It's like a small bullet, it looks very simple, but it actually has a universe inside. It not only needs to be loaded with the base fire, but also needs to be loaded with the firing medicine... none of them is indispensable.

The grenade that the regiment commander just said was not simple. In addition to ordinary strong explosives that exploded, it also requires detonators and french index high-explosive gunpowder in the body of the ignition bullet. Each type requires special research and production by gunpowder experts.

Only by gathering all kinds of gunpowder can the arsenal produce bullets and grenades on a large scale.

As the head of the arsenal, Kong Dewen knew more than anyone about the importance of gunpowder.

So as soon as he received the task of the regiment commander asking him to contact the gunpowder expert, he began to sort out his former partners in his mind, and then contacted them one by one to see if there was any chance to bring them to the National Salvation Army.

In the end, he really found two.

Before the Taiyuan Arsenal was relocated, they were responsible for dispensing and production in the gunpowder factory. They were two veritable old military industries and were familiar with the formulas of most commonly used gunpowder.

The older one is in his forties, called Zeng Wenjing; the younger one is in his forties, called Tao Yanshu.

Because they didn't want to be too far away from home, they did not follow the arsenal when it moved to southwest Shanxi and continued to stay in Taiyuan.

I originally thought that everyone's lives would not change much after the Japanese came, but they far underestimated the cruelty and domineering of the Japanese army!

Because of the ability to produce gunpowder, the Japanese came to him as soon as possible and threatened him to return to the arsenal built by the Japanese to do things. He lived a frightened life every day.

I really want to slap my butt and leave Taiyuan and get out of the Japanese clutches.

But the Japanese were watching too closely, and their family was controlled by the Japanese, so they had no chance to escape from Taiyuan City by their own abilities.

After receiving the message from Kong Dewen, the two agreed without thinking that as long as the National Saving Army could take their family out of Taiyuan City safely, they would work hard to produce gunpowder for the National Saving Army.

Faced with Zhou Cheng's anticipated gaze, Kong Dewen quickly told the two good news he received.

Zhou Cheng was very happy after hearing this, and then analyzed with a confident look: "Although there are many Japanese devils in Taiyuan City, they are very cautious. However, Taiyuan City is very big, with mixed fish and dragons inside, and all kinds of forces. If the operation is done well, it should be easy to bring more than a dozen people out of the city."

"Old Kong, I've agreed to this matter. Give me their contact information and guarantee that they will be brought to our National Rescue Military Defense Zone within half a month."

After saying that, Zhou Cheng continued to ask: "What other problems do the arsenal need need to be solved by me. You can tell me everything you can think of. I will help you solve the problem now. If you can't solve it now, I will find a way to solve it for you after I return to the regiment headquarters!"

Kong Dewen knew that Zhou Cheng was a person who was right, and he said that if he solved it, he would definitely be able to solve it. If he did not raise the difficulties now, and if he encountered difficulties in the next production, he would definitely suffer the consequences in the end.

He raised his eyebrows and started asking questions: "Captain, there was no problem at all. After hearing Lao Li's thoughts just now, the problem arose."

"As long as we solve the gunpowder problem, there is no problem with mass production of ammunition."

"But repairing and manufacturing firearms is not that simple. Not only does Deputy Director Li need to prepare the equipment for renovation, but also a lot of special equipment and tools."

"When renovating the firearms, we found that the most susceptible thing for a thru machine gun to explode is the barrel. At least 60% of the barrels that damage the thru machine guns are blown up, and the damage rate of other parts is very low."

"Many other parts we dismantled can be reinstalled into a pneumatic gun immediately, but because there is no qualified barrel, those parts can only be piled in the warehouse."

"After Deputy Director Li's equipment is produced, and with skilled blacksmiths and workers, he can basically copy more than 80% of the rifle parts, but he cannot produce and repair the barrel."

"No barrel, no matter how many other parts we repaired, it would be useless."

"There is another very important problem. It not only appears on damaged firearms, but also the weapons installed in the troops."

"Because there is rifle inside the barrel of a rifle, the bullets we fired can rotate quickly and fly in a straight line in the air."

"If the rifle is worn out by bullets, the bullets fired by the soldiers will be floating, and their accuracy is particularly poor."

"By dismantling the damaged rifles, I found that 10% of the rifles of the 38th covers we installed in the troops had been quickly smoothed out. The barrel must be replaced as soon as possible, otherwise it will affect the soldiers' shooting accuracy and thus affect the combat effectiveness of the troops."

Zhou Cheng has been on the battlefield and has seen bad guns seized by the soldiers.

Most machine guns have been bent in the barrel, and only a few of them have problems with the gun body.

Unlike other parts, the barrel not only requires special raw materials, but also special drilling technology. This way, the barrel produced is durable and not easy to explode.

As for rifling, Zhou Cheng is not unfamiliar with it at all.

When he was the captain of the guerrillas, many of the rifles equipped by the soldiers had no rifles, and the bullets fired were completely floating and had no accuracy.

I have used that kind of rifle once and I don’t want to use it again for the second time, because no matter how powerful the marksman is, people who have no confidence in operating this kind of rifle, and if it is more serious, they will also hit the shooter’s confidence.

The rifle has a service life. After a certain number of bullets is fired, no matter how well the gun body is maintained, the rifle will be polished. The rifle will become a waste gun and the barrel must be replaced before it can be used.

The National Salvation Army has just been formed for a long time, and most soldiers still have 60 to 70% new 38 caps in their hands. It is definitely no problem to use it for one or two years. A small number of soldiers only have 30 to 40% new 38 caps in their hands. At most, they will have to replace the barrel after one year of use. Therefore, the question raised by Kong Dewen is not particularly prominent.

Half a year to a year later, if the arsenal has not solved the problem of the barrel, many rifles installed in the army will be scrapped because the rifle is smoothed, and the problem will be huge.

Therefore, the barrel of the gun is too important for a self-reliant force and must be solved, otherwise there will be another restriction on the development of the force.

Ask immediately: "Is it a problem with the raw materials or a problem with the production technology?"

Kong Dewen blurted out: "With the current strength of the arsenal, we will definitely not be able to produce raw materials by ourselves, but we can melt the barrels that have damaged the firearms and rebuild the barrels, or settle for the second best. Although the strength is not as good as the steel that specializes in the barrel making, as long as the service life range is within the range of the two barrels."

"The biggest problem is drilling holes and rifling the barrel."

"Although Deputy Director Li can make the drilling machine, if there is no special drill bit and carving knife, the recast barrel hair is placed in front of us, and even qualified barrels cannot be created."

"Where are drill bits and carving knives? Can you buy them for money?" Zhou Cheng continued to ask.

Kong Dewen shook his head: "This kind of thing is only available abroad!"

"Most of the drill bits and carving knives used in Taiyuan Arsenal were imported from abroad at high prices. Although I also produced some of them, the strength was not as good as imported, and the service life would be much shorter."

"Now that Taiyuan Arsenal has moved to southwest Shanxi, I guess only the Japanese around us have it, and the Japanese are also in the Taiyuan Arsenal newly established by the Japanese."

"But there is a tight security there, so it will definitely be difficult for the troops to get it."

"If you have the chance, the commander, you can go to the war zone and think of a solution."

"As far as I know, after the War of Resistance began, the arsenal took advantage of the road contact between Taiyuan and the outside world before being blocked by the Japanese army, and imported a large number of drill bits and carving knives reserves, and it also seized the time to produce a lot of carving knives and drill bits!"

"The carving knife and drill bit are not big. As long as the war zone agrees to give it, it will definitely be easy to transport it to us!"

"If the leader of the group, you can get the drill bit and the carving knife back, Deputy Director Li will use the motor to build two drill machines. I am sure to produce at least ten qualified barrels a day."

"We have all stored other parts of the pneumatic machine gun. As long as there is a barrel, they can be reinstalled into a rifle immediately and then placed in the army!"

It is very difficult to ask the war zone to find the carving knife and drill bit that is more important than expected.

But in order to help the arsenal solve this problem, Zhou Cheng decided to give it a try. It happened that the war zone now has a request for the national rescue army.

But Zhou Cheng did not place all his hopes on the war zone. In order for the national rescue army to have a higher future, he decided to go to Taiyuan in person.

First, find a way to rescue the two gunpowder experts Kong Dewen mentioned from Taiyuan and send them to the defense zone, and then see if they can beat rabbits, get from the newly built Taiyuan Arsenal built by the Japanese to the drill bits and carving knives that the arsenal is urgently needed!

With this idea in mind, Zhou Cheng answered very affirmatively: "Lao Kong, I remember the problem of carving knives and drills, and I will help you solve it."

"From tomorrow, the arsenal will officially start production. First, reload the six-5 caliber pistol gun bullets on a large scale, then produce pistol bullets and submachine gun bullets, and finally produce heavy machine gun bullets."

"When I was driving the Jingxing coal mine, I seized several thousand kilograms of strong explosives, a lot of detonators and leads, and I sent them all to the arsenal."

"While producing reloaded bullets, you also need to create a grenade production line, first make the bullet body, and then load it after the gunpowder is produced."

"If you need any equipment, please contact Deputy Director Li. If there is any equipment that cannot be produced, we will use manpower to replace it."

"There is nothing in the defense zone, but there is no shortage of people."

"As for repairing firearms, after Deputy Director Li gets out the equipment, we will first produce and repair some simple parts, so that everyone can practice more hands-on, and then produce and repair the barrel after the drill bit and carving knife are brought back."

Zhou Cheng returned here with a very complicated mood at the Xiyang County National Salvation Army.

Tang Yufeng thought something was wrong when he saw it. He was anxious and worried and asked: "Captain, is the power generation equipment we seized from Jingxing Coal Mine not good, or is there any problem with the bullet production equipment?"

Zhou Cheng shook his head: "It's okay!"

"Yesterday the arsenal had tried to produce 1,000 six- or five-caliber bullets, 500 bullets with new shells, and 500 bullets with used shells recycled on our battlefield. The effect was very good, and the pass rate was higher than I thought."

"From today, the arsenal will be officially put into production and will reload the six-fifth caliber bullets with all efforts."

"Old Tang, please be prepared. Go to the arsenal in ten days to get the first batch of reloaded bullets, and replace all the bullets equipped by several main battalions with reloaded bullets as soon as possible."

"In the future, we train the troops only to reload bullets, and all the new bullets seized by the Japanese are kept for war!"
Chapter completed!