While Jiang Cheng was running all over the world and Nanjing was preparing for war, the Eighth Route Army began a new deployment.

- Yeoncheon

At this time, Yanchuan had become an industrial powerhouse in the border area, and a large number of heavy factories had been built here, and the vanguard of the transport troops from Taiyuan had already arrived here.

Chairman Mao, accompanied by Ren Bishi and others, looked at the long line and was amazed.

"Chairman, what are these batches?" Lin Boqu asked curiously.

"Lin Lao, these are petrochemical machinery, Yan Laoxi is really good things, let's go to the factory and have a look." Chairman Mao beckoned and took the lead in riding a white horse to the oil factory.

Yanchang is that the oil plant is not large, and at this time after hard work, it can already produce 3 tons of oil per day.

Chairman Mao looked at a pipe-like thing that was several meters long and came down from the cart, and asked curiously, "Comrade, what is this?" ”

The person who carried the things was a young man, although he didn't know Chairman Mao, but when he saw so many people, he also knew that it was a chief, so he hurriedly saluted, "Report to the chief, this is a casing, and the oil will be dug up and transported to the smelter through this." ”

Chairman Mao nodded, looked at it carefully, shook his finger and said, "Look at it, it's written in English here, it seems to be foreign goods." ”

Ren Bishi looked at it and said, "It's American." ”

Chairman Mao patted the casing, sighed and said, "We have to import everything, we can't make anything, we are unworthy descendants." ”

Lin Boqu pointed to the towering oil factory and said, "Chairman, with our Red Party, one day, we can make anything, and those foreigners can't do anything without our Chinese goods." ”

Chairman Mao laughed and said, "That's good, I hope all of us can see that day." Let's go to the salt factory again. ”

The preciousness of salt can be seen just by looking at how fat the salt merchants of the past were, even in later generations. Salt is also a monopoly system, of course, although the salt of later generations is profitable, the price is no longer out of 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.

In the second step, excess barium chlorate is added to remove sulfate, and barium sulfate precipitate is generated and filtered; The third step is to add excess sodium hydroxide to remove magnesium ions. Magnesium hydroxide precipitate is generated, filtered; The fourth step is to add excess sodium carbonate to remove calcium ions and barium ions to generate calcium carbonate and barium carbonate precipitates, which are filtered; The fifth step is to add an appropriate amount of hydrochloric acid to remove excess sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate, and control the amount with PH test paper; The sixth step is to evaporate and crystallize again to make table salt.

Of course, salt in those days was not so picky. You can't be poisoned if you eat it, it's been like this for thousands of years.

Yanchang County, Qingjian County, and Zichang County are rich in rock salt resources, in addition, electrolysis of saturated salt water. Caustic soda, hydrogen, and chlorine can be obtained, and then hydrogen and chlorine react to form hydrochloric acid.

Therefore, salt chemical industry is extremely important is one of the chemical industries.

The salt factory is next to the rock salt mine, and Shanxi is also a salt mine. Therefore, the equipment is also universal, and the mineral salt is also called well salt, in fact, the method is very simple. It is to dig an extremely deep well, and then use the pipe to inject water down, dissolve the salt ore into brine, and then pump the brine into the salt making device, carry out a series of evaporation, drying and other processes, but it is simple to say, it is not simple to do, most of the mineral salt is 280 meters to 500 meters underground, and the difficulty of digging such a deep well can be imagined.

In the long years, we Chinese have continued to develop well salt technology, and drilled the world's first deep well of more than 1,000 meters in the Zigong salt area of Sichuan in the Qing Dynasty.

The extended salt well is not so deep, only six or seven hundred meters, only one or two pipes are constantly pumping and importing something, Chairman Mao leaned over to take a look, only to see that this well is bottomless, and there are many such wells in front.

Chairman Mao smiled and said to an old man who looked to be sixty years old, "Old Li, you are a native of Shaanxi, what is going on with this salt well, you can introduce it." ”

The old man called Li is Li Dingming, a native of Shaanxi, a talented student who has passed the Qing Dynasty, proficient in medicine, education, and uprightness, and was once the director of the "suppression" during the encirclement and suppression of the Red Army; when the border region was established, he was infected by the spirit and call of the Red Party, and his thinking changed, and he joined the government of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region as a member of the parliament as a person without party affiliation.

Li Dingming said with a smile: "Chairman, you see, this pipe is for transporting water, and the other pipe is for taking water, and after this brine is taken up, it enters the salt pans. ”

Ren Bishi asked curiously, "Why can't you eat it?" ”

Li Dingming pointed to the nearest salt pan and said, "Look at it, what's weird about this salt pan?" ”

Chairman Mao, Ren Bishi and others came up to take a look, Chairman Mao frowned and said, "Why is this water so dark." ”

A young man in charge of production next to him nodded and said, "Chairman, good eyesight, this is called black brine." ”

Li Dingming then said, "Little comrade, where is the yellow brine?" ”

The man smiled and said, "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, go and see." ”

When everyone came to a factory, they saw two large pipes in a large pool, and the yellow brine and the black brine were poured into a large pool through these two pipes.

Li Dingming said, "This black brine and yellow brine are poisonous, but all things are mutually reinforcing, black halogen is yin, yellow halogen is yang, this black and yellow halogen will be harmonized with yin and yang after a certain proportion, and the toxicity will be restrained, making it an edible white halogen." As the so-called cathode gives birth to yang, anode produces yin, and the pole of things must be reversed, the way of heaven and earth is really wonderful, wonderful. He shook his head as he spoke, as if he was sighing at the wonder of all things in the world.

Chairman Mao saw the young man next to him smiling, as if he knew something, so he pointed to the young man and said, "Little comrade, tell me about it." ”

The young man nodded with a smile and said, "Report chairman, black brine contains a large amount of sulfate ions, which are harmful to the human body, while yellow brine contains a large number of barium ions, which are toxic and have a bitter taste. ”

Well. Although this is still a little dizzy, everyone has finally figured out what is going on.

Chairman Mao sighed: "How do you know this principle?" What's your name? ”

The young man said, "My name is Gao Xiang, I have studied in college for three years, majoring in chemical engineering, and I came from Peking after 77. ”

Chairman Mao nodded and said, "College students, then tell me about the situation of this factory." ”

Gao Xiang said, "Our salt farm cooperates with the chemical plant, which can produce 30,000 catties of edible salt per day, and is still increasing production, I believe that after half a year, it can reach a daily output of 40,000 to 50,000 catties, and a daily output of more than 1,000 catties of hydrochloric acid." Caustic soda is about the same amount. The main reason is that the factory has just been established and is still in the commissioning 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 or seven hundred tons of salt a year, and people will eat about two catties of salt a year, and there are more than two million people in our border area, even if three million is good, that is, six million catties of salt are needed." In Comrade Ren Chi's rules, we also have the salt farms in Qingjian County and Zichang County, and the extra salt can be sold. Second, it can produce industrial products. You workers who are fighting on the front line are no less meritorious than the soldiers on the battlefield. ”

Ren Bishi also smiled and said, "Chairman, I see, we want to give some rewards to boost the morale of the workers and brothers." ”

Gao Xiang hurriedly said, "Report to the chairman." We, the workers, are now holding an extra hour of work for the anti-Japanese front every day, and all of us are willing to work for the anti-Japanese struggle. Shed the last drop of blood for the early liberation of the nation. ”

Hearing everyone's nods, a guard came in and said, "Report, Mr. Zhu's telegram." ”

Chairman Mao took it and looked at it, waved the telegram and said, "Boss, they arrived in Luliang, they know that I am here, let me go to Luliang to have a look, the military order is like a mountain, it seems that I have to go." ”

After a few days of transportation, all the materials and personnel have arrived in a safe place, and the main force of the Eighth Route Army has also been transferred to the vicinity of the mountainous area in the northwest of Shanxi, although the Japanese army was heavily damaged by the Eighth Route Army, but it is still judged that the Eighth Route Army is just a group of guerrilla troops who can only conspire and trick, the real main force of the Chinese army is the Jin Sui Army dominated by Yan Xishan and Wei Lihuang, and the main attention to the Eighth Route Army will only make the Jin Sui Army get a respite, Shanxi is Yan Xishan's territory, as long as Yan Xishan is given time, he can pull out hundreds of thousands of troops, Terauchi Shouichi ordered the 5th Division to withdraw and prepare to participate in the Battle of Shandong, a brigade of the 20th Division was stationed in Taiyuan, and another brigade and the 109th Division went to pursue Yan Xishan.

- Lv Liang

At this time, Lvliang has become a military city, Lvliang is the nearest big city to the border area, only a few dozen miles away from here is the bridgehead of the border area - Wubao City.

Mr. Zhu was looking at the mountain with everyone, when a guard said, "Here, the chairman is here." ”

Everyone hurriedly looked, and sure enough, they saw a group of cavalry rushing towards them.

"Let's go, let's go to meet the chairman." Mr. Zhu said to Mr. Peng with a smile, and after speaking, the two of them drove down the mountain side by side, and soon, the two people leaned together, only to see Chairman Mao riding a white horse, and shouted with a smile, "Mr., how are you?" ”

Mr. Zhu laughed, pointed to the team of trucks that were still being transported on the side of the road and said, "Lao Mao, we have moved a lot of Yan Laoxi's family this time." ”

Chairman Mao said hehehe, "It's good to move, if you don't move, it's all cheap for the Japanese." Let's go into town and talk. ”

- Headquarters of the Eighth Route Army

After everyone took their seats with a smile, Chairman Mao asked, "How is it?" What is the combat effectiveness of the devil? ”

Mr. Peng was the first to say, "Strong, very strong, this Master He has the most right to speak." ”

He Long put down his pipe and stood up and said, "Chairman, I have been fighting all my life, and this is the first time I have seen such firepower, which is much more fierce than the firepower of the White Army, but if it really fights, we are not afraid of him, but I am afraid that the loss will not be less." ”

Chairman Mao shook his head and said, "The positional war can no longer be fought, how much will we lose this time?" ”

Mr. Zhu said, "Since entering Shanxi, more than 2,700 people have been killed, and the wounded have exceeded 5,000, mainly in the Qinglong Town Annihilation Battle, Taiyuan City Blocking Battle Losses, although the devils in Qinglong Town have no heavy firepower, but their marksmanship is very accurate, and the bayonets are also very tenacious, but we all add up." At least 10,000 devils have been annihilated, and the puppet army may have this number. ”

Chairman Mao nodded and said, "As long as the puppet army has a gun, they can pull as many as they want, the most important thing is the real devil, Japan's industrial level is very strong, a rifle can produce hundreds or thousands a day, but raising a devil to grow up and pick up a gun, at least seventeen or eighteen years, the enemy's living force is the key to our elimination." ”

Mr. Zhu continued: "The situation in Shanxi is now very clear. The frontal war basically ended, and the situation in Shanxi changed from a frontal battlefield to a battlefield behind enemy lines. Our main work has also changed from assisting the White Army in fighting flanks and behind enemy lines to developing base areas and fighting guerrilla warfare. ”

Chairman Mao nodded and said, "Therefore, all of us, from the cadres of the military division to the grassroots soldiers below, must re-transform our thinking, you must know that the War of Resistance against Japan is urgent, and the difference in national strength between China and Japan makes us only have to fight a protracted war." All the soldiers and instructors should be clear that they should not mistake the Japanese army for the failure of the Japanese army because of the recent victories, and in addition, be careful. Our development base this time is different from ours in Yan'an and Jinggangshan, where we are driving out the White Army. Fight local tyrants, divide land, and get the support of the people. But now in Shanxi and other places, we can't directly drive out the White Army, we can't directly fight the local tyrants, and divide the land, what do people say we should do? ”

Everyone had discussed it many times before, and their hearts were bright, Liu Dake knocked on the table with a pen and said, "Reduce rent and interest, establish a united front, unite and be independent in dialogue, resolutely crack down on devils, insist on guerrilla warfare, and protracted warfare." ”

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, organized the workers' movement at the age of 25, and then worked in the white area for a long time, and had extremely rich experience in working with the masses. It is the main purpose of our future work. ”

Suddenly, everyone glanced at Liu Dakegao, only Mr. Zhu exhaled lightly, and felt a lot more relieved.

Chairman Mao continued: "The development of the base area must adhere to self-reliance and develop the people's livelihood, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is not only a military war, but also a political struggle, a mental transformation, all comrades in the base area not only to lead the villagers to fight devils, but also to lead the villagers to live a new life." ”

Everyone can't help but be a little puzzled, it is not easy to survive in a war behind enemy lines, and how can we develop people's livelihood?

Chairman Mao looked at everyone and stood up and said, "Does everyone think that in the base area, the common people can live as usual, and it would be good if we could repel the sweep of the devils, how can we develop the people's livelihood, then I want to tell the comrades, wrong, development, not only to develop the economy, but also to develop the mind, it doesn't matter what is backward, the thinking cannot be backward, it is necessary to develop the minds of the people in the base area, let the people learn, only the common people understand why they want to resist Japan, why they want to be clear, Why are we falling behind, and how can we stop falling behind and not being beaten again, 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, most of them are still ignorant in their hearts, and we Red Party people just want to polish the hearts of the people, let them understand why our nation, which has stood in the East for thousands of years, has fallen to today, Beiyang people only know how to use Western machinery to buy Western weapons, White Party people only know how to engage in elite education, rely on foreigners, only our Red Party can really awaken the masses, rely on the people, and strive for self-improvement! History tells us time and time again that the army and the people are not armed with ideas

Chairman Mao felt that the ideological unity was almost over, 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 takes the Luliang Mountain as the center, goes north to Datong, south to Linfenji County, and establishes the base area in the northwest of Shanxi, the 129th Division takes Wutai Mountain - Taihang Mountain as the center, goes west to Shijiazhuang - Baoding, north to Laiyuan, south to Jingjing, establishes the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei base area, and the 115th Division takes the southern section of Taihang Mountain as the center to establish the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong border area, and the Shanxi New Army enters the Taiyue areaAt the same time, it is necessary to move closer to the other three major base areas, and finally strive to connect all the base areas together. ”

Lin Sanhu said worriedly: "Did we put the stall too big all at once?" The forces are too weak, and if the Japanese army concentrates its forces, divides our army, and then breaks through each of them, our army will be in danger. ”

Chairman Mao nodded and said, "Comrade Lin Sanhu's worries are correct, the situation of the enemy's strength and our weakness will not change for a long time, so our army must fight steadily and steadily, do not rush to achieve success, and do not require the establishment of base areas, when expanding the army, we must pay special attention to political problems and excellent combat technology, our Eighth Route Army has strict military discipline, and the war environment behind enemy lines is harsh, and what we are most afraid of is not that the devil is fierce, but that there are people within us who are shaken, so we must arm our minds from time to time, as long as we take root in the masses, Our anti-Japanese base area is a fortress that the devils can never enter. ”

Soon, the Eighth Route Army began to divide its troops, and after once again replenishing ammunition supplies from Yan'an, it began to advance towards base areas in all directions.

Chairman Mao, Mr. Zhu, Mr. Peng and others stood at the head of the city, looking at the Eighth Route Army in all directions, their hearts were full of hope, these are seeds, and when they take root and sprout and bloom everywhere, it is time for the strategic situation to change. (To be continued......)