After finishing talking about Gao Jun, who was a little headache, Zhang Weixin picked up the second note, handed it to Wang Kunjun, and said: "This is a telegram sent by the eldest brother in the name of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The eldest brother said in the telegram that with the gradual development of the second phase of the expansion of the 'Flying Dragon Army', the demand for weapons and equipment is naturally increasing. According to the calculations of the Materials Section and the Weapons Section, with the current production capacity of the two sections, even if they work in three shifts, 'rotate on the axis,' and the production mode of machines without stopping people 24 hours a day, they will be able to produce 500 rifles and 120,000 rounds of ammunition per month at most -- this is limited not only by the processing capacity of the rifle production line and the bullet production line, but also by the production capacity of steel and gunpowder. According to the military department's current military expansion, the 'Flying Dragon Army' will expand by 6,000 to 9,000 people in six to nine months. Even if the minimum number of people is calculated at 6,000, without considering the inventory, it will take the weapons section to work non-stop for a year to complete the equipment task, let alone calculate it according to the upper limit of 9,000 people.

Even if the stocks are added, the rifles in the current inventory of the weapons section are only enough to equip 2,000 people, which means that even if the army is expanded according to the minimum limit, then these 6,000 recruits will not be able to get one rifle per person until the end of April or early May next year at the earliest. If the training time is included, I am afraid that these recruits will not be fully combat-ready until the end of next year. And according to my brother's memory, in our time and space, Chai Rong began to prepare for the Northern Expedition at the beginning of the following year, and began to send troops in April of the lunar calendar, and by the beginning of May, but in forty-two days, he almost bloodlessly connected the seventeen counties of Sanguan, Sanzhou, and Sanzhou. As far as Gu'an County, the soldiers pointed directly at Youzhou City, which was only a hundred miles away. ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Weixin paused. Although Zhang Weixin has said countless times about this historical record, whether it is in his previous life or after the crossing, every time he mentions this matter, he can't help but sigh - although history has no assumptions, and no one dares to guarantee that if Chai Rong does not fall ill and does not withdraw his troops, the Zhou army will definitely be able to conquer Youzhou City and recover the land of Sixteen Prefectures.

As always, after sighing slightly, Zhang Weixin continued with emotion: "It's a pity that Chai Rong suddenly fell ill at this time, and the illness was fierce, and the Zhou army had to withdraw immediately. After that, this land was no longer the world of the Han people, and it was not until more than 400 years later that Zhu Hongwu expelled the Tartars, and it was not here that it got rid of the bloody atmosphere and returned to the embrace of the Han dynasty. ”

After sending the emotion, Zhang Weixin calmed down a little, and then continued: "What the previous brother said is recorded in the history books of the previous life, although the historical development context will not be much different, but due to our arrival, especially with the eighth with a new firearm, new tactics into the Later Zhou forbidden army, the strength and strategy and tactics of the Later Zhou army have undergone certain changes. Because, whether it was the battle of Shouzhou, which concentrated on the use of firearms for the first time, or the outstanding performance of firearms in siege warfare during the second expedition to Huainan, it would have a profound impact on the Later Zhou army and Chai Rong.

Now, no one can predict whether Chai Rong, who has been greatly boosted by the help of firearms, will launch the Northern Expedition in advance. Once Chai Rong launches ahead of schedule, and our side does not make the necessary preparations, then it is likely that we will miss the opportunity and make all the efforts we have made before in vain. Therefore, the eldest brother and several brothers from the weapons department and the materials department unanimously suggested that they hope to establish a new industrial production base outside the 'cool garden', increase the output of steel, gunpowder and explosives, and increase the production line of rifles and bullets, so as to meet the needs of the army expansion at this stage, and also lay the foundation for the next stage of the battle of Youzhou and the greater development of the team in the future. ”

After hearing this, Wang Kunjun did not immediately express his position, but analyzed: "The suggestion of the eldest brother and several brothers from the Ministry of Science and Technology is naturally haode, and expanding the production of weapons is also the need for the development of the team." However, the establishment of a new industrial production base involves not only the location of the new base, the selection and training of workers, confidentiality and security issues, but also the supply of various production raw materials. Whether the current team's mining and procurement capabilities can meet the production needs of the new base will be carefully demonstrated and calculated. In addition, the construction of the new base takes time, and now that 'Xianglong Fort' has just started, it is difficult to say whether we can find a sufficient number of construction teams to build a large-scale industrial production base. ,

Investing huge sums of money in the face of so many unknowns and blindly starting the construction of a new industrial production base will not cause dissatisfaction among the brothers in other departments -- after all, for more than a year, the team's investment in the military department and the 'Flying Dragon Army' has been quite huge, and if it weren't for the fact that the 'Tanggu Salt Farm' has been privately buying and selling salt, our fiscal revenue and expenditure this year might have been in deficit. ”

Zhang Weixin hurriedly explained: "The fifth brother's concern is indeed very reasonable, and the eldest brother is also aware of this, so before sending the telegram, they carefully considered these issues, carefully weighed the pros and cons, and made full arguments through rigorous calculations, thinking that this suggestion is feasible."

In the telegram, the eldest brother said that the actual capacity of the team to obtain various production raw materials now and the expected capacity that may be achieved in the short term, the coal used in steel smelting is quite sufficient. Although the iron ore production is slightly insufficient at this stage, a total of two veins were found during the initial exploration, and only one of them was mined on a large scale because of the limited demand at that time, while the other vein was only excavated and not really put into use. If desired, the vein can be mined at any time, and its production is absolutely above the existing iron ore mines, not below the existing iron ore mines. With the support of these two iron mines, there will be no problems with the raw materials for steel smelting.

In addition, there are no major problems with the raw materials for the production of bullets. With the establishment of the southern copper transport corridor, the Weapons Section has sufficient raw materials for the production of warheads. In terms of gunpowder and explosives, Lao Jiu also said that the current raw material supply speed is enough to meet its requirements for opening an additional production line.

With regard to the issue of the craftsmen needed to expand production, all sections of the Ministry of Science and Technology are confident in this. According to what the eldest brother said, the Ministry of Science and Technology has long made preparations for a rainy day. Since the beginning of production at the Ryoen base, great importance has been placed on the training of craftsmen. After several years of hard work, a large number of jishu workers and business backbones have been trained. In the past, limited by the actual production capacity of the 'Liangyuan' industrial production base, there were usually more than one person in one post, in the state of people and other equipment. Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has adopted the method of "three shifts" and has been able to carry out very smoothly, and no craftsman is dissatisfied with this, precisely because of the large number of personnel, although it is "three shifts", everyone can get enough rest and can adapt to this mode of production.

Moreover, now we are using a large amount of cement in 'Xianglong Fort', and the existing production capacity of 'Liangyuan' cannot fully meet the needs of the construction of the fort, and it is also very necessary to open a new production line for the production of cement.

As for what the fifth brother said, the construction of a new production base is afraid that there will not be enough construction craftsmen, but there is no need to worry. Although a large number of construction craftsmen were hired to build the 'Xianglong Castle' in the past, as far as the entire Youdu Prefecture is concerned, there are craftsmen who can build houses, and they are not afraid that they will not find someone to build the house. ”

After listening to Zhang Weixin's explanation, although Wang Kunjun had some confidence in his heart, his worries were not completely dispelled. After pondering for a moment, he continued to ask, "You just said that Lao Jiu's side also has a sufficient supply of raw materials. But I remember that since the 'Flying Dragon Army' withdrew from the Northern Han Dynasty, the border between Han and Liao has been closed. Because of this, pyrite, a raw material necessary for the chemical department, could not be transported from the Beihan side, and the chemical department has been eating stocks recently, and once the stocks are exhausted, they can only stop working. But Lao Jiu said that the supply of raw materials is sufficient, could it be that the trade route between Han and Liao has been reopened? ”

Zhang Weixin nodded, picked up another one from the stack of notes on the table, handed it to Wang Kunjun, and said: "The fifth brother's guess is right, because he really can't find the 'Flying Dragon Army' that has already changed its appearance, after blocking the border for a period of time, the Northern Han court finally had to reopen the border to facilitate the exchange of caravans between the two sides. The first batch of pyrite after the reopening of the border was delivered to the 'Jingyuan' only two days before, where the craftsmen were sent to their places after a preliminary screening by the craftsmen.

In addition to pyrite, this mining team was also entrusted by Yang Ye to bring handwritten letters to Lao Twenty-five. According to Lao Twenty-five, after Yang Ye's defeat of Dabaowu, the Northern Han Emperor Liu Jun first reprimanded him and removed him from his position as the commander of the border pass. However, after all, Yang Ye is a rare general in the Northern Han Dynasty, and such a person is still very much needed to defend the northern Xinjiang, and Yang Ye is regarded as Liu Jun's adopted son, so after a period of time, Yang Ye's position was restored - not only to restore his original position, but also to give some other rewards, which can be regarded as a kind of appeasement. ”

"It's okay," Wang Kunjun said, "Yang Ye is also a figure in history, if he is slumped because of our arrival, it will be a waste of talent." It's just that I don't know if Yang Ye and Lao Twenty-five can still be commensurate as brothers after this incident, and whether Yang Ye will be jealous of Lao Twenty-five, so as to make things difficult for the pyrite we purchased on the way. ”

"Fifth brother, please rest assured," Zhang Weixin replied, "According to the old twenty-five, Yang Ye wrote very clearly on this issue in the letter that he brought to him. In the letter, he said that in private, the love between brothers is still there, but on the battlefield, each can only be his own master, and then the brotherhood can only be put aside.

Although the letter was very short, did not express much content, and the phrase 'on the battlefield can only be mastered by each other', the old twenty-five was still very happy when he saw it, after all, there was a sentence in the letter that 'brotherhood is still there in private'. Since receiving the letter, the sorrow that has not been shown for more than 25 days has also expanded, and the mood has become much more relaxed. ”

Hearing that Yang Xin was in a happy mood after getting Yang Ye's letter, and was no longer as sad every day as he was some time ago, Wang Kunjun also secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said: "That is the case, then I have no opinion on the new industrial production base." You should also add this item to the agenda of the next enlarged meeting of the committee, and when the meeting is held in two days, we will discuss and make decisions, and strive to solve the problem of building the new base as soon as possible. ”

Zhang Weixin nodded yes and picked up the fourth page of the note.