The beacon of youth

The reconnaissance battalion of more than 1000 people was all released. They returned from Shigatse and returned to the vicinity of Lhasa. The order given to them by the brigade commander Li Yong was that even if they went to heaven and earth, they must find this factory and dig the ground. Sanchi also needs to be found out, because Lhasa is now our own territory.

The distance between Shigatse and Lhasa is more than 300 kilometers. Because of the rugged roads and difficulty in walking, the reconnaissance battalion, which almost all traveled by jeeps, took a day or two to return to Lhasa, the largest city in Tibet.

The reconnaissance battalion of more than 1000 people is not a small unit. It is incomprehensible to return to Lhasa rashly. The military headquarters and the army directly under the [-]th Army are stationed in Lhasa. Zhang Jinsong rushed to the military headquarters immediately to report to several leaders. .

Lhasa, the headquarters of the Eighteenth Army.

Army commander Zhang Guohua and political commissar Tan Guansan led the troops directly under the military headquarters and the 52th Regiment to Lhasa (only the 53nd Division, the main division of the 54th Army, arrived in Lhasa, and the [-]rd and [-]th Divisions were building the road from Qamdo to Lhasa. The troops entering Tibet have already suffered from the fact that the logistical supplies cannot keep up)

Although the independent brigade that arrived earlier laid a little foundation, the follow-up work is still endless. The two chief officers of the [-]th army were in a mess. On this day, the guards came in to report, and the reconnaissance battalion commander of the independent brigade was outside. Said to meet with the chief to report important situations.

Commander Zhang Guohua looked at political commissar Tan Guansan with an inquiring gaze. Working together for many years has made the two of them have a tacit understanding, and sometimes they can communicate without talking. Political commissar Tan spread his hands and said, "Don't look at me." , I don’t know what these guys are doing when they come back.”

"If you don't stay in Shigatse well, what are you doing when you come back?" Commander Zhang Guohua muttered and shouted, "Let them in."

Zhang Jinsong and the instructor walked in a few steps to salute the army commander and the political commissar. They hadn't seen each other for more than ten days. The army headquarters was much stronger than before.The inside and outside of the room looked neat and tidy, several phones were placed on the table, and large format combat maps hung all over the wall.

Commander Zhang Guohua asked a little strangely: "You two guys are not in Shigatse to help your brigade commander, what are you doing here? Don't think that I am here as a military headquarters, and the food is not as good as your brigade. Hmph, think of me here to fight the autumn wind ?no way."

Of course Zhang Jinsong knew that the army commander was making fun of him, but he didn't dare to say anything. He didn't know what to say, because firstly, the difference in positions was too great.The second is that he is not very familiar with Commander Zhang Guohua, so he can't talk nonsense.

Zhang Jinsong is a veteran of the Independent Brigade, and also a veteran of the second column. He is familiar with a lot of leaders of the second column. The cheerful Zhang Jinsong and Deputy Commander Chen (formerly the commander of the fourth brigade. Now the political commissar of the fifth army) and Commander Wang When they were together, they talked nonsense without any scruples, but today they dared not speak.It can only stand there like a wire stalk.

Who is Political Commissar Tan Guansan? !Knowing that the two battalion-level commanders of the Independent Brigade were a little embarrassed and restrained in front of Commander Zhang Guohua.He smiled and explained:

"The commander was joking with you. It's almost noon, and your battalion will have dinner with the guard company of the military headquarters. Let me state first that you can eat enough, but there are no good things."

Zhang Jinsong had no choice but to smirk a few times and replied: "Chief, just eat enough. We are scouts, running around all day long, hunting wild animals. There is no shortage of oil and water in our stomachs."

"Hmph, I know you don't lack oil and water in your stomachs. Put aside the matter of eating and report to work first. Why did Li Yong bring you back? Is there any ulterior motive?"

Army Commander Zhang Guohua was in a good mood, and then he teased them a few more words, Zhang Jin said with relief, what is the ulterior purpose, we came back to fish for the treasure in an open and honest manner.

It was Li Yong who told the army commander when he came back to ask for help. As long as the commander agreed, it would be better to have army commander Zhang Guohua or political commissar Tan Guansan come forward to find out more about the local Kaxag government than to simply look for it indiscriminately.

This was done after some thought. The weapons factory was built with the aid of the British. If such a factory really existed, the Kaxag government in Tibet would know about it and would not let it go. At this time, the head of the Eighteenth Army will come forward. I am not afraid that they will not give in. This is Li Yong's plan.

"Commander, we caught a spy sent by the British in Shigatse. This guy confessed that they had supported an arms factory in Tibet more than ten years ago. It was a full set of British machinery and equipment, but so far we have not Knowing where this factory is, our brigade commander sent our battalion back, and wanted to focus on the vicinity of Lhasa city, determined to find them."

The distance between Lhasa and Shigatse is about [-] kilometers, and the wired telephones between the independent brigade and the military headquarters have not yet been established. Communication can only rely on telegrams. Political commissar report.

Commander Zhang Guohua and Political Commissar Tan Guansan were both surprised by Zhang Jinsong's report. This is amazing news. The weapons factory is not a trivial matter, and it is exactly what the troops need urgently. The arsenal of ammunition.

Damn, this thing is really strange. You can tell by looking at the tattered equipment of the Tibetan army. They don't have their own normal source of weapons at all, so where can they have any weapon factories.

"Did you make a mistake? How come I don't know what kind of arsenal the Tibetan army has. The arsenal is not a small object. It can be put under the mouth and let it go away?"

Commander Zhang Guohua doubted the authenticity of the intelligence source of the Independent Brigade.

Regardless of whether it is the troops of the first field or the second field, the weapons and equipment of the troops are basically all captured (except for the four fields, which not only have a large number of Soviet-style and Japanese-style equipment but also have a strong production capacity), Zhang Guohua and the eighteenth army The ability to clean the battlefield and grab things is no worse than an independent traveler. A unit like an armory factory is simply a chicken that can only lay golden eggs. No.

Political commissar Tan Guansan patted Army Commander Zhang Guohua on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, if it belongs to us, you won't be able to escape. I think so, first check with people from the Kaxag government. They should know the local situation better than us."

Political commissar Tan got to the point. The locals are most familiar with whether there is such a so-called weapons factory in Tibet.

"That's right, why did you forget about the local snake, come and prepare a car for me, I want to go there myself."

Commander Zhang Guohua, in his thirties, acted resolutely, and immediately took people to the Kaxag government in Tibet to find out the situation since he had a case in his chest.

The army commander came forward in person, and Zhang Jinsong and the soldiers of the reconnaissance battalion camped temporarily with the help of the military guard company to wait for the news.

The guard company of the Eighteenth Army has more than 150 people. It is a company that is not only fully staffed but also slightly exceeded. But today they finally know what it means to be insignificant. According to the idea of ​​​​the guard company, they will arrange for the reconnaissance battalion of the independent brigade. Although the board and lodging is troublesome, it is not a big deal. Isn't it just three or four hundred people, but they are all dumbfounded when they come into contact with it.

Damn, what kind of reconnaissance battalion is this from the Independent Brigade? Is this also called a battalion?The company commander and instructor of the security company were a bit confused. I had heard that the independent brigade had a large establishment before, but I didn't expect it to be so large. There are more than 1000 people in one battalion. Even if the security company vacates all its rooms It's useless to come out.

The reconnaissance battalion has experienced this kind of thing not once, and it is basically the same every time it deals with brother troops. Zhang Jinsong grinned and said: "Don't be so troublesome, we won't stay long, besides, we have our own distribution. It’s not a problem to simply stay for a few nights in a tent.”

Not to mention how the guard company arranged board and lodging for the reconnaissance battalion, Commander Zhang Guohua anxiously approached the Kaxag government and asked them about the situation of the so-called weapons factory.

It is better to come forward to find the upper-level people to save trouble. Once we know this, something really happened. According to the staff of the Kashag government, there really was such a weapon factory in Lhasa, and it was indeed built with the help of the British more than ten years ago. However, the official of the Kaxag government said rather embarrassingly, but he got off the horse later, and the weapons factory was not completed.

Why?Why should a good armory be disbanded?The official continued to explain: "Our Tibetan area lacks skilled engineers and technicians. Although the factory was built with the help of the British at that time, once the British left, our own production efficiency was very low, and there was no machinery and equipment. For maintenance technology, the factory often shut down, and later had to close the weapon factory.”

Army Commander Zhang Guohua figured it out. There was indeed an arsenal built with the help of the British, but under the circumstances at that time, this matter could only be done secretly. The British did not dare to support Tibet’s independence in a fair manner. , so as soon as the factory was built, all the technicians were withdrawn.

The British still didn't know much about Tibet, and the Tibetan area was too backward. They didn't expect that the Lhasa Arms Factory after they left could not even do the simplest operation and maintenance, and finally had to close down.

To put it bluntly, Lhasa lacks skilled workers to operate machinery and equipment, and the weapons factory cannot continue to operate, so that it has to stop working. This is the reason.

Damn it, it turned out that this was the case. I couldn't find this weapon factory because it was closed. Commander Zhang Guohua turned his head and continued to ask: "What happened after the factory closed?"

The officials of the Kaxag government had no choice but to continue to answer, and he did not dare not to answer the question of the army chief. You must know that in Tibet at that time, Army Commander Zhang Guohua was almost the number one commander.

"Returning to the head of the army, after the shutdown of weapons, a mint was built on the site of the original factory to produce coins, and all the original machinery and equipment were sealed up."

(Look at the click-through rate of military articles in the classification list, it’s so pitiful, I don’t know how long I can last) (to be continued...)