I am an artillery soldier

Chapter 376 The Importance of Honeycomb Coal ([-] words)
When he woke up at five o'clock in the morning, Liu Gen was still a little confused. After washing his face with cold water, he felt a lot more awake.

It was the second half of November, and winter was coming. Liu Gen, who stayed in the lathe department, did not feel that there was a big change. The lathe department was quite busy every day, not to mention the temperature. Liu Gen stayed in the lathe department. Can't feel the slightest chill.

Only when he washed his face with cold water every morning, Liu Gen could feel the winter chill. After a quick wash, he tightened his clothes, which hadn't been changed for a few days, and looked a bit worn out.Washing time every morning is no longer for Liu Gen to enjoy. The water temperature is too low and too cold.

Even if the water stored in the lathe department does not freeze, the water temperature is still inevitably low, but in a state of exhaustion, only such cool enough water can keep everyone awake.

After arriving at the arsenal, Liu Gen didn't bring many clothes, only two sets of clothes, one thin and one thick.In winter, Liu Gen naturally needs to wear thick clothes, which are not that thick.

Every winter, each unit of the Eighth Route Army will supplement the winter clothes of the soldiers, but due to the lack of supplies, there are not many cotton coats that can be distributed to each unit.

Fighting the devils on the front line, the woolen coats seized from the devils will be distributed to the soldiers at the first time, and the excess will be handed over.Previously, after the devils' military uniforms and woolen coats were seized on the battlefield, they would be handed in and then distributed centrally. However, there were certain hidden dangers in doing this.

In order to avoid this from happening, the Eighth Route Army Headquarters also changed its previous practice and distributed the seized materials as soon as possible, unless there were surplus materials.The devils' uniforms and woolen coats handed in will be dyed by the clothing factory before being distributed to the troops.

The cups and clothes that the clothing factory can produce are limited every year, and the materials purchased from the masses are not too many. In this era, the masses do not have too many materials.In order to ensure the supply of materials for the clothing factory, soldiers can only purchase materials in areas occupied by devils or the national army, so as to ensure that the clothing factory can produce enough quilts and clothing.

Harvesting materials in the area occupied by the national army is okay when the relationship between the two parties is good, but when the relationship is tense, it is naturally impossible to purchase materials.As for buying supplies in the areas occupied by the Japanese army, you can only buy a small amount each time, and at the same time not too frequently, otherwise it is easy for the devils to see some clues.

Every year, when the clothing factory sent soldiers to secretly go to the Japanese-occupied area to buy supplies, the soldiers would be discovered by devils, or even ambushed.In order to ensure the supply of quilts and clothing for each army, the quilt factory has exhausted various methods, but even so, the annual output of the quilt factory is still limited.

No, in winter, the quilts that should be sent to the arsenal by the quilt factory have not yet been delivered.

Liu Gen didn't have a change of clothes, so he could only work in his only cotton-padded jacket. He hoped that the cotton-padded jacket would be delivered by the clothing factory soon, so that he could also change his clothes.In the arsenal, there were many people in the same situation as Liu Gen. Foreman Qi didn't know how long he had worn the padded jacket. At least Liu Gen didn't see him change it.

It's good to stay in the turning department. With the existence of machine tools, the temperature in the turning department is still very high. When working, everyone doesn't feel too cold.The other departments in the arsenal are not as comfortable as the lathe department, and other departments do not have much machinery and equipment. Naturally, it is impossible to keep warm.

As for warming up by the fire, it has not yet reached that level. If it is really too cold, then the arsenal will definitely have a fire to keep warm, so that everyone will not be frozen.

When he came to the lathe department, Liu Gen could see that some workers from other departments also came to the lathe department. They found some open space and tried to be as close to the lathe department as possible, so that they could be warmer while working.

Looking at the workers surrounding the turning department, Liu Gen fell silent, his eyes a little sore.Working in the arsenal is too hard, and the conditions are too harsh.But even in this environment, the workers and experts in the arsenal worked hard to persevere, no matter how difficult the conditions were, no one left.

At this time, Liu Gen seemed to understand why he was able to drive the devils back to his hometown. With so many rear personnel working hard to support the front line, how could they lose the battle?With so many people working hard for this country, how can this country not rise?
Walking quickly into the lathe department, Liu Gen didn't dare to continue to look at the workers surrounding the lathe department. He felt that if he looked again, he might not be able to control his emotions.

When Liu Gen walked into the turning department, he found that everyone in the turning department was a little silent. Everyone who was able to laugh and laugh at work on weekdays could no longer be happy at this time.How can everyone be happy when they see the people gathered outside the lathe department?

After the lathe department carefully inspected every machine tool, Liu Gen directly searched quickly in the prestige mall, and soon he found what he wanted, briquette production technology, and five prestige points.Without hesitation, Liu Gen exchanged this briquette production technology directly. Now the arsenal needs this technology, and the entire Eighth Route Army in Shanxi needs this production technology.

Shanxi is a large coal-producing province, and there is no shortage of coal mines here. Honeycomb coal has the advantages of high efficiency and flammability, coal saving and efficiency enhancement.The briquette production technology is also very simple. After Liu Gen simply checked the relevant information in his mind, he was sure that this briquette production technology was not difficult for the Eighth Route Army at all.

Honeycomb coal appeared at the end of 1930, but it only appeared in the Yantai coal mine carbon smelting plant operated by the Nanman Railway in Japan, serving the Japanese invasion of China, and it was not popularized in China.

Regardless of whether it was on the front line or in the arsenal behind, Liu Gen did not see the existence of honeycomb briquettes. It is precisely because of this that Liu Gen came up with honeycomb briquette production technology.This technology looks inconspicuous, but it is quite important, especially in winter.

"Qi Gong, I have something to go to the factory manager Cheng." When he came to Qi Gongchang, Liu Gen said.

Chief Qi looked at Liu Gen and could see Liu Gen's serious expression, which made him realize that Liu Gen should have something important to ask Factory Manager Cheng.Director Cheng said before that he asked Liu Gen to go to him when he had something to do, but Liu Gen never went.

Now that Liu Gen chooses to go, what is the important thing?Foreman Qi was a little curious, but he didn't have any intention of asking. He knew that some things were not suitable for him to ask.

"Okay, let's go. Put on my coat. It's snowing outside and it's a bit cold. If you walk out of the turning department, you'll catch a cold easily." Chief Qi said with concern.

Liu Gen was a little moved, "Okay, Qi Gong, then I'll go."

"Okay, let's go!"

After bidding farewell to Chief Engineer Qi, Liu Gen came to the door of the lathe department, put on Chief Engineer Qi's overcoat, and immediately became much warmer.Foreman Qi's coat has always been hung at the door of the turning department, and whenever a worker from the turning department goes out, he will wear his coat.

Putting on his coat, Liu Gen stepped out of the lathe department. He could see the vast expanse of beautiful snowflakes, and the snow on the ground was almost one centimeter thick.Tightening his coat tightly, Liu Gen was a little thankful that he was wearing Chief Qi's coat, otherwise he would have caught a cold easily if he walked out of the turning department rashly.

The temperature inside the lathe department is not bad, but the temperature outside is so low, alternating hot and cold, naturally it is easy to get sick.

Along the way, Liu Gen could see that the workers in other departments of the arsenal were working hard, and everyone was working hard, and only in this way could the chill on their bodies be dispelled.Looking at these workers, Liu Gen could see that everyone had put on all the clothes that could keep them warm, and they looked a little bloated.

It's just that you can wear warm clothes on your body, but you can't wear anything on your hands. Not to mention some jobs with strict requirements, even jobs like reloading bullets, you can't wear any gloves.Wearing gloves can keep you warm, but wearing gloves will also greatly slow down the speed of reloading bullets, which is unbearable for workers.

Besides, the workers in the arsenal don't have so many gloves, and they have no choice but to wear them.

When he came to the factory manager's office, Liu Gen could find that the factory manager Cheng was handling some affairs of the arsenal. It takes a long time to make a decision.

"bang bang bang"

Liu Gen knocked on the door, and Director Cheng, who was busy dealing with things, looked up and was a little surprised when he saw Liu Gen.Ever since Liu Gen entered the lathe department, he had been waiting for Liu Gen to come to him. The lathe department was so tiring that he felt that Liu Gen would not be able to persist.Who knew that after Liu Gen arrived in the lathe department, there was no news. If Director Cheng hadn't found out that Liu Gen was doing well in the lathe department, then he might suspect that Liu Gen was missing in the lathe department.

"Gen Zi, come in."

"I'll deal with these things first, you wait for me first." Director Cheng said directly after entertaining Liu Gen to sit down.

Liu Gen nodded, he didn't have any opinion, and he was not blind, so he could see that the factory director was busy.It is precisely because Liu Gen knows that Director Cheng is very busy on weekdays, so he seldom visits Director Cheng. He doesn't want to disturb Director Cheng's work rashly.

Without making Liu Gen wait too long, Director Cheng finished a job. As for the rest, it would not be too late to deal with the rest after Liu Gen left.

"Genzi, how do you feel in the lathe department? Director Qi treats you okay?" Director Cheng asked with concern.

Director Cheng knew that Liu Gen had done a good job in the lathe department, but he didn't know exactly how well Liu Gen had done in the lathe department.Seeing Liu Gen now, Director Cheng naturally wanted to know more about Liu Gen's situation. Before Mr. Liu left the arsenal, he was very concerned about Liu Gen's situation, and he was even more worried about delaying Liu Gen, a genius.

"It's okay. Chief Qi is very kind to me, and I have learned a lot from Chief Qi." Liu Gen said seriously.

Without waiting for Director Cheng to ask again, Liu Gen directly said about the briquettes, and he didn't want to waste too much time.If the briquettes are produced earlier, everyone in the arsenal will suffer less, and the soldiers on the front line will be more comfortable.

"Honeycomb? Are you sure that honeycomb has so many advantages? Are you sure it's smokeless, non-toxic, and tasteless?" Looking at Liu Gen, Director Cheng asked in surprise.

Liu Gen nodded vigorously, and he said with certainty: "I can assure you! Our arsenal also has coal, we can try to produce some, and we will know when the time comes."

Seeing Liu Gen's confidence, Director Cheng almost believed what Liu Gen said. If the honeycomb coal was as good as Liu Gen said, it would undoubtedly be a great contribution!For the troops of the Eighth Route Army, the most difficult thing to go through was winter. Due to the shortage of supplies, some soldiers froze to death.

Not to mention, every winter, many soldiers in the various units of the Eighth Route Army developed frostbite.

Director Cheng can imagine that if briquette is so good, it will definitely save many people if it is promoted to various troops and the masses in the base areas.

"Come on, let's make some. I want to see if the honeycomb briquettes are really that good!" Director Cheng couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, he pulled Liu Gen and walked out of the office.

Seeing Director Cheng being so excited, Liu Gen didn't expect it, so he just asked: "Director Cheng, don't you still have a lot of things to deal with? I can do the making of briquettes, and you can just wait in the office." It worked out."

"No, those things are not as important as yours. If briquettes are as you said, then they are very important to our Eighth Route Army! At that time, I will personally ask the bosses at the headquarters for credit for you! "Director Cheng said excitedly.

Seeing what Director Cheng said, Liu Gen had no idea to stop Director Cheng, "Director Cheng, we can go out to make briquettes, but you'd better put on your coat first, it's still cold outside."

Director Cheng reacted, nodded quickly, and put on his coat.

"Let's go, let's go directly to make briquettes. The two of us are not enough, so we'll call in some workers. As for the location of making briquettes, let's leave it to your lathe department." Director Cheng said seriously.

I have to say that Director Cheng did a very good job. He thought so much in a short period of time.The place where the briquettes are made is placed in the lathe department. One is for the heating of the workers. The other is that the briquettes are in the lathe department. With the temperature of the lathe department, the briquettes can be dried in the shortest time.

Soon, with the help of the workers, Liu Gen gathered enough relevant materials needed to make briquettes.During the preparation of materials, Liu Gen found a blacksmith in the arsenal and asked him to build a briquette machine for himself.The construction of the briquette machine is very simple, it is a small iron bucket with 10 iron pillars inside.

To build such a thing, looking for a blacksmith in the arsenal is completely overkill. After Liu Gen finished the preparations, the tools he needed also arrived.

It is very simple to make honeycomb coal. After Liu Gen simply operated it once, everyone understood it. After trying it, what he did was even better than Liu Gen. Five minutes later, looking at more than 5 briquettes placed on the ground, everyone stopped their actions, knowing that the next thing to do was to wait.

"Director Cheng, it will take at least one day, or even longer, to dry the briquettes. You should go back and deal with the matter first, and then look at the specific situation of the briquettes after the briquettes are ready." Liu Gen came to the factory manager and said seriously .

Director Cheng nodded. He looked at the briquettes on the ground with expectations in his eyes. He really hoped that the briquettes would be as good as Liu Gen said!

With the departure of the factory manager, the workers around here also left separately. Everyone has their own things to do.

"Genzi, are you really sure?" Chief Qi came to Liu Gen and asked worriedly.

Seeing Mr. Qi's worry about him, Liu Gen nodded affirmatively, and said confidently: "Mr. Qi, just watch it! There won't be any problems with the briquettes!"

(End of this chapter)