RPAGF Chapter 1381 Reminder
Chapter 1381 Reminder
At this point, Hu Xiangqian paused, lowering his voice and making it sound more like a report:
"Old commander, what I should report to you most is the construction of our military industrial production system!"
Upon hearing about military industry, Liu Lue finally turned his gaze away from the window, looked calmly at Hu Xiangqian through his glasses, and gestured for him to continue.
This subtle movement gave Hu Xiangqian a jolt of energy.
"Based on the laboratory equipment of various factories and even some schools in Pingxiang and Chongyou, we collected and transported a large number of machine tools—lathes, milling machines, punching machines, and even two old-fashioned five-axis machining centers—from railway areas such as Yulin and Liuzhou!"
"Currently, on the southeast side of the railway station, we have built the 'Pingxiang Military Industrial Production Park,' which is planned to cover an area of about 5000 mu."
Speaking of this, Hu Xiangqian's eyes lit up:
"Although we can't compare to the large-scale military industrial bases like Theater Command 001, 003, and Zhanjiang Military Industrial Production Zone, we have initially established three production lines!"
"The first line is the small arms and ammunition reloading line. It can mass-produce 12.7mm machine gun ammunition and 5.8mm rifle ammunition, reload various types of artillery shell primers and propellants, and repair and manufacture some firearm parts, such as barrels, firing pins, and recoil springs. The daily production capacity of rifle ammunition is currently around 800,000 rounds!"
"The second line is for individual soldier equipment and logistical supplies. It mainly produces military tents, backpacks, combat uniforms, entrenching tools, water bottles, etc. It can also manufacture mortars and recoilless rifles in small batches."
"The third one, which was also the one we worked the hardest to build, is the vehicle repair and modification line!"
Hu Xiangqian's tone carried a sense of accomplishment after overcoming difficulties:
"Relying on those repaired machine tools and a group of experienced mechanics (some are former workers from automobile factories and machinery factories, and some are mechanics from the military), we can now perform medium-level repairs and overhauls on damaged Mengshi series, Lynx all-terrain vehicles, and even 04A infantry fighting vehicles. We can replace chassis load-bearing components, repair light armor, and repair common diesel engines and transmissions."
"More importantly, we can use stockpiled military parts and some self-produced components to convert captured or collected civilian trucks and large engineering vehicles into armed patrol vehicles or supply transport vehicles with basic steel armor protection and machine guns or automatic grenade launchers. This is very cost-effective and especially suitable for second-line defense and logistics units."
Regarding raw materials, Hu Xiangqian continued his report:
"Metals are mainly obtained by recycling urban ruins and various scrap steel materials collected along railway lines. Special alloys, chemical raw materials (propellants, explosives), electronic components, precision bearings, etc., are transferred from various small and medium-sized industrial sites and storage depots under our Railway Command along the railway lines. The Theater Logistics Department also allocates a portion of key materials regularly."
...
'Reassigned from various industrial zones along the railway line that belong to the Railway Command…'
Liu Lue silently recited Hu Xiangqian's seemingly casual words, his gaze behind his glasses flashing almost imperceptibly.
He had heard about this "Railway Command" many times while teaching at the Fuxing Military Academy and chatting with several old friends, and had discussed it in depth.
Based on their historical experience, the old guys at the time unanimously believed that in this post-apocalyptic environment where transportation was cut off and regions were fragmented, whoever controlled a stable, efficient, and high-capacity transportation line would control the lifeline of material circulation, troop deployment, information transmission, and even the radiation of power.
The railway forces simultaneously control the railway (transportation), the armed railway protection teams (military), and the warehousing, maintenance, and even small production bases (economic foundation) that inevitably arise from stations and hubs along the line.
At the time, they predicted that, given time, the actual power and influence of this military-industrial complex centered on "railways" would likely expand to an astonishing level, far beyond what a traditional "service command" could encompass.
In retrospect, those initial predictions are rapidly becoming a reality.
The "allocation" that Hu Xiangqian mentioned as a matter of course meant that the Railway Command had already built a production-supply network along the long railway lines under its control, although it was decentralized, but mutually supportive.
This network is able to support the operation and development of forward strategic hubs like the Pingxiang base relatively independently.
While its production efficiency may not be as high as that of large bases directly under the theater command, its wide distribution, numerous nodes, strong risk resistance, and seamless connection with railway transportation may give it a greater advantage in terms of flexibility and resilience during wartime and development periods.
More importantly, this "allocation capability" implies the Railway Command's actual control and allocation power over resources along the railway line.
Resource allocation at the theater level is the general direction, but when it comes to how a screw, a barrel of fuel, or a batch of special steel is moved from point A to point B, what steps are involved, and who decides the priority, there is a lot of room for manipulation.
If this continues, the Railway Command will no longer be just a branch of the military that performs transportation and railway protection tasks, but will evolve into a behemoth that controls strategic passages, has self-sufficient industrial capabilities, and can independently organize and implement campaign-level military operations.
The outline of a state within a state, or rather, a highly independent military-industrial-logistics-military complex, is already faintly emerging.
The best evidence is the Pingxiang base described by Hu Xiangqian, whose resources can be largely provided by the Railway Command itself.
So, given enough time, the railway troops could theoretically build as many similar bases as they wanted along the railway lines.
"Regarding the resources in each region, the theater command obviously takes the lion's share, while the various departments and units below pick up the scraps..."
Liu Lue calmly analyzed the situation in his mind:
"But the reality is often that this 'small business' of picking up scraps of meat hides real opportunities for huge profits and the path to power growth. This is especially true when these 'scraps of meat' are related to the flow and production of vital supplies for the military."
Thinking of this, Liu Lue's mood became slightly heavy.
He wasn't afraid of the railway forces' strength; in the apocalypse, a strong force was the guarantee of survival and development.
His concern is about the imbalance, whether this power, which has expanded rapidly due to its special functions and historical context, will gradually escape effective checks and balances and supervision, whether it will breed problems that are too big to handle, and even affect the overall strategic coordination and unity of the theater in the future.
It's fine when the leader is around, but people are born, grow old, get sick, and die. What if the leader is no longer here one day?
Thinking about all this, Liu Lue wasn't sure if he was being overly pessimistic, after all, the current situation wasn't at a point where he could be thinking about what would happen a hundred years from now...
"Perhaps I should find an opportunity to remind the leader..." Liu Lue thought to himself.