Bright Sword: Let my company hold off the Yamazaki Battalion

Chapter 64 Good News Arrives! Officer Li: "Commander Chu, congratulations, congratulations!&quo

Upon hearing this, Factory Director Wang expressed his understanding: "Okay, it's not mandatory. You can come and take a look around when you have time and give your opinions. You don't need to follow along."

After winning over the technicians at the arsenal, Chu Feng's status within the arsenal rose dramatically, from being a major investor to a senior master craftsman.

He didn't leave that day. Instead, he stayed at the arsenal with the newly established smelting group and the comrades who had previously participated in the smoldering experiment, and they replicated the previous experiment again.

Chu Feng participated in the entire process personally, and soon the first batch of shell casings was sealed into the furnace.

"We did the same thing last time, but we still failed in the end."

Looking at the sealed furnace, Engineer Li, who participated in the experiment, said with a complicated expression, "If there are no unexpected events, the result will probably be the same this time."

"Commander Chu, what's the point of us replicating this again?"

"Of course!"

Chu Feng smiled and pointed to himself: "You failed before because I wasn't involved."

"I'll personally follow along and then look at your experimental records. Maybe after seeing the finished product, I'll be able to find the problem."

As the old saying goes, three cobblers are equal to one Zhuge Liang.

Upon hearing this, Engineer Li smiled nonchalantly, taking it as Chu Feng joking.

However, a hint of self-mockery flashed in his eyes, and he sighed inwardly, "I'm just grasping at straws in desperation. Commander Chu is a genius in warfare, but the field of materials science requires experience and scientific accumulation, which he has never even touched. What can he do?"

Thinking of this, Engineer Li lost interest in continuing the conversation and returned to his work, no longer holding any hope that the smoldering method would produce gray pig iron.

Chu Feng noticed the change in Li Gong's expression, but he pursed his lips and said nothing.

He couldn't very well tell Engineer Li that he had already unlocked the skill the moment the furnace was sealed!

The room fell silent, and Chu Feng didn't try to break the silence.

He pretended to be engrossed in reviewing the experimental records, but a thought struck him, and he entered the system space, freezing the real world in the process.

In the attribute panel's class skills section, a new skill has been added—【Gray Pig Iron - Smoldering Technique (Apprentice): 0/1000】.

Without hesitation, Chu Feng was about to use his merit points to upgrade his skill, but when he saw the required points, he was instantly stunned: "Good heavens! It only took 600 points to upgrade my lathe from apprentice to intermediate, but your Smoldering Fire Technique requires 1000 points to upgrade from apprentice to beginner?"

"Wouldn't it cost three to five thousand to upgrade from beginner to intermediate level? That skill's value is way too high!"

Despite his complaints, Chu Feng did not hesitate for a moment.

Gray cast iron is the core material for making mortar shells. Without it, even the best mortar is just a fire poker. These 1000 merit points must be spent.

The moment 1000 merit points were deducted, Chu Feng felt a blur before his eyes and instantly entered the learning space.

Under the guidance of the system, he began to learn about the smoldering process for producing gray cast iron, which involved both theory and practice, and the learning process was just as enjoyable as before.

After an unknown amount of time, Chu Feng exited the learning space, his face showing no joy but rather a grave expression: "The Elementary Smoldering Fire Technique is actually a universal industrial solution?"

He frowned. The requirement for specialized blast furnaces and precision temperature control equipment was something he couldn't possibly obtain. Although he had the theory, he could continue his research.

But what I lack now is time; what I need is to quickly master the skills and put them into production.

"The arsenal is full of mud furnaces, where would we get all this equipment? Upgrading it is pointless, it's useless."

He quickly looked at the attribute panel and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the number of points required to advance from beginner to intermediate: "Thank goodness, it only takes 3000 points to advance from beginner to intermediate, not 5000, which is acceptable."

Another 3000 merit points were deducted, and he entered the learning space again. This time, the knowledge was more in-depth, and the practical operations were more complex, but the core was still industrialized production.

When he exited again, his expression was even more grim: "Damn it! Intermediate or Industrialization? Do I really have to reach Advanced level to unlock the primitive refining method?"

Looking at the 1 merit points required to advance from intermediate to advanced level, Chu Feng struggled with his decision.

1 points is no small amount; it's enough to upgrade the intermediate learning buff to the advanced level, which can be used whether leading troops or learning new skills.

But if we don't upgrade and can't produce gray cast iron, the 100mm mortar will be useless.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Feng gritted his teeth and stamped his foot: "Damn it, I'll learn it! It's just 1 points, right? As long as I can produce gray cast iron, it's not a loss!"

The 1 merit points vanished instantly, and he re-entered the learning space.

This time, the knowledge system has become broader and more comprehensive, encompassing both higher standards of industrialized production and traditional methods of refining.

It includes how to modify the stove, how to control the temperature of the firewood, how to adjust the simmering time, and even how to use simple tools to monitor the temperature, all explained clearly.

After an unknown amount of time, Chu Feng finally exited the learning space, his tense expression completely relaxing into a bright smile: "Damn it, I finally unlocked the rudimentary refining method! It was so difficult!"

All in all, upgrading the Smoldering Fire Technique cost a total of 14000 merit points. Adding the 600 points spent on upgrading the lathe operation skill, the total cost was 14,600 points.

He looked at the attribute panel, where only 3228 merit points remained.

Chu Feng had originally planned to use the remaining merit points to upgrade his personal command skills or learn a buff, but now it seems he has to put that on hold for the time being.

"No matter what, once the gray cast iron manufacturing technology is developed, it's not a loss; on the contrary, this is a huge profit."

Looking at the skills and sensing the memories and information in his mind, Chu Feng smiled broadly: "It's still better to use cheats! The conditions for using them are a bit strict, but if there's a problem, cheats can really solve it."

Chu Feng couldn't help but think to himself, "Breakthroughs in gray cast iron can not only be used to make artillery shells, but also to produce hand grenades and rifle grenades."

"Moreover, the knowledge and abilities brought by advanced skills not only enable the rudimentary smelting of gray cast iron, but also provide a complete production and manufacturing system that can improve and optimize the output of rudimentary smelting by several levels."

"With the arsenal's current capabilities, once the technology is implemented and the production system is established, producing hundreds of thousands of artillery shells a year shouldn't be a problem!"

"If you include hand grenades, the number would be even greater."

Having mastered the core technology, Chu Feng did not linger. He immediately exited the system space and instructed the smelting team, "I'll take these materials and experimental data back with me. I'll come back tomorrow when it's almost time."

"Commander Chu, you go ahead and get busy, we'll keep an eye on things!" The smelting team leader quickly waved his hand, but Engineer Li was already engrossed in his work and didn't notice the conversation at all.

After leaving the arsenal, Chu Feng returned to the guard regiment, and nothing was said that night!

The next morning, Chu Feng had just finished his tour of the military base and was about to go to the arsenal when he discovered that Officer Li, who was with Minister Zhang, had arrived.

"Officer Li, what brings you here?" Chu Feng asked with some curiosity.

Officer Li greeted him with a smile, his tone tinged with joy: "Commander Chu, good news! Great news!"

"Assemble the troops immediately. The headquarters leaders and Minister Zhang will arrive in about ten minutes."

Upon hearing this, Chu Feng's eyes lit up, and he instantly guessed what was going on. He immediately raised his hand and ordered the guard beside him: "Quickly, notify all battalions and companies to assemble within ten minutes!"

Then he looked at Officer Li and asked excitedly, "Our regiment's commendation has come down, right? Do you know what it is?"

"right!"

Secretary Li responded to the first question with a smile, then shook his head: "I don't know the specifics, but judging from the minister's wide smile, it must be quite significant."

As he spoke, he offered his congratulations first: "Commander Chu, congratulations, congratulations!"