Chapter Eleven: The Senior Alumnus Complains About the Principal: Ignoring the Invaders While Insisting on Pacifying Internal Affairs First

October 1935.

The 24th Regiment, fully under the command of Su Changqing, closely followed the steps of the First Rainbow Army.

They were the first to arrive at the northern base area.

The First Rainbow Army, along with part of the Fourth Rainbow Army, united with the original Rainbow forces stationed in Shaanxi.

However, at this time, other units on the Long March had not yet reached Shaanxi smoothly.

Various units were gradually making their way toward Shaanxi.

Take the 24th Regiment as an example—if not for Su Changqing’s sudden parachute insertion, and considering his unwavering loyalty to the organization and the trust he had from the highest command, the 24th Regiment might have had to cross the grasslands multiple times due to certain circumstances.

After arriving in Shaanxi, the top leadership began to contemplate establishing a new base.

After all, the Japanese controlled the northern part of Fengbei and were coveting the heartland of Greater Xia with a desire as obvious as “Sima Zhao’s intentions, known to all.”

Given the current situation, the internal chaos and wars within Greater Xia had become a secondary concern.

The real, pressing issue was the conflict with the Japanese.

Naturally, these were matters for the upper echelons to consider.

Su Changqing, upon reaching Shaanxi, appeared quite at ease.

Yet this was merely a façade.

With the help of the system, Su Changqing had already set his sights on a location in Wutai Mountain.

He had also grasped the intentions from above.

The creation of the base was “an arrow on the string, ready to be released.”

In the future, Su Changqing was very likely to be dispatched to other regions to establish anti-Japanese bases.

“Changqing, you’ve been laying low recently. What exactly have you been tinkering with all alone?”

A senior comrade, having just returned from a headquarters meeting, seized the chance to visit Su Changqing’s 24th Regiment.

The tremendous changes in the 24th Regiment over this period were not lost on this division commander of the First Rainbow Army.

The regiment’s several sorties displayed outstanding coordination among soldiers and exquisite firepower deployment.

In battle, the 24th Regiment often achieved significant results at minimal cost.

This was not only noticed by Su Changqing’s senior comrade but also recognized by headquarters.

“This stuff is smokeless powder, a serendipitous discovery by chemist Schönbein in 1845.”

“In an experiment that year, he accidentally knocked over a bottle containing a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acid, which splashed onto a cotton apron on the table. When he heated the apron near a fire, it suddenly vanished without producing smoke.”

“This discovery piqued his curiosity, and after careful research, he successfully synthesized a new compound—nitrocellulose.”

“In 1884, scientist Vieille ingeniously dissolved nitrocellulose in ether and alcohol, adding stabilizers to create the world’s first smokeless powder. This powder, consisting solely of nitrocellulose, was named ‘single-base powder.’”

“The characteristics and advantages of smokeless powder are remarkable: it not only has powerful explosive force but burns almost residue-free, producing minimal smoke, making it superior to traditional black powder.”

“Experiments have shown that smokeless powder’s explosive power far exceeds that of black powder, significantly extending projectile range and improving ballistic trajectory and shooting accuracy.”

“Moreover, its residue-free and low-smoke combustion makes it the ideal propellant for firearms and artillery.”

“Currently, European nations have replaced black powder with smokeless powder…”

“It has become the mainstream of the era, yet our Greater Xia and Rainbow Army have no smokeless powder.”

“If we could possess smokeless powder on the future battlefield,”

“the enhancement to the Rainbow Army’s combat effectiveness would be transformative.”

In Su Changqing’s memory, the Eighth Route Army only began producing smokeless powder in 1944.

At present, although he could not immediately establish large-scale munitions factories due to severe shortages in raw materials and technical personnel,

with the system’s assistance,

producing smokeless powder was still achievable.

After all, the era’s remarkable talents cleverly used local ceramic jars to replace lead plates required for acid production, innovating a new “jar-tower method” for sulfuric acid manufacture, thereby enabling smokeless powder production.

Upon hearing this, the senior comrade’s eyes brightened.

He slapped Su Changqing’s shoulder hard.

“You really do have quite a few tricks up your sleeve.”

“I’ve heard of smokeless powder, but the army always thought it was hard to produce.”

“You’re truly a genius.”

Originally, this senior comrade had come to ask about the “three-three system.”

Now, Su Changqing’s creation of smokeless powder startled him greatly.

“Senior, I know why you came this time.”

“Here!”

“I’ve carefully compiled the combat manual for the three-three system recently. Our current army’s firepower is weak; only the three-three system can maximize the combat power of grassroots units.”

“Besides the three-three system, I’ve also devised a ‘Chinese Character Pinyin Annotation’ guide. Traditional literacy learning is far too inefficient.”

“Soldiers have to both produce and fight; they hardly have time to study and learn characters.”

“Look at this character ‘Chen,’ pronounced according to these pinyin rules as ‘Chen.’”

“This helps comrades quickly grasp and master Chinese characters. Hey, take Li Yunlong from the 24th Regiment—”

“Didn’t he used to barely recognize his own name?”

“Now, with this aid, he can recognize many more characters.”

“Rainbow Army soldiers all possess unwavering faith, but faith must be armed with literacy. Only then can we achieve the Party’s goals and truly revive Greater Xia.”

The senior comrade pocketed the two small booklets Su Changqing handed over.

Looking at his junior, he increasingly felt that his young comrade’s mind was filled with things that could greatly aid the Rainbow Army.

“Senior, here is also the production process for smokeless powder.”

“If we can mass-produce smokeless powder, the troops’ combat effectiveness will be greatly enhanced.”

“I hope you can quietly pass this to the upper echelons without revealing my name,” Su Changqing whispered.

In the current environment, discretion was paramount.

Standing out invites destruction.

As long as the leader knew it came from him, that was enough.

“Son of a gun!”

“Hahaha, from now on, any good stuff, just spill it to me.”

“Don’t keep things hidden and be so secretive.”

The senior comrade was very pleased with what Su Changqing had provided.

“Changqing, the leadership is considering a western expedition.”

“Right now, the base isn’t stable.”

“Units from the Fourth Army’s old forces might reorganize and join the western expedition.”

“You must be prepared.”

“The Ma family troops are extremely unruly but also very fierce in battle.”

“Also, the troops under Commander Zhang, withdrawn from Fengbei, have been moved to Shaanxi.”

“Our commander-in-chief truly sees us as a grave threat. The Japanese have already held a knife to the throat of Greater Xia.”

“But he still focuses on ‘stabilizing internally before repelling external enemies’!”

The senior comrade expressed great dissatisfaction with the commander-in-chief, who held power far away in Jinling.

…