Who would have thought that a small acetone could change many things? Perhaps, for Europeans, they don’t know, but for Li Zicheng, who is far away in Asia, all this is carefully planned.

Putting down the telegram in his hand, Li Zicheng smiled slightly. Now he can finally answer their questions. That inconspicuous little thing is to some extent a key.

Many people will not notice this inconspicuous chemical raw material, but they never knew that it was this inconspicuous chemical raw material that once led to the birth of a country.

After the outbreak of World War I and the acetone crisis in the UK, Jewish chemist Weizmann, a Zionist, invented the method of fermenting butanol by yeast. Acetone is an indispensable raw material for the British Army and Navy to make smokeless gunpowder. In the past, it was made by dry distillation of acetate. It took a long time to produce acetone and produced a small output. After the invention of artificial synthesis of acetone, the production of smokeless gunpowder in Britain suddenly increased from 8,000 tons per year to 800 tons per week, greatly strengthening Britain's war efforts. The British government's support for the establishment of a Jewish national home was a reward and reward for Weizmann.

Lloyd George, who later became British Prime Minister, once bluntly stated that the Belfort Declaration was a reward for Weizmann for his important work during the production of acetone. It was this declaration that led to the birth of Israel.

It can be said that it was acetone that facilitated the establishment of the country of Israel. If it weren’t for the articles that I had seen on the Internet many years ago, I might not have known this story, so I would naturally have no idea of ​​writing articles on acetone.

"This technology is worth at least £200 million!"

Facing Li Zicheng's explanation, Mu said with some dissatisfaction. Just as the surge in military chemical raw materials such as nitric acid and phenol, the price of acetone also changed day by day. It is naturally a pity for this kind of bias in exchange for a British one.

"Two million pounds are based on the current price. Britain has world-class chemical experts, and they will solve this technical problem soon. In fact, this technology has been invented for a long time, but it has been ignored. Perhaps for a few months, at most half a year, the price of acetone will naturally decline. By then, it would be great if the market of 200 million pounds can reach 20 million pounds!"

Mu definitely didn't know that in a few months, Weizmann would invent the method of fermenting butanol in yeast to synthesize acetone by artificially synthesizing acetone. Naturally, he wouldn't know that after the invention of artificial synthesis acetone technology, the price of acetone fell sharply. Of course, Li Zicheng had no way to explain, so he could only explain it by typing it up.

Now for China, it is to use this technology that Weizmann will invent in a few months, forcing the British to stand on China's side in this conflict, thus ending the war and developing in a direction that is beneficial to China.

"this……"

"Okay, Ouchu, business can be done at any time, and sometimes appropriate sacrifices are acceptable. The Jiaoao Incident ends one month earlier, so we can sell all the supplies to Europe one month earlier. How many orders have the trading company brought for us in the past few months?"

Of course, Li Zicheng did not care about the so-called orders. In fact, he did not need to care at all. As the war continued, the orders would only increase. Even if all factories in China were working day and night, it might not necessarily meet the needs of the market.

"Zhiyuan, the current international market is already showing signs of a transformation towards a seller's market. Our performance in trade banks in various countries has generally increased. Last month, we exported 1,500 tons of various dyes to the United States, and the profits exceeded three times that of the pre-war period. The Western medicine of Chinese Pharmaceutical Company has been sold out by foreign companies from Britain and France before it has been released from the factory..."

Speaking of the changes in the market in recent times, Mu became excited. Just as Li Zicheng had previously speculated, the market has completely changed now, and the profits of factories are like grabbing money.

"Not only us, but also factories in various places have now increased rapidly with the outbreak of war. Those financial owners from all over the country who did not listen to our persuasion to expand their factories were so regretful that they even regretted their intestines. The profits of the three factories in Dasheng for a week are equivalent to the profits of the past half month. Those who expanded their factories just happened to catch up with this good time!"

Speaking of this good time now, Mu's expression changed slightly.

“It’s a good time for them, but for us…”

"I know that our machinery doors are now filled with customers who want to buy machines with money, but we don't have enough production capacity, and secondly, our factory has now occupied a lot of production capacity by military production. Therefore, on the one hand, the supply of machinery and equipment is in short supply and prices are soaring. On the other hand, we have to use our precious production capacity in military production!"

After taking a look at Mu, before he could finish his words, Li Zicheng took the initiative to tell the current situation facing the company. Now it is not only the company that is affected, but also those who want to run a business in China have been affected.

"So, we must end the Jiaoao Incident as soon as possible. Once the Jiaoao Incident is over, we will enter a period of rapid development. Of course, the most important thing is the stability of the external environment. At least when we develop rapidly, no one will attempt to interrupt our development with war. So, this time, we will hurt Japan and not dare to cause trouble for several years. Then, we will pull the British out and give the Japanese a step forward. In the long run, the temporary sacrifice is still worth it!"

Although it takes a price to trade temporary sacrifices for long-term development, all of this is still worth it. As long as you seize this opportunity, perhaps the entire history will change and change in a good direction.

Thinking that this change was my own, Li Zicheng's lips raised slightly, showing a smile from the bottom of his heart.

"Ouchu, the Japanese are going to land in Jiaoao. Maybe everything will end soon!"

"boom!"

A violent explosion came from Wanggezhuang Bay. It was the explosion from the mines detonated by the Japanese Navy's minesweeper boat. In the past few days, the Japanese army has been sweeping mines in the area of ​​Wanggezhuang Bay in Yangkou. For those thunders sinking, they often use detonation methods. However, the Japanese army's mine-sweeping operations were not going smoothly. This is the fifth day. If it goes well, anyone can see that maybe tomorrow, the Japanese army can open a landing ground.

When the explosion in the air came, under the cover of night, a small group of soldiers walked out from the foot of Laoshan Mountain. The plain at the foot of the mountain was originally a piece of sorghum. At this time, the sorghum tent was built. Not to mention people, even people riding horses would be blocked by the sorghum. However, the sorghum in the field has long been stolen, and it is completely an open space.

"Hurry up, hurry up!"

Shi Mingtao, carrying a box of bullets, roared softly at the brothers beside him. Although under the night sky, he could still determine the direction of his progress. In his mind, he had already recorded all the details as early as when he set out. He crossed the three old graves in the middle, and just follow these three old graves and headed a hundred meters ahead of the third grave to reach the mountain cannon.

“This task is very simple!”

He thought so in his heart, and the soldiers around him were walking carefully. Everyone was carrying a box of bullets or a bucket of water if nothing unexpected happened.

This is the food prepared for machine gunners.

Although it was less than two kilometers, it took ten minutes to march quickly to reach the 18.8-meter mountain bag. He carried a machine gun and had two cartons of 1,000 bullets on his back. For Liang Shi, a six-foot-tall Shandong man, his whole body was about 90 kilograms, which was more than half of his weight. At this time, he was so tired that he was panting.

The brothers around them were leaning against the ground and running forward with their waists. Everyone was carrying rifles, carrying bullets or buckets. Each of them knew that if they could not reach the nameless hill as soon as possible, they could not build a simple position before dawn, perhaps after dawn, their row of people would become targets for Japanese soldiers.

Finally, a few minutes later, everyone arrived at this small mountain bag. There were some trees growing on the mountain bag, but more of them were weeds that were too tall. This was their position.

Almost as soon as he climbed the hill, Shi Mingtao grinned. The facts proved that the battalion commander's judgment was correct. This place was definitely a most suitable blocking position. The vision in the front was wide, unlike the sorghum area behind. Before the mountain bag, until the beach, there were only some weeds growing, but more of an empty beach. It was about 200 to 300 meters away from the sea. The vision was wide without a trace of obstacles. There was no more suitable shooting range than here.

"Platform leader, this place..."

Li Cai, who followed the mountain bag, looked down at the mountain and was stunned. This place is simply a blessed place made by heaven!

At this time, the communicator who was dragging the telephone line and carrying the phone on his back had already begun to answer the field phone calls, while Shi Mingtao looked back at the brothers who went to Shandong. After they followed the communicator, the brothers' figures were half lost in the night, but the moon reflected their figures, which seemed both magnificent and sad. They went up the mountain one by one.

The machine gun team where Liang Shi was located went up the mountain. The team leader carried the barrel barrel and a box of ammunition belts, while Wei Fu carried the heavy machine gun frame and the second box of ammunition belts, and the deputy shooter carried a box of ammunition belts, and also carried a loader. At this moment, they were all sitting on the mountain, panting hard, and sweat dripping from their chins from time to time, but no one dared to drink water. When they set off, the commander's order was very clear. Once they set off, the water would be their life.

"Big man Liang, you go to the nine o'clock position, Xiao Zhuozi, you go..."

The order was spit out from Shi Mingtao's mouth. This hill bag was the closest mountain bag to the landing site, but no fortifications had been built. They only had one night to build the fortifications here.

Shi Mingtao didn't have time to think too much, and the 54 brothers in the same platoon didn't have time to think too much. After the order was issued, they ran towards their own positions one by one, and then under the cover of the curtain color, they concentrated on digging out single bunkers and machine gun bunkers one by one, and no one knew whether that bunker would become their grave tomorrow.

In fact, for soldiers, in many cases, bunkers are their graves, and God has always been fair at this point.

"Put him there!"

Although Liang Shi was not the leader of the machine gun team, he was a machine gunner. In terms of choosing machine gun positions, he even had greater power than the team leader and platoon leader. Standing on the hillside, the direction of his finger was a small flat ground.

Wei Fu immediately skillfully set up the machine gun frame. Liang Shi immediately put the machine gun on the gun frame. After Wei Fu installed the sight, he squatted down behind the machine gun, began to turn the muzzle, then moved the machine gun back a little, looked along the scope, then adjusted the scope to the distance needed. At the same time, considering the amplitude of shooting down the mountain, a reef on the scope, which was more than 30 meters away from land on the sea surface was reflected in the 2x scope.

"Before they got ashore, this area was half mud and half sand, and when they walked, they were sticky, and even more sticky in the water. These twenty meters were more difficult than running 200 meters. We are a depression here. No matter how we fight from the sea, it was a dead corner. Even if they bombarded with ships, they were still dead corners..."

Liang Shi, who graduated from the first-class machine gun training class of the Armed Corps, was a natural machine gunner. He was preparing for the same plane and explained to the brothers around him that their five were brothers who lived and died in the same pit. He was not only responsible for himself, but also for them.

"Aim at the enemy behind,"

Liang Shi continued to explain.

"They won't rush ashore right away. They start shooting when they are on the boat. People are instinctive to dodge bullets. Even if it is a wooden boat, they will definitely jump down and then aim at the people behind to hit..."

As he explained, he began to slowly move the lifting and lowering buttons up and down.

"You want them to run forward and..."

"Not many people can run over. We have a light machine gun and other brothers. Let's take care of the disabled enemies. We will fight the ones behind us. At sea, no matter how fierce the Japanese soldiers are, they are no better than the little chicken."

Liang Shi continued his explanation, while the brothers in the machine gun team listened carefully. They knew that in fact this was to explain the funeral. No one knew who could survive to the end. Now Liang Shi explained his position and tactics and went backwards, so that everyone could continue to do it in an orderly manner.

"Okay, just here, dig a meter down, and our home will be here!"

When Liang Shi said this, he could vaguely see more than a dozen brothers digging something at the foot of the mountain, burying mines. According to the combat plan, the beachhead must give up. Building a position there is more conducive to the Japanese army's firepower. In order to save landmines, he did not place landmines on the beachhead. However, in order to block the enemy, he could arrange a small amount of mines, but the real mine position was under the mountain bag.

More than an hour later, a hidden machine gun fort was completed. The machine gun fort was one meter into the ground. The top of the fort was made of several wooden beams, trees, stones, and soil. The two-foot thick wall could block the invasion of bullets and shells.

Behind the perforation hole, Liang Xi, who was squatting behind the machine gun, operated the machine gun again and aimed. He adjusted the shooting range from time to time, pressed the trigger push rod from time to time, squinted his eyes and imagined the "shooting range" in front of him with a depth of 1.5 kilometers. Although the effective range of the two-year dual-purpose machine gun is only 1,200 meters, Liang Xi knew that in fact there was no problem with 1,500 meters. If you implement cross-fire shooting, you can even shoot targets 2 kilometers away. Of course, it is completely unnecessary. The correct head of the shot is poor and the hit rate is limited. It is better to use a mortar and more effective than using a mortar.

Picking up the telescope, Kamio Mitsumon looked at the beach. There was no trace of wind and wind on the flat beach. Apart from some sparse trees, there were only some graves, and the inconspicuous hills.

There was no danger Kato imagined. More than a dozen troop transport ships recruited from the people had arrived at a moor area one kilometer away from the shore two days ago. There was no firepower coming on the mountain bags on both sides. That distance was too far for rifles. For artillery, well, the Chinese people's artillery was limited. Compared to that kind of death, they were more willing to concentrate their firepower...

Thinking about his eyes turning his gaze to the remnants of Laoshan, a kilometer away from the coast, where was the real line of defense. The main force of the Chinese army's coastal defense was hidden on Laoshan.

As early as September 5, Japan took into account the rapid development of the European war and the uncertainty of the situation, and should capture Qingdao as soon as possible. The Japanese General Staff Headquarters decided to add troops again. The 4th Battalion of the Independent Siege Heavy Artillery was added to carry 6 powerful 280mm heavy howitzers; the temporary railway wing for landing in Laoshan Bay to set up a light railway; considering the firepower gap caused by the time spent on building the railway, in order to make up for its firepower gap, the Second Battalion of the Field Heavy Artillery was added to carry 12 heavy howitzers with a caliber of 240mm; due to the huge project volume, an independent engineering brigade was also added.

But if you want to complete this task, you must defeat the defense of the China Army after landing. Only in this way can you conquer the entire Qingdao and...

At this time, Kano Mitsumon was completely in a state of anxiety before the war. Although he was extremely despised the Chinese army, who knew what would happen on the battlefield? Just like yesterday's air battle, the only three remaining seaplanes in the navy were easily shot down by the Chinese plane, and the six pilots were unaware of their lives and deaths.

"Six days, six days later, you will definitely be able to enter Qingdao!"

When he murmured this sentence, Kamio Mitsuko's eyes showed a resolute spirit. In the eyes, it might be possible to capture Qingdao and Jiaoao with just one charge. By then, the entire Shandong and the entire China will open their doors to Japan, and Japan will also undergo fundamental changes to seize China's Japan and will surely embark on the road to a truly powerful country.
Chapter completed!