Leave Something Behind

Chapter 34: Leave Something Behind

The arrival of an envoy from Jian City brought great joy to Wei Keng.

Since arriving in the Pandora World, although Wei Keng had descended in a collective manner, in a sense, he was still alone. Therefore, he had always focused a large part of his energy on thinking about how to communicate with the human forces here.

The armed conflicts in the early stages, caused by mutual misunderstanding, were a form of communication. After capturing them, engaging in dialogue with different classes using different strategies was also a form of communication. Now, facing multiple human city-states in the entire Yue Region, how to quickly end the state of hostility with Jian City was still a problem Wei Keng had been contemplating.

If possible, Wei Keng could even accept: providing a certain degree of economic compensation to Jian City! (Defeat is called reparations, victory is called economic compensation!)

Why? The hostility between Jian City and himself had already affected his strategy in the entire region.

After deterring Jian City, many merchants came to Wei Keng's territory! These were merchants from other city-states in the Yue Region doing business with Wei Keng. Currently, the entire Yue Region had about 500,000 people, and Wei Keng had sea salt, which was cheap and had been extracted, as well as ceramic jars with metal lids that had excellent sealing properties. These trades were going very well, but! Only merchants came, no settlers.

Because, the people captured by Wei Keng in the war with Jian City theoretically still had no personal freedom. Therefore, people from other city-states naturally wouldn't come! And if they could reach an agreement with Jian City regarding the prisoners, allowing these captives in this newly developed hot land in the south to return home freely? This return could also include a few bottles of oil, some salted fish sealed with carbon dioxide, and cloth made from hemp fiber completely pulverized by steam textile machines? Wei Keng believed they would return the following year, and adventurers from other cities would also come.

And Wei Keng had great confidence in the land beneath his feet! Before the Great Cataclysm, this was Zhushui Jiao, a top-tier super economic zone in East Asia, known in the 21st Century as a place that could make one province richer than Russia.

Now, at the dock, as a batch of stainless steel melted in the furnace, on the small dock, a ship with a displacement of two hundred tons was already taking shape in the shipbuilding pit. Once such a ship was successfully built, during wartime, Wei Keng would have heavy firepower support throughout the Zhushui Jiao Plain. No longer would it be two legs carrying light weapons for maneuverability. Wei Keng analyzed after the war: "In the 21st Century, this kind of maneuverability relying on light weapons and the soles of one's feet would lead to a Dunkirk Evacuation after being routed. For combat, heavy machine guns and dedicated mortars are necessary."

And to further develop, it was necessary to coordinate with the human forces in the Yue Region!

As farmland began to expand, Wei Keng knew that what he urgently needed was people.

In this world, Wei Keng was a top-tier high-tech talent, capable of creating value in industrial production. However, no matter how numerous he was, his development had now reached a point where he was bogged down by a large number of chores. For example, agriculture, mining, transporting minerals. When Wei Keng was doing these tasks, he was mostly working in the industrial zone through telepathy, and he repeatedly recorded every step of the work in the system.

In the public meeting room built with straw mixed with mud bricks, Wei Keng met with Zeng Jiakan. They sat on long wooden benches made of wood.

It was the first time Wei Keng felt that his construction of the guest room had been somewhat hasty. -- In the brick kiln within this currently new development area, blue bricks could be fired. However, these building materials were used by the "practical" Wei Keng for the foundations of water conservancy facilities and factory construction. As for the living room, since there was no immediate practical value visible, it was just hastily put together with straw and mud bricks; as long as the space was large enough for people to talk, it was fine. As for that? Western politicians could scheme even in the toilet.

Zeng Jiakan's buttocks hurt from the long wooden bench. Without much hope, he began the conversation.

Fifty minutes later, Four proposal books were piled in front of Zeng Jiakan. He looked at Wei Keng, who entered again from the doorway, and prepared to draft the fifth proposal book. He felt he had to hit the pause button.

Zeng Jiakan: "Sir, I have felt your sincerity. It's just that currently, we need to confirm with each other first. What I can decide is limited, and I must take your opinions back first." -- He was like a lady in love facing an overly aggressive pursuit, wanting to escape.

Wei Keng also had to stop and said: "Thank you very much, Sir. I hope what we discussed today can be implemented soon!"

Zeng Jiakan: "Naturally."

This time, besides his identity as an envoy, he also had the identity of a merchant. Jian City needed a large amount of edible salt, and if possible, also a batch of soda ash. These were currently the hottest items in Wei Keng's trade with other city-states.

When Wei Keng had not yet arrived, all city-states would gather a large number of people by the seaside during the winter when the sea monsoon weakened to repair some temporary salt fields from before the Pandora Era, which was very labor-intensive. Moreover, every summer storm, the sea beast gene colonies would destroy the salt factories.

And now, Wei Keng had firmly established himself by the sea. Salt was shoveled by the cartload and transported to storage points by ship, supplied to all merchants without limit. This benefited the economies of various city-states, except for Jian City, which was still in a state of hostility with Wei Keng and had not gained any benefits.

Therefore, now, although Zeng Longmu still publicly declared that he would maintain a tough stance against this strange human group of Wei Keng, in his actual actions, he had to compromise for reality!

The conflict damaged both sides' interests.

Sacks and sacks of salt were loaded onto the vehicles, covered with palm leaf raincoats for protection. The laborers from Jian City, ready to go home, also boarded the vehicles with their luggage. The transport workers shouted shanties as they worked, while the passengers on board chewed on roasted sunflower seeds and chatted, looking like they were heading home for the Spring Festival Travel Rush.

This convoy would be escorted by Wei Keng's company. To achieve this, Wei Keng had once again emptied out all the forces to the north. However, having learned from his previous lesson, he would not leave any small teams outside this time.

Five hours later, the convoy left the residence, disappearing from Wei Keng's sight.

Wei Keng's consciousness temporarily focused on a problem!

He was working so enthusiastically here, but in a year, he would still have to leave. Did he want to leave anything behind in this world?

With this thought, Wei Keng looked to the north and inadvertently voiced his thoughts: "If you want to have peace and stability from now on, you must always hold the power to wage war. And if you want to leave something behind, you must let go and completely wage a rout and annihilate war against the gene colonies to the north, to maintain decades of stability."

At this moment, the system spoke.

Bai Linglu: "Pioneer, your planar channel has now been successfully located by 30%. If you are willing to stay for three more years, a return channel can be temporarily opened to transport 1300 tons of supplies." Bai Linglu's tone was seductive.

However, Wei Keng was not foolish. He sensed the tone of his observer's conversation with him, which seemed to carry a sense of adventure, like "betting on a bicycle to become a motorcycle." It wasn't that she was instigating him to take risks, but rather that she herself seemed to be gambling on something! Especially when he wanted to review the system regulations, Bai Linglu vaguely provided a large amount of information.

Wei Keng's experience: When a civil servant gives you a lot of information when you don't have much time, and doesn't highlight the key points, they are definitely afraid you'll discover something.

Of course, Wei Keng thought about it. There was no need to expose her for now. He did indeed want to exchange for a batch of armaments, and if he didn't expose her now, her courage would grow, and there would be plenty of opportunities to expose her later.

Wei Keng clicked on the Armament Exchange Column.

First, he exchanged for two hundred assault rifles, with a total weight of one ton. He exchanged for seven hundred thousand rounds of 5.8mm ammunition, with a total weight of twelve tons.

Next, he got a thousand Type 38 Rifles, totaling four tons. Wei Keng had originally planned to find wood himself to make the gun stocks and then exchange for gun barrels and other core components. However, the system warned that his gun stock processing might be substandard and easily affect the trajectory. The gun stock processing also required multiple steps and was not simple or easy to accomplish. Seeing the entire gun manufacturing process, Wei Keng decided not to try to save money on this. He directly exchanged for complete guns, along with aiming scopes. This included one hundred night vision scopes.

Wei Keng: "I never want to do a second exchange."

In the era of bolt-action rifles, the Type 38 was a firearm designed for East Asians. During the Republic of China Era, the industrial foundation was almost zero, and there was no independent military design capability. The Zhongzheng Rifle was a modified Mauser. During the Battle of Zhongtiao Mountain, it was suppressed in terms of accuracy by the Type 38. To some extent, this was one of the reasons why the National Revolutionary Army, with twice the troop strength, suffered a casualty ratio twenty times higher. As for the era of semi-automatic rifles, that would come after the founding of the nation and the completion of the industrial system construction. Although Wei Keng was 1.9 meters tall and his physique was definitely comparable to Westerners in the 20th century, for a rifle to be used in actual combat, various factors such as environmental adaptability had to be considered. The dust cover on the Type 38 Rifle could effectively prevent sand and dust from entering.

This rifle excelled in bayonet charges, had low recoil, and a stable trajectory during long-range aiming. With the system's aiming assistance, it was particularly effective. As for the 6.5mm rifle cartridges, one ton would suffice. With an average of over fifty rounds per person, it would be enough for a battle.

Finally, heavy firepower! Artillery, not the mortars from before, but artillery that could handle both assault and fire suppression. Wei Keng, with almost no hesitation, selected a famous cannon from World War II, the Type 92 Infantry Gun:

Caliber: 70mm

Gross Weight: 0.212 tons

Cannon Length: 2.745 meters

Cannon Height: 0.62 meters (with gun shield)

Elevation Angle: -10 degrees to +75 degrees (some sources claim it can reach over 80 degrees)

Range: Left and Right 4-5 degrees

Ammunition Type: 70mm High Explosive Shell / Shrapnel Shell / Smoke Shell

Ammunition Weight: 3.8 kg (High Explosive Shell)

Muzzle Velocity: 198 m/s

Maximum Range: 2788 m

Minimum Range: 100 m

The highlight of this artillery piece is its ultra-lightweight design, weighing only two hundred kilograms. It can be disassembled into parts and carried by infantry, making it perfectly suited for Wei Keng's current situation.

Don't underestimate this small artillery piece; it possesses effective destructive power against Brick and Tile Structure Buildings. Its height is similar to a Heavy Machine Gun, allowing it to be stealthily pushed forward for direct fire within its blind spots! This is the so-called "Cannon on Bayonet" tactic.

The system does not transmit original technology weapons, but rather those with 'skins'. The steel forging technology for the entire Cannon Vehicle surpasses that of World War II. Some structural components, excluding the Gun Barrel, even use titanium alloy to reduce weight, and the Aiming Device on the Gun Barrel is electronic.

This is great! Wei Keng immediately requested sixteen units, forming four Artillery Companies. Watching the model in the system's view, Wei Keng, after spending money, let out a sigh of relief, appreciating the power he was about to acquire. He opened his previous Northward Terrain Map and imagined deploying these four Artillery Companies at certain locations on the map for a Battle Decisive Engagement. While indulging in this fantasy, Wei Keng admitted he might look a bit silly.

Because after Wei Keng finished exchanging for the artillery, the system automatically flipped to the Armored Vehicle section. Before Wei Keng could say anything, it directly gave a friendly reminder: "Rare Earth components for Main Battle Tanks cannot be transmitted. It is recommended to exchange for Type 4 Tanks; two can be exchanged at a time for twenty tons."

Wei Keng passed on this item and continued to request a Gas Generator and a Vehicle Engine.

Of course, the system further wanted to recommend a Replication Center, but Wei Keng skipped past it. He began selecting more Chemical Equipment and Machining Equipment.

As per the system's requirements, after fifteen hours, irrelevant personnel were isolated.

Wei Keng pushed out the special sand and stones he had found in various areas using a Wheelbarrow from the warehouse.

He couldn't refine these himself, but they could form the necessary Raw Materials. Wei Keng had classified them days ago in preparation for unforeseen needs.

This time, the scale of the exchange was quite large. The system required Wei Keng to stand along the entire six-hundred-meter Jungle Edge, provide positioning coordinates, and then have Wei Keng pick up the Solar Mirror and aim it at the sky above the jungle. As the light beams intersected above, they acted like a Laser Emitter, with clusters of very fine but extremely dense Light Beams sweeping across the entire Shrub. These shrubs smoked and then burned, and the flames were compressed by the light spots into halos that expanded throughout the jungle. Suddenly, the jungle wasn't burning and glowing, but rather, like a filament, it radiated light everywhere.

Five minutes later, as everything was annihilated, the minerals had merely turned into slag. The original jungle was like a scene pacified by a Neutron Bomb – very flat with slight indentations internally. The materials Wei Keng wanted were in the center.

Wei Keng sealed off the area on the perimeter, and then teams lined up to receive their armament and transport the materials.

Finally, for those ten large pieces of equipment, Wei Keng took a deep breath, thinking the Chimneys in the factory could be even taller.

Once these pieces of equipment were built, Mechanically, Wei Keng could self-produce machine guns and bearings for one-ton Cargo Vehicles.

Chemically! Wei Keng had been performing Pyrolysis on Wood these days, producing some Charcoal Fuel, a type of Benzene Substance. Now, he could process it. After Nitric Acid Nitration, it would become—that substance used to Evaluate Explosive Units.

In the Dimensional Space, Bai Linglu saw Wei Keng looking up research projects and stuck out his tongue, sending a message: "Are you planning to blow up a mountain?" Wei Keng replied to the unpredictable future with a hint of confusion: "I don't know what I'm going to do, but since these technologies can be done, I'll do them."

He then added an explanation: "I'm not a Genius; I don't have such strong foresight. But as an Ordinary Person, by adhering to the Social Division of Labor and preparing comprehensively, I can suffer less."