Chapter 63 Prelude (1)

  On the vast prairie that stretches as far as the eye can see, there is no more effective weapon against the floating bandits than armored cars. The bandits rely solely on their horsepower, using it to launch guerrilla attacks on the prairie, but four-legged horses are definitely no match for six-wheeled trucks.

  In the face of high-speed armored vehicles, riding horses with only pistols and rifles in hand can only be slaughtered. Grenades and heavy machine guns will be the instruments used by armored vehicles to slaughter bandits.

  As for the drivers of the cars, Sima wasn't worried. From the beginning of the construction of the factory, the materials such as stones were transported back and forth between the quarry and the factory using five-wheeled agricultural vehicles. Later, the goods were also transported using five-wheeled agricultural vehicles, and later they even got a dozen six-wheeled agricultural vehicles. The drivers in the factory could still drive them, and there was no difference between driving this EQ240 truck and driving a six-wheeled agricultural vehicle. It's just that the car is a bit bigger.

  "Huh? Sidorov, how did a T-shaped hole open up on this armor plate?"

  Simar saw several T-shaped holes on the armor plate, and he was somewhat uncertain about their use. Were they shooting holes for personnel? It seemed that his own rough sketch didn't have these.

  "Boss, this is what I've set up on the side and rear of the main armor plate - a total of six shooting ports. When the time comes, people sitting in the armored vehicle can use handguns or rifles to shoot at surrounding enemies."

  Shu Dōmu discovered that the entire armored car had only one armament, the crude machine gun turret, when he looked at the rough sketch drawn by Sima. He then proposed adding six "T"-shaped shooting ports to the main armor plate.

  "Hmm! Not bad, this way the ten team members on board won't just sit there staring at the machine gunner's sweep."

  It seems that many armored vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles later on also had such shooting ports installed. The idea of adding a shooting port by the Storm was not bad, but I don't know how those soldiers who couldn't even find their targets when firing from behind the factory walls would be able to aim accurately while shooting from a bumpy vehicle. Probably it would only serve as an intimidation tactic.

  A Taisho 4-type heavy machine gun tripod weighs nearly a hundred catties, and three factory guards each carry one leg of the tripod, not appearing to be particularly strained. Because the machine gun is wrapped in canvas, even though they are carrying it towards the sentry post, it doesn't attract the attention of the workers who are rushing to build the wall.

  Because it is already known that the bandits will soon come to attack the factory, for their own safety, workers are now working even harder to build a wall around the factory. The wall has already been built to a height of about one meter, and at this rate, it is estimated that in a few more days, it can be built to two or three meters without any major problems.

  "Comrade Liu, you're busy first, the captain ordered the machine gun squad to set up the heavy machine guns on the sentry post."

  Seeing Liu Gongzheng busy, Ma Si said hello and referred to the captain as Sima. Captain Sima had previously given orders that the guards would not call him boss, but directly address him as captain.

  "Are you saying Captain Sima, have your men set up the heavy machine guns now?"

  Seeing the several machine gunners carrying heavy machine guns behind Ma Si, Liu Jiyuan asked because he already knew what had happened last night. Liu Jiyuan didn't find it strange that Sima was now having people install machine guns on the sentry tower.

  "Hmm! The captain's orders, if this heavy machine gun could be set up yesterday, I reckon those few bandits would have been stuck here yesterday."

  Ma Si had witnessed the power of heavy machine guns back in the day when he joined the revolutionary party, but at that time the machine gun was firing at his own people. A single machine gun could take down a whole company of soldiers, and they couldn't even lift their heads. Now, with nine machine guns set up here, Ma Si wasn't worried even if several thousand bandits came; on the contrary, he felt more comfortable with more people, as the heavy machine guns would be able to sweep through them more easily.

  "Captain Ma, you go ahead and attend to your business! This heavy machine gun must be taken care of well, we're all counting on it."

  Although not very familiar with heavy machine guns, since seeing Sima use a heavy machine gun to knock down dozens of targets on the shooting range, Liu Jiyuan knew that Sima was relying on this thing to repel the horse bandits, and naturally understood the importance of this machine gun to the entire company at present, almost as important as the **. So he opened his mouth to instruct.

  "Mr. Liu, don't worry, from now on, there will be at least a small team stationed at the machine gun post to guard it. At the slightest movement, they'll open fire with the machine gun."

  "Right, at this position, add a few more sandbags to raise the gun, so it can observe all directions."

  After seeing the heavy machine gun holder, Ma Si operated the heavy machine gun and made a gesture to sweep the front. Although it is said that adding a heavy machine gun on this high platform is very suitable, but this sentry post is not a machine gun tower. The protective wall protruding from all sides is nearly one meter high for protecting people on the sentry post. However, if used as a machine gun tower, it would be somewhat troublesome. If not using sandbags to raise the holder, there will likely be shooting blind spots at that time.

  "Add more sandbags around, bullets hitting the stone can bounce back, and flying bullets are not easy to dodge. Adding a few more sandbags is lifesaving."

  It was obviously not easy to transport a hundred kilograms of sandbags from the ground to a several-meter-high watchtower, and Ma Si saw that some members of the factory protection team were slacking off, shouting loudly.

  "You bunch of fools don't even know that all this is for your own good. Don't come crying to me when you're dead."

  Ma Si loudly scolded a few lazy team members. Having participated in battles against the Northern Army, Ma Si certainly knew the importance of fortifications and also knew that although these stone walls built with stones were sturdy, bullets hitting them could easily cause ricochets. If they weren't lucky enough to be hit by flying bullets, they would probably die a miserable death.

  "Deputy captain, when the time comes and the bandits attack, are we really going to fight them to the death?"

  A member of the guard factory team said timidly that they were facing a notorious bandit named Ma, who had killed countless people, and how could their few hundred men stop those bandits who had been rampant outside for many years.

  "What do you think of our boss, how does he treat everyone?"

  When he heard this teammate say so, Ma Si unexpectedly didn't get angry, and just casually asked a sentence.

  "The master treats us well, every meal is guaranteed to be full, and we can eat meat every day. We also get our salary every month, and as soon as winter comes, he provides us with thick clothes and cotton-padded jackets. It's just like living in a wealthy household! I...I understand now!"

  As for how the master treats us, without saying a few words, some of the team members who were still a bit timid earlier felt their faces burning with shame. The way the master usually treats us is beyond compare, even better than how some wealthy families in our hometown treat theirs. Now that the master has fallen on hard times and met with disaster, it's precisely the time for us to repay his kindness. And yet, I was thinking like that earlier, just like raising a dog, when its master meets with disaster, it should at least know to bite back a few times.

  "You just know, Ma Si won't say nice things, but brothers themselves can pat their chests and know how the boss treated everyone in the past. Seeing those workers below, they didn't escape when guns were pointed at their heads and they saw blood, why? Because the boss treated them well in the past, now the boss is in trouble, the company is in crisis, it's time for us to repay the boss, repay the company. I, Ma Si, have made up my mind to repay the boss, as long as I still have a breath, I won't let those bandits destroy the boss's foundation. Not seeking anything else, just wanting to be worthy of the boss's kindness and my own conscience."

  Ma Si stood up and said loudly, Ma Si was telling the truth, he just let his brothers ask their own conscience, do things according to their conscience. As long as they can be worthy of their own conscience, that's enough.

  Yesterday night, when Liu Six threw the blood-stained head in front of the workers, although none of them were not afraid, but in the end no one mentioned it, why? It was to repay the kindness of the East House in ordinary times.

  At that time, several timid ones hadn't even said goodbye before being slapped in the face by their elders at home. To be a human being, one must first live up to one's own conscience. At this time, abandoning them and fleeing was something that not many people could do. This was perhaps the reward for Sima's usual kindness to these workers.

  When Sima received the news and heard what others said, he didn't know what to say for a moment. As Lao Gao put it, good people will be rewarded, but at first, Sima did this just because he was doing what he should do. When others work for you, you have to feed them well and dress them warmly, right? If they're starving, who would have the energy to work hard for you?

  "Captain, don't worry! At that time, our team will definitely not have a coward. Just because of how our boss usually treats everyone, everyone will fight to the death for the company out of gratitude. We have this machine gun, right? When the bandits come, we'll sweep them away!"

  "Don't worry, Deputy Captain!"

  One of the team members' words stirred up the blood in the hearts of others. What's to be afraid of, even if they have more horses? As for guns, ours are no less than theirs. What's there to fear? At worst, we'll just fight them to the death and consider it repayment for the kindness our boss has shown us all along. If we repay our boss's kindness like this, even Yama, the king of hell, will give us a big thumbs up and call us good men.

  Since thousands of years ago, Hebei and Shandong have been places that produce heroes. The men from this region have a strong sense of pride and can't stand being provoked by others. Once provoked, they will stop at nothing to take action. They also can't stand owing favors to others, and once they do, they will repay them with their lives.

  "Everyone can rest assured, our captain has taken care of us. The worker who was hacked by the horse bandits last night, the captain has already sent 100 yuan to his family. If brothers die protecting the factory, I, Ma Si, guarantee that our captain will not be short of this amount. With this money, their families can buy a few good acres of land and won't have to worry about food and drink in the future. Everyone can go with peace of mind."

  After learning about it, Sima had someone send 100 taels to the family of the murdered worker. After all, a strong and able-bodied man went out to work and got beheaded. In this era, a grown son is the pillar of the family. If the pillar collapses, the family will soon disperse. Sending 100 taels to his family can at least help them get through this difficult time. To put it bluntly, he lost his life because of troubles in his own company.

  This was done by Sima, and it happened that Ma Si took it over to encourage the brothers of the Hu Chang team. Originally, the fact that he had sent 100 yuan to that person's family had already spread, and everyone envied that person for having good luck and a good master. When they heard the captain say this, the last bit of unease in their hearts was also washed away.

  It's nothing! Everyone is afraid of death, but most people are more afraid that after they die, no one will take care of their family. But if the family can get a hundred or so taels of silver after they die, then it's worth dying for. With a hundred or so taels of silver, you can buy an ox and purchase several good fields, and the old and young people in the family won't have to worry about food and drink anymore.

  People of this era have simple ideas. All they think about and strive for is to have enough food and drink, and that's all they're willing to pay for.