"I have also thought about how to solve this problem. There is a lot of green vegetables, but there is no need to supply them to the civilians. It is easy to make pickles, but it is not easy to send them up …"
Zou Xiang finally voiced out his biggest problem. Speaking of which, he felt very wronged. He was not in charge of the transportation, but they had to transport a lot of things, such as reloaded ammunition, repaired guns, and the food that took up the most space …
"Alright, I will discuss today's second problem, transportation … Bayan, the transportation department is your job. The transportation personnel are the former members of the Group of Eight. How do you manage them?
Why is the efficiency not high … "
In a few months, Bayan had grown fatter. Tie Zhongyuan wanted to go to Siberia, and the loyal Bayan felt that he might not be able to withstand the cold there. He was also reluctant to part with his Han wives. After much hesitation, he submitted to Zhang Xiaoqiang and became one of Zhang Xiaoqiang's subordinates.
Before Tie Zhongyuan left, he handed over the Group of Eight to Bayan. He knew that if he handed it over to someone else, Zhang Xiaoqiang would definitely be on guard. In order to avoid trouble, he generously handed it over to Zhang Xiaoqiang through Bayan. Zhang Xiaoqiang transferred a thousand experienced members of the Group of Eight to the 2nd Field Regiment. The rest were transferred to be workers and transportation soldiers. Bayan also became the head of the transportation department.
"I am in charge of the transportation, but I am not in charge of the fuel and horses. Most of the cars are at the frontlines and are used for combat. It is the same for the horses. My people all use the soles of their feet to pull the carts. Do you know how much food we need at the frontlines?
I will not talk about the ammunition, spare parts, and all kinds of guns and shields. These are necessary. Food, I am only talking about food. The frontline soldiers, logistics, and the survivors that were found later on, have reached 45,000 people. Do you know how much food 45,000 people consume every day?
Even if we don't let the survivors eat their fill, they will consume 10 tons of food every day. But is this possible?
In the past, these people would go crazy from hunger, and when they saw rations, their eyes would turn red. Furthermore, Brother Cockroach had given the order to let them nurse their bodies. Now, regardless of whether they were men or women, they ate even more than soldiers. Calculating it, each person ate at least 1.5 jin of rations, which meant that they had to eat 60,000 jin, or 30 tons.
The soldiers also eat a lot. They need to fight and train, so they cannot go without food. The amount of cooking oil and food we provide every day has pushed our transportation line to its limit.
Also, the thousand plus war horses at the frontlines also require rations. These mutated horses have a huge appetite, so in order to ensure that they don't lose weight in battle, we have to ensure that their rations are in full. A war horse needs to eat at least six to eight soldiers' rations. Calculating it all, we have to ensure that nearly 60,000 people consume 1.5 catties of rations every day …
I don't need to say anything about the transportation. Officer Zhou, you can go and take a look. Since the start of the battle, more than ten of my men have been exhausted every day. Up until now, seven of them have died of exhaustion. They died of exhaustion. No one has time to sleep. All their sleep is taking naps on the sacks of grain during the transportation … "
At this point, Bayan seemed to have aged ten years. He slumped into the chair and looked at the table.
"In the process of grain transportation, my people also need to eat grain. This is another consumption. The transportation team of 20,000 people also consumes a lot of grain every day. If we send a jin of grain, we have to eat a jin of it ourselves.
They can only advance 40 kilometers a day. They have to walk a few hundred kilometers with their feet. In order to speed up the transportation, I have already shot more than 30 people. Just because they wanted to lie on the side of the road for a while, the members of the Group of Eight who were shot walked at least three times … "
"There is no reason … Don't talk to me about reasons. In the entire West, we are the only place with food. The new county depends on us to provide food. Now, each of them only has half of the food quota of Alxa, but they are also protecting the frontlines. So, don't talk to me about difficulties. I want a solution, a solution to protect the frontlines …"
Zhou Jie was furious. He slammed his hands on the table and stood up. He looked at Zou Xiang and the old Bayan. He came from the army and naturally knew how important it was to protect the frontlines. If the supplies in the rear were not in place, it could lead to the failure of the battle. At that time, the number of casualties would be piled up.
"There is a way to reduce the transportation of food by half …" Eliza, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke.
Eliza, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke, causing Bayan and Zhou Jie to look at her.
"Although the 20,000 survivors staying at the frontlines will be helpful to the logistics at the frontlines, our own logistics are enough. It doesn't matter if we have more of them. As long as we bring them back, we can eat near them. There is no need to send them food anymore. We can also convert their human resources into production resources. Even if we let them go to the grasslands to dig for wild vegetables or catch insects, it would be better than staying at the frontlines …"
"I have also thought about what you said, but how do we bring them back?
Our vehicles to and from the frontlines have to transport all kinds of raw materials, such as steel, wood, rubber tires, and chemical materials for reassembling ammunition. These things are already at their limits … "
Bayan's tone was somewhat dissatisfied. If he could bring them back, he would have done it long ago. Furthermore, the survivors there had food and water every day, and they did not want to move. All of them had been raised to be masters.
"Let them walk over. Our people can pull the carts over, why can't they walk over?
Why do we have to raise them for nothing?
The soldiers at the frontlines are risking their lives to kill the enemy, and the civilians at the back are living frugally. Are they just going to sit there and enjoy the fruits of others' labor? "
Zhou Jie spoke. He did not have any good feelings or sympathy for these people. These people could not provide them with any help, and instead consumed a lot of resources and manpower. Even the Mongolians were stronger than them.
"It's very difficult. We don't have extra manpower. In the past, the migration work was done by the army. Besides, even if we migrate them over, a large number of people will not have a place to settle. All the houses have owners. Zhang Xiaoqiang considered this, so he let them stay at the frontlines. When the city is recovered, these people will be the first batch of residents …"
Lin Dongliang thought further. He was the head of the migration department before. Because of his ability, he officially became the deputy mayor of Alxa. He assisted Zhou Jie in improving production coordination and planning.
"We can't wait that long. If this continues, the logistics will be overwhelmed, and the Group of Eight in the transport department will also be overwhelmed. We have to start the migration immediately. Lin Dongliang, I'll leave this matter to you.
Bayan, pass down the order. In addition to transporting fixed supplies, everyone going to the frontlines must carry four cans of canned vegetables and two catties of pickled vegetables. No matter how tired they are, these things must be sent up. Remember, these things are for the soldiers. No one is allowed to eat them. If anyone is found stealing them, kill them without mercy.
Also, cut off the milk supply to the nursery department and make all the milk into butter and other dairy products. Let the Mongolian women find ways to diversify their food and send it to the frontlines for a change of taste. Also, mobilize the entire town to donate all kinds of private non-staple food … "
With Zhou Jie's final decision, everyone received their own tasks. Even Alyssa had to take her students to do a good job of counting the new residents.
When the new decree was issued, it caused an uproar among the different civilians of Alxa. More men and strong women were transferred to join the transport team. The workload of the cart factory increased again. They were given special permission to work in shifts 24 hours a day. The ammunition factory expanded again. With the carts of empty shells and warheads being sent back, the ammunition reserves at the frontlines began to be depleted.
The new settlement was on the left side of Alxa. There used to be a huge orchard there, but after all the fruit trees withered, it became an abandoned wasteland. Because it was not easy to cultivate or graze, it became a border area. Now, it became the foundation of the new settlement.
Just as Lin Dongliang and Bayan were preparing for the migration of tens of thousands of people at the frontlines, the big donation work in Alxa began. Groups walked the streets one by one, calling on the civilians to donate the last of their assets.