Ever since Zhang Xiaoqiang had established contact with the hot springs base, the authority of the base had returned to his hands. Only the upper echelons knew about it, and the people below did not know about it. The current development of the hot springs base was under Zhang Xiaoqiang's plans.
Therefore, the communication between the two sides was extremely important. Every day, the hot springs base would gather all sorts of information within its sphere of influence and send it to Zhang Xiaoqiang, so that Zhang Xiaoqiang could have an idea of the development of the hot springs base.
From the current position, the development of the Hubei base had shifted to the cockroach base and the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River Fleet patrolled along the river, opening up strongholds to take in survivors and collect resources.
The vice-captain of the Yangtze River Fleet, Gao Feng, was a capable officer. Under his leadership, the Yangtze River Fleet had reached the outskirts of Nanjing. After being attacked by the rain, not only did the fleet not decrease, it expanded from the initial 10 or so ships to over 100. Along the way, as long as the water police and river patrol boats were in good condition, they fell into the hands of the Yangtze River Fleet. Now, they had expanded to a regiment of 3,000 people.
Other than that, they also had their own shipyards. Through their search, the Yangtze River Fleet had captured all the shipyards in the middle and lower reaches of the river, obtaining large amounts of preserved materials and machinery. With the help of the assistants sent by Wang Le, they now had the ability to repair and modify ships.
The Yangtze River Basin was a rather developed area. Compared to J City, which was an inland city, there were countless resources along the way. The docks and warehouses on both sides of the river became the Yangtze River Fleet's treasure chest. With their continuous excavation, countless resources were transported back to J City's riverside base. Through the hot springs base as a transfer center, all sorts of resources were transported to the mountains to be hoarded.
The problem of oil that was restricting the grassland army was not a problem for the hot springs base. The hot springs base had two ways to obtain oil. One was through the local refinery. Under the continuous improvement of the refinery's director, the local refinery received the support of some advanced technology, greatly improving the wastage and pollution. The quality was also continuously purified, and the quality was getting higher and higher. It could already be used as specialized fuel.
If it wasn't for the fact that the pollution during production was still very serious, it could almost be considered perfect. Tires could be found everywhere along the Yangtze River. A large car repair shop could find thousands of tires.
Another channel was the oil storage and transportation points along the Yangtze River. Whether it was a hundred years ago or a hundred years later, water transportation was always the method of transportation with the lowest loss. For oil, which was not easy to transport, shipping was a very cost-effective method. After recovering the oil warehouses along the Yangtze River, large quantities of oil were transferred to the mountains to be stored, ensuring that there was enough inventory.
Perhaps Huang Quan's use of new plants was not as good as Zhang Xiaoqiang's, but the various resources they found were several times or even more than ten times that of the grassland army. Therefore, the mountainous area was developing explosively. Zhang Xiaoqiang's side was developing fast enough, but the cockroach base was developing even faster.
The resources from a few provinces were concentrated in a small mountainous area, and the efficiency was terrifying. All of the mountainous areas were developed, and all sorts of mountain passes were transformed into defensive walls. The plans that Zhang Xiaoqiang had set in the past were gradually being realized.
Hundreds and thousands of machines were transported into the mountains, hollowing out the towering mountains. Old Frank's construction department became the most powerful department, with over ten thousand strong men becoming his subordinates. They modified the mountainous area according to the layout of the hot springs base, and the walls grew taller and thicker. The wall between the two mountains did not have any gates, only a long passageway where vehicles could enter and exit freely. If they encountered a sea of zombies, they just had to throw down sandbags from above, and they would be able to block it. With a thickness of over 10m, even a D3 would not be able to break through it.
The method of not having a gate was because the steel gate could not withstand the corrosion of the dew. Zhang Xiaoqiang had already informed the hot springs base about the plants that could prevent rust. Those ferns that looked like cat claws did not have a high production rate in China, and the hot springs base did not have many professionals to research on them. Although they managed to create a base to cultivate them, the production rate did not increase. Even the maintenance of the cannons and machine guns were lacking, much less the maintenance of the other metals. Thus, the passageway was created.
In the mountainous area, there were many people working on construction, and there were not many fields. Fortunately, after the third rain, most of the plants started to mutate. Their growth cycle became shorter, and their production rate increased by multiple folds. After harvesting the crops, they would spray a thin layer of diluted zombie solution on the soil, allowing the soil to recover its fertility in the shortest time possible.
In addition to the numerous agricultural machinery, the production rate of the fields could barely guarantee the entire HB base's food supply. Furthermore, there were hundreds of transport vehicles that transported all kinds of materials from the river 24 hours a day. The food and other edible materials were enough to feed 100,000 survivors for 10 years.
Therefore, other than a portion of the people who were engaged in farming, the majority of the people turned to construction or manufacturing. Here, the mines in the mountainous area had already been completed under Wang Le's preparations. Zhang Huai'an's coordination ability was several times that of Zhou Jie's. Under his coordination, the various departments were as precise as clockwork, and they had already completed the initial plan.
The original plan was not to expand the territory like in the grasslands, and because of the restrictions in the inland areas, weapons and ammunition were not as easy to obtain as in the border areas. The consumption and replenishment of ammunition was also not easy. Fortunately, the hundreds of military machinery that had been transported during the retreat had finally been produced. Every day, there would be a steady stream of bullets entering the ammunition storage.
The HB base was built internally, and the purpose of the construction was to have a place to rest under the onslaught of the endless horde of zombies. It was to build a shelter for the survivors in the heart of China.
Therefore, they did not expand as quickly as the grasslands army. Instead, they used war to feed war, and conquered large cities one after another. Even J City and the county that they conquered did not officially start operating. The reason was simple, no matter how many cities they conquered, it would not change the fact that they were surrounded by enemies on all sides. Instead, it would waste a lot of time and energy. If they needed supplies, the supplies along the river would be enough.
Under the influence of the defensive strategy, the hot spring base did not launch a siege against the sea of zombies. Part of the reason was because of the defensive mentality, and another part was because of the aftermath of being chased by the sea of zombies when they tried to break out of the encirclement. Compared to the grasslands army, Huang Quan and the rest of the people in the hot spring base could not forget the torment they had suffered at the encirclement.
Up until now, the focus was on internal construction and the accumulation of supplies. The mountainous region was constantly being remodeled, and the mountains were being hollowed out to be used as warehouses for supplies, or as a defense system between the two mountains. There was more than one fortification like the one in the Helan Canyon, and they slowly intersected with each other, forming a huge group of fortifications that stretched for dozens of kilometers. Just as the front was being built, the back was being built as well. While the fortifications were being built, the roads were being built as well.
The survivors that were previously found in the mountainous region had returned to the mountainous region and became members of the construction army. They were very familiar with the environment here. Before the apocalypse, they had heard the older generation repeatedly talking about roads. The roads had long been engraved in their hearts. These farmers who had never left the mountains in their entire lives had all become experts in road construction. They knew the terrain of each mountain pass, the angle of each bend, and the texture of the rocks. They knew it all by heart, and there was no need for professional engineers to measure it.
With enough materials, manpower, explosives, and machinery, the roads that the people in the mountainous region had never dreamed of were built in seven months. Many people looked at the roads and shed tears. No matter how much the world had changed, at least before they died, there was a road here.
With a convenient transportation system, the entire mountainous region was officially revitalized. The minerals that were mined from the mines could be sent to the refinery through the road. After processing, they would be turned into raw materials and sent to be processed into finished products. All kinds of products would go through secondary processing, and then tertiary processing, turning into bullets, gun barrels, spare parts, and various military and livelihood goods.
With the erection of walls, the survivors gradually strengthened their confidence. With walls, there would be safety. The mountainous region's terrain was complicated. Without relying on walls, just the mountainous region alone would be enough to kill millions of zombies.
In addition to installing heavy cannons at the various mountain peaks, the colonel in charge of the missile base also spent a lot of money. He took out nearly 200 anti-air missiles and placed them at various key points, forming a network of air defense. Any enemy that came from the sky would be locked on by the missile base's radar, and then shot down by the missiles placed in the mountainous region.