Xu Chengfeng and Zheng Silang, emboldened by the wine, climbed the newly built broadcasting tower to overlook Siping from a height of more than ten meters. Siping's night view was ablaze with lights, dense as a field of stars descending upon the earth.

From the mouths of some chimneys in the industrial area, sparks and flashes could still be seen spewing forth. Needless to say, those were the steel plant and the power plant.

Xu Chengfeng asked his old classmate, "Silang, do you really not want to return to the army?"

Zheng Silang didn't know how to answer, for the reality was completely different from what Xu Chengfeng imagined. After pondering for a while, Zheng Silang could only reply, "I want to stay a while longer; there is still a lot of knowledge I haven't mastered."

Xu Chengfeng felt that Zheng Silang must be working hard to achieve something greater, and he couldn't help being curious. "Can you tell me about it?"

Zheng Silang didn't talk about equipment, but about military doctrine. "I am researching the organization of motorized troops—using motorized units to replace cavalry for rapid maneuvers."

Xu Chengfeng immediately asked, "This so-called 'motorized' force... what does 'motor' mean?"

Seeing Xu Chengfeng's interest, Zheng Silang began to explain with excitement. "'Motorized' refers to vehicles that travel on wheels. Another type is armored troops, which rely on tracks. The tanks that appeared in various countries during the European War are armored troops."

Xu Chengfeng listened to this brand-new concept with a mix of surprise and anticipation, and he was quite pleased. Some in the army's upper echelons rumored that Zheng Silang had changed combat dispositions on his own initiative and, after being fiercely criticized by Chairman He Rui, was exiled to be a military representative. They said Zheng Silang, unable to bear the blow, had wilted.

Based on his understanding of Zheng Silang, Xu Chengfeng hadn't believed it. Hearing Zheng Silang now, Xu Chengfeng was completely relieved. Zheng Silang wasn't depressed at all; he was biding his time, accumulating strength for a breakthrough.

After listening for a while, Xu Chengfeng felt something wasn't quite right. When Zheng Silang finished, Xu Chengfeng asked, "Silang, vehicles are so heavy; surely they can't compare with the agility of horses?"

Zheng Silang laughed. "I asked the Chairman this same question. The Chairman gave me a problem to solve: which exerts greater pressure on the ground—a warhorse carrying a cavalryman, or a truck or tank? I'll tell you the result directly: the average ground pressure of a tank is the lowest, followed by a truck, and the horse's hoof is the highest."

Xu Chengfeng's basic physics knowledge was sound, he just hadn't considered it from that angle. He asked for the pressure formula, and emboldened by the alcohol, he scribbled calculations in the night air with his finger. Xu Chengfeng discovered the result was indeed so.

Zheng Silang had calculated it many times long ago, and had even verified it in the field. He exhaled a breath smelling of alcohol and sighed, "So tanks can easily pass through relatively poor ground, whereas horses might not necessarily make it. If we're comparing fragility, horses are much more delicate than cars."

Xu Chengfeng thought it over but still couldn't quite accept it. "I still feel something is wrong!"

Zheng Silang had figured out these problems long ago. Hearing that Xu Chengfeng felt the same as he did initially, he laughed. "A truck carries the full set of equipment for a squad. That's ten men, seven rifles, one light machine gun. It might also carry a 60mm mortar. Even if an infantry squad has no spare horses, that takes twelve to fifteen horses. When you weigh it up, you can't equate one horse with one truck."

Comparing one vehicle against fifteen horses, Xu Chengfeng's mind immediately cleared. He laughed, "That is brilliant! Hearing you put it that way, I immediately feel that... motorized infantry is indeed better than cavalry! It saves so much trouble!"

Seeing his work recognized, Zheng Silang was very happy. "Exactly. If our army can become motorized, although cavalry can still undertake limited roles, they will no longer be the main force for assault operations."

After saying this, Zheng Silang felt his research still had too many deficiencies, so he turned the topic back to their friends. "How is Ruofan recently? With his character, having not heard him jump out to speak for so long, I'm worried something might have happened to him."

Thinking of Cheng Ruofan's current state, Xu Chengfeng couldn't help laughing. "Ruofan! Hehe. He is now pouring all his energy into figuring out how to build field fortifications without the Japanese finding out. I really didn't expect Ruofan to be able to focus on one thing so attentively."

"Haha!" Zheng Silang was also amused. Thinking of Cheng Ruofan's concentrated look, Zheng Silang remembered Cheng Ruofan before school exams. Cheng Ruofan wasn't unintelligent, and his memory was certainly no problem; he could even have a photographic memory for subjects he liked. The problem was that his attention was too easily distracted.

Xu Chengfeng laughed for a while, and his train of thought returned to the war. "Silang, the Military Commission has formulated a war plan, though it hasn't been reported to the Chairman yet. Your idea of motorized infantry is very interesting. The Japanese control the South Manchuria Railway. Once the war starts, we may not necessarily be able to seize the South Manchuria Railway immediately and run it smoothly. Moving troops in large numbers by truck is a good method. Even if the railway cannot be used immediately, we have started building roads in rural areas and can use these roads for transportation."

Zheng Silang nodded repeatedly. "I have also considered this. This requires more detailed logistical work, including the design of various depots. Chengfeng, do you feel that the land reform and grassroots government construction the Chairman did from the beginning happen to meet such requirements? We can do these tasks now without any resistance. Often, as I ponder this, my thoughts turn to land reform—the Chairman had already planned this war before returning to China."

Xu Chengfeng nodded. "I have the same feeling. The Chairman said we must rely on war to create a strategic opportunity period for China. This is not just the Chairman's current idea; it is what he has always been striving to implement!"

Hearing that his insight was shared, Zheng Silang breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I'm relieved. Since we started preparing for this war a few years ago, we just need to implement the preparations step by step."

Although the "old classmates" gathered happily, their conversation inevitably returned to their duties. Moreover, the more they talked, the more excited they became. It wasn't until late at night, when the lights of the residents in Siping City went out one after another and the entire city fell into a quiet and peaceful sleep, that they finally came down from the broadcasting tower.

At this time, Cheng Ruofan was not asleep. He was leading an engineering team to carry out construction under the cover of night. Cheng Ruofan himself walked quietly in the darkness, listening to how loud the sound produced by the project was.

In the dark night, no one saw Cheng Ruofan frowning tightly. No matter how careful they were, the commotion was loud. Trying to deceive the Japanese with such quiet construction was basically impossible.

Cheng Ruofan napped for a while when he was exhausted. As soon as dawn broke, he rushed to the construction site to see the results. The efficiency of quiet construction in the dark was very low—less than half that of daytime work.

This was already the fourth time Cheng Ruofan had tested late-night construction. Looking at the earthwork volume that hadn't advanced much all night, Cheng Ruofan ruled out this feasibility. Permanent fortifications must be built on a grand scale; concealed construction was not feasible.

Since taking responsibility for the construction of permanent field fortifications, Cheng Ruofan and the staff officers participating in the project had drafted various scenarios and tested them one by one. Various possibilities had been tried and rejected. Now there was only one feasible option left: to disguise the permanent field fortification project as civilian infrastructure construction.

If such a method were adopted, the challenge would be maintaining secrecy under those conditions.

Having reached a conclusion, Cheng Ruofan immediately took all reports back to Shenyang, preparing to convene a staff meeting of the Engineering Command.