Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 202 A Soldier's Diary
Wang Feng perked up and leaned closer, asking curiously, "A light tank prototype? It's finally in production!"

"Did it pass the test? How was the performance?"

"There's no news yet; it'll probably take another two days." Zhao Fangyuan's voice was tinged with excitement. "Sir, but there's another problem. The telegram says that tank production requires a lot of resources and time. If we focus on large-scale tank production, we won't be able to continue producing other weapons."

Wang Feng frowned.

This is indeed a major problem we are facing right now.

"Currently, our battles against the Japanese invaders are still mainly fought with infantry, and we rely on local artillery superiority to achieve victory. If we abandon these and try to compete with the Japanese army in armored forces, it would be putting the cart before the horse."

"We have very scarce resources at our disposal, so we must make sure that we use our best resources where they are most needed."

Zhao Fangyuan nodded.

Wang Feng continued, "In my opinion, we only need to establish an initial armored force to ensure that we do not fall too far behind the Japanese army in the plains defense battle."

The current provincial garrison forces are far from meeting the standards of mechanized forces, and haven't even touched the threshold of motorized infantry. Focusing solely on developing armored forces would be counterproductive.

Taking too big a step is not a good thing.

Zhao Fangyuan nodded, completely agreeing with this statement.

Wang Feng: "Go and reply to Song Wenjie. After the light tank test is successful, we can produce a small number of them. The main focus should remain the same. We should concentrate our production capacity on manufacturing artillery and individual equipment."

What's the current status of research on wheeled infantry fighting vehicles?

Zhao Fangyuan shook his head: "There's still no news. I guess we'll have to wait a while longer."

Wang Feng sighed: "Let's speed up the research and development."

Compared to light tanks, he favored wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, which were cheaper to manufacture and had better performance.

Zhao Fangyuan responded and turned to walk towards the communications unit.

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5 month 31 day.

6:23 minutes.

Wang Feng got up very early, and as soon as he opened the door, still half asleep, he ran into Zhao Fangyuan.

"Sir, you're up so early?"

Wang Feng rubbed his eyes and replied, "Yes, how are the troops' preparations going? Have the soldiers had breakfast?"

"Preparations have already begun. I need to speak with you." Zhao Fangyuan nodded, then turned to the side and said, "I've already asked the cooks to prepare your meal."

Wang Feng walked to the tap and casually wiped his face, then looked up and said, "Let's go inside and talk. Let's go!"

inside the house.

Wang Feng sat in the chair and glanced at the breakfast laid out in front of him.

It was very simple, basically the same as what the soldiers outside ate: a bowl of white rice porridge with a little meat, two steamed buns, and a dish of pickled vegetables.

Zhao Fangyuan stood on the opposite side: "Sir, news has come from the Second and Third Columns that the Japanese army has reinforced Puyang City with about two more battalions."

Wang Feng took a sip of porridge: "Two brigades?"

"The fighting is still going on in Dangshan, and the Japanese army in North China is still reinforcing its troops towards Puyang. Is the rear no longer maintaining order?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "The puppet government in North China has set up an army officer school. Judging from this, it should be to expand the North China security army. The Japanese army intends to hand over most of the security tasks to the puppet army."

"Utterly ridiculous!" Wang Feng snorted coldly, putting down his chopsticks. "Has the Eighth Route Army made any moves lately?"

Zhao Fangyuan thought for a moment: "It seems so!"

"The Eighth Route Army formed the Daqingshan Detachment with a main force regiment of the 358th Brigade and a company of the division's cavalry battalion. Judging from this, it should be going to Suiyuan to establish an anti-Japanese base area."

Wang Feng raised an eyebrow: "Suiyuan?"

"Isn't that Fu Zuoyi's territory?"

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "With just one regiment and one cavalry company, can such a meager force really achieve any results on the enemy's rear battlefield?"

Wang Feng took a bite of his steamed bun: "Don't underestimate the Eighth Route Army. Remember this: the power of the people is boundless. Don't underestimate the Eighth Route Army just because it only has three divisions and a force of no more than 10,000 men."

"But as long as you stand on the side of the people, the army is inexhaustible. Take Li Yunlong's core regiment, don't you understand yet?"

Zhao Fangyuan understood immediately: "I get it. On the surface, the Daqingshan Detachment is an infantry regiment and a cavalry company, but in reality, these soldiers could all become future officers after arriving in Suiyuan. What's that term again?"

"Training Corps!"

Wang Feng responded. For him, two steamed buns were just a matter of five or six bites. After swallowing them whole, he glanced down at the time.

"Order all units to rest as soon as possible and assemble at the drill ground at 8:00 sharp, without fail!"

Zhao Fangyuan snapped to attention: "Yes, sir!"

Wang Feng: "How are the people in the city?"

Zhao Fangyuan: "Things have settled down now. Yesterday, we ran out of carts to haul the bodies, so some locals came to help out."

Wang Feng nodded: "After the army marches to Puyang, Heze cannot be left without troops. Have Zhang Hu draw a battalion from the reserve to stay in Heze temporarily."

"Get ready and get the conscription work done!"

The army only recaptured Heze yesterday, and today they are openly recruiting soldiers in the city. This will definitely affect the morale of the people.

But time waits for no one, and the Japanese would not allow these things to slow down their attack on Wuhan.

We must seize this window of opportunity and restore the troops to their peak condition as soon as possible.

Wang Fengqian had just stepped out the door when he turned back and asked, "Any news from Sergei's side?"

Zhao Fangyuan: Not yet, I'll send an inquiry telegram later.

Wang Feng nodded and strode out of the barracks.

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Inside another barracks.

Lu Zelin sat cross-legged on the communal bed, holding a pencil he had picked up from somewhere, and wrote a few lines crookedly on the back of a tattered newspaper.

Today is May 31st. Dad, Mom, I wonder what you're doing.

My brother died yesterday. He collapsed right next to me. By the time I ran to him, he had already stopped breathing. When the doctors at the hospital carried him away, they covered his head with a burlap sack and buried him in the grass with his fallen comrades.

The platoon leader gave me the compensation money in the afternoon; it was quite substantial.

As he wrote, a tear fell onto the newspaper.

"Xiao Lü, what are you doing?" A scruffy-bearded veteran walked in and shouted, "The troops are about to set off, stop dawdling, hurry up!"

Lu Zelin forced back his tears: "Brother Sun, you go first. I just learned a few new words yesterday, I'll practice them a bit more."

The veteran frowned: "It's almost here, hurry up!"

Lu Zelin nodded.

The veteran closed the door and hurriedly ran towards the drill ground.

Hearing the urging, Lü Zelin wrote faster. [Today I'm going to Puyang. They say that after the battle of Puyang, I can go home. I hope I survive.]

Dad, Mom, Brother, I think I've come to understand a lot of things lately.

Lu Zelin's hand speed increased, but he had only learned to write a few days ago. His handwriting was crooked and messy, and the faster he wrote, the less legible it became. On the blank newspaper page, it looked as if there were insects crawling.

At first, I didn't understand why people from Shanxi wanted to come.

When Lü Zelin encountered a character he couldn't write, he tried drawing a few strokes, only to find that it didn't match the way the instructor had taught him in class. After several attempts, he simply crossed it out.

I don't understand why I came here to fight the Japanese. This isn't my home, and I don't know anyone here. But my instructors always told me that the most important thing for a soldier is to obey orders. My superior said we had to come here, so I followed.

Yesterday, during the fighting, I personally witnessed Chinese people jumping off the city walls under the oppression of the Japanese devils. I can't quite describe it.

Lu Zelin continued to cross out the words he didn't know how to write.

I don't know why, but seeing the people here jumping off the city wall made me very sad. I don't remember what they were saying, but I think it was something like "kill the Japanese devils." Then I think I understood why I came here.

They are invaders; they invade not only Shanxi but also other places. Simply driving the Japanese out of Shanxi is not enough; only by driving them out of China can Shanxi be free from invasion.

The instructor also said, "If we don't fight this battle, our next generation will have to. My brother died before we even had a wedding ceremony, and I don't know how long I'll live."

[If I die, give my and my brother's compensation to our third son so he can find a beautiful wife. Consider this war fought for my nephew.]

Lu Zelin wanted to write his name at the end, but after writing two characters, he suddenly couldn't write the third one. After trying hard to recall, he scribbled on the paper, but gave up after a few attempts.

"gather!"

"Anyone else?"

"Get out here quickly!"

Several loud shouts came from outside the barracks.

Lu Zelin immediately folded the newspaper, put it in his pocket, and hurriedly pushed open the door.

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In the marching column, in a jeep, Wang Feng leaned out of the window, watching as Heze gradually disappeared into the horizon behind them.

The sun is blazing overhead; it's almost June, and the temperature is gradually warming up.

Zhao Fangyuan frowned: "Sir, with the constant warfare in Heze, it seems the people's spring planting has been significantly delayed."

Wang Feng adjusted his posture: "When we rest here for a while, go and coordinate with Song Wenjie to find out how much grain Changzhi has left, and tell the rear to prepare for a famine!"

The current problems are not limited to the disruption of spring planting.

The news of the garrison's recapture of Heze spread like wildfire, and in just one day yesterday, they received more than twenty congratulatory telegrams from all directions.

Both the Japanese and the Nationalist government must have known about this.

This morning's newspapers have already published this story. After hearing about it, those people who have fled due to the war will surely flock to Heze, and Puyang will probably be the next to follow suit.

With refugees surging, the daily food consumption must be astronomical.

Zhao Fangyuan: "Yes!"

Wang Feng continued looking out the window, then exclaimed "Hey!" and quickly called out to the driver, "Stop the car! Stop the car up ahead!"

The driver immediately turned the steering wheel.

After the jeep came to a stop, Wang Feng quickly walked to the side of the road and pointed to a spot not far away: "Look over there, aren't there poppies!"

Zhao Fangyuan immediately picked up his binoculars and looked for a long time before hesitatingly saying, "It should be. The people here all grow poppies."

Wang Feng looked displeased: "Didn't I say we should ban drugs? How come there are still people growing this harmful stuff!"

Zhao Fangyuan quickly explained, "Sir, I've already spoken with the troops left behind. After we leave, they'll go door-to-door and tell the people to eradicate all these privately planted poppies!"

At most, we only stayed in Heze for one day. We also had to reorganize the troops, tally the casualties, inventory the captured supplies, and quell public anger. There was simply no time for any of these things.
Wang Feng frowned.

In his previous life, he had heard that during the Republic of China era, rural families would grow poppies to increase their income, and in some severely affected areas, poppies even completely replaced agricultural crops.

This was partly the reason for the widespread food shortages during the Republic of China era.

There was no other way; ordinary people also needed to survive. After cultivating two or three acres of land, there was hardly anything left after paying rent and grain taxes, and the family was starving to death.

On the contrary, growing poppies is more profitable than growing crops because of the high demand for them, even though the opium dealers' purchase price is very low.

Wang Feng sighed: "Land...land."

The root cause lies in the land issue, which is also the issue of ownership of the means of production.

"Get in the car, let's head to Puyang as soon as possible!" Wang Feng turned around and stepped into the jeep.

They had already traveled 20 kilometers beyond Heze, and in a few more hours, the advance troops would reach the outskirts of Puyang. He could already see every blade of grass and every tree in the city from an overhead view.

The second and third columns were having a difficult time.

The Japanese troops inside and outside Puyang numbered roughly ten thousand, occupying most of the key strongholds in the street fighting. The entire city was like a meat grinder, frantically tearing apart every soldier who dared to enter the city.

"There are also poison gas bombs?"

Looking at the bluish-green smoke rising from the overhead view, Wang Feng frowned even more deeply.

It's chemical warfare again.
inhuman!

Don't wait until you push me too far, then I'll make two powerful poison gas bombs and throw them at your Tokyo.

Wang Feng cursed inwardly as his consciousness returned to reality.

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Jinan, Shandong.

Japanese Second Army Command Post.

Toshizo Nishio paced back and forth in his office, anxiously awaiting news.

His gaze would occasionally drift to the giant map of North China and the portrait of Emperor Hirohito behind the chair.

The garrison has already captured Heze and is about to reach Puyang. The Battle of Dangshan is still dragging on and they haven't been able to finish off the Yudong Corps. His position as commander of the Second Army is a hot potato.

"Wang Feng! Wang Feng!"

Nishio Toshizo muttered to himself, his eyes fierce, his teeth clenched, but no matter how you looked at him, he seemed to be furious.

"The main camp has postponed its attack on Wuhan, in case Puyang falls."

"Ugh!"

Nishio Toshizo was impatient and wanted to calmly analyze the situation, but he just couldn't calm down.

He kept looking at the clock on the wall.

"Boom boom boom!"

Finally, a series of urgent knocks sounded on the door.

Nishio Juzo immediately turned his head to look at the door: "Come in!"

(End of this chapter)