Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 115 What the Officer's Sword Was Traded For
Japanese Military Police in Heyuan

"Why haven't we received a reply yet? It's driving me crazy!"

Fujita Ichiji paced back and forth in the room, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Fujita Ichiji had already received the news that the ironworks had been looted by the Eighth Route Army, and the Eighth Route Army was fleeing with their belongings.

However, Kuroshima Morita did not appear at the ironworks; instead, he fought with the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army.

This left Fujita Ichiji completely bewildered. What was going on with Kuroshima Morita and the others? Why weren't they continuing to reinforce the ironworks?

Although the Eighth Route Army had fled, they had not disappeared and could still be pursued.

Why are your cavalry and mechanized regiments attacking Chu Yunfei instead of continuing the pursuit?

"Captain, the commander of the Kuroshima Regiment has replied." A trusted aide ran over and handed the newly arrived telegram to Fujita Ichiji.

Fujita Ichiji immediately grabbed it and took a look, and was instantly dumbfounded:
In his telegram, Kuroshima Morita said that he had fallen for the Eighth Route Army's treacherous scheme, which is why he started fighting with the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army.

Even more unbelievable is!

Kuroshima Morita and his team actually lost.

Caught in a pincer attack by Chu Yunfei and the Eighth Route Army, the troops suffered heavy losses, losing all their supplies, and even more!
Even the bait that Fujita Ichiji prepared for the Eighth Route Army was swallowed by them.

"Damn it! Kuroshima Morita and Ueno no Mura have messed things up terribly!" Fujita Ichiji tore the telegram to shreds.

Are your brains filled with tofu dregs?!

Why do you care so much about the Eighth Route Army? Don't worry about anything else, just head straight for the ironworks.

As a result, I fell into their trap and even lost all the bait.

This is equipment that can produce bullets! Even though I took out the key parts beforehand, I can't afford to lose it!
What are we going to do now?

The confidant said to Fujita Ichiji, "Captain, let's put aside the loss of the ironworks and the defeat of the Kuroshima Regiment. The Eighth Route Army has taken the bait. They've discovered that without the key component, they can't produce bullets. Why don't you continue to use this key component to lure them in?"

"You idiot!" Fujita Ichiji roared, "Are you really planning to enable the Eighth Route Army to produce bullets completely..."

Fujita Ichiji stopped abruptly before he could finish his rant.

Upon closer reflection, it does make sense.

The Eighth Route Army received equipment that lacked crucial components, so they couldn't produce bullets, and they were understandably anxious.

If we can use this crucial component as bait, they should at least take the risk.

If the fishing operation succeeds, face will naturally be saved.

What's lost can be retrieved.

"If you want to go fishing, you still need an army," Fujita Ichiji said, feeling quite troubled.

Kuroshima Morita and his men suffered a defeat, with heavy casualties, losing their supplies and more than half of their tanks.

It's unrealistic for them to recover their strength in a short period of time.

In other words.

Even if Fujita Ichiji had bait, the fish wouldn't be caught if Kuroshima Morita and the others didn't help set up the trap.

The confidant suggested, "Why don't we apply to headquarters again to transfer other units?"

Our First Army has a total strength of seventy to eighty thousand men!
Since Kuroshima Morita and his men are resting, they can definitely mobilize troops from other places.

“Even if we were to adjust it, it wouldn’t be that quick,” Fujita Ichiji shook his head.

Although the First Army had 70,000 to 80,000 men, the forces were scattered due to the large number of places in Shanxi province to defend.

In addition, there were battles in other places, and the First Army also mobilized troops to provide reinforcements.

This is the drawback of stretching the battle lines too far; China's territory is too deep, and the Empire's military strength is insufficient.

But soon, Fujita Ichiji nodded: "We can only communicate with headquarters first."

"Captain, this time the mess is so huge. The mine is gone, the ironworks is gone, even the equipment is gone. Can you still hold your position?" The confidant was still a little worried.

If Fujita Ichiji loses his position, then all of this will have been for nothing.

"Did I lose the mine? Did I lose the ironworks? Did I lose the equipment?" Fujita Ichiji asked his confidant in a series of three questions.

I am the captain of the military police, not the one in charge of guarding the mine. If the mine is lost, I am not directly responsible!

As for the ironworks, that's the responsibility of the Third Regiment!
As for the equipment, it didn't just disappear from my hands; it was the responsibility of Kuroshima Morita and the others. I can only take secondary responsibility at most!
Kuroshima Morita and his team failed to save the mine, failed to save the ironworks, and even lost the equipment. They should take the blame, not me!

It's not like I didn't notify them for rescue immediately.

"That's true." The confidant nodded in relief, and it sounded like that was indeed the case.

"I'll contact headquarters first and see if we can mobilize troops," Fujita Ichiji said to his confidant as he picked up the phone. "Go and see what supplies we have left, ammunition, food, and so on, and send them all to Kuroshima Morita and the others."

Although Kuroshima Morita and his men suffered a defeat, they couldn't just be blamed without any logistical support. After all, they were still the backbone of the encirclement and suppression forces, and we still needed to rely on them to maintain stability in the rear.

"Hai!" The trusted aide obeyed and left.

Fujita Ichiji answered the phone, and as soon as he revealed his identity, Lieutenant General Shinotsuka's cursing came through: "Fujita Ichiji, you idiot! What kind of military police captain are you? Why didn't you provide timely and accurate intelligence to Kuroshima Morita and the others!"

Fujita Ichiji was immediately dumbfounded. It seemed that Kuroshima Morita and the others were shifting the blame onto him for not providing timely and accurate information.

Those damned imperial bureaucrats!

It must be that bastard Kuroshima Morita who used his status as a member of the royal family and a hereditary baron to pull strings and shift the blame onto himself.

Fujita Ichiji's background is definitely not comparable to that of Kuroshima Morita and his group. They've shifted the blame onto him, and he has no way to shift it back.

Having risen to the rank of military police captain, Fujita Ichiji was no pushover. After a quick thought, he immediately shifted the blame onto Hirata Ichiro: "General, you've misunderstood me. It's not that I didn't provide accurate intelligence to Kuroshima and Morita; it's just that I've only recently taken over, and Hirata Ichiro hasn't communicated much information to me. For example, the Third Regiment's jurisdiction includes an ironworks—such crucial information, and Hirata Ichiro didn't tell me about it..."

"Baka! Damn it!" Lieutenant General Shinotsuka roared, "Then what about your use of equipment to fish for the Eighth Route Army?"

Lieutenant General Shinotsuka had only just learned of this news.

Fujita Ichiji actually dared to use bullet-making equipment to fish; there's no pig more stupid than him in the world.

Can this device be used for fishing?
What a joke!
"General, the equipment was lost while it was in the hands of Kuroshima Morita and his men; it was due to their inadequate protection..."

"You idiot, you still want to argue!" Lieutenant General Shinotsuka was even more furious. "If you hadn't used equipment to fish, would you have lost anything?"

“General, I, I, I…” Fujita Ichiji stammered.

"I'll gather some supplies here so that Kuroshima Morita's side can recover as quickly as possible," Lieutenant General Shinotsuka snapped. "You'd better finish handing over the intelligence to Hirata Ichiro and bring back everything the Eighth Route Army has looted, or you'll be fired as the military police captain!"

After Lieutenant General Shinotsuka finished speaking, the phone call ended.

Fujita Ichiji slowly put the telephone receiver back on the shelf, a thoughtful look on his face.

It's a good thing that General Shinozuka wants to help Kuroshima Morita and the others recover their strength quickly.

Although he was blamed by Kuroshima Morita and the others, his position was still secure.

However, if I want to fish for the Eighth Route Army again, and I use those key parts to fish, does that still count as fishing with equipment?
This shouldn't be considered fishing with equipment.

There is a difference between parts and equipment.

……

Border Region Arsenal

"Xiao Li, the Jin-Sui Army is interested in our general's swords."

Zhang Wanhe walked over and said to Li Muzhi with a smile, "What are you planning to exchange with him for?"

The border region's arsenal is a crucial location for our army, and Li Muzhi is of paramount importance.

Therefore, Zhang Wanhe did not bring the people here; he merely acted as an intermediary.

"How interested are you?" Li Muzhi asked. "If not, then find someone else."

“It’s huge. I’ve heard about it and I’m determined to get it. I’m going to get this officer’s sword.” Zhang Wanhe explained to Li Muzhi, “I asked around and found out that this guy isn’t doing very well in the Jin-Sui Army. He’s made to do all the dirty and hard work, but he doesn’t get any credit. He wants to use the officer’s sword to smooth things over and get transferred to the elite army.”

“Give this to him.” Li Muzhi took out a slip of paper and handed it to Zhang Wanhe. “Tell him that if he can get these things, he can’t lose a single one, and he can exchange the general’s sword for it.”

Zhang Wanhe took the note and glanced at it.

Most of the requirements here are for materials.

The reason we can't get it here is because the blockade is too strict, and there are also technical issues.

Zhang Wanhe pointed to the two materials inside and said, "These two things are not easy to obtain, and that person may not be able to do it."

“Otherwise what? Do you think our officer’s sword is so easy to get?” Li Muzhi said seriously. “These two things are the most important. If he can’t get them, then we’ll find someone else.”

Zhang Wan asked suspiciously, "Xiao Li, what are you planning to do with these materials?"

"Minister Zhang, you'll find out later," Li Muzhi said, keeping everyone in suspense.

"Alright then, anything that can be exchanged for an officer's sword must be of great use to me." Zhang Wanhe didn't ask any further questions.

After all, Comrade Zhang is best at handling logistics, but when it comes to military industry, he's completely clueless.

We'll just do whatever Li Mu tells us to do.

"Xiao Li, I'll talk to him again and give him this note." Zhang Wanhe put the note away.

“Besides this person, you can look for others. In short, whoever can get this material, exchange the official sword for him,” Li Muzhi added.

"Hmm." Zhang Wanhe nodded, this is called casting a wide net.

Lao He hurried over and reported to Li Muzhi, "Factory Director, a special envoy from the 120th Division has arrived and urgently requests to see Minister Zhang!"

(End of this chapter)