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

Chapter 169 is too scary!

Japanese Military Police in Heyuan

Haruno Sato personally carried out the arrangements for the clues and had just returned to his office.

Then Fujita Ichiji rushed over: "Vice Minister, something terrible has happened! Commander Kuroshima and his regiment have suffered another defeat. Their troops have suffered extremely heavy losses. The cavalry regiment, the tank regiment, and the infantry battalion have all lost more than half their units!"

Upon hearing this, Sato Haruno naturally didn't believe it and roared, "Fujita, what nonsense are you spouting, you idiot! Two regiments plus two infantry battalions, how could they not win against a mere 358th Regiment, and lose so badly!"

Even if Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment is a reinforced regiment with 5,000 men.

Even if Chu Yunfei's fortifications were sturdy.

Even if Chu Yunfei's superiors gave him an extra artillery battalion!
But with Kuroshima Morita's two regiments and two infantry battalions, the advantage is clearly on our side, Imperial Army.

How could we possibly lose so badly!

“Vice Minister, I don’t believe it either, but they really did lose. They said the Eighth Route Army’s arsenal has produced a new type of artillery,” Fujita Ichiji explained. “This new artillery can be fired by a single soldier carrying it on their shoulder, and it has no recoil…”

"Baka! This is utter nonsense!" Sato Haruno interrupted immediately. "How can artillery fire without recoil? Without recoil, how can the shells be fired? Even our grenade launchers have recoil. This artillery can be fired while being carried on the shoulder? The excuse that Captain Kuroshima is making for his failure this time is just too absurd."

Clearly, Haruno Sato did not believe that artillery could be fired from the shoulder.

They believe that this is Kuroshima Morita and Ueno no Mura seeking excuses and reasons for another defeat.

These cronies and imperial bureaucrats have suffered losses at Chu Yunfei's hands one after another, and the reasons they gave are all so absurd and ridiculous.

Haruno Sato was even considering suggesting to Lieutenant General Shinotsuka, commander of the First Army, that they replace him.

“Vice Minister, even if Commander Kuroshima and his men have powerful connections, they wouldn't come up with such an absurd excuse or reason, would they?” Fujita Ichiji pondered. “Think about it, the Eighth Route Army, with their meager resources, could still build heavy artillery pulled by mules. If they could build cannons that could be fired from a shoulder-mounted position, perhaps…”

"Baka!" Sato Haruno cursed, "You idiot, what artillery doesn't have recoil? Do you have any common sense?!"

“Vice Minister, the Kuroshima Regiment Commander and his men were defeated, this matter…” Fujita Ichiji did not argue with Sato Haruno.

After all, in his heart, he still thinks it's too unbelievable that the Eighth Route Army could build a recoilless cannon that could be fired by carrying it on his shoulder!

“We don’t need to worry about their combat units for now,” Sato Haruno said. “Since Kuroshima Morita and his men have suffered more than half their casualties, I’ll just ask headquarters to replace them. I’ve already personally cast the bait, and as long as the Eighth Route Army takes the bait and brings the goods to their arsenal, we can use military dogs to track them down and find their arsenal. Remember, our most important task right now is to find the Eighth Route Army’s arsenal.”

"Vice Minister, have you applied for the military dog ​​yet? I don't think I've seen it," Fujita Ichiji asked.

"I've already submitted the application, and I'll have a result soon," Haruno Sato said confidently.

Military dogs are valuable but not easy to borrow.

But this is for finding Eighth Route Army arsenals.

Therefore, with the green light on all the way, there should be no problem.

“That’s fine then, then I…” Fujita didn’t finish his sentence.

Then Sato Haruno's assistant came running over like his backside was on fire: "Vice Minister, there are signs of an enemy attack coming from the Cui Village Arsenal, and we can't get in touch with them."

The Cuicun arsenal was attacked by the enemy!
Fujita Ichiji and Sato Haruno were both taken aback when they heard this.

The arsenal is the cradle, the mother of military weapons and ammunition.

They wanted to move the Cuicun arsenal secretly as soon as possible because they were afraid it would be attacked by the enemy.

And now!
Was the Cuicun Arsenal still attacked by the enemy?
"Baka! Who did this?" Sato Haruno roared.

Although half of the equipment and supplies of the Cui Village arsenal had already been secretly transported away in advance.

It's like only half of them were attacked, but it's still an unforgivable mistake!

Fujita Ichiji looked at his assistant and said incredulously, "Now, whether it's the Jin-Sui Army or the elite troops, they're all tied up by our attacks and can't get away. The Eighth Route Army is hiding and doesn't dare to come out. It can't be that the Eighth Route Army, which is hiding in the shadows, suddenly jumps out, can it?"

Fujita Ichiji was shocked but also relieved.

Fortunately, the deputy minister acted quickly and secretly transported half of the equipment and supplies away in advance.

Otherwise, I could commit seppuku in a heartbeat.

The assistant replied, "It was the Eighth Route Army who did it."

"Baka, baka, baka!" Sato Haruno cursed wildly, grabbing Fujita Ichiji's hair and immediately slapping him repeatedly. "It's all because of you, you idiot! If you hadn't taken the military dogs to patrol near the Cui Village arsenal, the Eighth Route Army would never have guessed that there was a military stronghold there. You bastard, you should commit seppuku right now!"

Fujita Ichiji's face quickly swelled up, blood gushing from his nose, and he was knocked unconscious by Sato Haruno. His assistant spoke up, "Vice Minister, some outposts along the way managed to squeeze out reinforcements, but they couldn't stop the Eighth Route Army. They've received reports that besides two heavy weapons, the Eighth Route Army also has artillery that can be fired from the shoulder..."

Before the assistant could finish speaking, Sato Haruno was stunned: "Baka! Did the Eighth Route Army really build a cannon that can be fired from the shoulder?!"

Because of the need to attack the Jin-Sui Army and its elite troops, the forces at the strongholds were all redeployed.

Even if they manage to squeeze out enough troops, the number will certainly be small.

The Eighth Route Army has two heavy weapons; how could they possibly stop them?

Of course!
What surprised Sato Haruno the most was that the Eighth Route Army used artillery that could be fired by carrying it on their shoulders!

Didn't the Black Island Regiment Commander and his men come up with an absurd excuse? Did the Eighth Route Army's arsenal really produce shoulder-mounted cannons?!
Could it be that this cannon really has no recoil?
Baka! This is absolutely terrifying.

From the time they built heavy weapons, to the time they built light weapons like shoulder-mounted cannons!
How long is the time difference between the two?

This expert in the Eighth Route Army's arsenal is truly terrifying.

If we don't find the Eighth Route Army's arsenal quickly and capture this person soon, who knows what kind of terrifying weapons he will come up with next!

“Vice Minister, I don’t really believe it either, but the issue we face now isn’t whether we believe it or not, but that the Cui Village arsenal has been attacked. We need to act quickly to prevent further damage.” The assistant’s tone was very serious. “According to the report, the Eighth Route Army brought more than a thousand horses, and the horses can be transported quickly. If we delay our actions, the Eighth Route Army may have already entered the mountains.”

"Baka! Where did the Eighth Route Army get more than a thousand horses?" Sato Haruno was stunned.

The Eighth Route Army was so poor that even if they gathered all their horses together, they probably wouldn't have a thousand.

The assistant explained, "Based on preliminary assessments, these warhorses most likely belong to the cavalry regiment of Commander Kuroshima."

"Damn it! Captain Kuroshima has made a grave mistake!" Sato Haruno cursed angrily, but without hesitation, he immediately said, "I'll call the higher-ups right away and order all the forces attacking the Jin-Sui Army and the elite troops to cease their attacks and immediately withdraw to encircle and intercept the Eighth Route Army. We must stop them before they enter the mountains!"

“Vice Minister, the Eighth Route Army is quite fast. I’m afraid even if they withdraw the troops that attacked the Jin-Sui Army and their elite forces, they still won’t be able to…” The assistant didn’t finish his sentence.

Jingle Bell!
The telephone on the table rang.

Haruno Sato picked up the microphone: "I am Haruno Sato."

The phone rang with a call from the railway line: "The railway to Zhangjiacun is expected to be restored and open by noon tomorrow."

"Okay, I got it." A rare smile appeared on Haruno Sato's face as he put the phone back.

Sato Haruno said to his assistant, "The section of railway near Zhangjia Village will be repaired and open by noon tomorrow. The military trains will depart ahead of schedule, and supplies will be delivered by tomorrow afternoon. Therefore, there is no point in attacking the Jin-Sui Army and the elite troops. Let's immediately withdraw them and try to stop the Eighth Route Army as a last resort."

"Vice Minister, I'll go and inform them." The assistant nodded and quickly left.

The military police can notify the Imperial Army units within their jurisdiction.

Of course, the main force of the Imperial Army still needed to be dispatched through orders from above.

Haruno Sato quickly picked up the phone and reported the situation.

"Sato-kun, has it been confirmed that the Eighth Route Army has indeed produced a new weapon? Is this a cannon that can fire projectiles from the shoulder?" Lieutenant General Shinotsuka's tone on the phone was quite shocked.

“Commander, this once again confirms that my guess was correct. There must be a very formidable military expert in the Eighth Route Army's arsenal. We must capture him alive as soon as possible.” Sato Haruno’s tone was very serious. “As for Colonel Yamamoto, I hope you can do some work with him.”

Yamamoto Ichiki was a proud fellow, and as previously discussed, he was unwilling to attack the small Eighth Route Army factory.

His grand goal was the headquarters of the 18th Group Army and the Second War Zone Command.

His dream is to parachute into the mountain city and carry out a decapitation strike against the bald man!
Attacking the Eighth Route Army's arsenal, such a small target, is an insult to his special forces!
Now, the Eighth Route Army's arsenal has produced shoulder-mounted cannons, which is enough to prove that this target really cannot be measured by mosquitoes.

Its value has rapidly narrowed the gap with Yamamoto Ichiki's two grand goals.

“Sato-kun, I will speak with Yamamoto Ichiki again,” Lieutenant General Shinozuka said sternly. “You must find the location of the arsenal as soon as possible, without fail.”

"Yes, Commander." Sato Haruno replied.

The call ended, and Haruno Sato slowly put the phone back on the shelf, then walked around the office twice.

Sato Haruno's expression was a mixture of anger and agitation.

The Eighth Route Army Arsenal has produced new equipment, which further proves the value of this highly capable individual.

If we capture this person alive, and he makes significant contributions to our military industry, perhaps even the Emperor will receive this meritorious official.

(End of this chapter)