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

Chapter 223 A Rain of Shells
Just as Li Yunlong and Ding Wei transferred the raw materials and supplies that they couldn't take with them to the people, someone came to report: "Reporting to the regimental commander, a regiment of Japanese troops is rushing over to reinforce us."

"Where did this unit come from?" Ding Wei asked.

The Japanese forces in the 21st Brigade's defense zone were basically depleted. Our four regiments came and swept through the area again, leaving not even a regiment of Japanese soldiers.

If even a small squad of Japanese soldiers could gather together, that would be a rare occurrence.

"They were transferred from the encirclement," the man replied.

"He's just in time. I've just replenished my grenade launchers and mortars, and I'm itching to get my hands dirty," Li Yunlong said arrogantly. "Old Ding, you stay here and keep hiding things. I'm going to take care of this Japanese regiment."

On Cangyun Ridge, I could take down the Sakata Regiment with just a few mortars.

Now I have over a hundred cannons at my disposal again. This mere Japanese regiment is just the right amount of time for me, Old Li, to warm up.

“Let’s go together,” Ding Wei said. “This Japanese regiment is clearly trying to rescue the Yanzhen Arsenal. We’ll stop them and prevent them from disturbing Liu Weidong. Once Liu Weidong has taken all the equipment, he won’t be bothered by the Japanese. If you go alone, and the Japanese regiment splits up, some of their forces will tie you down while the others head for Liu Weidong, which will be quite troublesome.”

The Japanese detachment withdrew a regiment from the encirclement, which further weakened the encirclement.

At that time, it will be much easier for Liu Weidong to break through the encirclement and return with the equipment.

"Okay, that works too." Li Yunlong nodded.

The two men left behind a company of soldiers to continue working on hiding the items.

At the same time, someone was sent to inform Liu Weidong that if a fight broke out, Liu Weidong should take his belongings and leave quickly, and not get involved.

Ding Wei and Li Yunlong led their troops and immediately met up with the Wuyong Brigade.

boom!
boom!
Upon meeting, Li Yunlong and Ding Wei's hell cannons fired two shots at the Japanese soldiers' heads.

Then came the light and heavy machine guns, along with more than two hundred grenade launchers and mortars, raining down artillery fire as they swept across the battlefield.

The Japanese soldiers of the Wuyong Regiment were completely stunned: "Baka! Where did the Eighth Route Army get so many artillery pieces?!"

The commander of the Wuyong Regiment quickly realized: "Damn it, the Eighth Route Army must have taken this from the Yanzhen Arsenal. They've already taken over the Yanzhen Arsenal!"

"Commander, the Eighth Route Army has too many artillery pieces. We can't win. Should we keep fighting?" a Japanese officer asked Commander Wu Yong.

Judging from the current situation, the Yanzhen Arsenal has been lost, and it would be unwise to continue fighting this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers.

This must be the Eighth Route Army's covering force; their transport team is definitely moving equipment and supplies.

"Let's stop fighting and disengage from the battle immediately," the Wu Yong Regiment Commander said decisively. "Our top priority is to find the Eighth Route Army's supply convoy and then engage them."

Only by finding and engaging the Eighth Route Army's transport team, and then getting reinforcements from the brigade commander, can the equipment at the Yanzhen Arsenal be truly saved.

However, the idea of ​​the brave captain was good.

His troops had just prepared to break away when Gao Xigang and Blind Cheng's forces suddenly appeared from behind.

It turned out that after the two regiments captured the horse feed and supplies at the Kuroshima Morita base, they happened to pass by this area.

Upon hearing that a fight had broken out over there, they came over to take a look and found that Li Yunlong and Ding Wei were fighting the Japanese.

Gao Xigang and Blind Cheng naturally didn't hold back, and their two regiments immediately charged out from behind the Wuyong Brigade.

The Wuyong Brigade was attacked from both sides, suffering heavy casualties and was eventually forced to retreat.

To prevent the Wuyong Brigade from returning to the encirclement, Li Yunlong and his men even launched a pursuit against the Wuyong Brigade, determined to wipe them out completely.

The telegram from the Martial Valor Brigade was quickly delivered to Major General Kawashima.

"Damn it! Those damned Eighth Route Army troops have obtained enough artillery supplies at the Yanzhen Arsenal. The Wuyong Brigade has been defeated and is being hunted down!" Major General Kawashima looked at the telegram requesting assistance in his hand, his expression furious.

If no reinforcements are sent to the Wuyong Brigade, their situation will become increasingly dangerous.

However, the Eighth Route Army received ample artillery replenishment at the Yanzhen Arsenal, so even if reinforcements were sent there, they probably wouldn't be able to win.

After all, Major General Kawashima only has one regiment of troops left, and it's impossible for him to withdraw the puppet army's 1st Division.

Because the encirclement cannot be lifted.

We must keep people here.

Finally, Major General Kawashima could only send a telegram back to the Wuyong Regiment: "Tell Wuyong-kun to discard his weapons and ammunition, escape lightly, and preserve as much manpower as possible."

After the telegram was sent, Major General Kawashima said in a serious tone: "All units, strengthen your defenses. The Eighth Route Army's covering forces are being held back by the Wuyong Regiment. Their transport convoy will definitely try to return. Once you spot the Eighth Route Army's transport convoy, immediately engage them!"

The Yanzhen Arsenal has a lot of equipment, and the Eighth Route Army's transport team carrying the equipment certainly won't be able to move quickly.

Once the transport team is tied up, they will have no choice but to abandon the equipment if they want to get away.

……

Get Liu Weidong's work done as soon as possible.

He also received a message from Li Yunlong that the Japanese had withdrawn a regiment from the encirclement, and that the regiment had been utterly wiped out by Li Yunlong and his men.

Carrying a large amount of equipment from the Yanzhen Arsenal, Liu Weidong went directly to the encirclement.

Without any unnecessary maneuvers, two hundred grenade launcher mortars pushed forward forcefully. Liu Weidong's troops originally had no artillery.

In the half-battalion assigned to Ding Wei, Li Yunlong, and others, there were artillerymen who gave the new recruits a lesson on fire.

It doesn't matter if the new recruits can't hit their targets accurately; there are enough shells, raining down like a storm. The density makes up for the lack of precision, and the darkness is constantly being illuminated.

Or rather, the flashes of the explosion didn't stop, turning night into day.

The Japanese troops at this point in the encirclement originally numbered a battalion, but the Wuyong Regiment left, leaving only half a battalion of Japanese soldiers defending the area.

Therefore, Liu Weidong had no difficulty and easily broke through here.

Seeing Liu Weidong's troops returning from here in droves, the Japanese soldiers in the distance of the encirclement were extremely unwilling.

However, when bombarded by grenade launchers and mortars, they could only retreat in disarray to a greater distance.

Taking advantage of the situation, Liu Weidong broke through the encirclement and took a large amount of equipment into the mountains.

To prevent the Japanese from following them, Liu Weidong left behind a portion of his troops, along with a hundred grenade launchers and mortars, waiting for the Japanese to come and die.

"Brigade Commander, just now, the Eighth Route Army's supply convoy broke through our encirclement and got through." The news quickly reached Major General Kawashima.

"I heard the intense sound of artillery fire." Major General Kawashima's expression was one of utter shock.

They initially thought the Wuyong Brigade had encountered Eighth Route Army covering forces, but they didn't expect the Eighth Route Army's transport team to have such fierce firepower.

This is more than two hundred artillery pieces; even our top-tier divisions couldn't come up with such a large-scale operation.

It's outrageous! These are all the stockpiled artillery pieces from our Yanzhen Arsenal.

What was originally intended to be used to encircle and suppress the Eighth Route Army turned out to be used against us by the Eighth Route Army.

"Brigade Commander, should we send someone to follow them?" a Japanese officer said. "The Eighth Route Army transport team is carrying a lot of equipment, so they're not moving fast."

"Baka! Of course we must pursue them! Send men to follow them immediately, but don't alert them!" Major General Kawashima said immediately.

But soon, bad news arrived.

The soldiers who followed were subjected to a barrage of artillery fire from a hundred cannons, and none of them returned alive.

Three groups of soldiers who followed in succession all died for the empire in this manner.

"What a disgrace! What a terrible war!" Major General Kawashima stomped his feet in anger.

The 29th Brigade set foot on this land, and although they dared not boast that they were invincible, today's battle was indeed a very humiliating one.

A brigade plus a puppet strategist were completely helpless against the Eighth Route Army.

"Brigade Commander, don't be discouraged." A staff officer comforted Major General Kawashima: "Once our main force arrives, we can launch an encirclement and annihilation campaign against the Eighth Route Army. As long as we eliminate them, we can still get the equipment from the Yanzhen Arsenal back, right?"

"Things aren't as simple as you think!" Major General Kawashima shook his head. "The Eighth Route Army's transport team brought back at least two hundred grenade launchers and mortars. In addition, their arsenal is producing hell cannons and shoulder-mounted artillery. Their strength has increased a lot, and they will no longer be as weak and easily bullied as before."

When the Eighth Route Army was weak and easily bullied, we were still unable to wipe them out.

Now that they have grown strong enough, it will be much more difficult to eliminate them.

“Brigade Commander, when did you start encouraging the Eighth Route Army? They are no match for the Imperial Army at all,” the staff officer pointed out. “They are just a bunch of peasants who have taken up arms.”

"It's precisely because many people, like you, look down on the Chinese that the Empire's plan to conquer China in three months failed." Major General Kawashima shook his head again. "To completely conquer this land..."

At this point, Major General Kawashima paused, then changed the subject, saying, "The Eighth Route Army transport team has passed through. They also have other troops outside the encirclement, and their firepower has been greatly enhanced. So, immediately pass on my order: if these other Eighth Route Army units want to go back, let them go back. Don't fight them head-on."

Major General Kawashima's tone was one of frustration when he said this.

When has our 29th Brigade ever felt so stifled?

The Eighth Route Army was considered the worst among the regular Chinese army; in the past, we wouldn't even give them a second glance.

Now that they've shown up, we're the ones who have to avoid them and make way for them. It's incredibly shameful.

"Brigade Commander, what if this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers doesn't go back?" the staff officer asked.

"Hmph, we're not going back!" Major General Kawashima's expression was fierce. "It's dawn. Once our fighter jets are out, the advantage will be on our side. We'll wipe them out then!"

……

"Reporting to the regimental commander, three groups of Japanese soldiers tried to follow us, but they have all been dealt with." The second battalion commander came over to report to Liu Weidong. "I also had someone specifically scout a long distance behind us to confirm that the Japanese have not sent any more tails to follow us."

"We still shouldn't let our guard down. Although the transport team has entered the mountains, the Japanese might be following us from both flanks. We need to be careful of both flanks as well." Liu Weidong did not lower his guard just because they had entered the mountains.

"Yes, Commander." The Second Battalion Commander left.

"Commander, I heard that once we get this equipment back, the border region's arsenal will be able to manufacture artillery that doesn't need a barrel to fire. Is that true?" someone asked Liu Weidong expectantly.

"We'll have to let Director Li see the equipment before we know," Liu Weidong said, but his eyes clearly showed anticipation.

Can Director Li really change the centuries-old history of artillery firing with a cannon that can fire without a barrel?
(End of this chapter)