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

Chapter 230 Seamless Steel Pipe Clues
386th Brigade Headquarters

The deputy brigade commander approached the brigade commander with a notebook in hand and handed it to him: "Brigade commander, I've extracted all the information from the director of the Cuicun arsenal, and it's all in this notebook. The biggest find is the information about the arsenal's superior factory, which is the factory where the Japanese manufactured artillery barrels."

A factory where the Japanese made cannon barrels?

Upon hearing this, the brigade commander was immediately stunned: "Doesn't that mean that we actually went down the wrong path when Li Yunlong and his men went to take the Yanzhen arsenal?"

Previously, the Cui Village arsenal had semi-finished cannon barrels, and we speculate that the next large arsenal in Cui Village will definitely be able to manufacture cannons.

If they can build cannons, they can definitely make cannon barrels.

Now that I think about it, it seems that we had a misunderstanding about military production.

“Brigade Commander, it’s alright. As long as we know about the Japanese factory that makes cannon barrels, that’s enough,” the deputy brigade commander said. “Once this anti-mopping-up operation is over, we can take over this factory that can make cannon barrels. According to the factory director of the Cui Village Arsenal, in addition to cannon barrels, they can also make gun barrels, which is what Director Li was talking about as seamless steel pipes.”

Gun barrels are all seamless steel pipes.

"Great! We've finally found information about the seamless steel pipes that Xiao Li has been so concerned about." The brigade commander quickly opened his notebook, looked at the address of the arsenal recorded in it, and then paused for a moment: "The Japanese factory that produces seamless steel pipes is a bit far away."

The deputy brigade commander said, "What's there to be afraid of in terms of distance? The only thing to be afraid of is not having any leads. As long as Xiao Li can build us the new type of rocket, with that, do we still have to worry about not being able to hit that far?"

"That's true." The brigade commander nodded, still somewhat wistful. "Sigh, the Yanzhen arsenal might have the equipment Xiao Li needs, but Li Yunlong and his men can't bring it back..."

Before the brigade commander could finish speaking, a staff officer rushed in and reported to him, "Brigade commander, we just received news that Liu Weidong of the 115th Division has taken the equipment from the Yanzhen Arsenal to our border region arsenal."

"What?! Liu Weidong took the equipment from Yanzhen Arsenal to the Border Region Arsenal?!" The brigade commander was stunned upon hearing this. "They escaped the encirclement. Could it be that they've fought their way back again?!"

This afternoon, the entire Japanese encirclement and suppression force will be in place.

Bringing the supplies back to the border arsenal and then trying to launch another attack would be difficult.

That bastard Li Yunlong has ruined everything!

Wasn't the goal to keep the Japanese troops occupied outside?

Wasn't the goal to buy time for the border region's arsenal?

If we bring the troops back, they'll be surrounded by the enemy's heavy forces. What's the point of trying to hold them back or gain any advantage?

The staff officer explained, "Only Liu Weidong's troops have returned; Li Yunlong's troops are still outside."

"It's just that Liu Weidong's troops brought back the equipment from the Yanzhen Arsenal?" The brigade commander was immediately taken aback. "How did he manage to do that with just one regiment?"

Although not all of the Japanese army was present, the vanguard force still had a brigade and a puppet army division.

Upon hearing that the Yanzhen arsenal had been attacked, the Japanese vanguard was certain to send reinforcements.

Liu Weidong's entire regiment had to carry equipment; how could they possibly fight the Japanese?
"It seems that Li Yunlong and his men helped tie down a Japanese regiment, and Liu Weidong's troops also received sufficient artillery replenishment at the Yanzhen Arsenal, directly using artillery fire to blast their way back," the staff officer replied.

"Oh, right, right." The brigade commander suddenly realized that Yanzhen Arsenal was an arsenal, and it must have artillery weapons produced by the Japanese.

Liu Weidong and Li Yunlong's attack on the Yanzhen arsenal will surely allow them to replenish their artillery and shells once again.

Relying on the overwhelming bombardment, with shells raining down like they were free, those Japanese devils were also born of parents, and were also made of flesh and blood, not invulnerable to swords and bullets.

Remembering something, the brigade commander immediately asked, "Did you ask Xiao Li at the border region's arsenal if he has any equipment here to manufacture new rockets?"

"Yes!" The staff officer nodded very confidently and said, "Director Li said that the equipment can be used after a modification."

"Haha!" the brigade commander laughed. "Great! As long as Xiao Li can build the new type of rocket, our chances of success in this counter-sweep operation will be much higher."

The deputy brigade commander chuckled, "Yes, once the new rockets are manufactured, our guerrillas can bring them to the battlefield for the Japanese to launch sniper attacks, especially in the mountains where their standard artillery can't be transported in, putting them at a greater disadvantage. In this way, even if the Japanese can't stop their sweeping operations for a while, they won't be able to do anything to us. Our border region arsenal can continue to produce ammunition without having to stop production and relocate."

The brigade commander continued his praise, saying, "It seems that loosening the reins on that bastard Li Yunlong was really the right thing to do. He had Liu Weidong bring back the equipment from the Yanzhen arsenal instead of burying it outside, which allowed us to produce our new type of rockets ahead of schedule..."

The brigade commander didn't finish his sentence.

Jingle Bell.

The telephone on the table rang.

The brigade commander picked up the telephone receiver on the table: "This is the 386th Brigade..."

The deputy commander-in-chief's angry voice came through the phone, interrupting the brigade commander: "Chen*, come to headquarters immediately!" The brigade commander was puzzled by the deputy commander-in-chief's tone.

Logically speaking, since Liu Weidong brought back the equipment from the Yanzhen Arsenal, the deputy commander-in-chief should have known about it.

The deputy commander should be very happy, he should be calling to praise us, why is he getting angry instead?

It sounds like someone's gotten into trouble...

The brigade commander felt a pang of anxiety at the thought: "Damn it, could it be that bastard Li Yunlong has caused trouble again?"

After Liu Weidong brought the equipment from Yanzhen Arsenal back to the Border Region Arsenal, he would definitely need to report to his superiors as soon as possible, and this report would certainly be relayed to the headquarters leaders.

The headquarters leader called me now, so it's probably because that bastard Li Yunlong caused trouble.

So the brigade commander asked suspiciously, "Sir, why are you angry...?"

Before the brigade commander could finish speaking, the deputy commander-in-chief angrily interrupted, "Commander Yan from the Jin-Sui Army just called my operations command! He said Li Yunlong kidnapped Yan Kai. Look at the kind of trash you've raised! I won't say anything about using Yan Kai as bait last time. This time, Li Yunlong has kidnapped him again, and Commander Yan is now forcing me to hand him over. Tell me, how are we going to handle this?"

The brigade commander's head exploded when he heard that.

Li Yunlong kidnapped Yan Kai, and Commander Yan forced the headquarters leaders to hand him over!

Oh my God!
This is a piece of crap!

I was just praising it, saying how good the reins were.

We brought back the equipment from the Yanzhen Arsenal ahead of schedule, so our border region arsenal can develop the new rockets sooner.

As a result, before he could even catch his breath, you fucking kidnapped Yan Kai.

You really seem to thrive on chaos in northwestern Shanxi.

Even the top leaders at headquarters have been implicated by you, you son of a bitch.

The brigade commander still asked suspiciously, "Sir, could there be some misunderstanding? When I went to Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment, I didn't see Yan Kai. How could Li Yunlong have kidnapped Yan Kai?"

"You'll have to ask your Li Yunlong about that," the deputy commander said irritably. "Commander Yan is hard to communicate with over the phone, so he'll definitely have to send someone to headquarters. You need to come over right away, hurry up."

After the deputy commander finished speaking, the call ended.

The deputy brigade commander, who had initially seemed pleased with himself, suddenly became bewildered and annoyed after receiving a call from headquarters. He couldn't help but ask, "Brigade Commander, what's going on? Why are you mentioning Yan Kai again?"

The brigade commander put the telephone receiver back on the shelf, slammed his hand on the table, and spat out a rainbow of spittle: "That bastard Li Yunlong, he's really something! He kidnapped Yan Kai without a word. If the headquarters hadn't called, I would still be completely in the dark!"

Upon hearing this, the deputy brigade commander looked shocked and stunned: "Brigade commander, Yan Kai holds a very important position with Commander Yan. Why would Li Yunlong kidnap him? Is there some misunderstanding?"

The deputy brigade commander meant that Yan Kai was well protected in the important area of ​​the Jin-Sui Army.

Even if Li Yunlong grew wings, he might not be able to tie someone up.

"The headquarters commander is already berating us, what misunderstanding could there be!" the brigade commander said irritably.

The staff officer said, "It's possible that Yan Kai was thinking about our Hell Cannon and couldn't find Minister Zhang, so he went to find Li Yunlong again. He happened to run into Li Yunlong on his way out of the encirclement, so Li Yunlong took the opportunity to kidnap him."

Upon hearing the staff officer's words, the deputy brigade commander immediately nodded in agreement: "Now it seems that's most likely the case. Otherwise, you wouldn't have missed Yan Kai when you went to the Independent Regiment, Brigade Commander." Then, the deputy brigade commander changed the subject and analyzed: "Brigade Commander, I think Li Yunlong is probably trying to use Yan Kai to bring in the Jin-Sui Army again. If the Jin-Sui Army is brought in, then this time, with the Jin-Sui Army sharing the pressure with us, our casualties might be much smaller."

"What's wrong? After your analysis, should I praise Li Yunlong instead?" Although the brigade commander said this, he clearly had some ideas in mind.

That's right too.

If Li Yunlong, that bastard, kidnaps Yan Kai and can actually bring the Jin-Sui Army into the fray, it will be of great significance to our counter-mopping-up operations.

If the participation of the Jin-Sui Army can help our arsenals continue production, then there is still room for maneuver in this matter.

"Praise is fine, but once the counter-sweep is over, Li Yunlong will definitely be severely punished," the deputy brigade commander said. "Such a big thing, and he did it secretly without even reporting it to you beforehand."

"We'll deal with Li Yunlong later. I'm heading to headquarters now. You all do your jobs." Without hesitation, the brigade commander quickly led his guards away on horseback.

(End of this chapter)