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

Chapter 239 A Tragic Death Under Heavy Artillery Fire

"Damn it, this darn sandstorm, tui!"

The commander of the Japanese 9th Brigade looked up at the dim, yellowish sky and cursed fiercely.

As the sandstorms worsened, the army's aircraft were unable to take off, and therefore could not provide reconnaissance assistance in the skies.

If they had airplanes, this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers would have found the person long ago.

I spent the whole night searching yesterday and the entire day today. I'm exhausted, but I haven't found a single trace of the Eighth Route Army.

"Another day has passed. I wonder how the cherry blossom tree is doing now, and whether the people are still alive." The commander of the 21st Brigade, Muto Juichi, was also furious.

They searched for a whole day and night, but couldn't find any trace of the Eighth Route Army.

This once again exposes a very serious problem.

That was what we called our strategic rear, which had been infiltrated too much by the Eighth Route Army.

The Chinese civilians helped conceal the Eighth Route Army's whereabouts, which was the real reason why they couldn't find the Eighth Route Army.

Once this matter is settled, an urgent liquidation must be carried out.

"Gentlemen, it's getting dark. Would you like to have something to eat?" Major General Kawashima, commander of the 29th Brigade, brought over three dinners.

Dinner was very nutritious: steamed buns, millet porridge, and half a pound of meat for each person.

"If you can't eat, take it away, take it away!" The commander of the Ninth Brigade waved his hand, showing that he had no appetite at all.

Muto Juichi accepted the dinner and, while eating, said to the commander of the Ninth Brigade, "Miyai-kun, if you don't eat your fill, even if you find the Eighth Route Army, you won't have the strength to command the battle. It's best not to act rashly."

The commander of the Ninth Brigade eventually accepted the dinner.

The three Japanese brigade commanders ate their dinner while communicating.

They all agreed that the troops were too tired, so they would rest for today and look for something again tomorrow.

As darkness fell, most of the Japanese troops from the three brigades chose to rest, while the rest either kept watch or continued their search.

……

As darkness fell, Li Yunlong gathered Ding Wei, Gao Liujin, Cheng Xiazi, Gao Xigang, and the others together.

Li Yunlong cut to the chase: "The Yamamoto Sakura we captured is a high-ranking naval expert on the Japanese side, as you all probably know. I plan to send her to our rear area tonight. You have no objections, right?"

Gao Liujin spoke first: "I definitely have no objections, but I'm just thinking, if our Factory Director Li can also build ships, then isn't what we're doing a bit redundant?"

"That's probably impossible," Ding Wei said. "Factory Director Li has never even been in contact with warships, and even the warships in his direct line of operations are all imported. Where would Factory Director Li learn about warships?"

Director Li was able to study weapons like the Hell Cannon and rocket launchers because he had access to artillery and gunpowder, which provided him with the environment to grow.

As for warships, we simply cannot build them. We don't have factories to build warships, and there's no fertile ground for experts and personnel in this field to grow.

Cheng the Blind echoed Ding Wei's words and continued, "Putting aside everything else, the fact that the Japanese only dispatched three brigades to rescue Yamamoto Sakura is enough to show that the naval knowledge in Yamamoto Sakura's mind is extremely valuable, at least worth three Japanese brigades! We can't take the risk of letting Yamamoto Sakura go with us to the Japanese rear. If things go wrong, it will affect our future warship manufacturing progress."

Gao Xigang nodded in agreement: "Director Li can be considered an expert in army equipment, but we lack experts in naval ships. We will definitely need to build our own ships in the future. If anything happens to Yamamoto Sakura, even if we manage to salvage a lot of resources behind enemy lines, it will be a net loss."

Gao Liujin chuckled and said, "I already said I have no objections, hahaha."

Li Yunlong stopped wasting words with Gao Liujin and immediately began assigning tasks:
"According to intelligence from our informants, although the three Japanese brigades came with great force, they did not bring much supplies and baggage, which are now all located in Cuijia Town."

"My plan is simple. Gao Xigang and Gao Liujin, you two regiments will follow Ding Wei's New First Regiment directly to Cuijia Town, intercept this batch of supplies, and lure away the three Japanese brigades."

"After the Japanese brigade was lured away, Cheng Xiazi's regiment and I quickly returned with Yamamoto Sakura. Although the Kumamoto Division had a considerable number of troops, they were scattered throughout the encirclement. It would be a piece of cake for us and Cheng Xiazi's regiment to break through the points in the encirclement."

"Gao Liujin, Gao Xigang, Lao Ding, after you lure the Japanese away, shake them off. Before dawn, we'll meet up here, in the same hiding place we're in now."

Gao Liujin, Ding Wei, and the others all nodded: "Okay, no problem, we'll do it the way you said, Lao Li."

Ding Wei, Gao Liujin, and Gao Xigang quickly led their troops away, while Li Yunlong and Cheng Xiazi remained in place, waiting for the Japanese brigade to be lured away.

……

boom!
boom!
boom!
The hell cannons and infantry guns roared in the darkness as Cuijia Town was suddenly attacked by Ding Wei and his men.

Before the Japanese soldiers in Cuijia Town could react, Ding Wei and his men had already advanced into Cuijia Town with mortar shells fired from grenade launchers.

The Japanese supplies and equipment in Cuijia Town were easily seized by Ding Wei and his men.

"Damn it, those damned Eighth Route Army soldiers!" The commander of the Ninth Brigade was jolted awake from his sleep and immediately led his troops to charge directly towards Cuijia Town.

"Damn the Eighth Route Army, they actually came out on their own. Then they can forget about hiding anymore. Warriors, flank them from the right!" The commander of the 21st Brigade, Muto Shiju, led his troops to flank Cuijia Town from the right.

"The Eighth Route Army has no guts! They've intercepted our supplies; they're really asking for trouble." Major General Kawashima, commander of the 29th Brigade, led his troops to flank the enemy from the left.

Ding Wei and his men were not going to be foolish enough to stay in Cuijia Town and wait to die. They simply took some convenient ingredients, burned the rest, and then quickly retreated in other directions.

"Damn it, those Eighth Route Army bastards! They destroyed all our supplies!" The Japanese soldiers from the three brigades were furious, and their troops surged forward in pursuit of Ding Wei and the others who had retreated.

……

"Commander, the scouts report that Commander Ding and his men have lured away all three brigades of Japanese soldiers." Soon, someone reported the news to Li Yunlong.

"Blind Cheng, let's go." Li Yunlong said to Blind Cheng without hesitation.

"Let's go." Blind Cheng led his troops and immediately set off with Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment.

Halfway there, Sakura Yamamoto refused to walk and insisted on taking a bath.

Blind Cheng asked Li Yunlong, "Li Yunlong, what should we do?"

Now that he knows Yamamoto Sakura's true identity, especially since it might be of great significance to our warship manufacturing, Blind Cheng dares not touch a single hair on Yamamoto Sakura's head.

But at this critical juncture, how could she possibly take a bath? The troops were on the march. At this point, Blind Cheng became increasingly convinced that sending Yamamoto Sakura to the rear was the right thing to do.

This woman has so many flaws; having her around would be a huge burden.

"What do you mean, 'what do we do'!" Li Yunlong glared at Zhang Dabiao: "Dabiao, knock him out and carry him away."

Zhang Dabiao looked embarrassed: "Commander, why don't you do it?"

Zhang Dabiao also realized Yamamoto Sakura's value and was worried that if he punched her, it would cause her serious problems.

"Damn it, I'll do it!" Li Yunlong moved closer to Yamamoto Sakura, raising his fist, but he couldn't bring himself to strike.

Sakura Yamamoto looks so weak, if we throw a punch at her, she might not be able to withstand it.

In the end, Li Yunlong gritted his teeth and knocked the man unconscious.

"Damn it, my fist never shakes when I'm punching Japanese devils. But today, after punching a Japanese woman, why is it shaking so badly!" Li Yunlong had Wei Dayong carry Yamamoto Sakura, but his right hand, which had been hitting her, was shaking so badly that he couldn't hold it down.

The troops marched quickly and arrived at the encirclement of the Kumamoto Division in the middle of the night.

As Li Yunlong expected, the encirclement weakened considerably after the three Japanese brigades withdrew.

Li Yunlong and Blind Cheng immediately launched an artillery barrage, and the points in the encirclement were instantly blown apart.

The commotion quickly alerted the Kumamoto Division Commander: "Has an Eighth Route Army unit broken out from inside?"

"No, that's not it." Soon, a Japanese officer reported to the Kumamoto Division Commander, "The Eighth Route Army invaded from the outside, and it looks like they're going back."

"Strange, where did these Eighth Route Army soldiers come from? Aren't Miyai-kun and his men already fighting against the Eighth Route Army?" Commander Kumamoto asked, puzzled.

He already knew that the Ninth Brigade, the Twenty-first Brigade, and the Twenty-ninth Brigade were pursuing the Eighth Route Army.

There are still Eighth Route Army soldiers outside, and they are attacking the encirclement in an attempt to get back, which is puzzling.

We've already come out. If we go back, won't we just be surrounded again? Could it be...?

The division commander quickly realized a possibility and immediately shouted, "Get all the troops that can get close to get there right now, don't let these Eighth Route Army soldiers get in."

Commander Kumamoto deduced that the Eighth Route Army units from the 9th, 21st, and 29th Brigades had taken the initiative to attack them, and that the Eighth Route Army units were definitely providing cover for the current Eighth Route Army units.

What are they covering up?

That's a cherry blossom tree!

The Eighth Route Army wanted to take the cherry blossom tree back with them.

Now that the cherry blossom tree has appeared before them, this is a rare opportunity for the Kumamoto Division Commander to provide assistance.

"Yes, Division Commander." The messenger quickly went to relay the order.

"Also, send a telegram to the 9th Brigade, the 21st Brigade, and the 29th Brigade, telling them to abandon their pursuit of the Eighth Route Army over there and come over here quickly. The cherry blossom tree is over here," Commander Kumamoto added.

"Yes, division commander."

However, the Kumamoto Division Commander's reaction was a bit slow, or rather, Li Yunlong's side simply didn't give him a chance.

The encirclement was not large, and after Li Yunlong and Cheng Xiazi quickly broke through, Li Yunlong said to Cheng Xiazi, "Cheng Xiazi, your 772nd Regiment, bring Yamamoto Sakura back to me."

"Li Yunlong, just send a small unit to escort them back, right?" Blind Cheng said. "I still need to help you out there..."

Li Yunlong interrupted Cheng the Blind: "Stop talking nonsense. This is a mopping-up operation. There are definitely enemy patrols ahead. Yamamoto Sakura is very important. If we encounter the enemy, a small unit won't be able to handle it. Your 772nd Regiment, go back to your hometown. Even if you're missing a regiment, I can still get the job done."

"Li Yunlong, be careful out there. I'm going back now." Cheng the Blind didn't linger and led the 772nd Regiment to escort Yamamoto Sakura back quickly.

Li Yunlong didn't linger with the Japanese troops of the Kumamoto Division. He only withdrew after Cheng the Blind had gone far away.

Of course, after withdrawing, they left the Japanese with a very important gift.

"Damn it!"

The Ninth Brigade, the Twenty-first Brigade, and the Twenty-ninth Brigade abandoned Ding Wei's side and rushed back to reinforce him, only to find a woman's body mangled beyond recognition by artillery fire.

If this were just an ordinary female corpse, then it wouldn't matter.

The main thing is that the clothes worn by the female corpse are the same as those on the cherry blossom tree.

The Kumamoto Division Commander stood there dumbfounded. He had thought he could save the cherry blossom tree, but instead... the cherry blossom tree was brutally killed by his heavy artillery!

That's right.

In an attempt to stop the Eighth Route Army, the Kumamoto Division ordered heavy artillery bombardment.

Unexpectedly, the heavy artillery not only failed to stop the Eighth Route Army, but also accidentally bombed the cherry blossom tree.

The air seemed to freeze for a long time before Major General Kawashima spoke: "Commander Kumamoto, what should we do now?"

"What can we do? What else can we do!" Commander Kumamoto roared. "Move the body back immediately and see if the military police can identify whether it is a cherry blossom tree or not."

Despite saying this, the Kumamoto Division Commander clearly still harbored a glimmer of hope, wishing it was a ruse by the Eighth Route Army.

"What should we do about the Eighth Route Army?" Major General Kawashima asked.

"What else can we do? You three brigades must find and eliminate this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers outside," Commander Kumamoto roared. "Then we'll join forces to encircle and annihilate the Eighth Route Army's stronghold."

"Hayi!"

……

(End of this chapter)