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

Chapter 274 A dozen divisions
Miyano Michiichi had not yet had a chance to answer Shinotsuka Yoshio's question.

A staff officer rushed over with a newly arrived telegram, presenting it with both hands: "Your Excellency Commander, an urgent telegram has arrived from the intelligence department."

An urgent telegram from the intelligence agency?
Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka frowned instantly.

Now that the Kumamoto army has lost its logistical supplies, the situation is dire. At this time, the intelligence department is sending an urgent telegram. Could there be even worse news?

Before Yoshio Shinozuka could receive the telegram, Michiichi Miyano took it first.

Miyano Michiichi glanced at it only once, and his face immediately turned as white as a sheet: "Baka, I was wrong."

Just now, Miyano Michiichi had a bad feeling that more Chinese troops would take the opportunity to attack the Kumamoto Division.

Because the Kumamoto Division seized five cartloads of strategic metals, which was something that people coveted.

Of course, the Kumamoto Division was a powerful fighting force, and those envious Chinese troops dared not make any rash moves.

But if they knew that the Kumamoto Division's logistics and supplies had been cut off, then for those envious Chinese troops, this would be a golden opportunity to strike.

Now, this urgent telegram does indeed contain that description.

More than a dozen divisions of the elite army have already rushed towards the Kumamoto Division.

With over a dozen of its own divisions, plus the harassment from the Eighth Route Army, if the Kumamoto Division's supplies couldn't be replenished, it would truly be a dead end.

Yoshio Shinotsuka didn't answer the telegram, but looked nervously at Miyano Michiichi: "Miyano-kun, what bad news is this?"

“Commander, you should take a look for yourself.” Miyano Michihiro handed the telegram to Shinotsuka Yoshio.

Yoshio Shinotsuka had no choice but to accept it, and looked down.

Upon seeing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka's scalp immediately tingled: "Damn it, more than a dozen divisions of elite troops are heading towards Kumamoto-kun's side. This is simply taking advantage of his misfortune!"

Originally, the Kumamoto Division was able to hold its ground by turtling and defending, even with the harassment from the Eighth Route Army.

But if those dozen or so divisions of elite troops went there, things would be different.

It was obvious that this elite army was heading to annihilate the Kumamoto Division and seize tungsten ore.

Miyano Michiichi immediately turned solemnly to Shinotsuka Yoshio and said, "Commander, we must quickly communicate with the commanders of the nearby war zones. We must urgently provide air support, otherwise, the Kumamoto Division Commander's situation will be dire."

"Go and send a telegram to the Kumamoto Division Commander. Tell him that more than a dozen divisions of his elite troops are heading towards him. Make sure he holds the line. I'll find a way to get reinforcements for him," Yoshio Shinotsuka immediately told his staff officer.

"Yes." The staff officer quickly left.

"Go tell Kawashima to do everything he can to get the supplies over there as soon as possible," Yoshio Shinotsuka said to Michiichi Miyano.

Air reinforcements can never compare to the delivery of supplies from the ground, so what Major General Kawashima had in his hands was, in a sense, the lifeline for the Kumamoto army.

"Okay." Miyano Michiichi left quickly.

Yoshio Shinozuka picked up the telephone receiver on the table and began contacting Okamura and the commanders of several nearby war zones.
-
boom!
boom!
boom!
……

Kitano Chuuji was very fast and joined up with Major General Kawashima's team.

Both escorted the supplies and quickly headed towards the Kumamoto Division to provide reinforcements.

But before they'd even reached the halfway point, they were unable to continue.

Because the road was damaged, there were also bounding mines buried on the detour paths.

The scouts suffered heavy casualties from the bouncing mines, and the Eighth Route Army secretly took cover and fired sniper shots, even carrying artillery on their shoulders to launch surprise attacks.

The scouts have been changed so many times, but it's still... well...

The harassment and delays caused by the Eighth Route Army were not the main reasons.

The most important reason was that the Eighth Route Army had severely damaged the roads. The supplies were so heavy that they couldn't be transported without repairing the roads.

Therefore, the marching speed of Major General Kawashima and Kitano Chuuji's team was entirely dependent on the road repairs.

Looking at the efficiency of the engineers in front of him, Major General Kawashima cursed, "Damn it, at this rate, it will take at least half a month for these supplies to reach the Kumamoto Division Commander."

Kitano Chuuji was also furious: "Don't even mention half a month, if it's not delivered within a week, the two of us will have to go to a military court!"

"You bastard, it's all your fault! You've ruined all the supplies!" Major General Kawashima roared. "You should be court-martialed right now."

"If it weren't for the need to atone for my sins, I would have already committed seppuku." Kitano's chuunibyou tone carried a hint of death.

He was severely reprimanded for truthfully reporting that the Eighth Route Army had likely produced artillery shells that could be fired from craters after losing the army's supplies; no one believed him.

To be honest, Kitano Chuuni really doesn't want to live anymore.

But to commit seppuku directly is an act of cowardice.

He still wanted to help as much as possible, even if it meant committing seppuku, he would do so later.

Major General Kawashima didn't provoke Kitano any further. He knew that if he said another word, the bastard might actually commit suicide. If that happened, the supplies wouldn't be delivered, and he'd be the one to take the blame.

"Brigade Commander, an urgent telegram has arrived from headquarters." At that moment, a communications soldier handed a newly arrived telegram to Major General Kawashima.

Major General Kawashima took a look and his face immediately turned serious: "Baka! This is really going to be a disaster."

"What's wrong?" Kitano Chuunibyou's gaze fell over.

"The commander said that more than a dozen elite divisions are rushing towards the Kumamoto Division Commander's position, and he wants us to do everything in our power to send supplies up there as quickly as possible." Major General Kawashima scratched his head in frustration. "Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas have destroyed the roads. How are we supposed to deliver them?"

Upon hearing this, Kitano Chuni's expression immediately froze: "Baka! A dozen or so of his direct disciples have gone there. Isn't this like a dragon in shallow water being mocked by shrimp?!"

Normally, the dozen or so direct subordinate division commanders of Kumamoto wouldn't even give them a second glance.

Now, the Kumamoto Division's supply lines have been cut off, and they can no longer ignore it.

"I do have a solution, but I don't know if you two would be willing to listen?" Fujita Ichiji suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"What's the solution?" At this point, Major General Kawashima and Junior Junior Kitano were actually unwilling to listen to Fujita Ichiji's suggestion.

After all, Major General Kawashima had heard of Fujita Ichiji's less-than-stellar reputation.

As for Kitano Chuuni... In the previous Battle of Falling Snow Slope, the army's logistical supplies were destroyed. If Fujita Ichiji hadn't suggested going to Falling Snow Slope, things wouldn't have turned out this way.

But there is no way.

The Eighth Route Army has damaged the roads so badly that the engineers are not very efficient at repairing them.

More than a dozen elite divisions have already moved toward the Kumamoto Division's main force, and the situation can be described as extremely precarious.

Therefore, Major General Kawashima and Junior High School Student Kitano listened for a while to see what suggestions Fujita Ichiji had.

“Right now, the Eighth Route Army has damaged the roads too badly. It’s clear that relying on engineers to repair the roads will make it impossible to complete the mission,” Fujita Ichiji said. “I suggest that we immediately capture a large number of Chinese civilians and have them carry ammunition for us. We can also have the civilians walk in front. Don’t those Eighth Route Army guerrillas always say that we can’t hurt civilians? This way, we can also prevent them from planting landmines in front of us.”

Upon hearing this, Kitano Chuuji and Major General Kawashima exchanged glances, their eyes revealing joy.

Kitano Chuuji immediately nodded: "I think Fujita-kun's idea is feasible. Anyway, there are many Chinese people. We can unload the supplies from the trucks and let the people help carry them. The Eighth Route Army is also hesitant to lay mines in front of them. They will not only dare not lay mines in front of them, but they will also have to be more cautious about sniping and firing."

"Yes, that's definitely a good idea." Major General Kawashima nodded and immediately summoned several puppet army officers, ordering them, "Go and capture as many Chinese civilians as possible right now, hurry up."

"Yes, Taijun."

……

Kumamoto Division Headquarters

"Reporting to the division commander, so far we have not found any shells placed in the pits by the Eighth Route Army that have been harassing us," a staff officer reported to the Kumamoto division commander.

Immediately afterward, the staff officer asked in bewilderment, "Division Commander, how can you fire a shell from a pit without chamber pressure? Isn't that absurd?"

The division commander, Kumamoto, did not answer the question directly. Kitano Chuji reported that the Eighth Route Army had used shells that could be fired by placing them in a pit. Although he was very angry and did not believe it at the time, after calming down, he realized that Kitano Chuji was not the kind of person who would fabricate lies, especially such an absurd reason or excuse.

Therefore, the commander of the Kumamoto Division thought it best to have his troops keep a close eye on the situation.

Even now, the Eighth Route Army hasn't used this weapon. Commander Kumamoto changed the subject, saying, "Can we still withstand the harassment from the Eighth Route Army?"

"Yes, although their harassment is frequent and intense, no matter how many ants there are, they can't shake an elephant." The staff officer said confidently.

"Good, that's good, as long as our reinforcements arrive..." The Kumamoto Division didn't finish his sentence.

The communications officer rushed over with a newly arrived telegram: "It's bad, Division Commander! The Commander-in-Chief has sent an urgent telegram that more than a dozen elite divisions are heading this way at top speed."

More than a dozen of their direct disciples arrived at top speed!

Upon hearing this, the commander of the Kumamoto Division was immediately startled.

Now that the army's logistics and supplies have been cut off, the Eighth Route Army can't take us down. But if these dozen or so elite divisions come, we'll be in trouble.

The division commander of Kumamoto quickly grabbed the telegram and looked at it.

The division commander of Kumamoto's face turned pale: "These scoundrels in my direct subordinates are simply taking advantage of my vulnerability. It's obvious they're after the five cartloads of tungsten ore I have."

The staff officer quickly said, "Division Commander, since the enemy is after our tungsten ore, while we still have the strength to fight, should we make arrangements quickly?"

The division commander of Kumamoto certainly understood what the staff officer meant. Since these dozen or so divisions were after the five truckloads of tungsten ore, then we would use those five truckloads of tungsten ore as bait and set a trap for them.

"Go! Summon all the operations staff for a meeting immediately!" Division Commander Kumamoto said without hesitation.

This damned scoundrel tried to take advantage of me. Even if I, a dragon, am stranded in shallow waters, I am not someone that can be trifled with by just any shrimp!

"Hai."

(End of this chapter)