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

Chapter 295 Those Damn Eighth Route Army Soldiers!
"Damn it, the Japanese aren't short of planes, they've even stopped airdropping the Kumamoto Division. And yet, there are planes patrolling the skies above the military trains along the Zhengtai Railway."

Looking at the Japanese planes circling in the sky on the distant horizon, Blind Cheng said angrily to Liu Weidong, "Scholar, if we want to intercept the Japanese military train, we have to work under the attack of Japanese planes. Without anti-aircraft weapons to stop the planes, our casualties will probably be quite high. What's more, we also need to dismantle the military train, and the Japanese planes won't just sit idly by."

Blind Cheng led his troops to help Liu Weidong. He and Liu Weidong's troops had already approached a section of the Zhengtai Railway and were preparing to take action.

But seeing that there were planes escorting the military train in the sky, Blind Cheng immediately got a headache.

The Japanese planes were incredibly powerful, no exaggeration.

"The Japanese aren't stupid. They know that if the supplies carried by this military train don't reach the Kumamoto Division, the Kumamoto Division will be in danger. So it's normal for planes to escort the train. After all, airdrops can't meet the Kumamoto Division's supply needs." Liu Weidong's tone was quite calm.

"But if we start fighting, the Japanese planes will spot us," Blind Cheng pointed out.

Liu Weidong did not answer Cheng the Blind Man, but instead said to a messenger beside him, "Pass on my order: bring out the fake hell cannon and show it to the Japanese planes."

"Yes." The messenger nodded, and the order was quickly relayed.

Liu Weidong then said to Blind Cheng, "To guard against Japanese planes escorting our aircraft, I ordered some fake hell cannons to be built. Once these fake hell cannons are brought out, what do you think the Japanese planes will do?"

"Is that even a question? They'll definitely bombard the fake hell cannon right away." Without even thinking, Blind Cheng continued, "But this fake hell cannon has temporarily drawn the Japanese planes away. When we attack the military train, those planes will come back, right?"

"They'll definitely come back," Liu Weidong nodded wisely. "But even if the fake hell cannon depletes the Japanese planes' ammunition, what can they do after they come back? Suicide bombing us?"

Although the Japanese planes were hateful, their ammunition was not unlimited.

Once the ammunition is used up, it's just a decoration in the sky.

Upon hearing this, Blind Cheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "Could it be that you have quite a few of these fake hell cannons?"

The fake hell cannon has depleted the Japanese planes' ammunition, so the threat is temporarily gone.

"Nonsense, if we don't produce more, how will we exhaust the Japanese planes' ammunition?" Liu Weidong nodded.

……

There were only three escort aircraft.

While they were on their routine patrol, one of the pilots suddenly spotted a large number of cannons on the ground.

The pilot immediately alerted the other two aircraft, whose pilots also showed shock upon spotting the ground target.

They quickly communicated through gestures and unanimously agreed that all those cannons below must be decoys.

One or two cannons would have been enough to attack the railway line; there was no need for so many.

but.

This escort mission is extremely important; there can be no mistakes.

It cannot be ruled out that the enemy on the ground deliberately built so many fake cannons to cover up the real cannons inside.

If those cannons were to actually bombard the military train, it would be no joke.

So, after exchanging hand signals, two of the three aircraft broke formation and swooped down toward the artillery targets on the ground.

boom!
boom!
boom!
……

The two planes dropped bombs, successfully destroying all the cannons on the ground.

The bomb just happened to be used up.

but.

What happened next stunned the two Japanese planes.

Because they soon discovered that several more cannons had come into view.

"Damn it, those cunning Chinese!" The pilots of both planes cursed and communicated with hand gestures, telling the last plane to bomb the cannons that had reappeared below.

In the end, the plane still came and bombed them.

Because I'm afraid to gamble.

If these cannons that have reappeared contain real weapons, the military trains will have already arrived.

If we don't destroy it quickly, once this real thing fires, it's no joke.

boom!
boom!
boom!
As expected, the plane lost all its bombs in the end.

Seeing this, Liu Weidong smiled and said to Blind Cheng, "These Japanese planes probably don't have any bombs left, so we can attack the military train with peace of mind now."

"Haha, scholar, you've read quite a few books, you're really something!" Blind Cheng laughed and immediately gave the order, "Move! Blow up the railway right now, open fire!"

Cheng the Blind and Liu Weidong had already aimed their hell cannons at the railway line, one cannon aimed at the railway in front of the military train and the other cannon aimed at the railway behind the military train.

This was intended to cut off both the front and rear routes of the military train, preventing it from escaping.

Here, some people might complain: why not blow up the railway in front of the train and derail it so that the military train could come over and not need to fire artillery, thus saving ammunition.

This is because this operation is different; the front of the vehicle needs to be disassembled.

If the car overturns, it will be difficult to dismantle.

If the vehicle overturns and parts break, that would be troublesome.

Then there is.

It would be convenient and easy to unload supplies from the military train once it stops.

If the military train derails, it will affect the unloading of goods.

The supplies inside the carriages might be damaged if the military train overturns.

boom!
boom!
The two hell cannons soon roared.

They all hit the rails precisely.

The speeding military train was blasted into large craters in front and behind, with sleepers and gravel flying into the air.

The sudden explosion forced the Japanese military train driver to apply the emergency brakes. The heavy train, like a runaway beast, was being strangled by a powerful force.

It roared, unwilling to give up, its wheels rubbing against the rails, sparks flying everywhere, making a piercing sound.

In the sky, the three Japanese planes, seeing this, pounded their heads in frustration: "Damn it, those cunning Chinese, we've been tricked."

Three planes circled in the sky, out of ammunition and helpless, like three clowns.

Ultimately, the pilots of the three aircraft had no choice but to make an emergency return.

They returned to the airport, reloaded their weapons, and then quickly came back.

On the ground, after the Japanese military train was forced to stop, Liu Weidong and Cheng the Blind's team launched a swift attack.

Da da da!
Da da da!
Da da da!
boom!
boom!
……

There was a steel tortoise at the front and a steel tortoise at the back of the Japanese military train.

The machine guns and cannons on the two iron turtles immediately unleashed fierce firepower, suppressing Liu Weidong and Blind Cheng's team.

But the Hell Cannon roared again, and the two Iron Turtle tanks quickly and obediently broke down.

The troops rushed to the side of the military train, which also carried Japanese soldiers.

After a fierce battle, all the Japanese soldiers escorting the shipment were killed.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry up and move your things out!" Liu Weidong shouted. "We only have half an hour. After half an hour, we'll leave immediately."

Liu Weidong calculated the time: it would take the Japanese planes about forty-five minutes to fly back to the airport, reload, and then come back.

Leave fifteen minutes; that's the time to make a quick retreat.

Blind Cheng asked in bewilderment, "Scholar, can't we finish moving this in half an hour? Aren't we supposed to dismantle the military train? Why haven't we seen the dismantling team from the arsenal come over?"

Liu Weidong said, "Even in half an hour, the dismantling team couldn't possibly remove the front of the car. If the Japanese planes came, they wouldn't hold back."

"When are we going to dismantle this? We can't possibly move all of this stuff..."

“Wait until dark,” Liu Weidong interrupted Cheng the Blind. “With the military train here, even if the Japanese are furious, I doubt they’ll be willing to bomb it. As long as they don’t bomb it, the stuff will still be on the train. After the plane flies back tonight, we can hurry up and get to work.”

"That's right, that's right," Blind Cheng suddenly realized.

The transport team and the soldiers proceeded in an orderly manner.

The carriage was quickly pulled open, and no one had time to dismantle whatever was on it, no matter what it was.

Anyway, the team moved things like ants carrying food, taking whatever they could find.

Although half an hour is a tight timeframe, the transport team has plenty of manpower.

Although not all the supplies on the heavy military train were moved, almost half of them were moved.

"Time's up, let's go, retreat!" Liu Weidong looked at the second hand of his watch and immediately gave the order decisively.

"Commander, if the Japanese planes come back and bomb the military train and the remaining half of the supplies, wouldn't that be a waste?" someone was still unwilling to give up.

“This is life-saving supplies for the Kumamoto Division. The Japanese won’t be willing to bomb it.” Liu Weidong said confidently. “Let’s go. We’ll come back to move it when it gets dark.”

"Yes, Captain."

A small force was left to observe from here, while the main force quickly withdrew, and the transport team hurriedly transported the goods back.

Instead of returning, the combat troops will continue to harass and ambush along the way.

We must prevent the Japanese ground troops from reinforcing the military train. After all, now that this is ours, we cannot allow the Japanese to have another chance to take it back.

……

First Army Headquarters
"Commander, this is an urgent telegram that just arrived." The staff officer rushed to Yoshio Shinotsuka like his bottom was on fire, handing him the urgent telegram with both hands.

"Could it be that the military train has been attacked?" Yoshio Shinotsuka hesitated to answer.

Relying on airdrops is only a temporary solution for the Kumamoto Division's army.

To truly supply the army, it was still necessary to rely on military trains.

To ensure the transport of the military trains, Yoshio Shinozuka requested three aircraft to escort them.

Now an urgent telegram has arrived. Could it be that even three planes are not enough to protect the military train?

"Yes, the military train was attacked by the Eighth Route Army..." the staff officer nodded.

"Baka!" Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka kicked the table over, sending documents tumbling to the floor. "Weren't there three escort planes? The Eighth Route Army doesn't have any anti-aircraft weapons. Are those three planes just for show?"

The staff officer explained: "The telegram said that the Eighth Route Army had set up many fake cannons in advance. The planes were worried that there were real cannons inside the fake cannons, so they destroyed them all, thus running out of ammunition."

“Foolish, utterly foolish!” Yoshio Shinotsuka roared. “Send a telegram to Kumamoto immediately, tell them that the military train has been attacked, and ask them to send reinforcements immediately.”

Although reinforcements could be sent from the area surrounding the attacked military train, their numbers were very limited.

To recapture the military supplies, they still had to rely on the Kumamoto Division.

Fortunately, they are not far from the Zhengtai Line. If they work harder, they should still make it in time.

"Yes." The staff officer quickly left.

"Baka! Notify the Army Air Force again. The Eighth Route Army has looted so many supplies, they must be easy targets on the ground. Have the planes locate the Eighth Route Army's transport team and then provide me with the location to bomb them. Also, provide the location to the Kumamoto Division Commander," Yoshio Shinotsuka added.

"Yes."

"Damn Eighth Route Army, damn Eighth Route Army, bastard, damn Eighth Route Army..." Yoshio Shinotsuka vented wildly.

……

(End of this chapter)