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

Chapter 307 Making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Gao Liujin's troops came to a complete stop five kilometers from the airport.

The Japanese were aware of the importance of the airport, and they placed it under heavy defense.

Even though the Jin-Sui Army fought fiercely and was about to reach the outskirts of Taiyuan, no troops were spared from defending the airport.

Furthermore, patrols and security have been strengthened here.

Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Gao Liujin's troops could not advance any further because they would be discovered.

Looking up at the setting sun, Gao Liujin, while munching on a dry ration, said impatiently, "I've been holding back for so long, finally I'm going to pull off something big. Why is the sun setting so slowly?"

We have to wait until the sun has completely set and night has fallen before we can attack.

Otherwise, if the airport's planes are alerted, they might scramble to take off in advance and bombard us relentlessly—that's no joke.

And another one!
As darkness fell, the Japanese planes were unable to take off and were forced to remain parked at the airport.

At night, they can't see anything. Even if the Japanese plane tried to take off by force, the end result would be the destruction of the plane and the loss of life.

call!
call!
call!
At that moment, a group of planes flew overhead; they were planes returning to the airport after bombing the Jin-Sui Army.

Looking at the planes, Ding Wei still felt regretful: "What a pity."

"Old Ding, what's the pity?" Li Yunlong asked.

"These Japanese planes are despicable, making us grit our teeth in hatred, but putting aside the hatred, these planes are also valuable assets, even better than tanks and artillery!" Ding Wei sighed. "If only we could capture them and organize our own air force, that would be wonderful. It's such a pity that we can't bring them back and have to bomb them all."

Li Yunlong shook his head and said, "Old Ding, even if we can capture those Japanese planes, we can't manage to train the pilots. Not to mention, those things burn a lot of fuel, and our logistics can't supply enough fuel. Let's just blow them up. They're just Japanese planes. Once Brother Li has developed our military industry and our weapons are stronger, we won't have to worry about not being able to capture more Japanese planes."

Gao Liujin chimed in, "That's right! As long as Director Li can get our military industry up and running, and we have the right equipment, those Japanese planes will be ours for the taking. We can take as many as we want! At that point, let alone planes, we'll even take a few of their warships. Oh, and those Japanese have those aircraft carriers too. If we take one, we can capture dozens of planes from it."

Ding Wei glanced at the uncultured Gao Liujin and corrected him, "That's an aircraft carrier, not an aircraft carrier ship!"

Gao Liujin asked suspiciously, "Even chickens and ducks have males and females. These warships have females, but don't they have males?"

"Old Ding, let's move to the side a bit." Li Yunlong pulled Ding Wei a couple of steps away. This Gao Liujin was really too uncultured.

You said it yourself, an aircraft carrier can have dozens of planes on it, so it's like the offspring of an aircraft carrier.

You damn public warship, how are you going to have babies like this!

If you're so capable, try taking a dump for me first, you six-pound taller guy!
……

We've finished our dry rations and drunk our fill of water.

The troops rested for twenty minutes, and their mental and physical strength were restored to their peak.

The sun had completely set below the horizon, and night had fallen.

The moon was obscured by clouds tonight, and a cool breeze was blowing.

Li Yunlong chuckled and said, "A dark and windy night is the perfect time for murder and arson. Let's make our move."

"Let's get started!" Gao Liujin spat into his palm and immediately got to work.

Because the Japanese airfield was heavily fortified, Li Yunlong adopted a feint attack strategy.

That is to have Gao Liujin lead his team to launch a fierce attack from the east side of the airport, adopting the strongest posture for the main offensive.

The goal was to make the Japanese air force believe that Gao Liujin was going to attack the air force from the east.

If Gao Liujin executes a brilliant attack, most of the Japanese defensive forces will likely be moved eastward.

Then the troops in the other three directions will be left undefended. At that time, Li Yunlong and Ding Wei will join forces, find a direction, and send their troops straight to the airport like a sharp knife!

boom!
boom!
boom!
The six-pound Hell Cannon and the Type 92 Infantry Gun roared rapidly.

The defenses surrounding the northern perimeter of the airport were quickly destroyed.

Even though the Japanese soldiers were still firing machine guns, the machine gun fire quickly went silent once the rocket launchers came out.

With superior firepower, Gao Liujin's troops quickly advanced towards the north of the airport.

Faced with this sudden attack, the Japanese garrison officer was shocked: "Such fierce fighting power, this must be the Eighth Route Army."

"General, we must report to the commander immediately and have him send over the poison gas bombs!" the adjutant beside him shouted hurriedly.

These poison gas bombs were specifically reserved to deal with the Eighth Route Army.

Now that the Eighth Route Army has appeared, we must immediately bring in the poison gas bombs and use them.

"It's probably too late. The Eighth Route Army moved too quickly, and they're too close to the airport," the Japanese garrison officer said angrily.

The commander judged that the Eighth Route Army would most likely appear at the Taiyuan Arsenal.

So the remaining half of the poison gas bombs were placed at the Taiyuan Arsenal. Unexpectedly, the Eighth Route Army didn't attack the Taiyuan Arsenal; instead, they attacked the airport.

"You should contact the commander immediately and get the poison gas urgently. Hopefully, it's not too late. I'll mobilize the main force to hold off the Eighth Route Army's attack as much as possible," the Japanese garrison officer said to his adjutant.

"Yes, General." The adjutant quickly went to make a phone call.

The Japanese garrison officer immediately issued orders to mobilize key forces to hold off the Eighth Route Army's attack.

At the same time, the Japanese garrison officer also made a phone call to the airport.

"Hashimoto-kun, you should have heard the attack sounds over there too. The Eighth Route Army has shown up." The Japanese garrison officer said to the airport officer on the other end of the phone. "You need to make sure your planes are ready for emergency takeoff."

"Baka! Emergency takeoff? Are you kidding me? It's nighttime!" Hashimoto yelled. "Besides, these pilots have been taking off at high intensity every day for days, and they're exhausted. This is their prime time to rest. Moreover, their planes have just landed at the airport. The planes haven't been checked, they haven't had time to refuel, and they haven't replenished their ammunition. Forcing them to take off while exhausted in the dark will only result in a crash."

The garrison officer said gravely, “Because of the Jin-Sui Army, the commander probably won’t be able to mobilize reinforcements in a short time. I’m trying my best to hold off the Eighth Route Army, but their artillery fire is too heavy and intense. I’m not absolutely certain of success. I know that planes shouldn’t take off at night, but you’d better prepare for the worst.”

"The worst-case scenario?" Hashimoto cursed again. "What worst-case scenario? It can't be that I blow up the planes myself first and then retreat with the pilots, can it? Do you know that the battle next door is at a critical juncture? Their air support can't stop! And the thirty planes borrowed from the Kwantung Army just arrived today. Are we just going to destroy them? Without planes, who will escort the military trains transporting supplies for the Kumamoto Division!"

"Hashimoto-kun, all I can say is that I will do my best to hold off the Eighth Route Army." The garrison officer's tone was resolute. "If I cannot hold them off, I will commit seppuku to atone to the Emperor!"

After the garrison officer finished speaking, the call ended.

"Baka, baka, damn it!" Hashimoto slammed the phone receiver on the stand in anger as he heard the call end. "Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas! They deliberately chose to attack at night, taking advantage of our weakness that our planes can't take off at night."

If these Eighth Route Army troops attacked during the day...

No matter how strong their attacks are.

As long as planes take off from this airport urgently and bombard it relentlessly, the Eighth Route Army will have to stop.

But it's nighttime now, and visibility is poor. If a plane forces itself to take off from the airport, it's invisible in the night sky. What's the difference between that and flies buzzing around?
Despite his cursing, Hashimoto quickly summoned his adjutant and ordered, "Go and relay my order immediately: all pilots must assemble and stand by, ready to evacuate them at any time."

As Hashimoto listened to the increasingly close sounds of gunfire, although he was unwilling to believe that the Eighth Route Army was so powerful, he had to prepare for the worst.

Airplanes are valuable!

Fuel is valuable too!

These airport facilities are also very valuable!

But the most valuable assets are still the pilots.

They are all elite pilots who have flown hundreds or even thousands of hours.

The adjutant was stunned: "General, what about the plane? Aren't we going to take it?"

The Eighth Route Army hasn't even attacked yet, so are they just going to abandon the plane?

"Go and prepare." Hashimoto didn't say anything.

Although the sound of gunfire was getting closer, the speed at which it was approaching seemed to be slowing down.

It seems that the garrison officers must have mobilized the main defensive forces to hold them off.

However, it's still hard to say whether they can ultimately hold out.

"Hai." The adjutant quickly went off.

……

"Commander, the Japanese firepower has increased significantly, we can't break through!" Gao Liujin's troops had advanced halfway when the number of Japanese soldiers blocking their way suddenly increased dramatically, and their firepower was also very strong. Gao Liujin's artillery fire was even suppressed by the enemy.

"Damn it!" Gao Liujin cursed. "Looks like I can't possibly storm the airport all by myself."

That's right. Although Gao's attack was feigned, he still wanted to try and see if he could make it to the airport.

Looking back now, it was all wishful thinking.

The Japanese garrison officer must have mobilized all the main forces from the defensive formation.

This impregnable wall of copper and iron stands before us, like an insurmountable barrier!

Gao Liujin then roared, "Don't stop! Keep going! The fiercer we fight, the more Japanese we tie down, and the greater the chances of Li Yunlong and Ding Wei's operation succeeding. Don't conserve ammunition, fight to the death!"

Under Gao Liujin's command, his troops roared and unleashed a barrage of firepower.

The troops were like an enraged beast; no matter how much they roared, they could not break through the wall in front of them.

The Japanese garrison officer smiled and said, "Well, it seems the Eighth Route Army isn't so unstoppable after all. I was worried for nothing."

(End of this chapter)