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

Chapter 309 Wei Lihuang is not easy to deal with

The airport is not far from Taiyuan, or rather, it is not far from the headquarters of the First Army.

When the airport experienced a massive secondary explosion, Yoshio Shinotsuka also felt the ground shake.

He ran to the window and looked at the night sky lit up in the direction of the airport, at the huge mushroom cloud that was slowly rising. Yoshio Shinotsuka's expression was as still as death!

Not only Yoshio Shinotsuka, but also the Japanese soldiers in Taiyuan City, as well as the Japanese troops in the surrounding areas.

They stared dumbfounded at the huge fireball mushroom cloud above the airport.

On the surface, this means the airport has been lost and many of our planes have been destroyed. Our already strained air power will likely be further weakened.

In reality, the enemy had penetrated deep into the heart of the First Army!

The enemy's knife pierced the vital core of the First Army.

This is an absolute disgrace for the First Army!

"Commander, something terrible has happened!"

An aide rushed over and roared at Yoshio Shinotsuka: "The Jin-Sui Army is like they've been injected with gunpowder, launching a fierce attack on the Taiyuan Arsenal. It looks like they're going to take it back."

Yoshio Shinozuka's dazed gaze returned from the sky over the airport to his staff officer's face. He squeezed out the words through gritted teeth: "Recall the poison gas bombs to guard the Taiyuan Arsenal. Also, have the surrounding strongholds move closer to the Taiyuan Arsenal as quickly as possible, forming an encirclement around it to surround the Jin-Sui Army."

The staff officer listened and questioned, "Commander, although we can surround the Jin-Sui Army, we don't have enough troops. How can we trap and kill them? Moreover, our airfield has been destroyed, and we have lost important air support."

"The airport is lost, but the Taiyuan Arsenal must not be lost too!" Yoshio Shinotsuka roared. "Send down the order to mobilize all available troops immediately and surround them first."

"Hai!" The staff officer hurriedly ran off.

Yoshio Shinozuka picked up the phone: "Connect me to Commander Matsui of the First War Zone."

The call connected, and Matsui Iwane's voice came through: "This is Matsui Iwane."

"Mr. Matsui, I am Yoshio Shinozuka." Yoshio Shinozuka quickly introduced himself and said, "Just now, my airport was destroyed by the Chinese. The planes were destroyed and the Chinese Jin-Sui Army is heading towards the Taiyuan Arsenal. My forces are severely insufficient. The fighting on your side has just stopped, right? Please send reinforcements to me immediately. I need both ground troops and air power."

Yoshio Shinotsuka was confident in surrounding the Jin-Sui Army because he had just learned that the fighting in the First War Zone had slowed down.

In this way, we can quickly borrow support from Matsui Iwane.

Upon hearing this, Matsui Iwane on the other end of the phone was immediately stunned: "Shinotsuka-kun, you're not kidding me, are you? You must have over fifty planes at your airport, right? Are they all gone?"

The army doesn't have many aircraft, only about fifty, which is no small number.

It all disappeared in an instant? That's a bit too exaggerated.

The enemy attacked the airport. Are your pilots all useless and unable to fly the plane? Oh, okay, Yoshio Shinozuka is saying that the airport was just destroyed.

It was nighttime, and the plane truly had no way to force takeoff.

"Not only are the fifty-odd planes at the airport gone, but even the thirty planes that the Kwantung Army just borrowed today are gone." Yoshio Shinozuka said with great frustration and seriousness, "Matsui-kun, the Chinese Jin-Sui Army has already advanced towards the Taiyuan Arsenal, which supplies you with weapons and ammunition. If anything happens to the Taiyuan Arsenal, and you lose your vital ammunition supply, I'm afraid you might not be able to defeat Wei Lihuang."

The highest-ranking Chinese commander in the First War Zone was Wei Lihuang, a formidable adversary.

A graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy, he was a direct descendant of the bald-headed general and was even hailed as one of the "Five Tiger Generals" of his direct lineage!
Matsui Iwane has suffered many losses at Wei Lihuang's hands. If there are problems with logistics and ammunition, Wei Lihuang is very likely to take the opportunity to launch a strategic counterattack. This is no joke.

This is also a key reason why Yoshio Shinotsuka didn't ask Neiji Okamura for reinforcements immediately, but instead asked Iwane Matsui for reinforcements.

Matsui Iwane did not hesitate and immediately said, "No problem, I will arrange for a military train to transport a brigade for you right away, and I can send ten planes over."

Wei Lihuang was not easy to deal with, and Matsui Iwane did not dare to withdraw too many troops from the First War Zone.

Moreover, the battle between Matsui Iwane and Wei Lihuang had just subsided, and both sides were in a state of emergency regrouping.

This does not mean the battle is over, but rather that the battle could break out again at any time.

If Matsui Iwane withdraws too many troops, Wei Lihuang could easily seize the opportunity.

"Okay, thank you Matsui-kun." Yoshio Shinozuka was overjoyed to hear that he could get a brigade and ten planes as reinforcements.

A brigade and ten planes is already quite a lot.

Immediately afterwards, Yoshio Shinotsuka asked, "Do you have any more poison gas bombs? Can I have some?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have much left. I need to save it for emergencies." Matsui Iwane apologized for this.

“It’s alright, I understand.” Yoshio Shinozuka expressed his understanding of Iwane Matsui’s pressure, after all, Wei Lihuang was really not easy to deal with. After the call ended, Yoshio Shinozuka immediately called Okamura Yasuji, the commander of the North China Expeditionary Army.

"Baka, Shinotsuka, you deserve to die!" Okamura Neiji was furious when he learned that Taiyuan Airport had been destroyed and that the Jin-Sui Army was marching heavily towards the Taiyuan Arsenal. "The Kwantung Army lent you thirty planes, and what did you promise me? These planes just arrived today and they're gone."

“Commander Okamura, the supplies for the Kumamoto Division have been loaded onto trucks. Without air escort, it’s impossible for them to be delivered to the Kumamoto Division. Could you please borrow some more aircraft from the Kwantung Army for escort?” Yoshio Shinozuka said, his head hanging low. “As for Taiyuan, I will handle it.”

Yoshio Shinozuka naturally hoped that Neiji Okamura's side could also send reinforcements.

However, the distance is too far, and distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.

Ok!

The main reason was that the railway on the Zhengtai line had been severely damaged by the damned Eighth Route Army, making it impossible for military trains to transport troops smoothly.

"At all costs, you must protect the Taiyuan Arsenal for me. Even if Taiyuan is lost, the arsenal cannot be lost!" Okamura Yasuji hung up the phone in a fit of rage and immediately contacted the Kwantung Army again, demanding to borrow planes and poison gas bombs.

Especially the latter; without enough poison gas grenades, it would be very difficult for Yoshio Shinotsuka to stabilize the situation.

Even if these poison gas bombs are hard to come by, we have to be willing to risk everything.

After ending the call, Yoshio Shinotsuka summoned someone and ordered, "Draw half of the garrison forces of Taiyuan City to reinforce the Taiyuan Arsenal."

"Yes, Commander."

……

"Commander Li, here's the news that just came in."

While Li Yunlong was handing over the supplies captured from the airport to his underground comrades, an underground informant rushed over and said to Li Yunlong, "Half of the Japanese garrison troops in Taiyuan have also been transferred out."

Before Li Yunlong could respond, Gao Liujin teased from the side, "Li Yunlong, how about we storm Taiyuan and have some fun?"

Li Yunlong shook his head: "Gao Liujin, the Jin-Sui Army is now heading towards the Taiyuan Arsenal, and all the Japanese troops are reinforcing there. To some extent, we can indeed find easy targets to plunder from the Japanese in their rear, but!"

Li Yunlong paused for a moment, then continued, "But for us, the biggest source of profit is still the seamless steel pipe production equipment at the Taiyuan Arsenal! No matter what, even if Yoshio Shinotsuka empties out all the garrison forces in Taiyuan, I'd still be too lazy to go."

Ding Wei said, "Gao Liujin, don't underestimate that little devil, Yoshio Shinotsuka. Although we've taken the airfield, attacking Taiyuan, where half our troops have been redeployed, won't be easy. Taiyuan is too fortified; it'll exhaust our remaining ammunition. Then, what will we use to seize the equipment from the Taiyuan arsenal?"

"I was thinking, if we could capture Yoshio Shinozuka alive, could we force the Japanese to..." Gao Liujin didn't finish his sentence.

Li Yunlong interrupted, "Gao Liujin, don't think about these useless things. Let's hurry up and hand over the supplies, cooperate with the underground comrades to hide them, and then we'll wait for the right opportunity to act. Just watch, if I'm not mistaken, the Japanese reinforcements will arrive soon tomorrow during the day. The Jin-Sui Army and the Japanese reinforcements will have to fight fiercely again. If things go wrong, we might have to rest for a few days."

"Then let's see how well the Jin-Sui Army and the Japanese fight." Gao Liujin shrugged.

……

358th Regiment of Jin-Sui Army

"Commander, the pilot's body has been handed over to the higher command, and they are very pleased." Fang Ligong returned and said happily to Chu Yunfei, "The higher command said that after the war ends and we return, the mountain city will definitely give us a generous reward. You and I might even have a chance to get a special merit."

Originally, Fang Ligong was a bit conservative, thinking that since he had taken down so many Japanese pilots, he was sure to get a first-class merit.

But on second thought, what the superiors said wasn't wrong either.

These are dozens of Japanese pilots; their value is extraordinary.

The Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun is enough.

"Brother Ligong, let's put aside the credit for now." Chu Yunfei's expression was solemn. "Before dawn, we need to hurry and try to break into the Taiyuan Arsenal before daybreak. Otherwise, if the Japanese planes come, we'll be bombed."

Once the troops entered the Taiyuan Arsenal, the Japanese would most likely be reluctant to drop bombs on it.

Upon hearing this, Fang Ligong questioned, "Commander, wasn't Taiyuan Airport already captured by the Eighth Route Army? How can there still be Japanese planes during the day?"

“Taiyuan Airport is gone, but the Japanese still have other airports. When that little devil Yoshio Shinozuka sees that we are going to take over the Taiyuan Arsenal, he will definitely call in planes from other airports to reinforce us.” Chu Yunfei pointed out incisively, “Maybe the number is not large, but we do not have anti-aircraft weapons. If these planes bomb our important artillery, it will have a huge impact on our combat effectiveness.”

“That’s true.” Fang Ligong nodded and said, “So even if we take over the Taiyuan Arsenal, it won’t be so easy for us to withdraw in the end.”

If we move equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal, the Japanese will definitely surround and intercept us.

"It won't be easy, but we still have to give it a try."

(End of this chapter)