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

Chapter 312 Hell Cannon Celebrates Birthday
"Mr. Liu, today is your sixtieth birthday. May you live as long as the Southern Mountains and enjoy boundless happiness!"

"Mr. Liu, I wish you many happy returns of the day!"

"Mr. Liu, may you live a long and healthy life!"

……

Today happens to be the birthday of the notorious traitor Liu Dachang.

On this day, many traitors, landlords, and wealthy people came to Liu Dachang's house to celebrate his birthday.

During the banquet, traitors, landlords, and wealthy people all raised their glasses to congratulate Liu Dachang, creating a lively atmosphere.

"Haha." Sixty-year-old Liu Dachang's face was flushed. "Thank you everyone, thank you all! It's mainly thanks to the Imperial Army that we've been able to enjoy peace and health year after year. Come, let's first toast this cup to Mr. Kojima." (The Japanese had a translator; the translated dialogue is automatically omitted.)

As Liu Dachang spoke, he pointed his wine glass at Kojima, a Japanese squad leader at the table.

The islander wasn't actually there to offer birthday wishes; he was there to take the young woman back with him.

Xiaodao ordered Liu Dachang to capture thirty young women and take them to a comfort station.

I happened to come here today and it just so happens that Liu Dachang is celebrating his birthday.

The group of traitors and wealthy patrons immediately turned their wine glasses toward the island.

Kojima revealed a hypocritical smile: "Yoshi, as long as you are loyal to the Imperial Army, the Imperial Army guarantees you wealth and honor."

"Of course, of course! The Imperial Army came to this land to establish a sphere of shared prosperity, where we will all prosper together." Liu Dachang and the traitorous landlords all expressed their loyalty, and they all drank their fill.

"Yoshi, may we prosper together." Kojima also drank it all in one gulp, and then ate heartily.

……

Outside Liu Dachang's house, a group of guerrillas had already laid an ambush.

The captain of this guerrilla team was none other than Wei Ying.

That traitor is despicable! He captured thirty girls and was going to send them to the Japanese to be abused.

Wei Ying came to rescue these girls.

"Captain, the situation is not good."

A team member quickly ran up to Wei Ying and reported, "The villagers have provided urgent information that Liu Dachang's family now has more than 300 guards, including a Japanese squad of about 30 or 40 men."

These wealthy men who came to Liu Dachang's home to offer birthday wishes all brought their own guards.

The entire guard team numbered over three hundred.

Upon hearing this, Wei Ying paused, then asked, "Is the information accurate? Are there really so many Japanese traitors?"

Wei Ying received two rocket launchers and a Hellfire missile from the border region's arsenal, which should be enough to take down Liu Dachang.

But the enemy had so many more men, almost ten times the number of their own, including thirty or forty Japanese soldiers, which was beyond Wei Ying's ability to handle.

Let alone being able to eat, if we force ourselves to fight, we'll end up getting hurt ourselves.

"The locals said that the Japanese devils and traitors sneaked into Liu Dachang's house before dawn," the team member replied.

Upon hearing this, Wei Ying's expression became very conflicted for a moment.

The families of these girls were all hoping that she could rescue their daughters and take them home. Wei Ying couldn't bear to disappoint them with those expectant eyes.

but!

There are more than 350 Japanese soldiers and traitors in Liu Dachang's house right now, so it's impossible to fight them head-on.

"How about this?" Wei Ying said quickly and decisively, "Let's give up on dealing with Liu Dachang for now. We'll follow the Japanese soldiers and ambush them on the way."

The guerrillas had limited manpower and ammunition, so they prioritized the rescue mission.

"Captain, I'm afraid this won't work either," the team member hesitated. "There are thirty or forty Japanese soldiers, and their combat strength is far superior to ours. We only have one Hellfire missile, and we haven't used rocket launchers before. We have no experience. If the Japanese are attacked and they react in time, our entire team might be wiped out."

If this group of Japanese soldiers were just gathered together, it would be easy to launch a sneak attack.

If we can seize the initiative and severely damage them first, then we'll have a chance to suppress them with firepower.

But they were escorting the girls, and they were getting too close to them, so we couldn't unleash all our firepower, or we might hurt the girls.

"It's a pity we can't contact the main force right now. Otherwise, it would be great to have the main force come and help," Wei Ying said with a headache.

Not to mention the main force, even many county brigades and district squads were transferred away to deal with the Japanese large-scale mopping-up operations.

It was precisely because the district squads, county brigades, and many guerrilla units had been transferred away that this traitor Liu Dachang dared to offer birthday wishes, and these traitorous landlords dared to come from their houses to congratulate him.

“Yes, if we had the main force…” The team member didn’t finish his sentence.

Soon another team member ran over and reported to Wei Ying: "Reporting, Captain, the main force is here."

The main force has arrived?
Upon hearing this, Wei Ying immediately thought he had misheard and solemnly asked, "Is there really a main force coming?"

“It’s our own team, there’s no mistake.” The team member nodded. “Let’s go, take me there right away.” Wei Ying didn’t hesitate.

Kong Jie led his team toward Liu Dachang, but before they even got close to the village, they were stopped by Wei Ying's men.

Liu Dachang also kept watch, so that if any troops approached the village, they would be detected.

Kong Jie stopped briefly upon seeing the guerrillas there.

With his superior firepower, Kong Jie could easily take down Liu Dachang, or even level the entire village.

However, the guerrillas certainly know more about the situation, so it's not too late to find out first.

When Kong Jie saw a female guerrilla captain appear in his field of vision, he was still stunned for a moment.

"This woman looks familiar, like I've seen her somewhere before," Kong Jie said to the battalion commander beside him.

"Hmm, it does look somewhat familiar." The battalion commander also felt it looked familiar, but couldn't quite place it.

Wei Ying walked up to Kong Jie, who introduced himself first: "I am Kong Jie, the commander of the Second New Regiment of the 386th Brigade."

When Wei Ying heard that the other side was indeed the main force, she was stunned for a moment.

Is the main force really free?

Wei Ying quickly introduced herself: "Commander Kong, hello, my name is Wei Ying, and I am the captain of the Xiangshan Guerrilla Team."

"Xiangshan Guerrilla Team, Wei Ying?" Kong Jie suddenly realized and laughed, "Haha, I was just wondering why you looked so familiar. Turns out you're one of us."

The man in front of me, Wei Ying, looks a bit like the captain of the guard at the arsenal. Once you hear his name, it all makes sense.

My own family?
Wei Ying listened, but didn't quite understand what Kong Jie meant.

This was only the first time she had met Kong Jie, and he was already calling her family. This was clearly not right.

Although we are all on the same team, comrades, and can be considered as one of our own, there is still a difference between being one of our own and being family.

The battalion commander next to Kong Jie smiled and said to Wei Ying, "Isn't your brother the head of the guard at the border region's arsenal?"

"Yes, that's right." Wei Ying nodded quickly upon hearing this, her eyes immediately lighting up. "Have you seen my brother at the arsenal?"

"Haha." Kong Jie laughed and said, "We've seen each other more than once, we see each other every day. Your brother said you're very beautiful and capable, praising you like a flower. Today, it's clear that your brother was right."

Wei Ying was a little embarrassed by what was said: "Commander Kong, my brother must be talking nonsense."

"Hahaha, I'm not kidding, your brother was holding back a bit." Kong Jie laughed again, getting straight to the point, "Alright, we can talk about the small talk later. Are you also going to fight Liu Dachang?"

“Commander Kong, you’ve brought so many troops and cannons with you. You must be just passing through here, right?” Wei Ying said. “My little matter here can’t delay your important business.”

The main force is currently unavailable. In Wei Ying's view, Kong Jie must have another important mission with such a large entourage, and Kong Jie is just passing through here temporarily.

“I’m not just passing by; I came here specifically to deal with Liu Dachang.” Kong Jie nodded earnestly.

Wei Ying was a little confused by Kong Jie's serious expression.

Commander Kong, you're really good at joking.

To deal with a mere Liu Dachang, you brought seven or eight hundred men, not to mention...

They pushed one cannon over, along with two Type 92 infantry guns, and even more rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and mortars—more than our guerrilla fighters combined.

Judging by your demeanor, I wouldn't doubt you if you said you were going to attack the county town.

You're only beating up Liu Dachang? Even if Liu Dachang dies, he doesn't deserve such a grand spectacle.

The battalion commander explained to Wei Ying, "It's like this: the border region's arsenal needs to test two shells from the Hell Cannon. All the outposts and strongholds in our area have been cleared out, so we can't find a suitable target for the time being, which is why we came here."

"But, but even so, your team has too many people, and the weapons and ammunition you're carrying are too frightening." Wei Ying was skeptical.

"It's alright," the battalion commander waved his hand and said, "Once we take down Liu Dachang, we can sweep up a few more Japanese and traitor strongholds before heading back."

From the battalion commander's perspective, since they were already here, taking down Liu Dachang and doing a few more hits would be a natural progression.

"I see." Wei Ying could accept it. That's right, why should Liu Dachang deserve such a big show?

If the main force can also sweep through a few more strongholds, then that would be perfectly acceptable.

Wei Ying immediately said, "Liu Dachang captured thirty girls for the Japanese. Today he is celebrating his birthday at home, and the Japanese have also brought their men. Now, the number of guards at his home and the Japanese soldiers combined exceeds 350. I was worried about how to fight this battle. Fortunately, Commander Kong, you have brought your troops here."

Upon hearing this, the battalion commander immediately roared, "This Liu Dachang has captured thirty girls; he truly deserves to go to hell!"

The fact that traitors were kidnapping girls for the Japanese and forcing them to become comfort women was a taboo subject for the battalion commander.

Because a girl from a relative's family had been captured by traitors, and when she was brought back, she had gone insane.

Kong Jie also angrily said, "So, bringing the Hell Cannon to celebrate his birthday and sending him to hell is just the right thing to do."

(End of this chapter)