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

Chapter 319 The Top Dozen Border Region Armor Factories

"Commander, the reinforcements' attack went very smoothly, and they routed the rearguard of the Jin-Sui Army in a single encounter."

The staff officer hurried over to report the good news to Yoshio Shinotsuka: "They are now rapidly approaching the Jin-Sui Army troops carrying equipment. I believe it won't be long before they can catch up with them."

"Yoshi." Yoshio Shinotsuka's expression finally softened a bit, and he said sarcastically, "Back then, half a division of the Fifth Division scared away more than thirty divisions of them, and they handed over the vast Shanxi Province. Now that we have two brigades attacking, they are indeed as useless as I expected."

Miyano Michiichi reminded them: "Tell the reinforcements that once they have the equipment, they should quickly prepare to destroy it in advance."

"Hai." The staff officer quickly left.

Yoshio Shinotsuka said to Michiichi Miyano, "With two brigades protecting the equipment, I don't believe the Eighth Route Army can still succeed."

"Hopefully the Eighth Route Army won't force us to destroy the equipment ourselves." Although two brigades were protecting the equipment, for some reason, Miyano Michiichi still didn't have enough confidence.

This is somewhat absurd and ridiculous, as the Eighth Route Army only numbered a few thousand.

But Miyano Michiichi was truly unsure.

……

"Commander Li, our commander said that if this batch of equipment falls into the hands of the Japanese, it's two brigades. I'm afraid you won't have the ability to take the equipment back from two Japanese brigades," Captain Sun Ming said to Li Yunlong in a serious tone.

Captain Sun Ming was sent by Chu Yunfei to negotiate with Li Yunlong, hoping that Li Yunlong would send troops.

“Captain Sun Ming, you said it yourself, those are two Japanese brigades. Even with so many men in your Jin-Sui Army, you couldn’t stop them. Sending my few men over would be like a drop in the ocean.” Li Yunlong shook his head.

"Commander Li, are you really just going to stand by and watch this equipment..." Captain Sun Ming didn't finish his sentence.

Gao Liujin ran over and said to Li Yunlong, "Li Yunlong, the rearguard of the Jin-Sui Army has collapsed, and the Japanese reinforcements are rapidly approaching the Jin-Sui Army's transport equipment convoy."

Upon hearing this, Captain Sun Ming looked at Gao Liujin and couldn't help but ask, "So fast? The regimental commander and his men have already retreated?"

The word "rout" has a special meaning; it signifies a collapse in morale and is not a normal retreat.

"Captain Sun Ming, you should go back and chase after your regimental commander." Li Yunlong waved his hand at Captain Sun Ming.

"Sigh." With the regimental commander and the others retreating in disarray, Captain Sun Ming knew that any further communication with Li Yunlong would be futile.

Captain Sun Ming quickly took his leave, and Li Yunlong asked Gao Liujin, "Did all the Japanese reinforcements rush in?"

"Yes, they basically all rushed in." Gao Liujin nodded. "Those are the equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal, the Japanese were desperate too."

"So that means the Japanese army's logistics and supplies aren't being watched by anyone, right?" Li Yunlong said with a smile.

The Japanese reinforcements are coming in a fierce manner; it would be unwise to confront them head-on.

Therefore, Comrade Lao Li had long wanted to target the Japanese army's logistics and supplies.

If we can take over the Japanese army's logistics and supplies, we can cut off their ammunition supply.

You have two brigades, but you don't have enough ammunition, so your combat effectiveness will decrease.

That's when our opportunity will come.

Of course, if the Japanese logistics and supplies were heavily guarded, Comrade Li also had a backup plan.

For now, there's no need to consider backup plans.

Gao Liujin nodded: "Yes, there's only one Japanese battalion in the logistics and supplies area."

"Let Lao Ding handle the Japanese logistics and supplies," Li Yunlong said to Gao Liujin. "The two of us will go and seize the equipment."

There's a Japanese battalion at the logistics and supply depot. If our three regiments charge up there, with our superior firepower, wiping out that Japanese battalion shouldn't be a problem.

But we can't use all our troops here.

Ding Wei was sent to launch a fierce attack, with the main task of suppressing the Japanese and finding an opportunity to destroy their logistics and supplies.

If Ding Wei attacks the Japanese logistics and supplies, the Japanese reinforcements pursuing the Jin-Sui Army will definitely spare troops to rescue them.

The more troops they send, the greater our chances of successfully capturing the equipment.

"Okay." Gao Liujin had no objections.

Ding Wei quickly led his troops to deal with the Japanese logistics and supplies, while Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin led their troops toward the Jin-Sui Army's equipment convoy.

……

"Commander, the Japanese are catching up. They're moving too fast. If we don't abandon our equipment, we really won't be able to escape."

"Commander, we are moving slowly with our equipment. The Japanese are lightly armed and have cavalry. They are flanking us from both sides. If we don't abandon our equipment, we will be surrounded."

"Commander, let's just abandon the equipment."

"Commander, don't hesitate."

Seeing that the Japanese reinforcements were quickly flanking them from both sides, the officers of the Jin-Sui Army began to panic and urged their superiors to abandon the equipment to save their lives.

"Damn those Japanese devils! The equipment just arrived, we haven't even had a chance to use it properly. We haven't even had time to destroy it all." The division-level officers sighed and could only order the equipment to be abandoned.

Back then, when the Japanese invaded, Commander Yan even moved his own toilet away, but refused to blow up the Taiyuan Arsenal.

This equipment was given to the Japanese for nothing.

Now, we've finally managed to get the equipment back.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to destroy it, and the Japanese took it back, which benefited them again.

The Jin-Sui Army soldiers retreated hastily, and although they threw grenades at the vehicles transporting equipment, their destructive power was very limited. They destroyed very little equipment, not even a fraction of it.

This is not ammunition, so it cannot detonate.

Seeing the Jin-Sui Army abandon the equipment and throw grenades at it, the pursuing Japanese brigade commander was furious: "Damn it! These damned Jin-Sui Army dare to destroy our equipment! I will make you pay for your stupidity!"

"Take the equipment as quickly as possible, then give the Jin-Sui Army a good beating. I'll make those bastards..." The Japanese brigade commander didn't finish his sentence.

The communications soldier rushed over and handed over an urgent telegram: "Reporting to the brigade commander, Battalion Commander Kimura has sent an urgent telegram. A group of Eighth Route Army soldiers suddenly launched a surprise attack on the logistics and supplies. His troops are being suppressed. He wants you to immediately send troops back to reinforce them."

Captain Kimura was the captain in charge of escorting logistical supplies.

Upon hearing this, the Japanese brigade commander was instantly enraged.

Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas! They went into hiding, thinking they wanted to seize equipment on the battlefield. Little did we know, they chose to ambush our army's logistics and supplies.

Once the logistical supplies are gone, the troops will run out of ammunition, which will drastically reduce their combat effectiveness—this is no joke.

If the two brigades were to be ridden around by the Eighth Route Army and forced to destroy their equipment, they would lose face terribly.

This is absolutely infuriating!
When they came to reinforce, Commander Matsui Iwane warned them that the local Eighth Route Army was not easy to deal with.

The Japanese brigade commander was still thinking, no matter how difficult it is to deal with these local Eighth Route Army soldiers, how difficult can it be to deal with Wei Lihuang!
Looking at it now, these local Eighth Route Army soldiers are indeed more difficult to deal with than Wei Lihuang.

Otherwise, with the First Army's 70,000 to 80,000 men reduced to this state, even the Eighth Route Army would have raided their stronghold.

"Alright, send half of the men back to reinforce immediately," the Japanese brigade commander quickly ordered.

He had also heard Yoshio Shinozuka's reminder that the Eighth Route Army's fighting strength was not weak and was not what it used to be.

To suppress them, we would need at least a brigade.

One Japanese officer couldn't help but say to the Japanese brigade commander, "Brigade commander, isn't sending half of our men back to reinforce logistics and supplies a bit too much? We still need to pursue the Jin-Sui Army..."

The Japanese brigade commander interrupted: "The Jin-Sui Army has already suffered a rout. Pursuing them is a sure thing, so it doesn't matter if we have fewer troops."

that's it.

One brigade quickly withdrew, and after the Japanese brigade commander seized the equipment, he sent half of his men to pursue the Jin-Sui Army.

In other words, the Japanese brigade commander personally led a regiment of soldiers to protect the equipment.

As darkness fell, the Japanese brigade commander ordered, "While the Eighth Route Army is intercepting our logistics supplies, hurry up and transport the equipment back to Taiyuan City. Don't stop along the way."

A Japanese officer said to the Japanese brigade commander, "Brigade commander, didn't Commander Shinotsuka remind us that once we got the equipment, we should immediately prepare to destroy it? We haven't done that preparation yet."

"What are you doing!" The Japanese brigade commander waved his hand. "Didn't you see that those bastards from the Jin-Sui Army have already destroyed dozens of pieces of equipment? Although it's not even a fraction of what they've done, it's still very distressing. The Eighth Route Army is busy attacking our logistics and supplies right now. If they really succeed, and the equipment is still outside, wouldn't that be dangerous! It would be extremely foolish to destroy the equipment ourselves."

"Brigade Commander, Battalion Commander Kimura has sent another urgent telegram." At this moment, the communications soldier handed the newly arrived telegram to the Japanese brigade commander.

"Damn it, could it be that that bastard Kimura failed to protect the logistical supplies?" The Japanese brigade commander immediately had a bad feeling.

After all, half of the troops that were recalled are still on their way.

He grabbed a handful of telegrams and held them up to his eyes.

The Japanese brigade commander immediately felt as if a volcano was erupting in his chest!

Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas! They bombarded the ammunition and supplies with heavy artillery, causing a secondary explosion.

After succeeding, the Eighth Route Army soldiers quickly slipped away.

"Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas!" The Japanese brigade commander jumped up and cursed, "Send a telegram to the troops that have been transferred back, and tell them to find these Eighth Route Army guerrillas and kill them all. Don't let a single one of them escape."

A Japanese officer reminded them, "Brigade Commander, the Eighth Route Army has already succeeded. Why don't we bring back the troops that were transferred and have them come and help us protect the equipment?"

"Damn it! Defense is always a passive approach!" The Japanese brigade commander was furious and wouldn't listen to anything. He said, "The only way to solve the problem is to find and eliminate these Eighth Route Army guerrillas completely! Reinforcements will go over and conduct a dragnet-like sweep; they won't be able to escape..."

The Japanese brigade commander was abruptly stopped before he could finish speaking.

Because Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin led their troops out to fight their way out.

Seeing the fierce artillery fire from Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin, the Japanese brigade commander was dumbfounded: "Damn it, weren't these Eighth Route Army soldiers attacking our logistics and supplies? How come they suddenly flew over here? Do they really have wings?"

The Japanese brigade commander felt a chill run down his spine.

Once he got his hands on the equipment, he couldn't bear to destroy it.

If the Eighth Route Army really manages to seize the equipment, wouldn't we end up becoming a huge laughing stock?

Seeing Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin's troops appear out of nowhere, the Japanese officer beside him hurriedly shouted to the Japanese brigade commander, "Brigade commander, we must destroy the equipment immediately!" "Baka! There's no time for that!"

The Japanese brigade commander was furious.

The Eighth Route Army had accurately calculated their position and was flanking them from all sides.

The Eighth Route Army was everywhere.

There wasn't enough time to destroy the equipment.

What the troops need to do now is to immediately organize a counterattack along the defensive line.

Otherwise, the army would collapse very quickly.

"Stabilize! Stabilize immediately..." the Japanese brigade commander roared, like an enraged beast.

But it has no effect at all.

Gunfire could be heard everywhere, and Eighth Route Army soldiers were everywhere.

Their firepower was fierce, and the Emperor's soldiers were like headless flies, unable to establish an effective defensive line.

"Telegraph operator, immediately send a telegram to the troops that have been transferred, and tell them to hurry back..." the Japanese brigade commander shouted to the telegraph operator, ordering him to call the transferred troops back via radio.

boom!
A large, strange-looking shell landed near the communications soldier, who instantly disappeared from the Japanese brigade commander's sight, still connected to his radio.

The shell blasted out a dense barrage of iron pellets that shot out in all directions.

puff!
puff!
puff!
……

Centered on the blast point, the Japanese soldiers around it were riddled with holes, a truly gruesome sight.

The Japanese brigade commander was also hit by two iron balls; one of them pierced his right arm, tearing his flesh apart and shattering his bones.

The other iron bead merely grazed past the right ear, tearing the entire ear's outline apart with immense force.

"Ah, bastard!"

The Japanese brigade commander let out a terrified scream—it was heavy artillery!
These Eighth Route Army guerrillas actually carried heavy artillery; Commander Yoshio Shinotsuka hadn't lied to him.

When the Japanese brigade commander came to reinforce, Yoshio Shinozuka reminded him that the Eighth Route Army had heavy artillery.

The Japanese brigade commander was still mocking them, saying that these local Eighth Route Army soldiers couldn't even produce a decent cannon, so how could they possibly have heavy artillery?

Now, seeing the terrifying destructive power of this heavy artillery, which wiped out nearly two hundred of their men in one fell swoop.

One shell could cause nearly two hundred casualties, wiping out an entire company. Who could withstand the devastation of such heavy artillery?
"Brigade Commander, we can't hold out any longer, let's retreat." A Japanese officer scrambled to the brigade commander's side. "The radio has been destroyed, we can't call for reinforcements."

"Damn it, don't retreat, don't retreat, hold the line..." The Japanese brigade commander screamed like a madman, and soon fainted from excessive blood loss.

"Medical officer, medical officer, come here quickly!" the Japanese officer shouted frantically at the medical officer.

The military doctor appeared out of nowhere, hurriedly bandaged the Japanese brigade commander's wound, and then carried him on a stretcher... and that was the end of it.

Another strange, large shell landed.

The military doctor, the Japanese brigade commander on the stretcher, and several Japanese officers all became fragments of this land.

Seeing this, Gao Liujin laughed and said, "Hehe, now that I've discovered you, you think you can escape? No way!"

Li Yunlong cursed from the side, "Gao Liujin, you son of a bitch, stop using the hell cannon! Don't blow up the equipment! The Japanese are retreating, hurry up and hold on!"

The Hell Cannon's shells have too wide a kill radius; they can only hit Japanese soldiers who are relatively far from the equipment. They are unusable if the enemy is slightly closer.

"Got it! Hurry up, rush up there and wipe out the remaining enemies!" Gao Liujin was like a man possessed, charging ahead at the first opportunity.

The troops, each weighing six pounds tall, surged forward like a tidal wave.

Li Yunlong didn't hesitate, and his troops quickly rushed forward.

On the battlefield, the remaining Japanese troops were quickly wiped out.

The fleeing Japanese remnants didn't have time to give chase.

Holding the Japanese brigade commander's sword, and looking at the intercepted equipment, Gao Liujin's face turned red with joy, as if he were drunk: "Li Yunlong, with so much equipment, we're rich!"

All the equipment previously provided to the border region's arsenal didn't amount to this much.

Moving so much equipment back would be equivalent to more than a dozen border region arsenals.

"Damn it, wasn't it said that Yan Xishan's Taiyuan arsenal had several thousand pieces of equipment? How come it's less than half?" Li Yunlong cursed.

Li Yunlong didn't care for the officer's knife in Gao Liujin's hand; he already had one.

"Could it be that the Japanese reinforcements arrived too quickly, and the Jin-Sui Army didn't have time to move everything?" Gao Liujin wondered.

“How is that possible? There are so many people in the Jin-Sui Army, how could they not be able to move it all?” Li Yunlong shook his head and cursed. “The only explanation must be that those damn Japanese devils transported the other equipment back to their homeland ahead of time.”

"Those damned Japanese devils! One day, I'll fight my way back to their homeland and take the equipment back!" Gao Liujin cursed.

"Alright, Gao Liujin, stop talking nonsense and hurry up and take a look at which equipment we should move back." Li Yunlong scratched his head, looking a bit annoyed. "We don't recognize which equipment is used to manufacture seamless steel pipes. Brother Li, that's exactly the kind of equipment you need most."

There's too much equipment; it's impossible for Li Yunlong, Gao Liujin, and Ding Wei's troops to bring it all back.

After all, the manpower of three regiments cannot all be used to transport equipment. The Japanese will not give up and will definitely pursue them. They will continue to fight.

This is the rear area of ​​Taiyuan, which is rich in resources, but also has obvious drawbacks.

That means we've gone too deep behind enemy lines; the retreat is a long journey, and we can only carry a limited amount of supplies.

Therefore, the only equipment that the border region's arsenal can use first is the equipment for making seamless steel pipes.

But we don't recognize any of them.

Gao Liujin slapped his forehead and said, "Didn't they also capture the Japanese experts who were withdrawn from the Taiyuan Arsenal? Ask them."

"Well, that's the only way." Li Yunlong nodded.

Equipment is more important than anything else. There's simply no time or manpower to clean up the Japanese weapons and ammunition lying on the ground.

The underground comrades arrived quickly with their men and worked with Li Yunlong and Gao Liujin's troops to move the equipment to a new location overnight.

……

"Damn the Jin-Sui Army, they run too fast, like rats."

"Yes, even though our Imperial Army soldiers are physically stronger than them, we still can't catch up with them."

"Damn Jin-Sui Army, they actually destroyed the equipment. We failed to kill them. They got off too easily."

"Let's go back and meet up with the brigade commander first, save the equipment, and then settle accounts with the Jin-Sui Army later."

The Japanese regiment pursuing the Jin-Sui Army chased them until late at night, but ultimately lost sight of their target.

After all, the Jin-Sui Army wasn't very strong in combat, but their ability to escape was truly remarkable.

"Commander, something's not right." The communications soldier quickly ran up to the Japanese regimental commander, his tone suspicious: "I don't know what's going on, but the brigade commander's radio isn't responding."

If the regimental commander failed to catch up with the Jin-Sui Army and had to turn back, he would definitely have to inform the brigade commander via radio.

But the radio operator sent a message to the brigade commander's radio station, but there was no response, which was abnormal.

"Didn't the brigade commander get a reply from the radio?" the Japanese regimental commander asked suspiciously. "Didn't you send a few more telegrams?"

“I sent it, I’ve sent it six times already,” the communications soldier replied.

"Maybe the brigade commander and the others have a bad signal right now." The Japanese regimental commander also felt something was wrong, but he didn't think much of it.

But the troops continued their march and soon encountered fleeing soldiers.

These routed soldiers were pale and terrified, showing no trace of the elite Imperial Army; they looked like frightened pigs.

"Regimental Commander, the brigade commander led us to escort the equipment halfway when suddenly Eighth Route Army troops appeared from all directions. They moved too fast and their firepower was too fierce. We were caught off guard, and the brigade commander was killed." The fleeing soldiers said in fear to the Japanese regimental commander.

When the Japanese regimental commander heard this, it was like a bolt from the blue.

The brigade commander had a regiment under his command, yet the morale of the Eighth Route Army was quickly shattered, and even the brigade commander was killed in action. It was utterly absurd.

When did the Eighth Route Army's fighting strength become so strong?

Even their most elite subordinates, even the most elite training brigade within them, couldn't do that.

One of the battalion commanders reminded the regimental commander: "Regimental commander, Commander Shinotsuka once warned that the fighting power of this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers should not be underestimated. At least a brigade is needed to suppress them. The brigade commander only has a regiment under his command, which is probably..."

"Scared my foot!" The Japanese regimental commander didn't believe it at all and interrupted directly, "Even if his Eighth Route Army is that strong, it's impossible for them to defeat one of our regiments in such a short time."

“Under normal circumstances, the Eighth Route Army could not possibly defeat one of our regiments in a short period of time. In that situation, the Eighth Route Army ambushed us. They surrounded us from all sides. Our regiment was scattered because we had to escort equipment.” The defeated soldiers explained in a low voice, “The scattering of the troops meant the dispersion of combat power. We were caught off guard by the attack and could not effectively organize our forces, so the Eighth Route Army quickly defeated us one by one.”

"Baka! I don't believe it! I don't believe it!" The Japanese regimental commander still didn't believe it and led his troops over at top speed.

When they arrived at the battlefield, all the equipment was gone, and all that remained on the ground were the corpses of Imperial Army soldiers and weapons and ammunition.

It's clear that the enemy didn't have enough manpower or time to clean up the battlefield in their haste to move the equipment away.

"Go find them right now! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find the Eighth Route Army!" the Japanese regimental commander shouted, jumping up and down. "They're carrying a lot of equipment, so they can't be moving fast. They can't have gone far. We must keep an eye on them."

"Hai!" Immediately, Japanese soldiers followed the battlefield tracks.

"Quickly check if the brigade commander's sword is still there." The Japanese regimental commander still had a sliver of hope.

That damned Eighth Route Army emergency evacuation equipment didn't even have time to clean up the battlefield, and maybe the brigade commander's sword wasn't taken away either.

But after searching with the Japanese soldiers, he couldn't find the brigade commander's officer's sword at all.

"Damn the Eighth Route Army! I will never return to the First War Zone until I find them and kill them, and until I get back the brigade commander's sword!" The Japanese regimental commander was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode.

(End of this chapter)