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

Chapter 327: A fishy fish
358th Regiment of Jin-Sui Army

"Commander, what's wrong with Li Yunlong of the Eighth Route Army? They were clearly being surrounded and intercepted by the Japanese, but instead of retreating, they continued to cause trouble on the Japanese side."

Chief of Staff Fang Ligong said to Chu Yunfei with suspicion, "What's even more puzzling is that it's been several days and the Japanese haven't been able to capture Li Yunlong. In fact, Li Yunlong has even caused chaos in the rear."

Chu Yunfei exclaimed, "When a normal person gets something good, they can't wait to run away. But Li Yunlong does the opposite. That's his brilliance."

Chu Yunfei truly hadn't expected Li Yunlong to behave in such an unexpected way.

By disrupting the Japanese forces, the equipment definitely had a better chance of being brought back.

Fang Ligong was extremely unwilling: "Does this equipment really just end up benefiting Li Yunlong?"

"Brother Ligong, although Li Yunlong has disrupted the Japanese side, whether he can successfully transport the equipment back in the end is still unknown." Chu Yunfei got back to the point. "The higher-ups just sent word that Kawashima, that little devil, was defeated by Commander Fu using the Hell Cannon, but he didn't retreat. The higher-ups have received orders for us to rush back, severely damage this group of Japanese first, and protect our homeland."

Kawashima, that little devil, took advantage of our large-scale troop deployment to raid our base, attempting to plunder supplies to replenish his own forces. He was incredibly cunning.

Fortunately, the Hellfire Cannon deterred the Japanese troops at the critical moment.

Kawashima didn't manage to loot much of the supplies.

The team quickly returned, and then they could launch a pincer attack on Kawashima, who had limited supplies and ammunition, which would surely resolve the crisis.

As for Li Yunlong transporting the equipment, we can't worry about that now.

"Where did Commander Fu get those hell cannonballs?" Fang Ligong asked suspiciously.

We did indeed exchange a Hell Cannon from the Eighth Route Army, but the Eighth Route Army was unwilling to provide the cannonballs, wasn't it?

"I'm not entirely sure about the specifics either," Chu Yunfei said, shaking his head. "Regardless of where these shells came from, the fact that our Hell Cannon can fire is a good thing. Let's hurry back and protect our home first. Hopefully!"

Chu Yunfei paused for a moment, then continued, "I hope Li Yunlong will ultimately succeed."

“Commander, Li Yunlong will never succeed.” Fang Ligong shook his head firmly.

"What do you mean?" Chu Yunfei sensed that Fang Ligong had another intention behind his words.

"I've received a tip that the elite troops are making moves," Fang Ligong said.

Fang Ligong only said that the elite troops were stirring, without giving any specifics.

Chu Yunfei immediately understood and said, "We can't worry about the matter of the elite troops. Just think, Li Yunlong's mere few thousand men have already thrown the Japanese into chaos. And the elite troops are still making moves. Just wait, they're going to suffer a huge loss."

Li Yunlong is a cunning fellow, even more shrewd than a monkey when it comes to getting involved. He's the kind of guy who only ever tries to take advantage and never suffers a loss; he's not so easy to deal with.

The loyalist army will ultimately only end up shooting itself in the foot.

Fang Ligong didn't say anything more. When Li Yunlong withdrew, the elite troops and Li Yunlong would fight each other, and he could just watch the show.

The most urgent task is to hurry back and protect our homes.

……

Directly affiliated 217th Regiment

"Commander, these Eighth Route Army soldiers are really something else." The deputy commander leaned close to Commander Feng Zhihui, his tone surprised: "With just a few thousand men, they managed to acquire so much equipment and hold off the Japanese for so long. Not only did they not get captured by the Japanese, they even threw them into disarray."

"Isn't this perfect?" Feng Zhihui laughed. "I was really worried that the Eighth Route Army would be captured by the Japanese. Otherwise, all our preparations would be for nothing. That's a lot of equipment from the Taiyuan Arsenal."

Fang Ligong's so-called restless activity was not unfounded.

Feng Zhihui and his division commander were prepared to intercept Li Yunlong.

If Li Yunlong ultimately fails and the equipment is taken back by the Japanese, that's not what Feng Zhihui wants to see.

“Yes, if Li Yunlong fails, it will not be good for us. He must succeed.” The deputy regimental commander said expectantly, “At that time, it will be a small matter for us to take over the equipment of Taiyuan Arsenal. The main thing is that we will have the opportunity to follow the clues and find the Eighth Route Army’s border region arsenal and their military industry expert. That is the most important thing.”

These elite troops aren't stupid. If Li Yunlong brings his belongings back, where can he move them? He'll definitely move them to the border region's arsenal.

When he returns, they will not rush to take action, but will simply follow and track him.

Once we discover that Li Yunlong has transported the goods to the Eighth Route Army's border region arsenal, that will be the time for us to close in.

“Yes, that’s right, the Eighth Route Army’s military industry expert is the most lucrative target.” Feng Zhihui nodded emphatically.

"Commander, the scouts have just brought news." At this moment, a staff officer quickly walked over and reported to Feng Zhihui, "All the troops of the Jin-Sui Army have quickly withdrawn."

"Are you sure you didn't leave one or two?" Feng Zhihui asked happily upon hearing this.

The equipment at the Taiyuan Arsenal was first seized from the Japanese by the Jin-Sui Army.

Although Li Yunlong has taken control of the equipment again, the Jin-Sui Army will certainly not give up easily.

But with that little devil Kawashima causing trouble in the heart of the Jin-Sui Army, the Jin-Sui Army definitely can't stay here any longer.

Once the Jin-Sui Army leaves, our elite troops can monopolize all the profits from the Eighth Route Army's business.

"No, they've all been transferred," the staff officer replied.

"Hahaha." Feng Zhihui laughed and said, "It seems that little devil Kawashima has really angered Yan Xishan. Haha, it's good that they're all gone. Now there's no one to fight us for them."

After laughing, Feng Zhihui immediately picked up the phone: "Connect me to the division commander."

The call was quickly connected, and Feng Zhihui happily reported the intelligence to his division commander.

The division commander on the other end of the phone was also very pleased and instructed Feng Zhihui to keep a close eye on Li Yunlong's movements.

Once Li Yunlong returns with the items, do not act rashly; report to the authorities immediately.

"Yes, Commander." Feng Zhihui ended the call with the Commander and went to monitor the situation personally.

……

Taiyuan First Army Headquarters
“Commander.” A staff officer approached Yoshio Shinotsuka with a tense expression and reported, “It’s dawn, and the Eighth Route Army has disappeared again. Just like the past few days, the Eighth Route Army piled up the corpses of the Imperial Army and burned them to charcoal.”

"Damn it!" Yoshio Shinotsuka's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the staff officer. "Are the military police all incompetent? Haven't they found out why the Eighth Route Army did this?"

Under normal circumstances, with their equipment, how could the Eighth Route Army have the spare capacity to pile up the corpses and burn them to charcoal?

Even if they wanted to vent their anger, they shouldn't have.

Therefore, Yoshio Shinotsuka concluded that there must be someone willing to do this, and ordered the military police to investigate immediately.

"There's been no reply from the military police yet." The staff officer shook his head and continued, "And two more radio direction finding vehicles went missing last night; they were probably captured by the Eighth Route Army too..."

Yoshio Shinotsuka angrily interrupted, "Baka! Two more radio wave direction finding vehicles are gone! Are the troops below all idiots? Since they haven't detected any Eighth Route Army radio waves by now, it's highly likely that the Eighth Route Army doesn't even have radios. What was the point of sending radio wave direction finding vehicles over there in the first place!"

The empire has limited resources, and every radio wave direction finding vehicle is a precious strategic resource.

They didn't find the Eighth Route Army, the equipment was nowhere to be found, and they even lost three radio wave direction finding vehicles. They are truly incorrigible!
The staff officer lowered his head, not daring to utter a sound.

Jingle Bell!
The telephone on the table rang at that moment.

Yoshio Shinozuka picked up the phone: "This is Yoshio Shinozuka."

The voice of Haruno Sato came through the telephone receiver: "General, this is Haruno Sato."

Upon hearing Haruno Sato's voice, Yoshio Shinotsuka's heart immediately filled with anticipation: "Sato-kun, did the Eighth Route Army take the bait on your end?"

The plan developed by Haruno Sato was something Yoshio Shinotsuka had always been looking forward to.

If Sato Haruno could find the Eighth Route Army's border arsenal in time, then we wouldn't need to pay any attention to these Eighth Route Army soldiers. We could just report it to the military headquarters, and then the heavy troops would head straight for the Eighth Route Army's border arsenal.

"I'm sorry, General, these Eighth Route Army soldiers are too cunning; none of them have taken the bait yet," Sato Haruno apologized.

Yoshio Shinotsuka did not blame Haruno Sato, saying, "The prey is too cunning, and the hunter needs time. I believe in you."

"Thank you for your trust, General."

"Sato-kun, is there something else you need for this call?" Yoshio Shinozuka asked.

“General, in principle, I shouldn’t be distracted right now, but I am, after all, a member of the military police, and I should share the burden for the military police and for you, General,” Sato Haruno said. “I heard that the Eighth Route Army has been causing trouble for you for several days and still hasn’t found anyone. They even burned the bodies on the battlefield. Is that true?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Yoshio Shinozuka nodded. “These Eighth Route Army soldiers are too cunning. The Military Police Department hasn’t given me an answer yet. How did the Eighth Route Army soldiers hide? Why were the bodies burned on the battlefield?”

Then, Yoshio Shinotsuka asked suspiciously, "Does Sato-kun have some ideas?"

"General, there's a Chinese idiom, 'to pass off fish eyes as pearls,'" Sato Haruno reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka immediately understood: "Sato-kun, could it be that the Eighth Route Army burned the corpses because they stripped the clothes off the bodies and put them on themselves, wearing our Imperial Army uniforms?"

“Most of the elite core members of the Military Police are not here now, and many of them are newcomers who have no experience…” Sato Haruno still spoke up for the Military Police.

That is indeed the case with the military police department.

Let’s make an analogy.

Li Yunlong of the Eighth Route Army caused considerable trouble for the Imperial Army.

Sakata Regiment Commander died at his hands, Yamazaki Battalion Commander died at his hands, the observation group was also wiped out by him, and he could even come and go freely in Heyuan County, not to mention that Li Yunlong was an even greater threat to the Imperial Army. Given how much of a threat he posed to the Imperial Army, the military police only sent a newcomer to investigate Li Yunlong, and what was the result?

The investigation didn't even scratch the surface; they didn't even find a single photo of Li Yunlong. This was a major oversight.

“Sato-kun, once you’ve achieved some merit and located the Eighth Route Army’s border arsenal, I will definitely find a way to make you the head of the Military Police Headquarters!” Yoshio Shinotsuka said solemnly. “A talent as outstanding as you should be placed in a higher position to serve the Empire.”

In fact, Yoshio Shinotsuka had long known that there were problems within the Military Police Headquarters.

The biggest problem lies with the head of this command.

This guy is from Osaka, all he thinks about is how to make money, and he knows absolutely nothing about intelligence.

Many of the empire's elites were ostracized by him because they couldn't generate funds for him.

Even a top intelligence elite like Sato Haruno, who was supposedly parachuted into the Heyuan County Military Police to handle the crisis, was actually ostracized by this bastard.

but!

The empire needs a lot of war funds to launch wars, and it also needs these Osaka bastards.

Therefore, Yoshio Shinotsuka cannot touch the head of the Military Police Headquarters for the time being.

Moreover, with Yoshio Shinozuka's First Army facing such a crisis, he had even less energy to devote to the Military Police Headquarters.

Once this crisis is over, we must do everything we can to replace this money-grubbing bastard.

"Thank you for your trust, General," said Haruno Sato excitedly.

"Sato-kun, that's enough for now. You keep fishing patiently over there, I need to sort out my thoughts."

"Yes, General."

After the call ended, Yoshio Shinotsuka put the receiver back on the shelf and said to the staff officer in front of him, "Go tell those idiots in the military police department that they don't need to investigate why the Eighth Route Army burned the bodies anymore. They must have stripped the clothes off the bodies and pretended to be Imperial Army troops. They're wearing our skin, so they've managed to fool everyone."

The staff officer listened thoughtfully, still somewhat puzzled, and asked suspiciously, "Commander, even if these Eighth Route Army soldiers are wearing our army uniforms, our troops know each other, how could we not detect them?"

Yoshio Shinotsuka cursed, "Idiots, they're wearing our skin, do you think they'd sneak into our camp? They've definitely sneaked into that damned puppet army's camp, under the cover of that damned puppet army."

After Yoshio Shinotsuka's rebuke, the staff officer suddenly realized, "Commander, your words have truly awakened me from my dream. I will immediately go and tell the military police to investigate the puppet army as soon as possible."

After the staff officer finished speaking, he was about to run away when Yoshio Shinotsuka called out to him, "Wait a minute."

"Commander, is there anything else you would like to say?" The staff officer stopped in his tracks.

"Tell those idiots to investigate discreetly and not to alert them, understand?" Yoshio Shinotsuka said solemnly.

These Eighth Route Army soldiers are too cunning. If we rashly alarm them, trouble will surely arise.

The best strategy is to secretly find them and then quietly surround them with a large force.

"Yes, Commander." The staff officer quickly ran off.

"Hmph, no matter how cunning this prey is, it definitely won't escape my grasp this time!" Yoshio Shinotsuka's eyes flashed with a fierce light. This time, it was all thanks to Haruno Sato's reminder.

……

A town of puppet troops

Li Yunlong was eating a white flour pancake while looking at a map when the puppet army battalion commander cautiously approached him: "Commander Li, I've discovered a new situation."

The puppet army battalion commander has been won over by Li Yunlong and has now decided to follow him... Okay, enough of that.

Li Yunlong wasn't stupid. He knew that if he didn't control the weaknesses of these puppet troops, these bastards wouldn't behave completely and might still try some tricks in secret.

So Li Yunlong had Gao Liujin do some side jobs to control the families of these puppet army officers.

If you dare to disobey, my sword will draw blood from your entire family.

Sure enough, not only did all the puppet army officers in the town behave themselves, but Li Yunlong continued to expand his operation.

Li Yunlong is also making every effort to control the families of puppet army officers in the nearby towns.

To be honest, Li Yunlong looked down on these bastards from the bottom of his heart.

However, on the other hand, the troops are still too few behind enemy lines. It would be right to expand the force rapidly.

Moreover, Old Zhang, that miser, is not easy to deal with.

Instead of going back to him and asking for more soldiers, we might as well expand our own force.

These puppet troops weren't incompetent; they were just preoccupied with cheating and shirking their duties.

As long as they see blood, and then undergo ideological reform, they can mature quickly.

In short, the type of officers you have determines the type of soldiers you can train!

I'm not bragging, but leading troops is my strongest skill.

"What new situation?" Li Yunlong looked at the puppet army battalion commander in front of him with suspicion.

"The Japanese military police who were investigating the corpses on the battlefield have withdrawn. They stopped investigating the charred bodies and started making strange movements," the puppet army battalion commander replied.

While lying in wait in this puppet army town, Li Yunlong would naturally try to keep an eye on the Japanese soldiers' movements.

If these Japanese devils investigate the charred corpses and manage to uncover the real cause, then we should change our approach.

What new approach should we take?

It's simple, we won't pretend to be Japanese soldiers anymore, we can pretend to be puppet troops.

Anyway, once the families of these puppet troops in the surrounding area are taken into custody and controlled, they can still blend in with the real thing.

Of course, the Japanese weren't stupid either.

The truth will eventually come out.

However, Li Yunlong did not intend to continue the charade indefinitely. The underground transportation line was currently transporting equipment at a rapid pace, which was a crucial moment for cover. Once they had moved the equipment to a relatively safe area in batches, Li Yunlong would then consider revealing his true intentions to the Japanese.
That's right!

We won't run away right away. We'll force these puppet troops to fight the Japanese, get their pledge of allegiance, and incidentally, inflict another heavy blow on the Japanese.

"They are secretly investigating the puppet army camp," the puppet army battalion commander replied.

"Hmm, you did a very good job." Li Yunlong was very satisfied and patted the puppet army battalion commander on the shoulder. "As long as my troops can hide successfully and not be wiped out by the Japanese, the lives of your officers' families will be guaranteed."

On the surface, Li Yunlong was satisfied, but in reality, he was also threatened.

There was no other way; behind enemy lines, you couldn't intimidate these puppet troops without using some tricks.

If our Eighth Route Army is discovered by the Japanese, and the Eighth Route Army cannot survive, then none of the families of these puppet troops will survive either.

This completely binds these collaborators to our warship.

"Commander Li, don't worry, I know what to do. I will never let the Japanese find out," the puppet army battalion commander quickly assured him.

"Go and quickly discuss with the other puppet army officers and come up with a plan for me," Li Yunlong ordered.

"Yes." The puppet army battalion commander left quickly.

Li Yunlong didn't sit idly by either; he immediately went to Ding Wei's place.

Seeing Li Yunlong approaching, Ding Wei said, "Old Li, we now have more than two thousand puppet troops under our control."

"That's not enough; we need to control as much as possible." Li Yunlong shook his head.

There aren't enough people for our three regiments to share.

"The main problem is that this is behind enemy lines, so I can't make any big movements, otherwise I'll alert the enemy," Ding Wei explained.

“It’s alright, we still have some time,” Li Yunlong said. “I just received news that the Japanese military police have probably figured out that we were impersonating Japanese soldiers, so we need to change our approach.”

"These idiots are so slow, only realizing it now?" Ding Wei scoffed, though he was mostly relieved.

The slower the Japanese discover it, the more time we can buy cover for the underground transportation lines. Now is the critical moment for transportation.

“I asked those puppet army officers to discuss and come up with a cover plan for me, but I think the most suitable cover is still…” Li Yunlong paused for a moment and continued, “We should kill as many of the Japanese investigators as possible, and then create some false targets to divert their intelligence. This way, we can definitely buy more cover time.”

"I understand," Ding Wei said with a smile. "You're planning to have me do this job, aren't you?"

"It's your turn to go out tonight, after all," Li Yunlong nodded.

Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Gao Liujin lay in wait in this puppet army town. At night, not all three of them went out to work, but they took turns going out.

“Okay, leave it to me.” Ding Wei nodded.

(End of this chapter)