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

Chapter 338 Hellfire Missiles Decapitate Again
“Minister Zhang, isn’t this man Director Li from our border region’s arsenal?” A guerrilla captain approached Zhang Wanhe.

This young man, whom Zhang Wanhe called Xiao Li, was able to give our guerrillas rocket launchers. Judging from Zhang Wanhe's attitude and tone when speaking to him, it's not hard to tell who this person is.

"Now that the equipment has arrived at the logistics department, your task is finished. Go to the logistics department to collect your supplies," Zhang Wanhe said, changing the subject.

"Yes, Minister Zhang." The guerrilla captains didn't ask any more questions. They were very grateful to Li Muzhi and led their team to the logistics department.

Li Muzhi quickly inspected the equipment and said happily to Zhang Wanhe, "Minister Zhang, this equipment was disassembled well and reassembled. It can now decompose hydrogen."

Besides decomposing hydrogen, these extra devices can be modified for other uses.

"Haha." Zhang Wanhe laughed heartily, calling to his men, "Hurry up and move the equipment back, get the hydrogen production done as soon as possible, and refine tungsten ore to make air defense weapons!"

The logistics staff quickly moved the items, and Liu Fuxing and several classmates approached Li Muzhi: "Teacher, there's something we'd like to discuss with you?"

"What is it?" Li Muzhi asked.

“We want to set aside an hour or two during our evening rest time to learn some military skills,” Liu Fuxing said. “The large-scale mopping-up operation is about to begin, and if the Japanese invaders manage to reach our logistics base one day, we can take up arms and fight back…”

Before Liu Fuxing could finish speaking, Zhang Wanhe interrupted, "You are high-level talents. Your main task is to learn skills and knowledge from Xiao Li, not to learn how to pull the trigger like soldiers. I disagree."

They even took time out of their evenings to study military skills, which meant they were missing out on their rest.

If you don't get enough rest, you'll be tired the next day, and then you'll learn the things Li Muzhi teaches you much slower.

Your slow progress is impacting the future development of our military industry.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Wanhe said seriously to Li Muzhi, "Xiao Li, don't get involved in this matter. I won't agree to it."

"Students, you should go back and rest first. I'll think about this." Seeing the bloodstains on the students, Li Muzhi could easily deduce that Commander Chen of the 386th Brigade had most likely caused them to bleed.

As the commander of the combat troops, Brigade Commander Chen's ideas inevitably influenced the students.

However, Zhang Wanhe's words were not without reason. Time was tight, and they had to hurry up and help the students succeed.

Perhaps Li Muzhi could change the learning model so that students can learn knowledge while also learning military skills.

"Yes, teacher." Hearing Li Muzhi say this, Liu Fuxing and the others knew there was hope, and left happily.

Zhang Wanhe leaned closer and asked, "Xiao Li, are you really going to agree to them?"

“Minister Zhang, when the combat troops took over the Japanese factory, the workers inside basically surrendered without resistance. The combat troops captured prisoners very easily.” Li Muzhi looked at Zhang Wanhe. “If one day our arsenal is like that, wouldn’t that be giving the Japanese an easy advantage? If the workers and students could take up arms, it would also increase the strength of our defenses.”

"You plan to have the workers learn military skills too?" Zhang Wanhe stared wide-eyed.

“Production is still the priority right now,” Li Muzhi replied. “I’ll give it a try, as long as it doesn’t affect production or the students’ studies.”

“Why try it? It will definitely take up your time.” Zhang Wanhe shook his head. “It will tire you out too much. If you get sick from overworking, that won’t work.”

"It's alright, Minister Zhang, I'm still young."

“Sigh, no matter how young you are, you’re not made of iron.” Zhang Wanhe sighed and brought up the headquarters leader. “This matter still needs to be reported to the headquarters leader. If he doesn’t agree, then don’t bother.”

“Okay.” Li Muzhi nodded. “I’ll draft a proposal later, and you can help submit it to headquarters.”

“…” Zhang Wanhe.

So I brought out the headquarters leader for nothing.

Since the natural gas plant had also captured a number of workers and technicians, Zhang Wanhe had to deal with them, so he didn't stay long at the border region's arsenal and left quickly.

As instructed by Li Muzhi, all the equipment from the natural gas plant was moved into the renovation workshop.

"Factory manager, are you going to modify this yourself, or should we assist you?" Old Qi asked.

"I don't have time to make changes; we need to focus on developing the radar," Li Muzhi said to Lao Qi. "I'll provide you with a revised plan as soon as possible."

Li Muzhi had already anticipated the changes to the equipment at the natural gas plant and written a modification plan.

However, now that we've seen the actual product, the details of the plan need to be changed. Then we can give the plan to Lao Qi and let him modify it according to the plan first.

"Okay, factory manager, I'll wait." Old Qi nodded, head down, continuing to supervise his men as they made the parts for the anti-aircraft weapons that Li Muzhi had instructed.

Old Qi didn't need to do the work himself on these anti-aircraft weapon parts; he could let the workers do it while he supervised.

If any problems arose during the process, he resolved them on the spot.

Li Muzhi returned to his office, took out the previously written plan, and spent more than an hour revising it.

"Xiao Gu, take this plan to Lao Qi." Li Muzhi handed the plan to Xiao Gu.

"Yes, Factory Manager." Xiao Gu took the plan and quickly ran to the renovation workshop.

Li Muzhi's attention returned to the radar component in front of him.

The radio direction finding equipment retains its original functions, and in order to maximize the effectiveness of the radar, its power has naturally been increased.

With increased power, some electronic components need to be strengthened.

Otherwise, if these electronic components burn out at a critical moment on the battlefield, it's no joke.

However, there is another very important issue.

That's the problem with the radar's power supply.

We currently lack the capability to manufacture batteries independently. Although we have captured and purchased batteries in our warehouse, the quantity is limited.

Therefore, we need to consider manufacturing batteries.

There's a battery factory on the bald guy's side; we can try to find a solution from there.

However, the bald guy isn't stupid either, and he might not agree easily.

The reason why the supplier readily agreed to produce the equipment for gas masks was mainly because the equipment was defective and of poor quality.

Therefore, Li Muzhi planned to equip the radar with a hand-cranked generator for power supply.

Once Minister Zhang is able to procure battery production equipment from his own troops, we can replace hand-cranked generators with batteries.

There weren't any hand-cranked generators readily available in the logistics warehouse, but with what was in the warehouse, it wouldn't be a problem to make a few by hand.

Li Muzhi quickly drew up the blueprints for the hand-cranked generator and had Xiao Gu take them to Lao He to work on.

Then, his focus returned to strengthening the electronic components, and he devoted all his efforts to tackling the problem.

……

boom!
boom!
boom!
As the Japanese planes dropped their bombs and the three Hellfire cannons were destroyed one after another, Commander Fu's eyes widened in fury: "These damned Japanese planes, they're taking advantage of our lack of anti-aircraft weapons!"

The crucial firepower we finally managed to acquire has been destroyed. How can we stop Kawashima's attack now? If we can't stop it, the Jin-Sui Army will be like stray dogs.

"Commander, even our elite troops don't have many anti-aircraft weapons, let alone our local troops," an aide said to Commander Fu. "We shouldn't think too much about anti-aircraft weapons. We need to hurry up and get people to buy more Hell Cannons from the Eighth Route Army. Without heavy firepower, we can't hold off the Japanese."

Commander Fu said gravely, “It’s not easy to switch these hell cannons. I heard from Deputy Factory Director Yan that the Eighth Route Army has a big appetite.”

not to mention.

This is a battlefield; there's no time to find the Eighth Route Army to exchange for the Hell Cannon.

Even if we were to replace those hellish cannons immediately, we would still lack anti-aircraft weapons, and the Japanese planes would be able to see the ground clearly from their high vantage point.

They will still be able to accurately destroy our heavy artillery positions.

The current battle cannot be fought using the old methods; we need to change our approach and learn from the Eighth Route Army's tactics.

"Even if the Eighth Route Army has a big appetite, it's still better than us being unable to stop the Japanese and being driven out of Shanxi Province..." The staff officer didn't finish his sentence.

Commander Fu interrupted him: "Pass down the order: since we have no heavy artillery left, let's not hold out any longer and retreat immediately."

"Retreat immediately?" The staff officer asked, puzzled. "Commander Fu, the Japanese are eager for us to retreat. If we retreat, we will give up our positions and fortifications, and the Japanese will definitely take the opportunity to pursue and kill us. If we can't hold our ground, the consequences will be unimaginable."

“We still have a Hellfire missile on hand,” Commander Fu said.

The other Hellfire missile is still at the arsenal, and Yan Kai and a group of experts are still racking their brains about how to dismantle it.

"What good can a mere Hellfire missile do?" the staff officer asked.

"The greatest value of the Hell missile lies not in its explosive power, but in its ability to be concealed on the battlefield and transported quickly," Commander Fu said solemnly. "The Japanese planes cannot detect this Hell missile, so we can use it as a hidden trump card."

"What's the trump card?"

"Stop asking so many questions, just carry out the orders quickly."

"Yes."

……

After watching several planes bombard the Jin-Sui Army's heavy artillery positions, Kawashima realized that the Jin-Sui Army's heavy artillery fire had ceased, and the Jin-Sui Army was rapidly retreating. Kawashima laughed, "Yosh, the Jin-Sui Army commander definitely didn't expect that these planes would only support me this once and then never again. He actually withdrew! Haha, this is truly heaven's help! Pass down the order: the Jin-Sui Army has no more heavy artillery, charge!"

The loss of Taiyuan Airport resulted in the loss of dozens of aircraft.

There aren't enough planes. Kawashima only managed to get three planes, and these three planes are only for this one reinforcement.

But these three planes destroyed the Jin-Sui Army's heavy artillery and scared the Jin-Sui Army commander into retreating, which was enough for Kawashima.

Once the Jin-Sui army breaks free from its fortifications, it will be much easier for us to deal with them.

"Yes, brigade commander." The messenger quickly relayed Kawashima's order.

Kawashima's men immediately swarmed over like a tidal wave.

It was still a group charge; the Japanese soldiers, no longer hindered by heavy artillery, pursued fiercely.

This pursuit lasted for more than ten miles in one go against the Jin-Sui Army.

The fiery clouds on the horizon were as red as fresh blood.

The ground, bathed in the red light, was littered with the corpses of Jin-Sui soldiers.

Kawashima said confidently, "The Jin-Sui Army is already in complete disarray. It's only a matter of time before we drive them out of Jin Province."

"General, it's getting dark. We're not good at night fighting. Let's rest for the night and pursue them again tomorrow," Kitano Chuuji said to Kawashima. "The Imperial Army soldiers are exhausted after days of fighting."

“We’re not good at night fighting, and neither is the Jin-Sui Army. We’re exhausted, and so are the Jin-Sui Army.” Kawashima shook his head and said, “Keep chasing them, at least until midnight.”

However, although Kawashima's orders were issued, the battlefield situation changed.

That is, the Jin-Sui Army did not flee, but quickly turned around and fought back, organizing a defensive line.

Kawashima was puzzled: "What are these Jin-Sui Army doing? They didn't fight desperately when they had fortifications, but now that they've run out of the fortifications and are no longer protected by trenches, they want to fight me to the death?"

Kitano Chuuji warned, "Needless to say, this is definitely a conspiracy by the Jin-Sui Army."

"Hmph, the outcome of this battle is already decided, the Jin-Sui Army can't cause any trouble..." Before Kawashima could finish speaking, a strong sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart.

He quickly looked to the side, where a long, thin missile trailing smoke was hurtling towards him.

In an instant, Kawashima realized that he had fallen into the trap set by the Jin-Sui Army.

They deliberately turned around to retaliate, with the aim of temporarily setting up their command post here and then launching a surprise attack using missiles.

Kitano Chuuni, who was next to Kawashima, also turned his head. When he saw the Hell Missile, Kitano Chuuni's mind went blank for a moment.

Previously, following Fujita Ichiji's advice, when he was stationed at Falling Snow Slope with his logistics and supplies, he was also attacked by this thing, resulting in the complete destruction of the army's logistics and supplies.

Now, how come the Jin-Sui Army also has such despicable arrows in their hands?

This hell missile gave Kawashima and Kitano no time to think.

boom!
The Hellfire missile hit the temporary command post with pinpoint accuracy, tearing the command tent to shreds. The bodies of Kawashima and Kitano were thrown far away by the shockwave and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Colonel!"

"General!"

Upon seeing this, the Japanese guards beside the command post reacted like hornets whose swarm had been disturbed. Some rushed towards the bodies of Kawashima and Kitano, while others immediately charged towards the direction from which the Hellfire missile had come.

The guards rushed to Kawashima and Kitano Chuuji's side, and seeing their two bodies blown to pieces and unrecognizable, they all broke down in tears.

Where there are tears, there are also laughter.

At the launch site of the Hellfire missile, watching as it precisely destroyed the Japanese command post, the Jin-Sui Army artilleryman who was there smiled: "Commander Fu, I have completed my mission. I took out the Japanese commander. I'm entrusting my mother to you now."

Originally, this Hell Missile had artillery support from eight different routes, but the Hell Missile was very easy to use.

The artillerymen of the Eighth Route Army taught him how to use it, so Commander Fu did not let the Eighth Route Army artillerymen fire it, but instead chose a suicide soldier from the Jin-Sui Army.

This is Japanese-occupied territory; there is no chance of escape.

Falling into the hands of the Japanese would be worse than death.

The artilleryman from the Jin-Sui Army took out a grenade, and seeing the enraged Japanese soldier charging towards him, he pulled the fuse without hesitation.

boom!
……

(End of this chapter)