Courtyard House: Home Alone

Lin Yifan smiled and nodded, then walked to the sand table and pointed to the sea area where the Japanese warship was sunk, saying, "Three destroyers and one light cruiser came, but they all went to sea to find the Dragon King."

The forts at Dagu Port have been cleared out for you. They were all equipped with large-caliber coastal defense guns. You must select good artillerymen to take over. The defense of the sea from now on will mainly depend on yourselves.

However, you can start training as soon as you take over. The Japanese navy is currently engaged in a fierce battle with the Americans in the Pacific and won't be able to arrive anytime soon.

Kong Jie's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this, and he slapped his thigh: "Good heavens! We've hit the jackpot! Even the Japanese navy has surrounded us, and we've even gotten a whole bastion of coastal defense heavy artillery for free. This deal is too good to pass up!"

"Don't worry, I'll send my old artillery battalion over to take over right away. I guarantee the fort will be heavily guarded; not even a seabird will be able to fly in."

After saying that, he pulled Lin Yifan to the sand table and pointed to the red and blue markings that had just been revised to introduce the battle situation: "With two armored regiments as the vanguard, this battle went too smoothly. The outer defense line of the Japanese was broken as soon as it was charged."

Now most of Tianjin's urban area has been captured, with only about a thousand Japanese soldiers remaining near the Haihe Wharf in the south of the city, stubbornly resisting in a few reinforced concrete buildings. I have already deployed two infantry battalions to surround them, and we should be able to wipe them out by noon at the latest.

Our special forces team on the outskirts just reported that a group of Japanese soldiers, about two battalions in size, are coming from the south and are heading towards Tianjin. They are probably from Dezhou and are trying to relieve the siege.

I've already sent an armored battalion with an infantry regiment to block them. What do you think? Should we take advantage of the situation and wipe them out in one fell swoop, then push further south and take Texas too?

Lin Yifan stared at the location of the Japanese troops on the sand table for a moment, then nodded and said, "Deputy Commander Kong, we definitely have to take them. These Japanese have delivered themselves to our doorstep, so we have no reason not to accept them. But you need to get the troops moving quickly, and prevent them from running south and heading towards Jinan to join up with the Japanese there. We'll need to trouble our allies to take action later."

Also, be careful when clearing out the city. Your weapons are now far superior to those of the Japanese. Don't be foolish and use your soldiers' lives to attack those fortifications. Use tanks when necessary and artillery when necessary.

Those things won't reproduce if left there, but soldiers only have one life.

After listening, Kong Jie nodded heavily and immediately grinned, "You're right! I'll call the front line right now and have them send their tanks up to bombard us. Don't be stingy with those few shells; we're a large and powerful nation now, we don't need that little bit of ammunition."

I also gave orders to this reinforcement of Japanese soldiers, instructing the armored battalion to circle around to their flanks and rear to block their retreat, ensuring they are all wiped out in one fell swoop, not a single one escapes.

After saying that, he turned around and called the communications officer, who relayed Lin Yifan's instructions verbatim. He then pulled Lin Yifan to sit down in the adjacent lounge, had coffee brought over from the Japanese kitchen, and told Lin Yifan with a smile about the interesting things that had happened along the way.

Many Japanese soldiers, upon seeing the Type 44 tank charging towards them, stubbornly charged with their bayonets, only to be crushed into mud by the tank's tracks. They died without ever understanding why anti-tank guns couldn't penetrate the tank's armor.

Our Type 44 tanks, on the other hand, destroyed bunkers and firing positions with a single shot, leaving the Japanese unable to raise their heads. Many Japanese bunkers and fortifications were destroyed by the Type 44 tank guns after only two shots were fired. Even the reinforced concrete fortifications built by the Japanese at intersections collapsed into pieces after being hit by a 100mm shell, and could not stop the advance of the armored vehicles.

At this point, Kong Jie couldn't help but slap his thigh: "Seriously, with these Type 44 tanks, we've saved so much trouble in attacking fortified positions. After we take Pingjin, I'll have to tell Commander Chen to allocate a few more to the main force regiments!"

Lin Yifan smiled and said, "Deputy Commander Kong, tanks are most effective when used in concentrated numbers. If, as you suggest, we distribute a few to each main force regiment..."

Instead, it dispersed the armored forces, making it impossible to form a powerful force to break through the enemy's defenses if they encountered a counterattack from the Japanese.

Don't worry, our production line will continue to produce tanks. Once we take Pingjin, we can put together a complete armored regiment for you. You'll be in command of it all. Isn't that better than breaking it up and distributing it among the various regiments?

Currently, our production of tanks, machine guns, and artillery is limited. In another year, our production capacity will increase at least threefold. At that time, it will not be difficult to transform the entire North China Military Region into a mechanized force.

but......"

"Whatever! As long as the North China Military Region is equipped with your Type 44 tanks, I'll risk getting my old boss fired if I have to, but I'll get it done! Name your conditions, and if I, Kong Jie, can do it, I won't even flinch!"

Lin Yifan smiled and waved his hand: "Deputy Commander Kong, it's not that I look down on you, but to be honest, you really can't do it. You should know the cost of this tank, right? Tell me, how are you going to pay me?"

Do the math again. How many IOUs has your Red Party given me so far? How much money do you owe me?

Furthermore, tanks, armored vehicles, and automobiles all require fuel. If all the troops in the North China Military Region were to be converted into mechanized or armored units, how much fuel would they consume every day, and where would that fuel come from?

Upon hearing this, Kong Jie's excitement froze instantly. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Hey, look at my brain, I was so happy that I forgot about this."

To be honest, I really don't have anything decent to pay for right now. The IOUs are piled up almost as high as a person, and we're completely out of oil. We're only holding on thanks to 'Ghost'."

At this point, his eyes darted around and he looked at Lin Yifan again. "But I heard that when we took Tanggu Port, we not only seized the Japanese ships and forts, but also raided their oil depots, right?"

"The oil depot has so much diesel and gasoline stored there, it should be enough for us to use for a while, right? As for the debt we owe you, we'll pay you back slowly after we take over Beijing and Tianjin and seize the factories and railways left behind by the Japanese, okay? If all else fails, I'll even pawn my deputy commander's hat to you!"

"Tch! You think your position as deputy commander is worth anything? Do you believe that if I wanted it, Commander Chen would give me the commandership?"

Lin Yifan pursed his lips, turned to look out the window, and slowly pointed to the soldiers collecting supplies on the street outside, saying: "After we took over Pingjin, the industrial base here is ready-made. There are coal mines, iron mines, and arsenals and oil refineries left by the Japanese."

Although they are not large in scale, as long as these factories are up and running, we can gradually become self-sufficient in oil and steel, and we can make up for the debts owed to me little by little.

What I want is not for you to back up your hats, but for you to manage these factories well, get production up and running, and prevent the machines left behind by the Japanese from gathering dust and rusting.

Don't worry, I won't let you take the equipment for free. Since it was agreed upon by both parties beforehand, I'm not in a hurry to accept these IOUs.

"Ghost" and I both believe that your Red Party will one day rule China, and then we'll settle things slowly."