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

Chapter 147 Reclaiming the Taiyuan Arsenal

"Brother Li, is this the shoulder-mounted cannon you created?!"

"The Japanese mechanized troops are coming up! Give them a good beating!"

"Hahaha, those little devils have tasted the power, haven't they? They've never seen a cannon that can be fired from their shoulders before, have they? Bomb those little devils!"

"Hahaha, those shoulder cannons are fucking amazing..."

……

In the solitary confinement cell, Li Yunlong, fast asleep, was talking in his sleep.

boom!
With a loud kick, the brigade commander kicked open the door to the solitary confinement cell.

"Li Yunlong, you son of a bitch, how dare you sleep in front of me? Get up right now!" The brigade commander kicked Li Yunlong.

The brigade commander's kick was quite powerful; Li Yunlong was kicked off the bed.

Startled awake from his dream, Li Yunlong scrambled to his feet, a forced smile plastered on his face: "Hey, Brigade Commander, why are you so angry? Which bastard messed with you? Tell me, and I'll go and kill him for you!"

The brigade commander was so angry he laughed and cursed, "Li Yunlong, I think you're out of your mind. You're the son of a bitch. Aren't there ropes in the solitary confinement cell? Hang yourself from the beam right now, and I'll save myself the trouble of worrying about you."

"Oh dear, Brigade Commander, look at my brain, I'm really sleepy." Li Yunlong slapped his forehead and leaned close to the brigade commander with a smile, "Brigade Commander, it's all my fault, don't be angry, your health is important, don't get upset, it's not worth it."

"You dare to sell the artillery in the division commander's hands? You've got some nerve!" The brigade commander spat in Li Yunlong's face, gritting his teeth. "Do you know that you son of a bitch, you kept it a secret? When I got to the division headquarters, the division commander gave me a good scolding for ages, and I still don't know why. And you, on the other hand, can sleep soundly with a clear conscience. Fine! Now go and carry out the orders."

"What order are you carrying out?" Li Yunlong asked, confused.

"What other order could it be!" the brigade commander roared. "Immediately move your artillery to the division headquarters to compensate the division commander for the artillery he sold."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong immediately became serious: "Brigade Commander, you mustn't be joking with me like this. I, Li Yunlong, am easily frightened. Don't scare me."

We were clearly helping the arsenal to get business and produce machinery, and we were clearly working for our military's production. In the end, I... I lost this hellish cannon. How am I supposed to fight a war now?

In the future, won't I be outdone by that kid Gao Liujin?

"Hmph, you're a coward!" the brigade commander snorted heavily. "If you, Li Yunlong, are a coward, then there is no one in this world who is brave."

"Commander, you're really not joking with me like that. You know I can't live without the Hell Cannon..."

"You were the one who joked with me first, selling the division commander's artillery. If you have the guts, you should have the ability to cover it up!" The brigade commander spat on Li Yunlong's face again. "Anyway, the division commander has already said that you, Li Yunlong, must immediately bring your hellish artillery to the division headquarters. If you don't comply, you can forget about being the commander of the Independent Regiment. You'll have to go to the arsenal to mine coal with Kong Jie. You'd better do what you want."

“Brigadier, this is our brigade’s Hell Cannon. It’s in my hands, so it’s practically yours.” Li Yunlong said earnestly to the brigadier. “You can’t just ignore this. If you take this Hell Cannon to the division headquarters, you’ll only have one Hell Cannon left. Brigadier, are you really willing to give it up?”

Removing me from my position as regimental commander and making me go to dig coal with Kong Erlengzi is worse than shooting me. I'm not doing this stupid, backbreaking work.

"How the hell do you know I didn't try to persuade the division commander!" the brigade commander roared. "Do you think I'd be willing to give up this hellish cannon?"

"Damn it, I don't know what Old Zhang was thinking, how did the knife end up cutting my head!" Li Yunlong cursed and jumped up and down. "No way, I'm going to find Old Zhang right now, I have to get this straight."

As he spoke, Li Yunlong was about to take a step.

"Halt!" the brigade commander roared.

"Commander, I have to protect this hell cannon! Otherwise, I won't have the face to come back and face you!" Li Yunlong said from the bottom of his heart. "I can't let the brigade commander lose the hell cannon, I will..."

"Alright, stop pretending with me." The brigade commander waved his hand to interrupt Li Yunlong. "I've already taken care of this for you."

"Really?" Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Brigade Commander, how did you solve it?"

That brigade commander is really something.

You've already resolved the issue, and you're still scaring me like this? Don't you know I'm easily frightened?

"I suggested to the division commander that this Hell Cannon be considered a loan from our division commander to Lao Zhang, so that Lao Zhang can use it to exchange for equipment with the Jin-Sui Army. Later, when the arsenal manufactures more Hell Cannons, the arsenal will replace them for our division commander," the brigade commander said.

"Did you collect interest?" Li Yunlong asked.

"Nonsense, how could we lend out this hell cannon for free? We must have charged interest." The brigade commander glared and said, "You've been using these new hand grenades made in this district quite well, haven't you? Old Zhang paid a little extra, consider it interest."

"Brigade Commander, look, this matter has been resolved satisfactorily, hasn't it?" Li Yunlong said with a smile. "Since you've resolved everything, I don't have anything else to do at the brigade headquarters, so I'll head back now."

After saying that, Li Yunlong tried to slip away.

"Did I say you could leave?!" The brigade commander grabbed Li Yunlong by the throat.

"Brigade Commander, don't you get annoyed whenever you see me?" Li Yunlong said with a smile. "I dare not bother you anymore. I'd better disappear and go back to my Independent Regiment."

"Stop talking nonsense!" the brigade commander cursed. "You son of a bitch, you won't cause me any trouble just because I can't see you?"

"No, no, brigade commander, how could I dare? I would never dare again." Li Yunlong shook his head hurriedly.

"There's nothing in this world that you wouldn't dare to do," the brigade commander cursed again, then asked, "I heard from the deputy brigade commander that the arsenal is working on shoulder-mounted cannons that can be used to deal with the Japanese armored vehicles?"

“Yes, Brigade Commander.” Li Yunlong nodded quickly. “I have already secured priority equipment rights for you.”

"You're really generous, son of a bitch, trading bullet-making equipment for priority access."

"Brigade Commander, it's just bullet-making equipment. As long as I get these shoulder-mounted cannons, I'll go and rob them. When the opportunity arises, we'll go and take back the Taiyuan Arsenal that Commander Yan lost. What's this mere bullet-making equipment!" Li Yunlong boasted.

"You bastard, you really dare to try and take back the Taiyuan Arsenal?!"

That's deep inside the First Army's territory.

At that time, that little devil Shinotsuka will mobilize tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers, and every spit from each of them will drown you, Li Yunlong.

Even the commander of the North China Expeditionary Army, Okamura, would send troops.

The Taiyuan Arsenal is currently providing the Japanese with crucial munitions; you're stirring up a hornet's nest for us.

"Hehe, brigade commander, didn't you already say that as long as I don't suffer any losses, I'll do whatever I want..." Li Yunlong chuckled.

"Stop grinning at me." The brigade commander interrupted. "We're out of shells for the Hell Cannon, but the arsenal is still producing them. The Japanese lost the train and looted a lot of supplies; there's bound to be a bloody retaliation. Without my orders, you'd better stay put and do nothing, understand?"

"Don't worry, Brigade Commander, if our Hell Cannon runs out of shells, it's like I'm without a diamond drill. Without a diamond drill, I definitely can't do porcelain work." Li Yunlong nodded quickly, then, remembering something, said, "Did the Deputy Brigade Commander tell you about Brother Li wanting puppies and kittens?"

"I'll gather the relevant intelligence. I'll notify you if we need to take action," the brigade commander nodded. Dogs are highly alert, making them perfect for sentry duty and tracking.

The brigade commander had worked in intelligence and knew the battlefield significance of military dogs.

As for the kitten, we've started having things in our warehouse, so we definitely need to keep out the mice.

The arsenal director, Li Muzhi, had thought this detail through very carefully.

"Yes, Brigade Commander, may I go now?" Li Yunlong asked.

"Get lost! If you've got guts, try causing me more trouble behind my back!" Only then did the brigade commander let go.

"No, no, how could I dare? I wouldn't dare!" Li slipped away and ran out of the brigade headquarters in a flash.

They ran until they reached a safe location several kilometers away from the brigade headquarters and saw that the brigade commander was not chasing them.

Li Yunlong finally breathed a long sigh of relief!
Selling the division commander's cannons—that's a serious matter.

Unexpectedly, the brigade commander took care of it, and we only took a couple of kicks, nothing serious.

Next time, let's continue to cause trouble for the brigade commander... cough cough, how can you say that? We still want the brigade commander to live a few more years and protect us.

After dealing with Li Yunlong, the brigade commander returned to the brigade headquarters and said to the deputy brigade commander, "Give Ding Wei a heads-up and tell him to keep a close eye on Li Yunlong. The Japanese won't be quiet for a while, so don't let that bastard Li Yunlong cause any trouble."

"Yes." The deputy brigade commander nodded and asked, "If the shells for the Hell Cannon are manufactured and the arsenal sends them to us, should we temporarily withhold them from Li Yunlong?"

"In principle, it definitely shouldn't be given to Li Yunlong." The brigade commander knew exactly what kind of scoundrel Li Yunlong was.

Once he has cannonballs, that bastard can't stay idle; he's bound to cause trouble.

But the words came back again.

If the Japanese don't stop now, they might attack at any time. Li Yunlong's side doesn't have the Hell Cannon, so they're bound to suffer losses at crucial moments.

Therefore, the brigade commander said, "The shells have been delivered to the brigade headquarters. I will handle them as appropriate later."

"Yes." The deputy brigade commander nodded.

"One more thing," the brigade commander added. "The arsenal is working on shoulder-mounted artillery, but Kong Jie, who's mining coal over there, hasn't sent any word over beforehand. Send someone to tell Kong Jie not to be so stubborn and just bury himself in coal mining, but to take some time to let me see what Xiao Li at the arsenal is up to."

Speaking of this, the brigade commander expressed his dissatisfaction with Kong Jie.

Being in a good position gives you an advantage, but you, Kong Jie, didn't get the moon first. Instead, it was Li Yunlong who brought it back to you.

The brigade commander seriously doubted whether Kong Jie was so focused on mining coal that he was neglecting the weapons production at the arsenal.

"Okay, I'll send someone right away." The deputy brigade commander nodded again, considering the brigade commander's reminder very important.

Fortunately, Li Yunlong discovered Li Muzhi's shoulder-mounted cannon early and secured priority for its deployment.

Next time?

If Li Muzhi were to build something new, and Kong Jie couldn't relay the information in time, wouldn't that cause a delay and allow other units to get there first?

"That idiot puppet army company commander, what's the situation now? Can we still contact him?" The brigade commander remembered this man.

Previously, this person was facing a career crisis and tried to exchange information about the Japanese "white sugar" for clues about our "Hell Cannon".

We intercepted this batch of sugar, and with Hirata Ichiro gone, the bounty is over.

The brigade commander didn't use this man to set a trap for the Japanese because there simply wasn't an opportunity; a series of recent events had delayed things.

Now, if we need to gather intelligence on the Japanese, we might be able to use this person.

“We’re still in contact,” the deputy brigade commander replied. “He said the sugar was intercepted and he wants to exchange it for other intelligence.”

"What intelligence?" the brigade commander asked.

"They said they'd exchange intelligence on the Japanese army's troop movements for it," the deputy brigade commander said, unable to suppress a laugh.

Although we are not planning to go out now, the Japanese will still come with bloody retaliation.

Knowing the movements of the Japanese army in advance would be of great significance.

Previously, we were unable to use this person to set a trap for the Japanese.

Knowing the movements of the Japanese army allows us to set traps for them and exploit their weaknesses.

Upon hearing this, the brigade commander laughed: "It seems this person's career crisis is really serious."

To reiterate, while his act of using intelligence about the Japanese army's movements to exchange for clues about our heavy artillery is undeniably foolish, it also indirectly demonstrates that he genuinely desires to climb the ranks.

Yes!

Hirata Ichiro went down; the bounty was over.

However, we used heavy artillery to attack the Zhengtai Railway and seized the military train.

In this context, the fact that this person was able to provide the Japanese with information about our heavy artillery is still a great achievement.

“You bet, I was worried he wouldn’t be able to hold on and would be killed off prematurely,” the deputy brigade commander said. “I also know who his enemy is. I even wanted to help him kill his enemy, but if that happened, his crisis would be resolved, and he might not be able to work for us.”

"Keep him hanging, and try to get important intelligence about the Japanese army's mobilization from him," the brigade commander said. "Ideally, we should use the same method as last time to get the intelligence."

Intelligence on the movements of the Japanese army is extremely important; we shouldn't let that idiot handle the trivial matters.

I'll find another way.

"Yes, Brigadier."

……

(End of this chapter)