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

Chapter 204 Nearly 20,000 People
"Send this telegram to Mr. Tai."

Haruno Sato personally drafted the telegram and handed it to his assistant.

Another military train was attacked by the Eighth Route Army, and there were five carts of tungsten ore on the train.

The Eighth Route Army soldiers, unaware of the value of the tungsten ore, only took a small portion of it, leaving the majority behind.

Although most of the tungsten ore was urgently transferred to Tae's warehouse, all reinforcements were tied down.

This is enough to show that the remaining tungsten ore will still be coveted by the Chinese.

Therefore, Haruno Sato gave advice to Tai.

A special powder is sprinkled onto the tungsten sand.

If the remaining large quantity of tungsten ore can be preserved, that would naturally be a good thing.

If this large quantity of tungsten ore cannot be protected and is seized by the Eighth Route Army.

The Eighth Route Army would definitely move this tungsten ore towards their arsenal.

We sprinkled a special powder on this tungsten ore, so that while we were leading military dogs to retrieve the tungsten ore, we could also find the location of the Eighth Route Army's arsenal.

Originally, Sato Haruno had already laid out bait, waiting for the Eighth Route Army to take the bait.

But this tungsten sand is undoubtedly a better bait.

"Vice Minister, if we send this telegram over, Mr. Taji will probably be furious after reading it," the assistant said as he took the telegram.

Sato Haruno's intentions were good. If the tungsten ore was really seized, we would still have a chance to get it back and find the location of the Eighth Route Army's arsenal.

But sending this telegram also meant putting more pressure on Tai's side.

He received the telegram and must have assumed we thought he couldn't hold out.

"Let him curse," Sato Haruno said calmly. "If he really can't hold on, this is my only chance to turn the tide. In the end, he will still thank me."

"Hai!" The assistant went to send a telegram.

Haruno Sato clenched his fists, his emotions somewhat complicated.

He hoped that Tianjing could hold on and preserve the tungsten ore.

But they also hoped that Tianjing's side couldn't hold out, so that they could use military dogs to smell the tungsten ore and locate the Eighth Route Army's arsenal.

Now, how things will develop is up to fate.

……

"Commander, according to reconnaissance, the Japanese have moved all the tungsten ore to the warehouse, but the other supplies on the train have not been touched."

"Commander, according to reconnaissance, the Japanese have strengthened their defenses at that warehouse, and the additional troops consist of a full regiment of Japanese soldiers who came from Yuehua Station."

"Commander, the Japanese have no other reinforcements operating nearby for the time being, so they should still be in the process of being held back."

One piece of intelligence after another was reported to Li Yunlong and his men.

Gao Xigang said in a serious tone, "I scouted that warehouse before, and the garrison was no more than a thousand men. Now there's an additional Japanese regiment, and the Japanese garrison has four thousand men, which is half of ours. This is going to be a tough battle."

"What a joke of a tough battle!" Li Yunlong pointed to the fiery clouds on the horizon and said, "Didn't you see the sun is about to set? The Japanese aren't good at night fighting; nighttime is our main battlefield."

Gao Liujin also said, "We have four hell cannons. If the Japanese troops hide in their bunkers and blockhouses and don't come out, they're like living coffins. We can hit them every time. If they come out to fight us, are our more than 200 grenade launchers, mortars, and Type 92 infantry guns just for show? We can sweep them away with our artillery fire."

Blind Cheng was also incredibly arrogant: "When the time comes, I'll take the lead in attacking."

Ding Wei said cautiously, "Gentlemen, there are three or four thousand Japanese soldiers after all. They are fighting desperately, and their combat power should not be underestimated. We cannot be careless. The Japanese are not even moving other supplies from the train, which clearly shows that they intend to live or die with this tungsten ore."

"Old Ding, then tell me, how should we fight this battle?" Li Yunlong asked.

"If we can find a way to lure some of the Japanese out, the pressure on us to attack will be greatly reduced," Ding Wei said.

"Old Ding, how do we lure it?" Li Yunlong asked.

The other regimental commanders also looked at Ding Wei.

The Japanese are clearly determined to fight to the death with this tungsten ore; they probably won't be so easily lured out.

"How about this? We preserve some of our strength, feign exhaustion, storm the warehouse, grab some tungsten ore, and then retreat," Ding Wei said. "If we retreat with this tungsten ore, would you, as the Japanese commander, just stand by and watch us leave?"

As soon as Ding Wei finished speaking, Li Yunlong immediately said, "The Japanese reinforcements are on their way, and their planes have also come out, which is enough to show the importance of this tungsten ore. If we pretend to be exhausted and break into the warehouse to steal the tungsten ore, the Japanese commander will definitely pursue us. Otherwise, he'll have to commit seppuku."

Li Yunlong was still cursing in his heart: Old Ding really lived up to his reputation as a cunning strategist; his methods at crucial moments were even more insidious than mine.

If we set up an ambush outside beforehand, lure the Japanese out, kill them, and then launch a counterattack, it will be much easier to take over the warehouse completely.

Gao Liujin chimed in, "I think this method works. After all, the Japanese have three or four thousand troops. If we don't take care of a portion of them first, it will be quite difficult for us to forcefully attack the warehouse."

Blind Cheng shouted, "Let me do this job!"

Gao Xigang tried to persuade them: "Let my 28th Regiment come."

"Stop arguing," Li Yunlong said. "Cheng the Blind and Gao Xigang will tie up the bags, while Lao Ding, Gao Liujin, and I will attack the warehouse. Once the Japanese are lured out, Cheng the Blind and Gao Xigang will surround them, and then our three regiments will push up. Five regiments will work together. That's settled."

The operational deployment was quickly confirmed.

Blind Cheng and Gao Xigang quickly set up the trap, while Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Gao Liujin rushed towards the warehouse.

Zhang Wanhe arrived with his transport team. The men left behind by Li Yunlong said to Zhang Wanhe, "Minister Zhang, there are still supplies on the Japanese military train that haven't been unloaded. Do you have enough manpower for your transport team? If not, you should keep them to transport tungsten ore."

"Are you kidding me? Don't you know who I am?" Zhang Wanhe was very arrogant, his eyes widening: "I'm the logistics minister, how could the transport team be short-handed!"

Li Yunlong's men reminded him, "Our regimental commander took over the Japanese warehouse, and there must still be supplies inside. Minister Zhang, are you sure we have enough manpower?"

"Nonsense!" Zhang Wanhe said righteously, "Knowing full well that I'm coming out to make a fortune, how could I not be fully prepared? I'm not bragging, but my transport team is just the first batch, and this first batch has four or five thousand people. There are two more batches coming up, and with the three batches combined, there are nearly twenty thousand people. What can't we carry back! I'm even worried that we might have too many people!"

"As expected of Minister Zhang, no wonder our regimental commander always says that you are qualified to be the logistics minister..." Li Yunlong's men flattered him, but didn't finish their sentence.

Zhang Wanhe interrupted: "How long will it take your regimental commander to take down the Japanese warehouse?"

"It's hard to say. If all goes well, it should be around dawn," Li Yunlong's men replied. "After all, the Japanese garrison has been reinforced by another regiment, and now they have about four thousand men."

"My God, four thousand Japanese soldiers, this is going to be a tough job." Zhang Wanhe was stunned for a moment when he heard that there were four thousand Japanese soldiers guarding the warehouse.

On the main battlefield, four thousand Japanese soldiers could easily overwhelm one or two elite divisions.

For example, the Sakata Brigade could easily defeat two elite divisions. Li Yunlong's side is under considerable pressure.

Zhang Wanhe then asked, "Can you really take it down by dawn?"

"Minister Zhang, it depends on whether the delegation leader and his team succeed."

"I believe he can do it." Zhang Wanhe didn't know much about warfare, so he didn't ask any more questions.

"Go and move the stuff off the Japanese army train back right now," Zhang Wanhe ordered the transport team. "And while you're at it, take a section of the railway back with you."

"Yes, Minister Zhang."

The first transport team immediately went to work.

……

On Li Yunlong's side, the troops of three regiments quickly arrived in place.

The strategy is simple: three regiments will launch a fierce attack from three different locations, with all three routes being the main offensive.

boom!
boom!
boom!
The three hell cannons roared as their shells rained down on the Japanese warehouse defenses.

Several fortified firing positions were immediately destroyed.

"So the Eighth Route Army really has its eyes on the remaining tungsten ore." Upon seeing this, the garrison officer and the regimental commander Okamoto both became solemn and immediately ordered: "Hold on tight and defend to the death! No one is allowed to attack without my order!"

boom!
boom!
boom!
As the Hell Cannons continued their assault, more bunkers and firing positions in the Japanese warehouse were destroyed, and the Japanese soldiers inside met their end with Amaterasu.

"Come on!"

"attack!"

"on!"

More bunkers and firing positions were destroyed, and the warehouse defenses were breached. The three-man team launched a rapid attack from three directions.

When faced with a tough target, go straight for the Hellfire Cannon.

The Type 92 infantry gun and rocket launcher wiped out small enemy strongpoints along the way, while mortars and grenade launchers rained down shells, overwhelming the Japanese.

With the added cover of light and heavy machine gun fire, the three men's unit managed to storm the Japanese warehouse with their bare hands.

It's easy to find out where the Japanese put the tungsten ore.

Wherever the Japanese resistance is most intense, just go straight there and attack.

Although the Japanese had 4,000 soldiers, they were stationed in scattered positions and their forces were not united.

Faced with the relentless attacks of Li Yunlong and his two companions, they were severely suppressed. Several attempts to launch a counterattack were thwarted by artillery fire.

Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Gao Liujin arrived at the warehouse where tungsten ore was stored at almost the same time.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry up and move the tungsten ore!"

Li Yunlong and his two men ordered some troops to hold the defenses while the rest rushed into the warehouse to quickly move tungsten ore.

Seeing this scene, Captain Okamoto was shocked: "The Eighth Route Army's firepower is too fierce. They directly attacked the warehouse where tungsten ore is stored. It's unbelievable."

The warehouse garrison officer was also shocked: "It's obvious that these Eighth Route Army soldiers aren't very skilled at using grenade launchers and mortars. They're just bombarding the ground with shells; nobody can stop them, it's just..."

The garrison officer explained, "Why did their covering fire decrease during the tungsten ore seizure?"

"They're probably running out of ammunition," Commander Okamoto remarked. "The Eighth Route Army fought fiercely just now, and they're probably at their last gasp now."

"Okamoto-kun, should we counterattack immediately, or let them take back the tungsten ore?" the garrison officer asked.

They had received Sato Haruno's urgent telegram.

Special powder had already been sprinkled into the tungsten ore warehouse.

If the Eighth Route Army manages to retrieve the tungsten ore, they can use military dogs to track it down and find the stolen tungsten ore. If they're lucky, they might even find the Eighth Route Army's arsenal.

The Eighth Route Army's hell cannons and shoulder-mounted artillery pose a tremendous threat.

Only by destroying their arsenals can we fundamentally eliminate the threat.

But now the Eighth Route Army is at its last gasp. If we put in a little more effort, we can drive them away, and even hunt them down.

In this way, the remaining tungsten sand was completely preserved, and we didn't need to commit seppuku.

The first option seems to be the best.

However, using strategic materials like tungsten ore for fishing is far too risky.

If anything goes wrong, they'll have to commit seppuku.

Haruno Sato's suggestion was simply to add an extra layer of insurance.

It's not about telling them to do that directly.

Therefore, the garrison officer is now in a dilemma.

After thinking for a moment, Captain Okamoto said, "Tungsten ore is a strategic metal. If we use it for fishing and something goes wrong, it's not something the two of us can afford to do. We should quickly consult General Shinotsuka."

The garrison officer quickly summoned the communications officer and instructed him to send a telegram to General Shinotsuka.

Soon, Shinotsuka's reply telegram arrived.

“Okamoto-kun, General Shinotsuka has ordered us to let the Eighth Route Army go. He said that if we go out rashly, there is a high possibility of an ambush outside.” After reading the telegram, the garrison officer said to the regimental commander Okamoto, “He also judged that the Eighth Route Army would definitely move the tungsten ore they seized to their arsenal. By following the clues with military dogs, we can find their arsenal and retrieve the tungsten ore that was previously seized.”

“Alright, then we’ll carry out General Shinozuka’s orders.” Regimental Commander Okamoto nodded.

Right!

The Eighth Route Army often lured people out to ambush them.

Their current appearance of exhaustion is most likely an act.

If we launch a rash attack, the warehouse's defenses will weaken, and if the Eighth Route Army launches a full-scale attack, it will be no laughing matter.

(End of this chapter)