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

Chapter 233 Senior Ship Engineer

"Damn it, those damned Eighth Route Army soldiers!"

The commander of the 21st Brigade, Muto Shiju, spent the entire day cursing the Eighth Route Army.

Taking advantage of my 21st Brigade's deployment, they raided our base and seized the Yanzhen Arsenal. It was utterly despicable.

What infuriated Muto Juichi the most was that his troops were unable to provide timely reinforcements.

If reinforcements arrive but fail to stop the attack, then so be it.

The main problem is that there wasn't even a chance for reinforcements, which was incredibly frustrating.

Major General Kawashima, commander of the 29th Brigade, comforted him: "Mr. Muto, don't be too angry. Once we've sorted out the Eighth Route Army's arsenal, we'll have recovered all the equipment from the Yanzhen Arsenal, along with our five truckloads of tungsten ore and sugar and other supplies."

The commander of the Ninth Brigade also comforted him: "Muto-kun, no matter how angry you are, it won't help. Turn it into motivation. Only by sweeping away the Eighth Route Army's arsenal can we avenge our defeat and regain our dignity."

"I still want to find and eliminate the Eighth Route Army outside first," Muto Shiju said through gritted teeth. "While we are sweeping up the main force of the Eighth Route Army, they are always a major hidden danger behind us."

"The problem is that we haven't found where these Eighth Route Army soldiers are hiding yet," said the commander of the Ninth Brigade. "If we can find the Eighth Route Army's arsenal, they will come on their own once we attack it, and we can just ambush them."

"Finding the Eighth Route Army's arsenal won't be easy," Muto Shiju shook his head. "We didn't find their arsenal during all those previous encirclements. It was only by chance that the Yamazaki Battalion discovered it once. As a result, the Yamazaki Battalion was completely wiped out, and the Eighth Route Army's arsenal disappeared again."

"Things are different now than before," Major General Kawashima denied. "The reason why the Eighth Route Army's arsenals were hard to find in the past was because they were too weak. They had almost no machinery and equipment, so the relocation was simple and quick, and they were not easy to be discovered. Now it's different. The Eighth Route Army's arsenals have a lot of machinery and equipment. The relocation is much more efficient and they are much easier to find."

The commander of the Ninth Brigade nodded in agreement: "Yes, it's definitely much easier to find the Eighth Route Army's arsenal now than before."

“That makes sense.” An eager look quickly appeared in Muto Juichi’s eyes. “Then let’s hurry…”

Before Muto Shiju could finish speaking, a communications soldier rushed over and handed him a newly arrived telegram: "The 9th Brigade's headquarters and the 29th Brigade's headquarters have been attacked by the Eighth Route Army."

The 9th Brigade's headquarters and the 29th Brigade's headquarters were attacked by the Eighth Route Army!
Before Major General Kawashima, commander of the 29th Brigade, could speak, the commander of the 9th Brigade screamed like a pig being slaughtered, his voice almost shattering the eardrums of the communications soldier: "Baka! Is this true? The Eighth Route Army really attacked our position!!!"

Major General Kawashima was also enraged: "Damn it, these Eighth Route Army soldiers are too despicable! They sneaked into our base while we were away, they are extremely insidious!"

Muto Juichi immediately said, "It seems that the main task of the Eighth Route Army outside is to harass our rear and affect our large-scale encirclement and suppression. Perhaps we should adjust our strategy and eliminate them first. The Kumamoto Division sent by Commander Okamura has also arrived. I suggest..."

Before Muto Shiju could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the Ninth Brigade Commander's roar, who stared at the communications soldier: "Are you sure it was my base that was attacked by the Eighth Route Army?!"

The Ninth Brigade Commander's voice was much louder this time than before, as if his ancestral graves had been dug up.

Oh no, even if his ancestral graves were destroyed, he wouldn't be this agitated.

"Yes, the message came from your command post. The telegram also said that Cherry Blossom Tree didn't have time to escape and was captured by the Eighth Route Army," the communications soldier replied, looking at the Ninth Brigade Commander with some suspicion: "Commander, what is this Cherry Blossom Tree? Is it a code name?"

"Baka! The cherry blossom tree has also fallen into the hands of the Eighth Route Army!" The Ninth Brigade Commander's tone was filled with disbelief and fear, as if he had been struck by lightning.

Seeing this, Muto Juichi and Major General Kawashima realized that the Ninth Brigade Commander's reaction was a bit too exaggerated. Even if his house was robbed, his reaction was too much. The two couldn't help but ask, "Whose cherry blossom tree is this?"

“She is one of our senior naval engineers.” The commander of the 9th Brigade said in an extremely serious tone, “If we cannot save her, it will greatly affect the development of our army’s naval vessels.”

Here, some people might wonder, why is the Japanese army building ships? Aren't ships built by the navy?
In fact, the contradictions between the Japanese navy and army were very deep.

How deep is it?

They go so deep that even making a single bolt requires meticulous attention to detail.

The army uses clockwise screws, while the navy manufactures counter-clockwise screws, each targeting the other.

Some say that the greatest enemy of the Japanese army in World War II was the navy, and the greatest enemy of the navy was the army.

Both sides spend 80% of their energy fighting internally, and only 20% of their energy on external affairs.

If these two groups had united even a little bit more, they wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat.

While this statement may be exaggerated, it is essentially true.

When the army needs warships for operations, the navy does not cooperate.

When the navy needed tanks for a landing operation, the army refused to cooperate.

That's why the army built warships and the navy built tanks, which is such a ridiculous situation.

"What? She's one of our senior ship engineers?" Both Muto Juichi and Rear Admiral Kawashima were stunned.

Those bastards in the navy control the ship technology and won't share it with us.

During combat, their naval ships did not cooperate with our army. This forced our army to build its own ships.

But building your own ships is no easy task.

The shipbuilding experts are all controlled by that bunch of idiots in the navy.

In this context, the importance of senior naval experts to the army is self-evident.

"Yes." The Ninth Brigade Commander's face was as white as paper, and his hands were trembling uncontrollably due to his overwhelming emotions.

Muto Juichi couldn't help but question, "Since this cherry blossom tree is a senior naval expert, then it should be in a shipbuilding area. What is it doing in the China World War II zone? Isn't this just playing the fool?"

Major General Kawashima also scolded, "Miyai-kun, when you led your troops away, why didn't you hurry up and send the cherry blossom trees away? Why are you still lingering there?"

"Why did she come to the Second World War Zone in China? How would I know?" the Ninth Brigade Commander said angrily. "As for why I didn't send her away as soon as she came to my place, she was actually passing through my garrison on her way back. It seems she found some flowers she liked, so she stayed temporarily. You all know that this woman has a natural love for flowers and plants. Who knew that at this critical moment, the Eighth Route Army would attack?"

After hearing the explanation from the Ninth Brigade Commander, Muto Juichi and Major General Kawashima exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat complicated.

Women are indeed born with a love for flowers, regardless of their social status; they cannot resist it.

The cherry tree lingered there because it found a flower it liked, and then it was attacked by the Eighth Route Army. To use a Chinese term to describe it, it was fate.

Muto Eleven said, "Therefore, it is most important to quickly eliminate this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers. Today they were able to capture Cherry Blossom Tree, but who knows how much more damage they will cause us next!"

Major General Kawashima did not object: "The cherry blossom tree is so important, we must send reinforcements to save it immediately. However, once we send reinforcements, the mopping-up operation against the Eighth Route Army will have to stop."

“Alright then,” the Ninth Brigade commander said quickly, “I’ll take the Ninth Brigade back to reinforce, and you guys continue the mopping-up operation here.”

“That won’t do.” Major General Kawashima shook his head. “This group of Eighth Route Army soldiers received a large supply of artillery ammunition from the Yanzhen Arsenal, which greatly increased their combat effectiveness. Even my 29th Brigade was defeated. We need to send at least two brigades over there.”

"The decision to transfer two brigades back must be reported to Commander Shinotsuka."

"Then let's send a telegram to Commander Shinozuka right away."

……

Taiyuan First Army Headquarters
First Army Commander Yoshio Shinozuka is redeploying forces to strengthen the defenses of important military bases such as Taiyuan City, Taiyuan Arsenal, and Taiyuan Airport.

As for the problem of insufficient troops, Yoshio Shinozuka plans to temporarily abandon those unimportant places.

If the Eighth Route Army had not advanced to the rear, these unimportant places that had been abandoned could still have been retaken.

If the Eighth Route Army were to invade the rear, we cannot afford to lose any of the key locations, such as Taiyuan City, Taiyuan Arsenal, and Taiyuan Airport!
"Commander, Major General Muto, Major General Kawashima, and Major General Miyai have sent an urgent telegram." A staff officer hurried over and handed Yoshio Shinotsuka a telegram.

urgent telegram???

Yoshio Shinotsuka was somewhat bewildered upon hearing this.

There are 60,000 to 70,000 people over there. Could something have gone wrong again?
He quickly grabbed the telegram, held it up to his eyes, and Yoshio Shinotsuka was immediately dumbfounded.

The urgent telegram reported that the Ninth Brigade's base had been attacked by the Eighth Route Army, and that the senior naval expert, Sakura Tree, had fallen into their hands.

When this senior naval expert, Sakura, came to Taiyuan, Yoshio Shinotsuka personally received her.

She came here mainly to communicate with military experts from the Taiyuan Arsenal and solve some problems in shipbuilding.

These issues are very complicated, and telegram communication is too slow, which is why I came here in person.

As for why we didn't just fly back to our home country, it's because the weather has been bad these past few days, and the airport has been experiencing strong sandstorms.

It would be foolish to lose such valuable naval experts by forcibly taking off with an aircraft.

Therefore, Yoshio Shinotsuka arranged for the cherry blossom tree to travel overland to an airport free from sandstorms, and then return to the mainland by plane.

Unexpectedly, she was kidnapped by the Eighth Route Army at the Ninth Brigade's base.

Without any hesitation, Yoshio Shinotsuka immediately said, "Have Muto-kun, Miyai-kun, and Major General Kawashima take their troops back immediately. They must wipe out this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers and save the cherry blossom tree intact. As for the encirclement, have the Kumamoto Division continue to block it."

"Hai!" The staff officer quickly ran off.

"Damn it! Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas!" Yoshio Shinotsuka slammed his fist on the table, his expression furious and terrifying: "Damn Eighth Route Army guerrillas, you better not have touched a single hair on the cherry blossom tree, or I'll make sure you all die without a burial place!"

(End of this chapter)