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

Chapter 244 The Difference Between Superior and Inferior Eaters
Japanese Military Police in Heyuan

"Deputy Minister, Major General Miyai of the Ninth Brigade personally delivered a body back and wants you to verify it immediately."

The assistant came over and reported to Haruno Sato.

Haruno Sato is the vice-chief of the military police. Autopsy is not his specialty, but he can still perform simple verifications without any problems.

"What corpse?" Haruno Sato asked.

The body was personally delivered by Major General Miyai, so the identity of this body is probably not simple.

“Cherry blossom trees,” the assistant replied.

"Baka!" Sato Haruno cursed and quickly walked out.

Upon seeing Sato Haruno emerge, Major General Miyai, commander of the 9th Brigade, quickly said, "Sato-kun, please take a look and see if this is a cherry blossom tree."

"Brigade Commander Miyai, what exactly happened?" Sato Haruno asked Major General Miyai as he had the wrapped-up body moved inside.

The cherry blossom tree is so important, the Eighth Route Army probably isn't stupid.

Neither the Imperial Army nor the Eighth Route Army would let anyone die easily.

"Sigh," Major General Miyai sighed, "Back then, a group of Eighth Route Army soldiers took the initiative to attack our three brigades. Our three brigades charged towards them, but unexpectedly, another group of Eighth Route Army soldiers was carrying cherry blossom trees back to their base. When they were passing through the encirclement of Division Commander Kumamoto, Division Commander Kumamoto ordered the use of heavy artillery to stop the Eighth Route Army. In the pitch black, we couldn't see clearly, and as a result, the heavy artillery accidentally hit the cherry blossom trees."

Upon hearing this, Sato Haruno couldn't help but curse, "Commander Kumamoto must have guessed that the Eighth Route Army troops attacking the encirclement were carrying cherry blossom trees, right? How could he have ordered heavy artillery to be fired? This is ridiculous!"

Anyway, with the encirclement and suppression army still around, the Eighth Route Army's stronghold will be destroyed sooner or later. Destroying the Eighth Route Army's stronghold can also save the cherry blossom tree.

Commander Kumamoto, there's no need for you to be in such a hurry to use heavy firepower.

"Sato-kun, it's too late to say anything now. You should help with the identification immediately." Major General Miyai was very annoyed. "We haven't reported to Commander Shinozuka yet. We'll report it after the results are available."

Haruno Sato didn't ask any more questions. He went to the dissection room and had someone start to remove the covering.

Major General Miyai, standing nearby, still asked, "Sato-kun, how's the search for the Eighth Route Army's arsenal going?"

"Everything is going smoothly so far, we're just waiting for the Eighth Route Army to take the bait," Sato Haruno said. "Commander Shinozuka also gave me two military dogs. When the Eighth Route Army brings the bait back to their arsenal, we'll use the dogs to track and pinpoint the location. Then it'll all depend on you."

"Don't worry, Sato-kun. If you can find the location of the Eighth Route Army's arsenal, I will definitely make those Chinese pigs..." Major General Miyai said through gritted teeth.

Before he could finish speaking, Haruno Sato had already removed the shroud.

Although Major General Miyai had already seen the mangled corpse before, he couldn't help but shut up when he saw the horrific state of the body.

awful!
This is absolutely terrible.

His face was completely disfigured, his body was blown to pieces, his face was unrecognizable, his limbs were shattered, and his torso was riddled with holes.

Cherry blossoms are like outstanding women of the empire, naturally beautiful.

Her skin was delicate and fair, making her easy to recognize.

Unfortunately, the skin was so badly damaged that little bit of it remained, and its original color was no longer recognizable.

Haruno Sato could no longer make a diagnosis based on the skin; he could only examine the remaining bones and internal organs.

But in the end, Haruno Sato still didn't get anything.

Haruno Sato said to Major General Miyai, "If I were to make a conclusion, this is most likely not a cherry blossom tree."

"Isn't it a cherry blossom tree?" Major General Miyai looked at Haruno Sato with surprise upon hearing this. "Did you find some clues on the corpse?"

“It’s not that we found any flaws in the corpse, but rather that the corpse was so thoroughly damaged,” Sato Haruno said.

Major General Miyai didn't quite understand what Haruno Sato meant, and stared blankly at him: "What do you mean?"

“There’s not a single trace to identify it. I feel like this is deliberate,” Sato Haruno judged. “The Eighth Route Army might be deliberately trying to cover it up.”

Upon hearing this, Major General Miyai's surprise diminished considerably: "Sato-kun, so you simply didn't recognize it."

I thought Sato Haruno had discovered a flaw.

“I suggest we send her to Unit 731 for testing immediately,” Haruno Sato said. “Sakura was once a high-ranking elite member of the Navy and ate very well. So her body fat and skin layer will definitely be different from those of Chinese women.”

Unit 731 was most skilled at live human experimentation. They had very sophisticated testing techniques that could distinguish the physical differences between those who were fed superior food and those who were fed inferior food.

Major General Gongjing did not hesitate and immediately ordered the body to be re-wrapped and sent away.

Of course, relying solely on Major General Miyai's abilities is not enough.

Unit 731 is now under the jurisdiction of the Kwantung Army. If the bodies are to be sent to Unit 731 for examination, Commander Shinozuka has to give the order.

In other words, this needs to be reported to the First Army Headquarters immediately.

“Brigade Commander Miyai, I suggest you write in the telegram that you cannot confirm whether this is a cherry blossom tree,” Haruno Sato suggested.

"Sato-kun, don't get distracted by the cherry blossom tree matter." Major General Miyai looked at Sato Haruno. "You should focus your energy on finding the Eighth Route Army's arsenal. Perhaps in the end, it will be up to you to eliminate the Eighth Route Army completely!"

Although the encirclement and suppression army had a considerable force, the Eighth Route Army was simply too slippery.

The local Chinese people also helped them conceal their whereabouts.

Major General Gongjing could foresee that it was probably unrealistic to expect to subdue the Eighth Route Army in a short period of time.

If Sato Haruno can pinpoint the location of the Eighth Route Army's arsenal, that would be finding the Eighth Route Army's Achilles' heel, and only then can they be eliminated at the root.

"Don't worry, I'll do my job well." Sato Haruno nodded.

Sato Haruno did not inquire about the war situation. Major General Miyai did not linger there and quickly left, as he needed to return to his command post as soon as possible. "Vice Minister, I believe your judgment is correct." Watching Major General Miyai's departing figure, the assistant said to Sato Haruno, "How could it be blown up so perfectly that not a single trace was left?"

"Let's not worry about the cherry blossom tree anymore, and let's focus our energy on our own affairs."

"Yes, Vice Minister."

……

Taiyuan First Army Headquarters
"Yes, sir!"

First Army Commander Yoshio Shinotsuka assured the person through the telephone receiver, "I will definitely rescue the cherry blossom tree as soon as possible!"

After the call ended, Yoshio Shinotsuka called out, "Someone come here!"

"Commander-in-Chief." A staff officer quickly walked in.

"Send another message to the Ninth Brigade, the Twenty-first Brigade, and the Twenty-ninth Brigade immediately. I'm only giving them three days," Yoshio Shinotsuka roared. "If they can't save the cherry blossom tree in three days, they can forget about wearing their stars on their shoulders!"

Major General Miyai, Major General Muto Juichi, and Major General Kawashima now each have only one star on their shoulders.

If the star is removed, then he's demoted to colonel.

Promotion within the Japanese military was extremely difficult.

Once demoted from major general to colonel, it becomes incredibly difficult to rise back up.

Yoshio Shinotsuka couldn't help putting so much pressure on them.

The call wasn't from Commander Okamura of the North China Expeditionary Army, but from high-ranking officials in China.

They were furious about the capture of the cherry trees.

The army's warship manufacturing is at a critical juncture, and it cannot do without the help of cherry blossom trees.

If people cannot be rescued in time, it will delay the launch of our army ships!
"Hai." The staff officer nodded and ran out.

Not long after, a communications officer handed Yoshio Shinotsuka a newly arrived telegram: "Commander, an urgent telegram from Brigade Commander Miyai."

Seeing the telegraph officer's unpleasant expression, Yoshio Shinotsuka immediately felt a bad premonition, fearing it might be related to the cherry blossom tree.

Yoshio Shinozuka didn't dare to answer and said, "Read the telegram aloud."

"The Eighth Route Army was carrying a cherry blossom tree and wanted to return to their base. The Kumamoto Division Commander ordered heavy artillery to intercept it, but accidentally bombed a female target wearing a cherry blossom tree dress. The military police were unable to verify her identity. The body was quickly sent to Unit 731 for autopsy. We hope that Your Excellency Commander can clear the way."

Upon hearing this, Yoshio Shinotsuka was as if struck by lightning: "Baka! What do you mean? Did that idiot Kumamoto bomb the cherry blossom tree with his heavy artillery?"

We just assured the people in China that we would bring them back as soon as possible.

Now you're telling me the cherry blossom tree was killed by heavy artillery fire!

The communications officer corrected, "Brigade Commander Miyai only said it was suspected..."

"Baka! That's just Miyai and his ilk deceiving themselves." Yoshio Shinotsuka kicked over the table in front of him, shattering the teacup and scattering documents all over the floor.

The telegraph officer stood trembling to the side, barely daring to breathe.

There have been far too many of these upsetting things lately.

The Cui Village Arsenal is gone, the Yanzhen Arsenal was looted, five truckloads of tungsten ore were stolen, and now the senior naval engineer, Cherry Tree, has fallen into the hands of the Eighth Route Army, seemingly destroyed.

His Excellency the Commander is getting increasingly irritable.

Just as the atmosphere froze, Miyano Michiichi, Chief of Staff of the North China Expeditionary Army, walked in.

Seeing this scene, Miyano Michiichi immediately realized that there must be bad news.

Remembering something, Miyano Michiichi quickly asked, "Commander, what bad news made you so angry?"

"See for yourself," Yoshio Shinozuka said, pointing to the telegram in the communications officer's hand.

When Miyano Michiichi took it and looked at it, he was immediately stunned, as if he had been electrocuted: "Baka! This is impossible! How could this be!"

The cherry blossom tree was suspected to have been killed by that idiot Kumamoto's heavy artillery. Even though it was only suspected and not confirmed, it was still a huge blow to Miyano Michiichi.

Such a beautiful woman, possessing both beauty and wisdom, even Miyano Michiichi dreamed about her last night.

I dreamt that he saved the cherry blossom tree, and the two of us sat together enjoying tea.

Damn!

Those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas!

First they abused the person, then they seemingly killed them. These despicable Chinese pigs deserve to go to hell!
“Commander, I will personally deliver the body to Unit 731.” Miyano Michiichi’s eyes were bloodshot.

If this really is a cherry blossom tree, Miyano Michiichi wants to personally see her off.

"Go ahead." Yoshio Shinotsuka understood Michiichi Shirano's thoughts and waved his hand, letting him go.

Miyano Michiichi turned and walked out, tripping over the threshold as he passed it.

Yoshio Shinozuka's gaze fell on the communications officer's face: "Send a message to that idiot Kumamoto and tell him to launch a large-scale attack on the Eighth Route Army's base area. Stop dragging your feet."

"Hayi!"

(End of this chapter)