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

Chapter 245 mobilizing 10,000 people
Kumamoto Division Headquarters

"Division Commander, this is an urgent telegram just sent by the Commander!"

The communications soldier handed the newly arrived telegram to the division commander, Kumamoto.

Commander Kumamoto took a deep breath and composed himself.

He ordered heavy artillery to bombard the cherry blossom trees, which apparently killed them. Brigade Commander Miyai has already reported this.

Now, it must be the Commander's anger that's being passed on.

Commander Kumamoto took the telegram from the signalman with both hands and looked down at it.

In the urgent telegram, Commander Shinotsuka did not use any reprimanding language, but simply ordered him to immediately launch a large-scale sweep of the Eighth Route Army's base areas.

The division commander of Kumamoto summoned his men: "Go and summon the brigade commanders of Miyai, Muto, and Kawashima. Tell them we have important military intelligence to discuss!"

"Hayi!"

Major General Miyai, Major General Muto, and Major General Kawashima quickly arrived at Division Commander Kumamoto's location: "Division Commander Kumamoto, has Commander Shinotsuka received new orders?"

The cherry blossom tree appears to have shattered. When the news was reported to Commander Shinotsuka, he was undoubtedly furious and would certainly issue new orders.

"Take a look, all of you," Commander Kumamoto said, handing over the telegram.

Major General Miyai, commander of the 9th Brigade, took the telegram and looked at it. The other two brigade commanders also turned their attention to it.

After reading the telegram, Major General Kawashima questioned, "There's still a group of Eighth Route Army soldiers outside this encirclement that we haven't found or eliminated. How can we launch a large-scale mopping-up operation? What if they launch a sneak attack from behind or take advantage of our predicament to suddenly rush towards the rear of Taiyuan? Wouldn't that be troublesome?"

Muto Juichi also said, "Commander Shinozuka gave this order in a fit of rage. This order is inappropriate, and we probably cannot carry it out directly."

Major General Miyai said, "How about this, let's send another telegram to Commander Shinotsuka, explaining the pros and cons. Let's find and eliminate this group of Eighth Route Army soldiers outside first, and then carry out a large-scale sweep of the Eighth Route Army's main base."

The brigade commander of Kumamoto shook his head: "The staff at headquarters must have tried to persuade Commander Shinozuka before sending this order. So we still have to carry out the order. When we carry out the order, let's leave some reserve troops behind in case the Eighth Route Army launches a surprise attack from the rear."

Following that, the brigade commander of Kumamoto said, "As for the rear in Taiyuan, I think Commander Shinozuka should still be on guard. There is another possibility, that is, when we launch a large-scale attack on the Eighth Route Army's main base, the Eighth Route Army outside will certainly not sit idly by. They may still come to support their headquarters, so the rear in Taiyuan should still be safe."

Upon hearing this, Major General Muto Ichiju, Major General Kawashima, and Major General Miyai each offered their opinions, but ultimately decided to follow the orders of Brigade Commander Kumamoto.

The 21st Brigade, along with a puppet army division, was left as a reserve force to guard against attacks from behind. Meanwhile, the Kumamoto Division, the 9th Brigade, and the 29th Brigade, along with the remaining puppet troops totaling 50,000 men, immediately launched a large-scale sweep against the Eighth Route Army's main base.

……

"The Japanese must have mistakenly thought Yamamoto Sakura was killed in the bombing, and they're furious. Li Yunlong, three Japanese brigades and the Kumamoto Division have joined forces, and they're launching a large-scale mopping-up operation against our base area. Should we head towards Taiyuan now, or launch a surprise attack on their rear to support our main force in the base area?" With the Japanese mopping-up forces launching a large-scale operation against the Eighth Route Army's main base area, Li Yunlong and several regimental commanders immediately gathered together, with Gao Xigang asking first.

"What's the rush!" Li Yunlong said calmly. "Things are different now. Our main force has the weapons and ammunition we seized to replenish our supplies, and the border region's arsenal is also producing weapons and ammunition. Although the pressure on our main force is great, the Japanese won't be able to take them down anytime soon."

Gao Liujin chimed in, "Now that the Japanese sweeping army is heading towards the main force, I think we can go directly to Taiyuan without having to be careless or pretend. As long as we strike at the Japanese rear in Taiyuan, the Japanese sweeping army will definitely panic. So, our chance to make a fortune has arrived."

Ding Wei said, "Going directly to Taiyuan will definitely not work. I think we should bring in the Jin-Sui Army."

Once we strike directly at Taiyuan, the Japanese mopping-up troops will most likely be recalled.

We couldn't handle it on our own, but with the help of the Jin-Sui Army, the pressure was greatly reduced.

"To bring the Jin-Sui Army in, we still need to stage a ruse," Li Yunlong said. "I've already planned it out. We'll continue along the Japanese Zhengtai Railway. When Yoshio Shinotsuka sees us sabotaging the railway, he'll definitely get angry. Shinotsuka might continue to send troops from the rear to block us. We'll then feign a crushing defeat. When the Jin-Sui Army receives the news, they'll be worried about Yan Kai, and they'll naturally follow suit."

“Li Yunlong, just continuing along the Zhengtai Railway isn’t satisfying enough,” Gao Liujin said. “If you ask me, we should attack the Japanese’s important cities; that would be much more exciting.”

“You can capture important cities, but you can’t hold them. What’s the point of attacking those things!” Li Yunlong said, glaring. “The Japanese railway is their vital transportation line. If we sabotage it, we can delay their plundering of our resources as much as possible. Besides, the rails and sleepers on the railway are valuable assets.”

Ding Wei nodded in agreement: "Old Li's plan seems feasible. Our border region arsenal is up and running, and it needs more ore resources. This will delay the Japanese plundering of ore to the greatest extent possible, essentially preserving ore for our border region arsenal." Gao Xigang added, "Although we have sufficient ammunition now, a strong assault on large cities consumes a lot of it. If we need continuous high-intensity combat later and ammunition supplies are insufficient, that would be troublesome. However, tearing down the Zhengtai Railway line won't consume as much ammunition."

Gao Liujin shrugged: "Alright, what you all say makes sense. Let's go along the Japanese-origin line then."

"Let me assign the combat tasks," Li Yunlong said, pointing to the Zhengtai Railway on the map. "My suggestion is that each of our regiments take a section of the railway to destroy. This way, we can sabotage as much of the railway as possible. If we can't take the rails and sleepers, we'll find a place to hide them. If there's nowhere to hide them, we'll lay the rails on the sleepers and burn them. Once the Japanese reinforcements arrive, we can fight and retreat simultaneously. In the end, we'll join forces and pretend we're surrounded by the Japanese and can't break out. Once the Jin-Sui Army sends troops, we'll make a strong breakout and head towards Taiyuan."

"Okay, no problem."

……

Li Yunlong quickly assigned tasks, and several regimental commanders led their respective troops to the target section of the Zhengtai Railway and began working rapidly.

Because several regimental commanders had artillery and rocket launchers at their disposal, these bunkers and pillboxes along the railway line were quickly destroyed.

The garrison along the line was small and was quickly wiped out.

Then several regiments of troops, along with district squads and county brigades, quickly began dismantling the railway, working feverishly.

The news quickly reached Yoshio Shinotsuka, the commander of the First Army.

"Damn it, those damned Eighth Route Army soldiers!" Yoshio Shinotsuka slammed his fist on the table. "Instead of attacking the Kumamoto Division's rear or helping their main force, they took the opportunity to sabotage our Zhengtai Railway. They are utterly despicable!"

"Commander, it's precisely because three brigades have been transferred that the Eighth Route Army is so brazen," a staff officer said sternly to Yoshio Shinozuka. "I suggest you calm down and have Commander Kumamoto transfer two brigades back..."

"No!" Yoshio Shinotsuka interrupted, waving his hand. "If we send troops back from Kumamoto, the Eighth Route Army will hide again, and searching for them will waste time. Since the large-scale mopping-up operation by the Kumamoto Division Commander has begun, let's not stop it. Let them do their best. As for the Eighth Route Army that is currently dismantling our Zhengtai Railway, let's transfer troops from our rear."

Yoshio Shinotsuka could see that the Eighth Route Army outside wasn't launching a surprise attack on the Kumamoto Division or helping to relieve pressure on their main force.

In reality, this was a tactic employed by the Eighth Route Army to relieve the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao.

They're dismantling the Zhengtai Railway line to see if the Kumamoto Division will be able to withdraw and come to the rescue.

Once the Kumamoto Division withdrew its troops, the pressure on the main force of the Eighth Route Army was reduced, and the Eighth Route Army outside achieved its objective.

I'll make sure you don't get your way.

I just don't believe that the Eighth Route Army's stronghold is really not worried when the Kumamoto Division is pressing closer and closer to it.

The staff officer was somewhat taken aback: "Commander, our forces are all being used to defend key strategic locations. Do we need to redeploy them?"

“Don’t we still have biological weapons?” Yoshio Shinotsuka said. “With biological weapons, we’re not afraid that the Eighth Route Army can take our strategic locations. Go, send 10,000 men over there, that should be enough.”

The First Army now has a total strength of over 70,000 men.

Three brigades were transferred to cooperate with the Kumamoto Division in encircling and suppressing the Eighth Route Army's base area, leaving Yoshio Shinotsuka with nearly 60,000 troops.

Although troops were divided to defend many areas, a certain number of soldiers could still be spared.

"Hai." The staff officer nodded and was about to go.

"Wait a minute." Yoshio Shinotsuka called out to him, "Have the reinforcements bring a little more biological weapons. These Eighth Route Army soldiers have strong firepower. Use biological weapons to suppress them and prevent them from breaking through."

You dare to extensively damage my Zhengtai Railway Line, further provoking the bottom line of my First Army. Well then, let me let you taste the power of biological weapons in advance.

"Hai." The staff officer accepted the order and left.

boom!
Yoshio Shinotsuka slammed his fist on the table, his eyes flashing with malice: "If the test results from Unit 731 confirm that the deceased is Sakura, Eighth Route Army soldiers, I won't even give you a chance to regret it!"

(End of this chapter)