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

Chapter 272 How did he learn to brag too!

The communications officer sighed and explained, "Alas, our operation was supposed to be a success, but during the retreat, Commander Cheng of the 772nd Regiment sprained his ankle."

“…” Zhang Wanhe.

The atmosphere immediately froze.

Even the guards at the gate couldn't help but glance over.

How could a dignified combat regiment commander twist his ankle during an operation and make such a basic mistake?
Li Muzhi turned to Zhang Wanhe with a smile and said, "Minister Zhang, even horses can stumble, and people can make mistakes..."

Li Muzhi didn't think much of Cheng the Blind Man's sprained ankle.

After all, the feeling of destroying the enemy army's logistics and supplies with twenty Hellfire missiles must be incredibly gratifying.

When you're in a great mood, it's easy to get carried away and walk around.

There's an old saying: "The crow is happy to break the egg."

"Hmph!" Zhang Wanhe snorted heavily and said, "Commander Cheng has greatly affected the significance of the Hell Missile. I must report this to the headquarters leaders!"

The moment the Hellfire missile was introduced, it destroyed the Japanese army's logistics and supplies. That was incredibly exciting and explosive.

Coupled with the significance of no casualties, this elevates it to its highest level of significance.

Cheng the Blind's sprained ankle was like a speck of dust falling into a pot of perfectly cooked soup.

"Director Li, Minister Zhang, I'm going back now." The communications officer said goodbye.

"Here, take this." Zhang Wanhe took out two boiled eggs from his pocket and handed them to the communications officer.

"Minister Zhang, you are so..." The communications officer was flattered.

"I'm in a good mood, so I'm giving you this as a reward."

"Thank you, Minister Zhang, thank you so much, Minister Zhang!" The communications officer happily went back.

Zhang Wanhe said to Li Muzhi, "Little Li, since the Japanese army's supplies and logistics have been cut off, I estimate that our battle situation is about to change again. Perhaps we won't even need to relocate anymore. I need to revise my work immediately."

"Okay, Minister Zhang, take care. I won't see you off."

"No need, no need." Old Zhang left happily. Although Blind Cheng's speck of dust had fallen into the soup, it was ultimately harmless.

We completely omitted this speck of dust.

Li Muzhi looked at the data feedback while turning back.

After reviewing the data feedback, Li Muzhi felt that a few details needed to be changed. The amount of explosives did not need to be changed, but the accuracy needed to be improved.

Li Muzhi had anticipated these details that needed to be changed.

Most of the parts produced by the border region's arsenal are not among those requiring this detailed modification, yet production can still continue as usual.

……

386th Brigade Headquarters

"Brigade Commander, so far, there has been no sign of any mobilization of our core units, and they are not even prepared to deploy," the deputy brigade commander reported to the brigade commander.

The brigade commander remained calm: "This is normal. Although these elite troops covet five truckloads of tungsten ore, the force of 60,000 to 70,000 Japanese and traitorous soldiers is an insurmountable mountain for them."

Immediately afterwards, the brigade commander said, "As long as Liu Weidong succeeds, the Japanese army's logistics and supplies will be destroyed. I'd like to see if these elite troops can still sit still."

"According to intelligence, the Kumamoto Division Commander left behind tens of thousands of troops to guard the logistics and supplies. It won't be easy for Liu Weidong to succeed," the deputy brigade commander said seriously.

"Which battle we fought against the Japanese was easy?" the brigade commander retorted.

The essence of this war is a competition of national power between two countries.

The Japanese had a complete army, navy, and air force, while our air force was gone as soon as the war started.

As for warships, don't even mention them.

In the end, only the army remained.

The gap between the army and the Japanese was also enormous.

Under normal circumstances, it would take four of us to take down one Japanese soldier.

Under abnormal circumstances, ten men might not be able to exchange for one Japanese soldier.

The two countries are not evenly matched in strength, and we are at a disadvantage, which means that every battle will be difficult.

"That's true." The deputy brigade commander nodded.

Putting aside everything else, let's just talk about the 386th Brigade.

When we crossed the Yellow River to the battlefield to fight against the Japanese, we were truly living in a precarious situation.

If it weren't for the brigade commander's outstanding command ability, the 386th Brigade would not have been able to gain a foothold, and might have even been driven out or wiped out.

Even now, our border region arsenals can produce weapons and ammunition, but the disparity in strength between us and the enemy is still enormous.

The Japanese could easily sweep through a region with tens of thousands of troops, while we could only resort to guerrilla tactics and had no ability to confront them head-on.

Jingle Bell!
The telephone on the table rang.

The deputy brigade commander picked up the phone, and the 772nd Regiment Commander, Blind Cheng, screamed like a pig being slaughtered: "We succeeded! We succeeded! The Kumamoto army's supplies and logistics have been completely destroyed!"

Upon hearing this, the deputy brigade commander was immediately overjoyed: "Regimental Commander Cheng, are you sure you've completed the mission?" Just moments ago, the deputy brigade commander had been lamenting to the brigade commander about how difficult Liu Weidong's mission was.

Now, the task is actually completed; the efficiency is extraordinary.

Blind Cheng was overjoyed: "Yes, the mission is complete, and we have zero casualties."

Even the minor detail of sprained ankle was caught off guard by Blind Cheng.

Zero casualties?
The deputy brigade commander was immediately taken aback upon hearing this.

The Kumamoto Division's logistics and supplies were guarded by tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and traitors.

Liu Weidong destroyed the enemy's logistics and supplies without suffering a single casualty—it's simply unbelievable.

Are those tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and traitors just for show, standing there without stopping you?
In other words, with tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and traitors eyeing the logistics and supplies, even if you succeeded and flew away, the Japanese would still fire several rounds at you. How could there be no casualties?

Therefore, the deputy brigade commander said in a very solemn tone: "Regimental Commander Cheng, there is no joking in the military. As the commander of the main force regiment, you should know the consequences of lying about military intelligence!"

Blind Cheng's tone was also solemn: "Is the brigade commander here? I want to report to him."

"Wait a moment," the deputy brigade commander said into the microphone, then handed the microphone to the brigade commander and said, "Brigade commander, Commander Cheng of the 772nd Regiment called and said that he and Liu Weidong destroyed the Kumamoto army's logistics and supplies without suffering any casualties."

The brigade commander overheard the conversation between the deputy brigade commander and Blind Cheng. He heard the deputy brigade commander expressing his delight that the other had completed the mission, followed by the deputy brigade commander strongly questioning whether Blind Cheng had lied about the military situation.

Now, when the deputy brigade commander told him that Blind Cheng and Liu Weidong had destroyed the Kumamoto army's logistics and supplies without suffering any casualties, the brigade commander obviously didn't believe it.

Even if he personally went to the front lines, there would be tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers and traitors; how could there be no casualties?

The brigade commander quickly took the phone and roared into it, "Regimental Commander Cheng, after a few days of following Li Yunlong, you've learned to brag too!"

Blind Cheng replied earnestly, "Brigade Commander, this is all thanks to the Border Region Arsenal for providing us with twenty Hellfire missiles in a timely manner."

"What Hell Missile?" The brigade commander obviously didn't know that the new rocket was called the Hell Missile.

Blind Cheng explained: "It's a new type of rocket that can be fired without a cannon barrel, produced by the border region's arsenal."

"The new rocket is named Hellfire Missile, hmm, that's a good name." The brigade commander nodded, then asked solemnly, "Even if this Hellfire Missile doesn't need to be fired from a gun barrel, how could just twenty of them destroy the Kumamoto army's logistics and supplies?"

In the brigade commander's view, if twenty Hellfire missiles could destroy the Kumamoto army's logistics and supplies, then the Hellfire cannons could certainly do the same.

Blind Cheng then explained in detail: "At that time, the Japanese logistics commander wanted to find a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack, so they chose Luoxuepo..."

Upon hearing this, the brigade commander slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed with delight, "So that's how it is! Taking the Hell Missiles to the cliff and launching them down at the Kumamoto army's logistics and supplies—that's an absolutely brilliant move!"

This is also thanks to the Hellfire missile's light weight, which eliminates the need for a cannon barrel, allowing it to be pulled up the cliff by manpower using ropes.

It definitely wouldn't work if it were a cannon weighing several hundred pounds.

Blind Cheng attached great importance to it: "Brigade Commander, these Hell Missiles are really useful. They feel even better than the Hell Cannon. You have to work with the border region's arsenal to get as many as possible."

"Nonsense, I'm definitely going to keep an eye on something this good," the brigade commander said quickly. "The Japanese army's supply lines have been destroyed, so they'll definitely have to transport supplies over by military train. You should coordinate with Liu Weidong on your side."

"Yes, Brigade Commander." Blind Cheng hung up the phone happily.

As the brigade commander put the telephone receiver back on the shelf, he laughed and said, "I really didn't expect that the Hellfire missiles from the border region's arsenal would be so useful."

The deputy brigade commander, standing to the side, still asked, "Brigade commander, how exactly did this happen?"

Originally, even the brigade commander didn't believe it.

But after hearing Cheng the Blind's explanation, he immediately stopped questioning it, and the deputy brigade commander was curious.

“That’s how it is…” The brigade commander immediately repeated it to the deputy brigade commander.

"So that's what happened. The Hell missiles arrived just in time." The deputy brigade commander was shocked. "With just twenty Hell missiles, we saved at least two or three thousand casualties."

Immediately afterward, the deputy brigade commander said, "Then we must hurry and spread the news that the Kumamoto Division's logistics and supplies have been destroyed to the elite troops..."

Before the deputy brigade commander could finish speaking, the brigade commander waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "That's not necessary."

"Why not use it?" the deputy brigade commander asked suspiciously.

"Five truckloads of tungsten ore have already drawn the attention of the elite army to the Kumamoto army," the brigade commander said calmly. "Now that the Kumamoto army has lost its logistical supplies, the intelligence personnel on the elite army side are not to be trifled with. They will receive the news quickly and then rush to send troops."

"That's true." The deputy brigade commander nodded.

The brigade commander added, "However, since they've deployed troops, we still need to cooperate properly."

After all, these were five truckloads of tungsten ore that the Japanese had taken from us. Since our elite troops had gotten involved, we still had to put on an act.

If we don't act, our elite troops will be suspicious. The Kumamoto army's logistics and supplies have been cut off, which is the perfect opportunity to seize back the tungsten ore. Yet we're not making a move. Even a fool can see that something's wrong.

"Of course..." The deputy brigade commander didn't finish his sentence.

An intelligence officer rushed over, saluted, and reported: "Reporting to the brigade commander, we just received news that half of the Japanese troops attacking Li Yunlong's unit have been detached and are escorting supplies towards the Kumamoto Division. Also, the logistics escort team for the Kumamoto Division commander's reinforcements is on its way to meet them."

Upon hearing this, the brigade commander immediately smiled and said to the brigade commander, "Look, half of the Japanese troops who attacked Li Yunlong have taken supplies and are heading towards the Kumamoto Division. What do you think the elite troops will do after receiving this intelligence?"

"Is there any need to ask? We definitely need to seize the tungsten ore from the Kumamoto Division before this batch of supplies joins up with them," the deputy brigade commander said without hesitation.

"Therefore, we definitely cannot allow this batch of supplies to successfully rendezvous with the Kumamoto Division," the brigade commander said solemnly. "We must send troops to delay, harass, and sabotage the roads."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)