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

Chapter 294 More than 3,000 wounded soldiers

When Zhang Wanhe returned to the border region's arsenal after taking a stroll with Li Muzhi, Liu Weidong from the 115th Division rushed over.

Upon meeting, Liu Weidong went straight to the point: "Director Li, how many Hell missiles have you produced at your arsenal?"

Although Liu Weidong did not participate in the attack on the Kumamoto Division, he had heard about the significance of the Hellfire missile on the battlefield.

A single salvo destroyed the Japanese heavy artillery position.

Therefore, Liu Weidong was also about to come and collect the Hell Missiles.

"The combat troops received all the Hellfire missiles yesterday, and only managed to build eight today," Li Muzhi replied.

"Eight is enough, give them all to me." Liu Weidong didn't mind that it wasn't enough.

Zhang Wanhe, who was standing to the side, asked, "Commander Liu, are you planning to rob a Japanese military train?"

“Yes, Minister Zhang,” Liu Weidong nodded. “Although the Kumamoto army has been defeated, their fighting force still exists. They are currently retreating towards the Zhengtai Railway, and it seems they are trying to replenish their supplies via military trains. Once they have replenished, they will most likely launch a counterattack immediately. Let’s seize their military trains, keep the Kumamoto division in a state of supply shortage, and wear them down!”

If the Japanese cut off ground-based supply reinforcements, they will be forced to rely solely on airdrops.

However, the Japanese transport planes had limited carrying capacity and aviation fuel was very precious, so it was impossible for them to deliver supplies to the Kumamoto Division every day.

We must wear down the Kumamoto Division, exhaust their manpower, only then can we truly succeed in the counter-sweep.

Upon hearing this, Li Muzhi nodded quickly: "No problem, I'll have someone give you all eight Hellfire missiles right away. Do you still want the other ammunition?"

Li Muzhi had already considered this: severely damaging the Kumamoto Division's army was not a true success in the counter-sweep, because they had acquired supplies and would return with renewed force.

If Liu Weidong's move can wear down the Kumamoto Division's army, it will truly buy the border region's arsenal sufficient production time.

"Yes!" Liu Weidong nodded decisively, adding, "This time the Japanese aren't stupid either. To prevent us from attacking the military trains, they've strengthened the defenses along the railway line, and there are more heavy artillery pieces. So I need sufficient ammunition. But most importantly, we need Hellfire missiles. Because the Japanese have also deployed planes to patrol along the railway line, the Hellfire cannons are obvious targets and easily spotted and destroyed. Hellfire missiles are smaller targets and not easily detected."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wanhe couldn't help but say from the side, "Liu Weidong, why don't you launch a surprise attack at night?"

It got dark that night, and the Japanese planes couldn't get out, so the Hell Cannon could finally be used.

In the past, when we robbed Japanese military trains, didn't we always do it at night?
Liu Weidong said, "This military train rumbles by during the day, but it doesn't even wait for me."

"..." Comrade Zhang was speechless.

We don't know much about warfare, so we made a fool of ourselves in front of the professionals.

It seems the Japanese have learned their lesson. Having learned from the nighttime attack on their military train, they now know that aircraft cannot escort military trains at night, so they switch to driving during the day.

If we wait until night to fight, their military trains will have already passed by, and the supplies will have been delivered to the Kumamoto Division's army.

Liu Weidong didn't laugh at Zhang Wanhe, and continued, "The dismantling team at the arsenal also needs to come with me immediately."

“Okay, no problem.” Li Muzhi nodded.

Soon, almost all the stockpiled ammunition was taken out, along with some new gadgets that Li Muzhi had gifted him, and all of it was given to Liu Weidong.

The dismantling team from the arsenal also quickly set off with Liu Weidong.

Looking at Liu Weidong's retreating figure, Zhang Wanhe couldn't help but say, "To be honest, I would like to go with him, but unfortunately I have to exchange equipment with the Military Intelligence Bureau and can't get away."

Although we don't know the exact list of supplies transported by the Japanese military trains, we can easily deduce it.

Inside were weapons, ammunition, food supplies, and most importantly, a large quantity of medicine.

The Japanese had many wounded soldiers in this battle, and they would definitely need a lot of medicine.

Our troops have also suffered heavy casualties and urgently need medicine.

Zhang Wanhe wanted to personally bring the medicine back.

Li Muzhi said, "Commander Liu has already organized a transport team and made ample preparations. Minister Zhang, there is absolutely no need for you to go."

"Hehe, there's no need to go and there's a desire to go, those are two different things..." Zhang Wanhe chuckled, not finishing his sentence.

The guard sent out by the captain of the guard returned and handed Li Muzhi a small notebook: "Director Li, this is the feedback data of the flashbangs."

As Li Muzhi took it, he asked, "How is Takahashi Konosuke doing now?"

“It’s strange, really,” the guard replied. “According to the interrogation, after the flashbang was used on Konosuke Takahashi, he became quiet and stopped swearing.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wanhe beamed with joy: "Is that really true? Doesn't that mean Takahashi Konosuke is afraid of flashbangs?"

If you have something to fear, the workload of our political workers will be greatly reduced.

Perhaps it won't be long before we can get Konosuke Takahashi to talk.

what?
If Konosuke Takahashi still refuses to cooperate.

That's alright, we'll continue producing flashbangs.

I'll test you every day if necessary, to see if you can handle it, hahaha.

"That's probably it," the guard nodded.

After reviewing the data in his notebook, Li Muzhi turned to Zhang Wanhe and said, "Minister Zhang, the flashbang test went smoothly. You can take four of them now. The arsenal will expedite the production of the remaining flashbangs." "Okay."

Zhang Wanhe followed Li Muzhi to get four flashbangs and left, while Li Muzhi continued with his work.

……

boom!
boom!
boom!
Although the Kumamoto Division broke through the encirclement, it was still harassed and delayed by the Eighth Route Army along the way to the railway city on the Zhengtai Line.

Bounding mines and sniper attacks are very frequent.

Every step forward for the Kumamoto Division was paid for with corpses and blood.

"Damn it, those damned Eighth Route Army guerrillas!" Although the Kumamoto Division Commander was cursing fiercely, his emotions had calmed down considerably.

The Eighth Route Army was unwilling to accept that they had carried every single gram of tungsten ore in five truckloads.

But no matter how unwilling you are, it's all meaningless now.

Your harassment can only delay us at best; it won't allow us to seize another five truckloads of tungsten ore.

As for the casualties of the army's advance, they were mainly from the puppet troops.

In any case, for the Kumamoto Division Commander, there were enough spineless people on this land. No matter how many puppet troops died, as long as the Imperial Army soldiers did not die, it didn't matter.

"After I replenish my supplies and take an emergency rest, I'll turn around and settle accounts with these Eighth Route Army guerrillas!" The Kumamoto Division Commander's eyes still flashed with a ferocious look. "With five truckloads of tungsten ore gone, and the elite troops suffering heavy casualties, they won't join in anymore. When I deal with you Eighth Route Army guerrillas, you'll be without your helpers. Let's see how long you can hold out!"

"Division Commander, many of the wounded soldiers in our ranks are in critical condition and require urgent surgery." The military medical officer approached Division Commander Kumamoto with a serious expression.

In this battle, the Emperor's soldiers suffered over 10,000 wounded, which was a tremendous burden.

These wounded soldiers are valuable veterans with rich combat experience and strong fighting ability.

Once they receive treatment and recover, they will be a pack of tigers returning to their unit.

It would be such a pity if someone lost their life because of a delay in treatment.

"Approximately how many people need emergency surgery?" asked the Kumamoto Division Commander.

"More than three thousand people need immediate emergency surgery," the military medical officer replied.

“Even if surgery is needed, the conditions along the way are unacceptable.” The Kumamoto Division Commander’s eyes flashed with bloodshot light.

Even if the road conditions are poor, the army is already on its way and cannot stop.

This means that these more than three thousand precious wounded soldiers will likely die in a foreign land.

More than three thousand people! That's the size of a regiment.

"Division Commander, they are all precious..." Before the medic could finish speaking, Division Commander Kumamoto interrupted, "The army is short of supplies. The most important thing now is to rush to the cities along the Zhengtai Line to replenish supplies. We cannot delay the lives of tens of thousands of people for the sake of these three thousand wounded soldiers."

"Division Commander, if you do this, the military will probably put you in a court-martial." The medical officer couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Commander Kumamoto's words were tantamount to abandoning the more than three thousand wounded soldiers.

“There’s an old Chinese saying: ‘A kind heart cannot command an army!’” Division Commander Kumamoto’s expression twitched. “You may leave.”

Commander Kumamoto was naturally reluctant, but the situation simply did not allow it.

Giving up on these three thousand people is incredibly cruel.

With fewer wounded, precious medicines can be saved, and the remaining wounded can be saved to a greater extent.

After all, the empire has limited resources and a small stockpile of medicines.

Furthermore, the abandonment of more than 3,000 people also reduced the burden on the army's march, allowing the column to move faster.

The airdropped supplies are almost used up, and there are no more airdrops left. The only chance is to reach a city on the Zhengtai Railway Line and wait for military trains to deliver supplies.

"Division Commander..." the medical officer was about to say something.

"Baka! Didn't you hear me? Get lost!" The Kumamoto Division Commander glared at him.

"Yes, division commander." The medic could only keep his head down and leave.

The division commander of Kumamoto called Muto Juichi and Major General Miyai together and explained the situation to them.

After all, among these more than 3,000 wounded soldiers were not only soldiers from the Kumamoto Division, but also soldiers under the command of these two brigade commanders.

Both Muto Juichi and Major General Miyai showed strong resistance.

The battle was lost, and the army suffered heavy casualties, which was already incredibly frustrating.

Now, because of the lack of resources, we cannot perform emergency surgery on more than 3,000 wounded soldiers and have to abandon them. This is a terrible feeling.

"Gentlemen, there's a Chinese saying: 'Hesitation leads to trouble!'" Division Commander Kumamoto said through gritted teeth. "Quickly issue orders to your respective officers to handle this matter. We can't delay any longer."

"Yes." Muto Juichi and Major General Miyai could only suppress the pain in their hearts.

(End of this chapter)