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

Chapter 68 Like a Playful Monkey
Heyuan County
"Captain, bad news has just arrived."

The trusted aide quickly approached Fujita Ichiji, saying, "The Eighth Route Army soldier we had caught by the tail has escaped."

"What? The Eighth Route Army escaped?" Fujita Ichiji was incredulous and cursed, "Baka! How is this possible? Weren't they already dead? How could they escape? The pursuers from Ping'an County are almost here!"

"Captain, I don't believe it either, but the cooked duck really flew away..." The confidant didn't finish his sentence.

Fujita Ichiji roared, "Even if the Eighth Route Army escaped, there should still be traces on the road, right? Where are the elite trackers in the military police? Are they all just sitting around doing nothing?"

“The elite trackers are all gone; they were deliberately shot down by the Eighth Route Army,” the confidant explained.

“Baka, baka, baka…” Fujita Ichiji shouted like a madman.

Hirata Ichiro's men watched this scene from behind, thinking to themselves, "Captain Fujita, you were so arrogant before, but now you're not so arrogant anymore."

Of course, Hirata Ichiro's men couldn't openly mock Fujita Ichiji, so they approached and asked, "Captain, should we continue making bait?"

"Of course we have to do it," Fujita Ichiji said, as if he had found a lighthouse guiding him on a vast ocean.

These Eighth Route Army soldiers are too slippery; they can escape even if you bite them to death.

To completely eliminate the hidden danger, we still need to rely on fishing operations.

"Let's send a message back to the reinforcements in Ping'an County. The Eighth Route Army has fled," Fujita Ichiji added.

"Hai."

……

"Commander, an urgent telegram has arrived from Heyuan County!"

The communications officer handed the newly arrived telegram to Kuroshima Morita.

Another urgent telegram arrived from Heyuan County.

Kuroshima Morita was taken aback. Could it be that some major incident had occurred over there?
Our cavalry regiment will be here soon.

Upon opening the telegram and reading its contents, Kuroshima Morita nearly fell off his horse in anger: "Baka! Fujita Ichiji, that piece of trash! Halt immediately!"

"Kuroshima-kun, what's wrong? Why did you stop?" Uenomura's command vehicle pulled up beside Kuroshima Morita.

"A telegram just arrived from Heyuan County; they've lost sight of their target." Kuroshima Morita handed the telegram to Ueno no Mura with a hint of annoyance.

Upon hearing this, Ueno no Mura immediately grabbed the weapon, and after examining it, he was furious: "How did the Eighth Route Army escape again? We are a rapid-mobility force, a force that strikes fear into the hearts of the Chinese regular army on the front lines. How come in this rear counterinsurgency war, we're like a bunch of monkeys being toyed with!"

It truly resembled a group of monkeys being toyed with.

Heyuan County was attacked, and we went to reinforce it, but the Eighth Route Army fled, and we returned empty-handed.

Supply depot No. 5 was attacked, and we went to reinforce it, but the Eighth Route Army escaped, and we returned empty-handed once again.

Now, Heyuan County has been attacked again, and we're coming to reinforce it again, but the Eighth Route Army has run away again. How many times have we run back and forth like this?

Even if it's a monkey show, you have to let the monkey rest!

"Baka! When have we ever suffered such humiliation..." Kuroshima Morita gritted his teeth and didn't finish his sentence.

A communications soldier under Uenomura ran up quickly and handed him a telegram: "Regimental Commander, an urgent telegram has arrived from Heian County."

Is there an emergency telegram even in Ping'an County?

Upon hearing this, both Ueno no Mura and Kuroshima Morita felt a sudden jolt in their hearts!
Our supplies and ammunition can be stored in Ping'an County, we can't afford to run out.

Uenomura quickly grabbed the telegram and read its contents. He felt as if the earth was suddenly spinning so fast he could barely stand. "Ueno-kun, has Heian Prefecture been attacked?" Kuroshima Morita sensed something was wrong.

“Yes.” Uenomura steadied himself. “The Eighth Route Army blasted open Ping’an County with heavy artillery, and some of our supplies were looted.”

Upon hearing this, Kuroshima Morita roared, "That's impossible! Aren't the Eighth Route Army troops stationed in Heyuan County? Even if they escaped, they couldn't have run that fast. How could they possibly be attacking Ping'an County?"

"Isn't it obvious? This group of Eighth Route Army soldiers in Heyuan County is just bait. Their goal is to lure us away from Ping'an County, so that another group of Eighth Route Army soldiers can take advantage of the situation and attack Ping'an County from behind," Ueno no Mura analyzed.

"Baka, baka, something's getting weirder and weirder," Kuroshima Morita said irritably. "It feels like the Eighth Route Army is the hunter, and we're the prey."

Uenomura suppressed his roar and shook his head, saying, "No, the identities of hunter and prey have not changed."

"What do you mean?" Kuroshima Morita looked at Ueno Village in confusion.

"After all, Kobayashi Iji is smarter than Fujita Ichiji and Hirata Ichiro. Although the Eighth Route Army captured Ping'an County and seized a large amount of supplies, they were followed by Kobayashi Iji's men." Ueno no Mura's tone carried a hint of relief.

Fortunately, Kobayashi Iji sent men to follow the Eighth Route Army; otherwise, we would have been made a fool of again, and our house would have been robbed. It would have been a really embarrassing situation.

"Yosh, Kobayashi Iiji actually had a trick up his sleeve. Not bad, not bad. Then we hunters will rush over as fast as we can, devour these prey, and take back our possessions and our dignity." Kuroshima Morita's face revealed a ferocious smile.

"Walk."

The mechanized troops of Ueno Village and the cavalry regiment of Kuroshima Morita immediately turned back.

……

386th Brigade Headquarters

"Brigadier, good news, great news!"

The deputy brigade commander walked over excitedly and reported to the brigade commander, "The local troops who were held up by the Japanese have successfully escaped."

"The local troops managed to escape?" The brigade commander was taken aback, but his tone relaxed. "How did they escape?"

They thought this local force was going to be wiped out by the Japanese, but to their surprise, they managed to escape.

"It's still unclear exactly how they escaped," the deputy brigade commander said, shaking his head.

"Wasn't it Li Yunlong who came to their aid?" the brigade commander asked suspiciously.

In the brigade commander's view, if it weren't for Li Yunlong's support, how could the local troops have escaped?

"We haven't seen any trace of Li Yunlong. That kid hasn't shown up at all. We don't know what that bastard is up to..." The deputy brigade commander didn't finish his sentence.

A staff officer rushed over and reported to the brigade commander: "Brigade commander, our intelligence officer has sent word that Ping'an County is under heavy artillery attack."

Ping'an County was subjected to a heavy artillery siege!

Upon hearing this, both the brigade commander and the deputy brigade commander were immediately startled again.

Ping'an County is where the Japanese troops were stationed. Who would dare to provoke Ping'an County, where three Japanese regiments were stationed?

What? Haven't these three Japanese regiments already been lured out?

Oh, that's okay.

The deputy brigade commander immediately confirmed to the brigade commander, "Brigade commander, the answer is clear. Li Yunlong is using Ping'an County to test his artillery shells. By having local troops feign an attack on Heyuan County, he is luring the three Japanese regiments in Ping'an County away from their stronghold."

(End of this chapter)