Bright Sword: Iron Will 84

Chapter 84: This Is an Order!

January 21, 2025

Chapter 84: This Is an Order!

The next day.

11:00 AM.

The reconnaissance battalion, composed of elites selected from various corps, worked efficiently. In just 20 hours, they thoroughly investigated the distribution of the city’s armories.

Some soldiers even scaled the high walls under the cover of night, obtaining detailed maps of the factory areas.

Looking at the detailed report submitted by Sergey, Wang Feng was very satisfied: “Well done. Order everyone to assemble!”

The Taiyuan Armory in 1936, after restructuring, was collectively called the Northwest Industrial Company, with 18 sub-factories, most of which were located in Taiyuan City.

Conveniently, the Combat Group had a total of four corps and sixteen battalions.

One battalion per factory.

Song Wenjie requisitioned over 440 camels, over 150 mules and horses, and over 200 carts from the city, along with a significant amount of fodder.

He also requisitioned over 100 mules and horses from the surrounding countryside.

In total, nearly 700 livestock were involved in transportation.

The number of carts was somewhat insufficient, but it wasn’t a major problem. Two or three animals could pull a cart, and extra carts were prepared to account for potential mishaps along the way.

In addition, a considerable number of civilian laborers were also mobilized.

Noon.

The Combat Group mobilized its entire force, including the newly recruited reservists, for this operation.

The massive army stretched out along the roads, resembling a long serpent from above. The rolling wheels kicked up clouds of yellow dust into the air.

The main force slowly advanced towards Taiyuan City.

Northeast of the suburbs, Taiyuan North Gate Armory.

This location was relatively close to Houtang Village. Wang Feng, riding a white horse, personally led a mountain battalion here.

During this crucial period, every unit was on high alert. An operation of this scale could not be concealed from the garrison troops.

Two kilometers outside the armory.

Upon reaching this point, they entered the警戒区域 (security zone).

The garrison commander had already received news and was waiting with a platoon of soldiers.

Li Siwen raised his hand, halting the advancing troops.

“Halt!”

After the troops stopped, he saluted and said, “I am Li Siwen, regiment commander of the 420th Regiment, Independent 218th Brigade. What is your unit’s designation?”

Wang Feng glanced indifferently, casually returning the salute with his riding crop.

A colonel regiment commander

The Independent 218th Brigade, a flagship unit under Fu Zuoyi.

Their vigilance was indeed strong.

Zhao Fangyuan rode forward: “North China Combat Group, under the 14th Group Army.”

Hearing the familiar designation, Li Siwen’s brow furrowed. He carefully examined the leading officer.

Central Army uniform, two stars on the collar insignia, riding a white horse.

“Are you the Commander?” After basically confirming his identity, his tone softened.

A name carries weight.

These three elements together, besides the renowned victorious general, there was hardly anyone else.

Wang Feng raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by his own fame.

“Yes.”

After learning his identity, Li Siwen did not allow passage, but instead continued to ask, “What is the purpose of your unit’s presence here?”

“Routine procedure, please forgive us, Commander.”

Wang Feng, well-prepared, said in a cold voice, “My unit is acting under orders from the Chairman to receive the industrial equipment of the North Gate Armory.”

Li Siwen’s brow furrowed even tighter, turning to his adjutant.

The adjutant shook his head.

Li Siwen took a deep breath: “Commander, we have received no such orders!”

Wang Feng, with a stern expression, pulled out a small notebook.

*Ssssh!*

The pen tip glided across the paper, quickly writing two large characters—’Order’.

He tore off the paper, folded it, and tossed it to Li Siwen.

“This is an order!”

Without waiting for a response, he waved his hand forward.

Zhao Fangyuan instantly understood, shouting, “Forward!”

Soldiers obey their superior’s orders. The troops behind immediately moved, ignoring the 420th Regiment’s adjutant’s attempts to stop them.

The horses charged through the middle of the road. Li Siwen dodged, looking down at the paper in his hand.

He unfolded it and his eyes widened.

The adjutant saw everything clearly: “This…”

Li Siwen sighed, “Quickly, relay this message to Commander Fu.”

After speaking, he hesitated for a moment: “Tell the men inside not to clash with the Central Army…”

After passing the checkpoint, the troops continued their advance.

They soon arrived at the North Gate Armory.

Similar events unfolded throughout Taiyuan City.

Wang Feng was relatively easygoing and avoided conflict with the garrison troops.

The battalion led by Zhang Hu nearly sparked a firefight, forcefully entering the armory.

City Defense Headquarters.

Telegrams poured into Fu Zuoyi’s office as if they were free.

Ye Qijie, deputy army commander of the 35th Army, stood beside him, his face grim.

“Commander, this is blatant rebellion!”

“Give me a brigade, and I will personally quell the rebellion!”

Fu Zuoyi’s expression was also unpleasant, but he remained silent.

Ye Qijie urged, “Commander!”

“With a major enemy at our gates, we absolutely cannot allow this. If we condone this, the various units in the city will follow suit, and Taiyuan will descend into chaos!”

Dong Qiwu, commander of the Independent 218th Brigade, walked in, indignant: “Commander, this Wang Feng is utterly arrogant. The War Zone Headquarters just relocated yesterday, and he dares to seize armory equipment.”

“Exactly, too…”

Just as Ye Qijie began to speak, agreeing with Dong Qiwu, a dull thud interrupted him.

Fu Zuoyi slammed his fist on the table, rising and pacing to the window.

“Order the gendarmes and special service company to seal off the streets around the factories and prevent news from leaking.”

Hearing the first part, Ye and Dong thought Fu Zuoyi would send troops to suppress the rebellion, but the latter part indicated otherwise.

Only sealing off the streets…

It was equivalent to tacitly approving the actions.

Dong Qiwu felt dissatisfied. Wang Feng had humiliated his regiment commander at North Gate. As their superior, he had to avenge his subordinate: “Commander, this is hardly appropriate…”

Ye Qijie also wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Fu Zuoyi.

“Want to suppress it? Fine, which unit can guarantee to resolve this incident within three hours?”

Upon hearing this, the two fell silent.

The 35th Army suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Xinkou, while the North China Combat Group was renowned, its reputation as an invincible army spreading throughout Shanxi.

In terms of strength, no unit in Taiyuan could match them.

Fu Zuoyi frowned. He was the city defense commander, responsible for all military and political affairs in Taiyuan.

Such an incident happening right under his nose was unsettling.

“How is the equipment transfer from the armories progressing?”

Fu Zuoyi was referring not to Wang Feng, but to the equipment transfer commissioned by Commander Yan.

Ye Qijie: “A large amount of equipment has already been transferred to Fengling Ferry.”

He had inspected the armories yesterday and was familiar with the situation.

Fu Zuoyi sharply asked, “How much, specifically?”

Ye Qijie scratched his head: “Over 30 machine tools and 10 motors were transported yesterday.”

Fu Zuoyi continued to press, “I don’t need to know how much was transported; I want to know how much remains.”

Ye Qijie stammered, “A lot…only a very small portion has been moved.”

Fu Zuoyi looked out the window, internally conflicted.

After much hesitation, he decided to turn a blind eye.

“Continue with the orders, the gendarmes will seal off the news.”

“The Japanese are about to encircle the city. It’s better to preserve the armories as seeds for resistance than to let the Japanese seize them and turn them into tools of aggression against China.”

Since modern times, warlords had carved up China, with various forces vying for power. The frequent changes in power, the Shanxi Defense Army’s ability to control Shanxi for over 30 years was inseparable from the Taiyuan Armory’s support.

The veteran Shanxi Defense Army soldiers had a special sentiment towards the Taiyuan Armory.

Fu Zuoyi couldn’t bear to see the decades of hard work by the people of Shanxi fall into the hands of the Japanese and be used as war machines to invade China.

The various tactical battalions under the North China Combat Group swept through all the armories in Taiyuan City like a gust of wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

Before the operation, Wang Feng reiterated the objectives.

Prioritize dismantling and transporting machine tools and motors, collecting blueprints, and recruiting technical personnel.

Next, collect various valuable raw materials.

Don’t waste time on unnecessary equipment.

Inside the North Gate Armory.

This armory mainly produced bullets, grenades, and other light weapons.

It was of considerable size, employing over 2,000 workers during its peak and operating over ten production lines.

With sufficient raw materials and stable production, it could produce 300,000 bullets and 50,000 grenades per month.

However, during the latter half of the Battle of Xinkou, the Japanese repeatedly launched strategic bombing raids on Taiyuan.

The armories were all key targets. After several bombings, they were all crippled.

Under Li Siwen’s non-resistance policy, Wang Feng had completely taken control of this armory.

Zhao Fangyuan approached, followed by a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

“Commander, he is the factory director of the North Gate Armory. What is his name?”

Zhao Fangyuan turned to the factory director.

The factory director shuddered, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

*Click!*

A soldier nearby racked his rifle, menacingly, “Behave yourself, the staff officer is asking you a question!”

“I…I am Huai Hangpeng.”

Wang Feng observed him: “Where are the factory workers?”

Huai Hangpeng glanced at the black muzzle, trembling, “They…they all went home.”

The North Gate Armory had been shut down for almost half a month. Workers unable to work meant no wages, forcing them to find other means of survival.

Some workers and engineers chose to follow the equipment to southwestern Shanxi or the Sichuan-Shaanxi region.

Others remained in the city, making ends meet with odd jobs.

Wang Feng frowned: “All went home?”

“Are you the only one left in the factory?”

This was bad. He wasn’t a science student in his past life, so he had a limited understanding of machine tool construction. Those around him were all rough soldiers, only skilled in fighting. Without disassembly, it was difficult to load the machine tools onto the carts.

Huai Hangpeng hastily corrected, “There are still over ten workers on duty.”

Wang Feng was overjoyed: “Bring them all out, quickly!”

“You guys, go with him,” he said, gesturing to the soldiers nearby.

Huai Hangpeng quickly nodded: “Right away…right away…”

After they left, Wang Feng asked, “What are the city defense headquarters doing?”

This was an extremely risky military operation. If Fu Zuoyi sent troops to intervene, things would become difficult.

If not handled properly, it could even warrant a separate chapter in future history books.

Known as the “Taiyuan Incident.”

Zhao Fangyuan shook his head: “The gendarmes and special service company surrounded the streets near the armory, but they didn’t stop our men.”

Hearing this, Wang Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Excellent.

“Notify all units to accelerate their actions and leave the city before nightfall.”

Under duress, within minutes, Huai Hangpeng hurried in with over ten workers.

“Sir, I’ve brought everyone you asked for. I…I only became the factory director a few days ago, I don’t know anything.”

Wang Feng: “What do you mean?”

Huai Hangpeng was about to kneel, pleading, “The old factory director went out of town with the company. I was just a foreman before, I don’t know how I became…the factory director.”

He had been sleeping in his office, dreaming, when soldiers barged in. Half-asleep, a gun barrel pressed against his temple.

The icy touch jolted him awake. After seeing the situation, he was immediately terrified and his legs trembled.

After all, he was just an ordinary worker and had never seen such a scene before.

Wang Feng pondered: “Then why are you still here?”

Huai Hangpeng stammered, “To…to produce weapons for the city garrison.”

Wang Feng frowned, pointing at the cold machinery, “Produce weapons?”

“Hasn’t your production stopped?”

Huai Hangpeng remained silent, his head bowed.

Wang Feng immediately understood.

It was a ploy to boost morale.

Although the 420th Regiment was stationed near the North Gate Armory, they were only camped a mile outside the factory and knew nothing about the inside.

This was true for the factory guards, let alone other units.

In reality, the power lines and other infrastructure had been destroyed, and the machinery was inoperable.

Time was of the essence. Wang Feng couldn’t afford to delay and immediately arranged for the workers to dismantle the machine tools.

(End of Chapter)

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter