Bright Sword: Let my company hold off the Yamazaki Battalion

Chapter 61 Staff Officer Chen? Chen Baiquan? Chief of Staff Chen?!

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"Leader, I believe my eyes, and I believe even more in the facts I have witnessed!" Staff Officer Chen said firmly, his words filled with deep emotion.

"Leaving aside weaponry and equipment, the key thing is that the guards' tactics and skills are incredibly solid!"

"Especially those new recruits, their fierceness and focus are things I rarely see in other units."

"If all our Eighth Route Army troops had this level of marksmanship, how could we not defeat the Japanese devils!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke: "Just think about it, they can already score 40 points on average in five shots in the 100-meter dash. If we give them another two or three months to hone their skills, it's not impossible for them to score 45 points on average."

"If they're this good in training, their combat effectiveness on the battlefield is unimaginable!"

After listening to Staff Officer Chen's remarks, the leader remained silent for a moment before waving his hand and saying, "Alright, I understand. You may leave now."

"Yes, sir!" Staff Officer Chen saluted again, turned around and strode out of the room.

Silence returned to the office, but the leader had lost all interest in working.

He stood up and paced back and forth in the room, his brow furrowed, his mind replaying the scene of the assessment, Staff Officer Chen's report, and that weighty report of achievements.

A dozen minutes later, the leader returned to his office with a serious expression. As soon as he entered, he slumped over his desk, picked up a pen, and began to scribble and draw.

The paper was soon covered with dense handwriting, all names, some circled and some crossed out, clearly indicating that they were thinking about something.

The next morning, Staff Officer Chen Baiquan had just arrived at his office and hadn't even had a chance to sit down when he received a notification: his superior wanted him to come over.

"Report!" Chen Baiquan stood at the door of the leader's office, his voice booming.

"Come in," the leader's voice came from inside.

Chen Baiquan pushed open the door and entered, only to see the leader standing by the window with his back to him, seemingly deep in thought.

"Bai Quan is here?" The leader turned around, a gentle smile on his face. "Sit down."

Chen Baiquan sat down as instructed, but he felt a little uneasy.

The leader just listened to his report on the guard regiment yesterday, and then called him in again this morning. Could it be about the guard regiment?

Sure enough, the leader got straight to the point: "Bai Quan, after listening to your report yesterday, I thought about it for a long time. The situation of the guard regiment is indeed beyond my expectations."

"I knew before that the combat battalion of the guard regiment was quite good, but I didn't expect that the guard companies and platoons were also excellent."

"Comrade Chu Feng is a skilled leader. He has managed to train a logistics and guard unit to this level in just over a month. That's quite remarkable."

Chen Baiquan nodded, deeply agreeing.

The leader continued, "However, the guard regiment is about to be expanded into four battalions plus a hero company, with a strength of over three thousand men."

"With such a sizable and well-established force, it's inevitable that Chu Feng will be overwhelmed at times."

"Moreover, as the size of the troops expands, the requirements for command and staff work will also be higher. Similarly, knowing that we have such a force under our control, we naturally have higher requirements for them as well."

Chen Baiquan's heart skipped a beat, and he vaguely guessed what the leader was about to say.

The leader looked at him and smiled slightly: "Bai Quan, you've been working at headquarters for half a year since you graduated from the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, and you've always applied to go to the front-line troops to hone your skills."

"So, I'd like to ask for your opinion. If you were sent to the guard regiment as chief of staff to assist Comrade Chu Feng, would you be willing?"

Although he had already guessed it yesterday, Chen Baiquan was still excited to hear his leader say it out loud.

He immediately stood up, straightened his back, and said loudly, "Leader, I'm willing! I will resolutely obey the organization's arrangements!"

The guard regiment has strong firepower and highly qualified officers and soldiers. Commander Chu Feng is also easy to get along with. Only a fool would refuse.

The leader smiled with satisfaction: "Good! It's very good that you have this determination and understanding."

"The Guard Regiment is a unit with great potential and needs young officers with professional knowledge like you."

He walked to the table and pointed at the assessment report: "Okay, you go back first. As for the transfer order, follow the procedures."

"It may take a few days, so don't worry."

"Yes, sir! Thank you, leader!" Chen Baiquan gave a standard military salute, suppressing his excitement, and turned to leave the office.

The moment the door closed, he almost wanted to pump his fist in celebration. With the guard regiment's configuration, there was no other one like it in the entire Eighth Route Army.

Chu Feng was unaware of what was happening at headquarters.

After the assessment was completed, the new recruits were assigned to the military.

The entire guard regiment, including the newly arrived recruits, has a total of over 4,200 members.

"Judging by the time, the infantry company should be here by tomorrow or the day after. I just don't know how they'll get here!"

"The troops are free for now, so we should head to the arsenal to deal with the 100mm mortars."

"We need to get the 100mm mortars out as soon as possible so that our troops can have firepower for attacking fortified positions, and only then can my artillery battalion truly live up to its name."

With this sense of urgency, Chu Feng summoned several company commanders from the combat battalion, gave them instructions and made arrangements, and then plunged into the arsenal.

As soon as he stepped into the arsenal, before he could even speak, Director Wang approached him and said, "Chu Feng, you've come at the perfect time! I was just looking for you!"

As they were talking, Factory Director Wang walked over and pulled him towards the workshop: "I'm both looking forward to and afraid of that 100mm mortar you mentioned last time!"

"These cannon barrels are too valuable; we can't just use them carelessly!"

Chu Feng understood Director Wang's good intentions, but his attitude was equally firm: "Old Wang, I know these cannon barrels are valuable, but the guard regiment urgently needs large-caliber mortars for attacking strongholds."

"With our current technology, it's unrealistic to produce 100mm mountain guns. We should focus on building mortars first."

He paused, then added, "Besides, I'm only using my own ten. Don't you have 30 cannon barrels? Aren't those thirty enough for your testing?"

"Moreover, even if the 100mm mountain gun trial fails, I can quickly produce mortars based on my experience by using these 10 barrels to manufacture mortars."

"Old Wang, I'm paving the way for you to break through manufacturing technology and cultivate talent."

Seeing Chu Feng's unyielding attitude, Factory Director Wang sighed helplessly, "Fine, fine, I'll listen to you! Anyway, these 10 are yours."

He pointed to a cannon barrel and said, "This cannon barrel is two meters long, just enough to make a 100mm mortar. With our current technology, we can make it."

Then, Director Wang paused, "But there's a crucial problem: we can only produce white cast iron right now."

"But white cast iron is too brittle and can't be machined. To make artillery shells, you need gray cast iron!"

Chu Feng also fell silent, then after a few seconds looked up at Factory Director Wang: "Old Wang, does the arsenal have a solution?"

"Yes, we do, but we haven't tried it," Factory Director Wang said after a moment's hesitation.

"What method?" Chu Feng's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked.

"Smothering fire method".

Factory Director Wang said, "We only know that this method can produce gray cast iron, but we have no idea how to operate it or how to control the temperature."

……