Chapter 21: Li Yunlong Flips the Table

Chapter 21: Li Yunlong Flips the Table

“I’m still thinking, I’m still thinking,” Li Yunlong replied.

“Li Yunlong, you’d better hurry up. There are only twelve days left,” the brigade commander urged him. “If you can’t take Qiu Family Village by then, those Italian artillery shells…”

“Commander, don’t worry. You can forget about those Italian shells—they’re mine!” Li Yunlong cut him off.

“Of course, I hope you have the ability to keep those Italian shells,” the commander said before hanging up.

“Commander, is there no sign of progress from Li Yunlong’s side?” As soon as the commander hung up, Cheng the Blind asked anxiously.

Cheng the Blind had spent two days reflecting back at the 772nd Regiment. When it came to earning merit, he was completely at a loss.

He had heard that the higher-ups had tasked the 386th Brigade with attacking Qiu Family Village.

He also knew the commander had assigned this mission to Li Yunlong.

This made Cheng the Blind very worried. He hurried to the brigade headquarters, fearing that if Li Yunlong succeeded, the 772nd Regiment would be completely overshadowed by the New First Regiment.

Although Qiu Family Village was tough to capture and the commander had only approved five rounds of Italian artillery shells for Li Yunlong, that kid always managed to come up with some ingenious ideas at critical moments, always surprising everyone.

Seeing Cheng the Blind’s attitude, the commander snapped, “Do you really hope that Li Yunlong has no progress at all?”

If Li Yunlong couldn’t handle Qiu Family Village, the commander would personally take charge.

Then the plan would be to use all the Italian shells to blast open a breach in the village’s defenses, and the troops would attack through the gap.

But such a frontal assault would certainly come with heavy casualties.

Now, seeing Cheng the Blind so anxious, as if hoping Li Yunlong would fail, the commander was clearly displeased.

Usually, Cheng the Blind and Li Yunlong could compete and clash as much as they liked.

But at this critical moment, Cheng needed to show some tact.

Hearing the commander’s harsh tone, Cheng the Blind realized his mistake and quickly said, “No, no, this concerns our Eighth Route Army’s food supply. How could I wish Li Yunlong to have no progress?”

“I know you’re worried about being outdone by Li Yunlong’s New First Regiment,” the commander said, fixing Cheng the Blind with a look. “If you have any clever ideas on how to take Qiu Family Village, you can act immediately. If you can come up with a plan, your 772nd Regiment can step in, and I’ll stop Li Yunlong.”

“I will think it through carefully, I promise,” Cheng the Blind said again.

“Good, then go and think hard,” the commander waved him off.

Then the commander turned back to the sand table, pondering carefully. If Li Yunlong was stuck, the 386th Brigade would have to launch a full-scale assault on Qiu Family Village. Those twenty-plus artillery shells would need to blast open the defenses and neutralize the most threatening enemy firepoints. This was no matter to take lightly.

Just as Li Yunlong ended his call and was preparing to head to Qiu Family Village again, someone hurriedly reported, “Regimental commander, Xiao Wuzi has returned with Wu Ze.”

“Hmm, have Old Zhong make arrangements to receive them. I’m about to head to Qiu Family Village…” Li Yunlong began, but the messenger interrupted.

“Xiao Wuzi says Wu Ze has a way to take Qiu Family Village.”

“What? You said Wu Ze has a way to take Qiu Family Village?” Li Yunlong was stunned.

The commander had just called to ask if there was any sign of progress. Though he hadn’t said much, Li Yunlong guessed the commander was planning to use all the Italian shells in a direct assault.

Wu Ze had been out for three days, and now he had a solution?

“Yes, Xiao Wuzi is…” The messenger didn’t finish before Li Yunlong dashed out.

“Commander…” Wu Ze tried to speak, but Li Yunlong’s eyes were full of anticipation. “Wu Ze, do you really have a way to take Qiu Family Village?”

Li Yunlong’s words immediately drew the attention of many around.

The brigade commander had dumped this difficult task on the New First Regiment, and the regimental commander had been sleepless and restless over it.

Now Wu Ze was back claiming he had a solution?

“Commander, let’s go back to headquarters to talk in detail. Also, please call Deputy Commander Zhong,” Wu Ze said.

“Huzi, go get Old Zhong right away,” Li Yunlong ordered his orderly.

“Yes, sir!” Huzi ran off.

Li Yunlong grabbed Wu Ze and hurried back to the regimental headquarters.

“Wu Ze, first tell me what you’ve found. How do we take Qiu Family Village?” Li Yunlong asked eagerly.

“Commander, wait for Deputy Commander Zhong to arrive,” Wu Ze said. “This operation needs him to verify the situation.”

“You can tell me first. When he gets here, I’ll just repeat it to him,” Li Yunlong scratched his head.

“Alright,” Wu Ze agreed. “During my recent activities in Wanjia Town, I found the son of a local headman named Cui Baozhong. From his mouth, I learned that you’ve all been deceived by Qiu Dab scar. The grave the guerrillas dug up is not his father’s grave at all…”

Before Wu Ze finished, Li Yunlong interrupted skeptically, “How can that be? When Qiu Dab scar buried his father, many people saw it. There are plenty of witnesses.”

“Yes, Qiu Dab scar did bury his father in that grand tomb. But that very night, he sent someone to move the body out and replaced it with a decoy. When the guerrillas dug up the grave, the corpse had already decomposed and was unidentifiable, so…” Wu Ze explained.

“That Qiu Dab scar! I always wondered how such a filial man could restrain himself and not send troops each time we dug up his father’s grave. I thought he was afraid of an ambush—turns out he pulled a fast one,” Li Yunlong cursed furiously. “Where is his father’s body hidden then?”

“In the tomb of that local doctor,” Wu Ze replied.

“What? In the doctor’s tomb?” Li Yunlong paused, then, furious, flipped the table over and shouted, “That bastard Qiu Dab scar! I even paid respects at his father’s grave!”

Clearly, Li Yunlong instantly understood Qiu Dab scar’s deception and was furious at being so thoroughly fooled.

Deputy Commander Zhong Zhicheng of the New First Regiment, upon hearing Wu Ze had a way to take the fortress village, felt like he had wings on his feet.

Just as Li Yunlong flipped the table, Zhong Zhicheng hurried over.

Seeing the scene, Zhong was dumbfounded.

What was going on? Why did Li Yunlong flip the table?

Had Wu Ze’s plan turned out to be just a false hope, causing Li Yunlong to lose his temper?

Zhong Zhicheng asked suspiciously, “Old Li, why did you flip the table…”

Before he finished, Li Yunlong cut him off with a glare. “Old Zhong, if you knew the truth behind this, I bet you’d tear down this entire building.”

If you have a reading list, please help spread the word.

(End of chapter)