Chapter 34: Commander, Let Me See You Off

"Brigade Commander, you could talk to headquarters about it," Li Yunlong said. "By the time we wipe out two thousand puppet troops and capture four artillery pieces, wouldn't that make for an even better deal?"

"Look at how full of yourself you are," the Brigade Commander scolded. "Li Yunlong, let me tell you, I’m heading to the Independent Regiment now. You’d better get ready to face the enemy. If you can't handle the crisis when it comes and lose that Italian cannon of yours, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Brigade Commander, you're leaving already? At least stay for a meal," Li Yunlong said. Hearing the Brigade Commander's words, he knew the commander had tacitly accepted that the weapons from Qiujiazhuang had ended up with the Independent Regiment.

As for headquarters, he and the division commander would try their absolute best to find a way to keep that Italian cannon.

As for the prospect of eliminating two thousand puppet troops to capture four more cannons, that was a matter for later.

In the heat of battle, artillery was not easy to capture. The Japanese and the collaborators were no fools; the moment they realized they couldn't hold their artillery positions, they would immediately choose to destroy the guns.

That was precisely why the three divisions of the Eighth Route Army found it so difficult to capture artillery in combat.

Li Yunlong having lucked into an Italian cannon on the road was truly a stroke of incredible fortune.

"Hmph!" The Brigade Commander snorted heavily and stormed off.

"Brigade Commander, let me see you out! Let me see you out!" Li Yunlong offered, but was flatly refused.

"Wu Ze, it's a good thing you know how to talk," Li Yunlong said to Wu Ze with a grin as soon as the Brigade Commander left. "Otherwise, he definitely would have dragged that Italian cannon away."

"Regimental Commander, should we call Commander Kong to give him a heads-up?" Wu Ze asked.

The Brigade Commander was heading to Kong Jie's, and he might very well order Kong to hand over some of the weapons. After all, the Brigade Commander had already mentioned that plenty of other units had their eyes on that Italian cannon.

No matter how hard the Brigade Commander and the Division Commander tried to find a way around it, if they didn't hand over a portion of the spoils, it would be difficult to keep the cannon.

If they didn't warn Kong Jie in advance, given that stubborn mule’s temper, he might end up locking horns with the Brigade Commander. If the Brigade Commander got truly ticked off, and later came back to the New First Regiment, Commander Li Yunlong wouldn't have an easy time of it.

Wu Ze could sense that although the Brigade Commander had tacitly accepted the situation, he was still furious.

"No need. No matter how stubborn that mule Kong is, can he really twist his thin arm against the Brigade Commander's thigh?" Li Yunlong said dismissively. "The Brigade Commander is gone, come, let's have a bit more to drink."

"Commander, Ichiro Hirata is about to launch a siege on the New First Regiment; maybe we should skip the drinking," Wu Ze suggested. "Let's not let it get in the way of business."

"Don't worry, I've already ordered Zhang Dabiao to make preparations. It's just two thousand puppet soldiers; back in the day, I might have given them a bit of respect," Li Yunlong said nonchalantly. "But now that my New First Regiment is strong and well-equipped, wiping out two thousand puppets is a piece of cake."

"Commander, I still believe it's best not to underestimate the enemy," Wu Ze said. "Could I look at the relevant maps and intelligence, and your deployment, so I can learn from you?"

"Sure, sure," Li Yunlong nodded solemnly. "Let's have some more, have some more, we're happy today..."

...

Independent Regiment.

Battalion Commanders Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao had taken two battalions to help the New First Regiment at Qiujiazhuang, and Kong Jie, the commander of the Independent Regiment, was waiting anxiously at headquarters.

"Commander, the Second and Third Battalions are back." Kong Jie was smoking when Deputy Commander Xing Zhiguo came rushing in to report.

"Is that so? They’re back?" Seeing the excitement on Xing Zhiguo's face, Kong Jie knew they must have returned with a full haul. He immediately asked, "How many weapons and how much ammunition did they bring back?"

"Two mortars, four heavy machine guns, twenty-five light machine guns, and over six hundred rifles. There's too much ammunition to count right now," Xing Zhiguo replied.

"Hahaha! It seems I really hitched a ride on Li Yunlong's coattails this time. Let's go take a look!" Kong Jie laughed and immediately strode out of the headquarters.

"Commander!" "Commander!" Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao saluted as they saw Kong Jie rush out.

Looking at the weaponry they had brought back, especially the two mortars, Kong Jie laughed heartily. "Haha, from now on, my Independent Regiment has two mortars too! Next time I see 'Blind' Cheng from the 772nd Regiment, I'll see how he can still show off that single mortar of his. By the way, how many shells do we have for these?"

"Reporting to the commander, fifty-four shells in total," Shen Quan replied.

"Hahahaha!" Kong Jie laughed again. "Fifty-four shells, not bad, not bad at all! That guy Cheng only has three—not even a fraction of mine! Hahaha, that is hilarious!"

"Commander, more importantly, we didn't lose a single man, only five were wounded," Wang Huaibao added.

The battle had been a one-sided slaughter. The only reason there were any casualties was that the panicked puppet soldiers had fired wildly in retreat, hitting five of their men with stray bullets.

"Only five wounded and no one killed? It seems that kid Li Yunlong has a bit of a conscience after all; he didn't use you guys as cannon fodder." Kong Jie was immensely satisfied.

In his estimation, he had expected fifty casualties from lending those two battalions. He hadn't expected zero deaths and only five injuries.

"And how many casualties did Li Yunlong's New First Regiment take?" Kong Jie asked.

"The New First Regiment didn't have any deaths either, only three wounded," Battalion Commander Shen Quan replied.

"What? You say what? Only three wounded and no deaths?" Kong Jie couldn't believe it.

In his view, since Li Yunlong's New First Regiment was the main force, they should have suffered at least dozens, if not over a hundred, casualties. After all, there were eight hundred puppet soldiers at Qiujiazhuang; even if they were being slaughtered, the stray fire alone should have caused more damage.

The fact that the New First Regiment had fewer casualties than the Independent Regiment shocked Kong Jie.

Kong Jie cursed jokingly, "Damn it, my casualties were higher than Li Yunlong's; that kid still used you guys as cannon fodder!"

After the joke, Kong Jie said, "Tell me, how did that kid Li Yunlong lure Qiu Dabao out?"

"Commander, speaking of that, it's infuriating," Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao both said with expressions full of indignation.

The Independent Regiment had once set its sights on Qiujiazhuang, only to be tricked by Qiu Dabao themselves.

"What's wrong? Did that kid Li Yunlong make you serve as bait?" Kong Jie asked suspiciously. Since his regiment's casualties were higher than the New First's, he was sure Li Yunlong hadn't given them the best assignment. Otherwise, why would Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao look so angry?