The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 627 Ironclad: Get out of the way, I'm going to give you a lesson in melee combat!
[The high-polymer polyethylene helmet...it's pretty good, lighter than my helmet.]

[Silicon carbide ceramic bulletproof chest armor...that's pretty good too, lightweight and sturdy. I wish we had this kind of armor back in the day!]

High-strength engineering plastic elbow and knee pads... these are really good. We never had such good stuff before; they were either too soft and useless, or too hard and hurt people!

[Carbon fiber reinforced plastic leg guards...this is really good...Back then, we used to pad our shins with leather, or if we were poor, we'd use burlap. After a battle, the burlap would rub blisters all over our shins!]

Ah, these gloves...they're so useful! They're light, soft, and sturdy! Much better than leather gloves...

Li Xingtang picked up one item, held it up, turned it over and over, clearly admiring it, and finally put it on himself. He then picked up another item and put it on as well. Shen Le watched in trepidation.

You are a spirit!
It's a spirit, buddy!

Your existence must be dependent on this armor, right? All the old objects I've repaired so far have been dependent on their original bodies. How can you replace the original body?

It seemed to work. At least, Li Xingtang changed his helmet, then his chest armor and leg guards, and then put on his elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves, and he still stood steadily without falling down.

To Shen Le's left, Professor Zhang stared intently, his upper body leaning out at a 45-degree angle, breathing heavily.

Shen Le had to grab his arm to prevent him from losing his balance and falling headfirst onto the armor. Shen Le kept his eyes straight ahead and pulled him back with one hand.

"Take it easy! This is Li Xingtang's body. Don't think that just because he's wearing new armor, you can wear this old one!"

Professor Zhang ignored him. He twisted and struggled, reaching for the armor:

"I'll just touch it... I'll just pick it up and weigh it in my hand, is that not allowed? I won't wear it! I won't wear it!"

Li Xingtang, dressed in modern armor, walked back and forth a few steps, then reached for the high-altitude, cold-weather military mountaineering boots beside him.

He held it in his hands, examining it several times. The more he looked, the more hunched his back became, and the closer he leaned down to the helmet. Shen Le sighed softly beside him.

Sigh, although it is said that "the Air Force has sixth-generation fighter jets, the Navy has large ships, and the Army has new shoes", the Army has really put a lot of effort into new shoes.

These hiking boots are sturdy, warm, and slip-resistant, yet as lightweight as possible within the limits of what he could do. He was envious of them; they were far superior to the ones he wore for climbing snow-capped mountains.

Compared to the iron boots of the Tang soldiers in his memory, or even the leather boots he had personally repaired, they were miles ahead...

He was already envious, so Li Xingtang was even more so. He took the hiking boots, turned them over and over, examining and touching them repeatedly, from the sole to the upper, and from the upper to the boot shaft, clearly admiring them.

Finally, standing on one leg, I took off my right boot and started putting it into my hiking boot. As I put it on, I started to wobble. After putting on one shoe and tying the laces, "whoosh..."

New helmets, chest armor, leg guards, elbow pads, knee pads, and gloves were scattered all over the ground.

"what!"

A chorus of screams erupted. The two young men from the Special Affairs Bureau were even more anxious than Shen Le, scrambling and crawling towards him:
"Mr. Li! Mr. Li Xingtang! How are you? Are you alright?!"

【fine……】

The leather boots lay on the ground and wobbled twice. Then, they began to slowly wriggle, gradually approaching the iron armor placed to the side.

Shen Le rushed over and picked it up for him, placing it next to the armor. The entire suit of armor then snapped upright with a "whoosh." He turned left and right, walked back and forth a few steps, and then waved to the opposite side.

"He said he was fine." Shen Le translated for him.
"These clothes are too heavy, he can't carry them..."

"Heavy?"

"It's too heavy in a spiritual sense! It's an external object; its spirituality hasn't been integrated with it, so it can only bear the weight, which it definitely can't handle!"

It seems the spirit's power is strongly correlated with the armor. Removing a few layers of armor, the remaining spirit and power are insufficient to control external objects…

"Ah, this..." The special affairs bureau guy froze. In a spiritual sense, equipment meant that every single piece was ridiculously expensive; the price of even a single component was enough to make your eyes pop out.

Regardless of whether there is a budget or not, their bureau cannot afford it, nor does it have the relevant equipment, let alone a way to customize one for Li Xingtang.

Uh, I'll report it later and see what they say.

"It seems he still can't get rid of the armor. Do you have any large or extra-large suits of armor that he could try out?"

Shen Le asked earnestly and sincerely. The two special affairs bureau guys exchanged a glance, then rushed to the logistics and equipment department, rummaging through boxes. They pulled out a pile of equipment, which Li Xingtang tried out one by one.

Unfortunately, we really don't have that option. Military equipment is designed for soldiers, not for weapon spirits.

Even with XXXXL-sized equipment, it's impossible to fit a person's head and ancient-style helmet together inside.

"If you'd like, give us some time, and we'll customize something specially for you?" The Special Affairs Bureau representative cautiously sought the Ironclad's opinion.
"Custom molds, hand-made in the lab, it's still quite convenient..."

Ironclad remained silent for a while, then nodded, shook his head, and pointed to the equipment on the sidelines. This behavior completely confused the Special Affairs Bureau personnel, who looked to Shen Le for help:

Hey!
What does he mean?
Please translate this!

Or should we provide him with paper and pen? A Tang Dynasty official would certainly know how to write; although handwriting is slower, it's not impossible to communicate...

"He said he wanted it, but he wanted to earn the money for the equipment himself—and asked if there was anything he could do to help." Shen Le translated in real time, and after finishing, turned to persuade him:
"Don't worry about money for now. I have money anyway, and you can pay me back when you make some. The important thing is to get you properly equipped—what do you want to do next?"

Li Xingtang continued waving his hand and shaking his head, pointing to the equipment on the sidelines. Shen Le frowned and smiled wryly:
"He said he doesn't know anything else, only how to fight, only—in the sense we're talking about now—fighting with cold weapons. If you need, he can recreate the tactics of Tang Dynasty cold weapon warfare..."

"That's great!!!"

The surrounding Special Affairs Bureau personnel cheered almost in unison. Before Shen Le could even ask, someone pulled up a large number of pictures and videos and presented them to Li Xingtang:

"We've been using this recently! Long weapon combat, short weapon combat, long weapons, short weapons, and shields working together, formations—"

This kind of battle tactic has basically been lost to time. It would be wonderful if you could tell us about it!

Shen Le craned his neck to look, then sighed silently. Well, alright. Although the ancient shields were replaced with modern riot shields, it was still quite an achievement for our soldiers to have actually restored spears, hook-and-sickle spears, broadswords, and various other weapons.

Although it was heartbreaking to see them fighting the enemy with cold weapons on the snowy plateau, at an altitude of over 5000 meters, enduring altitude sickness...

Li Xingtang carefully examined each photo and video. He looked at them once, then again, nodding and shaking his head in approval.

After a while, he put on gloves and gestured with his hands:

"He said he wanted a set of these weapons and armor, to weigh them and check their length," Shen Le continued translating.
"Also, send him to the snow-capped mountains to experience it. Stepping on snow is quite different from standing on sand; you'll need different weapons... And what if the enemy fires while you're using this kind of weapon?"

It's clear that he's been taking extra classes these past few days and has gained enough common sense about modern weapons, knowing that firearms can penetrate armor—penetrating this Tang Dynasty iron armor would be a piece of cake.

Shen Le translated while secretly nodding. The two special agents opposite him hesitated for a moment, then decisively replied:

"They dare not fire."

What if they open fire?

"Our artillery has been aimed at them for a long time. If they dare to fire, the cannons will smash them over the head. They won't dare. In recent years, no one around us has used firearms against us. Is it because they don't want to?"

Li Xingtang paused for a moment, trying to fully understand this somewhat internet-slang-influenced way of speaking. He continued waving his hand and asking further questions:
What if they're reckless and actually open fire?

"Look, this riot shield has some bulletproof capability." The young man leaned closer and pointed at the screen.

"This helmet can withstand shrapnel, and this breastplate is a bulletproof breastplate—in short, we'll be fine with small-caliber weapons, but with the large-caliber ones, once they bring them up, we'll be prepared!"

[But people will still die. —When deploying troops, shouldn't we consider the enemy's firearms and try to minimize casualties?]

Li Xingtang asked with utmost seriousness. Shen Le felt a heavy weight on his chest, took a deep breath, and then translated his words. The Special Affairs Bureau guy, without hesitation, blurted out:

"So what if I die! The country will avenge me! I was shot first and died, but I'm honored!"

Before Li Xingtang could ask further, his fingers flew across the iPad, bringing up one webpage after another:
"Look, this is the tombstone of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives. People offer flowers and various gifts all year round."

These are the families of martyrs who sacrificed their lives; the state will take good care of and support them.

The newly built roads here are all named after martyrs, one road for each person, no one will be left behind! What am I afraid of! I have my own page in the family genealogy!

Shen Le tried to turn her head away, pursing her lips to avoid losing her composure. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Li Xingtang nod slowly and heavily, seemingly unsurprised.

"Those who offend the mighty Han, though far away, shall be punished—I understand. So, back then, our methods of troop deployment were like this..."

He tore off a large sheet of paper and began to write and draw, explaining as he wrote. Shen Le stood beside him, translating incessantly. After a while, she gradually calmed down.

They were all warriors. Warriors of today, and warriors of the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago—they all possessed the spirit to face death for their country.

On this point, they are naturally able to reach a consensus and understand each other without needing to communicate.

In contrast, it is he, an ordinary citizen, who needs time to mentally adjust to accepting sacrifice, even if it is someone else's sacrifice...

Li Xingtang spent a whole day just recounting the battle tactics from back then.

After this was finished, I don't know how the higher-ups made the arrangements, but in any case, all sorts of cold weapons were transported over, and people who could use them were also transferred over:
Li Xingtang, alone, held a long-handled sword, his leather boots treading steadily forward through the snow.

Suddenly, his leather boots kicked up a cloud of snow, and he leaped up like a leopard, over the barrier of hooked spears, bent his knees, and swung his knife!

The blade flashed and exploded on the riot shield. The two men who were facing the attack head-on staggered and fell backward.

Immediately, two long sticks emerged from the riot shield, which Li Xingtang lifted with both hands using his long sword, parrying them open.

Immediately afterwards, the longsword spun downwards and struck the shield with an extremely violent sound!

In this exchange, three members of the five-man squad were cut down along with their shields, and two others were struck in the shoulder and neck by the longsword, resulting in their complete annihilation. Those above, hissing and gasping for breath, regrouped and sent over a ten-man squad.

The front row held shields, while the back row held spears and swords. Li Xingtang lowered his head slightly, and under the cover of his helmet and mask, it was impossible to tell that he was just a spirit. He took two steps around the front formation and beckoned to Shen Le.

"Huh? I want to go too?"

Shen Le was surprised. Li Xingtang didn't speak, but simply waved his hand forcefully again. Shen Le pursed her lips, remained silent, and went to put on her protective gear.

Sweat more during normal times and bleed less during war.

For the sake of our soldiers, so that they can bleed less or even not at all in battle, I'll sweat a little more to cooperate with Li Xingtang's cold weapon combat demonstration. Let's give it our all!
The Tang Dynasty's Mo Dao soldiers should still be able to unleash a few strikes and help in the charge!

on!
Wielding knives, swords, and spears. Slashing, chopping, thrusting, and twisting. One against many, many against one.

Li Xingtang, who was probably an experienced officer in the Anxi Protectorate back then, arranged all sorts of scenarios and combinations of cold weapons.

The soldiers fighting him were complaining bitterly, and Shen Le was exhausted to the point of collapse, feeling as if every muscle in his body was screaming for a strike.

Only the officers watching from the sidelines, and historical researchers like Professor Zhang, were enthusiastically recording the events with cameras and iPads.

They fought for a day, then another. For a whole week, Li Xingtang poured all his energy into explaining every troop deployment and formation he knew, one by one:

"He said that's about it. The rest are tactics for using the Modao (陌刀) against cavalry, but he said he wouldn't go into those, since there aren't any cavalry left anyway..."

Shen Le tried to calm her tone and spoke slowly. Across from her, an officer's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward, holding an iPad.

“Tell us about it! Cavalrymen, tell us about it too! — Before our infantry fighting vehicles even got here, the enemy's infantry fighting vehicles came up. If it got to the point where we had to use steel pipes to stop them —”

He held the iPad up to the armored creature, completely disregarding the fact that it was merely a spirit.
"When the tank is stationary, what's the best way to apply force? Could you tell us?"

(End of this chapter)