Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 145 I only admire those with ability
Li Yunlong, deeply moved by Wang Gensheng's words, remarked:

"Yes! As the saying goes, people are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat. If it weren't for my thick skin, I wouldn't have been able to get slaughtered by that kid Yamamoto. I might be separated from my brothers by death!"

Just as Li Yunlong was getting a bit heavy off, Ding Wei spoke up:

"Sigh! Sigh! We've gone off on a tangent! We came here to ask Old Li for our wages, but we've strayed further and further from the topic! We're not going to ask for double wages from Old Li, just give us the wages I just mentioned!"

However, Li Yunlong said to Ding Wei:
"You've come to the wrong person when it comes to wages, Lao Ding. Although I took Ping'an County, you've come to the wrong person this time. Actually, I'm just a laborer too. The landlord isn't me, Lao Li. Comrade Wang Gensheng is the real landlord! I fought for half a day in Ping'an County and only managed to get less than three tons of ammunition, while Comrade Wang Gensheng got a hundred tons of ammunition when he took Taiyuan City! Tell me, if you don't ask Commander Wang for your wages, who should you ask for them from!"

Li Yunlong's words successfully diverted Kong Jie and Ding Wei's attention. Seeing the gleam in Kong Jie and Ding Wei's eyes, Wang Gensheng immediately said:
"Hey! You guys are there to hold off reinforcements for Old Li, not for me! So even if I get a hundred tons of ammunition, or even a thousand tons, you shouldn't be asking me for it! That's not fair!"

But before Wang Gensheng could finish speaking, Li Yunlong immediately retorted confidently:

"How can that be unreasonable? When the battle had just begun, the command ordered your cavalry regiment to come and reinforce us. If your cavalry regiment had come to our aid, with its combat strength, you could have easily taken Taiyuan. The battle for Ping'an County would have been over long ago, and the various units wouldn't have had to work so hard to hold them off."

But you, Commander Wang, disobeyed orders and refused to come. You used Ping'an County and me, Old Li, as bait, forcing Taiyuan City to send a large number of reinforcements, turning Taiyuan into a ghost town. Tell me, if I, Old Li, hadn't been the bait, would Taiyuan have sent troops?

Wang Gensheng didn't know how to refute Li Yunlong's words. After all, Li Yunlong was right. If Wang Gensheng had sent troops to help Li Yunlong take Ping'an County, it would have been easy to take the county. However, Wang Gensheng used Ping'an County and Li Yunlong as bait to lure Taiyuan into sending troops, and finally took Taiyuan by taking advantage of its weak defenses.

However, in order to avoid ending up like Li Yunlong, who went from being the commander of a cavalry regiment to the director of a clothing factory, Wang Gensheng had no choice but to give up the hundred tons of ammunition he had painstakingly captured, thus earning a punishment that balanced out his merits and demerits.

Therefore, Wang Gensheng has no weapons or ammunition left! He can't possibly give the equipment of the Special Forces Cavalry Regiment to Kong Jie and Ding Wei!
Therefore, Wang Gensheng immediately smiled wryly and said:
"Gentlemen, it's true that I captured a hundred tons of ammunition, but that's not to offset my crimes. I've handed over those hundred tons of ammunition directly to the command. So if you want your wages, you'll have to ask the command for them! I'm penniless right now and was planning to take Daguzhen to make up for it! But when I got here, well! The Japanese devils ran away and Chu Yunfei took over Daguzhen!"

Just as Wang Gensheng was complaining about being poor and feeling that today's feast wouldn't be very good, Li Yunlong changed the subject, saying:
"Let's get back to the point. The main reason I invited you two here today is to have drinks, but secondly, I want to discuss the issue of three regiments working together for defense. With our three regiments deployed here, we're more formidable than a fully-fledged Lion Army. The issue we need to discuss today is how our three regiments can have unified command should anything happen..."

But before Li Yunlong could finish speaking, Ding Wei interrupted him, saying:
"Wait a minute, Lao Li, what do you mean? What do you mean by 'unified command'? The Eighth Route Army Command is in charge! What do we mean by 'unified command'?"

Li Yunlong explained this by saying:

"Of course it's the command unit! Our communication methods are poor, aren't they? If something happens and there's no time to ask for orders, wouldn't the three regiments have to act together?" Kong Jie, sensing something was amiss, immediately said:
"Hey! Old Li, what are you up to? You're not trying to boss us around, are you?"

Upon hearing Kong Jie's words, Li Yunlong chuckled and said:

“There has to be a leader! In terms of seniority, when Lao Ding first joined the army, I was already a veteran of ten months, that's true! As for Kong Jie! He can't even be mentioned. When he was carrying a Hanyang rifle, what was I carrying? A fire selector! Compared to me, Kong Jie was just a greenhorn!”

Ding Wei scoffed at this, saying:

"Look at you, so cocky! Do you even know your own name? Anyone who didn't know better would think you're a leader of the Eighth Route Army!"

Kong Jie also laughed and said:

"He's not a big guy, but he's got a huge thirst for power. Nobody promoted him, but he promoted himself. Why should we two take your orders? We Eighth Route Army are all about command and combat ability, about military merit, not seniority. If it were about seniority, we wouldn't even be the regimental commanders! There are plenty of people with more seniority than us, Lao Li! If you had Wang Gensheng's abilities, what's wrong with me taking your orders?"
I, Kong Jie, don't respect seniority; I only respect those with ability. Comrade Wang Gensheng is certainly capable. Back when he was the deputy commander of the Second Regiment, I always took orders from him!

When Wang Gensheng heard that Kong Jie had dragged him into this again, he immediately said:
"Old Li is quite capable, but he's made a lot of mistakes. Besides, I guess he's had a good time taking Ping'an County, so he wants to join forces to take a few more counties! How about this, our four regiments join forces and take Taiyuan City!"

Wang Gensheng's words immediately stunned Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, and Ding Wei. What a joke! Even though Taiyuan suffered heavy losses after the last incident, there was still a regiment of troops there!
Moreover, the thickness and height of the city walls of Taiyuan, as well as the sturdiness of the city gates, are far superior to those of Ping'an County!
Therefore, Ding Wei spoke first:

"I can't do that. My new regiment is the furthest from Taiyuan, more than 200 kilometers away. If I go to attack Taiyuan, I'll abandon my base!"

Then Li Yunlong also said that Taiyuan City was too far from the Independent Regiment's base. This Independent Regiment was an infantry regiment, not a cavalry regiment. It was really not worthwhile for them to travel more than 100 kilometers to attack Taiyuan.

Kong Jie was somewhat tempted, since of the three infantry regiments, only his New Second Regiment was relatively close to Taiyuan, less than a hundred miles away. If they were to attack Taiyuan, his New Second Regiment would be the most suitable.

Moreover, during the initial blocking operation, it was Kong Jie's New Second Regiment that was responsible for blocking the reinforcements from the Taiyuan direction. Therefore, he was quite familiar with the Japanese soldiers in Taiyuan and knew that their combat capabilities were not strong. Many of them were relatively young recruits with little combat experience.

(End of this chapter)