Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 125 Aren't you afraid of angering your superiors?
358th Regiment of Jin-Sui Army

"Brother Yunlong, you're a bit late. I've been waiting for you for quite a while."

Upon seeing Li Yunlong arrive, Chu Yunfei personally came out to greet him.

Of course, although Chu Yunfei said those words, he didn't mean to blame anyone in the slightest.

He teamed up with Li Yunlong to pull off another heist, earning Chu Yunfei merit and a commendation from his superiors.

"Haha, Brother Chu, I'm sorry, my partner at home wouldn't let me out, so I was a little delayed." Li Yunlong laughed it off, using Zhao Gang as a shield.

"It's alright, it's alright, Brother Yunlong, please come in." Chu Yunfei invited Li Yunlong into the house.

Delicious dishes have been laid out on the table.

Li Yunlong didn't stand on ceremony. He sat down with an air of authority, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.

Li Yunlong ate with gusto, his mouth greasy, and exclaimed, "Brother Chu, the food here is really good! I heard you even have your own cook. I really wish I could stay here a few more days!"

"Hehe." Chu Yunfei chuckled and said, "Brother Yunlong, don't be so polite. If you want to stay a few more days, then stay a few more days."

"That won't do. If I don't go back today, my partner will definitely not let me out again." Li Yunlong shook his head regretfully, looked at Chu Yunfei, and went straight to the point: "Brother Yunfei, this time you defeated three Japanese regiments. What reward did your superiors give you?"

"It's just some ammunition and equipment, nothing compared to the Japanese supplies and equipment that Brother Yunlong seized," Chu Yunfei said casually.

"Brother Chu, don't even mention it. I had terrible luck; all I got back was a bunch of junk." Li Yunlong said dejectedly.

"Brother Yunlong, you must be joking. That's equipment that can make bullets, how could it be junk?" Chu Yunfei questioned.

"That damn Fujita Ichiji pulled out the key parts, so we can't make bullets anymore. Isn't this just junk?" Li Yunlong cursed.

"Is that so?" Chu Yunfei paused, then tentatively asked, "Given your temper, Brother Yunlong, aren't you going to hurry up and deal with Fujita Ichiji?"

"I'd like to, but I can't. I have other work to do and can't take care of Fujita Ichier for the time being." Li Yunlong shook his head and put two more pieces of meat into his mouth, eating with great relish.

"Brother Yunlong, you're not being fair in this regard," Chu Yunfei said, feigning displeasure. "I've noticed you've been running around to all the friendly forces in the area lately, and when there's work to be done, you don't call on me but let others do it?"

"Hahaha." Li Yunlong laughed and said, "Brother Chu, you misunderstand. I'm not being disloyal. It's just that this job is too big. If I only call on you, we won't have enough troops."

"So, does that mean I, Chu, still have a chance?"

"Of course." Li Yunlong nodded emphatically. "Whenever there's good news, the first person I think of is Brother Chu. It's just that it's a bit late to come and discuss this matter with you today. Please don't mind, Brother Chu."

"It's alright, I don't mind. Good things come to those who wait." Chu Yunfei shook his head and asked curiously, "What kind of work are you going to do this time?"

"I can't tell you the specifics of the job right now, but this time we've definitely angered the Japanese. They might even send out the Japanese troops from Taiyuan," Li Yunlong said solemnly to Chu Yunfei. "When the Japanese reinforcements come out, whether we intercept them on the way or take advantage of their weakened defenses to loot their territory, we'll reap huge rewards. Brother Chu, that area looks like it's lucrative for the Japanese. When their main force comes out, you can go and loot it. And whatever you get, I won't share with you—it's all yours."

"Yunlong, you're really talking big. From what you're saying, this is going to be just as big as attacking Taiyuan." Chu Yunfei was shocked.

We took down three Japanese regiments, and you seized the Japanese ironworks.

The Japanese are furious and are currently mobilizing their troops.

You guys are something else, not only do you not hide, but it seems like you're going to go all out against the wind and pull off an even bigger heist.

Aren't you afraid of going too far?

"What's the big deal about attacking Taiyuan? I don't even care about it," Li Yunlong boasted. "It's just that the job right now is too important, so I really can't worry about Taiyuan. Otherwise, I would have snatched that little devil Shinozuka's command sword no matter what."

"Hahaha," Chu Yunfei laughed, "Yunlong is truly a hero, I admire him greatly. If one day you really want to attack Taiyuan, I will definitely lend a hand."

“Okay, no problem, Brother Chu. If I ever attack Taiyuan to make a fortune, I’ll definitely call you along.” Li Yunlong nodded seriously, then lowered his head and ate two more slices of fish, praising, “This fish is really delicious, it doesn’t even have any bones.”

"Brother Yunlong, if you like it, I'll have someone make a few more portions for you to take back with you," Chu Yunfei said with a smile. He then asked, "Brother Yunlong, I have something else to discuss with you since you're here."

"What is it?" Li Yunlong looked up at Chu Yunfei.

"I'm really interested in that strange heavy cannon you have..." Chu Yunfei didn't finish his sentence.

Li Yunlong interrupted awkwardly, "Brother Chu, it's not that I don't want to sell to you, but as I've already said, our brigade commander forbids it. I dream of making money off your gold."

"Brother Yunlong, let me be frank with you. Our superiors are interested in your cannons." Chu Yunfei didn't hide anything.

After he reported the matter, his superiors instructed Chu Yunfei to negotiate with Li Yunlong.

The higher-ups also said that Li Yunlong should set the terms.

As long as it's not too outrageous, the higher-ups will consider it on a case-by-case basis.

After all, the battlefield significance of heavy firepower is beyond question!

“Brother Chu, this is really putting me in a difficult position.” Li Yunlong continued to frown. “Our brigade commander won’t allow it to be sold. Even if your superiors came, or even if your principal came, I still couldn’t sell it.”

"It's nothing, Brother Yunlong, I just wanted to give you a heads-up," Chu Yunfei said. "Our superiors said they'll let you name your terms, as long as they're not too outrageous, they'll consider it?"

"You want us to name our terms?" Li Yunlong was taken aback. "Aren't you trying to provoke me into breaking the rules? If I wanted to take a liking to your artillery battalion, would you be willing to trade it for it?"

“Brother Yunlong, I’m afraid that won’t work.” Chu Yunfei immediately shook his head. “The artillery battalion is my livelihood, Brother Yunlong, please don’t joke with me. You can go back and discuss this condition with your brigade commander.”

"Alright, considering how sincere you are in treating me to dinner, Brother Yunfei, I'll go back and report to our brigade commander. But let me be clear, I can't guarantee it will work out." Li Yunlong thought to himself, "I'm not going to report to the brigade commander. After this meal, I'm going straight to the arsenal."

That guy Li from the arsenal, he's the kind of guy who can completely fool our brigade commander.

Let's see how Brother Li handles this.

If he's unwilling, then let's just forget about it.

If he's willing, hehe, we definitely won't lose money on this deal. What? I sold the Hell Cannon to Chu Yunfei? What am I going to do now?

Do not make jokes!
If we're going to sell Hellfire cannons, we'll definitely tell Brother Li to sell the ones that someone else has.

For example, our division commander!
He's holding four hell cannons.

"Of course, nothing is absolute." Chu Yunfei was very happy to hear Li Yunlong agree, and poured wine for Li Yunlong. "Brother Yunlong, if this doesn't work out, I won't blame you."

"Haha." Li Yunlong laughed and said, "I will still try my best to make this happen, so that Brother Yunfei can report back to your superiors later."

"Thank you, Brother Yunlong. Come on, let's have a drink."

……

Li Yunlong and Chu Yunfei were enjoying drinks and food together, having a very pleasant time.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Yunlong was in a hurry to say goodbye: "Brother Chu, I have some things to take care of at home, so I won't stay here any longer."

"It's alright, Brother Yunlong. Your business is important. Once you're done, come over to my place for a meal and drinks." Chu Yunfei saw him off.

"Definitely, I definitely will come. You promised, the food here is fucking delicious!" Li Yunlong nodded repeatedly and left under Wei Dayong's escort.

Watching Li Yunlong's departing figure, Fang Ligong, standing beside him, said suspiciously to Chu Yunfei, "Commander, are the Eighth Route Army really planning a major operation? Don't they know that the Japanese are mobilizing troops to carry out a mopping-up operation against them?"

"If the Eighth Route Army hadn't launched a major operation, would Li Yunlong have been able to run away with so many friendly forces?" Chu Yunfei said incisively. "Li Yunlong is a guy who doesn't know what danger is. If he says he's going to do something, then he's definitely going to do it."

"Go ahead and do it, go ahead and do it. It would be best if these Eighth Route Army soldiers ended up playing with fire and getting burned," Fang Ligong said. "That would also fulfill the principal's wish."

"Brother Ligong, the Japanese haven't retreated yet, so let's talk about this less in the future." Chu Yunfei glanced at Fang Ligong. This chief of staff always talked about politics in front of him, which was the topic Chu Yunfei disliked the most.

The Japanese invaders haven't been driven away yet, so now everyone is pointing their guns at the same enemy.

The Japanese devils annihilating the Eighth Route Army will not benefit us at all.

"Yes, Commander." Fang Ligong shut up, then asked, "Commander, do you think the Eighth Route Army will really sell us cannons?"

"Isn't that obvious? It will definitely sell." Chu Yunfei was very certain.

Li Yunlong would never agree if there were no other possibility.

Now that Li Yunlong has given his consent, there is room for negotiation.

"We'll buy their cannons, take them to the arsenal, and then we can copy them, right?" Fang Ligong said expectantly. "We can directly copy the Eighth Route Army's miracle of heavy firepower pulled by mules, haha."

"Take a look," Chu Yunfei said.

Logically speaking, the Eighth Route Army was able to develop heavy firepower under such harsh conditions.

Our arsenal is in much better condition than theirs. If we can't even replicate this, we'll be making a fool of ourselves.

But Chu Yunfei had a premonition that things were definitely not that simple.

Forget it, I won't think about it too much. I'll just carry out the orders from above.

We'll talk about what happens next.

……

"Commander, are we not going back to the regimental headquarters, but to the arsenal?" Wei Dayong asked when he saw that Li Yunlong was heading towards the arsenal, not the regimental headquarters.

“Monk, you heard what happened just now. Chu Yunfei wanted to buy our cannons, so I had to sell them to him,” Li Yunlong said.

Wei Dayong paused: "Regimental Commander, are you crazy? Are you really going to sell the cannons you have? Aren't you afraid the brigade commander will beat you up?"

Wei Dayong originally thought that Li Yunlong was just being polite with Chu Yunfei.

I never expected that our commander would actually sell it.

This is our Independent Regiment's precious treasure, are you really willing to part with it?

"Who said I was going to sell the cannons I own?" Li Yunlong waved his hand.

"Then who are you selling it to, Commander Ding?" Wei Dayong asked suspiciously. "I'm afraid Commander Ding wouldn't agree to it."

Let alone Commander Ding, no one with cannons would agree to this.

"How could I possibly betray Lao Ding?" Li Yunlong shook his head.

"Whose cannons do you want to buy?"

"The division commander has four cannons. Selling one shouldn't be a problem."

"What?! Regimental Commander, you're going to sell the cannons the division commander has?! Are you crazy?!" Wei Dayong was shocked and almost fell off his horse.

"Those cannons were earned by me, so if I want to sell them, is there a problem with that?"

"Aren't you afraid of angering your teachers?"

"Will not."

……

(End of this chapter)