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

Chapter 162 What to do when the brigade commander congratulates you on getting rich again?
Li Yunlong came to see Chu Yunfei alone, while Ding Wei and Kong Jie led their troops to circle around behind the Japanese to make preparations.

Seeing Chu Yunfei emerge looking haggard, Li Yunlong immediately said admiringly, "Brother Chu, you are truly amazing! The Japanese army launched a fierce attack on you for several days with a cavalry regiment, a mechanized regiment, and two battalions of infantry, yet you managed to hold your position."

"Brother Yunlong, please don't make fun of me." Chu Yunfei looked ashamed. "You can see for yourself that half of my defense zone has been occupied by the Japanese. I'm worried about whether we can hold out any longer."

"Hehe." Li Yunlong chuckled. "Brother Chu, you're still persisting even now because you knew the Japanese were running out of ammunition and supplies. You're competing with the Japanese to see who can hold out the longest. I think in the end, Brother Chu will definitely be the one laughing last."

"I hope so." Chu Yunfei nodded and looked at Li Yunlong: "Brother Yunlong, did you come over here to talk about the Hell Cannon? You didn't do this properly, brother. The Hell Cannon isn't very powerful; its real significance lies in the shells. Did you come here to deliver shells to me?"

"Brother Yunfei, what you're saying is unreasonable," Li Yunlong said seriously. "Back then, you wanted to buy the Hell Cannon, but you didn't say you wanted to buy shells. Our logistics department sold you the genuine Hell Cannon. So tell me, is this Hell Cannon fake?"

"The Hell Cannon is real, but we still need to buy shells," Chu Yunfei said.

“You negotiated this deal with our logistics department. If you want to buy artillery shells, you should talk to our logistics department.” Li Yunlong shifted the blame to Zhang Wanhe. “I don’t dare sell a single artillery shell. The brigade commander has given strict orders that selling arms privately will result in a military court-martial. Brother Yunfei, don’t make things difficult for me. If you want to make things difficult for someone, go make things difficult for our logistics department.”

"Brother Yunlong, let's put this business aside for now." Chu Yunfei knew that he probably couldn't buy the cannonballs for the Hell Cannon, so he kept the topic at bay and looked at Li Yunlong, "Brother Yunlong, you didn't come all this way just to see me make a fool of myself, did you?"

"No, no, how could I dare to come and see Brother Chu make a fool of himself?" Li Yunlong quickly denied, then said seriously, "I just saw that you were having a hard time fighting the Japanese, so I wanted to come and lend you a hand."

"Brother Yunlong, this is wonderful! Then you should hurry up..." Chu Yunfei was overjoyed, but before he could finish speaking, Li Yunlong interrupted him: "Brother Yunfei, don't be so happy yet. Back in the days when it was busy with farming in the countryside, I would work odd jobs for landlords, and my wages were settled daily. I'm helping you repel the Japanese invasion, what kind of wages are you going to give me?"

"Brother Yunlong, just say it, what do you want?" Chu Yunfei knew what kind of person Li Yunlong was; he was the kind of person who never helped others for nothing.

"Since you keep saying you bought a Hell Cannon from our logistics department, it's just a piece of scrap metal with no real value, then give me this Hell Cannon..." Li Yunlong didn't finish his sentence.

Chu Yunfei sternly refused: "Brother Yunlong, I cannot do this. This Hell Cannon is currently in the hands of our superiors."

Even if the Hell Cannon is now in Chu Yunfei's hands, he would not easily give it to Li Yunlong.

Once we find an opportunity to get our hands on some artillery shells from the Eighth Route Army, we can't do without these hell cannons.

Seeing Chu Yunfei's attitude, Li Yunlong knew it was impossible to get the Hell Cannon so quickly. Li Yunlong wasn't in a hurry; there was plenty of time.

Li Yunlong continued, "Brother Chu, you fought against Kuroshima Morita's cavalry regiment at the Third Regiment earlier, and you seized several hundred warhorses from Kuroshima Morita. Brother Chu, why don't you give me those warhorses?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yunfei's expression darkened: "Brother Yunlong, you certainly have a big appetite. I only managed to seize a few hundred warhorses from Kuroshima Morita, and you want to take them all? Don't you think that's a bit too greedy!"

Chu Yunfei seized these hundreds of warhorses before the cavalry battalion was even established.

Now, Li Yunlong, you want to take all these military horses? Isn't that like tearing a piece of my heart out?
Li Yunlong looked troubled.
"Brother Chu, it's not that I have a big appetite, but you can see how difficult this job is. The Japanese have a cavalry regiment, a mechanized regiment, and two infantry battalions. This is such a tough job; you can't take it on without the right skills. My reward is only a few hundred warhorses, which is already very low."

"If you put this job outside, and you only give me a few hundred warhorses, see who will do the work for you!"

“I also took a look. Whether it’s the Jin-Sui Army or the elite troops, you have the most Japanese soldiers. Why would the Japanese specifically target you and try to kill you? Who would do your work? It’s easy to transfer the Japanese’s anger onto yourself. This is playing with fire.”

"If I do this job for you, I might even lose my own underwear."

"Brother Chu, of course, if you think my price is too high and you can't accept it, then I'll leave. Let's see who can outlast the Japanese. Good luck."

After Li Yunlong finished speaking, he turned to leave, but Chu Yunfei grabbed him, saying, "Brother Yunlong, don't go!"

Although Chu Yunfei anticipated that the Japanese had limited ammunition, who knew how many more days they could hold out?

The 358th Regiment has already suffered considerable casualties.

If they continue fighting head-on, the 358th Regiment will be severely damaged.

If we can repel the Japanese invaders, the troops will suffer fewer casualties and save ammunition and supplies.

Trading hundreds of warhorses for these isn't really a loss.

It's just that psychologically, I can't quite accept it.

They finally had a chance to organize a cavalry battalion, but before they could even begin, the horses were all gone.

"What, Brother Chu, have you changed your mind?" Li Yunlong knew that Chu Yunfei would not let him leave.

Despite the impressive fortifications of the remaining half of the 358th Regiment's position, continuing to hold out will result in significant casualties. Even if Chu Yunfei ultimately emerges victorious, the 358th Regiment will likely be severely weakened.

With these hundreds of military horses, we'll have more resources and be able to transport supplies to the arsenal faster.

After all, although we intend to seize military horses from Kuroshima Morita, we can't guarantee exactly how many we will be able to take.

If they rob too little, Chu Yunfei can bring over a few hundred military horses; it's always better to be prepared.

Moreover, once the military horses are back, we can expand the cavalry company into a cavalry battalion... What, what if the brigade commander congratulates us on getting rich again?
No way, I'd rather die than give it to you.

We brought back the arsenal, such a great achievement, yet the brigade commander is still thinking about our military horses. It's not appropriate for him to do that.

"How do you plan to help me repel the Japanese?" Chu Yunfei asked. "Your independent regiment only has a little over a thousand men; I'm afraid that's not enough, is it?"

“Brother Chu, what are you saying? Since I’ve come to help you, I certainly can’t just bring my Independent Regiment. I’ve also brought two other brother regiments. The three regiments will work together.” Li Yunlong said seriously, then deliberately added, “Brother Chu, the reward for our three regiments working for you is only a few hundred warhorses. There won’t be enough for the three of us brothers to share. Brother Chu, do you think we should add some more…”

"Brother Yunlong, it's settled then. I'll give you these several hundred military horses. You can start making your move right away." When Chu Yunfei heard that Li Yunlong had called in two more of his men, the last bit of hesitation in his heart vanished, and he immediately agreed.

Upon hearing Chu Yunfei's agreement, Li Yunlong immediately reached out his hand: "Brother Chu, then send someone to bring me these hundreds of military horses now."

“Brother Yunlong, you haven’t even started the work yet, and you’re already asking for payment. Isn’t that inappropriate?” Chu Yunfei glared at him. “Even when people in the countryside are busy with farming, if you go to work for a landlord, you finish the work first before you get paid, right?”

"Brother Chu, we're fighting two regiments and two infantry battalions of Japanese devils for you. This is risking our lives! Is this the same as doing odd jobs for a landlord?" Li Yunlong glared at him. "With such a huge risk, I'll take the payment first. Is there a problem?"

"Alright then, I'll give you the warhorses first." Chu Yunfei thought for a moment and agreed.

Soon, more than four hundred military horses were brought over. Li led his men away with the horses, his face beaming with a smile: "Haha, Brother Chu, watch how I teach these little devils a lesson. You'd better prepare for a counterattack right now. I'll show you that these hundreds of military horses you gave me are absolutely worth it."

Watching Li Yunlong's retreating figure, someone approached Chu Yunfei and said, "Commander, aren't you worried that Li Yunlong, who's leading the army horses, won't actually do any work?"

"He can do the work," Chu Yunfei said confidently.

Li Yunlong deployed all three of his regiments, clearly targeting this group of Japanese soldiers.

Therefore, Chu Yunfei judged that the other party would definitely make a move.

Li Yunlong came to ask for military horses, but he was just taking the opportunity to ask for more benefits.

The reason Chu Yunfei still gave the military horses to Li Yunlong was because he didn't want to delay any longer. The troops were already under a lot of pressure, and he hoped that Li Yunlong would make a move as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if they don't provide the troops, Li Yunlong can simply wait until he and the Japanese have decided the outcome before coming out to reap the benefits.

At that time, Li Yunlong reaped all the benefits of the battlefield, while his own troops suffered heavy losses. Compared to the hundreds of warhorses, this was a net loss.

Then there is.

The reason why Kuroshima Morita led Ueno Village and two battalions of Japanese soldiers to launch a fierce attack for revenge was partly to settle both old and new scores.

On the other hand, Kuroshima Morita wanted to take back those hundreds of warhorses, which was a disgrace to him.

If we give the horse to the Eighth Route Army, and Kuroshima Morita wants to avenge himself, he should go to the Eighth Route Army instead of me, Chu Yunfei, because the horse is no longer in my hands.

This can be seen as diverting Kuroshima Morita's anger.

"Commander..." The person next to him was about to say something.

Chu Yunfei said in a serious tone: "Pass down the order. The troops should prepare for a counterattack immediately. Once the Eighth Route Army has dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese, we will rush over immediately."

The Japanese are running low on ammunition and have suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Eighth Route Army. With our support and the Eighth Route Army's pincer attack, the tide of the battle has basically turned.

"Yes, Commander."

……

(End of this chapter)