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

Chapter 215 I don't believe you for a second!

Li Yunlong had just returned to the regimental headquarters with the weapons and ammunition he had brought back from the border region's arsenal.

Before he could even sit down, someone came to report: "Regimental Commander, Regimental Commander Chu of the 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army is here to visit."

Why is Chu Yunfei showing up again at this critical juncture?

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Under normal circumstances, whether it's the Jin-Sui Army or the elite troops, everyone now knows that our Eighth Route Army has angered the Japanese.

The Japanese are mobilizing a large force to carry out a major mopping-up operation against us. Shouldn't all these people be avoiding us Eighth Route Army like the plague, fearing that they might get into trouble?

Li Yunlong never imagined that the other side would be so kind as to help resist the Japanese; they would rather we fend for ourselves.

"Commander, shall I send the men away?" the man said.

After all, the vanguard of the Japanese army's encirclement and suppression force had already been dispatched, and the military situation was urgent, so there was no time to waste on trivial matters with the Jin-Sui Army.

"Old Zhao, distribute the weapons and ammunition I brought back to the troops," Li Yunlong said to Zhao Gang. "I'll meet this Chu Yunfei and see what he's up to."

"Old Li, why don't I handle this matter? You go and distribute the ammunition." Zhao Gang sensed that Chu Yunfei's intentions were probably not good, and that Li Yunlong might start a fight with him, so Zhao Gang decided to go and talk to Chu Yunfei himself.

"No need. With a formidable enemy at hand, I know what I'm doing," Li Yunlong refused.

"Alright." Zhao Gang didn't insist, but still let Deputy Regiment Commander Xing Zhiguo go with Li Yunlong.

If they were to fight, Xing Zhiguo could stop Li Yunlong.

As Li Yunlong walked out of the regimental headquarters, he indeed saw Chu Yunfei waiting eagerly.

Moreover, to Li Yunlong's surprise, Yan Kai had come with Chu Yunfei again.

Upon seeing Yan Kai, Li Yunlong immediately felt as if he had seen a relative.

Last time, we used Yan Kai to bring in the Jin-Sui Army, which tied down the Japanese reinforcements, and we successfully took over the copper smelter.

This time, 60,000 to 70,000 enemies are coming in with great force. If we can use Yan Kai to bring the Jin-Sui Army in again, hehe, the success rate of this counter-mopping-up operation will be much higher.

Of course, Li Yunlong kept his joy hidden and did not show it. He pretended to be serious and said to Chu Yunfei, "Brother Chu, a great battle is coming soon. What are you doing here? You don't mean to tell me that you plan to drag your 358th Regiment to fight the Japanese with me, do you?"

"Brother Yunlong, you jest. My mere reinforced regiment is but a drop in the ocean compared to the Japanese army's encirclement and suppression efforts," Chu Yunfei shook his head.

"So what brings you here..." Li Yunlong asked.

"Brother Yunlong, we've come to congratulate you," Chu Yunfei said. "We heard that your Eighth Route Army seized five truckloads of tungsten ore from the Japanese. This is a great protection of our country's important mineral resources."

Li Yunlong glanced at Yan Kai to the side, then at Chu Yunfei: "Brother Chu, just say what you have to say directly, don't beat around the bush. I'm short on time and don't have time to listen to your nonsense."

Congratulations on stealing five truckloads of tungsten ore from the Japanese! I don't believe you for a second!

The moment they opened their mouths, they mentioned tungsten ore. They're definitely after our five truckloads of tungsten ore.

Li Yunlong already knew Yan Kai's identity through the brigade commander. Yan Kai was the deputy director of the Yan Commander's arsenal. As a deputy director, how could he not know the importance of tungsten sand?

"Brother Yunlong, please forgive my bluntness." Chu Yunfei's expression turned serious. "Your army seized five truckloads of tungsten ore from the Japanese. The Japanese were furious and mobilized 60,000 to 70,000 troops to annihilate your army. In reality, the Japanese were mainly after these five truckloads of tungsten ore. Our Commander Yan said that in order to prevent your army from suffering annihilation, he was willing to shield you from the Japanese wrath. This is also for the sake of the overall war effort and to preserve our country's precious national defense capabilities."

Li Yunlong's expression turned ugly: "Brother Chu, what do you mean? Do you mean you want us to take five cartloads of tungsten ore and leave them there?"

Damn it, I knew these two bastards were up to no good.

You want to hold off the Japanese devils for us? I don't believe you for a second!

The old days.

The Fifth Division, known as the "Steel Army," only deployed half of its own division, yet it swept across the entire Shanxi Province.

Your Commander Yan's thirty-odd divisions of the Jin-Sui Army didn't dare utter a single word; they simply turned around and ran away, handing over the vast province of Jin to the Japanese.

Now, you're telling me you're willing to take the tungsten ore over to hold off the Japanese for us.

I'll fuck you!
Now the Japanese have mobilized three brigades and a division, making them far more powerful than half a division of the former Fifth Division.

Even if Commander Yan had the guts of a leopard, he wouldn't dare touch a single hair on the Japanese soldiers' heads.

Of course.

Despite his anger, Li Yunlong suppressed it and said directly, "No problem. These five truckloads of tungsten ore are indeed very valuable national assets, and I'm willing to believe in Commander Yan's sincerity. How about this: let Commander Yan first send troops to eliminate these 60,000 to 70,000 Japanese traitors, proving that you truly have the ability to protect these five truckloads of tungsten ore. I guarantee that without hesitation, the five truckloads of tungsten ore will be stored by you. Brother Chu, what do you think?"

Chu Yunfei's face darkened: "Brother Yunlong, what are you saying? Those are sixty or seventy thousand Japanese devils and traitors. They're not so easy to deal with."

Originally, Chu Yunfei was unwilling to come and play the villain.

But there was no other way; his superiors had given orders, and Chu Yunfei had to come.

As Chu Yunfei had expected, Li Yunlong, though uneducated, was indeed a difficult opponent.

They're putting it so nicely, but they're basically trying to get our Jin-Sui Army to take the hits.

Sixty or seventy thousand Japanese soldiers and traitors—this is no joke; that's enough for a major battle.

“Brother Chu, there’s nothing we can do about it. If your Commander Yan can’t prove that he has the ability to protect these five carts of tungsten ore, why should we leave the tungsten ore with him for safekeeping? Don’t you think that makes sense?” Seeing that Chu Yunfei was at a loss, Li Yunlong continued.

Yan Kai, who had been silent until now, spoke up: "Commander Li, this large-scale mopping-up operation of 60,000 to 70,000 Japanese and traitors is no joke. Five truckloads of tungsten ore are a precious mineral resource of our country. Please..."

Li Yunlong interrupted Yan Kai: "Mr. Yan, it's precisely because this massive sweep of 60,000 to 70,000 Japanese soldiers and traitors is no joke, and precisely because these five truckloads of tungsten ore are so important, that I should treat it with even greater care. If your Commander Yan is not capable of protecting these five truckloads of tungsten ore, and is not capable of annihilating the Japanese army, why should I entrust the tungsten ore to him for safekeeping? If he were to lose it, wouldn't that result in the loss of the country's precious mineral resources? Don't you think so?"

Yan Kai was speechless for a moment after Li Yunlong's words. He paused and then said, "Commander Li, our Commander Yan isn't without sincerity. He said that your district's arsenal is just starting out and definitely needs a lot of equipment. Our Commander Yan can consider providing you with some equipment support." Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong immediately cursed inwardly, "Why didn't you support us before?"

Now that we've received five truckloads of tungsten ore, the Japanese are about to mop us up, and you're only now providing equipment support.

It's obvious they're still trying to scam us out of tungsten sand.

Of course, Yan Kai is a very important bait.

Since the bait has been delivered to our doorstep, we shouldn't let the relationship become too strained.

Li Yunlong then pretended to be very interested in the equipment.

Okay, there's no need to pretend, this is just him being himself.

Mr. Li was indeed thinking about getting equipment for Li Muzhi at all times, and excitedly asked, "Mr. Yan Kai, you're not kidding me, are you? Commander Yan is really willing to support us with equipment?"

"Commander Yan has always wanted to support you. As you know, the Taiyuan Arsenal was lost, and Commander Yan is also in dire need of equipment." Yan Kai pretended to be sincere.

Seeing that Li Yunlong was very interested in the equipment, Yan Kai felt relieved.

Using the equipment as a starting point can indeed bring about a turnaround.

The Eighth Route Army was so poor, and with the development of military industry, they needed equipment more and more. They would never give up easily if there was any hope of obtaining equipment.

what?
Isn't tungsten sand very important?

Are the Eighth Route Army soldiers idiots?
Tungsten ore is indeed very important, but the key question is whether the Eighth Route Army knows how to refine it.

They didn't know how to refine it, the Japanese had a severe blockade, and the Eighth Route Army had no way to sell it. Five truckloads of tungsten ore were just a pile of waste sand in their hands, and they would rather use it to exchange for urgently needed equipment.

Back then, the Eighth Route Army acquired 8000 tons of tungsten ore, and that's exactly what they did; they used it all to exchange for supplies.

"It seems I misunderstood Commander Yan," Li Yunlong continued his act. "So, did you bring the equipment?"

“Commander Li, the Japanese army is coming soon. Giving you the equipment now would be very risky,” Yan Kai said. “Our Commander Yan said that we will give it to you after you get through this crisis. Otherwise, if the equipment falls into the hands of the Japanese, it will only benefit them.”

“That makes some sense.” Li Yunlong nodded, looking at Yan Kai. “How about this? Tungsten ore is very important, and I can’t make the decision on my own. Why don’t you come with me to our arsenal and talk to our logistics minister…”

Before Li Yunlong could finish speaking, Xing Zhiguo, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but speak up.

How could we possibly let the Jin-Sui Army know about our border region's arsenal?

Even if they weren't Japanese soldiers, it still wouldn't work.

Li Yunlong glared at Xing Zhiguo, who immediately shut up.

It seems this was just a ruse by Regiment Commander Li Yunlong.

Xing Zhiguo probably understood Li Yunlong's thoughts as well.

That is to use this pretext to lure Yan Kai away, and then forcibly take Yan Kai out of the encirclement to cause trouble behind Japanese lines, so that Yan Kai can be used to bring the Jin-Sui Army back in.

Although Regiment Commander Li Yunlong made a big mistake by doing this.

However, as long as the Jin-Sui Army can be brought in, the success rate of the counter-mopping-up operation will increase greatly!

As long as we can break through the Japanese mopping-up operations and our arsenals can continue to produce weapons and ammunition, then it's all worthwhile.

At worst, I'll just get a scolding from the brigade commander later.

Our regimental commander is used to being scolded by the brigade commander; it's nothing to him.

"You really can take us to see Minister Zhang?" Yan Kai was pleasantly surprised.

Because he was eyeing the cannonballs from the Hell Cannon, Yan Kai wanted to make contact with Zhang Wanhe, the logistics minister of the Eighth Route Army, again.

However, Zhang Wanhe declined all offers, citing his busy work schedule.

Yan Kai knew that this was just Zhang Wanhe's excuse.

Now, if Yan Kai can get in touch with Zhang Wanhe through Li Yunlong, he believes that as long as the conditions he offers are generous enough, the logistics minister of the Eighth Route Army will be tempted.

Of course.

If the cannonballs from the Hell Cannon can be replaced, there is definitely a good chance that the tungsten sand can be replaced as well.

However, Chu Yunfei, standing to the side, questioned, "Brother Yunlong, you're not joking, are you? You really want to take us to see your logistics minister? You're not using Mr. Yan as bait to pull another stunt, are you?"

Li Yunlong had already used Yan Kai as bait once. Although the Jin-Sui Army did not suffer any losses last time and even dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese,

But this time, it's different from the last time.

If Yan Kai is used as bait by Li Yunlong again, with a Japanese force of 60,000 to 70,000 men, and the Jin-Sui Army is dragged into the mess once more, the consequences could be unpredictable.

Therefore, Chu Yunfei had to be wary that Li Yunlong might ostensibly take Yan Kai to see their Minister Zhang, but in reality, he might take Yan Kai elsewhere and use him as bait again.

Faced with Chu Yunfei's doubts, Li Yunlong feigned indifference and bluntly said, "Brother Yunfei, if you don't believe me, you can take Mr. Yan Kai back now. I have an operation to conduct here, and time is of the essence. I don't have time to waste with you. I won't see you off."

After giving him a cold shoulder, Li Yunlong strode towards the regimental headquarters, saying to Xing Zhiguo, "Deputy Regimental Commander Xing, see the guest out!"

"Commander Chu, Mr. Yan Kai, our commander is angry. Please leave." Xing Zhiguo immediately said to Chu Yunfei and Yan Kai with a serious expression.

"Chu Yunfei, shut up!" Yan Kai saw that Li Yunlong was angry and wouldn't listen to him anymore, so he shouted at Chu Yunfei and then chased after Li Yunlong, saying, "Commander Li, please wait."

(End of this chapter)