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

Chapter 354 Brigade Commander, don't scare me, Old Li is a coward.
A hidden pass.

Ding Wei, Gao Liujin, and Gao Xigang's troops have already assembled here.

"It's been so long, and Li Yunlong still hasn't come. Could it be that he ran into Zhang Wanhe when he went to the border region's arsenal to get weapons and ammunition?" Gao Liujin said impatiently, scratching his ears and cheeks.

How could someone who's six pounds tall not be anxious?

By falsely conveying the brigade commander's orders, they not only brought Gao Xigang out, but also took out weapons and ammunition from the brigade headquarters warehouse.

If we don't hurry up and leave, the brigade commander will definitely strangle us.

"Don't worry, Gao Liujin, you definitely won't run into Zhang Wanhe." Ding Wei was very calm. "I think it's most likely that Lao Li brought too many weapons and ammunition from the border region's arsenal, so he was slow and delayed."

Who is Li Yunlong? There's no need to worry about him.

They made a point of asking around before they went.

After confirming that Zhang Wanhe was not at the border region arsenal, he quickly went to contact Li Muzhi, hoping to also get a free meal.

"How about we leave first..." Gao Liujin couldn't wait any longer.

"Commander Li is here." At that moment, someone quickly ran over to report.

"Look, Old Li isn't coming," Ding Wei pointed. "Let's go see how many weapons and ammunition he brought back from the border region's arsenal."

"Let's go." Gao Liujin nodded, and seeing that Gao Xigang was also going, he said to Gao Xigang, "Gao Xigang, you wait here for now. It's a secret mission, so it's better if you know as little as possible."

"Commander Gao, please wait here for a moment," Ding Wei said to Gao Xigang.

Ding Wei also found out that Gao Xigang had been tricked out by Gao Liujin by falsely conveying orders, and Ding Wei also helped Gao Liujin keep it a secret from Gao Xigang.

"Alright then." Although Gao Xigang had some doubts, Ding Wei and Li Yunlong would also be carrying out the mission with him, so he suppressed his suspicions about Gao Liujin.

Perhaps this is indeed a secret mission, to be carried out in secrecy.

Otherwise, soldiers from several regiments would have changed into Japanese military uniforms in advance.

That's right, the entire unit has changed their uniforms to Japanese military uniforms.

Gao Xigang waited where he was, while Gao Liujin and Ding Wei quickly went over.

When they saw that Li Yunlong's men had brought back a lot of boxes, Gao Liujin and Ding Wei recognized these ammunition boxes. These were rocket launchers and hell missiles.

Gao Liujin laughed and said, "Li Yunlong, you're something else! Did you go to the border region's arsenal to rob it? You took all their stored ammunition!"

Li Yunlong glanced at Gao Liujin: "How can you talk like that? How can you use the word 'roll'? This was all given to me by Brother Li on his own initiative."

“Yes, that’s true. This job is very risky. The more weapons and ammunition we have, the more secure we are. Director Li will definitely do that.” Gao Liujin had no doubts.

Seeing that quite a few bottles and jars had been brought over, Gao Liujin asked suspiciously, "Li Yunlong, what are you doing with all these bottles and jars?"

Ding Wei hit the nail on the head: "As long as we can capture the Japanese gasoline, we can use these bottles and cans to make our own incendiary bombs."

This trip was long and arduous, and Li Yunlong had brought back quite a few rocket launchers, rockets, and hell bombs, but it was hard to say what would happen in the subsequent battles.

If we run out of rockets, Molotov cocktails will be our last resort when facing the Japanese mechanized forces.

Gao Liujin suddenly realized: "This is a good idea, not bad at all."

"Has Gao Xi just arrived?" Li Yunlong asked Gao Liujin.

"Of course I'm coming," Gao Liujin said, patting his chest. "If I say I'll do it, I definitely will."

Then Gao Liujin urged, "Li Yunlong, now that you're here, let's hurry up and set off."

"There's no rush. Let's distribute the weapons and ammunition I brought from the border region's arsenal in advance..." Li Yunlong said. He explained that if the weapons and ammunition were distributed among several regiments, there would be enough to deal with any emergencies in the future.

Ding Wei whispered in Li Yunlong's ear, "Gao Liujin falsely conveyed his brigade commander's orders, tricking Gao Xigang out of his house, and also tricking him out of the weapons and ammunition in the brigade headquarters warehouse. He's in a hurry to run away."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's eyes widened, and he immediately cursed in his heart: "Damn it, that brute Gao Liujin actually dared to do this, he's bolder than me, Old Li!"

Of course, since Gao Liujin's situation is urgent, he really needs to hurry up and leave.

Otherwise, if Brigade Commander Gao Liujin catches up, not only will Gao Liujin be forced to retreat, but we might also be unable to leave.

So Li Yunlong nodded quickly: "Okay, okay, let's set off first, and we'll divide up the lodgings when we get to the campsite."

We've already changed into Japanese soldiers' uniforms beforehand, and our encampment is in the territory of the puppet army.

The same old trick: if they can deceive the puppet troops first, they'll start by getting to them. This way, they can not only secretly cross over, but also replenish their supplies from the puppet troops.

If the deception fails or the truth is revealed, then military action will be the only option.

Upon seeing Gao Xigang, Li Yunlong took the initiative to say, "Commander Gao, time is of the essence, let's set off immediately. I'll tell you the specific details of the mission later."

“Yes, Commander Li…” Gao Xigang hadn’t finished speaking.

Someone suddenly ran up to report: "Reporting to the regimental commander, the brigade commander has arrived."

The brigade commander has arrived!

The first person to be scared out of his wits when he shouted this was Gao Liujin.

Gao Liujin's pants were instantly soaked, and he could barely speak, stammering, "Is the brigade commander really, really, really here?"

He falsely conveyed the brigade commander's orders, mobilized troops without authorization, and even stole weapons and ammunition from the brigade headquarters' warehouse. The brigade commander should have burned himself alive.

Seeing this, Gao Xigang was a little puzzled. What was wrong with Gao Liujin's reaction?

Li Yunlong also shrank back, looking at the person who came in: "Look carefully, are you sure it's the brigade commander?"

Li Yunlong thought to himself, "Oh no, how come the brigade commander's nose is so sensitive this time?"

“How could I mistake our brigade commander for someone else? It is definitely our brigade commander,” the man assured Li Yunlong.

Upon seeing this, Gao Liujin asked suspiciously, "Is this Brigade Commander Chen from your 386th Brigade?"

“Yes, if he’s not the commander of our 386th Brigade, then who else could he be but your commander?” the man said to Gao Liujin.

"Haha, I really can't hold my pee anymore, I'd better go change my pants first." Gao Liujin was relieved, but still immediately chose to back away.

Although it wasn't our brigade commander who came, but Li Yunlong's brigade commander, that still caused trouble.

That bastard Li Yunlong sneaked out behind his brigade commander's back. Li Yunlong is definitely going to get a good beating from his brigade commander. I'd better hide in the back and observe for a while.

If things turn bad, we should immediately lead the troops back, apologize to our brigade commander, and it should still be in time.

"Gao Xigang, come with me for a bit." Gao Liujin pulled Gao Xigang along as he left.

"Old Ding, the brigade commander is here in person. He's probably going to send us back. What do you think we should do?" Ignoring Gao Liujin's little tricks, Li Yunlong nervously turned to look at Ding Wei.

"What else can we do but go and await our fate?" Ding Wei remained remarkably calm, even joking with Li Yunlong, "Or, Lao Li, why don't you go all out and kidnap the brigade commander, send him back to headquarters..."

Li Yunlong's face immediately darkened, and he glared at Li Yunlong, saying, "Old Ding, the brigade commander is here to arrest us personally, and you still have the mind to joke around."

They even kidnapped our brigade commander! We don't have the guts to do that. Even if you gave me a hundred lives, I wouldn't dare lay a finger on him.

"Let's go, take the initiative to apologize to the brigade commander, and be sincere." Ding Wei pulled Li Yunlong to see the brigade commander.

He jogged over and ran for a mile, and sure enough, he saw the brigade commander coming at full speed, bringing with him a hell cannon.

Li Yunlong's face turned pale: "The brigade commander even brought a hell cannon. Surely he's not going to use it to execute me on the spot?"

Seeing Ding Wei and Li Yunlong approaching quickly, the brigade commander stopped his horse in front of them and jumped off.

Li Yunlong quickly went over with a smile to take the reins and greeted him warmly, "Brigadier, what brings you to this desolate place?"

The brigade commander lashed out at Li Yunlong with his whip, angrily shouting, "How could I not come? If I had been any later, my 386th Brigade would have lost two regiments."

“Brigade Commander, how could that be?” Li Yunlong said seriously. “Old Ding and I just took the troops out for some field training. As you know, although Ding Wei and I have replenished our troops, most of them are new recruits, and new recruits need training.”

The brigade commander lashed Li Yunlong with his whip again: "Li Yunlong, I know everything, and you're still pretending? Do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you!"

After saying that, the brigade commander reached for his gun.

Ding Wei quickly stepped forward and stopped the brigade commander from drawing his gun: "Brigade commander, calm down, calm down. Li Yunlong and I know we were wrong. We'll take the troops back immediately, we'll take the troops back immediately."

Li Yunlong, his neck stiff, said, "Brigade Commander, since you already know, give me the truth now. Are you going to let me rob that Japanese seamless steel pipe factory in the First War Zone? Brother Li from the Border Region Arsenal said that the Taiyuan Arsenal is missing two crucial pieces of equipment—the gun barrels for anti-aircraft weapons can't be made, so they can't manufacture anti-aircraft weapons. That Japanese seamless steel pipe factory has the specialized equipment Brother Li needs." "Look at you, so capable!" the brigade commander snapped. "That's the First War Zone, so far away! Do you think you have wings?"

After being pressed down by Ding Wei, Ding Wei also admitted his mistake, which gave the brigade commander a way out, and the brigade commander did not draw his gun.

“Brigade Commander, I may not have wings, but if we can’t build anti-aircraft weapons, those Japanese planes will keep shitting over our heads.” Li Yunlong said from the bottom of his heart, “When my Hellfire Cannon and Type 92 infantry guns were shot down by Japanese planes, my heart was trembling. I thought to myself, if I had anti-aircraft weapons, how could I let those Japanese planes bully me so recklessly? So, even if I don’t have wings, even if going to the First War Zone is fraught with difficulties, I will go even if it means sacrificing my entire army, so that our army can build anti-aircraft weapons!”

"You think this is your army after you've wiped it all out? This is the Party's army!" The brigade commander's spittle sprayed all over Li Yunlong's face.

Ding Wei yelled at Li Yunlong, "Hey Lao Li, how can you be so tactless? The brigade commander has brought a hell cannon to support us, and you're still causing trouble for him. Hurry up and apologize to the brigade commander."

Ding Wei was completely certain when the brigade commander didn't actually draw his gun.

The brigade commander didn't arrest the two of them to take them back; otherwise, Ding Wei could have joked earlier that Li Yunlong should tie up the brigade commander and take him back.

The brigade commander also brought the Hell Cannon, so he definitely supports the two of them.

That old Li is really something. He's usually as shrewd as a monkey, but now he's been blinded by greed.

After Ding Wei's reminder, Li Yunlong suddenly realized what was happening.

After glancing at the hellish cannon that the brigade commander had brought, Li Yunlong immediately changed his attitude and said with a fawning smile, "Oh, brigade commander, I'm sorry, you're right to criticize. This is the Party's army, not my personal armed force. Brigade commander, don't hold back, give me a few more hard lashes with this whip, so you can vent your anger."

"Keep pretending, you son of a bitch, keep pretending! Why don't you keep pretending?" The brigade commander raised his whip again, but ultimately didn't strike.

Over the years, the brigade commander has lost count of how many times he's been whipped by Li Yunlong.

This thing hasn't changed at all, so there's no point in trying to get it again.

Furthermore, Li Yunlong's heartfelt words were not wrong.

The Japanese planes are going too far; we can't stop them.

No matter how many artillery pieces the border region's arsenal produced for us, without air superiority, the Japanese could destroy our vital firepower on the battlefield, which was incredibly frustrating.

Therefore, as long as the border region's arsenal can produce anti-aircraft weapons, whatever Li Muzhi needs, our combat troops will go all out to get it.

"Hehe, brigade commander, I'm not pretending anymore. I was wrong, brigade commander. I, the brigade commander, will never dare to move troops behind your back again. From now on, I will inform you in advance if anything happens in the troops." Li Yunlong pressed his advantage, "Even if I have to go to the toilet a few times a day, I will report to you."

"Come on, I've heard this so many times since we crossed the grasslands, and I haven't seen you, Li Yunlong, change your tune." The brigade commander cursed, "You're quite capable, aren't you? You went to the border region's arsenal and emptied its warehouse. Zhang Wanhe even called my brigade headquarters."

"Brigade Commander, don't pay any attention to Old Zhang. Now that I've brought out these weapons and ammunition, I won't return a single bullet to him," Li Yunlong said immediately without any politeness.

Ding Wei chimed in, "Brigade Commander, the journey to the First War Zone is long and arduous. The more weapons and ammunition we bring, the better our logistical support will be, don't you think?"

"Ding Wei, I'm not trying to criticize you!" The brigade commander's gaze fell on Ding Wei, and he said, "I think your perspective on the issue is different from Li Yunlong's, which is why I asked you to keep an eye on Li Yunlong. How can you just cooperate with Li Yunlong to act recklessly on such a big matter?"

"Yes, Brigade Commander, I know I was wrong." Ding Wei nodded in admission of his mistake. "I should have told you beforehand..."

"Is this what I meant!" the brigade commander interrupted Ding Wei.

"Brigade Commander, what do you mean by that..." Ding Wei looked at the brigade commander suspiciously.

The brigade commander took the briefcase off his back and handed it to Ding Wei: "This is the intelligence I quickly gathered from the First War Zone. Take it with you and read it on the way."

As Ding Wei took the briefcase, he solemnly said, "Brigade Commander, I understand. In the future, when I follow Li Yunlong on missions, I will definitely gather intelligence in advance."

"Brigadier, it's not Ding's fault. It was Li's rush that left Ding with no time to gather intelligence. Besides, the First War Zone is so far away; he probably couldn't collect any valuable intelligence in such a short time." Li Yunlong chimed in, supporting Ding Wei and flattering the brigadier: "You're truly remarkable, Brigadier. Minister Zhang called you, and you had to rush over. There probably wasn't even time to gather intelligence, yet you still managed to do so. You truly are..."

"As expected!" The brigade commander interrupted Li Yunlong. "I know what you're up to the moment you stick your butt out. I knew what you were going to do the moment you sneaked off to find Gao Liujin. This is intelligence I gathered in advance."

"So you already knew, Brigade Commander." Li Yunlong was taken aback. Under normal circumstances, if the Brigade Commander knew and wanted to object, he would have stopped him immediately.

After all that, it turns out you never intended to strangle me; you even helped me gather intelligence.

Li Yunlong said with a grin, "Brigade Commander, I have to say, you're really something, always trying to scare us. You don't know I'm a scaredy-cat..."

"You're a coward? If you, Li Yunlong, are a coward, then there aren't many people in this world who are. Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Where's Gao Liujin?" The brigade commander waved his hand, not wanting to waste words with Li Yunlong.

"He heard you came and got scared, so he's hiding in the back. He's ready to run back if things get bad." Li Yunlong pointed in the direction of Gao Liujin to the brigade commander and said, "Do you want to see him...?"

"Why would I see him!" the brigade commander interrupted abruptly. "Li Yunlong, let me tell you, I only saw you and Ding Wei, not Gao Liujin. I don't know anything else. If you keep talking nonsense later, don't blame me for not warning you."

The brigade commander didn't need to think twice; Gao Liujin had also secretly run away.

At that time, Gao Liujin's brigade commander might come after him, saying that he hadn't disciplined Li Yunlong properly and that Li Yunlong had run away with Gao Liujin.

The brigade commander had no desire to argue with the brigade commander who weighed six pounds. He'd rather use that time to secure the mission at Secret Site No. 9.

The intelligence department has already received news that the intelligence on Secret Site No. 9 has been basically clarified and reported to headquarters, which is currently selecting officers.

Even if Li Yunlong and Ding Wei are not around, and Kong Jie is also tied up, the brigade commander still has two regiments under his command, namely Regiment Commander Xu and Blind Cheng, so there is still a chance to win them over.

"Yes, Brigade Commander, I promise I won't betray you. It was me, Li Yunlong, who tricked Gao Liujin into coming here. It was done behind your back, you know nothing about it," Li Yunlong quickly assured him.

"Alright, stop talking nonsense." The brigade commander waved his hand and said to Li Yunlong, "The journey is long and arduous, and I can't offer any substantial support. This hell cannon was transferred from the 772nd Regiment, so you can take it over."

"Thank you, Brigade Commander, thank you, Brigade Commander. You said you couldn't offer any substantial support, but the autonomy you tacitly granted is actually the greatest support you can give." Li Yunlong grinned and quickly went to pull the cannon himself.

"Ding Wei, come with me for a moment." The brigade commander called Ding Wei aside and instructed him, "Due to the short notice, my intelligence gathering is very limited. When you get there, try to make contact with Commander Wei's troops first. If there are any military operations, try to see if Commander Wei can cooperate."

Commander Wei Lihuang of the First War Zone was somewhat different from other officers of his own faction. Commander Wei took the initiative to send a lot of ammunition to our army, got along well with our army, and supported each other.

Commander Wei was second to none in fighting the Japanese invaders and can be considered an absolute anti-Japanese war hero.

Unlike other corrupt officers who were obsessed with promotion and wealth, and who were not only rampant with corruption but also secretly colluded with the Japanese invaders and persecuted their own compatriots.

"Yes, Brigade Commander." Ding Wei nodded. Even without the brigade commander's reminder, he would take the initiative to contact Commander Wei's troops first.

The brigade commander gave Ding Wei a few more instructions, then mounted his horse and prepared to return.

Seeing this, Li Yunlong asked, "Brigade Commander, are you going back so soon?"

"Why wouldn't I go back? To see you angry!" the brigade commander cursed. "Li Yunlong, I don't care what kind of mess you've made of the First War Zone, but I'll say one thing: if you can't get back the equipment that Director Li needs, I'll hold you accountable for arbitrarily mobilizing troops."

"Don't worry, Brigade Commander, when have I ever let you down?" Li Yunlong assured him.

The brigade commander said nothing more, spurred his horse, and led his guards away in a cloud of dust.

"Old Ding, what did the brigade commander say to you alone?" Li Yunlong asked Ding Wei suspiciously as they walked back with the Hell Cannon.

"It's nothing. Once we get there, we shouldn't act on our own. We should contact Commander Wei first and see if we can get any important intelligence about the situation there," Ding Wei said.

"Then we definitely have to contact Commander Wei first." Li Yunlong nodded. Besides the important intelligence about the situation, the most important thing was that we had to find out from Commander Wei which area in the First War Zone had the most lucrative opportunities for the Japanese army.

Equipment for simple seamless steel pipes can't meet Old Li's needs.

If possible, we wouldn't mind snatching the sword of Matsui Iwane, the Japanese commander of the First War Zone, and presenting him, head and all, as a gift to Brother Li.

When Gao Liujin saw Li Yunlong and Ding Wei return, bringing back a Hell Cannon, but not Brigade Commander Chen, he asked suspiciously, "Li Yunlong, where is your brigade commander? Why do you have an extra Hell Cannon here?"

"The brigade commander has already gone back. Nothing's wrong. He just came to deliver the Hell Cannon to me," Li Yunlong said casually.

Gao Liujin didn't believe things were as simple as Li Yunlong made them out to be, but he was still worried that his brigade commander would come after him, so he urged, "Then let's hurry up and set off."

"Well, let's go."

The group of several people set off immediately.

Little did Gao Liujin know that his brigade commander already knew about how he had tricked Gao Xigang out by giving false orders, and how he had taken weapons and ammunition from the brigade headquarters warehouse.

After all, the departure of two regiments under his command was a huge event. It would be absurd for a brigade commander to be unaware of it.

As for the weapons and ammunition in the brigade headquarters warehouse, could Gao Liujin move them without the brigade commander's approval?
“Brigade Commander, Gao Liujin and Gao Xigang have just set off with their troops following Li Yunlong. We still have time to stop them. Are you sure you don’t want to stop them?” the deputy brigade commander said to Gao Liujin’s brigade commander.

"Why did you stop them? I've already found out. He and Li Yunlong went there to get key equipment for the border region's arsenal. Without this key equipment, our border region's arsenal can't produce air defense weapons," Brigade Commander Gao Liujin said solemnly.

Immediately afterwards, the brigade commander of Gao Liujin added: "Gao Liujin was originally a hot potato that was handed to me by the 386th Brigade. Am I out of my mind? Why would I stop him and keep him at home to cause me trouble every day? If I let him out, the Japanese will be the ones with headaches."

"Yes, yes."

……

(End of this chapter)