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

Chapter 70 Chu Yunfei Buys Cannons

"Commander, look, Chu Yunfei is coming over," guard Wei Dayong pointed to Li Yunlong.

"Old Ding, Old Zhao, the troops shouldn't stop, keep going. I'm going to have a chat with Chu Yunfei," Li Yunlong instructed Zhao Gang and Ding Wei.

"Yes." Ding Wei and Zhao Gang nodded, and led their troops onward without stopping.

Li Yunlong, accompanied by several men, greeted Chu Yunfei with a smile, saying, "Brother Chu, I'm sorry, I was just passing by and disturbed you."

Chu Yunfei and Fang Ligong both looked shocked; it was Li Yunlong who had attacked Ping'an County.

Seeing how much spoils their troops brought, they must have struck it rich.

Chu Yunfei was very impressed: "Brother Yunlong, you are truly a valiant general. There are three Japanese regiments stationed in Ping'an County, yet you still dared to attack Ping'an County. I admire you greatly."

"Haha." Li Yunlong laughed and boasted, "Brother Chu is joking. Even if Ping'an County had three Japanese regiments, or even three Japanese divisions stationed there, I would still dare to take it down if I wanted to."

"Brother Yunlong, you are truly a hero." Chu Yunfei praised Li Yunlong, then got straight to the point, pointing to the hell cannon in Li Yunlong's ranks and asking, "May I ask, is this the heavy weapon that your Eighth Route Army has been making headlines with lately?"

"Haha." Li Yunlong laughed and said, "Brother Chu, you're really joking. Does this look like a heavy cannon? Can a heavy cannon be pulled by a mule?"

"Li Yunlong, what kind of artillery did you use when you attacked the city?" Fang Ligong asked from the side.

The thing being pulled by the mule looks like a cannon, but the other side probably wasn't lying; how could it be a heavy weapon like an artillery piece?

The enemy must have another force attacking the city.

"I was lucky earlier and captured a heavy cannon, which I used to attack the city," Li Yunlong said, then pretended to be annoyed. "We took Ping'an County, but the Japanese captured the heavy cannon. I'm worried about how to explain this to the brigade commander when we get back."

"Brother Yunlong, you must be joking." Chu Yunfei didn't believe it. You brought back so much profit, which is enough to prove that you won the battle. How could you have lost the heavy artillery?

Chu Yunfei's gaze remained fixed on the Hell Cannon, and he said, "Brother Yunlong, don't hold back. Although the shape of this mule-drawn cannon is peculiar, its caliber is quite large, which is very much in line with large-caliber heavy artillery."

"Haha." Li Yunlong laughed, still refusing to admit it. "Brother Chu, look how thin this cannon barrel is. It couldn't possibly withstand the enormous chamber pressure of a heavy cannon. How can it be a heavy cannon? Brother Chu, you're just making fun of me."

Immediately afterwards, Li Yunlong said, "Brother Chu, I have to go back now. I'll catch up with you another day. I'll be going now."

"Brother Yunlong, how about this?" Chu Yunfei asked. "I'm really interested in this cannon of yours. Can you sell it to me?"

As Chu Yunfei's chief of staff, Fang Ligong immediately understood what Chu Yunfei meant.

If this strange cannon is indeed the enemy's heavy artillery, then the enemy will definitely not sell it.

If it's truly a piece of junk, the other party might be willing to sell it.

Fang Ligong immediately chimed in, "Hey Li Yunlong, how about this? We'll give you two gold bars to buy this cannon. Will you sell it?"

We are currently at war, and paper money is depreciating rapidly, so gold is a hard currency!
Li Yunlong was a shrewd man; he could easily see that this was a test from the other side.

This overt scheme of theirs is not easy to counter.

"Haha." Li Yunlong laughed and said, "Brother Chu, I see you've really got your eye on this lousy thing of mine. I'd like to make some money off those two gold bars, but if I sell it to you, I won't be able to explain myself when I get back. After all, selling weapons privately is punishable by death." "Brother Yunlong, don't worry, it's alright." Chu Yunfei said, indicating he didn't mind. "You can talk to your superiors when you get back. If two gold bars are too low, we can negotiate the price."

"Haha." Li Yunlong laughed and said, "No problem, no problem, Brother Chu. I'll report to my superiors as soon as I get back. If they approve, then there's no question. I'll send someone to bring this cannon to your regimental headquarters right away."

"Brother Chu, I'm really leaving now. Let's catch up another time." Li Yunlong didn't give Chu Yunfei much time and quickly left.

Watching Li Yunlong's departing figure, Fang Ligong said to Chu Yunfei, "Commander, it seems that this really is the Eighth Route Army's heavy artillery."

Although Li Yunlong's words were watertight, selling weapons privately was not allowed.

But essentially, it was Li Yunlong who refused to sell.

If Li Yunlong refuses to sell, then this is their precious treasure.

"Incredible!" Chu Yunfei exclaimed, looking at Li Yunlong's back and the hell cannon. "How could such a thin barrel withstand such enormous chamber pressure? The Eighth Route Army's arsenal has created a miracle."

Fang Ligong still couldn't believe it and said, "Commander, I..."

Before Fang Ligong could finish speaking, someone quickly reported: "Reporting to the regimental commander and chief of staff, a small group of Japanese soldiers is coming."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ligong immediately said to Chu Yunfei, "Commander, these are very likely the Japanese soldiers from Ping'an County. They are following Li Yunlong."

"Who cares who they're following? Now that we've seen them, let's take them out if we have the chance." Chu Yunfei said decisively, "Order Battalion Commander Qian Bojun to wipe out this small group of Japanese."

"Yes, Commander."

This little incident did not affect Fang Ligong. He continued, "Commander, even our arsenal can't produce heavy artillery, how could the Eighth Route Army possibly do it?"

"They managed to defeat the Sakata Regiment with just a few broken guns on Cangyun Ridge, what do you say?" Chu Yunfei pointed.

“This is different. Anything can happen on the battlefield, but military manufacturing is all about science,” Fang Ligong still questioned.

"Forget it, don't think about it too much. Neither you nor I know anything about military manufacturing." Chu Yunfei changed the subject and said, "We'll continue to try to negotiate with Li Yunlong and see if we can buy that weapon from him at a high price."

“I doubt he’d sell it even for a high price.” Fang Ligong shook his head. “Look at how impressive the Eighth Route Army’s achievements are with these heavy cannons. They wouldn’t be so stupid as to ask Tiger to tear out their own teeth and sell them for money.”

"That's hard to say." Chu Yunfei disagreed. "The Eighth Route Army has achieved considerable success, capturing Ping'an County and Heyuan County. But they have also thoroughly offended the Japanese. When the Japanese launch a large-scale siege against them, they will need a lot of weapons and ammunition to break through the blockade. They don't need money, but they still need weapons and ammunition."

“That makes sense. When the Eighth Route Army faces a crisis, we can offer to trade our weapons and ammunition for their heavy artillery, and give them a little more. They will definitely consider it.” Fang Ligong nodded.

While they were talking, Qian Bojun sent someone to report: "Commander, Chief of Staff, a small group of Japanese soldiers has been wiped out."

"Hmm." Chu Yunfei nodded and said, "Stay vigilant and continue to be on alert."

"Yes."

……

(End of this chapter)