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

Chapter 97 The Brigade Commander's Dark Face: Li Yunlong Has Slipped Away Again

Ding Wei's team is very efficient.

As expected.

They set up the Hell Cannon in front of the puppet army stronghold and then shouted to persuade them to surrender.

Those who refuse to surrender and want to put up a stubborn resistance will be "gifted" a cannonball for free!
Ultimately, under the power of the Hell Cannon, they obediently raised their hands and came out.

Therefore, Ding Wei didn't spend much time and swept everything clean.

After capturing the last stronghold, Ding Wei looked behind him and, still finding the place empty, couldn't help but say, "Li Yunlong should have taken the mine long ago. Why hasn't he caught up yet?"

"Commander, maybe there's too much profit to be made at the mine," someone said to Ding Wei.

"Even if there's too much profit involved, at least the first batch of people should have caught up with me by now," Ding Wei said.

Taking things away doesn't mean that everyone takes things and leaves together.

Instead, someone can take the items and leave without waiting for others.

After all, running a mining farm is no joke!

The Japanese will definitely be alerted. Bringing the goods back as soon as possible is the best way to truly secure them.

"You take the prisoners and their belongings and go back first. I'll go back to find Li Yunlong." Ding Wei was worried and wanted to go back to find Li Yunlong.

The outposts and sentry posts have been cleared, and the task of clearing the roads for the transport team has been completed.

But the brigade commander had not yet completed his task, which was to keep a close eye on Li Yunlong.

On his way back, Ding Wei encountered Shen Quan, the commander of the Second Battalion of the Independent Regiment.

Shen Quan, along with the other half of the prisoners and some members of the Second Battalion, returned home laden with the oil and profits from the mine.

Li Yunlong was nowhere to be seen, nor were the other two battalions of the Independent Regiment, nor the two battalions that Ding Wei had lent to Li Yunlong, and Chu Yunfei was also nowhere to be seen.

Ding Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "Where is Li Yunlong?"

"Commander Ding, our commander has left with his men," Shen Quan replied.

"Where did he go?" Ding Wei's expression froze.

That old Li, he really is someone who gets killed in the blink of an eye.

"I don't know," Shen Quan shook his head and said to Ding Wei, "The commander just told me to bring the things back first."

"Sigh, I'm definitely going to get yelled at by the brigade commander," Ding Wei thought angrily. What else could he do?

No one knew where Li Yunlong had gone, so Ding Wei could only return with the transport.

"By the way, we don't see Commander Chu. Could it be that Commander Chu also went with Li Yunlong?" Ding Wei asked Shen Quan.

"Yes," Shen Quan nodded.

Why didn't you stop them?

“Commander Ding, you’ve been a comrade-in-arms of our commander for a long time, and you know him well. He never suffers losses in battle, so just wait patiently for good news,” Shen Quan said.

"Hopefully, that kid Li Yunlong won't make things too big," Ding Wei thought with a bad feeling.

Li Yunlong had his eye on Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment for a long time; he wouldn't come back unless he did something earth-shattering.

Hopefully... he won't really suffer a loss in the end, otherwise, he really won't be able to explain it to the brigade commander.

……

386th Brigade Headquarters

"What are Li Yunlong and Ding Wei up to? Why haven't they made a move yet?"

The brigade commander, who was stationed at the brigade headquarters, had not received any intelligence that the outposts and outposts had been attacked, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"Could it be that Li Yunlong is once again acting unpredictably?" the deputy brigade commander wondered suspiciously.

"If it's not conventional, then it's not conventional." The brigade commander's emotions were much more stable than before. He said, "With Ding Wei helping to keep an eye on Li Yunlong, I'll..."

Got it!

Before the brigade commander could finish speaking, a staff officer rushed over and reported to him in a serious tone: "Brigade commander, news has just come in that the Japanese No. 9 concentration camp has been attacked, and we can hear the sound of heavy artillery over there."

Was Japanese concentration camp No. 9 attacked?

Upon hearing this, the brigade commander's gaze immediately fell on the map.

The deputy brigade commander looked at Camp No. 9 on the map, puzzled: "This Camp No. 9 mainly holds our own prisoners of war. What are Li Yunlong and Ding Wei doing there?"

Clearly, the deputy brigade commander immediately deduced that the people who attacked Concentration Camp No. 9 were Li Yunlong and Ding Wei.

I just don't understand the specific purpose behind their fight.

The brigade commander pointed to the map: "Look at the location of this No. 9 concentration camp, and then look at the locations of our rear arsenal and the target positions on the Zhengtai Railway. What lies in between?"

The deputy brigade commander quickly understood: "Brigade commander, after Li Yunlong and Ding Wei attacked the No. 9 concentration camp, on their way back, they took the opportunity to clear out the outposts and strongholds along the way, which was equivalent to completing the task of clearing the way for the transport team."

"Hmm." The brigade commander grunted, then cursed, "I know what Li Yunlong is up to the moment he bends over. He's attacking Camp 9 to replenish his troops. That kid's cunning; he's just grabbing veterans, saving him the trouble of training and integrating new recruits. I'm just wondering, his Independent Regiment only has about four hundred men left, why isn't he asking me for more? Turns out he was waiting for me here." The deputy brigade commander questioned, "But Camp 9 mainly holds prisoners of war from our elite troops. Even if they're prisoners, they probably wouldn't look down on us, right?"

“If it were any other direct-line prisoners of war, it definitely wouldn’t work.” The brigade commander pointed out the obvious. “The prisoners of war in Camp No. 9 are mainly from the direct-line 27th Division and the direct-line 72nd Division. Li Yunlong defeated the Sakata Regiment and killed Sakata Nobutetsu on Cangyun Ridge. He will definitely use this to recruit soldiers.”

The deputy brigade commander exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, you know what, Li Yunlong's trick is sure to be surprisingly effective!"

The defeat of the 72nd and 27th Divisions of the elite forces by the Sakata Regiment in the Battle of Xinkou, and Li Yunlong's victory over the Sakata Regiment and the killing of Sakata Nobutetsu, was of great significance to the prisoners of war of the 27th and 72nd Divisions.

If Li Yunlong were to stir things up with a few words, they might actually become his soldiers.

This kid is really smart.

"This kid has plenty of men now, all veterans. We'll be much more confident about the operation to attack the Zhengtai Railway." The brigade commander laughed and cursed. "When this kid gets back, just wait and see how I deal with him!"

According to intelligence, there are still more than a thousand prisoners of war in Camp 9. We can't let Li Yunlong swallow them all.

There must be quite a few elite soldiers and experts inside.

"Hahaha, it's time to teach this kid a lesson. Before we know it, another unexpected one has appeared..." The deputy brigade commander laughed along.

The core group is bad at fighting, mainly because their command is poor. Their soldiers are all good soldiers.

Li Yunlong brought back over a thousand people at once, how could we let him have all the spoils!

But the brigade commander and deputy brigade commander soon stopped smiling.

"Reporting to the brigade commander, the outposts and strongholds such as Lijia Outpost and Wangjia Stronghold are being cleared." An intelligence officer ran up to report quickly, "Also, there is fierce fighting three kilometers east of Concentration Camp No. 9, and there are sounds of heavy artillery bombardment."

Upon hearing this, both the brigade commander and deputy brigade commander were stunned for a moment.

The clearing of the outposts and outposts is easy to understand; it must have been done by Li Yunlong and Ding Wei on their way back.

What caused the fierce fighting that took place three kilometers east of Concentration Camp 9?
On the map, there is a blank space three kilometers east of concentration camp No. 9; there is nothing there.

Of course, the fact that there is nothing on this map does not mean that there are no military targets there.

The main problem is that our map-making conditions are limited, and many areas are left blank on the map.

The deputy brigade commander's tone was very serious: "A fierce battle has broken out three kilometers east of Concentration Camp No. 9. That must be an important military target for the Japanese. Who is attacking it?"

"Do you think it's possible that Ding Wei and Li Yunlong are working separately, one attacking an important military target three kilometers east of Concentration Camp No. 9, and the other clearing out outposts and strongholds?" the brigade commander speculated. "After all, Li Yunlong and his men have enough troops to take Concentration Camp No. 9."

"We have enough troops, but we definitely don't have enough weapons and ammunition," the deputy brigade commander pointed out. "The prisoners of war are all empty-handed, how can we fight?"

"Li Yunlong always has a way at crucial moments. If he dares to do something, he must have a plan." As the brigade commander said this, his smile blossomed like a lotus flower, unable to be contained.

"Brigade Commander, what good news have you thought of that makes you so happy?" the deputy brigade commander asked suspiciously.

"I roughly know what the target is three kilometers east of Camp 9."

"What goal?"

"What do the Japanese usually do with the prisoners of war they capture?" the brigade commander asked rhetorically.

"Either build roads and fortifications, or we'll have them mine..." The deputy brigade commander's tone became excited as he said this: "Brigade commander, are you saying that Li Yunlong is very likely to seize the Japanese's mines?"

Three kilometers east of Concentration Camp No. 9, which is so close, and yet left blank on the map, it is highly likely that it was the Japanese mine.

“If it’s fortifications or highways, there’s not much profit in it for Li Yunlong, so he won’t do it,” the brigade commander confidently judged. “Only a mine is worth the risk for this guy.”

"Hahaha." The deputy brigade commander laughed, "Sending Ding Wei over to cooperate with Li Yunlong was a brilliant move."

Li Yunlong is a bold guy, and Ding Wei has a keen eye for the battlefield. When the two of them work together, the results are remarkable.

This would both prevent Li Yunlong from making a mess and maximize profits.

"Reporting to the brigade commander, Regiment Commander Ding has returned," someone reported.

"Haha, the person is back. Let's go see."

Upon hearing that the man had returned, the brigade commander and deputy brigade commander immediately rushed out of the brigade headquarters to see what kind of profit the mine had brought back.

The two men came out and indeed saw that Ding Wei had brought back a lot of equipment, as well as prisoners of war.

The brigade commander was overjoyed: "Ding Wei, did you and Li Yunlong rob the Japanese of their mines?"

"Yes, brigade commander, we seized the Japanese mine and brought back all the equipment, but we don't know exactly what kind of equipment it is," Ding Wei replied.

"It's alright, we don't know the value of these goods, but there are people at the arsenal who do. We'll get them from the arsenal right away..." The brigade commander stopped talking before he could finish.

I was so happy, but now that I look closely, something's not right.

Li Yunlong and Ding Wei's troops have dwindled significantly, and even Li Yunlong's men have disappeared.

It can't be that the losses were so huge during the mining operation that even Li Yunlong lost his job.

Of course.

The brigade commander didn't think Li Yunlong was dead; he was sure the damn guy had slipped away again!
The brigade commander's face immediately darkened: "Where is Li Yunlong?"

(End of this chapter)