Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

Chen Chunsheng's gun jammed after firing five bullets.

Moreover, its accuracy becomes wildly unpredictable beyond 150 meters, with the bullet trajectory plummeting significantly.

To hit a Japanese soldier 300 meters away, you'd need a stroke of luck.

In contrast, the Japanese soldiers, hiding more than 300 meters away, leisurely aimed and fired, their bullets accurate and deadly.

"Damn it." Chen Chunsheng spat out a mouthful of dirt, his voice hoarse, "Our bullets are just a bang at 150 meters. Those damn Japanese devils, they're really bullying us because they have better weapons."

He recalled his time in the Jin-Sui Army. Although he had suffered mistreatment, at least his Type 24 rifle and the ammunition he was issued had a range and accuracy that weren't too far behind the Japanese. It was nothing like the frustration he felt now.

He clearly had nearly two hundred men under his command, three times the number of the Japanese soldiers on the other side.

But because of this damned disadvantage in ammunition, they were pinned down on this open ground by more than sixty Japanese soldiers using kite-flying tactics, and were even mocked by the enemy like cats playing with mice.

"Where is the political commissar?" Chen Chunsheng asked, suppressing his anger.

Political Commissar Lao Qian, with his left hand bound by a bandage, crawled over on his stomach.

"Company commander, what are your plans?"

Chen Chunsheng said in a deep voice, "Old Qian, the Japanese are very cunning. They're just keeping us hanging on and firing at us, trying to deplete our ammunition."

"Our bullets are too weak and have too short a range. We can't let them lead us by the nose like this anymore."

Political Commissar Lao Qian understood perfectly well.

He looked up and saw three light machine gun squads occupying several small mounds not far away, forming a crossfire.

The remaining riflemen, in groups of six, took turns firing in a clear rhythm.

This is the standard tactic of an elite Japanese squad: slow and methodical, using their superior equipment to bleed you dry little by little.

"Have all the villagers gone into the mountains?"

"The last group just went into the pine forest behind."

"Alright." Chen Chunsheng gritted his teeth and made a decision. "We can't keep dragging this out. The Japanese are downwind of us now."

Obey my orders.

Throw out all four of our remaining Molotov cocktails, right in front of their lines, don't hold back.

"Mortar, aim carefully and knock that crooked gun off that mound on the left."

"Once the black smoke from the Molotov cocktails rises, it will definitely obscure part of the Japanese soldiers' vision."

"When the time comes, the entire company will listen to my whistle, take turns providing cover, and retreat to the rocky area on the left. The movement must be swift."

The order was quickly relayed.

Soon, several Molotov cocktails were hurled with all their might, exploding in front of the enemy lines, flames billowing and black smoke billowing up.

At the same time, a muffled mortar blast sounded, the shell fell, and dirt and rocks flew everywhere. The enemy's machine gun position was wiped out in one shot.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!" Chen Chunsheng blew a piercing whistle.

Taking advantage of the brief cover of the smoke, the entire company of soldiers retreated eastward in a rapid and orderly manner, like a tide.

By the time the Japanese soldiers recovered from the smoke and explosions and tried to give chase, the soldiers of the Third Company had already retreated a distance and were out of range of the Japanese guns.

"Baka!"

"Chase them! Don't let those Chinese soldiers get away!"

The Japanese squad leader shouted angrily.

He never expected that the duck he was about to catch would get away.

But they didn't realize that climbing slopes and crossing hurdles was the Eighth Route Army's forte, and coupled with their familiarity with the surrounding terrain, they easily shook off the Japanese.

However, during the retreat, three soldiers were still hit by bullets from the pursuing enemy.

Fortunately, the villagers were mostly evacuated safely.

As Chen Chunsheng watched the wounded being carried down and saw the exhaustion on the soldiers' faces, he felt an indescribable sense of frustration, which he pressed tightly against his chest.

The mountain road back to the base was rugged and long, and the team was eerily silent.

No one spoke; everyone kept their heads down. The humiliation of being outnumbered yet being beaten weighed heavily on everyone's chests for a long time.

A few days later, at the regimental headquarters logistics department.

The Third Company received a new batch of supplies and ammunition.

The quartermaster in charge of distribution pointed to several boxes with special seals: "Company Commander Chen, these are freshly made, high-quality goods. They were just delivered from the Huangyadong Arsenal. They're supposed to be smokeless powder bullets, so you'd better use them sparingly."

Smokeless medication.

Has the Huangyadong Arsenal developed smokeless powder bullets?

Chen Chunsheng looked at the bright yellow bullets, which seemed no different from the ones that had been reloaded before, and he was somewhat skeptical.

He had heard of the famous Huangyadong Arsenal, and the thought that the weapons were produced there made him believe it more easily.

"Smokeless medicine, is it just hype? Don't tell me it's another scam," an old soldier muttered.

"You'll know once you try." Chen Chunsheng didn't say much and had the items moved back.

Back in the company, he specially invited a few veterans with good marksmanship to a secluded mountain hollow to test their shooting skills.

"Old Wu, you go first." Chen Chunsheng handed over a few new bullets.

Old Wu was a silent veteran whose marksmanship was among the best in the entire regiment.

He skillfully loaded the bullet and aimed at a lone tree 300 meters away. At this distance, hitting the tree trunk with black powder bullets used to be a matter of luck.

"Bang!"

The gunshots seemed crisper than usual, and most importantly, only a wisp of barely visible blue smoke rose from the muzzle, completely lacking the signature thick white smoke of the past.

Everyone here is a veteran, and just based on that alone, he knew that the bullets must be top-quality smokeless powder bullets.

At the same time, in the distance, a small piece of bark burst open on the trunk of that sapling.

"You hit him!" exclaimed a soldier nearby.

Old Wu pulled back the bolt, ejected the spent cartridge, looked at the clean chamber, then at the bullet impact point in the distance, and his face showed rare excitement: "Company Commander... this bullet really is smokeless powder."

Chen Chunsheng, who was watching from the side, was also very excited.

He personally picked up a rifle, loaded five new bullets, and fired rapidly at a conspicuous rock in the distance.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The five crisp gunshots rang out almost in quick succession, the smoke from the muzzles barely perceptible.

At least three shots hurled up noticeable debris and dirt from the rocks in the distance.

He was definitely 300 meters away from that rock.

"Good heavens." Chen Chunsheng's eyes lit up as he looked at the almost unchanged gun barrel and felt the intense recoil coming from his shoulder.

"well."

"These are the real bullets. With these bullets, we won't suffer losses when we face the Japanese again."

"Company Commander, why don't you ask the battalion commander if we can get some more bullets? These bullets are really useful," a young soldier urged Chen Chunsheng.

Upon hearing this, Chen Chunsheng glared at the other person with annoyance.

"If you want to ask, go ask yourself."

The young soldier immediately shrank back, muttering somewhat sheepishly, "If I go, the battalion commander will scold me to death. I'm not going."

The entire company was quickly re-equipped with some new bullets, but each person received only a small amount.

Even so, the soldiers felt a greater sense of security as they held these new bullets.