Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

In the dead of winter in northwestern Shanxi, in the frigid cold of minus ten degrees Celsius, soldiers wearing only thin uniforms lay prone for two hours.

"If you're cold, wear more layers, wear thicker ones," one of the bearded officers said.

He had barely finished speaking when another, even taller, commander raised an objection.

"Besides setting up an ambush, the most important task for the assault team is to quickly capture the city gate and the two firing points in the northeast and northwest. Wearing too many layers of clothing will inevitably affect their speed and flexibility."

Everyone had years of battlefield command experience, so they naturally knew that what the other side said was true.

A nighttime raid requires lightning-fast movement.

Being too bulky could very likely lead to the failure of the operation.

For a moment, the entire command post fell silent again.

Seeing that the other officers and soldiers were shaking their heads, the brigade commander suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said, "Li Yunlong! Didn't he get some new cotton-padded clothes? And that windproof cloak, which is said to have a very good warmth retention effect? ​​Then tell him to make 50 sets of thickened new cotton-padded clothes as soon as possible."

The chief of staff's eyes lit up: "Yes! I've seen the samples; they are indeed lightweight and warm. If we had these new, thicker cotton-padded coats and capes, they might actually be a good fit."

"Whether it works or not, we'll find out on a cold day," the brigade commander decided. "Order Li Yunlong to produce fifty sets of new cotton-padded clothes and windproof cloaks for the brigade headquarters within three days."

"Select capable personnel from each regiment to form a commando team, led by reconnaissance company commander Wang Chengzhu, and organize training."

He looked around at everyone, his voice resolute: "The more impossible it seems to the enemy, the greater our opportunity."

At the clothing factory, the telephone rang shrilly.

Li Yunlong, wearing his coat, rushed to the communications room and picked up the microphone.

"Feed? I'm Li Yunlong... What? Fifty sets? Three days?"

His voice instantly rose, "Brigade Commander! Do you think I, Old Li, am a god?"

"With those few broken machines in this clothing factory, I couldn't conjure up anything for you even if I did magic."

The brigade commander's voice on the other end of the phone left no room for argument: "Li Yunlong, let me tell you, this is an order, and you have no say in it."

"Even if you shoot me, I, Old Li, can't conjure up..." Before Li Yunlong could finish speaking, the other end of the phone had already hung up.

"Damn it!" Li Yunlong slammed the microphone down and cursed as he circled the room. "Fifty sets in three days, even if I had three heads and six arms... wait a minute."

He suddenly stopped and frowned.

"So rushed...put on a thicker cotton coat..."

Zhou Zhen just pushed the door open and came in. Seeing Li Yunlong's appearance, he quickly asked, "Old Li, what happened?"

After Li Yunlong explained the situation, Zhou Zhen frowned as well: "Fifty sets of thick cotton-padded coats in three days is indeed a tight supply. But the brigade commander is in such a hurry, and specifically requested the thicker version..."

The two exchanged a glance and realized what was happening almost simultaneously.

"Something big is about to happen!" Li Yunlong slapped his thigh, his eyes gleaming. "It's definitely a night raid!"

"And it's a long-distance infiltration mission in extremely cold weather. The brigade commander is going to pull off something big."

But as soon as he finished speaking, his expression fell again, and he scratched his head: "But why the hell didn't they call me? There's definitely going to be a lot of money coming out of this, sigh..."

Zhou Zhen understood Li Yunlong's feelings.

This general, who yearns for battle at heart, is now trapped in the clothing factory, watching his old comrades go to fight tough battles. He must feel frustrated.

"Old Li," Zhou Zhen said carefully, "the brigade commander entrusted us with the task of making cotton-padded uniforms, which is the greatest trust in us. These 50 sets of cotton-padded uniforms are related to the success or failure of the entire operation, and even the lives of dozens of assault team members."

"What we are doing now is laying the foundation for victory on the front lines."

Li Yunlong was silent for a moment, then took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag: "That makes sense... but my hands are itching!"

"We'll have plenty of battles to fight later," Zhou Zhen said earnestly, "but right now, we need to finish making these fifty sets of cotton-padded clothes."

Li Yunlong listened and slowly nodded.

He stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and regained his decisive and efficient demeanor: "You're right! Notify the clothing factory to run all the machines and have the female workers work in two shifts."

"Old Zhou, you're in charge of the technical aspects, I'll personally supervise the construction. Three days? I'll finish it in two and a half days."

For the next three days, the clothing factory remained brightly lit.

Li Yunlong actually moved a stool and sat in the workshop, staring intently at the progress.

Zhou Zhen, along with several skilled female workers, repeatedly adjusted the thickened parts and sewing techniques to ensure that the clothes were warm without hindering movement.

By noon on the third day, fifty sets of thickened new cotton-padded clothes and windproof capes were neatly packed.

After Li Yunlong checked each item and confirmed that everything was correct, he officially sent it to the brigade headquarters.

Looking at the glint in Li Yunlong's eyes, Zhou Zhen knew that this general's heart had never left the battlefield.

The brigade commander organized the soldiers to test the cotton-padded clothes and capes as soon as he received them.

Although the weather hasn't reached its coldest point yet, it's enough to roughly test the warmth retention of cotton-padded jackets and cloaks.

After testing, the cotton-padded clothes and capes lived up to expectations and fully met the requirements of the combat mission. Now everything is ready except for the final push.

Seven days later, the temperature in the entire northwestern Shanxi province dropped to minus seventeen degrees Celsius. It was 11 p.m. that night.

In the shadows behind the gentle slope outside the north wall of the Qijia Town outpost, fifty dark figures lay silently on the frozen ground.

Each of them wore a new cotton-padded coat of moderate thickness, covered with a dark windproof cloak, and lay in ambush quietly.

Wang Chengzhu lay prone at the front. He gently moved his slightly numb fingers and whispered to his deputy beside him, "Tell the brothers to hang in there. If you get cold, gently wiggle your toes and don't make a sound. If you get sleepy, eat a chili pepper."

Eighty meters away on the wall, a group of puppet soldiers stood there, holding their guns and stamping their feet.

"Damn it... this awful weather..." A tall, thin puppet soldier's teeth chattered. "My feet are practically frozen off."

"Say less," another short, stout puppet soldier said, shrinking his neck. "If the Japanese officer hears us, we'll get slapped again."

"Sir?" The tall, thin man spat. "Those Japanese devils have long since crawled into bed. In this freezing weather, they're leaving us here to freeze while they're warming themselves by the fire inside… Bah!"

The short, stout man glanced warily in the direction of the corner tower and lowered his voice: "Keep your voice down! But seriously... in this weather, those Eighth Route Army soldiers in their tattered cotton-padded coats would freeze solid as soon as they came out. I think we'll be fine tonight."

"Even if nothing happens, we still have to stand there until dawn..." the tall, thin man lamented, then stomped his foot hard.

Unbeknownst to them, fifty pairs of eyes were staring intently at them from the darkness just eighty meters away.

Time passes little by little.

At 1 a.m., the temperature had already dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Wang Chengzhu felt the soldiers around him begin to breathe heavily.