Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

Wang Chengzhu gently patted the soldier's shoulder. The soldier nodded, took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, poured out a few roasted soybeans, and stuffed them into his mouth.

The small amount of heat generated by chewing provides some warmth to the body.

Although Zhou Zhen's thick cotton-padded coat and cloak provided maximum protection against the severe cold, it was still impossible to keep his whole body warm in this kind of weather.

The low temperature and prolonged lying down caused some numbness in the soldiers' hands and feet. To avoid numbness, they had to move their bodies gently.

Whenever I feel sleepy, I eat a chili pepper. The spicy taste stimulates my nerves and invigorates me.

1:50 a.m.

The guards on the wall have changed shifts.

The newly arrived sentry was clearly not fully awake yet; he was leaning against the wall with his gun in his arms, his eyelids drooping.

Zhang Jiashan, who was hiding a mile away, observed this scene through binoculars and immediately signaled the assault team to launch an attack.

"Coo coo—coo coo coo—"

Suddenly, a realistic owl call rang out.

Upon hearing this voice, Wang Chengzhu quickly stood up: "Demolition team! Move in!"

Fifty dark figures shot out like arrows, rushing towards the north wall.

Their cotton-padded coats didn't make them look clumsy at all while running, and they reached the base of the wall in just seven or eight seconds.

"What's that noise?" The sentry on the wall looked up groggily.

"An owl, I suppose...and there are birds in this awful weather?"

"BOOM!!!"

A violent explosion suddenly rang out, and the north gate was blown to pieces, with bricks and stones flying everywhere!

"Enemy attack—" The sentry's scream was immediately drowned out by a barrage of gunfire.

"Group one to the left bunker, group two to the right bunker, the rest of you follow me to find cover and repel the enemy's counterattack."

Wang Chengzhu swiftly issued the attack order; everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Zhangjiashan, who was lying in ambush on the northwest side, heard gunshots.

Immediately shout to the bugler, "Charge!"

"Drip drip drip drip—"

The stirring bugle call pierced the cold night! The main force, which had been lying in ambush in the valley, surged out like a tidal wave and rushed towards the stronghold!

By the time the puppet troops and Japanese soldiers in the stronghold were awakened from their sleep, the two firing points at the north gate had already been taken control.

The puppet army commander, Feng Chang'an, was awakened by the sound of the explosion. He rushed into the courtyard wearing only a thin shirt and saw flames shooting into the sky to the north.

"Hold on! Hold on for me!"

He roared, but the troops were in complete chaos.

Many of the puppet troops rushed out without even putting on their cotton-padded coats properly, shivering in the sub-zero temperatures. How could they possibly fight?

Japanese squad leader Sato reacted quickly. He led a dozen or so Japanese soldiers in an attempt to organize a counterattack, but as soon as they rushed out of the barracks, they were suppressed in the courtyard by precise firepower.

Even more deadly was the discovery that the Eighth Route Army moved with astonishing speed, darting freely through courtyards and alleys, while their own soldiers, dressed in bulky puppet army coats, moved as clumsily as bears.

Without the suppressive fire from the bunkers and caught off guard, the defenders' resistance crumbled within twenty minutes.

Under the protection of guards, Feng Chang'an tried to escape through the south gate, but was immediately tackled to the ground by Eighth Route Army soldiers who were lying in ambush there.

Sato led seven or eight Japanese soldiers to retreat to the central pillbox and put up a stubborn resistance, but was eventually blown to pieces by a flying grenade.

At 3:40 a.m., the battle was basically over.

When counting the spoils, even the well-traveled Zhang Jiashan couldn't help but grin.

The ammunition depot contained over a thousand boxes of brand-new rifle bullets, 130 boxes of hand grenades, 15 Type 96 light machine guns, and a large number of spare parts.

Inside the chemical warehouse, twenty barrels of concentrated sulfuric acid and fifteen barrels of nitric acid were neatly arranged, with raw materials such as sulfur and saltpeter nearby.

The most precious medicines were locked in the Japanese squad leader's room: thirty boxes of sulfonamides, along with a large quantity of bandages, disinfectant cotton, and first-aid kits.

"We're rich! We're fucking rich!"

The brigade commander looked at the supplies that had been brought back, picked up a rifle to inspect them, and suddenly remembered something. He turned to ask Zhang Jiashan.

"What is the casualty situation of the commando team?"

"Eight people were killed, eighteen were seriously injured, and sixteen were slightly injured," Zhang Jiashan replied.

"Wang Chengzhu said that it was all thanks to the new cotton-padded clothes that the soldiers were able to lie there for two hours without getting frostbite. Their movements were not affected at all when they charged, otherwise the casualties would have been even greater."

The brigade commander nodded silently, took off his hat, and pressed his finger firmly against his brow.

Even with thorough preparation and a successful surprise attack, the cost of victory is still heavy.

He took a deep breath, put his hat back on, and strode toward the assault team members who were receiving first aid at the makeshift aid station.

Wang Chengzhu, whose left arm was wrapped in bandages, was about to stand up when the brigade commander pressed down on his shoulder.

"Zhu Zi, you've worked hard." The brigade commander looked at him, his tone full of praise. "You fought very hard, very well."

"Brigade Commander!" Wang Chengzhu straightened his back.

The brigade commander patted his uninjured right shoulder before asking, "Tell me your thoughts on the new cotton-padded coat?"

Mentioning this, Wang Chengzhu's face lit up: "Reporting to the brigade commander! This thing is really useful!"

"Even when I was lying in the snowdrift for two hours, I wasn't very cold. Especially with that cloak, as long as I wrapped it around myself, the cold air couldn't get in."

"Several brothers said that if they hadn't been wearing these, the infiltration phase would have been tough, let alone the later rush!"

"Take good care of your injury; you have many tough battles to fight ahead."

"Yes, Commander!"

He turned to the communications officer who had been following him and said, "Get me to the clothing factory immediately and find Li Yunlong!"

When the call connected, Li Yunlong's booming voice came through: "Brigade Commander! You wanted to see me?"

"Li Yunlong!" the brigade commander said with a laugh, "You've done a great job this time!"

"That new cotton-padded jacket you got, it helped me take over the Qijia Town stronghold tonight. You're a real pro wherever you go."

On the other end of the phone, Li Yunlong laughed triumphantly: "Hahaha! Isn't that all thanks to your excellent leadership, Brigade Commander! Brigade Commander, you know, I, Old Li, have accomplished such a great feat, hehe... Do you think I could return to the New First Regiment?"

"Don't flatter me, Li Yunlong. Your matter was ordered by the boss. If you're so capable, go find the boss yourself and talk nonsense."

"Who knows if the boss has calmed down yet? I, Old Li, am not going to provoke him."

"Good thing you know that. You should focus on running the clothing factory well, and you'll have plenty of opportunities to fight in the future."

"Besides, the credit for this was really given to Advisor Zhou. You, Li Yunlong, are just a lowly errand boy. How dare you try to negotiate with me here?"

"Please thank him for me. Tell him that his cotton-padded coat saved the lives of at least fifty soldiers tonight and also helped us get urgently needed supplies. I will recommend him for commendation at headquarters."

After hanging up the phone, the brigade commander walked to the warehouse entrance and watched the soldiers excitedly carrying away the spoils of war.

"Li Yunlong is a lucky guy. He can pick up such a capable person by himself."

As night faded, the east began to lighten with the first light of dawn.

When Zhou Zhen learned from Li Yunlong that the brigade headquarters had successfully raided the Japanese camp and obtained a lot of strategic materials using their new cotton-padded clothes and windproof cloaks, he was extremely happy.

As for whether or not he should ask for credit, he didn't care that much.

For him, the greatest reward was being able to help the revolutionary fighters on the front lines.

However, the successful raid on the brigade headquarters inadvertently reminded him of a major problem he had previously overlooked.