Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

"However, there is one thing I would like to make clear to you beforehand."

"If Li Yunlong sends new recruits while I'm away, please receive them for me."

"We'll talk about the equipment when I get back."

When Brigade Commander Chen heard Li Yunlong's name, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

He glanced at Zhou Tianyang, his tone tinged with curiosity.

"Why did Li Yunlong suddenly decide to send you new recruits?"

Zhou Tianyang did not hide anything.

He briefly recounted the two equipment-for-personnel deals he made with Li Yunlong.

After listening, Commander Chen's expression changed from curiosity to complexity, and finally to a state of being both amused and exasperated.

"You traded equipment for him?"

Brigade Commander Chen stared at Zhou Tianyang for several seconds, then shook his head.

"That stingy Li Yunlong actually agreed to trade dozens of veterans for your gun?"

Zhou Tianyang smiled.

"He was all smiles when he received the equipment, and he started recruiting soldiers again after he went back."

"Last time, they ordered a second batch from me, five hundred new recruits in exchange for four hundred rifles."

Brigade Commander Chen shook his head and sat back down on the stone bench.

His gaze fell on Zhou Tianyang, with an expression that was both helpless and gratified.

"You little rascal, you've got some pretty wild methods."

Zhou Tianyang didn't say anything, he just smiled.

Brigade Commander Chen remained silent for a while.

Then he stood up, turned his gaze to the distant, continuous Taihang Mountains, and softened his tone.

"Alright, that's enough about the mission."

"Take me to see how your new Second Regiment is training lately. I want to see just how far your soldiers have progressed."

Zhou Tianyang nodded, stood up, and led the brigade commander out of the regimental headquarters courtyard.

Training continues on the threshing floor.

More than 1,500 soldiers were divided into three camps, each training different subjects.

The first battalion was practicing tactical coordination, the second battalion was practicing shooting, and the third battalion was practicing bayonet fighting.

Commander Chen walked to the edge of the threshing ground and stopped, putting his hands behind his back and scanning the soldiers who were training one by one.

His gaze lingered for a few seconds on the way the new recruits held their guns.

They stopped for a while on an MG42 general-purpose machine gun.

He stared at it silently for almost fifteen minutes, then turned to look at Zhou Tianyang.

"Tianyang, where did you get all this equipment?"

Zhou Tianyang stood beside him, his hands in his pockets, his gaze also fixed on the soldiers, his tone casual.

"Brigade Commander, I have a way to get weapons."

"However, it can only be on a small scale."

Brigade Commander Chen stared at him for a few seconds, and seeing that he really didn't want to say more, he didn't press the matter.

His gaze then turned to the soldiers who were training.

After a long silence, he slowly opened his mouth, his tone carrying an indescribable sense of emotion.

"Your soldiers are different from the ones I saw last time."

"What's different?"

"temperament."

Brigade Commander Chen withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhou Tianyang.

"When I came last time, there was something indescribable in their eyes, which was a sign of a lack of self-confidence."

"But the way I look at them today is different."

"That sense of confidence comes from fighting battles and being tempered by experience."

Zhou Tianyang didn't speak, but stood beside the brigade commander, his gaze also fixed on the training field.

Commander Chen stood there for a while, then turned around and walked towards the regimental headquarters.

"Alright, I'm not watching anymore."

"Looking at your soldiers, I'm even thinking of bringing over those regiments from the brigade headquarters to trade equipment with you."

Zhou Tianyang smiled and followed.

The two walked into the regimental headquarters courtyard one after the other, and Brigade Commander Chen sat down again on the stone bench.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice, as if he was pondering something.

He remained silent for a long while.

Then he looked up at Zhou Tianyang, his gaze unusually serious.

"Tianyang, no matter whether you succeed in your mission in Shanghai or not, you must remember one thing."

Zhou Tianyang looked at him.

"You are the commander of the New Second Regiment, which is the sharpest weapon of the 386th Brigade."

Whether this sharp knife can remain sharp does not depend on how many battles you fight or how much supplies you capture.

"It depends on whether you can come back alive."

Brigade Commander Chen's tone was not loud, but every word he spoke was very heavy.

"While you're gone, I'll keep an eye on the new Second Regiment for you."

"But you have to promise me you'll come back alive from this mission."

Zhou Tianyang looked into the brigade commander's eyes.

He paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

"Brigade Commander, I promise you."

Brigade Commander Chen did not say anything more.

She simply stood up, walked up to Zhou Tianyang, and patted him hard on the shoulder.

Then he strode out of the yard.

Zhou Tianyang stood in the courtyard, watching the brigade commander's figure disappear outside the gate.

His gaze lingered on the distant, continuous Taihang Mountains, and remained there for a long time.

He turned and went back into the house, sat down at the table, spread out a piece of paper, and began to write down the various arrangements before departure.

He knew that this trip to Shanghai would last anywhere from ten days to half a month, or even a month.

During this period, the new Second Regiment must operate normally.

He wrote a few lines on the paper.

Zhao Wenlong was in charge of daily training and combat command for the First Battalion.

The Second Battalion was under the responsibility of Tian Chengjun for defense and guard duty.

Sun Shengli was in charge of the new recruits' integration and tactical drills in the Third Battalion.

Wang Xiuying was in charge of coordinating all political work within the regiment.

The battalions cooperated with each other, and Zhao Wenlong was in charge of unified command in case of emergencies.

After he finished writing it, he read it again.

Then.

He stood up and walked to the window.

On the threshing ground, the soldiers were still training.

The slogans rose and fell, sounding especially loud in the afternoon sun.

Looking at the young faces sweating profusely, Zhou Tianyang felt a sense of peace that was hard to describe.

The road ahead to Shanghai is uncertain.

But he knew that no matter what awaited him ahead, the team behind him would always be there.

He must come back alive.

In the afternoon, the training on the threshing ground had just come to an end.

Zhou Tianyang stood at the entrance of the regimental headquarters and called out to the outside of the courtyard.

"Correspondent!"

"arrive!"

A soldier ran in from the gate and stood at attention.

"Go and summon the three battalion commanders. I have something to say to them."

"yes!"

The messenger turned and ran, quickly disappearing around the corner.

Zhou Tianyang turned around and walked back into the house, sitting down at the table.

Less than fifteen minutes later, hurried footsteps could be heard outside the courtyard.

The three of them came together.

Zhou Tianyang's gaze slowly swept across the three faces, and after a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

"I called you here because I have something to say to you."

All three of them straightened their backs.

"I'm going on a long trip in the next couple of days."

"You don't need to know exactly where we're going or what we're going to do."

"This is a mission from above, and it needs to be kept secret."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Zhao Wenlong frowned slightly, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

But after seeing Zhou Tianyang's expression, he swallowed his words.

Tian Chengjun didn't react much, but his gaze lingered on Zhou Tianyang's face for a moment before he resumed his composed demeanor.

Sun Shengli opened his mouth, then closed it again, unusually refraining from asking further questions.