Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

Around 2 p.m., the soldiers of the 358th Regiment who were on guard near Xuanming Mountain spotted Li Yunlong and his men. They were startled when they saw a large group of people heading towards them, but they still quickly went to report the situation to Chu Yunfei.

"They arrived fairly quickly." Chu Yunfei smiled. "Come on, Brother Ligong, let's go meet them."

"I'll go take a look too," Commander Zhang said.

"Commander, there's no need for you to personally go to pick up Li Yunlong, it's such a small matter," Fang Ligong quickly advised. In his view, Li Yunlong was just a regimental commander.

Even if it was a main force regiment in the Eighth Route Army, the division commander shouldn't have had to personally go to pick it up; they could have gone themselves.

"It's alright, I'll go take a look," Commander Zhang replied, needing to see for himself what the situation was like with this new regiment.

Otherwise, he won't be able to check the situation later.

"Understood!" Fang Ligong nodded, realizing that the division commander's personal visit to pick up Li Yunlong was not to give him face, but to check on the situation of the new regiment.

The group quickly headed towards Li Yunlong's direction.

Li Yunlong and his men were also waiting, not rushing to force their way in. After all, the 358th Regiment had arrived first, and the two sides would be cooperating to fight the Japanese later, so it was not appropriate to cause a rift.

Otherwise, it would be disrespectful, so Li Yunlong patiently waited.

"Old Li, this 358th Regiment seems to be much stronger. At least in terms of firepower, they probably aren't much weaker than us," Zhao Gang said to Li Yunlong.

He observed that the soldiers of the 358th Regiment had almost one light machine gun per platoon, making their firepower formidable.

Although the new regiment now has two light machine guns per platoon, the number of people in each platoon is much larger than that of the 358th Regiment.

"Indeed, but while their firepower is not weak, their combat strength is just so-so. If they really fight us, I don't take them seriously at all." Li Yunlong's tone was confident.

The new 1st Regiment is quite powerful, especially since they frequently fight against the Japanese. If they knew they were going to fight the 358th Regiment, their fighting strength would probably be even greater.

After all, they weren't even afraid of the Japanese, let alone the 358th Regiment, which was weaker than the Japanese. That's why Li Yunlong had such confidence.

"Old Li, that's true, but we can't be too careless," Zhao Gang reminded them. No matter who the enemy is, they must be cautious. They don't have the overwhelming combat power of a special operations regiment.

Moreover, even Li Jin wouldn't be careless when facing a weaker opponent.

"Okay, okay," Li Yunlong replied perfunctorily, not wanting to listen to Zhao Gang's long lecture.

"Old Li, what do you think of Chu Yunfei?" Kong Jie couldn't help but ask.

"Chu Yunfei is alright. To be honest, in the Jin-Sui Army, Chu Yunfei is the only one I think highly of," Li Yunlong commented, giving Chu Yunfei a very high evaluation.

"It's rare to find someone in the Nationalist army who can catch your eye, Li Yunlong." Kong Jie was somewhat surprised. To be honest, in his understanding, Li Yunlong basically looked down on the officers of the Nationalist army, but he didn't expect that he would have such a high opinion of Chu Yunfei.

"Commander Kong, Chu Yunfei is indeed a capable man. Not to mention me, Li Jin also speaks highly of him. However, it's a pity that although he seems to be one of Commander Yan's elite troops in the Jin-Sui Army, he has actually been kept at a distance all along." Zhao Gang also spoke up at this time, shaking his head as he finished speaking.

"How do you know?! If he weren't valued, he probably wouldn't have been able to have so many men in a regiment. Besides, their regiment has very strong firepower." Kong Jie disagreed with Li Yunlong's words.

"Commander Kong, Chu Yunfei has made quite a few contributions. If he were truly Commander Yan's confidant, he would at least be promoted to division commander, or at the very least, brigade commander."
How could it be that after so long, he's only a regimental commander?! Do you think this is the treatment a trusted confidant should receive?!

"It's because Commander Yan thinks that Chu Yunfei is from the Whampoa Military Academy, so he's considered one of that person's students, and therefore he's wary of Chu Yunfei." Zhao Gang began to explain. As a political commissar, he was quite sensitive to these kinds of things.

"Is it possible that Commander Yan wanted to train Chu Yunfei, which is why he kept him in the position of regimental commander?" Li Yunlong chimed in.

"That's unlikely. Commander Yan, most of your other officers who fought the Japanese have been promoted, and those weren't even your confidants."
"No matter how much training you receive, it shouldn't come to this. Do you think it's appropriate to not reward those who have made contributions?!" Zhao Gang shook his head, then asked in return.

"That's true." Li Yunlong nodded, agreeing with Zhao Gang's assessment.

"So his situation with the Jin-Sui Army wasn't very good; he was in a rather awkward position. But what I find strange is..."
"Chu Yunfei has made so many contributions, why hasn't that person rewarded him? Logically speaking, Chu Yunfei is also his student, shouldn't that person at least reward him?" Zhao Gang frowned, this was something he couldn't understand.

Even if Chu Yunfei wasn't directly promoted in rank, he should at least receive some commendation. Why did that person ignore it, as if Chu Yunfei had nothing to do with him?

"Political Commissar Zhao, do you think it's possible that Chu Yunfei offended that person?!" Political Commissar Li Wenying offered a guess.

“That’s possible, but I can’t understand how Chu Yunfei could have offended that person?! Chu Yunfei doesn’t seem like that kind of person at all,” Zhao Gang said.

"Perhaps it was an indirect offense, for example, by speaking well of Commander Yan in front of that person, making that person think that Chu Yunfei was already Commander Yan's man," Li Wenying continued to speculate.

He felt it was impossible for Chu Yunfei to have directly offended the Nationalist Army leader; it was only possible that he had done so indirectly. And the most likely reason for this indirect offense was related to Commander Yan.

"Hey, Wenying, you're absolutely right. That's definitely it. Chu Yunfei is indeed quite respectful to Commander Yan. Last time I said something bad about Commander Yan, Chu Yunfei got a little upset."

"So that must be the reason—I offended that person," Li Yunlong said immediately, his tone very certain.

If he speaks ill of Commander Yan in front of Chu Yunfei, the latter will feel uncomfortable. So, if Chu Yunfei speaks well of Commander Yan in front of that person, then Chu Yunfei will offend both sides.

“Perhaps Chu Yunfei was just speaking from the heart and didn’t have any other intentions, but in the eyes of two deep-thinking and politically astute people, he was very unlikable,” Zhao Gang said.

Regardless of what Chu Yunfei thought, in Commander Yan's and that other person's eyes, he was certainly not the best subordinate.

“If that’s the case, it can only mean that Chu Yunfei knows nothing about this area except fighting. Otherwise, he wouldn’t just be a regimental commander with such merits,” Li Wenying said.

"So, Chu Yunfei is really unlucky. Should I try to win him over?" Li Yunlong said, thinking he could use this to persuade Chu Yunfei to join them.

“We can give it a try, but they probably won’t agree,” Zhao Gang said. Chu Yunfei wasn’t the kind of person who would choose to leave his own camp and join another. Moreover, he had contacted Chu Yunfei before, and Chu Yunfei’s reasons were different from theirs. So, it was highly likely that they would be on different paths and not work together.

However, since Li Yunlong wants to give it a try, it's fine to let him try. If he succeeds, they can recruit a talent for their troops; if he fails, they won't suffer any losses.

“Okay, I’ll give it a try.” Li Yunlong nodded. “Commander Chu is here,” Zhao Gang said.

Li Yunlong and his men followed Zhao Gang's gaze and looked ahead, only to see Chu Yunfei leading several officers approaching in the distance.

"Huh?! Why is there a lieutenant general?! Is he a brigade commander or a division commander?!" Kong Jie asked in confusion. The ranks and appointments in the Nationalist Army were actually quite chaotic.

Some brigade commanders hold the rank of major general, but they may also be division commanders; a lieutenant general may also be a division commander, or a corps commander.

"Why is Commander Zhang here too?!" Li Yunlong recognized Commander Zhang, who was Commander Yan's true confidant and had always been by Commander Yan's side.

"Old Li, do you know him?!" Kong Jie asked in confusion.

“Commander Yan’s confidant even tried to persuade me to join them and make me a division commander, but I refused,” Li Yunlong said.

"Bullshit, you call yourself a division commander? You think the Jin-Sui Army are idiots?" Kong Jie knew immediately that Li Yunlong was bragging.

The attempt to win him over was certainly real, but he absolutely did not believe that Li Yunlong would be offered the position of army commander. At most, he would only be a brigade commander or deputy division commander.

"Tch, I don't believe it, those are just people from the Jin-Sui Army who know their stuff," Li Yunlong retorted stubbornly.

Kong Jie rolled his eyes and said no more.

Soon, Chu Yunfei and his group arrived!

"Brother Yunlong, it's been a long time!" Chu Yunfei called out with a big smile even before he got to him!

"Haha, Brother Yunfei, long time no see!" Li Yunlong laughed twice and stepped forward.

"I never thought we'd have another chance to fight the Japanese together. It's a real shame we couldn't meet last time," Chu Yunfei remarked.

When fighting the Japanese New 20th Division last time, although Li Yunlong was also there, the two sides did not fight together, so they did not meet.

"Yes, time was of the essence, and the Japanese first-class divisions were also on their way, so we had to retreat quickly," Li Yunlong said.

The situation was still somewhat dangerous at the time, which prevented them from meeting and catching up.

"It's alright, at least we got to see each other this time," Chu Yunfei said.

While Li Yunlong and Chu Yunfei were catching up, Commander Zhang was also observing the soldiers of the New First Regiment who were resting in the mountains.

Seeing the soldiers looking so spirited, each holding a Type 38 rifle and using Japanese machine guns, Commander Zhang was somewhat shocked.

I never expected that Li Yunlong's new regiment would develop so rapidly, but then I thought about it, Li Yunlong often cooperated with Mu Jin to fight the Japanese, so it makes sense!
"Brother Yunlong, this is our Commander Zhang." Chu Yunfei finally remembered that he had Commander Zhang beside him and quickly introduced him.

"Greetings, Commander Zhang." Li Yunlong saluted Commander Zhang, and Kong Jie and the others naturally saluted as well. Although their relationship had soured, they hadn't openly declared that their cooperation had broken down, so they still had to salute.

"Li Yunlong, we meet again." Commander Zhang said with a smile. He recalled that when he tried to win over Li Yunlong last time they met, the latter refused without the slightest hesitation.

"How have you been, Commander Zhang?" Li Yunlong greeted him politely.

"He's alright, he can eat and sleep well. I came here to see how you fight the Japanese. Don't worry too much about me. Just fight however you want, I won't interfere," Commander Zhang replied.

"I see." Li Yunlong nodded, but found it somewhat amusing. The other party still wanted to interfere, but apart from the 358th Regiment, who listened to him?

"Your new regiment is developing quite well. I estimate its numbers have exceeded five thousand by now, right?" Commander Zhang asked abruptly, instantly creating a tense atmosphere.

"What kind of development is this? The 358th Regiment has also developed quite quickly. By the way, the overall development of the Jin-Sui Army seems to be even faster, with more people than before," Li Yunlong said in return.

Moreover, what he said was true. The number of soldiers in the Jin-Sui Army was greater than it was two years ago, but the number of times they fought the Japanese was not as many. No wonder Li Jin would occasionally try to cause trouble for the Jin-Sui Army.

"Li Yunlong, where did you hear these rumors? How could the Jin-Sui Army be developing so quickly? Besides, the Jin-Sui Army has been fighting the Japanese recently and has suffered heavy losses," Commander Zhang replied.

"So it was just a rumor. I thought it was true," Li Yunlong said.

"So, we need to be discerning and not believe everything we hear," Commander Zhang said, surprised that Li Yunlong was so sharp-tongued.

"Yes, yes, Commander Zhang is right, Yunlong has learned a lot." Li Yunlong appeared humble and receptive to instruction. If Zhao Gang and the others hadn't known Li Yunlong well, they might have almost believed him.

"Yunfei, you can continue catching up with Li Yunlong. I won't disturb you any longer." Commander Zhang turned and left.

Fang Ligong also followed in Zhang's footsteps.

"Commander, Li Yunlong is a bit too arrogant. Moreover, the development of the new First Regiment is so fast. Does that mean that the development of other units over there is probably not too slow either?!" Fang Ligong said.

"It's hard to say, it's quite possible. Their development certainly can't compare to the New First Regiment, but compared to two years ago, their numbers may have increased several times over."

"I estimate their numbers to be around 100,000 to 200,000," Commander Zhang began to speculate.

Li Yunlong's regiment has grown to more than 5,000 men, and the other regiments have grown to at least 2,000 to 3,000 men.

If you calculate it that way, there are hundreds of thousands of people over there, which is quite possible!
"What?! So many people?! Commander, you can't be wrong, can you?! Their conditions are so poor, how could they develop so quickly!" Fang Ligong was somewhat incredulous.

In his view, no matter how much development there is, it can't develop this fast. Having 100,000 people would be impressive, let alone 200,000. He thought that was impossible.

"Nothing is impossible. Their development, if unchecked, would be terrifying," Commander Zhang remarked, marveling at how quickly they were establishing their bases.

(End of this chapter)