Liang Jian: Commander, save some for me

However, in Li Jin's view, both the 771st and 772nd Regiments had tear gas, so attacking the pillboxes would not be difficult. They could take them down in half an hour at most, without taking too long.

"Soon?! Didn't they start their operation at 11 o'clock? Only half an hour has passed. It's impossible for them to take it down so quickly." Fang Ligong said with a hint of doubt in his voice.

In his view, the combat effectiveness and firepower of the 771st and 772nd Regiments were far inferior to those of the New 1st Regiment and the Independent Regiment, so how could they have taken down the blockhouse in less than an hour?

If we're talking about attacking checkpoints, that's still possible, since checkpoints aren't as easy to defend as fortified towers.

"Chief of Staff Fang, you may have underestimated their combat capabilities. Just wait and see, they'll send a telegram over in at most an hour," Kong Jie couldn't help but say.

Although these two regiments were not as strong as them, they received a lot of weapons from the brigade headquarters, which doubled their firepower.

With the addition of tear gas produced by Li Jin, an hour would be enough for them to take down the watchtower.

"Commander Kong seems quite confident about this?!" Fang Ligong smiled, a hint of disdain on his face.

He thought it was possible if the attack was launched by the New First Regiment, since the New First Regiment's firepower was indeed very strong, but in his opinion, the firepower of the other two regiments was definitely not comparable to that of the New First Regiment.

"Chief of Staff Fang, how about we make a bet?! If they don't send a telegram within an hour, I'll lose two silver dollars to you; if they do send a telegram, you'll lose two silver dollars to me. How about it? Are you willing to bet?!" Kong Jie also laughed.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Fang Ligong immediately agreed.

"Brother Ligong, we're here to fight the Japanese, not to make a bet," Chu Yunfei said. If Kong Jie and his group won, that would be fine, but if they lost, Fang Ligong would probably offend them.

"It's alright, we're just waiting anyway, it'll kill some time," Commander Zhang said, agreeing to the bet!

"Okay, that's fine, it's settled then," Kong Jie said.

"Brother Yunfei, how about we join in?!" Li Jin looked at Chu Yunfei and said with a smile.

“Then I bet they can take down the fortress,” Chu Yunfei said without hesitation.

"Brother Yunfei, in that case, I don't need to place any bets." Li Jin said helplessly. He thought Chu Yunfei would do the same as Fang Ligong.

"Commander, why didn't you choose my side!" Fang Ligong was also somewhat dissatisfied upon hearing this, as the commander had actually chosen to bet on the Eighth Route Army to win.

Moreover, Mu Jin's tone indicated that he was certain that the 772nd and 771st Regiments had taken down the blockhouse in such a short time.

“I don’t think Brother Mu would take a gamble he’s not sure of,” Chu Yunfei said. Although he also felt that the 772nd Regiment couldn’t possibly take down the blockhouse in such a short time, the thought of Mu Jin’s quick words made him realize that things might not be so simple.

"So our bet has ended." Li Jin spread his hands, indicating his helplessness. He couldn't possibly lose money if he couldn't beat them.

"Then forget it." Chu Yunfei hadn't actually wanted to gamble; he felt it was pointless.

"Old Kong, do you have two silver dollars on you?!" Li Yunlong whispered in Kong Jie's ear.

"No," Kong Jie replied.

"Damn it, what's the point of betting without you?! What if Blind Cheng doesn't send a telegram within an hour? You'll lose, and where will you get the money to pay him? Are you trying to renege on your debt?" Li Yunlong said, his eyes wide.

Blind Cheng might not send them a telegram as soon as he takes down the watchtower.

"Well, there's you too, aren't you? You're rolling in money, aren't you?" Kong Jie blinked, looking like he wanted Li Yunlong to pay for it.

"Bullshit, I don't have any money on me!" Li Yunlong immediately refused. He was joking; asking him to pay was out of the question.

"Old Li, do you think I'll lose?! If I win, I'll share a piece with you; if I lose, we'll split the losses." Kong Jie raised an eyebrow.

"That works too." Li Yunlong fell into thought, then nodded. He only got a silver dollar once in a while, so he might as well take it. One silver dollar could buy a lot of Fenjiu and Laobaigan liquor.

If he really loses, he won't admit it.

"Commander Li, if I'm not mistaken, those two regiments must have gotten quite a few good things from their commanders," Division Commander Zhang said to Li Yunlong.

"Of course. Let's not talk about the 771st Regiment for now, but take the 772nd Regiment for example. I left them quite a few machine guns and mortars, so their firepower won't be much weaker than the current 1st Regiment," Li Yunlong said directly, without hiding anything.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Fang Ligong's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, was he really going to lose money?

“Even so, it’s not certain they can capture the blockhouse in such a short time. I don’t believe their combat strength can compare to the New First Regiment,” Fang Ligong said stubbornly.

So what if you have a lot of firepower? Fighting power between soldiers can't be solved by having more firepower.

However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a telegraph operator rushed in.

"Commander, a telegram has been sent from Commander Cheng's side." The telegraph operator wanted to pass the telegram to Li Yunlong, but was stopped.

"Just read the telegram aloud," Li Yunlong said.

"Commander, this..." The telegraph operator looked at Commander Zhang and the others, clearly hesitant.

"It's alright, we're all on the same side, just say what you want to say," Li Yunlong ordered.

"Yes! Commander Cheng said the operation was a complete success." The telegraph operator, without further hesitation, relayed the message.

"Haha, I told you they could do it, Chief of Staff Fang. You lost this bet. You're not going to say anything, are you? I sent him the message and told him to say he'd taken the hit even if he hadn't," Kong Jie laughed twice and said.

"A bet's a bet, it's just two silver dollars, here you go." Fang Ligong wasn't the kind of person to deny a loss, and with a pained expression, he took out two silver dollars and handed them to Kong Jie.

However, before Kong Jie could even reach out, Li Yunlong swiftly snatched the silver dollar away.

"No, Lao Li, what's wrong with you!" Kong Jie exclaimed anxiously upon seeing this.

"Here's a piece, we agreed to split it in half." Li Yunlong tossed a large piece to Kong Jie, his face full of a sly smile.

"You bastard..." Kong Jie was also somewhat amused and exasperated. Li Yunlong was truly a man who wouldn't do anything without a profit.

"Old Zhao, look what I've made—a silver dollar!" Li Yunlong boasted to Zhao Gang, even blowing on the silver dollar as he did so.

Zhao Gang shook his head helplessly. What could he say? Li Yunlong had stolen it through his own abilities. Fang Ligong's heart was bleeding. Two silver dollars were a lot of money, especially after the sharp drop in the value of the legal tender, the purchasing power of silver dollars far exceeded that of the legal tender.

"It's truly unexpected that they were able to take down the blockhouse in such a short time. It seems that the combat effectiveness of your troops has undergone a tremendous transformation," Commander Zhang said slowly.

The current situation can only mean that the Eighth Route Army's combat effectiveness is many times stronger than before.

“I told you long ago, the Eighth Route Army is already very strong,” Li Jin said.

"Commander Mu, their improved strength, could it be related to you?!" Division Commander Zhang stared at Li Jin, thinking that it was very likely that Mu Jin had passed on the training methods to them, which was why their combat strength had improved so quickly.

Although they couldn't train soldiers with the same amount of resources as Mu Jin, they could reduce the amount of training and still improve their soldiers' combat effectiveness more quickly.

“If Commander Zhang thinks so, then it is,” Li Jin replied.

Commander Zhang and Chu Yunfei fell silent immediately.

Zhao Gang also sensed the awkward atmosphere and quickly changed the subject, "Commander Mu, the Japanese have already been attacked by the 772nd Regiment under the name of the New 1st Regiment. What should we do next?!"

Everyone looked at Li Jin. Although Commander Zhang knew that Zhao Gang was deliberately changing the subject, he still wanted to hear what Li Jin would do next.

"Don't worry, the Japanese probably haven't completely believed that this is the New First Regiment yet. They'll likely send men to launch a preemptive attack on the New First Regiment's base."

"By then, we'll be able to take action," Li Jin said.

The Japanese wouldn't easily believe it was the New First Regiment, after all, they had previously rotated garrisons with other units.

"Moreover, the Eighth Route Army's operation tonight mainly involved sabotaging railways and highways. The destruction of so many places at once will inevitably attract the attention of the Japanese."

"The Sixth Division will definitely launch an attack then, and we'll have our chance," Li Jin continued, outlining the next steps of the plan.

Only by getting the 6th Division to take the initiative will they have a chance to carry out their plan. In that case, killing the Japanese division commander will only be a matter of time.

Everyone nodded after hearing this.

"Alright, it's getting late, everyone should get some rest," Li Jin said, waving his hand.

Only then did Commander Zhang and his men get up and leave, leaving only Li Jin and a few others in the tent.

"Why did you admit it? If the Jin-Sui Army finds out we have amazing training methods, won't that expose our strength?" Li Yunlong immediately questioned.

"Commander, don't be anxious. Even if I admit it, do you think they'll believe me?! Or even if they do believe me, what then?"

From the start of the major operation, our strength could no longer be concealed. We would likely be targeted by the Japanese, and even more likely by the Jin-Sui Army.
At this point, the Jin-Sui Army already knew that our fighting strength was not as simple as it seemed. Do you think that with Commander Yan's caution...

"Would he dare to attack us? And don't forget, we still have my Northeast Army here, so they'd be even less likely to attack." Li Jin began to explain, admitting it only after careful consideration.

"You're right. Once our strength is exposed, not only will the Japanese be wary, but that guy over there will be too, and he might even incite the Jin-Sui Army to attack us."

"Our situation was already bad, and if the Jin-Sui Army also targets us, it will be even worse. We can't really attack the Jin-Sui Army, that would be a drain on our national strength." Zhao Gang also agreed with what Li Jin said; it's best to reduce trouble if possible.

"Li Jin, what you said makes sense. Besides, they'll realize something's wrong eventually, so it's normal for them to guess. It's fine if they said it beforehand."
"This might encourage Commander Zhang to send a telegram to Commander Yan, asking him to send more troops to participate in this operation," Li Yunlong said.

If Commander Zhang believes that his soldiers have adopted new training methods, he will likely think that his entire unit is so formidable. In that case, it's not surprising that they were able to attract the main force of the Japanese army.

In this situation, Commander Yan might also feel that more people should be involved to gain greater benefits.

"Actually, it's hard to say. Commander Zhang might think that I'm hiding my true abilities and that I'm unlikely to actually hand over all the training methods," Li Jin said.

"Who cares what they think? Anyway, this won't do us any harm." Li Yunlong stopped thinking about it too much.

.........

As Commander Zhang led his men toward the 358th Regiment's encampment, his brow remained furrowed.

"Do you think that if Mu Jin really shared his training methods with them, their combat strength would be stronger than we thought?" Commander Zhang couldn't help but say.

Such an Eighth Route Army would be incredibly powerful in combat.

"Doesn't that mean that with their strength, this major operation will likely cause serious losses to the Japanese? Should we ask the commander to send more people to participate later?" Fang Ligong also said.

The Eighth Route Army had such combat power.

It was indeed easy to draw away the main force of the Japanese army, and with the addition of Mu Jin's troops, they were even more formidable.

Now we don't even need to test the waters anymore; we can have the commander send people to prepare for action!

"Don't rush, this is just speculation, and Mu Jin admitted it quite readily just now, so I don't think it might be true."

"Or rather, it's estimated that he'll hand over the training methods to them sometime soon. In such a short time, it's simply impossible for the troops' combat effectiveness to improve significantly," Commander Zhang responded.

He felt he should wait and see how things went. If he rushed to send a telegram to Commander Yan now, and things didn't go as planned, he would be scolded to death by the commander.

"The commander is right. Mu Jin is such a cautious person. He resolutely refused when we asked for his training methods."

"I'm just worried they'll be targeted later. Even if they have a good relationship with the Eighth Route Army, they can't possibly hand over their training methods so early." Fang Ligong quickly agreed and then expressed his own opinion.

When they first cooperated, they wanted Mu Jin to hand over the training methods to them, but he resolutely refused. Later, the commander also wanted Mu Jin to hand over the training methods, and even threatened Mu Jin with death.

Instead, they were threatened by Mu Jin, which greatly angered the commander.

Therefore, even if Mu Jin had a good relationship with the Eighth Route Army, he would definitely be wary if the Eighth Route Army took the initiative to ask for training methods. He didn't believe that Mu Jin could hand over the things so easily.

"So we still need to keep watching the situation. Don't forget, the Japanese also have a secret unit. They are very strong. If Mu Jin can't deal with them, we'll be in a lot of trouble." Commander Zhang couldn't help but mention the Japanese secret unit.

(End of this chapter)