Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 338 This is called professionalism
In the past few months, Li Chishui, together with Li Yunlong, made the 321st Regiment suffer a living hell.

Moreover, the 321st Regiment didn't have a commander like Chu Yunfei, so they decisively packed up their buckets and ran away.

For the commander of the 321st Regiment, while the Kuomintang were making a fortune, he was stuck here eating cornbread.

That's even more painful than him losing money.

If we go somewhere without the Eighth Route Army, why can't we still make a quick buck?

By then, we could collect all the donations for the War of Resistance against Japan until 2025 without any problem.

After squeezing out the 321st Regiment, the Independent Regiment had completed its mission and then began to divide its forces for further development.

Li Chishui and his men from the First Regiment ran back carrying a heavy machine gun.

"Abacus, look what I brought back!" Li Chishui shouted excitedly.

As soon as Ding Futong left the regimental headquarters, he saw the Type 92 heavy machine guns laid out on the ground.

"A pheasant neck? Where did it come from?"

Despite the fact that the Independent Regiment already has 6 men, the six heavy machine guns of its directly subordinate fire support company are not yet at full strength.

"I traded it for 500 catties of flour!" Li Chishui said proudly as he stood there.

"Five hundred catties of flour?!" Everyone around was stunned.

This is a heavy machine gun! If it could be bought with 500 kilograms of flour, they would sell everything they own to equip each platoon with one.

"Hehe. You're bad, you're bad," Li Chishui said embarrassedly.

He acquired this heavy machine gun from the puppet troops.

The puppet troops couldn't repair it themselves, and they were afraid the Japanese would confiscate it if they returned it.

So I decided to sell them to buy some food.

Even the Japanese soldiers couldn't get enough to eat, let alone them.

"Commander, what are you doing? It's just a broken lump of iron, what good is it!"

Ding Futong immediately became anxious.

From the Wuyi County Brigade to the First Regiment, he was Li Chishui's deputy.

With such a shrewd strategist around, when have we ever suffered a loss?

So now they've traded 500 pounds of flour for a piece of junk?
"Don't worry, I've checked it, it can be repaired!" Li Chishui affirmed.

"You should have said so earlier if you could fix it," Ding Futong laughed.

"Then hurry up and send it to Erlang Mountain, the sooner it's repaired, the sooner we can use it."

“Our own arsenal can’t be repaired,” Li Chishui said.

The arsenal could only produce some simple parts for repairs.

Even if complex parts can be made by hand, the tolerances can be too large because the specific parameters are unknown.

In that case, the failure rate of firearms would skyrocket, and there would be a risk of barrel explosion.

Faced with this situation, the arsenal of the New Second Regiment usually dismantles the arsenal and then reassembles the parts by selecting the best ones.

Upon hearing that his arsenal couldn't be repaired, Ding Futong's expression changed again.

If they can't even repair the arsenal, they certainly can't repair it themselves, so what's the point?

"Commander! This..."

Before Ding Futong could finish speaking, Li Chishui quickly interrupted him:
"I have a solution!"

"Ah, tell me quickly, tell me quickly." Ding Futong laughed again.

As long as it can be fixed.

Li Chishui stopped being mysterious and explained directly:
"When the Independent Brigade attacked Anqiu before, some of the puppet troops in the city escaped."

"These people ran to Luyang. Huang Jinbiao, the former captain of the Anqiu garrison, is now the captain of the garrison at the Lujuqiao stronghold."

"As far as I know, Huang Jinbiao set up a small arms factory in Lujuqiao, specializing in smuggling weapons."

"And there were Japanese engineers among them."

“My plan is to have it repaired here,” Li Chishui said.

"Donkey Bridge? There are Japanese soldiers stationed there, is it really feasible?" Ding Futong felt that it was a bit unreliable.

Whether it works or not, doesn't it all depend on our words?

"Tomorrow, I'll go to Donkey Bridge and see this golden mark!" Li Chishui said confidently.

At the breakfast stall, Huang Jinbiao was happily eating with Bai Shouye and the captain of the Donkey Bridge Garrison.

Even though Anqiu was lost, Nojiri Masakawa and Kurofuji Norizo ​​also died.

However, the gold medal came out intact and even managed to get on board the Fourth Division.

The only thing that disappointed Huang Jinbiao was that Jia Gui hadn't died in Anqiu while he was out gathering intelligence in the countryside.

When Huang Jinbiao first witnessed the Fourth Division trading with the Eighth Route Army, he almost dropped his jaw.

But then I thought about it, and realized that this guy was the real businessman.

I was too narrow-minded before.

Subsequently, Huang Jinbiao used his previous smuggling routes to engage in a major battle with the Japanese soldiers of the Fourth Division.

They nominally set up an armory, but in reality, they were secretly manufacturing guns and selling them.

"Captain Huang."

Just as Huang Jinbiao was enjoying his meal, he turned his head and saw a person dressed in plain clothes standing in front of him.

"you are?"

Huang Jinbiao did not underestimate the enemy because of his attire, after all, there were many Eighth Route Army soldiers in this area.

Who knows if the person in front of us is a member of the Eighth Route Army?

“Li Chishui, commander of the Independent Regiment under the Second New Regiment,” Li Chishui said.

"The Eighth Route Army?" Huang Jinbiao never expected his words to come true.

"Sir, let me make this clear first, I haven't offended you, and I'm no longer going to the countryside to sweep through villages."

Since arriving at Donkey Bridge and the arsenal opened, there's no time left to snatch food from those peasants.

With that time, building a gun would be far better than anything else.

“Of course I know that.” Li Chishui nodded.

By now, most of the ignorant puppet troops would have been dead long ago.

The 4th Division is now short of manpower due to losses.

"Then what are you doing?"

"I won't lie to you, I'm preparing to fight the Japanese recently, but one of my heavy machine guns is broken and I'd like to borrow your arsenal for use."

Li Chishui spoke frankly and openly.

However, Huang Jinbiao and Bai Shouye were stunned when they heard this.

"No, are the Eighth Route Army soldiers all this arrogant now? Saying things like that in front of the Japanese?" "Bai Sang, what is he saying?" asked Itagaki Jiro, the Japanese company commander standing to the side.

Although he couldn't understand Chinese, he was very familiar with the word "Japanese devils".

Bai Shouye's eyes darted around.

He really didn't know how to translate it.

"Just translate it exactly as it is," Li Chishui said nonchalantly.

We're outside the stronghold now, so I'm not afraid of those three at all. There are also people from the Unique Group around.

Moreover, as far as Li Chishui knew, the Fourth Division didn't care about such things at all.

"Alright." Bai Shouye nodded.

"Sir," he said.

After listening to Bai Shouye's translation, Itagaki Jiro nodded: "I understand."

"Bai Sang, tell him that borrowing the arsenal is fine, but I have two conditions."

After Bai Shouye finished translating, Li Chishui nodded.

"explain."

"First: Workers and raw materials must be brought by ourselves."

“I’m worried that the Chinese workers in the arsenal will leak secrets and I’ll be held accountable; and if the raw materials are running low, I won’t be able to explain it to my superiors.”

This arsenal wasn't solely under his and Huang Jinbiao's control; it also had shares held by the regimental commander and several battalion commanders.

Therefore, the accounts must not have any problems.

"Second: You can't attack my defense zone, and of course we won't attack yours either."

“No problem!” Li Chishui immediately agreed.

We can get some raw materials from Erlang Mountain.

As for the 4th Division, the 2nd Regiment had no intention of defeating them.

Don't let their busy business fool you; these Japanese soldiers are quite formidable in combat.

If their path to wealth is blocked, the two sides will inevitably come to blows.

Why not use that time to bully the other garrison troops?

Those who are old, weak, sick, or disabled are not only easy targets, but the spoils they plundered are also considerable.

When Li Chishui went to Chen Chengxing to report the situation.

Chen Chengxing was taken aback by Li Chishui's wild idea.

That's incredibly bold!

"I'll take you to the arsenal. Whether or not you can borrow a worker depends on Director Wen."

Skilled workers are also highly valued in the arsenal.

When Wen Ying learned of Li Chishui's plan, she couldn't help but look him up and down.

What kind of thought process could come up with such a method?
"Director Wen, I wonder if you could lend me a few workers?" Li Chishui felt a little uneasy under his gaze.

“No problem.” Wen Ying nodded.

"I'll allocate thirty people to you."

“We don’t need that many. I took a look, and there are only seven or eight parts. A few people will be enough,” Li Chishui quickly said.

He repairs guns, he doesn't manufacture them, so he doesn't need that many people.

"Does that mean you'll only be able to repair one gun every time you go there? The arsenal still has quite a few broken light and heavy machine guns and rifles."

"We can take this opportunity to fix some parts," Wen Ying said.

"Huh?" Li Chishui didn't expect Wen Ying to have such a big appetite.

"It's settled then!" Wen Ying made the decision.

The new Second Regiment is still short of heavy weapons.

Two days later, Li Chishui arrived with dozens of technicians and a dozen guards.

Carrying large and small bags of materials, they arrived at Lujuqiao.

Itagaki Jiro had made preparations well in advance, giving the factory a day off specifically for the occasion.

"Captain Itagaki, thank you so much for your help."

When Li Chishui shook hands with Itagaki Jiro, a small goldfish was slipped into his hand.

It wouldn't have mattered if it were just a few items; we could have just treated the Japanese to a meal and that would have been fine. But now it seems like it will take at least several days to complete.

We have to satisfy the Japanese.

"Yoshi! My friend!" Itagaki Jiro's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Come, let me introduce you." Itagaki Jiro enthusiastically pulled the hand of the Japanese soldier next to him.

"This is Kato-kun, the chief engineer of the arsenal. His craftsmanship is impeccable; everyone who has used his work raves about it."

"He will be in charge of helping you this time."

"Oh, hello, hello." Li Chishui shook hands and offered two more large gold beans.

Kato, who had been looking serious, immediately broke into a genuine smile.

"Gentlemen, please follow me! I have data on all the weapons of the Locust Army," Kato said, patting his chest.

Over the next few days, a group of puppet soldiers in the stronghold served as laborers, responsible for moving and loading/unloading.

Japanese soldiers were stationed at the entrance to keep watch.

Under the guidance of Japanese engineers, the Eighth Route Army's technicians began production in a flurry of activity.

Because some of the materials that Li Chishui and his group brought were not hard enough, their lifespan might not be long.

Kato also specially selected some usable materials from the scrap and reprocessed them.

Seeing that the Japanese soldier was being so cooperative, Li Chishui stuffed another small goldfish into his hand.

Now the Japanese soldiers worked even harder, and some of the more delicate parts were even processed by hand.

This scene left Huang Jinbiao completely stunned.

Kato used to be very aloof at the arsenal. He was impatient with even giving pointers, let alone doing it himself.

Now he not only works with great enthusiasm, but his face is also full of smiles.

Is this still the same Kato Tai-kun he knows?

After working for several days in a row, Li Chishui and his team finally finished their work.

Itagaki Jiro specially arranged for people and vehicles to take Li Chishui and his men to the edge of the base.

The main focus is on providing excellent service.

(End of this chapter)