Bright Sword: From Border Region Manufacturing to Major National Heavy Industry

Chapter 50 The Fool's Surprise
at dusk
386th Brigade Headquarters

"Brigadier, we're being a bit too optimistic."

The deputy brigade commander said to the brigade commander in a solemn tone, "I originally thought that these traitors we selected would at least have several hundred catties of sugar on hand, but I didn't expect that they couldn't even gather a hundred catties. This is not even a fraction of the thousand catties of sugar required by the arsenal."

The brigade commander remained calm and composed: "What's the rush? Fishing takes patience. Don't be fooled by the small fish we're seeing now; the big fish are definitely on the way."

"What I'm worried about is that this big fish won't bite the hook for a long time, which will delay the production of artillery shells at our arsenal," the deputy brigade commander said.

“With a promotion of three ranks, the big fish will definitely take the bait,” the brigade commander said confidently. “Let’s send the seventy-odd catties of white sugar we’ve acquired to the arsenal first. The fertilizer has arrived, and these seventy-odd catties of white sugar should be enough to produce some artillery shells.”

"I've already sent someone to deliver it to the arsenal," the deputy brigade commander said.

"Well, then we'll continue to wait..." Well, the brigade commander hadn't finished speaking yet.

Then an excited staff officer ran over and reported to the brigade commander: "Brigade commander, brigade commander, a big fish is here, a big fish is here!"

"Tell me quickly, how big is this fish?" Before the brigade commander could even speak, the deputy brigade commander asked impatiently from the side.

"There are three thousand catties of white sugar!" The staff officer was so excited that he almost spat on the deputy brigade commander's face.

Three thousand catties of white sugar!!!
Upon hearing this, both the deputy brigade commander and the brigade commander immediately widened their eyes.

Three thousand catties of white sugar, which is three times the amount required by the arsenal.

If you move them over there, these will be three hell cannons!

However, the deputy brigade commander and the brigade commander quickly calmed down.

Three thousand catties of white sugar? Are you kidding me?

This is white sugar, not coarse grains or beans. It was considered a strategic resource even by the Japanese!
No matter how rich a traitor is, he could never reach this amount.

The brigade commander then asked in a very serious tone, "What exactly happened?"

"A puppet army company commander was envious of Hirata Ichiro's bounty. He was also facing a career crisis, and if he didn't hurry up and climb the ranks, his life would be in danger. He contacted our people, saying he didn't have any sugar and asked if we could exchange it for clues about the Japanese's sugar. Our people are very experienced and judged that this was a big fish. We managed to indirectly obtain this important clue from him," the staff officer explained.

After hearing the staff officer's explanation, the deputy brigade commander couldn't help but laugh at the brigade commander, "Brigade commander, this is what you call a 'fool's surprise,' isn't it?"

The brigade commander had said before that there might be some idiots who would surprise us, and we never expected that there would actually be such idiots.

He actually tried to trade clues about Japanese soldiers' sugar for them; what a ridiculous idea!

"Our people indirectly obtained the sugar clue through this person. Does this person know it himself?" the brigade commander asked the staff officer.

"He doesn't know yet," the staff officer said with certainty. "Because this intelligence wasn't obtained directly from him. Our people are still pretending to communicate with him to keep him calm and avoid alerting him."

"This man is facing a career crisis; if he doesn't climb up, his life will be in danger. On the surface, his act of exchanging clues about Japanese sugar for clues about our heavy artillery was foolish, but in reality, he must have been forced into a corner, which is why he was willing to take such a risk. I really can't bear to see him die like this." The brigade commander sighed with emotion.

The deputy brigade commander couldn't help but say, "Brigade commander, we can't really give him our heavy artillery leads, can we?"

“Why not?” The brigade commander’s tone shifted, and he said seriously, “In business, integrity is paramount! We’ve already obtained the sugar clues, so we must keep our promises. Let’s keep him calm for now. Once we’ve successfully seized the three thousand catties of sugar, we’ll set up a trap in advance and then hand over the heavy artillery clues to him.”

"Hahaha, brigade commander, great! I wholeheartedly agree! Hahaha!" The deputy brigade commander laughed heartily, full of admiration.

If this man leads a group of Japanese soldiers into our ambush, then he will have died a worthy and worthwhile death.

"Where are those three thousand catties of white sugar now?" the brigade commander asked his staff officer.

"In Heyuan County," the staff officer replied.

In Heyuan County?

Upon hearing this, both the brigade commander and the deputy brigade commander immediately felt a bit uneasy.

Didn't Li Yunlong and Ding Wei just attack Heyuan County last night? The Japanese reinforcements have only just withdrawn.

If we go and attack again tonight, the psychological trauma that little devil Hirata Ichiro will probably be bigger than their Mount Fuji.

The brigade commander was also decisive and immediately said to the deputy brigade commander: "You immediately send someone on horseback to inform Li Yunlong to get ready to work. Don't call him. Give him the last Hell Cannon shell I have left."

Li Yunlong has really angered the Japanese, and now they're trying every possible way to tap his phone.

We can't let the Japanese find out in advance through telephone tapping that we're planning to attack Heyuan County.

"Should we have Ding Wei go with him?" the deputy brigade commander asked.

"Of course we'll take it," the brigade commander nodded.

"Yes." The deputy brigade commander nodded, then, remembering something, asked, "Should we double-check this intelligence about the sugar?"

"I'll go verify it myself!" the brigade commander said solemnly. "You first have Li Yunlong and Ding Wei prepare for battle, and wait for my letter."

Just kidding, three thousand catties of white sugar, that's not just a bag of cigarettes.

The brigade commander had to personally verify the authenticity of the intelligence again before considering whether to take decisive action.

"Yes." The deputy brigade commander nodded and left.

The brigade commander also hurriedly left the brigade headquarters.

……

386th Brigade Independent Regiment
"Commander, commander, wake up, wake up!"

Guard Wei Dayong ran over and woke Li Yunlong up.

Li Yunlong slept from morning until the sun was about to set, and although he felt much better, he still cursed at his guard Wei Dayong: "Monk, didn't I tell you? Even the Heavenly King himself isn't allowed to come in and disturb my sleep!"

Wei Dayong explained, "Commander, I didn't want to either, but the brigade headquarters sent your precious darling here."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong immediately beamed with joy: "Did the brigade commander send me the last shell from his Hell Cannon?"

Li Yunlong dragged Ding Wei out to work, using up all five Hellfire cannon rounds.

All that's left is that one last bullet that the brigade commander has.

If the Hell Cannon runs out of shells, isn't it just a piece of scrap metal?

Therefore, Li Yunlong was already planning how to get the brigade commander's last precious asset back.

As for the brigade commander's cannons becoming scrap metal without shells, that's none of our business.

Unexpectedly, the brigade headquarters actually sent it over on their own initiative.

Does the brigade commander really not consider the problem of his cannons becoming scrap metal?

This made Li Yunlong feel like he hadn't fully woken up yet.

Li Yunlong reached out and pinched his buttocks. The pain felt very real, which told him that it wasn't a dream!
"Monk, you're not kidding me, are you?" Li Yunlong was still a little skeptical.

Wei Dayong said seriously, "The brigade headquarters has also sent a messenger, so it's estimated that a combat mission has been issued."

Upon hearing the words "combat mission," Li Yunlong's eyes immediately lit up.

Haha, now that you've had a good sleep, it's time to get back to work. How thoughtful of the brigade commander to know that Old Li isn't one to sit idle.

(End of this chapter)