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

Chapter 95 Ding Wei copied Li Muzhi's homework
"Brother, where are the Japanese mines?" Li Yunlong asked immediately.

“It’s not far from here, about three kilometers to the east,” the prisoner of war said quickly. “I’ve also scouted out the defenses there with my men. As long as we can break through and storm in, taking the mine won’t be difficult.”

"How do you know how to defend against it?" Li Yunlong asked suspiciously.

"Working for the Japanese was too tiring, so I was hoping to escape," the prisoner of war explained.

"Then quickly draw me a defense map of the mine area." Li Yunlong sharpened his knife.

“Okay, no problem.” The prisoner of war quickly and skillfully took the paper and pen that Ding Wei handed him.

Before long, the mine's defenses were clearly laid out.

"Da Biao, immediately send someone to investigate the situation, and be quick," Li Yunlong ordered Zhang Da Biao.

While the prisoners' words were encouraging, as the commander, I still had to have them verified again.

"Yes, Commander." Zhang Dabiao led his men and ran off personally.

"Old Ding, how about this, we split into two groups. I'll go attack the mines, and you'll clear out the outposts and sentries." Li Yunlong looked at the map. His Independent Regiment, with half of the prisoners of war, had enough troops.

The raid on this mine caused an even bigger stir.

We must get the stuff back as quickly as possible.

In other words, we can no longer proceed slowly and quietly; we must now march at full speed.

Those outposts and outposts along the way must be taken down in advance.

This can be seen as a way to complete the brigade commander's mission in a convenient manner.

"You can have all the prisoners of war, and the second and third battalions of the new first regiment will also go with you." Ding Wei thought for a moment.

Although he was not yet clear about the specifics of the mine, since it was a stronghold of the Japanese, there must be plenty of lucrative opportunities.

Tell Li Yunlong to bring more men and try not to miss any spoils.

"You're only leading one battalion? Is that enough manpower?" Li Yunlong was stunned for a moment. Even with the Hellfire Cannon, your manpower is still too small.

"Most of these outposts and strongholds are occupied by puppet troops; they're just for show," Ding Wei said confidently. "We'll just place the Hell Cannon in front of them, and if they don't surrender, we'll bombard them. That'll scare them to death."

"Haha, Lao Ding, you're quite the strategist with your psychological tactics!" Li Yunlong laughed heartily, immediately relieved.

Indeed, the reputation of our Hell Cannon is well-deserved.

Upon reaching the outpost, every one of the puppet troops was terrified and collapsed.

If someone is really blind, just fire a shot, and they'll behave themselves.

The most direct example is when the arsenal director, Brother Li, took the Hell Cannon to the Sunjiabao stronghold for testing. One shell was enough to make the puppet troops of Sunjiabao surrender in a panic.

Ding Wei simply copied Li Muzhi's homework.

"You probably don't have enough manpower to capture the outposts and sentry posts." Li Yunlong remembered this detail again. Ding Wei's group looked like a battalion, but in reality, it only had about two hundred men, which was at most a reinforced company.

“How could we not have enough manpower? The puppet troops at the outposts and sentry posts have surrendered. Aren’t they enough manpower?” Ding Wei said, adopting a makeshift approach.

The prisoners could carry the food and other supplies for the outposts and outposts.

Our soldiers are only responsible for carrying guns and ammunition, that's all.

"Hahaha." Li Yunlong laughed again. "That's right, that's right. Old Ding, you're a much smarter strategist than Kong Erlengzi. Of course, compared to me, you're still a hair's breadth behind."

"How could there be even a single hair missing?"

"I have more hair than you." Li Yunlong said to Ding Wei, who seemed to think he was about to go bald.

"Get out of here, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth." Ding Wei tossed a sentence to Li Yunlong and instructed, "The brigade commander always told me to keep an eye on you, but now I can't. Old Li, remember, once you take the mine, withdraw as quickly as possible and don't cause any trouble."

Ding Wei wasn't stupid; he was as clear-headed as a mirror.

Why did the brigade commander want him to follow Li Yunlong on his mission?

He hoped that he could keep Li Yunlong in check at crucial moments.

Now that Ding Wei needs to clear the way back and pave the way for the transport team, he has to do it himself and can no longer work with Li Yunlong.

"Old Ding, don't worry, I definitely won't make things difficult for you, brother." Li Yunlong nodded seriously.

"Commander Chu, are you coming back with me, or going with Li Yunlong?" Ding Wei, leading a battalion and a Hellfire cannon, was about to leave when he looked at Chu Yunfei.

Chu Yunfei brought a whole guard company with him, and Ding Wei thought it would be good if Chu Yunfei came back with him.

His guard company is well-equipped and can also help to make a good impression, which is icing on the cake.

"I'll follow Brother Yunlong." Chu Yunfei was also very curious about what kind of mine the Japanese had.

Furthermore, Chu Yunfei had a premonition that following Li Yunlong would definitely bring surprises.

"Alright." Ding Wei nodded and said to Li Yunlong, "Old Li, take good care of our ally, Commander Chu."

Chu Yunfei's guard company has more than a hundred men. If they go with Li Yunlong, they might be able to help him in some way.

what?
Would Chu Yunfei really give his guard company to Li Yunlong?
There's no need to worry about that. If Li Yunlong needs it, he'll definitely have a way. "Haha, Lao Ding, don't worry," Li Yunlong nodded.

"If Zhang Dabiao's investigation results are wrong, don't act recklessly. Retreat as quickly as possible, understand?" Ding Wei gave his final instructions.

"I know, Lao Ding, you've become a bit of a nag."

Ding Wei led a battalion away quickly. Chu Yunfei looked at Li Yunlong and asked, "Commander Li, can Commander Ding manage with only two hundred men?"

Chu Yunfei had followed them stealthily all the way back, so he was familiar with the outposts and sentry posts along the way.

Two hundred men is far too few. At larger outposts, the enemy has a whole battalion of troops.

"Commander Chu, you don't need to worry about that." Li Yunlong wasn't worried at all. Psychological tactics mainly depend on strategy, not troop strength.

Ding Wei, that cunning strategist, is quick-witted. He's copying Li Muzhi's homework. If he still can't do it well, then he shouldn't follow Old Li anymore. We don't want to bring a burden on him.

"Brothers, let's head over to the mine right now." Although Zhang Dabiao's men hadn't brought back the results yet, Li Yunlong needed to act quickly.

"Yes, Commander Li." More than a thousand of his own men, prisoners of war, were filled with righteous indignation and followed Li Yunlong.

Working for the Japanese soldiers, they were all seething with resentment.

Now I can finally vent my anger.

Even though many people are still unarmed.

But as long as the team can break through, stones, sticks, even teeth and fists can be used as weapons.

"Commander, if I remember correctly, Commander Ding must have had about seven or eight hundred traitors at all the outposts and strongholds along the way." Captain Sun Ming and Chu Yunfei were traveling with Li Yunlong's group when Captain Sun Ming raised his doubts, believing that Ding Wei's forces were too small.

"Let's not worry about Commander Ding's side for now, let's focus on the present," Chu Yunfei said, pointing. "I'm really curious what's in this Japanese mine that requires heavy artillery to breach."

When Li Yunlong led his team to the mine, he was somewhat stunned.

The mine's defenses are indeed quite strong; the Japanese have turned an entire mountain into a defensive structure.

It looks like an incredibly hard tortoise shell.

Ordinary infantry guns and mountain guns really can't break through the defenses.

Aside from heavy firepower, they can't break through here.

"Commander, according to my initial reconnaissance, the Japanese defenses are all in place," Zhang Dabiao reported to Li Yunlong after finishing his reconnaissance.

"Okay." Li Yunlong nodded and said, "Organize a commando team immediately, and you will be the commando leader."

"Yes, Captain."

Li Yunlong ordered Zhang Dabiao to organize a commando team, and he was also issuing combat orders to the team.

The Independent Regiment was mainly in front, with the prisoners of war behind.

After all, the weapons and ammunition captured from the concentration camps were not enough to arm all the prisoners of war; most of them were still empty-handed.

The prisoners of war were very satisfied and moved by Li Yunlong's arrangements.

On the side of the elite, when others arrange battles, they often put cannon fodder in front and the elite in the rear.

On the Eighth Route Army's side, they were positioned in the rear, not used as cannon fodder.

"Commander Chu, I'm about to start the battle. Are you planning to come with me and charge in, or stay here and watch?" Li Yunlong methodically gave instructions, glancing at Chu Yunfei's guard company before launching the attack.

Half of this guard company is armed with submachine guns, making them incredibly powerful. It would be great if they could lend a hand.

"Commander Li, if I help you out and you take over this mine, how much do you plan to give me?" Chu Yunfei asked.

“Commander Chu, you come from a wealthy family, so please don’t compete with a poor peasant like me,” Li Yunlong said seriously. “We can’t lower your esteemed status.”

"Brother Yunlong, you're joking! This is a mine!" Chu Yunfei was speechless. So I have to work for you for free? Do you think my guard company's bullets are free? Aren't the lives of my guard company's soldiers precious?
"Haha." Li Yunlong laughed and let it go. "Forget it, Brother Yunfei, consider it as me not saying anything, not saying anything at all."

Li Yunlong thought to himself, "I'll get you a guard company sooner or later, just you wait."

Li Yunlong aimed the Hell Cannon at the mine, and Captain Sun Ming said to Chu Yunfei, "Commander, are we really not going up?"

The mine is so well-defended; there must be a lot of money inside.

It's really disheartening to watch the Eighth Route Army soldiers make a fortune while we stand by and watch.

You have to understand, we are the Jin-Sui Army, a regular army, and we have a status.

What are those Eighth Route Army soldiers? They're just a bunch of beggars.

If we have something good but can't eat it ourselves, it's not right for a beggar to eat it.

"Forget it, forget it." Chu Yunfei waved his hand, showing an attitude of self-awareness. This Li Yunlong clearly wanted to hog all the benefits and make them work for free!
Competing with them is even less suitable.

Our guard company only has a little over a hundred people, while they have over a thousand. If things go wrong, they might get angry and disarm our guard company, which would be really bad.

(End of this chapter)