Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 15 The Suspicious Brigade Commander

It was already evening when Chen Ming led his team back to their base.

When they returned to the village, the soldiers all gathered around them. Seeing that Chen Ming and his group had all returned unharmed, their smiles widened even more.

"team leader."

"Yes, have all the supplies been brought back? Did anything go wrong?" Chen Ming nodded and asked.

"We brought everything back, even the engines and tires of the Japanese wrecked trucks. They even drained the gasoline, leaving the Japanese with just a metal frame," Dafei said smugly.

Although the soldiers couldn't drive or understand mechanical structures, it didn't stop them from dismantling the Japanese vehicles.

Don't underestimate the wisdom of the working people. They can always tighten a screw. And don't worry about the damage that violent disassembly might cause. In short, it's always right to grab what you can first.

As for the damaged parts that were removed, that's not a problem for them to worry about; they can just use them as scrap metal.

Even scrap metal was useful to our army at that time.

"Well done," Chen Ming praised.

Even if it's of no use to me, I can't leave it to the Japanese. To harm the Japanese is to benefit myself.

"After we finished moving the supplies, we also set up several booby traps. At that time, we left a soldier to observe, and he saw with his own eyes that several Japanese soldiers were blown into the air," Dafei said, and then pulled over another soldier.

"It was a booby trap set by Gensheng."

Gensheng, who was pulled in front of Chen Ming by Dafei, looked a little embarrassed when he saw his captain, Chen Ming.

Chen Ming patted the other person on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Well done, how did you learn it?"

Chen Ming was very pleased that the soldiers were able to take initiative and use their wisdom to kill the Japanese.

This fully demonstrates the wisdom of the Chinese working people in adapting to local conditions and simplifying complex matters.

"I used to learn from a militia member in a county brigade," Wang Gensheng said, scratching his head shyly.

"That's right, this is very useful experience. I think we should do this right now. When we're exchanging and learning about today's combat experience tonight, Comrade Wang Gensheng will teach the soldiers how to set up booby traps. What do you think?"

"Captain, I'm not well-educated, and I'm afraid I won't be able to teach well." Wang Gensheng was a little embarrassed, afraid of showing off in front of more than a hundred soldiers in the team.

"What's there to be afraid of? We're all soldiers in our district squad, aren't we all just roughnecks toiling in the fields?" Chen Ming encouraged the other man in a hearty voice.

“Yeah, we’re all roughnecks, but you, Gensheng, can learn it. Are you worried that you can’t teach us?” The other soldiers laughed along.

"Alright then, I'll give it a try." Encouraged by so many soldiers, Wang Gensheng nodded in agreement.

"That's more like it." Chen Ming laughed heartily.

At this moment, Dafei approached Chen Ming and mysteriously took out an object.

"What is it that you're hiding in public?" Chen Ming asked with a smile, looking at the other person's mysterious demeanor.

"Captain, in this ambush, we captured seventeen packs of cigarettes from the Japanese."

Dafei wanted to give the seized cigarettes to Chen Ming as a gift.

After all, this victory was achieved by Chen Ming leading the team, and in the end, he even risked his life to lead the soldiers to cover their transport of supplies.

Therefore, Dafei sincerely admired and respected Captain Chen Ming.

"Oh, I thought it was something special." Chen Ming laughed heartily. "You're not holding back, are you?"

"No, Captain, you know me, why would I hold anything back from you?" Dafei protested repeatedly. "You're smart enough to know what's good for you." Chen Ming took a pack of cigarettes from the bag in Dafei's hand and said, "I'll just take one pack, and give the rest to the soldiers, two cigarettes each, as a reward for them."

Chen Ming didn't have a great need for cigarettes; he could smoke both dry tobacco and cigarettes from the border region.

In this era, soldiers fought for long periods of time and faced considerable pressure, so it was common for men to smoke.

Tobacco played a special role in maintaining morale and relieving anxiety, becoming a kind of "spiritual supplement" during the arduous War of Resistance.

“Captain, one pack isn’t enough for you. Take four packs, and the remaining thirteen packs will be enough for two cigarettes each,” Dafei said.

Dafei felt sorry for Chen Ming. Every time he saw Chen Ming smoking a pipe and studying maps at night, unable to even smoke a cigarette, he felt sad.

Now that he had finally captured some of the Japanese soldiers' good cigarettes, his first thought was to give them all to Chen Ming as a tribute.

"Alright, it's settled then. Keep the extra three packs and give them as rewards to the soldiers who perform well in the upcoming training," Chen Ming decided.

"Yes."

Seeing Chen Ming's firm stance, Da Fei had no choice but to agree and began distributing cigarettes to the soldiers.

Two sticks per person, even soldiers who weren't out fighting had them.

The soldiers held the cigarettes they had captured from the Japanese soldiers, their smiles never fading.

These were seized after killing the Japanese devils; they felt a great sense of accomplishment when they smoked them.

After distributing cigarettes, Chen Ming organized a general meeting for all the soldiers.

The main focus was on exchanging information about the operation and sharing experiences, letting the soldiers know that the Japanese soldiers also had two shoulders and one head, and that they could die from being hit by bullets or bombed by artillery shells.

The meeting greatly boosted the soldiers' confidence, and they were even more determined to defeat the Japanese invaders and drive them out of their homes.

In contrast to the cheerful atmosphere in the district squad, far away at the brigade headquarters, the brigade commander and a group of staff officers were unable to sleep.

"Have you found out? The Japanese suddenly mobilized more than 300 men. What is their intention?" The brigade commander asked, frowning as he looked at the map on the wall.

The sudden deployment of over three hundred Japanese soldiers was no small matter; it could potentially inflict a devastating blow on an anti-Japanese resistance force if not handled carefully.

The brigade commander wouldn't be able to sleep until he figured out exactly what was wrong with the Japanese.

"The Japanese attack was too sudden this time. The comrades on the hidden front did not find any information. However, according to the reports from each regiment, their troops did not engage the Japanese. There is still no news from the Jin-Sui Army."

"The Japanese objective is still unclear. We need to continue investigating the specifics," the chief of staff said, tapping his pipe.

The brigade commander looked at the map and tried to deduce the Japanese army's operational intentions based on the general direction of their movements, but he couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

After all, that location was too close to Ping'an County, and there were many strongholds in the surrounding area. There was also a large battalion of Japanese soldiers in Ping'an County. He couldn't figure out why the Japanese would suddenly send out more than 300 men.

"Could it be that brat Li Yunlong causing trouble?" the brigade commander said casually.

In the brigade commander's eyes, only Li Yunlong would suddenly cause such a commotion.

"You forgot? Li Yunlong just made a mistake not long ago and you called him to the brigade headquarters to feed the horses for a few days. It hasn't been that long. That kid Li Yunlong won't make a mistake so quickly," the chief of staff chuckled.

"That's true." The brigade commander nodded.

Once Li Yunlong has made a contribution, the brigade commander will start to worry about when he will make a mistake.

Li Yunlong has just been punished and hasn't yet made any meritorious contributions, so he shouldn't make any mistakes.

(End of this chapter)