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

Chapter 25 Independent Second Regiment
Upon hearing the voice on the phone, the brigade commander felt a chill run down his spine.

"What kind of fortune are you talking about? We're so poor we're practically begging for food."

"Stop talking nonsense and bring me that Type 92 infantry gun and four Shanxi-made 82mm mortars."

"Hey, a higher rank can really crush you. I'll send it over to you later."

After hanging up the phone, the brigade commander slammed his fist on the table with a dark expression.

"Who the hell snitched on me!"

He had finally managed to get some heavy equipment from his old subordinates, but now the artillery had been taken away by the boss's persuasion, leaving him with only two 75mm mortars.

The brigade commander originally planned to form a machine gun company as a heavy firepower support unit.

But now, the most important Type 92 infantry gun and four 82mm mortars are gone.

Beside him, the chief of staff watched the brigade commander slam his fist on the table with a dark expression and burst out laughing.

The brigade commander congratulated Chen Ming on his fortune, and now the general manager is congratulating the brigade commander on his fortune as well. It's truly a continuation of the same lineage.

At that moment, an uninvited guest arrived at the brigade headquarters.

"Brigade Commander, I, Old Li, congratulate you on your fortune!"

A man with a Mauser pistol tucked into his waistband, his skin rough and dark, grinned as he entered.

It was Li Yunlong, the commander of the New First Regiment.

He learned that the brigade commander had brought back six mortars, one Type 92 infantry gun, more than twenty light machine guns, seven heavy machine guns, and several hundred rifles.

Hearing about all that equipment, Li Yunlong was extremely envious, his mouth practically watering.

Li Yunlong rushed to the brigade headquarters the moment the brigade commander returned.

If he could salvage some equipment from it, let alone a mortar, even a heavy machine gun or a few light machine guns, Li Yunlong would accept the scolding.

When the brigade commander heard someone congratulating him on his fortune, he was furious when he saw who it was and immediately raised his whip.

"Get the hell out of here! You've gone too far!"

Li Yunlong quickly stepped forward and grabbed the horsewhip that the brigade commander had raised.

"Hey, calm down, Brigade Commander. Who has the guts to make you angry? I, Old Li, will be the first to fight them."

"Hahaha." The chief of staff standing to the side couldn't help but laugh.

This time, things have really turned upside down. In the past, it was always the brigade commander who congratulated his subordinates on getting rich, but this time Li Yunlong actually congratulated the brigade commander on getting rich instead.

"The commander just called and took the artillery away. If you want to help your brigade commander get revenge, go find the commander," the chief of staff said with a squinting smile.

When Li Yunlong heard what his chief of staff said, he immediately deflated.

How could he dare to argue with the boss!
When the brigade commander saw Li Yunlong like this, he wasn't so angry anymore.

After taking a sip of tea to calm himself down, he asked, "What brings you here, young man? You wouldn't come here without a reason."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong immediately chimed in, "Brigade Commander, our New First Regiment is poor. The entire regiment has fewer than ten light machine guns, and not a single heavy machine gun. Two people in the whole regiment can't even get a gun, and each person has less than five bullets."

Li Yunlong started complaining about being poor; the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Although the cannon was taken by the boss, we still need more than twenty light and heavy machine guns and hundreds of rifles.

Anyway, whether there's a chance or not, he'll take the plunge and not lose out no matter how you look at it.

Finally, after being whipped twice by the brigade commander, Li Yunlong left the brigade headquarters with a grin, carrying two light machine guns and fifty rifles.

Those two lashes were well worth it. Old Li is tough and resilient, and he has so many weapons and equipment. If he could get all this equipment with just two lashes, even if Li Yunlong were whipped to death, he would be laughing.

After Li Yunlong left, Blind Cheng from the 772nd Regiment arrived. "Brigade Commander, congratulations on your fortune!"

"."

About ten days later, the brigade commander, along with a group of officers, returned to the district squad's location.

After the report was submitted, the headquarters considered that the Ping'an County District Squad had already fully acquired regimental-level combat capabilities. After discussion, the Ping'an County District Squad was reorganized into the Independent Second Regiment and placed under the leadership of the division headquarters.

Chen Ming was appointed commander of the Second Independent Regiment, and the political commissar was appointed by the headquarters. At the same time, a group of cadres were also sent to help build the Second Independent Regiment.

Upon receiving the reorganization order, Chen Ming couldn't stop smiling.

He no longer has to bear the title of a district squad leader; now he has become a proper regimental commander.

"You've eaten bee droppings, haven't you? You're so happy." The brigade commander teased Chen Ming, looking at his expression.

"Hey brigade commander, I'm just happy to be a regimental commander."

"Alright, I've given you the cadre position and the staffing quota. If you don't lead the Second Independent Regiment well, my whip won't be a joke."

"Please rest assured, Brigade Commander, I will definitely lead the Independent Second Regiment into a formidable main force," Chen Ming assured him.

"Hmph, then I'll wait and see." After saying that, the brigade commander prepared to leave.

"Brigade Commander, how about we have a meal before you leave?" Chen Ming asked.

"I'm not eating, I have things to do at the brigade headquarters."

"Brigade Commander, wait for me a moment, I have something for you." Chen Ming suddenly said something after thinking of something, then turned around and went back to the headquarters, no, the headquarters of the Independent Second Regiment, and took out what he had written earlier.

After taking his things, Chen Ming solemnly handed the notebook to the brigade commander.

"What treasure is it that's so formal?" the brigade commander asked with a smile.

"These are my practical experiences. Our Second Independent Regiment captured a lot of puppet troops before. I incorporated these puppet troops into my unit based on the process in my notes. The conversion rate was over 60%."

Chen Ming began to explain.

Upon hearing this, the brigade commander immediately became interested.

Currently, the conversion rate of most puppet army prisoners is only about 10%, and the rest are generally released after being educated.

However, this led to some puppet troops being repeatedly captured, and due to a lack of follow-up monitoring, they were released and then returned to the Japanese army.

Chen Ming suddenly said that his conversion rate among the puppet army prisoners had reached over 60%, which was a remarkable improvement.

The brigade commander opened Chen Ming's notebook, which recorded his experiences, and became more and more engrossed in reading it, feeling that there was great potential in it.

The brigade commander could see that the policies Chen Ming had written were a very mature system, which had upgraded the handling of puppet army prisoners from "simple release" to "effective disintegration".

After turning the last page, the brigade commander reluctantly closed the notebook, sighing:

"I didn't expect you to be so good at political work. Why are you still a regimental commander? I'll just report to headquarters and transfer you to do political work."

The brigade commander genuinely cared for Chen Ming and also for the greater good.

It's a pity that a cadre with such outstanding political work skills as Chen Ming is only a regimental commander.

If you were to join the headquarters, the role you could play would be far greater than that of a regimental commander in a front-line combat unit.

"Brigade Commander, you know me. All this experience comes from practice. If you ask me to do political work without practical experience, I definitely won't do it well," Chen Ming pleaded repeatedly.

His special ability dictates that he must be a commander to effectively lead operations.

If you go to headquarters and leave the military, the cheat will be useless.

(End of this chapter)