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

Chapter 281 Li Yunlong being reprimanded by the Chief of Staff

"Go away, you fool Kong Erlengzi, stop showing off in front of me."

"Don't think you're so great just because you're a higher-ranking person now. If you keep yelling, I'll beat you up."

Upon hearing Kong Jie's words, Li Yunlong immediately stood up from the kang (a heated brick bed) and shouted.

"Well, Li Yunlong, if you're so unwelcoming to me, then I'll take this batch of equipment I brought back with me."

Kong Jie said with a smile.

"Equipment? What equipment?"

Upon hearing the word "equipment," Li Yunlong's ears twitched, and he immediately became alert.

Li Yunlong didn't love anything else but the tools in his hands.

"What other equipment could it be? The Japanese are starting to make moves now. The commander has determined that the Japanese may launch an attack within a month."

"The entire military region is now making preparations to ensure that the Japanese troops in Baotou will fight to the death once the major battle begins."

"So the commander approved a batch of anti-tank weapons and artillery for the troops in Baotou."

"Your Independent Regiment is the main force in Baotou, so most of these weapons are allocated to you."

Kong Jie said with a smile.

"But judging from your expression, it seems you don't really want it. Since you don't need it, I'll report to the commander and have these weapons distributed to other units."

After speaking, Kong Jie looked at Li Yunlong to observe his reaction.

Kong Jie was very familiar with Li Yunlong, his old comrade-in-arms.

really.

Upon hearing that a batch of equipment had arrived, Li Yunlong's expression immediately changed.

His previously reluctant expression immediately turned into a broad smile.

Those who know Li Yunlong well know he's from the Dabie Mountains, but those who don't might think he's from the Sichuan-Chongqing region and has mastered the art of face-changing.

"Old Kong, look what's happened. I was just joking with you."

"We're old brothers, don't take it to heart."

Li Yunlong said with a smirk, and pulled Kong Jie to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Monk, go and get the good wine I hid under the bed, and also get a plate of peanuts. I want to have a good chat with Old Kong."

Li Yunlong shouted outside.

"okay."

After receiving the order, Monk Wei jogged out.

Because Chen Ming had wiped out Xie Baoqing's band of bandits in Black Cloud Village, Wei Heshang's fate naturally changed.

He is still following Li Yunlong.

However, his personality also changed; he was no longer so arrogant and looked down on everyone.

This is certainly thanks to the special operations brigade of the independent detachment.

Wei Heshang was arrogant because no one in the Independent Regiment could match his skill level.

But Chen Ming's special operations team consists of top-notch personnel selected from among thousands.

From recruitment to new recruits, then to selection of veterans, and finally to joining the special operations brigade.

It went through countless rounds of selection before finally becoming the special operations brigade with fewer than two hundred people today.

Given the elite status of the main force of the independent detachment, every soldier who can stand out from it must be an exceptional individual.

Every soldier in the special operations brigade is a top-tier soldier that other units would be eager to recruit.

When Wei Heshang first learned of the existence of the special operations brigade, he thought they were nothing special, just that they had earned their honors by following a good leader and making many contributions.

Later, by chance, Wei Heshang encountered a special operations brigade conducting field training and decided to take on the challenge.

The result was that even an ordinary soldier in the special operations brigade could fight him to a standstill, let alone squad leaders and group leaders.

Wei Heshang was utterly humiliated in close combat, not to mention his other military skills.

Wei Heshang knew back then that if he encountered such a force on the battlefield, with his strength, he would likely be used as a bargaining chip and easily wiped out.

They learned of this unit, which kept a low profile, yet every single soldier they pulled out was an elite force that was no weaker than theirs.

His arrogance naturally subsided, and his personality became more composed.

Li Yunlong naturally noticed Wei Heshang's change, but when asked, he refused to say anything, so Li Yunlong gave up.

Wei Heshang's change is a good thing. Li Yunlong knows that being too arrogant can easily cause problems on the battlefield, and learning to conceal one's strength is a good thing.

Not long after, Monk Wei brought over two bottles of Fenjiu liquor and a plate of peanuts.

After putting his things down, Wei Heshang closed the door and left, leaving Li Yunlong and Kong Jie alone.

It wouldn't be appropriate for Li Yunlong to stay after his two old comrades-in-arms, Kong Jie, reunited.

The key point is that Kong Jie is now at a very high level, and he would feel uncomfortable here.

After all, in formal settings, Li Yunlong would have to address Kong Jie as "Commander."

After the items arrived, Li Yunlong began pouring wine for Kong Jie, but his eyes remained fixed on Kong Jie.

"Alright, alright, I know what you're thinking. Here you go."

Kong Jie felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, so he took out a list from his pocket.

This list records the types and quantities of weapons that were shipped in.

When Li Yunlong saw the list, his eyes lit up immediately, and he grabbed it.

He put on the glasses and started looking at it with a serious expression.

"Hey Li Yunlong, when did you learn to stick scallions in a pig's nose? What are you pretending to be, some kind of cultured person?"

Kong Jie burst out laughing when he saw Li Yunlong's expression.

"Hehe, Old Li just wants to improve and learn more, otherwise how can he catch up with you, Master Kong?"

Li Yunlong chuckled and said nonchalantly, continuing to look at the list.

Looking at the list of weapons and ammunition, he was increasingly astonished and couldn't help but exclaim:

"Your military region is really damn rich, approving so much equipment so easily."

"If I had this kind of equipment back then, I would have attacked Taiyuan long ago."

Kong Jie was immediately stunned by Li Yunlong's words.

"You, Li Yunlong, don't even bother to think before you speak. With just this few men in your regiment, you dare to attack Taiyuan?"

"Do they really think the Japanese soldiers in Taiyuan were made of dough?"

The Japanese had a division, two independent brigades, and an independent garrison in Taiyuan.

The independent garrison alone has more than 10,000 men, plus other divisions and brigades.

With such limited troops and weapons, Li Yunlong thought he could attack Taiyuan? It's laughable.

Taiyuan is the core of Shanxi Province and one of the major cities in North China.

Given the Japanese forces in Taiyuan, it would have been difficult to capture the city without at least 200,000 troops, even with reinforcements from other regions and the presence of troops to block their advance.

Let alone Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment, even if he were given two more divisions, he wouldn't dare to attack Taiyuan.

Of course, this division cannot be a division like the 129th Division, which has inconsistent strength and organization.

Li Yunlong chuckled dismissively at Kong Jie's words. He was just saying it; bragging isn't illegal.

After looking at the weapons list, Li Yunlong reluctantly put it down.

After clinking glasses with Kong Jie and taking a sip of wine, he began to speak:
"Old Kong, you're about to have a decisive battle with the Japanese. I heard from the brigade commander that the Japanese will deploy at least three divisions this time."

"Among them are two divisions of the Japanese Kwantung Army. Are you confident you can stop them?"

Li Yunlong was actually very worried.

After all, in the past, a Japanese division, together with some puppet troops, could form a powerful mopping-up force, forcing them to run around counter-mopping-up operations.

Now, at least three divisions have arrived at once, easily numbering forty to fifty thousand Japanese soldiers.

Two of the divisions were Japanese Kwantung Army units.

Unlike the Japanese forces inside the Great Wall today, the Japanese Kwantung Army had not experienced too many wars of attrition, its organizational structure remained intact, and its combat effectiveness was even stronger than that of the Japanese divisions inside the Great Wall before 1939.

This can be seen from the intelligence sent back by Liu Tengjie.

In the Chifeng area, they only attacked ordinary Japanese garrison units, avoiding direct confrontation with the Kwantung Army's field divisions.

The strength of the Kwantung Army was mainly due to the fact that its counterpart was the Soviet Far East Army, and its tactics and equipment had been upgraded.

The Kwantung Army Division was an enhanced version designed for mechanized warfare, with firepower configurations comparable to the Soviet Army.

Meanwhile, the Japanese divisions inside the Great Wall were essentially remnants of World War I, mainly composed of light infantry, and were at a significant disadvantage against modern firepower.

This is one of the reasons why Chen Ming was able to achieve excellent results even though his equipment level was not inferior to that of the Japanese divisions inside the Great Wall.

Because the Japanese troops inside the Great Wall were still at the level of World War I in terms of tactics and equipment.

It was only because our army's equipment was worse than the enemy's, and our tactical level wasn't much higher, that the Japanese troops inside the Great Wall seemed so powerful.

Although the Japanese Kwantung Army's tactical level and equipment were generally at the level of World War I.

However, after the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, the Kwantung Army carried out a systematic tactical reform.

Their combat effectiveness far surpassed that of the Japanese invaders in China 39 years ago, by at least 1.8 to 2.2 times.

Of course, this is in comparison to elite divisions.

If it were an ordinary Kwantung Army division today, its combat effectiveness would indeed be inferior to that of the Japanese divisions inside the Great Wall before 39.

Today's ordinary Kwantung Army divisions, since the "Kwantung Army Special Exercise" in 1941, have seen elite divisions and a large number of technical personnel being successively transferred to the Pacific theater and the interior theater.

The new recruits are young recruits with short training periods and lack of combat experience; they are either too young or too old, resulting in a significant drop in quality.

To adapt to multi-front warfare and make up for insufficient manpower, the Japanese army began to implement the "three-unit system" of divisions in 1942.

This means that the brigade level was abolished, and the divisions and regiments were reduced to three infantry regiments, with artillery and engineer units also being significantly downsized.

The total troop strength was reduced to approximately 1.2-1.5.

It became a "paper tiger" for strategic defense, with its main task being to contain the Soviet Union and serve as a strategic reserve and a "source" of manpower and equipment for the Pacific theater.

Its significance outweighs its practical value, and its actual offensive capability is very weak.

This is why Chen Ming dared to fight this battle even after learning that the Japanese Kwantung Army had mobilized two divisions.

If it had truly been an elite division of the Japanese Kwantung Army, he would have fled long ago.

After concentrating their forces to eliminate the Japanese troops in Baotou, they abandoned major cities and railways and re-entered the mountainous areas to fight.

Even the elite troops of the Japanese Kwantung Army will be helpless against him at that time.

However, Chen Ming felt that the two divisions of the Japanese Kwantung Army posed little threat, but Li Yunlong did not share Chen Ming's perspective.

In his eyes, those were, after all, two divisions, totaling nearly 30,000 Japanese Kwantung Army soldiers.

Adding the Japanese divisions inside the Great Wall, the total strength approached 40,000 to 50,000, making it a formidable force.

That's why he was worried.

In response to Li Yunlong's question, Kong Jie smiled and said:

"I don't know if I can win."

"But the commander and headquarters have decided to fight, and as soldiers, our duty is to obey orders."

"Since the commander has made up his mind to fight, he must be confident."

"Look at all the battles the commander has fought, which one wasn't a resounding victory?"

"The title of 'Ever-Victorious General' is not just for show; it is a reputation earned through victory after victory."

Kong Jie took a sip of wine and then poured out his thoughts.

After hearing what Kong Jie said, Li Yunlong had a better understanding of the situation.

Thinking of Chen Ming, this living legend, I realized that his strategic vision and military prowess were unmatched by me.

Since the other side thinks they can win, they must be confident.

Li Yunlong knew his own limitations; he knew he was a fierce general who charged into battle, but he wasn't good at grand strategy.

He couldn't possibly understand the leaders' considerations, so he stopped asking.

The two continued chatting, from Kong Jie going to the rear for training to the current development of the military.

In other words, Li Yunlong was someone Kong Jie considered trustworthy. If anyone else had dared to ask these questions, Kong Jie would have arrested and interrogated them long ago.

Half a bottle of wine was drunk, and some peanuts were eaten as well.

When Li Yunlong tried to pour Kong Jie another drink, Kong Jie waved his hand.

"Old Li, you can't drink anymore. We are now military commanders, and we can't get drunk. Two or three ounces is enough."

"If I get drunk, I'll get scolded when I get home."

Kong Jie said with lingering fear.

Originally, there was only one Chen Ming who was strict in discipline, but after the chief of staff arrived, the discipline of the army became even more stringent.

He doesn't care what your position is; if you make a mistake, he won't care who you are when he gets angry.

Kong Jie had witnessed the Chief of Staff's temper firsthand during this period; he truly lived up to his nickname, "Living Thunder God."

Upon hearing Kong Jie's words, Li Yunlong trembled and stopped talking about continuing to drink.

Kong Jie was relatively honest and didn't make any mistakes, so he didn't experience much of the terror of the Chief of Staff. He only saw the Chief of Staff criticizing other officers.

As for Li Yunlong, ever since he was transferred to Baotou, he was caught by his chief of staff during an inspection last time and was severely scolded, almost getting himself locked up in solitary confinement.

Although the Independent Regiment was no longer part of Chen Ming's military system, after being transferred to Baotou, its command was temporarily transferred to the Jin-Sui-Re-Cha region.

Therefore, it is reasonable for the chief of staff to criticize Li Yunlong.

Even Li Yunlong, with his fearless nature, felt a little intimidated by the thought of his chief of staff.

Or rather, none of the officers in the entire independent detachment were unafraid of the chief of staff.

After they could no longer drink alcohol, Kong Jie and Li Yunlong munched on peanuts and continued chatting.

After they finished eating the peanuts, Li Yunlong suggested that they go and see the weapons and equipment that had been transported over.

Weapons and equipment were what Li Yunlong cared about most.

Kong Jie naturally agreed, and after Li Yunlong's regimental headquarters notified the officers of other units in Baotou, they went together to the train station to move weapons, ammunition, and supplies.

This batch of weapons could not possibly all belong to the Independent Regiment; there are more than just the Independent Regiment in Baotou.

After successfully distributing the weapons, Kong Jie did not linger and returned to his post by train the next day.

P.S.: I've put the specific changes in the comments section, and I've asked the operations manager to post them for me.

(End of this chapter)