Chapter 15: The Equipment of an Ace Division of the Eagle Empire
Li Yunlong froze completely!
Satisfied?
Hell, this is more than satisfied!
His mind was like a boiling pot!
The crooked-stock rifle was good, but that thing was dead heavy!
A huge iron lump weighing over twenty pounds, it took several strong young men to take turns carrying it on a march!
Not to mention charging forward while holding the crooked-stock rifle!
With a twenty-pound iron rod, after just a few steps, you’d be exhausted and collapse.
But this gun in front of him was light as a feather, even handier than the Type 38 rifle!
Not to mention strong young men—half-grown boys or even women could hold it and charge forward with a roar!
What was even more terrifying was its magazine capacity—an astonishing seventy-one rounds!
That was twice the crooked-stock rifle!
Instantly, a vivid image flashed through Li Yunlong’s mind: hundreds of soldiers holding these weapons, charging toward the enemy lines like fierce tigers descending the mountain!
In such a scene, the enemy wouldn’t even have time to pull their bolt before being riddled like a sieve!
“Hahaha! Good, good, good! Brother Lin, this surprise really hits straight to old Li’s heart!” Li Yunlong laughed so heartily that his eyes nearly disappeared, carefully accepting the PPSh-41 from Lin Ran as if it were his own child, his rough hands caressing the cold gun body, unable to let go!
At that moment, a young soldier nearby glanced at the bare barrel and muttered softly, “This gun… it’s good, but… it can’t mount a bayonet, can it?”
Upon hearing this, the soldiers suddenly realized it was true—the oddly shaped gun came without a bayonet!
Without a bayonet, what about close combat?
Li Yunlong’s eyes bulged as he was about to curse, “What nonsense!”
But Lin Ran smiled and waved his hand casually, unfazed.
“I just said, this is called a submachine gun! As the name implies, it’s for charging.”
He held the gun and struck a swift charging pose. “Think about it: when you hold this, rushing at the enemy like a gale, seventy-one bullets raining down like a storm—how many enemies can still stand before your magazine runs dry?”
Then Lin Ran uttered a few famous lines:
“With a submachine gun, who still bothers with bayonet charges!”
“Remember: beyond seven steps, the gun is fast; within seven steps, the gun is fast and accurate!”
“On the battlefield, there’s no problem that a single magazine can’t solve! And if there is—”
Lin Ran sharply pulled the bolt, producing a crisp “click,” his eyes flashing cold light:
“Then just give him another magazine!”
Lin Ran’s words were like a splash of cold water, awakening all the soldiers instantly!
Right!
Bayonet charges were a last resort!
The Type 38 rifle fired a shot and then a bolt had to be cycled—when the enemy charged up close, there was no time for a second shot!
But this was a machine gun, no bolt cycling needed, just continuous firing.
Once they understood this, the soldiers’ doubts instantly turned into wild joy!
One by one, they grinned like it was New Year’s!
This thing was leagues better than the enemy’s crooked-stock rifle!
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Li Yunlong trembled with excitement!
He understood more clearly than any ordinary soldier!
The arrival of this gun would completely change the rules of close combat and assault!
It was revolutionary!
“Brother Lin!” Li Yunlong’s voice quivered, “You… you’ve really given old Li a mountain of gold! I… I don’t even know how to thank you!”
Lin Ran smiled calmly, as if he had only given a small gift.
“Not at all.”
He turned to the guard company commander. “Comrade, please open the long box on the right side of the truck. There’s another heavy weapon inside—bring it out.”
Li Yunlong’s eyes instantly widened. “What?! There’s… more?!”
“What, Commander Li doesn’t want it?” Lin Ran teased him.
“Want! Want, want, want!” Li Yunlong nodded vigorously, shouting in excitement, “Brother Lin, even if you bring the gates of hell, old Li will take it all!”
Meanwhile, the guard company commander, following Lin Ran’s instructions, took out an MG42 general-purpose machine gun from the box.
This gun’s weight was about the same as the crooked-stock rifle, over twenty pounds.
“Mr. Lin, this gun… it’s really heavy! Be careful!” the commander warned.
Li Yunlong’s eyes bulged again. “Zhang Dabiao! What are you standing there for? Go! Don’t bother Brother Lin to do it himself!”
“Yes, sir!”
Zhang Dabiao stepped forward and took the MG42 from the commander.
Li Yunlong rubbed his hands eagerly, looking expectantly at Lin Ran. “Brother Lin, tell old Li—what kind of miracle is this?”
“Ahem,” Lin Ran cleared his throat and began his lesson.
“This gun is called a general-purpose machine gun. Its genius lies in the two words: ‘general-purpose’.”
“It can be as light and handy as the crooked-stock rifle, fed by magazines, carried and run with by two or three men.”
“It can also be as powerful as the Type 92, mounted on a tripod with a belt, forming a strong fire position.”
“In simple terms, it’s a combination of the crooked-stock rifle and the Type 92!”
“It weighs about the same as the crooked-stock rifle but delivers firepower fully comparable to the Type 92, or even stronger!”
After hearing this, Li Yunlong felt a surge of blood rushing to his head!
“My heavens!”
The weight of a light machine gun, firepower of a heavy machine gun—this…
Remember, the Type 92 heavy machine gun weighed 53 kilograms, over a hundred pounds, requiring a squad of soldiers to operate.
That meant a squad could only build one heavy fire position.
But this gun? Two or three men could manage it!
A squad could set up four or five heavy fire positions!
“Brother Lin, brother Lin—I really don’t know what to say!” Li Yunlong was so excited he was incoherent, clutching Lin Ran’s hand, his eyes moist.
The weapons Lin Ran had brought completely exceeded his expectations, or rather, his understanding!
With these weapons on the battlefield, they would absolutely dominate.
What? You want to bayonet charge me? I’ll just mow you down!
What? Your squad builds only one machine gun position? I’ll build five!
Seeing Li Yunlong nearly swoon from excitement, Lin Ran shook his head helplessly.
“All right, Commander Li, calm down first. Quickly, gather all the brothers in the regiment and come with me to haul supplies.”
“Huh?” Li Yunlong was still stunned by the general-purpose machine gun, his mind spinning.
He pointed at the truck. “Brother Lin, isn’t all the stuff already here?”
Lin Ran shook his head. “This is just a small part. Most of the supplies I had stored five kilometers away. Didn’t you ask me to buy food? I bought quite a lot.”
Li Yunlong’s eyes lit up. “Zhang Dabiao! First Battalion, assemble! Follow Mr. Lin! Bring all the food!”
Lin Ran sneered slightly. “Commander Li, one battalion might not be enough.”
Li Yunlong was taken aback. “Then… two battalions?”
Lin Ran still shook his head, his calm tone like a thunderclap:
“I suggest the whole regiment mobilize, and if possible, also get the villagers involved.”
Boom!
Li Yunlong felt his mind explode again!
Mobilize the entire village?! How much stuff would that be?!
“Brother, brother Lin!” His voice changed pitch. “How… how much ‘good stuff’ did you actually bring?”
Lin Ran counted on his fingers like listing dishes, spitting out a string of numbers that made Li Yunlong’s heart skip a beat:
“Two thousand submachine guns, five hundred general-purpose machine guns, two hundred mortars, fifty 75mm mountain guns, and twenty 105mm howitzers.”
“As for food: fifty tons of rice, fifty tons of flour, fifty tons of pork, fifty tons of cabbage, fifty tons of vermicelli, fifty tons of potatoes, and five thousand sets of cotton-padded uniforms.”
“That’s about it.”
Lin Ran seemed to recall something and added apologetically:
“Time was tight, so just this much. Next time, I’ll bring more.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
After hearing Lin Ran’s words, Li Yunlong and the soldiers of the newly formed first regiment felt their legs trembling.
Fifty mountain guns?
Twenty 105mm howitzers?
Hundreds of tons of food?
Thousands of cotton uniforms?!
Who exactly was this man in front of them?
A deity descended from the heavens? The reincarnation of the god of wealth?
Lin Ran waved his hand in front of Li Yunlong’s eyes. “Commander Li? Snap out of it!”
“Let’s move quickly. Before dawn, we have to transfer all the food here.”
“If the little devils find it at first light, they might just bomb everything to smithereens.”
Li Yunlong snapped back to reality with a shiver, breaking out in cold sweat. “Right, right! Move! Move immediately!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs, voice hoarse: “Zhang Dabiao! Quick! Entire regiment assemble! Mobilize all the villagers! Take all the tools you can!”
These were his lifeline now; he couldn’t let the enemy destroy them.
Then, Li Yunlong showed a troubled look. “But Brother Lin, so much stuff— even with the whole regiment and all the villagers, we can’t move it all in one night!”
Lin Ran smiled faintly.
“No worries, I also brought twenty trucks.”
Li Yunlong: ...