Chapter 16: Li Yunlong Was Also Getting Better

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Lin Ran had done the calculations. The military trucks each had a load capacity of three tons, and with twenty trucks, that meant a transport capacity of sixty tons. Seven or eight trips would be enough to haul all the supplies back.

“By the way, Captain Li,” Lin Ran looked at Li Yunlong, who was still grinning foolishly, “do we have any brothers in the New First Regiment who can drive?”

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” Li Yunlong snapped back to reality, nodding his head eagerly like a little chick pecking grain. “I remember there are a few treasures in the regiment who used to serve in Old Yan’s motorized company!”

“That’s good. Have them come with me.”

...

It was ten o’clock in the morning at the New First Regiment’s headquarters.

The charcoal brazier inside the room dispelled some of the chill.

“Come, come! Brother Lin! Hurry and have a drink to warm yourself!” Li Yunlong personally held out a large coarse ceramic bowl, filling it to the brim with his homemade local spirit.

“You worked hard all night, brother!”

After a tense night of transporting, all the supplies had been safely relocated and hidden deep in a secret mountain hollow.

Thinking of the mountain of food and the dozens of 75mm guns and 105mm howitzers, Li Yunlong hadn’t stopped grinning all night, walking with a swagger!

He couldn’t calculate exactly how valuable these supplies were, but he knew that even selling the entire New First Regiment along with the brigade commander wouldn’t have gotten this much.

“Tsk,” Lin Ran took the bowl, sipping a mouthful. A warm wave slid down his throat, chasing away some of the cold.

“I meant to bring you some good wine last time, but things got busy and I forgot.”

“Hey! What’s the use of saying that!” Li Yunlong waved his hand grandly, full of spirit. “Old Li drinks whatever—coarse grain spirits will do, as long as it hits the spot!”

“Right now, what’s worrying Old Li is how to repay such a great favor, Brother Lin!”

Just as he finished speaking, Zhang Dabiao came in with several soldiers, puffing as they carried in two heavy boxes.

“Bang!” The boxes hit the ground.

Li Yunlong gave a signal, and Zhang Dabiao quickly flipped open the lids to reveal stacks of gleaming silver dollars inside.

“Brother Lin!” Li Yunlong pointed at the silver coins, his tone resolute, “Don’t refuse, and don’t think it’s too little! This is all Old Li could scrape together right now!”

“Actually, it’s thanks to you! All this was taken from those bastards at Black Wind Gorge! More than eighteen thousand silver dollars!”

Li Yunlong knew well that last time’s haul of over ten thousand silver dollars wouldn’t have been enough to buy so much food.

Not to mention, fifty tons of polished rice alone would cost more than ten thousand silver dollars.

Lin Ran’s gaze swept over the two boxes, and he nodded without any fuss about pushing it back and forth.

More good things could come next time.

But after some thought, Lin Ran said, “Captain Li, next time could we exchange the silver dollars for gold or perhaps antique calligraphy and paintings?”

Silver dollars were good, but if you had too many, their value diminished.

Besides, they were troublesome to handle.

Gold was different—the real world was at a peak for gold right now.

Though Li Yunlong didn’t understand why Lin Ran preferred these items, he was quick-witted and immediately slapped his chest, saying, “Done! Brother, rest assured! Next time we capture more, Old Li won’t care about saving face—I’ll get you those shiny gold bars!”

Lin Ran nodded in satisfaction, setting down the cup, his expression turning serious. “Captain Li, although these weapons are a gift to you, my condition remains the same: kill the devils!”

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“The more devils you kill, the more puppet troops you wipe out, the more and better ‘good things’ I can get for you!”

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong sprang to his feet, all traces of laughter gone, replaced by utmost solemnity and the excitement of having found a kindred spirit:

“Brother Lin! Old Li finally understands! You are a true patriot standing tall, a thousand times better than those scoundrel landlords in the city who only care about hoarding money in their silk robes!”

“Those sons of bitches only know how to profit from national disasters, drinking the blood of soldiers!” He spat fiercely. “If there were more men like you, those little devils would have long gone back to their homeland in the East!”

Lin Ran smiled, “Don’t worry, that day will come.”

“And it won’t be too far off!”

“Hahaha! Good! Thanks for your blessing, brother!” Li Yunlong laughed heartily, full of spirit. “With these weapons you’ve sent, I dare say the liberation of Shanxi Province is just around the corner!”

Li Yunlong knew clearly he couldn’t hoard all these weapons himself—not even he could handle the twenty 105mm howitzers.

Only by entrusting these weapons to the right people could they achieve their maximum effect.

Of course, the prerequisite was that his New First Regiment was well-fed.

Li Yunlong had already formulated plans: every soldier would have one of those submachine guns, each battalion would get an artillery company, and each company would have a machine gun squad.

With that general-purpose machine gun, a machine gun squad could set up five machine gun positions, providing ample firepower.

He also planned to form an artillery battalion.

The rest would be handed over to the brigade commander.

Li Yunlong was about to share his ideas with Lin Ran, but Lin Ran’s head began to ache.

He knew nothing about military matters and would never make the mistake of an amateur commanding professionals.

“Stop, stop! Captain Li, I’m only responsible for supplying the materials. How you use them and distribute them is up to you experts. I won’t interfere—I fully respect your professional judgment!”

Hearing this, Old Li was nearly moved to tears!

Look at that resolve! That trust!

“The other weapons and equipment, I think it’s better to hand them over to the higher-ups—brigade and division commanders—to allocate so they can be used to their full potential.”

Li Yunlong thought it necessary to notify Lin Ran, since the sponsor was the other party, and respect was mutual.

Lin Ran nodded in understanding.

Stacking the equipment of almost a top American ace division in a single regiment was wasteful.

“Hand them over, but I’ll say it again: kill the devils! Kill them hard!”

“Don’t worry about that!” Li Yunlong pounded his chest. “Killing devils is the duty of the Eighth Route Army! It’s a blood feud etched in our bones! We’re bound to do it!”

Lin Ran waved his hand, “Captain Li, it’s not that I doubt you will fight the devils.”

He was concerned about the system binding and merit settlement.

After all, he had only reached cooperation with Li Yunlong, and the system was bound only to the New First Regiment.

Li Yunlong read his expression and saw Lin Ran’s furrowed brow. He quickly thought and said,

“Brother Lin, if you’re still uneasy... Old Li will put his face on the line and get the higher-ups to write you a note. In black and white, spelling out our cooperation: you provide the weapons, we kill devils!”

Lin Ran’s eyes lit up.

That was acceptable!

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“Clearing my throat,” he said, “it’d be best if your deputy commander writes it.”

“Good! No problem! Leave it to Old Li!” Li Yunlong pounded his chest.

He was perfectly clear in his mind: if the deputy commander knew that writing a few words could bring in a mountain of gold and silver equipment, he’d be the most diligent writer ever! Whatever amount needed, no problem!

“Brother, do you have any other requests? Just say it!”

With the supplies Lin Ran had sent, as long as the requests weren’t excessive, the higher-ups would agree.

Lin Ran’s eyes flickered as he thought—actually, there was a small favor he wanted to ask.

Now that Captain Li mentioned it... I do have a little help I’d like to request.

“Brother, just say it! I’d go through fire and water for you. If Old Li frowns, he’s no hero!”

Lin Ran nodded and organized his words carefully: “It’s like this. My family has an ancestral old residence in the capital, passed down through generations. It’s quite old. Now… some unrelated people have taken it over.”

When Li Yunlong heard “capital,” his face paled. His previous bravado instantly turned sour.

“Oh dear! Brother Lin!” He wrung his hands anxiously. “The capital? That’s the stronghold of the Japanese North China Army! Heavily guarded! Our New First Regiment... even if we filled the whole regiment with brothers, we wouldn’t get near the city walls!”

Li Yunlong could be brash, but he wasn’t so reckless as to want to attack the capital itself.

Lin Ran was amused by his reaction and quickly waved his hand. “Captain Li, you misunderstood! I’m not asking you to attack the capital or seize the house!”

“Then... what do you mean, brother?” Li Yunlong relaxed and asked, puzzled.

Lin Ran’s expression darkened as if struck by a thought. “I want to… ask you to help me prove something. Prove that the property has belonged to the Lin family since ancient times.”

Li Yunlong breathed a sigh of relief; he really was worried Lin Ran wanted them to attack the capital.

“That’s easy, Brother Lin. You say how to prove it.”

Lin Ran’s mouth curved slightly as he said slowly, “Could your political department’s deputy director help write a note? Something like, ‘This is to certify that the courtyard house at XX Street, XX number in the capital, is the lawful ancestral property of patriotic merchant Mr. Lin Jingxuan. This is hereby certified.’”

The small courtyard where he lived now was actually a later replacement for their family.

The Lin family once owned an even larger courtyard in the capital, but afterwards... better left unsaid.

Of course, Lin Ran had never seen it himself but had heard stories from his grandfather since childhood.

That old house was both a knot in his grandfather’s heart and a regret.

Though Li Yunlong still didn’t fully understand how a mere “note” could reclaim a seized residence, he chose to trust Lin Ran unconditionally.

With the equipment Lin Ran had sent, buying half of the capital’s houses would be easy!

There was no need for Lin Ran to lie over a mere house!

“Don’t worry, leave it to Old Li!” Li Yunlong pounded his chest again as if to shake mountains.

Lin Ran smiled.

With that note from the deputy, he was confident the old house would be recovered...