Chapter 7: The Changing World

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Coming back to his senses, Li Yunlong suddenly remembered that Xu Gaoxiang still owed him a mortar. He had been so happy earlier that he almost forgot.
“Hey, little brother, look, those little devils are about to sweep through here any moment now. Distant help won’t ease our immediate troubles. What about that mortar of ours...?”
Xu Gaoxiang was also quite pleased and waved his hand. “Don’t worry, Old Li. The mortar’s with my bodyguards. It’ll be delivered tomorrow!”
Hearing it would arrive tomorrow, Li Yunlong relaxed. “Generous as always, little brother. On behalf of everyone, thank you. With that mortar, those little devils won’t know what hit them!”
As Li Yunlong began to boast loudly, Xu Gaoxiang suddenly recalled the original plan. On Cangyun Ridge, Wang Chengzhu had bombarded the command post of the Sakata regiment, and Li Yunlong had chosen to break through head-on.
“I remember when Li Yunlong was breaking out, he stayed at the Sakata command post for a while. What about that commander's saber?”
Xu Gaoxiang suddenly realized that a Japanese commander's saber could also be a valuable trade item. Compared to ordinary knives, it likely held additional value. After all, to seize such a saber, one would have to engage in annihilation battles or conduct a daring raid on a command post like Li Yunlong did.
He figured the saber should be worth quite a few trade points and quickly reminded Li Yunlong.
“Speaking of fighting those devils, Old Li, do you happen to have a little devil’s command saber? Quite a few people on our side would be interested. If you do, little brother can negotiate—it could even be exchanged for silver dollars!”
Li Yunlong’s interest was piqued. “Oh? Such a good thing? That’s great!”
His eyes darting, Li Yunlong thought to himself, “I don’t have one at the moment, but the brigade commander seems to have two... I’ll have to find a way to snag them!”
Li Yunlong really was daring—he openly considered scheming against his own brigade commander.
If Xu Gaoxiang knew about Li Yunlong’s little plot involving the brigade commander, he would surely laugh to death. Having read the original storyline, he knew Li Yunlong was unwilling to obey anyone, but when it came to the brigade commander, he was like a mouse facing a cat.
But these were all mere musings. Li Yunlong dismissed the thoughts and decided to focus on what he could actually get his hands on.
“Little brother, enough chatting. I still don’t know what weapons you actually have on your side?”

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Hearing Li Yunlong’s question about what weapons he could provide, Xu Gaoxiang became eager to explain. He hadn’t expected to have so much to say.
“Hahaha, I’m not bragging, but my connections run pretty deep. To put it simply, from bullets and daggers to planes and warships—if the money’s right, I can get it for you!”
Li Yunlong naturally didn’t believe him. “Whoa, little brother, you’re more full of hot air than old Li here! Your boasting’s about to burst the sky.”
Shaking his head and smacking his lips, Li Yunlong looked utterly skeptical.
Xu Gaoxiang didn’t argue, only smiling mysteriously. Sooner or later, whether Li Yunlong believed it or not, good stuff was hard to come by, and he’d have to handle Li Yunlong carefully.
“Hehe, don’t underestimate me, little brother. To start, I can procure all types of rifles. Of course, we won’t talk about those from small workshops, just the mainstream rifles used by major countries. I have all of those in stock!”
Li Yunlong said nothing, squinting his eyes and watching Xu Gaoxiang closely, sending a clear message: “I’m waiting to see what you can do.”
“Hanyang Type 88 and the Type 38 rifle—you’re familiar with those, Old Brother, so I won’t say much. What about the Lee-Enfield rifle? Do you know it?”
Li Yunlong chuckled, “I’ve actually handled one. Back when the uprising happened, we ran into a squad of Indian troops from the concession. They surrendered without firing a shot. That’s the kind of rifle they had.”
“That rifle fires quickly, packs a punch, and has a large magazine capacity—great for suppressive fire. But its unique caliber means ammo is hard to find. Also, for our soldiers, the rifle’s too long and unwieldy.”
Li Yunlong spoke with ease. That rifle wasn’t suitable for him; it was only still useful down south where reinforcements were nearby.
Seeing Li Yunlong’s lack of interest in the Lee-Enfield, Xu Gaoxiang didn’t rush. After all, there was bound to be a rifle that caught his eye. In the system, weapons were categorized by type, not brand, and all weapons of the same category had a unified price.
“Looks like that rifle’s not to your taste, Old Brother. No worries. We also have a rival to that rifle, the Mauser 98K. It uses 7.92mm caliber bullets, with great power and accuracy, and an effective range of 800 meters.”
Xu Gaoxiang then began to introduce the Mauser rifle. Li Yunlong listened especially carefully. After all, even the Hanyang rifle was a copy of a German design, let alone Yan Laoxi’s Jinzhou-made weapons.
In fact, recently, their country had close ties to Germany in terms of weaponry, making German arms easier to handle. Old Chiang’s elite troops all used German weapons.

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Li Yunlong smacked his lips, thinking this rifle was quite good. First, it shared the same caliber as the Hanyang rifle, so the ammo was interchangeable. Second, its range was longer than the Type 38, and its power greater. It would probably be easy to master.
Seeing Li Yunlong clearly interested, Xu Gaoxiang prompted, “So, Old Li, you like this rifle?”
“Haha, not so fast. Little brother Xu, keep talking. Let this old Li broaden his horizons,” Li Yunlong laughed, not deciding immediately. Opportunities like this were rare; he had to learn more about other countries’ weapons. They might come in handy later.
Xu Gaoxiang smiled. “Alright, let’s continue. Next up is the big brother—the Mosin-Nagant. I’m sure you’re familiar with this old rifle!”
Li Yunlong smiled too. “That rifle’s sturdy and durable, but it’s too crude and not very user-friendly.”
“Next is the American rifle. They only recently adopted it—the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle!” As Xu Gaoxiang named the weapon, Li Yunlong’s attention was immediately caught by the new term.
“Wait, little brother Xu, what’s a semi-automatic rifle? Explain that to me in detail.”
True to form, Li Yunlong was highly sensitive to weapons.
Xu Gaoxiang explained, “As the name suggests, unlike fully automatic guns like machine guns and submachine guns that fire all bullets in a burst if you hold down the trigger, a semi-automatic rifle fires one bullet per trigger pull. Unlike bolt-action rifles, where you have to manually cycle the bolt each time, with semi-automatics, you only pull the bolt once until the magazine is empty.”
Li Yunlong immediately perked up and asked carefully about the rifle’s specifications. Soon, he realized this rifle was no ordinary piece.
Realizing its advantages, Li Yunlong excitedly slapped his thigh. “Hey! This rifle’s great. First, it’s definitely quick to master. Usually, soldiers have to train hard to operate the bolt smoothly, but this saves that time. Even novices can shoot at the rate of veterans!”
“The firepower’s fierce. Just one company could unleash the firepower of a whole battalion. On the front lines, if timed right, giving those little devils a taste of this would bring unexpected results!”
Li Yunlong was already plotting a new firepower system. It was clear he had made up his mind.