Chapter 43 The Brigade Commander's Face

October 22, 1938, Headquarters of the Provisional 2nd Division in Qifeng County

"Brother Wang, I am truly at my wit's end, or I wouldn't be asking you this. Just provide the weapons, and you can have Old Li do whatever you want!" Hearing Wang Yue's words, Li Yunlong grew anxious. He had his eyes set on a Japanese ironworks in southern Yangquan and was just waiting for artillery to lead the way.

"You can have your brigade commander borrow weapons from my Provisional 2nd Division, and then have him personally send a telegram to *that person* to explain the situation. As long as the brigade commander dares to sign an I.O.U., anything under one hundred thousand silver dollars is completely fine." Wang Yue smiled. Li Yunlong certainly had no credit to speak of, but the brigade commander was different. Once the brigade commander's I.O.U. was delivered to the higher-ups, *that person* would have to find a way to honor it for him. No objections would be accepted.

"Which person?" Li Yunlong was bewildered. His own brigade commander was even poorer than he was; how did it sound like there was a wealthy friend who could guarantee things for him?

"The one the brigade commander used to carry on his back." Wang Yue smiled. He truly wasn't afraid that the Military Commission and the Ministry of War would renege on the debt. If they pushed him too far, he would simply publicly auction the I.O.U. Dealing with people who cared about their dignity was the easiest thing; what he feared were the shameless ones. Once a person abandoned all shame, there was no evil deed they wouldn't dare to commit.

"You mean him? Will that actually work? It's not like we've never applied for weapons before, and when have they ever been generous about it?" Li Yunlong clearly found it hard to believe.

"Just go back and ask. The brigade commander's prestige right here is worth a starting price of one hundred thousand silver dollars. If you want more, it's not out of the question. This time around, I purchased a massive quantity of weapons and ammunition from a 'foreign trading firm.' Arming the Provisional 2nd Division still leaves me with a surplus." Wang Yue smiled.

"Then, how much is Old Li's prestige worth? A starting price—yes, a starting price!" Li Yunlong felt a surge of eagerness. If the brigade commander was worth one hundred thousand, surely he, Li Yunlong, was worth at least ten thousand, right? He could surely manage to get a cheaper piece of artillery!

"Wula, tell He the Stingy to boil two taels of plain noodles, no oil, and go easy on the salt!" Wang Yue glanced at Li Yunlong, thought for a moment, and shouted toward the doorway.

"Brother Wang, you're going too far now. Old Li here is still a rather handsome fellow; aren't two taels of noodles a bit too shabby?" Li Yunlong gazed at Wang Yue with an extremely aggrieved look.

"Just joking, Old Li. Haven't we always been business partners? Go ahead and stir things up with absolute confidence. When the time comes, won't you get whatever you want if I let you have a few more good items?" Wang Yue was amused by Old Li as well. Our Great Regiment Commander Li really knew how to bend and stretch. If one didn't know about this fellow's scheme against Chu Yunfei, one might actually have been fooled by him.

"These Northeast Army prisoners are truly not something you can get every day. To round up these people, Old Li here had to promise out an awful lot of things. Coupled with feeding them and keeping horses and all sorts of miscellaneous expenses, I'm really not making any money. Breaking even would be a miracle!" Li Yunlong quickly entered his bitter-plight-pLEADING mode.

"There will always be some. There are many displaced compatriots from the Northeast in the North China region. It's fine if you can help me pull in some new recruits; isn't your brigade commander from an underground work background? He surely has channels like that." Wang Yue guided him step by step. A harsh land and poor waters breed stubborn people—there was still truth to that saying. They had been in Qifeng Town for over two months now, yet the work of re-registering the population and land was still incomplete. If you pushed them too far, they would dare to pick up gunpowder firearms and fight you to the death. Li Wula had arrested the ringleaders, but it was useless; once angered, they would drill deep into the mountains. You couldn't possibly drive all the common folk away, could you? With no people left, he wouldn't be able to run things in this impoverished and rugged place either.

"Progressive students might not work out, but ordinary young fellows... maybe I can wrangle some up. You really want them? If a traitor or spy happens to slip in among them, you aren't allowed to come looking to settle accounts later." Li Yunlong weighed the feasibility of the matter in his mind. The passenger flow at the Yangquan railway station was quite large, with passengers carrying Northeast accents coming and going every day. "Snatching" a few back really wasn't difficult. As for whether they were willing to stay, that had nothing to do with him, Li Yunlong.

He knew very well that this bunch in the Provisional 2nd Division loved nothing more than "conscripting soldiers" and "requisitioning grain." If you disagreed, mildly you were accused of sabotaging the War of Resistance; severely, you were summarily executed. Right near Laojun Temple, the local landlords whom his Brother Wang had personally hacked to death numbered at least three.

"You can't harm people, and you can't use force. They must be under 35 years of age and willing to accept the 'conscription order.'" Seeing Li Yunlong's eyes darting around wildly, Wang Yue knew this fellow was plotting something underhanded and quickly added a disclaimer. He was genuinely worried that Li Yunlong would pull some stunt; after all, Li Yunlong was quite "professional" in this regard.

"Rest assured, our Eighth Route Army has discipline. Old Li here definitely won't act recklessly, truly!" Li Yunlong patted his chest in assurance, though inwardly he felt rather lacking in confidence.

"Naturally, I trust you, Old Li. As long as they pass the recruit physical examination, it's still one rifle per person, guaranteed to shoot straight." Wang Yue saw through Li Yunlong's lack of confidence, but what of it? What he wanted was people. How could one survive in this era without men?

"Brother Wang, tell me, what on earth can the brigade commander's one hundred thousand silver dollars in prestige actually buy us?" Li Yunlong proactively changed the subject. Naturally, he had no idea what inventory of weapons Wang Yue held. He knew that the surroundings of Qifeng Town were all base areas, and they were aware of how many supplies entered and left. For the past two months or so, they hadn't discovered a single shipment of weapons and ammunition being brought in. Surely it couldn't really be arriving via airlift, even though the Provisional 2nd Division actually had a small airfield.

"I still have twelve Han-manufactured 57mm mountain guns in my possession. I can lend them to your brigade commander." Wang Yue smiled. A tube artillery piece for over eight thousand silver dollars was definitely a conscientious price. Jiangcheng indeed had rock-bottom-priced artillery, but the problem was you couldn't transport it over. Did he really think the Military Statistics Bureau's methods were a joke?

"An artillery regiment!" Li Yunlong bolted upright with a start. It wasn't that the Eighth Route Army lacked artillery—they actually had quite a bit—but the problem was they lacked systemization and were completely incapable of forming a numerical advantage. Twelve pieces of artillery could barely be considered an artillery regiment. One had to remember that current miscellaneous division- and brigade-level troops were relying on mortars just to keep up appearances; having four tube artillery pieces already qualified a unit as the main force.

"An artillery battalion. Given your brigade commander's standing, opening his mouth once has to yield at least an artillery battalion. Of course, if you want other things, I can figure something out—at worst, I'll have them airlifted directly from Jiangcheng." Wang Yue spouted nonsense while thinking to himself whether the brigade commander could "borrow" a bit more. This kind of trick could only be used once; use it too many times and it would lose its effect. That person at the Military Commission was not easy to fool.

"Right, right, right. Our brigade commander still needs to maintain his standing. When the time comes, we'll get a few dozen cannons, and assign four to every regiment." Li Yunlong laughed happily as he indulged in the daydream. This fellow's appetite was already growing somewhat beyond the firepower of a Hotchkiss five-barrel machine gun.