Chapter 6: Old Li's Surprise
June 23, 1938, Morning, Headquarters of the New 1st Regiment, Xiaolizhuang
Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao were sitting under the shade of a large locust tree, bored, sipping on diluted sweet potato liquor—well, diluted sweet potato liquor. On the wooden table between them lay a plate of roasted cicadas. The early heat this year had brought an increase in cicadas, which naturally added a little extra to Old Li’s meal.
“Dabiao, shouldn’t we be doing something? Damn it, always drinking watered-down sweet potato liquor is tasteless,” Li Yunlong frowned deeply. The New 1st Regiment hadn’t fought in a week, which made him restless. After several rounds of reorganization, the regiment’s condition was truly poor. Out of more than six hundred soldiers, over two-thirds were new recruits. They had just over two hundred to nearly three hundred rifles, eleven light machine guns—one of which was a DP28 with no ammunition at all—and another Czech-style Daogu gun that could only fire single shots. The remaining nine light machine guns varied in caliber: 7.5mm, 7.9mm, 7.7mm, 6.5mm, and 8.0mm. Every time they tried to get ammunition, it was a nightmare.
The day before, when they went out for some side operations, why did they bring the most broken Chi-La-Li machine gun? Because it didn’t care about ammo type; it could use 7.9mm round-head bullets and even black powder reloaded cartridges.
But the problem was, there were hardly any suitable targets for side operations nowadays.
“Commander, the Japanese and puppet troops have all withdrawn. There are simply no scattered targets worth attacking,” Zhang Dabiao picked up a roasted cicada and chewed it vigorously. Though it wasn’t fried or salted, it still tasted delicious. Given the current state of the New 1st Regiment, even deploying a whole company for side operations could at most take on a Japanese squad or a puppet platoon, and it couldn’t be a tough assault.
“What about bandits? Any suitable targets?” Li Yunlong pursed his lips, still unwilling to give up.
“Don’t mention it. I don’t know which heartless bastard sold a lot of good Liao Type 13 rifles and mirror-surface box grenades to the bandits. Many villages’ firepower has been strengthened. To take action, we’d have to replenish reconnaissance first,” Zhang Dabiao said helplessly. The box grenades shouldn’t be underestimated—two well-maintained mirror-surface boxes set up cross fire on mountain paths, almost like light machine guns. A well-maintained Liao Type 13 rifle was far more accurate than other rifles. The reason these were looked down upon was because after losing the arsenal, the Northeast Army’s Liao Type 13 rifles were mostly old stock.
“Zhang Wan and that useless stuff—if the bandits can buy it, why can’t we? Look at the junk they supply us!” Li Yunlong frowned in displeasure, unable to help but complain, as if forgetting the joy he felt a few days ago when he forcibly and cunningly got five old revolvers from Zhang Wan.
“Report! An envoy from the 68th Division of the Jin-Sui Army is here!” At that moment, the guard Huzi ran over, loudly reporting.
“68th Division of Jin-Sui Army? How many? How did they come?” Li Yunlong was a bit confused by the unit number. He had heard it during the Xinkou Battle; it was a main force of the Jin-Sui Army. But this unit should be in southern Shanxi, so why had they come to Heyuan in northern Shanxi?
“Just one person, tall and strong, with a loud voice, coming by mule cart,” Huzi scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. Having been a guard for only a few days, he was clearly not very skilled.
“Then go meet him. Maybe it’s the Jin-Sui Army unit from yesterday,” Li Yunlong suddenly remembered something. His eyes lit up instantly; he clearly recalled the well-equipped Jin-Sui troops from the previous day.
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Soon, Li Yunlong saw the “envoy from the 68th Division of the Jin-Sui Army”—wearing a simple undershirt, hemp shorts, straw sandals, and a faded white towel wrapped around his head. If not for his towering stature, he would have looked like a local mountain villager.
“Greetings, Commander. Logistics Officer Zhang Milong of the 68th Division of the Jin-Sui Army salutes you!” Milong came before Li Yunlong under Huzi’s guidance and snapped to attention.
Although Gu Yufei had regained consciousness, her situation was dire. The bullet lodged in her arm was right behind an artery, pressed against the bone. Veterinarian Hao couldn’t remove it. Without extraction, Gu Yufei wouldn’t last long. In fact, she was currently holding on thanks only to the penicillin brought by Ding Bu’er. Milong had come to find a doctor capable of performing surgery.
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“Comrade Zhang Milong, greetings. Your unit is supposed to be in southern Shanxi, so why have you suddenly come to Heyuan County?” Li Yunlong studied Milong, noting his broad shoulders and faint old scars, with calloused hands. This guy had definitely been a competent machine gunner before. But how did a machine gunner become an envoy? Was the Jin-Sui Army really this casual now?
“It’s classified. Please understand, Commander. I have a request this time,” Milong spoke smoothly. Frankly, these guys were just deserters. This matter was out in the open now. This time, their commander had gone to great lengths to rescue two military intelligence agents to clear their identities. Although the commander didn’t say it outright, the men all guessed.
Wang Yue: Can I just say I was attracted by the pretty young lady?
“Oh? A request? Zhang brother, you must have noticed, Old Li’s New 1st Regiment is very poor. The heavy firepower of one regiment probably can’t match your platoon,” Li Yunlong smiled, pretending to be troubled, but actually hinting that he had seen their actions the day before and believed their scouts had reported encounters with the Eighth Route Army.
“Commander, our commander is willing to offer seventy new rifles if your regiment’s military doctor can come perform surgery. If you help with the arrangements, these seventy rifles will be yours. If the doctor comes, we’llI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.