Chapter Seven: Gu Yufei Escapes Danger

June 24, 1938, early morning at Lao Jun Temple

The surgery that Veterinarian Hao couldn’t complete was actually not complicated. After a brief rest, Doctor Bai took only thirty minutes to extract the bullet, then performed debridement and suturing. However, he reserved judgment on Wang Yue’s practice of feeding “sulfanilamide” capsules to Gu Yufei right in front of him. In Doctor Bai’s view, such wounds should be carefully observed after blood transfusion; using sulfanilamide so soon was unwise due to its severe side effects.

Nonetheless, Doctor Bai was quite satisfied with the surgical environment and medical supplies here—at least much better than the Eighth Route Army’s headquarters hospital. They even had coffee during the operation, something unimaginable in the Nationalist forces under Japanese control, where conditions were supposed to be harsh.

After the surgery, Wang Yue arranged for Doctor Bai and his team to have meals and rest. Meanwhile, Li Yunlong finally got his long-desired two heavy machine guns—brand new, with rifling so sharp it was almost unreal. The copper water-cooling sleeves and flash suppressors gleamed like mirrors, and even the bullets on the ammo belts were all imported, pristine rounds.

When Li Yunlong saw the machine guns, his grin stretched nearly to his molars. Even though he was supposed to rest, he insisted on placing the two machine guns in the side hall where they would sleep. Staring at the shining guns, neither Li Yunlong, Zhang Dabiao, nor the soldiers who came with them could fall asleep.

“Too bad there’s only one ammo belt; that’s not nearly enough,” Zhang Dabiao said regretfully, looking at the single belt in the ammo box.

“That’s no problem. Just find some good canvas, and any coppersmith can make one,” Li Yunlong replied casually, holding the delicate ammo box. Canvas ammo belts were prone to damage and expensive, so the Eighth Route Army always solved this themselves. Zhang Dabiao was new and didn’t know much yet. Li Yunlong was already thinking about where to find a coppersmith who could even make paper-wrapped bullets. While waiting for Doctor Bai, he had tried those Dreyse rifles. Though their rate of fire was lacking, their accuracy, range, and power far surpassed the Hanyang rifles and old revolvers they carried. It wasn’t that the Dreyse rifles were advanced, but that the New First Regiment’s equipment was just too poor. Coupled with their black powder reloads, they simply couldn’t compete.

The seventy Dreyse rifles instantly elevated the New First Regiment’s combat capability. If you weren’t a veteran, you wouldn’t even get a share of them. With only 3-5 rounds per rifle in the New First Regiment, the impact of single-shot rifles wasn’t that significant.

“These heavy machine guns use so much copper, they’re worth way more than ordinary ones,” Zhang Dabiao said, stroking the smooth water-cooling sleeve thoughtfully. Copper was a strategic material. The Japanese Type 89 grenade launchers achieved longer range precisely because of the copper sealing rings. Even the entire Eighth Route Army arsenal might not have as much copper as what they held.

“We’ll have to paint them before we return—too shiny makes them easy to spot. You’re right, the water-cooling sleeve isn’t as sturdy as a steel one, but it’s easier to maintain,” Li Yunlong said happily after hearing Zhang Dabiao’s words.

“Commander, what was that Officer Wang whispering to you about just now?” Zhang Dabiao eyed Li Yunlong slyly. He was all too familiar with his commander’s smile when he got a good deal. Wang Yue and Li Yunlong had been chatting quietly, and Li Yunlong’s grin was impossible to hide.

“Brother Wang hopes Doctor Bai can stay for a month to help care for the wounded and train their volunteers. In exchange, they’ll give us ten brand-new heavy machine guns,” Li Yunlong whispered into Zhang Dabiao’s ear.

“Commander, I heard from the translator that Doctor Bai is supposed to go support Jin-Cha-Ji. Here, he’s just taking a breather,” Zhang Dabiao said, stunned by Li Yunlong’s audacity to trade a doctor for machine guns.

“That depends on how you look at it. A highly skilled intelligence agent from the Military Statistics Bureau, wounded and unconscious behind enemy lines, is surely in need of a doctor’s care. Isn’t it our duty to help allied forces who ventured deep in without a medic?” Li Yunlong said seriously.

“But didn’t headquarters say the logistics director of the 68th Division of the Jin-Sui Army is already wanted? Hardly an ally,” Zhang Dabiao whispered caution.

“There’s no certainty about the Jin-Sui Army. Who blames a logistics director for frontline defeats? Besides, this unit on Lao Jun Mountain doesn’t look like rebels or deserters at all. Honestly, I wish they were deserters!” Li Yunlong snorted. Just from what he’d seen, he was envious enough and even wondered what it would be like to absorb Wang Yue’s New First Regiment.

Of course, that was impossible. Wang Yue was a proper colonel, with money, medical supplies, guns, and food—no reason to join them. Plus, he probably had a second identity.

“The frontline is a mess, and internal strife never ends. Winning battles would be a miracle,” Zhang Dabiao sympathized, which was why he had joined the Eighth Route Army.

“Take the battle of Xiaoyi, where the still-replenishing 68th Division of the Jin-Sui Army was left alone to hold off Takagi’s detachment. Isn’t that a joke?” Li Yunlong nodded. Using three thousand Jin-Sui troops to stall over eight thousand elite enemy soldiers? Only the Second War Zone headquarters could pull that off.

“Commander, these two machine guns—can we assign them to our First Battalion?” Zhang Dabiao fiddled with the smooth mechanism of a Maxim gun, his heart brimming with joy. He’d seen many heavy machine guns, but none as smooth as this one. It looked less like a weapon and more like a piece of art.

What Zhang Dabiao didn’t know was that these machine guns were originally meant to be showcase pieces for the Royal Guard. The Royal Arsenal used the finest materials and craftsmen, without regard for cost, incomparable to the cost-performance balance sought by the MG08 machine guns.

“Keep dreaming. Supplying you with seventy rifles alone is enough to make others jealous. You want heavy machine guns too? I plan to form a machine gun and cannon company first. When more heavy machine guns arrive, I’ll distribute some to each battalion,” Li Yunlong rolled his eyes. He favored the First Battalion but had to be fair in appearance.

“Commander, you don’t think the brigade commander would be clueless about this, do you?” Zhang Dabiao grinned mischievously, dousing the enthusiasm with a cold splash.

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