Chapter 24: The Vice President Is Stunned! Headquarters Rocked!

The air in the command headquarters was stagnant. Every gaze was locked onto the Brigade Commander.

"What great victory?"

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief strode over in three steps, his eyes burning with intensity.

The Brigade Commander took a deep breath. "Deputy Commander, a great victory at Guaizigou!"

"Li Yunlong led the New First Regiment, in coordination with local county detachments, squads, militia, and reserves, and completely annihilated the Sato Brigade at Guaizigou!"

"In this battle, we wiped out over eleven thousand enemies!"

"And our New First Regiment suffered only eighteen casualties!"

Boom!

The Brigade Commander’s words were like a heavy bomb detonated within the headquarters.

"Clatter!" Someone accidentally dropped their enamel mug.

Even seasoned commanders like the Deputy Commander-in-Chief and the Division Commander, men who had waded through mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, felt as if they had been struck by lightning, their bodies swaying violently.

The Division Commander snapped his head up, staring at his prized subordinate. "Is this... true?"

The Brigade Commander met the Division Commander's gaze, chest puffed out, and spoke with ironclad certainty: "I stake my life on it—there is not a word of falsehood!"

"Hoo—!"

A chorus of ragged, irrepressible gasps filled the headquarters. Everyone felt their hearts pounding frantically in their chests, threatening to leap out.

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief forced himself to suppress his surging emotions and asked urgently, "Quick! Tell us in detail! How... how on earth did you do it?"

"It was that Mr. Lin!"

The Brigade Commander grabbed a large tea mug from the table, gulped down two mouthfuls, and continued: "We owe this earth-shattering result to the weapons Mr. Lin sent."

The Division Commander frowned. "Didn't you take away most of the weapons last time? Even if your 386th Brigade went all out, you shouldn't have been able to achieve such a terrifying record."

Although the heavy firepower Mr. Lin sent last time—enough for an entire division—was indeed formidable, it was only enough to go toe-to-toe with the 29th Brigade. Repelling them was possible, but total annihilation? That was difficult. Even if it were eleven thousand pigs, slaughtering them all would be no simple task.

The Brigade Commander caught his breath and continued: "That’s right, I took most of the weapons last time, but Mr. Lin sent another massive shipment of arms and equipment last night!"

"Among them were twenty 105mm howitzers!"

"What?"

A collective gasp and murmurs of disbelief swept through the room.

Twenty 105mm howitzers? My god! Who exactly is this man?

"That’s not all!" the Brigade Commander added. "Mr. Lin sent 2,000 submachine guns, 500 general-purpose machine guns, 200 mortars, and 50 75mm mountain guns!"

"On top of that... there were three hundred tons of food! Fifty tons of it was pork alone!!!"

Boom!

This astronomical inventory was like a thunderclap from the heavens, completely numbing everyone in the headquarters.

The Deputy Commander was stunned, the Division Commander was stunned—everyone was stunned.

Suddenly, the Chief of Staff seemed to recall something and grabbed the Brigade Commander's arm. "You just said... submachine guns??"

"The kind that weighs about the same as a standard rifle but has the firepower of a machine gun, without needing to work a bolt—the kind that fires automatically?"

The Brigade Commander felt the immense strength in the grip on his arm and nodded vigorously. "Yes! That’s the one! It has more firepower than a Type 11 light machine gun, but weighs about the same as a Type 38 rifle. You can just pick it up and charge!"

The Chief of Staff’s eyes shone with terrifying intensity. He pressed on, his voice trembling: "And... what about the general-purpose machine guns?! What are those?"

The Brigade Commander explained rapidly: "General-purpose! Their brilliance lies in that word—'general-purpose'! They can serve as both light and heavy machine guns!"

"They weigh about the same as a Type 11, so one or two men can carry them on the move! Set it up on a tripod, and its firepower is even fiercer than a Type 92 heavy machine gun!"

"Hiss—"

Everyone present was a veteran of countless battles; they instantly grasped what these two weapons meant.

Submachine guns—meat grinders for close-quarters combat! While the enemy is still working their bolts, we are right in their faces.

General-purpose machine guns—mobile pillars of fire! They can establish devastating crossfire nets anytime, anywhere, turning Japanese infantry charges into suicide!

This was a dimension-crushing strike that completely upended the rules of the battlefield!

Silence.

The headquarters fell into a deathly silence, broken only by heavy breathing. After a full ten seconds, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief finally regained his composure.

"So... you used these... miraculous weapons to wrap the Sato Brigade in a dumpling?"

The Brigade Commander smiled. His expression was filled with the exhilaration of vindication and a touch of slyness.

Seeing this, the Division Commander chuckled, too. He patted the Brigade Commander’s shoulder hard. "Haha, if I’m not mistaken, you used those twenty howitzers to blast Sato half to death, and then Li Yunlong led the New First Regiment in with the submachine guns to finish the job, right?"

The Brigade Commander laughed heartily and nodded vigorously. "The Division Commander knows me well!"

The Division Commander smiled. If it were him, without time to mobilize reinforcements, he would likely have done the same.

The other senior officers nodded as well. There wasn't a single person in that room who lacked military expertise. They had understood the strategy in an instant and had even run through the simulation in their minds several times over.

It had to be said—that was a beautiful battle!

"386th Brigade, New First Regiment—well done!" the Deputy Commander offered a rare word of praise.

At this moment, the Deputy Director of the Political Department chimed in: "Heh, 'well done' is an understatement. Ten thousand enemies killed, eighteen lost—this is a victory that will echo through history!"

"We can certainly make a big deal out of this!"

The Deputy Commander nodded. "Exactly! Let those capitulators see for themselves—who said we can't beat the Japanese?"

"They only rely on their advantage in weaponry. As long as we have the gear—the hard-hitting gear—we can still smash them to pieces!"

"Exactly, send this news to the rear immediately and have the newspapers write it up!"

"Yes, let the people in the rear celebrate, too!"

Everyone chimed in, and the atmosphere in the command room suddenly became lighthearted. Whether for the sake of the National United Front or the Eighth Route Army, this battle was a massive morale boost!

Seeing everyone laughing, the Deputy Commander couldn't help but pour a bit of cold water on the mood. "Don't get too happy yet! The Japanese lost over ten thousand men this time; that fellow Shinozuka certainly won't let it slide."

"Notify all units to enter the highest state of alert! Guard strictly against a desperate Japanese counterattack!"

"Yes!"

The expressions of those present tightened. The excitement subsided, replaced by an even higher level of combat readiness.

At that moment, the Brigade Commander seemed to recall something. A subtle smile appeared on his face as he looked at the Deputy Commander-in-Chief.

"Deputy Commander, there is one more thing... Mr. Lin did have conditions for providing this weaponry."

"Oh?"

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued. Since he had provided billions in supplies, he was now curious as to what conditions this mysterious wealthy merchant would demand.

"Tell me, what are his conditions? As long as it isn't excessive, we will exert the strength of our entire army to meet Mr. Lin’s requirements!"

The Brigade Commander cleared his throat and said, "Actually, it’s not much of a condition—he just wants us to keep fighting the Japanese!"

"However, perhaps Mr. Lin isn't quite familiar with us yet, or... he has some concerns. He hopes that you, Deputy Commander, could write a note in your own hand, in black and white, to serve as a guarantee so he can rest easy."

When the Deputy Commander-in-Chief heard this, he was stunned for a moment, then nodded emphatically, his face showing understanding and even appreciation.

"It is only right! Absolutely right! When someone shows such sincerity, it is only proper that we provide a written guarantee!"

He didn't fear demands; he only feared when there were no demands at all. Reciprocity was the key to a long-lasting relationship.

The Deputy Commander added, "Aside from this, does Mr. Lin... have any other requests?"

The Brigade Commander’s smile deepened. "Now that you mention it, Mr. Lin does have a small favor he would like to ask of us."

The Deputy Commander waved his hand.

"Speak!"