Chapter 27: The Reinforced Company and the Little Classroom

With a guaranteed source of weapons and ammunition, Li Yunlong felt emboldened and decided to use M1 Garand rifles for the qualification trials.

Each soldier was allowed four shots. Whether standing, kneeling, or prone, all that mattered was landing three shots within a palm-sized circle on a half-human-sized target from a hundred meters away. That was the threshold for joining the reinforced company. As for the machine gunners, the selection was simpler; the strength of every gunner in the regiment was already well-known to Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao.

By the end of the morning, the soldiers needed for the reinforced company had been chosen. With the addition of Wang Chengzhu’s mortar squad, the lineup was complete.

Li Yunlong, however, gave the other soldiers some peace of mind, though he couldn't resist a bit of provocation first: "Don't sit there grumbling at heaven and earth. If you didn't make it into the reinforced company and didn't get any pork, it’s because you lack the skill!"

"Listen here, I’ll say it again: as long as you can kill the Japanese devils, there will be pork to eat. I, Li Yunlong, may not have many talents, but scrounging up a few guns is no problem at all! I hope that next time, the whole regiment can feast on pork!"

"Dismissed! Officers of all battalions, companies, and platoons, stay behind!"

With a wave of Li Yunlong’s hand, the soldiers of the New First Regiment left in high spirits. The remaining officers then organized the chosen soldiers, and the distribution of weapons began.

"Forty rounds of rifle ammunition per man, one thousand rounds per machine gun!"

The reinforced company abolished the platoon structure, instead organizing into six infantry squads, one heavy machine gun squad, one reconnaissance squad, one logistics and transport squad, and one artillery squad. Each infantry squad consisted of twelve men: ten riflemen and one two-man MG-42 machine gun team. The heavy machine gun squad had eighteen men, including a squad leader and deputy, four three-man MG-42 teams, and a four-man logistics support group. The reconnaissance squad had twelve men, each armed with a rifle. The logistics and transport squad had twelve men, each with a rifle and four mules. The artillery squad, currently eight men strong, was equipped with one M2 81mm mortar and one 60mm mortar. With the company commander and the political instructor, the entire reinforced company totaled 124 men.

As they took hold of their gear, the soldiers caressed their weapons with delight. The quick-witted Zhang Dabiao immediately set his sights on the twelve surplus Garand rifles.

"Regimental Commander, look, my First Battalion contributed the most men. Our combat effectiveness has taken a real hit. If my battalion falls behind later and causes trouble for the New First Regiment, we’ll be hard-pressed to bear the blame!"

"You really should look after our First Battalion a bit more!"

Zhang Dabiao was a master of Li Yunlong’s own "playing the victim" technique, pulling at heartstrings with an expression that said, "I’m looking out for the whole regiment, I feel wronged, and I’ll leave it to you to decide."

"Haha!" Li Yunlong burst into laughter. It was rare to see Zhang Dabiao pull such a face!

"Alright, alright. You're a grown man, why are you acting so delicate? Take them, take them, they’re all yours, First Battalion!"

Zhang Dabiao’s expression shifted from cloudy to sunny in an instant, his face breaking into a wide grin. The commanders of the Second and Third Battalions were left stunned. Since the Commander had already promised them to Zhang Dabiao, there was no chance of getting them back.

"You, Zhang Dabiao! You..." What else could they say? When it came to thick-skinned tactics, they knew they weren't his match, so they accepted their defeat.

Seeing that everyone had finished marveling at their new weapons, Li Yunlong pulled over Xu Gaoxiang, who had been watching from the sidelines.

"Brother, it's your turn!" Li Yunlong announced loudly.

"Pay attention, all of you! See this man beside me? He is a good brother of mine!"

"The pork you ate, and the guns in your hands, were all brought by my brother!"

Li Yunlong gave everyone a moment to acknowledge him, and Xu Gaoxiang introduced himself.

"Greetings, soldiers. I am Xu Gaoxiang, from Nanyang. We are all part of the resistance against Japan, and I have merely provided a small, insignificant contribution."

"Hahaha, my brother is just too modest!" Li Yunlong clapped Xu Gaoxiang on the shoulder. The soldiers of the reinforced company let out warm laughter, welcoming him gladly.

"Alright, I asked Brother Xu here to help you get to know the guns in your hands. Listen carefully and watch closely! If anyone fails to learn, watch out—I'll slap the sense into you!"

Li Yunlong handed the floor to Xu Gaoxiang and stood to the side, watching intently. Xu Gaoxiang, well-prepared, walked to the wooden table, picked up a Garand, and began to methodically disassemble it, explaining each part as he held it up for everyone to see. Soon, the rifle was broken down into components, neatly arranged on the table.

Next, he explained the maintenance and care of the rifles, along with key points and precautions for firing. The soldiers listened with rapt attention, hungrily absorbing the knowledge. Then, he did the same for the MG-42 general-purpose machine gun.

"Thanks to its high rate of fire, precision, and long range, this machine gun is best suited for long bursts," Xu Gaoxiang explained. "An elite gunner can concentrate the impact zone onto a single plane. With continuous fire, a single machine gun can perfectly suppress an entire infantry squad."

Xu Gaoxiang spoke in detail, tirelessly sharing all he knew. He answered the soldiers' questions as they came, and occasionally Li Yunlong would chime in with a question of his own. By the end, after Xu Gaoxiang had several soldiers practice the disassembly and maintenance themselves, the session concluded.

By late afternoon, with Li Yunlong seeing them off, Xu Gaoxiang, accompanied by Jushi and Arnold, rode away from the Xingjia Village base with four captured officer swords.

Watching Xu Gaoxiang’s back disappear at the end of the path, Li Yunlong turned and headed back into the village.

"Huzi! Bring me the map!" Upon returning to the regimental headquarters, Li Yunlong immediately began to strategize.

Now that he had proper equipment, he had to use it. He wasn't going to keep it as a treasure to "hatch eggs." Leaning over the map, Li Yunlong’s finger traced the various Japanese strongholds and county seats near the New First Regiment’s base.

Ever since the old devil Tada Shun implemented this "Caged Bird Plan," the Japanese had been building blockhouses everywhere, vainly attempting to isolate and encircle the various base areas. Especially after the failure of the recent anti-encirclement campaign, local militia reports indicated that the construction of these towers had accelerated. Right next to their New First Regiment, three small blockhouses had gone up simultaneously.

The closest one was right under their noses. "Heh, they’ve poked their heads right under my chin!"

Looking at the mark for Xiaowang Village on the map, Li Yunlong gave a cold smile. He would start with that one!

Thinking was acting. Li Yunlong stepped into the courtyard and shouted, "Communication squad!"

"Find the local district squad and the county regiment immediately. Gather intelligence on all the Japanese strongholds in the vicinity, including Xiaowang Village, and bring it back to me!"

The communication squad set off to gather the intelligence.