Chapter 39 Taking Command of the Company

"Take care, Commanders. Wait for good news from Li Yunlong!"

The Brigade Commander looked at Li Yunlong’s face, which was beaming with an overly wide grin, and waved him away with a look of disgust. "You look like you've eaten bee droppings—that smile is nauseating. Get out of here, scram!"

"You got it!" Li Yunlong turned and left with a cheeky grin.

The Division Commander and the Brigade Commander couldn't help but burst into laughter as they watched him go. "Well, that’s settled. Now that troublemaker can go off and slowly wreak havoc on the little Japanese devils!"

Once he had left the division headquarters, the corners of Li Yunlong’s mouth didn't drop for a second. He felt as if he were walking on clouds—it was incredibly satisfying!

"Huzi, let's go! We’re off to take command of the unit. I’m finally opening for business! Hahaha..."

For others, building a force from scratch was an arduous task, but he, Old Li, had brothers he could rely on. Thankfully, that fifteen thousand silver dollars from last time was still being kept by Brother Xu. With weapons secured, Li Yunlong felt confident. Why worry about recruitment?

As he rode, Li Yunlong had it all planned out. Once he took charge of the troops, he would immediately contact Brother Xu to give him a heads-up and secure enough weapons for a full battalion. Along the way, he would recruit as he marched, building the framework of a battalion. Once they reached their destination, he would use the local bandits and puppet troops to sharpen his soldiers and break them in. After taking out a few small enemy blockhouses and planting his flag, Li Yunlong was confident he could build a thousand-man regiment within a month!

Li Yunlong and Huzi galloped until they reached a dilapidated village. The ruins and the dense bullet holes pockmarking the mud walls were grim reminders that this village had been destroyed by the fires of war. From a distance, alerted by their sentries, the soldiers hidden within the village had already taken cover.

When Li Yunlong and Huzi arrived at the perimeter and looked at the silent village, he was quite satisfied. "It seems the Brigade Commander gave me real veterans. Hahaha, good!"

"Whoever is still breathing, come out and report! I am Li Yunlong!" Li Yunlong dismounted and shouted loudly.

Hearing that their company commander, Li Yunlong, had arrived, the hidden soldiers finally moved. Maintaining their vigilance, a platoon leader and two soldiers trotted over to Li Yunlong.

"Report, Commander! I am Platoon Leader Liu Bo. I have orders to wait here for the arrival of Company Commander Li Yunlong!"

Li Yunlong looked over Liu Bo and the soldiers behind him, nodding with satisfaction. "Heh, not bad, not bad at all. I am indeed Li Yunlong. Huzi, take out the commission papers and let Platoon Leader Liu see them!"

Once Liu Bo received the papers and confirmed the seal of the division headquarters, he beamed with joy and saluted enthusiastically. "That’s wonderful! It really is Regiment Commander Li!"

"Haha, authentic and genuine! Come, tell me about the specific situation of our company." Li Yunlong clasped his hands behind his back and signaled for Liu Bo to brief him as they walked into the village to inspect his foundation force.

"Yes, Commander!"

"Erxi, Xiao Hu, go notify everyone to assemble! Our commander has arrived!" Liu Bo immediately dispatched the two soldiers to spread the word through the village.

"Commander, our company consists of three platoons and nine infantry squads, with ten men per squad. Plus, a machine gun and mortar squad of fourteen, a hand grenade and ammunition group of six, the three of us platoon leaders, and a five-man cooking squad. The entire company has one hundred and eighteen men!"

"We currently have ninety-three rifles of various types, six pistols, four light machine guns, and one 60mm mortar, along with a quantity of hand grenades and ammunition. As for rations, the Brigade Commander specially approved half a month's worth for our company!"

Listening to Liu Bo’s detailed report, Li Yunlong nodded with a smile. "Not bad, it counts as a large company. Heh, half a month's rations will be enough to get us started!"

Rounding a partially collapsed mud wall, Li Yunlong saw the company, already formed up and waiting on the open threshing floor.

At this moment, the other two platoon leaders approached and saluted. "Report! Second Platoon Leader Zhang Wei and Third Platoon Leader Xie Xiaoming await your orders!"

Li Yunlong scanned them, memorized their faces, and nodded. "Good, return to your ranks!"

As the three platoon leaders returned to their respective platoons, Li Yunlong looked at the high-spirited, calm, and collected soldiers before him. He couldn't help but feel delighted—these were all elite veterans!

"Good, you're all good men! Perhaps you don't know me yet, I am—"

"We know! You’re Regiment Commander Li Yunlong, the one who killed Sakata!"

"We were all so happy to hear that Commander Li would be leading us!"

Unaware that he had already made a name for himself, Li Yunlong was interrupted by the soldiers' warm welcome before he could even introduce himself.

"Hahaha, it seems I, Old Li, have become famous?" Li Yunlong held his head high and waved his hand. "Since you brothers already know, I won't say much else. From now on, we’re all brothers eating from the same pot. With me, Li Yunlong, around, eating meat and drinking soup will be a given!"

"Since the superiors told us to be self-sufficient, we must show them results. A wolf travels a thousand miles to hunt; the little Japanese devils are just meat waiting for us to eat!"

"Do you brothers want to eat meat?!"

The soldiers shouted in unison.

"Eat meat!"

"Eat meat!"

"Kill the little Japanese devils!"

Li Yunlong laughed with satisfaction. "Hahaha, good! That’s the spirit!"

Just then, as he was happily scanning his men, Li Yunlong inadvertently noticed the four light machine guns and the mortar placed at the front of the formation.

"Eh? Why do these look so familiar?"

Li Yunlong hurried over for a closer look, and his expression soured as if he had swallowed a fly.

How could they not be familiar?! These were clearly the very weapons he had tricked the Brigade Commander into letting him "hand over" earlier! He looked up at the rifles the soldiers were carrying; there was no need to guess—they were from the same batch.

"So, I’ve lifted a rock only to drop it on my own feet! The Brigade Commander is truly... 'generous'!"

Li Yunlong had to swallow the bitterness of this situation in silence. It was fortunate he still had Brother Xu as a backup; otherwise, trying to make a fortune with just these weapons would have been quite difficult. But for now, the most pressing matter was to determine their immediate objectives.

"The whole company is to rest and reorganize. Be ready to move out at any time. The three platoon leaders, come with me!"

Li Yunlong gave his first order and led the three platoon leaders behind a wind-sheltered mud wall.

"Huzi, get the map!"

Taking the map from Huzi, Li Yunlong spread it out on a half-collapsed earthen bed.

"Look here. Our main area of operations will be this sector: south of Qi County, north of Qin County, west of Yushe, and east of Jiexiu—this square region!"

"Our primary task is to choose a location for our base. I’ve been thinking: here, Baiwanyuk!"

Li Yunlong pointed to a small mountain gully marked on the map. "It’s located west of Nanguan, near the Bai-Jin Railway, and is a spur of the Taiyue Mountains. It’s crisscrossed with gullies and covered in dense forests—perfect for hiding a unit!"

"I have decided to establish our base here. We will recruit and expand our forces while simultaneously sabotaging the Bai-Jin Railway."

"What do you think?"

The three platoon leaders fully supported Li Yunlong’s decision. He nodded. "Good. Now, let’s discuss our marching route and the specific arrangements for our recruitment!"

"We are here now. To reach Baiwanyuk, we need to march on foot..."