Chapter 69: Fifteen Hundred Recruits, Three Hundred Thousand Catties of Grain

Having secured the primary assault mission along with a reinforcement of one thousand five hundred troops, Long Wencheng walked out of the courtyard exuding an air of supreme confidence.

Holding the official authorization slip issued by the headquarters, Long Wencheng made his way directly to the Red Fourth Front Army's recruit camp.

The camp commander was named Liang Xingchu.

Upon seeing the name of the recruit camp commander on the authorization slip, Long Wencheng's eyebrows involuntarily twitched.

This was a veteran senior leader, yet at present, he was still merely a battalion commander.

Years later, however, the troops under his command would strike terror across the entire Korean battlefield, becoming renowned to future generations as the legendary "Long Live Army" – the 38th Corps.

"Commander Liang, this is the authorization slip approved by headquarters. Have a look."

Upon seeing that the slip requested a full one thousand five hundred men, Commander Liang was somewhat surprised. He then looked at Long Wencheng, finding his face unfamiliar and realizing he had never seen him before.

"May I ask who you are...?"

"Long Wencheng, from the 18th Division of the Red First Front Army," Long Wencheng introduced himself.

Upon hearing the name Long Wencheng, Commander Liang immediately straightened up with deep respect and raised his hand in a military salute.

"Chief! I have heard a great deal about you for a long time. Everyone throughout the entire Red Fourth Front Army knows of you now. I simply didn't expect you to be so young."

As he said this, he couldn't shake the feeling that the Long Wencheng standing before him actually looked a bit younger than himself.

In truth, Commander Liang was only twenty-two years old at this time, while Long Wencheng was actually slightly older than him, blessed with a youthful facial appearance that made him look younger.

"Revolutionaries are forever young," Long Wencheng remarked casually. "Can I pick and choose from these fifteen hundred men?"

Commander Liang replied, "There's really no need to pick. There are only a little over two thousand recruits in total here. Besides, I should warn you in advance—none of them have weapons or equipment yet; you'll have to figure out how to arm them yourselves."

Long Wencheng chuckled heartily and said, "The issue of weapons and equipment has never been a problem for our 18th Division. I'm going in to select my men now."

With that, he strode eagerly into the recruit camp.

By dusk, Long Wencheng was leading the new recruits and the baggage battalion's wagons back toward Black Snake Valley.

The recruits were in high spirits and chatting merrily, for they had long since heard that the Red 18th Division was exceptionally well-off, and among all units in the entire army, the soldiers of the 18th Division were without a doubt the sturdiest and healthiest.

It didn't take an expert to know that this was certainly because they ate well; otherwise, given the massive exertion required by long-distance marches, everyone ought to look skin and bones.

Most importantly, rather than having to march on foot to report to the 18th Division with Long Wencheng, they were actually riding in horse-drawn wagons.

The baggage battalion's carts, which had traveled full to deliver supplies to headquarters, had been emptied on the return trip, and these vehicles were naturally made available for the new recruits to ride in.

Standing atop the leading wagon at the front of the procession, Long Wencheng called out to the recruits.

"Comrades! Once you enter our 18th Division, you only need to worry about three things: fighting, fighting, and more damned fighting!"

"Understood! As long as there's a fight, we're ready!"

"We'll wipe out all those reactionaries completely."

"And those Japanese devils! They've bullied us enough, we've got to settle accounts with them too!"

The morale of the recruits soared to new heights.

"Come on, comrades, let's sing a song—The Internationale."

In high spirits, Long Wencheng struck up the tune.

"Arise, ye prisoners of starvation..."

"Arise, ye wretched of the earth, arise, ye starving, wretched throngs..."

Amidst the stirring and passionate singing, the one thousand five hundred recruits arrived at the Red 18th Division's encampment in Black Snake Valley.

With this addition, the Red 18th Division's strength expanded to eight thousand men.

The majority of these consisted of combat-experienced veterans, alongside the fifteen hundred fresh recruits.

Upon arriving at the Red 18th Division, these new soldiers began receiving various weapons and items of equipment.

To their astonishment, while bullets were virtually impossible to come by in the recruit camp, the Red 18th Division issued at least one hundred and fifty rounds to every single soldier, stuffing their cartridge belts and ammo pouches to maximum capacity.

According to what they had heard before, soldiers leaving the recruit camp to join frontline companies were typically issued only thirty rounds of ammunition—sometimes even fewer, and occasionally none at all.

This Red 18th Division wasn't just wealthy; it was overflowing with abundance.

Soon, they discovered that the food in the 18th Division was truly fantastic. While other units rarely saw a hint of meat in three meals a day, the 18th Division tossed cured sausages, smoked pork, cured ham, and beef jerky into the cauldrons as if they cost nothing at all.

Catching the rich aroma of meat rising from the pots, these newly arrived soldiers solidified a single unwavering conviction.

From this day forward, they were men of the 18th Division in life and ghosts of the 18th Division in death; nothing could ever make them leave.

Three days later, acting as the vanguard force, the 18th Division advanced to the outskirts of Lazikou.

That evening, a few individuals dressed in traditional local tribal attire arrived at the 18th Division's command post.

They were emissaries sent by the local chieftain Yang Jiqing, led by a man named Tuwang Hada. In his early thirties, Tuwang Hada had his chest bared, displaying a physique of dark, rugged muscle.

After exchanging formal greetings, Tuwang Hada stated the purpose of their visit in accented Chinese.

"Our chieftain deeply admires the principles advocated by the Red Army, and has therefore decided to present three hundred thousand catties of wheat. Furthermore, our tribesmen are already ahead, repairing bridges and roads to clear the passage toward Lazikou."

With that, Tuwang Hada clapped his hands, and someone stepped forward bearing a map.

It was a topographical map of the entire area surrounding Lazikou, which even marked several alternate mountain paths.

"This is the map of Lazikou. We hope it will be of assistance to you," Tuwang Hada said with a slight bow.

Long Wencheng was not particularly surprised by this development, as it was a historical event that had transpired in the past.

Three hundred thousand catties of wheat! Combined with their previous captures, this would provide the Red Army soldiers with plenty of hearty meals for quite some time.

"My sincerest thanks to the chieftain. On behalf of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, I express our heartfelt gratitude to him and his people."

Long Wencheng stood up and returned the bow.

Stepping out of the command tent, he saw rows of tribal people standing outside in the crisp air, holding torches aloft.

A large number of cattle and horses laden with wheat were currently lined up, waiting to unload the grain.

He drew in a deep breath, thinking that this was truly a massive shot in the arm for the Red Army. Three hundred thousand catties of wheat would be enough to sustain them for a very long period.

Long Wencheng placed the wheat under the custody of the baggage battalion, intending to hand it over to the Central Column once it arrived.

He chose not to retain it for his own division, primarily because the 18th Division—even after having contributed nearly one hundred thousand catties of grain previously—still held plenty of supplies and lacked nothing in the way of food.

Such provisions were better reserved for units that needed them more urgently.

On the third day, the main force of the Central Column arrived. Gazing upon the massive stockpile of three hundred thousand catties of wheat, the leaders at headquarters could hardly believe their eyes.

Com总理 chuckled and remarked, "I've always said Long Wencheng is an absolute master at diplomacy. Back when we crossed the Yihai River, he successfully established good relations with the local Yi leaders.

And now, even before we've reached Lazikou, the local chieftain has already taken the initiative to deliver grain right to our doorstep."