Chapter 79 Heading to the Brigade Headquarters (Subscription Request) “Captain, I don’t care how many enemy troops are there at the horse farm you mentioned. But we must report this matter to the brigade headquarters and must not mobilize troops without authorization." After Zhao Gang arrived at the vanguard battalion headquarters, he listened to the conversation between Li Yunlong and others outside for a while, then pushed the door and entered the headquarters. Li Yunlong listened to what Zhao Gang said and subconsciously wanted to refute it. There are several thousand horses, enough for each person in the independent regiment to have a horse, and there are some left over. If he reported this to the brigade commander and let him know about it, it would be a great mercy for him to leave him 500 horses. Zhao Gang looked at Li Yunlong's actions and knew that Li Yunlong must be reluctant to part with these horses and wanted to refuse. Before Li Yunlong could speak, Zhao Gang spoke directly to Li Yunlong. "Captain, you are a veteran. I don't need to tell you how important the Northwest Shanxi Base Area is."
“Even if our independent regiment takes over the horse farm and all the horses belong to us, does our independent regiment have the ability to raise so many horses? There is no pasture in Shanxi, so we have to buy the food and fodder needed for the horses. Our independent regiment cannot eat or hide so many horses. The brigade commander will find out sooner or later. Instead of waiting for the brigade commander to come over and speak, we might as well tell him first. Maybe the brigade commander will agree with our action and ask friendly troops to help us?" Li Yunlong listened to what Zhao Gang said, thought about it, and felt that what Zhao Gang said was not wrong. The independent regiment certainly cannot feed so many horses. With the current strength of the Independent Regiment, consuming 500 war horses is almost the limit. "Old Li, I think what the political commissar said is correct. This is not just a few dozen horses, this is thousands of horses. We have so many horses, the brigade commander will definitely know about it, and he may even have information about this horse farm." After thinking for a while, Li Yunlong turned his gaze to Qin Yangming. "Xiao Qin, you are familiar with the brigade commander. Let's go together tomorrow to test his opinion." Qin Yangming nodded: "Yes, no problem." …… Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming did not go directly to find the brigade commander. Instead, he waited for Sun Desheng to bring back the intelligence and topographic map. Qin Yangming and Li Yunlong were not idle during these days. They went to Qinghe County in person and took a look at the terrain around Qinghe County. Five days later, after Sun Desheng and his companions had several horses run to death, they successfully brought back the intelligence as expected. After arranging for Sun Desheng and others to rest, Qin Yangming immediately went to the regiment headquarters with a map and discussed with Li Yunlong, Kong Jie, and Zhao Gang how to take over the horse farm and how to bring the war horses back as quickly as possible. ……
“Captain, I think it’s better for us to go around the border area. There are too many slopes in Qinghe County, and it’s okay with only a small number of horses. But if several thousand horses pass this way and the enemy from Qinghe County rushes out, then all our efforts will be wasted.” Looking at the route drawn on the map, Qin Yangming shook his head at Li Yunlong's plan to bring the horses directly from Qinghe County. There are thousands of horses, but not all of them have harnesses. Moreover, they do not have professional herdsmen, so it is impossible to drive a large number of horses with just one or two people. If a large number of people are assigned to lead the horses, there will not be enough strength for defense. If the enemy troops in Qinghe County rushed out and frightened the horses, all their efforts would be in vain. Li Yunlong shook his head after listening to Qin Yangming's analysis. "The enemy forces and terrain in Qinghe County are a problem, but if we want to take a detour into the border area, we have to pass through the territory of the Central Army." "These guys don't dare to fight the Japanese, but they dare to attack us. If we pass through their territory, we will probably bleed heavily." Kong Jie listened to the discussion between the two and said, "Yes, Xiao Qin, if we pass through the border area, we have to cross a flat land first." "Our warriors are not cavalry, and not all of those horses have harnesses. When the time comes, we will pass through the flat land, and the Mongolian cavalry will chase us, and we won’t be able to outrun them.” “Captain Qin, Captain Li and Deputy Captain Kong have a point, let’s not talk about the Central Army’s territory for now. Given the speed of the Mongolian cavalry, our soldiers don't have the ability to escape from them. By then, it will be a plain area, and the cavalry's combat effectiveness can be maximized." "Damn it, it's a pity that you are the descendants of Genghis Khan, but you actually surrendered to the Japanese devils. These guys have made our ancestors lose face." Qin Yangming shook his head and expressed his thoughts: "This is what I think. We can bring a batch of machine guns with us when the time comes." "If the Mongolian cavalry chases us, we will use machine guns to shoot them. As long as there are enough machine guns, no matter how powerful his cavalry is, even if the Mongolian cavalry reappears. Even a machine gun can turn them from being brave warriors into singing and dancing!" "On the plains, not only can the cavalry's combat effectiveness be maximized, but the power of machine guns can also be maximized!" "Our machine guns are not like the Japanese Type 92 heavy machine guns that lower their rate of fire in pursuit of accuracy." "What we really need to worry about is the Central Army. We are afraid that these guys will stab us in the back." "It would be difficult if these guys blocked the bridge and prevented us from crossing the river." "If you ask me, we should hand the problem over to the brigade commander. What are we thinking about here?" Kong Jie, who was smoking, saw that Li Yunlong and Qin Yangming both looked worried. He tapped his pipe and spoke to them. "Anyway, we have to tell the brigade commander about this. I don't believe that the brigade commander will not be interested in so many horses." "That makes sense. With so many horses, if they were all war horses, our Eighth Route Army could form a cavalry regiment. A cavalry regiment would be of interest to not only the brigade commander, but even the division commander." “Anyway, we have the intelligence, so let the brigade commander worry about how to bring the horses back.
Whether we pass through Qinghe County or go through the border area, we will obey the orders of the brigade commander. " Having said that, Li Yunlong simply packed up the information and then called Qin Yangming to follow him to find the brigade commander. …… Headquarters of the 386th Brigade. "Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong is here. It seems he has something to ask you." The brigade commander, who had just returned from headquarters and had just taken off his fur coat, had not had time to sit down to drink some water and rest when the political commissar came over and reported to him. The brigade commander listened to what the political commissar said and put the cup down immediately after picking it up. "Oh my god, it's only been a few days? What trouble has Li Yunlong gotten into again? " Hearing the political commissar say that Li Yunlong was coming, the brigade commander subconsciously thought that Li Yunlong had offended someone again and came to him to clean up his mess. The brigade commander frowned when he thought of Li Yunlong's troubles: "Why is Li Yunlong so troublesome? Can't Zhao Gang control him? I just came back from cleaning his ass at headquarters!" The political commissar listened to the brigade commander's complaints and smiled helplessly. Li Yunlong was indeed good at fighting and getting equipment, but he was also good at causing trouble. After Li Yunlong came to the 386th Brigade, he and the brigade commander had no idea how many times they had cleaned up Li Yunlong's mess. Even the brigade commander's visit to the headquarters this time, in addition to delivering gold, was also to clean up the mess that Li Yunlong had made for mobilizing troops without authorization. After much persuasion, and with the pile of gold in hand, the boss finally acknowledged that it was he who gave the order for Li Yunlong to mobilize the troops, and that was why he did not let Li Yunlong go back to embroider. The brigade commander felt a headache when he thought about the constant arguments with the boss at the headquarters about whether it was his order or Li Yunlong who mobilized the troops without authorization. "I shouldn't have trusted the commander in the first place. Li Yunlong is useful, but he's also a real headache. No, if the trouble is serious this time, we must take the commander with us." The brigade commander made up his mind that if the trouble caused by Li Yunlong this time needed to be dealt with at the headquarters, he would first go to the division commander and ask for help. Thinking of this, the brigade commander also began to ask Li Yunlong how big a disaster he had caused. "What trouble has Li Yunlong gotten himself into this time? Is it unauthorized mobilization of troops? Or did a machine gun accidentally fire and kill a few Japanese prisoners?" The political commissar listened to what the brigade commander said and shook his head. Before the political commissar could speak, the brigade commander saw the political commissar shaking his head and thought that Li Yunlong's mistake this time was not a military one. “Isn’t it these guys’ fault this time? Is it a fundamental mistake? No, this kid Li Yunlong shouldn't make any fundamental mistakes. Could it be that he had a falling out with Zhao Gang? Or is this kid's old problem coming back again? Or maybe this kid made a mistake in life? Could it be that he has prepared something new for me this time?" (End of this chapter)