Liang Jian: Lao Li, I'm really not a military expert

The independent regiment’s Yangcun headquarters.

Li Yunlong and Lin Zhenhua arrived here before dinner by horse-drawn carriage. Seeing the depressed mood of the soldiers of the independent regiment, they did not stop but went directly to the regiment headquarters.

"Old Kong, what are you doing in the house? Why don't you come out to greet me? Your old comrade is here, but you don't even come out to greet him. You really don't know how to do things!"

Kong Jie, who was sulking in the house, heard Li Yunlong's loud voice, put down his pipe, walked out of the house angrily, and said with some resentment: "Oh, it turns out that the new leader of the independent regiment, Li Yunlong, has arrived. I, Kong Jie, don't have the money to welcome him, so I apologize to you first!"

Listening to Kong Jie's sarcastic tone, Li Yunlong was not angry. He laughed and said, "Old Kong, you can't vent your grievances on me. You should vent your grievances on the devils! You think I wanted to take over your independent regiment, wasn't it forced by the brigade commander? I also wanted to return to my New 1st Regiment to be my regiment commander, but now Ding Wei has picked up the ready-made one and become the commander of the New 1st Regiment. I have become a long-term worker and got nothing in the end. I am more frustrated than you!"

"Do you really think I am willing to come to your independent regiment? I am not familiar with the personnel in any way. Besides, you, Old Kong, are doing a good job. If I come here to pick peaches, won't it scare me, Old Li? But there is no way. A higher-ranking official can crush a person. I, Li Yunlong, must obey orders!"

"Besides, I, Li Yunlong, am not bragging. This time, your fighting was really not very good. Twenty or thirty Japanese soldiers beat your independent regiment into such a mess. No matter how you look at it, it's because you, as the regiment commander, are incompetent! Not to mention that night combat is our strong point, but the troops suffered so many casualties. Tell me honestly, am I right?"

Kong Jie said sullenly, "I admit that we didn't fight well. There is not a single coward in our independent regiment. Look at the soldiers who died. The bullets were all shot in the front, not in the back. Such good soldiers were called dough after they died. I, Kong, feel aggrieved. I feel sorry for these sacrificed soldiers!"

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Lin Zhenhua quickly stepped forward and asked, "Captain Li, and Captain Kong, can you take me to the scene? I want to take a look at the situation and see if I can find anything?"

Kong Jie hadn't noticed Lin Zhenhua just now. Such a young boy was following behind Li Yunlong. He thought he was Li Yunlong's guard. Thinking of this boy's noisy voice and asking about yesterday's battle, he signaled Li Yunlong with his eyes: Who is this boy? Why haven't I seen him before? Hurry up and introduce him to me!

Li Yunlong laughed and said awkwardly: "This is classmate Lin. He will be responsible for the logistics of the independent regiment in the future. He can be regarded as a partner assigned to me by the headquarters. I will stay here for a while and there will be new appointments in the future!"

Seeing Li Yunlong's constipated expression, Kong Jie knew that there was something wrong, but he didn't want to ask now, so he took the initiative to greet him: "Student Lin, welcome to the Independent Regiment. I am Kong Jie, the former head of the Independent Regiment. I'm sorry to make you laugh this time!"

"I'm going to take you to see the scene right now. This group of devils is not simple. Our independent regiment was really caught off guard this time. I have to tell you, it's really fucking embarrassing to say it out loud!"

The three of them went to the scene. Lin Zhenhua picked up the submachine gun on the ground and looked at the ammunition bag on the Japanese soldier, confirming that this was Yamamoto's special forces team.

"Captain Li, Captain Kong, this group of Japanese devils are not simple. Look at how advanced their equipment is. Submachine guns are powerful weapons for close combat. They are also equipped with pistols, daggers and magazines loaded with ammunition. Even their helmets are covered with nets to avoid glare in the dark. The Japanese devils are well prepared for this sneak attack. They must be carrying out an important mission!"

After hearing Lin Zhenhua's analysis, the two suddenly understood the purpose of the Japanese. Li Yunlong picked up the Japanese helmet on the ground and said seriously: "Behind Yangcun is the headquarters. This group of Japanese are well-equipped. It is impossible that they are here to fight the independent regiment. This is totally uneconomical. The real target of these Japanese should be the headquarters!"

Kong Jie sighed and said: "If this is the case, the soldiers' sacrifice was worth it. We blocked the bullets for the headquarters and prevented the Japanese from succeeding. I, Kong Jie, did not lose unjustly!"

"Old Kong, I won't say anything more. It's time for dinner now, let's hurry up and eat. I know you feel aggrieved, Old Kong. When I get back, I'll call the brigade commander and ask him to agree to let you be my deputy. Don't feel aggrieved, I might end up being a farmhand. If things go wrong, the independent regiment might even be handed over to you!"

Kong Jie accepted Li Yunlong's kindness, and the three of them returned to the regiment headquarters. Li Yunlong called the brigade commander to explain the situation. After being scolded by the brigade commander, he agreed to his request.

"Lao Kong, from today on, you are the deputy commander of the independent regiment. I was just scolded by the brigade commander, so you have to treat me to a good drink! When I came here just now, you gave me a lot of coldness, you must apologize to me!"

Li Yunlong sat on the kang carelessly and asked Kong Jie to quickly take out his stock to entertain his old comrade. When Lin Zhenhua heard Li Yunlong swearing again, he grinned and said, "Captain Li, I want to drink soup! It's been a week since I last drank it. I really miss the taste of the soup!"

When Li Yunlong heard this again, he quickly slapped himself in the face and said angrily, "I didn't curse at anyone just now. Don't even think about hitting on me. You've spent all my previous allowances. I don't even have money to buy sweet potatoes. You're really a big trouble. I, Li, am so unlucky to have met you. If I had known this would happen, I would have asked Zhang Dabiao to arrest you. How could there be so many troubles later?"

Listening to Li Yunlong's somewhat confusing words, Kong Jie was also surprised and asked: "Li Yunlong, did you take the wrong medicine? I remember that you had a bad temper and cursed all day long. Today you have been here for such a long time, and I found that you are quite honest!"

"Student Lin, what soup are you talking about? Why did Li Yunlong get so angry? When I mention this, I want to slap myself in the face. I even suspect that Li Yunlong was replaced by someone else!"

Lin Zhenhua chuckled and did not answer Kong Jie's question. Instead, he changed the subject and said, "Captain Kong, this time, when Captain Li and I came here, we brought 500 new uniforms and 300 new quilts. After dinner, you can arrange to distribute these clothes and quilts so that the soldiers can use them tonight!"

"On behalf of the soldiers of the independent regiment, I would like to thank Lin for his kindness. I will send someone to arrange this matter in a moment!"

Li Yunlong was still waiting for Kong Jie to thank him, but he didn't expect Kong Jie to pick up some food for Lin Zhenhua, slammed his chopsticks on the table, and said angrily: "Student Lin, you are really a talent. I got these clothes and quilts, but you just picked them up and were thanked by Kong Jie!"

"I, the real boss, didn't even receive a word of thanks from you. You two were chatting happily and left me alone! You, Kong Jie, are such a heartless person. Next time I help you, I will be a bad person!"

Seeing that Li Yunlong was really angry this time, Kong Jie poured Li Yunlong half a bowl of wine. Compared with clinking glasses with him last night, Kong Jie drank the wine in the bowl in one gulp as an apology.