Bright Sword: The brigade commander is shocked! You call this a county brigade?

After successfully destroying the Japanese artillery tower in Liujia Village, everyone was busy cleaning up the battlefield.

Afterwards, they set out on the journey back to Lijiazhuang.

On the winding road on the way back, Gaoda deliberately walked to Meng Debiao's side and walked side by side with him.

"Director Meng, our next mission is quite critical. After completing the production of these six infantry guns, I hope your arsenal can start producing some large-caliber mortars.

This will greatly enhance our company's firepower support capability." Gundam said with anticipation.

"I understand, Captain. Do you have any specific requirements for large-caliber mortars?" Meng Debiao asked.

"In terms of caliber, the bigger the better. But there is a key point, it must be able to be quickly deployed and transferred. After all, flexibility is equally important on the battlefield. As for the range, it is enough to be able to reach more than 1000 meters, which is enough to meet the company's fire support needs."

Meng Debiao said, "Captain, don't worry. I will immediately organize a team to start designing this large-caliber mortar to ensure that it can meet your requirements."

As the two were talking, the system's voice suddenly sounded in Gundam's mind:

“Congratulations to the host for successfully eliminating 13 devils and gaining 130 military merit points.

As a reward, the system gives you the raw materials needed to make gunpowder: 500 kg of potassium nitrate, 200 kg of sulfur and charcoal each, as well as one ton of high-strength steel and a set of machine tools and other equipment. "

Hearing this voice, Gundam's heart was filled with joy.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud. This time the system rewards were indeed richer than he had imagined.

"It seems that the system's reward is based on the number of enemies we eliminate. If I can kill a squadron of Japanese devils, the reward will definitely be more generous." Gundam thought secretly in his heart.

With the current strength of the county brigade, it would be difficult to completely wipe out a fully armed Japanese squadron.

The combat effectiveness of the Japanese squadron should not be underestimated. A Type B squadron has a size of 181 people, equipped with 139 rifles, nine light machine guns and nine grenade launchers, and sometimes even a Type 9 heavy machine gun.

These sophisticated equipments, coupled with the outstanding combat effectiveness of individual Japanese soldiers, made the combat effectiveness of one of their squadrons almost equivalent to that of a battalion of the Chinese army.

If compared with the Eighth Route Army, the firepower of the Japanese squadron is no weaker than that of a regiment of the Eighth Route Army.

In order to completely destroy such a squadron, the Eighth Route Army must deploy four or five times their number of troops to succeed.

Gaoda believed that as long as all the infantry artillery in the arsenal were in place, his county brigade would have the strength to crush the Japanese squadron.

By then, the combat effectiveness of his county brigade will be no less than that of any main regiment.

When everyone returned to Lijiazhuang, Meng Debiao led the arsenal staff back to the arsenal deep in the mountains to continue their production work.

The brand new Type 39 infantry gun was taken back to the artillery company by Li Dazhui.

Today, the artillery company has two infantry guns, two 60 mortars, and four Japanese grenade launchers captured from the Pingshan Mine.

After returning to the headquarters, Gundam sat on a small stool in the yard and fell into deep thought.

He had accumulated 730 military merit points, but after browsing the system store, he found that these military merit points were not enough to buy the good things he really wanted.

Therefore, he decided to continue saving these military merit points for future use.

There are many good things in the system that he has always dreamed of, but now he can only put them aside temporarily.

As for general weapons and equipment, the county brigade already has sufficient quantities.

Moreover, the arsenal produces a large number of bullets every day, so the supply of bullets is not a problem.

…………

On a winding mountain road more than 20 miles away from Lijiazhuang,

A team was moving slowly, with four horse-drawn carriages piled high with supplies, which were fertilizers, food and other daily necessities purchased by the brigade's logistics personnel from neighboring towns and villages.

These supplies are the key to the county brigade's normal operations and combat effectiveness.

"Xiao Wu, look at how much supplies we bought this time. In the days to come, we can stay in the base with peace of mind and don't have to worry about supplies anymore." Lao Gao said to Xiao Wu while driving the carriage.

"Yes, Lao Gao, it's really tiring to walk such a long way every time we go out to purchase goods." Xiao Wu wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed.

"We have to speed up while it's still light and try to get back to the team before dark." Lao Gao looked at the sky and urged.

As Lao Gao finished his words, everyone in the team involuntarily quickened their pace, and the horse-drawn carriages made louder hoof sounds.

However, what Lao Gao and others did not know was that at an intersection not far ahead, a group of bandits were quietly lying in ambush.

This group of bandits were from the nearby Heiyun Village. They received news that a convoy would pass through this intersection, so the second in command of Heiyun Village personally led thirty or forty bandits to ambush on both sides of the intersection.

As the largest bandit organization in this area, Heiyun Village has a size of 200 to 300 people and more than 100 guns.

The Japanese have always wanted to win over Xie Baoqing, the leader of Heiyun Village, hoping to use their power to deal with the Eighth Route Army and other anti-Japanese armed forces.

Xie Baoqing was originally born into a poor peasant family. The hardships of life made him experience the ups and downs of life.

Faced with the dilemma of being unable to make a living, he was forced to choose an unusual path - becoming a bandit and forming a team in Heiyun Village.

After years of ups and downs, Heiyun Village gradually grew stronger and became a bandit force that could not be ignored in Ping'an County, occupying a dangerous hill as their base.

Xie Baoqing leads this team and makes a living by robbing supplies. He is cunning and ruthless, but he also has his own principles and bottom line.

He knew very well that as a bandit, once he lost the support of the people, he would be isolated and helpless.

Therefore, he never harmed the common people, but instead targeted the caravans and landowners.

Whenever a caravan passed by, he would lead his men to plunder and obtain the necessary supplies.

However, although Xie Baoqing is the bandit leader of Heiyun Village, he has a good reputation among the people of Ping'an County.

He never killed innocent people and never harmed civilians.

This left him with the impression among the common people that "even thieves have their own code of conduct".

In addition, the strength of Heiyun Village itself is very strong, so the Japanese have always wanted to win him over.

Faced with the Japanese's solicitation, Xie Baoqing was not tempted.

He knew that although he was a bandit, he also had his own dignity and bottom line.

He was unwilling to betray his beliefs and principles for the sake of temporary interests, so he firmly rejected the Japanese's solicitation.

This made the Japanese very dissatisfied with Xie Baoqing. Since they could not win him over, as long as Xie Baoqing did not oppose the empire, they could only turn a blind eye and allow him to continue his bandit career in Ping'an County.