Bright Sword: Japs, times have changed

Early the next morning.

Ding Wei and Kong Jie led the team to leave first. They still needed to deal with the defense zone matters personally to avoid any subsequent accidents.

Li Yunlong followed closely behind. There was no problem with the independent regiment's defense zone, but he was mainly afraid that if he stayed there any longer, the spoils would fly away.

The finishing work on the battlefield was almost completed. A platoon of soldiers was left to defend the Xiaowangzhuang position, and the rest of the soldiers retreated to the base.

When the news of the end of the battle reached the base, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as it meant they no longer had to work overtime to cook and produce ammunition.

In Lin Qiang's room.

The brigade commander was quite satisfied with the layout of the room, especially the map hanging on the wall, which was much more detailed than the one in his brigade headquarters.

"Could it be that you have destroyed all the circled areas?"

Hearing this, Lin Qiang replied, "That's right. Those are places with more resources. The team was short of supplies at the beginning, so we used these places to practice."

"The remaining artillery towers and strongholds are not very useful and pose no threat to the independent battalion. If necessary, one or two shots can take them out. Keeping them will also allow us to predict the enemy's movements."

The brigade commander nodded after listening.

At this time, half of Lin Qiang's consciousness was quickly searching for an item in the system mall. He clearly remembered seeing it at that time.

After searching for a while, he remembered that if he needed anything, he could just search with his mind.

"Come and make some Huazi."

Sure enough, the next second the familiar red-wrapped cigarettes appeared before his eyes.

There are four types in total: hard box, soft box, wide box with thin sticks, and slim can.

The required resistance points for each model are also different. The hard box ones are of course the cheapest, but they cost 650 per box, and a box contains ten boxes. They are not sold individually.

Lin Qiang planned to buy it last time, after all, smoking other cigarettes makes him cough easily.

But the conditions didn't allow it at that time, and over time, I got used to smoking something else.

If the brigade commander hadn't come in person, Lin Qiang really wouldn't have planned to buy it.

Soon, Lin Qiang had a pack of epoch-making products in his hand: a hard-box Huazi.

At this time, the brigade commander was reaching for a cigarette. Lin Qiang raised his hand and said, "Brigade commander, come here and have a cigarette."

"Hua Zi?"

The brigade commander took the cigarette in confusion, and Lin Qiang lit it for him.

"Hiss~"

A puff of smoke came out, and an expression of approval appeared on the brigade commander's face: "This cigarette is good, it's easy to smoke. You kid, you always come up with something new and interesting."

The brigade commander has smoked for decades and has tried all kinds of cigarettes. Of course he knows that this so-called Huazi was probably obtained by Lin Qiang from some special channel.

Lin Qiang smiled and thought to himself, this is Huazi, everyone who has smoked it says it is good.

After a cigarette, the brigade commander drank the finest Maojian tea and said to Lin Qiang earnestly, "What I said before was just a joke. What I am going to tell you next is the purpose of my visit this time."

Lin Qiang could probably guess what it was, and this matter had been mentioned as early as when the team first demonstrated its strength.

"Commander, you say."

The brigade commander put down his teacup and said slowly, "This is the commander's own intention, and it is also my intention. I hope you can stick to your original intention and work hard to develop an ace unit of our Eighth Route Army, a unit that will terrify the enemy."

"We belong to the combat team of the Second War Zone. Strictly speaking, the only recognized teams are the 771st and 772nd Regiments. The rest of the teams are not recognized."

"What's the most important thing for a team? It's the unit's designation. The Independent Battalion designation isn't recognized, and the commander is worried you might have complaints. If you have any needs, please speak up. If they can be resolved, the organization will definitely find a way to solve them."

Lin Qiang remained silent after hearing this.

The meaning of these words was very clear. The boss and the brigade commander wanted him to not be misled by certain people and to resist temptation.

Issues like the team number are indeed difficult to resolve. To put it bluntly, apart from the 129th Division, no one knows where the independent battalion comes from.

Most of the troops were only recognized within the Eighth Route Army, including the three main regiments: the New 1st Regiment, the New 2nd Regiment, and the Independent Regiment.

Li Yunlong also once said this. When crossing the river, the New 772st Regiment was not on the list and was not allowed to cross no matter what. In the end, it was only able to pass after blending into the nd Regiment.

"The team's number is loud and clear, but if we can't defeat the Japanese, it's all in vain."

Facing the brigade commander, Lin Qiang showed no fear and spoke naturally: "The regimental commander said that it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat. No one cares about our team number, the independent battalion. Even if it is cancelled, we don't care. It won't delay our fight against the Japanese anyway."

"As for what you and the boss are worried about, that's even less likely to happen. If I had that in mind, I would have already taken action."

"You are well aware of the situation of the Independent Battalion. We have everything that the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army has, and we also have what the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army doesn't have. Moreover, we have more and better ones than them. It's just a number, we don't care."

These words were not flattering or exaggerated, but they were indeed the most sincere words.

Lin Qiang was right. If he had any such idea, he would never have waited until now and would have switched to Chu Yunfei's side long ago.

It’s not that Lin Qiang looks down on the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army, but the regular army has too many restrictions and has to abide by some bullshit conventions. Even when the Japanese have their bayonets against their chests, they still have to ask their superiors for instructions first.

For this reason alone, Lin Qiang would definitely not join the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.

The Eighth Route Army is so good. As long as they don't violate military discipline when going to war, everything else is fine.

Today you can attack any stronghold you want to attack, and tomorrow you can capture any artillery tower you want to capture.

After hearing these words, the smile on the brigade commander's face grew wider, and his eyes were full of approval.

"Good boy, I was right about you!"

Then the brigade commander said something else: "I have discussed this with the commander. According to me, I want to expand the independent battalion into a regiment after winning the battle, but the commander is somewhat opposed to it."

Lin Qiang nodded and said, "The boss is right."

"The independent battalion is indeed strong now. The number of troops far exceeds that of the other regiments. Not to mention the weapons and equipment, even your entire brigade combined cannot match them."

"But if we expand the team into a regiment after this battle, it will inevitably make the soldiers proud and complacent. I understand that pride will lead to failure."

The brigade commander nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's what the boss meant. The independent battalion was established too recently. It's fully qualified to be expanded into a regiment based on merit, but the team needs more time to settle down."

"This period won't be long. I'll have to inconvenience you and the soldiers of the Independent Battalion for a while."

Lin Qiang waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm not wronged. I'm worried that if I keep disagreeing, it will easily lead to the effect of forcing things to grow faster."

"You kid, are you cursing me in a roundabout way?"

"Brigade Commander, look at what you said. How dare I scold you?"

"How dare you scold Li Yunlong?"

"He was my old leader, my old regimental commander, and my guide on the road to the War of Resistance. How could I dare to scold him?"

"Take me to the kitchen. Thanks to you today, I'll improve the food. Bring out the best wine and stop being stingy!"