Vanguards of the War of Resistance! Let's travel back in time together, classmates!

Chapter 46 The Domineering Nouveau Riche

Old Huang glanced at the crowd with burning eyes, smiled slightly and continued, "This time, our army captured mainly Type 38 rifles, totaling 822, and 47 Type 96 light machine guns."

The shipment included 6 Type 92 heavy machine guns, over 200,000 rounds of ammunition, more than 400 boxes of hand grenades, 32 grenade launchers, 34 boxes of grenades, 10 three-wheeled motorcycles, 20 trucks, 5 radios, 20 telephones, 200 kilometers of telephone lines, and a large quantity of other military supplies.

In addition, they received a large amount of material support from their superiors (which was actually all looted by Shangguan Yun, just an excuse to whitewash it).

This includes over 1000 sets of standard military cotton-padded clothing, over 1000 sets of ordinary military uniforms, over 1000 sets of cotton quilts, 10 tons of meat, 15 tons of vegetables, 100 tons of rice, flour, and cooking oil, 100 tons of coal, and various other daily necessities...

"Hiss..." After hearing what Old Huang said in one breath, everyone could no longer remain calm.

"Is this still a bandit force? The supplies they've seized are enough to equip a whole regiment, even though they're a bit short on manpower now."

However, what we have no shortage of these days is people. As long as Songjiazhai raises a call, it won't be long before a regiment can be fully staffed.

Moreover, there is a large amount of material support from higher authorities. What does that mean? Not to mention what will happen later, just the current supplies are enough for twice the population of Songjia Village. Songjia Village is now rolling in wealth. Shangguan Yun is just a nouveau riche. Sigh...

Seeing the varied expressions on everyone's faces, Old Huang glanced at Shangguan Yun, who nodded slightly with his eyes closed, and continued speaking.

"Currently, we have about 400 soldiers available in our village. However, after this period of recruitment, a large number of refugees have arrived. As of the pre-war statistics, our total population is 2338, of which about 400 are eligible young men who can join the army."

In addition, our army captured 216 people in this battle. If they were all incorporated into the army, it would not be a problem to raise a force of about 1000 people in a short time...hehe...".

After finishing speaking, Old Huang looked at the utterly shocked expressions on everyone's faces and said to Shangguan Yun, "Boss, that's about all I have to say. Would you like to take a look at the accounts...?"

"Haha... Lao Huang... You've worked hard these past few days. I won't look at these accounts anymore. Just keep track of them for yourself. As the team expands, your role as the logistics minister will be quite demanding."

In a few days, I'll find you a capable assistant to share some of the pressure. Also, if there are suitable candidates in the village, as long as you, Lao Huang, trust them, you can promote them to be your right-hand men. Logistics is very important...hehe...".

"Thank you for your concern, Chief. There are more and more things to do lately. I have recruited a few smart and capable assistants. Some are old people from the village, and some are people who have drifted here. Just yesterday, I found a few hot-blooded young men who are full of energy in battle and are also smart and capable."

One of them, Li Haiyao, is particularly outstanding. He's now helping me manage logistics. Haha, young people are really capable. Otherwise, how could a middle-aged man like me have finished compiling such a huge amount of data so quickly... haha...”

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, and Old Huang stepped aside.

"Alright, since Minister Huang trusts this person, bring him over later so I can take a look. After all, logistics is a crucial matter and cannot be taken lightly. Everyone should take a look at this outsider, haha..."

"Yes..." Old Huang cupped his hands and smiled.

"Okay...did everyone hear what Lao Huang said just now...?"

“I heard that… um… terrifying enough… too exaggerated… rich… amazing… shameless…” There were all sorts of voices.

"Ahem... Well, since that's the case, let me, the nouveau riche, explain the arrangements below." Everyone fell silent and looked at Shangguan Yun.

"No war is without casualties. Although this great battle has severely damaged Songjiazhai and caused great sorrow, it has also brought new opportunities for development."

Leaving aside the distant future, with the weapons we have, we can easily recruit some soldiers, train them diligently, and in time, form a fighting force. How dare the Japanese devils easily provoke Songjiazhai? With ample rear support, Songjiazhai truly fears no one within a hundred miles...

After he finished speaking, everyone cheered, "The commander is right, haha... With the commander here, we have confidence... That's right..."

Shangguan Yun pressed his hands down lightly. "However, this is clearly not what I need. What I need is an elite army, an invincible elite army. So do you know what an elite army is...?" Shangguan Yun paused slightly, looking to both sides.

There was a moment of silence, most of them looking thoughtful. "Hehe... Let me give you a simple example. Our army's ordinary infantry company has 120 men, but they can hold off an elite Japanese company of 180 men."

Why is this? Our defense of the North Gate this time best illustrates the point. Our three platoons fought against more than 300 Japanese soldiers for several hours without retreating an inch. What does this prove?

Everyone suddenly realized, "Weapons... heavy machine guns... ammunition supply..."

"That's right, it's about weapons. So what I want to tell everyone here today is not to focus on the gains or losses of a single city or place, or small, localized advantages."

"Regarding our spoils this time, it seems like a lot, but I can tell you all that in the near future, all your Type 38 rifles, Arisaka rifles, Type 92 rifles, and other heavy-duty rifles will be obsolete. At that time, you yourselves will say that they were just trash..." Everyone was astonished upon hearing this.

"Don't believe me? Just wait and see. Now I'll announce our goals and policies for the next period of time."

Shangguan Yun stepped down the steps, came to the map, picked up the command stick, and said, "After yesterday's battle, the sphere of influence of Wulong Ridge has been redrawn. Now the Japanese are too busy to take care of themselves and are short of troops. They will not have any major operations this winter. We can have a peaceful New Year. Please take a look."

The current situation is that, centered on Songjiazhai in Longnan Mountain, the forward positions have advanced 10 kilometers south to Jieqiao, which is 10 kilometers from Zhuanghe County. Camel Peak on the east side has been occupied by our army and will become our army's training range in the future. The old mountain road runs through the valley from north to south, with a total length of 20 kilometers, and is now basically under our army's control.

"To the east, Liu Yong's guerrilla force has been stationed in the area from Sidaogou to Longwangmiao to Taipingzhuang. The hostile forces to the north are mainly Wu Ruhai's 200 men on Laoye Ridge, Pang Xuecheng's troops on Daheishan, and a newly arrived Japanese company at Wulongkou."