Chapter 9: Establishing a New Base! The Commander’s Shock: The New First Regiment Is Missing?

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Two options presented by the system now lay before Li Yunlong.

One was the Jin-Sui region; the other was to develop in their current location.

Li Yunlong had some understanding of the Jin-Sui area.

The Jin-Sui region lies at the border between northwest Shanxi and Suiyuan Province.

This area was not too far from the Eighth Route Army’s base in northwest Shanxi, with potential for further expansion into Suiyuan later.

Suiyuan Province was one of the four northern provinces of China.

Its terrain was mainly plateau, divided into three parts.

The northern part of Suiyuan was part of the Mongolian Plateau, dominated by gobi desert, rich in mineral resources; the famous mining city of Bayan Obo was located here.

The central part was traversed by the Yellow River, forming the Hetao region—an exceptionally fertile area with abundant aquatic resources and beautiful ecology. Major cities such as Baotou and Gui Sui were situated there.

The southern part centered on the Ordos Plateau, where Genghis Khan’s tomb was located.

In summary, Suiyuan was relatively rich in material resources; the central region could cultivate crops, the north could develop minerals, and the south was a naturally defensible stronghold.

Therefore, Suiyuan was well suited to become a base area.

Moreover, the Jin-Sui region, bordering northwest Shanxi and Suiyuan, was an excellent choice for development.

It had abundant natural resources, a favorable geographic position, and was far from the Japanese sweep zones—definitely a good place to establish a base.

In contrast, the location where Li Yunlong and his men were currently stationed was not only barren in resources but also dangerously close to the Japanese sweep zones, risking being wiped out at any moment.

Worse yet, many Eighth Route Army units were nearby, which could easily lead to conflicts over territory during development, causing trouble.

After all, Li Yunlong was currently developing independently to avoid contact with other Eighth Route Army units.

After careful consideration, Li Yunlong felt the Jin-Sui region was more suitable for the future development of the New First Regiment, so he confirmed option two: to move to the Jin-Sui region.

At the very instant Li Yunlong made his choice, the system's rewards were already delivered.

He immediately opened the system space to check, finding the resource map of the Jin-Sui region and a bullet production line quietly stored inside.

The resource map and bullet production line were valuable treasures.

Moreover, these two rewards complemented each other; without resources, the bullet production line would be useless decoration.

But having both was far more precious than gold.

As Li Yunlong examined the rewards, Zhang Dabiao stepped forward and asked, “Commander, where shall we develop next?”

Li Yunlong snapped out of his thoughts and instinctively replied, “To the Jin-Sui region, the border between northwest Shanxi and Suiyuan Province.”

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“There’s a town called Jin-Sui there, which can serve as our initial stronghold!”

Hearing Li Yunlong’s words, the senior officers of the New First Regiment looked somewhat puzzled.

Shen Quan scratched his head and asked, “Why go so far? We’re heading straight to the border of northwest Shanxi?”

Others also looked at Li Yunlong with curiosity.

Li Yunlong casually explained, “We must go to Jin-Sui now to develop better and quickly build our strength.”

“The interior of northwest Shanxi is already chaotic. Our New First Regiment cannot easily conceal itself, nor do we have sufficient resources to develop here.”

“Besides, this way we avoid the Japanese sweep zones.”

“So we have no choice but to move toward the periphery and open a new base.”

Hearing this, the others had no objections.

The battalion commanders were merely curious, but since Li Yunlong had made the decision, everyone naturally followed without question.

Under Li Yunlong’s leadership, the New First Regiment soldiers traveled swiftly toward the Jin-Sui region.

Li Yunlong’s plan was simple: establish the Jin-Sui base and then lead his men to fight vigorously.

...

On the road to the Jin-Sui region, Li Yunlong walked at the front of the column, with Wei Dayong close behind.

“Wei Dayong,” Li Yunlong called over his shoulder.

“Yes!” Wei Dayong responded immediately.

“Since you’re so eager to follow my tail, why don’t you just be my bodyguard?” Li Yunlong smiled. “I see you’re quite skilled; you’d make a decent bodyguard.”

“Thank you, Commander! I will protect you well!” Wei Dayong replied joyfully and earnestly.

A bodyguard was someone who protected Li Yunlong personally, a role requiring great trust.

Wei Dayong felt honored and a bit overwhelmed.

Nearby, Zhang Dabiao overheard their exchange and frowned slightly. “Wei Dayong, what did you do before joining the Central Army?”

As Li Yunlong’s battalion commander, Zhang Dabiao wanted to assess Wei Dayong’s background.

Wei Dayong looked simple but was not foolish; he understood Zhang Dabiao’s meaning.

He answered candidly, “Before becoming a soldier, I was a monk at Shaolin Temple.”

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“I’m originally from Dengfeng, Henan, and entered Shaolin Temple as a child, spending ten years as a monk.”

“Although I mastered martial arts, when the Japanese raided our temple, we were unarmed and could not resist.”

“I was fortunate to escape and then joined the Central Army to fight the Japanese, up until the Battle of Xinkou.”

“It was at the Battle of Xinkou that I was captured by the Japanese.”

After hearing Wei Dayong’s explanation, Zhang Dabiao sensed his sincerity.

“I see...” Zhang Dabiao sighed, then said, “Next time we have a chance, I must spar with you, this Shaolin monk.”

“A friendly match to see whether you, the martial monk, or I, former leader of the Saber Troop, am stronger!”

“That sounds great!” Wei Dayong’s eyes lit up, already showing fighting spirit.

Though he had been a monk for ten years, his nature was always bold and combative.

Zhang Dabiao’s words had ignited Wei Dayong’s martial enthusiasm.

...

The journey was not peaceful; the New First Regiment encountered some Japanese puppet troops and fought several battles.

Thanks to Li Yunlong’s brilliant command, the New First Regiment won every time.

Casualties were light, and they captured much enemy weaponry.

...

In southern northwest Shanxi,

The headquarters of the 129th Division finally broke out of the Japanese encirclement.

The division’s chief of staff immediately began tallying casualties and attempted to contact other units.

Eventually, the chief of staff discovered a grave matter and hurried to report it to the division commander.

“Commander,” the chief of staff said with a troubled expression, “Li Yunlong’s New First Regiment appears to have lost contact!”

The commander was shocked by this news...