Chapter 43: Excessive Booty Brings Joy to the Brigade Commander

The brigade commander arrived much faster than expected.

When Zhang Yun confirmed that the friendly forces ahead were the 2nd Battalion of the 772nd Regiment, the main force of the 772nd Regiment personally led by the brigade commander was actually less than two kilometers behind the 2nd Battalion.

As a main force primarily composed of Long March veterans, the entire 772nd Regiment moved very quickly during long-distance marches. Not long after Zhang Yun and his men made contact with the 2nd Battalion of the 772nd Regiment, Brigade Commander Chen, wearing his iconic leather jacket, rode up to Zhang Yun on horseback, accompanied by his guards.

Compared to the historical Brigade Commander Chen, who walked with a slight limp due to multiple wounds, the Brigade Commander Chen in the world of *Drawing Sword* appeared even more valorous and confident. He dismounted, handed his riding crop to the guard behind him, walked briskly toward Zhang Yun, and looked at him earnestly.

"Zhang Yun, you good lad, you've really done it!"

Zhang Yun's predecessor had originated from the Central Soviet Area, and he had already known Brigade Commander Chen during the Long March.

After the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, the Central Committee specially dispatched a number of company and platoon leaders from the former First Red Army Corps to the 129th Division, which was formed around the core of the Fourth Red Army Corps. This was done to further enhance familiarity among the various units and eliminate any estrangement between different army corps.

As cadres sent by the Central Committee, Zhang Yun, Liu Changqing, and others had actually been on the brigade commander's watch list, and high hopes were pinned on these company and platoon-level cadres. However, Brigade Commander Chen never expected that Zhang Yun would quietly stir up such a massive commotion!

The reason Brigade Commander Chen had rushed over with the 772nd Regiment, which had just experienced a bloody battle, was that early this morning, he had received a report from Independent Regiment Commander Kong Jie.

As the "honest fellow" of the brigade, Kong Jie had already begun preparing his report to the brigade commander after securing the spoils from ambushing the transport convoy. Before the letter was even sent, Zhang Yun had consulted with him regarding the night raid on the county town. Therefore, Kong Jie not only detailed the Independent Regiment's ambush and blocking actions in his report, but also included everything he knew about Zhang Yun's newly formed platoon, specifically mentioning the plan for the night raid on the county town.

When Brigade Commander Chen received the report delivered overnight by the Independent Regiment's courier, he was overjoyed and pleasantly surprised again and again.

First, he was delighted that after splitting up to develop their forces, Zhang Yun had quickly gathered troops, adding nearly 500 men to the 386th Brigade;

Second, he was delighted that the new platoon was well-equipped and possessed strong combat capabilities, making it a formidable surprise force at this critical moment of counterattack;

Third, he was delighted by Zhang Yun's sharp tactical instincts. Since the Japanese were few in number and exhausted, the night raid on the county town would undoubtedly succeed, and the troops would secure substantial supplies and equipment;

Fourth, occupying Heshun was like a thunderbolt to the Japanese in Liao County, pulling the rug out from under them, and creating a favorable posture for the current 386th Brigade to drive the Japanese 105th Regiment out of Liao County.

Brigade Commander Chen judged that in order to secure their rear and logistics supply lines, the Japanese in Liao County would inevitably dispatch troops to recapture Heshun County Town. However, since the Communist forces in Heshun were relatively few in number, they might not be a match for the Japanese reinforcements.

Therefore, he mobilized troops overnight, arranging for the guerrilla detachment and militia in the Liao County area to continue harassing the enemy, creating the illusion that the main force was still present. He also quickly recalled the 772nd Regiment, which was resting and reorganizing following the bloody battle at Changle Village, and rushed directly toward Heshun to see if they could ambush the main body of Japanese reinforcements.

As a result, on their way over, they heard the rumble of artillery ahead and saw thick smoke rising directly into the sky.

Seeing such a grand momentum, Brigade Commander Chen initially judged that the Japanese were fiercely attacking the blocking forces of the Independent Regiment and the new platoon. He hurriedly ordered the 2nd Battalion to travel light and accelerate their pace, engaging the Japanese from behind to support our forces from the flank.

Unexpectedly, the 2nd Battalion reported just moments ago that they had encountered the new platoon's security forces and successfully joined up with them.

Along the ride over on horseback, Brigade Commander Chen had already figured it out: the gunfire earlier was actually the sound of the new platoon's artillery bombarding the Japanese positions.

"Zhang Yun, this lad, has only been out building up his forces for two months, and he already has such powerful artillery!"

That explained the scene at the beginning.

"Brigade Commander! Brigade Commander!" Before Zhang Yun could speak, Liu Changqing hurried over, rushing to the front of the brigade commander and calling out excitedly.

Zhang Yun also grasped the brigade commander's hand, his eyes filled with excitement.

The brigade commander clenched his left fist and lightly tapped Zhang Yun on the shoulder.

"Yesterday I received Kong Jie's report, and he praised you to the high heavens, saying you know how to lead men and fight battles, that in less than two months you've whipped into shape a formidable fighting force, and captured countless trophies."

"Well? You still trying to hide things right in front of me? Why don't you hurry up and let me feast my eyes?"

Although he didn't hear the legendary "congratulations and wishing you a fortune," the brigade commander's words—sounding questioning yet full of care—made Zhang Yun feel a sense of warmth, and the initial unfamiliarity quickly faded away.

Zhang Yun composed his emotions and led the brigade commander straight toward the Japanese positions. At the same time, he ordered the 2nd Squad to return to the blocking position, while the 1st Squad, led by Dabao, accompanied them to ensure the brigade commander's safety.

Brigade Commander Chen instructed the 2nd Battalion of the 772nd Regiment to help the soldiers of the new platoon's 2nd Squad reinforce the defensive positions. Then, he led the remaining two battalions of the 772nd Regiment—consisting of over 900 soldiers—onto the captured Japanese positions.

Upon arriving at the position, the brigade commander was immediately shocked by the countless bomb craters dotting the terrain.

Everywhere on the compact position were dense, blackened craters, testifying to the sheer intensity of the artillery barrage that had just swept across this patch of land.

At this point, the outer perimeter of the battlefield was lined with the mutilated corpses of Japanese soldiers, while some militiamen were still continuously carrying bodies away. They would presumably be buried en masse later to prevent the spread of pestilence.

On the other side of the position, captured trophies were piled high. Five Type 92 heavy machine guns and several Nambu light machine guns were lined up in a row, while Type 38 rifles were stacked in several piles behind them, presenting a rather spectacular sight.

Even rarer was the sight of several artillerymen polishing two Type 92 infantry guns and a Type 41 mountain gun in the rear, with numerous ammunition crates neatly arranged beside them.

"How many Japanese bodies are there here?" Brigade Commander Chen asked in astonishment, looking at the line of Japanese corpses stretching for a hundred meters.

"507. The Japanese reinforcement force, the Kawazawa Battalion of over 800 men, was largely wiped out by our two artillery barrages, losing over 500 men. We've captured all their heavy weapons," Zhang Yun introduced calmly.

"We obtained 1 mountain gun with 47 rounds of ammunition, 1 infantry gun with 98 rounds, 5 Type 92 heavy machine guns, 10 Nambu light machine guns, 4 ZB-26 light machine guns, over 120 Type 38 rifles, 12 Nambu pistols, about 40,000 rounds of ammunition, 13 grenade launchers with 178 specialized rounds, over 300 grenades, and 245 gas masks. In addition, there are over 200 damaged rifles and machine guns, and one damaged infantry gun and mountain gun each. Oh, and some medicines—none of us really know what they are."

"Good, good, good! You actually captured intact Japanese infantry guns, mountain guns, and ammunition! That is no small feat! Wait, why are there two infantry guns here? You rascal, you weren't trying to hide one, were you?" Seeing such massive spoils, Brigade Commander Chen could not hide his joy and even joked with Zhang Yun.

"Reporting to the brigade commander, one of the infantry guns wasn't captured today; we captured it previously, and I had already integrated it into my artillery squad," Zhang Yun quickly clarified, lest the brigade commander confiscate the infantry gun.

Subsequently, Zhang Yun introduced the three members of the artillery squad—Wang Dachuan, Wang Chengzhu, and Li Tianduo—to the brigade commander, and then said proudly, "These are the high-end talents of our new platoon. In the future, they might just become the artillery regiment commanders and battalion commanders of our Eighth Route Army!"

The brigade commander offered a few words of encouragement to the three men, then looked up at the spoils on the position and suddenly asked, "How many supplies did you capture in the county town yesterday?"

Zhang Yun looked at Liu Changqing, who immediately took out a small notebook and reported meticulously: "In Heshun County Town, the Independent Regiment and we jointly captured over 50 rifles, 320,000 rounds of ammunition, 720 infantry gun shells, 800 Type 41 mountain gun shells, over 400 gas masks, and one radio."

"How much? Over 300,000 rounds of ammunition? Good, excellent! At Changle Village, we eliminated over 1,500 Japanese soldiers, yet captured fewer than 70,000 rounds of ammunition." Brigade Commander Chen, who had been silent just moments ago, was completely blown away by the sheer quantity of supplies Zhang Yun had captured, letting out an exclamation of amazement.

Walking and talking along the way, Zhang Yun led the brigade commander to the Japanese battalion headquarters. A tattered tent had been mended with thread and rope by some militiaman, barely serving to block the wind.

After entering, the brigade commander first noticed the damaged radio and remarked, "What a pity." Then he looked at the piles of ammunition crates and nodded in satisfaction.

Zhang Yun brought over a clean water bottle and handed it to the brigade commander, then produced a few captured canned beefs and biscuits so the brigade commander could grab a bite.

The brigade commander took the bottle, took a sip of water, and then said, "I'll pass on the canned food. Give it to your wounded soldiers instead."

Zhang Yun smiled and replied, "Brigade commander, just taste it. We suffered zero casualties in both ambushes, and between that and capturing too many canned goods and horse meat, everyone's getting a bit tired of eating meat these days."

Brigade Commander Chen laughed and scolded, "You lot are getting tired of meat, while the headquarters leaders are still eating taro and wild greens every day! Zero casualties in two ambushes—tell me, how many artillery shells did you expend?"

"Today we fired a total of over 700 mortar rounds and over 100 infantry gun rounds."

The corners of the brigade commander's mouth twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything more.