Chapter 38: Abundant Spoils, Strategic Planning, and Li Yunlong's Micromanagement

"Commander, the interrogation results are in."

"Sun Sanqiang, the puppet army battalion commander, has confessed about his hidden wealth. We've already sent men to dig it out—a whole small chest filled with various sizes of gold bars and jewelry."

"As for the Japanese second lieutenant named Jirō Hirata, he didn't give anything up before biting his tongue to commit suicide. Though he didn't die immediately, he couldn't speak anymore. Medical supplies are scarce, so there was no point in saving him. Ultimately, he succumbed to excessive blood loss and died."

Hearing this outcome, Li Yunlong felt a slight surge of surprise.

"I didn't expect the comrades in the special reconnaissance company to have such effective methods!"

"Still, letting those little Japanese bastards die so easily leaves room for improvement."

Zhang Dabiao paused, his mouth twitching slightly.

He had personally witnessed the wretched state of that Japanese soldier—not a single fingernail remained intact, a truly horrific sight.

And he called that dying easily?

Zhang Dabiao could not help but shiver involuntarily.

At that moment, a soldier walked over and reported excitedly, "Commander, we've found two cannons, along with plenty of shells!"

"You've got to come and see!"

Li Yunlong nodded slightly and instructed, "Tell Yang Zhihua to come over."

"Yes!"

Zhang Dabiao immediately sent someone to fetch Yang Zhihua, who was accompanying the operation.

A moment later.

Just as Li Yunlong and Zhang Dabiao were inspecting the two Type 92 infantry guns, Yang Zhihua hurried over. Upon laying eyes on the infantry guns and the crates of artillery shells, he danced with excitement.

The artillery company had finally gained two more flat-trajectory guns!

Fantastic!

The commander was truly prophetic; they really had secured more artillery pieces.

Good thing he had trained the artillerymen in advance, or else they would have been left staring blankly.

"Yang Zhihua, these two cannons are yours now. I'll give you half an hour to regroup, and then you'll follow the 1st Battalion into continued combat!"

"Can you accomplish this?"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!" Yang Zhihua replied loudly with absolute confidence.

Li Yunlong nodded slightly, then turned to order Zhang Dabiao, "Quickly reorganize the troops and prepare for the upcoming operations."

"Yes!" Zhang Dabiao said full of confidence, "The boys have been ready for a long time."

"Good then!" Li Yunlong admonished, "During the attack earlier, the 1st Company's formation fell into some chaos. Make sure commanders at all levels keep a tight grip on their troops..."

"Pay attention to the coordination distance between infantry and artillery..."

"Yes!" Zhang Dabiao lowered his head in self-reproach. "I'll go down right now and remind them."

"I guarantee this won't happen again."

Li Yunlong nodded slightly. "Strike the right balance; don't dampen the soldiers' morale."

"Understood!"

Following Li Yunlong's orders, the artillery company began outfitting themselves with the newly 'captured' Type 92 infantry guns. With this addition, the artillery company now possessed three flat-trajectory cannons, alongside a considerable number of mortars.

The 1st Battalion had also completed its reorganization. Casualties for the 1st Battalion in this battle had been minimal; instead, by absorbing and reorganizing the puppet troops, their troop strength had actually increased rather than decreased.

Meanwhile, Zhang Quan had finished his logistical duties and compiled a captured-goods inventory list.

"Commander, this is the inventory of the spoils of war. Please take a look."

Li Yunlong took the list, scanned through it, and nodded with satisfaction.

Although the harvest in Huangyadong Town was not quite as massive as the previous Xijin Town, it still yielded roughly an equivalent of a battalion's worth of equipment, along with a significant amount of cash and supplies.

These were enough to sustain the New 1st Regiment for nearly half a month.

In particular, the confiscation of the puppet officers' wealth, which was deposited into the anti-Japanese fund, made the New 1st Regiment quite well-off for a change.

Coupled with the supplies Li Yunlong had retrieved from his system, the spoils of war were exceptionally bountiful.

"Execute the usual policy; we cannot let the common people down. Make sure the takeover of Huangyadong Town is handled properly."

"Understood!" Zhang Quan nodded in acknowledgment.

He was already thoroughly experienced with matters of this sort.

Li Yunlong then instructed the comrades of the special reconnaissance company to intensify the interrogation of the puppet soldiers, ferret out any lurking enemies and traitors, and carry out liquidation work.

While Li Yunlong was handling affairs in Huangyadong Town, Zhang Dabiao led the soldiers of the 1st Battalion off to lay an ambush, waiting for the reinforcements from Tongyu Town and Matian Town to walk into the trap.

According to the plan, capturing Huangyadong Town was merely a means to weaken the enemies in the other two towns before launching a follow-up attack to capture them in one fell swoop.

As the communications soldiers from Huangyadong Town made their way separately to Tongyu Town and Matian Town, Captain Taro Arai, the Japanese company commander garrisoned in Matian Town, received the news.

Before long, he decided to dispatch a company of puppet troops and a small detachment to reinforce Huangyadong.

After all, the three small towns formed a triangular defensive formation; if something happened to Huangyadong Town, he could not simply stand by and watch them perish.

Following Taro Arai's orders, Tongyu Town also dispatched troops to reinforce at the earliest possible moment.

Thus, two separate waves of forces simultaneously marched rapidly along the highway to reinforce Huangyadong Town.

Little did they know that the 1st Battalion and the artillery company had been waiting for them for a long time.

Battle erupted once again!

Caught completely by surprise, the ambushed Japanese and puppet troops suffered devastating losses.

Fighting desperately for their lives, only a small fraction of the Japanese and puppet soldiers managed to flee back to Tongyu Town and Matian Town by dusk.

Zhang Dabiao led his troops in hot pursuit.

However, this time he was in no rush to launch an immediate assault; instead, following Li Yunlong's plan, he proceeded to encircle Matian Town.

Cutting telephone lines, setting up alert perimeters—such measures effectively severed Matian Town from the outside world.

...

Inside Matian Town, Taro Arai listened to the reports brought back by the fleeing puppet and Japanese soldiers, realizing instantly that things had gone terribly wrong.

He decisively tried to make a phone call for rescue.

However, the telephone lines had been severed, so naturally no calls could go through. Lacking a radio transmitter, he had no choice but to send messengers out to beg for reinforcements.

Yet the messengers sent out vanished like stones sinking into the sea, leaving behind total silence.

That night, facing the Eighth Route Army's periodic harassment, the Japanese and puppet troops in Matian Town found sleep impossible, remaining on edge and trembling with anxiety as they kept watch.

As night fell, the special reconnaissance company soldiers lurking within Matian Town scattered surrender leaflets under the cover of darkness.

Many of the puppet soldiers began to harbor ulterior motives.

However, they dared not make any rash moves just yet.

After all, the Eighth Route Army had not yet launched a full assault on the town.

Even so, a desire to surrender took root in the hearts of many puppet troops, and military morale completely disintegrated.

Although Taro Arai learned of this and issued orders to pacify and intimidate the ranks, it yielded very little effect.

...

Tongyu Town.

Garrisoned here was the 12th Platoon of the 5th Battalion, commanded by Second Lieutenant Eiji Sato.

At this moment, after listening to the reports from the fleeing puppet troops and squad soldiers, he was utterly dumbfounded.

They had fallen for a ruse!

"Baka! Cunning Eighth Route Army! They actually used Huangyadong Town as bait to lure us into a trap!"

"Damn it!"

"Immediately contact the company commander to report the situation—we are unable to reinforce Huangyadong Town."

"Hai!"

Yet the situation was identical here: the telephone lines had been cut, and communication was utterly impossible.

Just as a panicked Eiji Sato was trying to guess the Eighth Route Army's true intentions, a puppet soldier arrived at the doorway, saluted, and reported, "Taishang! Enemy traces have been spotted outside the town!"

"Also, the sound of gunfire and cannon fire is coming from the direction of Matian Town. It seems the enemy is attacking Matian Town."

Eiji Sato furrowed his brow in deep thought.

He had no idea whether the troops dispatched by the company commander had been ambushed, or if the enemy was indeed assaulting Matian Town...

Now that enemies had also appeared within his own defense zone, Eiji Sato found himself unable to discern the enemy's primary objective.

Was it Huangyadong Town, Matian Town, or his own Tongyu Town?

"Send more men toward Matian Town and Huangyadong Town. We must figure out the enemy's intentions!"

"And seek reinforcements."

"Hai!"

...

Outside Tongyu Town.

Li Yunlong personally took command of the scene, waiting quietly.

In the dead of night, Wang Gensheng walked over and reported, "Commander, just as you predicted, the Japanese in Tongyu Town dispatched quite a few puppet troops. We've already completely surrounded and contained them."

A flash of joy crossed Li Yunlong's face. He immediately turned to the surrendered puppet soldiers and declared, "It's your turn to take the stage."

"Whether you choose to remain traitors or become upright, proud Chinese citizens depends entirely on your performance."

...

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