Chapter 13: The Commander’s Sudden Change of Face (Please Vote, Please Support!)

Chapter 13: The Regiment Commander’s Sudden Change of Face (Please Support with Recommendations and Monthly Votes)

“Deputy Regiment Commander, Deputy Regiment Commander, the regiment commander and the others are back!”

After reporting to the brigade headquarters about Li Yunlong’s achievement of capturing Xiao Wang Village with just three artillery shells, Zhong Zhicheng was busy tallying the supplies brought back by the Third Battalion and settling the prisoners. Suddenly, a regiment staff officer rushed over with good news.

“Deputy Regiment Commander, the regiment commander struck it rich—he’s taken Xiao Li Village too and brought back a large haul of weapons and ammunition!”

Though Zhong Zhicheng was annoyed by Li Yunlong’s unilateral actions, hearing that Xiao Li Village had also been captured with a massive bounty of arms, he couldn’t sit still and hurried outside.

Seeing the three mortars, five grenade launchers, and six heavy machine guns, Zhong Zhicheng was utterly stunned.

Thanks to Li Yunlong’s antics, the First Regiment suddenly became the most well-equipped unit within the 386th Brigade. It was almost unbelievable.

Li Yunlong returned laden with spoils, his mood extremely buoyant, and promptly “forgot” the earlier friction with Zhong Zhicheng. Smiling broadly, he said to the stunned Zhong Zhicheng, “Old Zhong, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and help carry these things.”

“Commander, you captured Xiao Li Village as well?” Zhong Zhicheng finally came to his senses, asking rhetorically with eyes full of astonishment.

“Of course! Xiao Wang Village alone wouldn’t have yielded so many weapons and ammo,” Li Yunlong replied with a grin.

“Were there no casualties during the Xiao Li Village battle? I didn’t see any wounded or dead brought back,” Zhong Zhicheng asked.

“No casualties at all in the Xiao Wang Village fight,” Li Yunlong responded.

“This is unbelievable—two villages captured, a huge seizure of weapons and ammo, and not a single casualty. How is that possible?” Zhong Zhicheng simply could not believe it.

“Old Zhong, if I told you the whole story, you’d probably not believe it even more,” Li Yunlong said, introducing Wu Ze to Zhong Zhicheng.

“The reason we have such rich loot is thanks to this Wu Ze,” he explained.

“Thanks to Wu Ze? What do you mean?” Zhong Zhicheng looked at Wu Ze, unfamiliar with the young man, puzzled by Li Yunlong’s implication.

“Well, you know we went to brigade headquarters asking for guns, right? The brigade commander was damn stubborn and refused. After some back and forth, he finally gave me autonomy. Old Zhong, if he hadn’t given me that autonomy, I wouldn’t have dared to move troops around on my own…” Li Yunlong trailed off.

Zhong Zhicheng interrupted, “But you did move troops on your own! I came with orders from the brigade commander for you to withdraw, and you ignored them. Isn’t that exactly unauthorized troop movement?”

Li Yunlong, in high spirits, didn’t bother arguing further. He continued, “On my way back from brigade headquarters, I happened to meet Wu Ze. He gave me intel that the enemy’s transport truck had broken down on the road. I took advantage of the opportunity and captured an Italian artillery piece…”

“As soon as you got that Italian gun, your backbone stiffened, and you immediately sent Xiao Wuzi back to order the whole regiment out to attack Xiao Wang Village,” Zhong Zhicheng finished the sentence.

“Definitely! Before, we had no heavy weapons, so facing the arrogant enemy at Xiao Wang Village, we could only keep our tails between our legs. Now that we have this Italian gun, we have to take care of them,” Li Yunlong said excitedly, spitting as he spoke, even spraying some onto Zhong Zhicheng’s face.

Wiping the spit off his face, Zhong Zhicheng asked, “Commander, are you saying the psychological warfare against the Xiao Wang Village enemy was Wu Ze’s idea?”

He had inquired with the Third Battalion and learned the details of how Li Yunlong took Xiao Wang Village with just three artillery shells. Now hearing Li Yunlong credit Wu Ze for such a fruitful haul, he doubted whether this young man was really that clever.

“Yes, it was Wu Ze’s idea,” Li Yunlong nodded.

“Wu Ze, where are you from? Did you study somewhere special?” Zhong Zhicheng’s gaze fixed on Wu Ze. With such talent, he must have an impressive background.

“Old Zhong, this is actually the next thing I wanted to tell you,” Li Yunlong cut in. “Wu Ze must have enemies. He was beaten unconscious, left in a mass grave, suffering a head injury that temporarily wiped his memory. He doesn’t know his family or hometown.”

Hearing that, Zhong Zhicheng looked at the large bump on Wu Ze’s head and said, “That was a brutal hit.”

“Exactly. Luckily, Wu Ze is tough and survived,” Li Yunlong said, looking at Zhong Zhicheng seriously. “This is no small matter. Although my First Regiment can protect him, whoever did this has gone too far. We can’t let this go. I need you to help investigate Wu Ze’s background.”

Wu Ze was touched. “Commander…”

“Wu Ze, you’re part of my First Regiment now. If anyone bullies you, I, Li Yunlong, will make sure justice is done,” Li Yunlong interrupted him and looked at Zhong Zhicheng. “Old Zhong, make sure you keep this tight.”

“Alright,” Zhong Zhicheng agreed. Then he said to Li Yunlong, “Commander, but the brigade commander is coming.”

Li Yunlong’s eyes immediately widened. “Old Zhong, what did you say? The brigade commander is coming?”

Upon hearing this, Wu Ze also grew expectant of the 386th Brigade commander.

In the TV series, the brigade commander’s screen time is brief but memorable.

The first scene shows Li Yunlong being assigned as the director of the Clothing Factory and receiving orders to become the commander of the Independent Regiment, which he resists.

Then the brigade commander appears, shouts a few words, and Li Yunlong scurries off like a scared mouse.

Usually, Comrade Li is fearless, but when the brigade commander shows up, he immediately cowers.

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