Chapter 30: The Brigade Commander Is Delighted (Please Cast a Recommendation Vote)

"Son, are you alright?" Qiu Daba leaned in shakily toward Qiu Yaozu, his heart aching as he stared at the injured leg.

"Father, can't you see that my leg has been pierced through by a blade?" Qiu Yaozu was sweating profusely from the pain.

"Qiu Daba, Qiu Yaozu, I, Li Yunlong, keep my word. My New First Regiment will not take your lives. Leave immediately." Li Yunlong bellowed at the top of his lungs. Many of the villagers who had been preparing to enter the village to dig for potatoes heard him and stopped in their tracks.

Qiu Daba had defected to the Japanese, and he had caused no end of suffering for the locals. Many of the villagers held deep, blood-feud hatred toward him. Upon hearing that Li Yunlong would not harm the father and son, they were far from satisfied.

"Regimental Commander Li, my son is so badly hurt, he can't even walk," Qiu Daba pleaded.

"That's none of my business," Li Yunlong replied, adopting an air of nonchalant detachment.

"Regimental Commander Li, are you really not going to kill this dog of a traitor?" a villager asked, stepping forward.

"Indeed, I gave him my word that I would not harm Qiu Daba or his son, and I must keep my promise," Li Yunlong said with a straight face.

"That won't do! This Qiu Daba destroyed my family. I cannot let him go," the villager retorted.

"If you don't let him go, that's your business. It has nothing to do with me; you aren't part of the New First Regiment," Li Yunlong said dismissively.

Qiu Daba realized in an instant that he had been tricked. He hurriedly called out to Li Yunlong, "Regimental Commander Li, you..."

Li Yunlong ignored him completely and walked away.

"Qiu Daba, return my son's life!"

"Qiu Daba, you traitorous dog, you seized my land! I'll kill you!"

"Qiu Daba, so this is what it's like for you today!"

As soon as Li Yunlong left, the furious villagers swarmed forward, and the crowd engulfed Qiu Daba and Qiu Yaozu.

Watching the scene, Wu Ze said to Huzi, "Well, our commander isn't stupid, is he?"

"Haha, well done," Huzi laughed heartily.

With the father and son dealt with, the villagers swarmed into Qiujia Village. Everyone was frantically digging for potatoes, and cartload after cartload was hauled out of the village—a truly bustling and spirited scene.

Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao were all smiles as they finished confiscating all the weapons from the puppet troops in Qiujia Village.

"Regimental Commander Li, the job is done, so we shall take our leave. We must get back to report to our own commander," Wang Huaibao and Shen Quan said, bidding farewell to Li Yunlong.

"Go ahead, off with you," Li Yunlong replied. With the Independent Regiment having secured weapons and ammunition, they needed to focus on training.

Hirata Ichiro’s forces would begin their encirclement before long, and Li Yunlong would need the Independent Regiment to cover the New First Regiment’s flank.

Shortly after they left, Zhong Zhicheng arrived in a hurry. Seeing the village in a frenzy of potato digging, he was pleasantly surprised. "Commander, you took Qiujia Village so quickly?"

"Yes, Old Zhong. This was all thanks to Wu Ze's clever plan," Li Yunlong told him. "That dog Qiu Daba—I even dug up his father’s grave, and he still wouldn't send out his troops. Wu Ze had me make three crates of fake penicillin to frame him, and then we rigged his father’s coffin with explosives. That was what finally pushed him over the edge."

"Where is Wu Ze?" Zhong Zhicheng asked, not seeing him.

"He's gone to move the physician's remains back." Now that the village was taken, the physician’s remains needed to be returned to their rightful resting place.

"Commander, you stay here to command. I’ll go back to report to the Brigade Commander," Zhong Zhicheng said happily.

"Go, go ahead." Li Yunlong nodded, and Zhong Zhicheng left immediately.

Li Yunlong went to find Wu Ze, who had already finished reburying the physician’s remains and filling in the grave. Seeing Li Yunlong approach, Wu Ze handed him a stick of incense. "Commander, you should pay your respects as well."

Li Yunlong took the incense, bowed toward the new grave, and planted it in front of the mound. "Physician, I apologize; you have been wronged."

"Wu Ze, now that we've taken the village, do you think we should occupy it or destroy it?" Li Yunlong asked.

"What does the Commander think?" Wu Ze countered.

The village had fertile land and a complete defense system; it would be a shame to abandon or destroy it. Yet, the Japanese forces were at their most rampant, and the disparity in strength between the enemy and themselves remained significant. If they garrisoned the village, the Japanese could use their heavy artillery to destroy the entire place. In other words, stationing troops there would be a death sentence. The Eighth Route Army was renowned for its guerrilla warfare, not for such rigid, static tactics.

"I certainly hope to preserve it, but the Japanese will surely not let me have my way," Li Yunlong said, looking at Wu Ze. "Do you have any way to hold it?"

"Commander, I have no way," Wu Ze shook his head.

"Damn it, it looks like we'll have to destroy it," Li Yunlong said with regret.

386th Brigade Headquarters.

The Brigade Commander was studying the sand table, pondering how to storm Qiujia Village, when a staff officer walked over. "Brigade Commander, the New First Regiment is making a major move."

"A major move? What kind of move?" The Brigade Commander was suspicious. Could it be that Li Yunlong was planning to attack Qiujia Village?

"The New First Regiment has mobilized the local masses, totaling three thousand people," the officer reported.

"When did this start?" The Brigade Commander’s expression turned solemn. What did it mean for the New First Regiment to mobilize three thousand civilians? If things went wrong, Li Yunlong might actually be trying to take the village. The Brigade Commander felt a surge of dissatisfaction—it seemed that Li Yunlong had found a way to take the village and was doing it secretly without reporting it beforehand.

"It started yesterday," the officer said.

"Damn it, contact the New First Regiment immediately! I want to ask Li Yunlong..." Before he could finish, the phone rang. The Brigade Commander picked up the receiver. "This is the 386th Brigade..."

The excited voice of the New First Regiment's Deputy Commander, Zhong Zhicheng, came through: "Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong has led the New First Regiment and taken Qiujia Village..."

Before he could finish, the Brigade Commander exclaimed in surprise, "What? Are you saying Li Yunlong has already finished the job?"

The efficiency was startling. He had only granted Li Yunlong five shells for the Italian cannons, and the boy had mobilized the masses yesterday and taken the village today? How on earth did he do it?

"Yes, Brigade Commander. Qiujia Village has been taken. Our soldiers are assisting the masses in digging and transporting the potatoes," Zhong Zhicheng replied.

"Excellent, truly excellent!" The Brigade Commander was overjoyed. "I'm coming over immediately."

He hung up the phone and laughed heartily. "I knew that boy Li Yunlong would find a way! He took the village in less than a week!"

"Brigade Commander, should I report this to Headquarters immediately?" the officer asked.

"No rush, no rush. Wait until I go to the New First Regiment and confirm it with my own eyes before we report it," the Brigade Commander replied.

"Yes, sir."