Chapter 71

As Fatso saw off Colonel Ma at the gate of the village, Colonel Ma suddenly said, "Oh, I almost forgot. The division commander asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Huh? What did he say?" Fatso pursed his lips, somewhat displeased, immediately picturing the Eighth Route Army division commander who had threatened to beat him with a belt.

"The division commander told me to tell you, 'Learn some good manners, don't be a hooligan, or I'll beat you every time I see you.'" Seeing Fatso's face turn dark, Colonel Ma quickly explained, "I'm just repeating the division commander's words. You know, every dog has its day, brother. Don't take it out on me!"

"Your grandma, get lost!" Fatso kicked him, feeling extremely angry. How dare he threaten him? Damn it, next time they meet, who knows who will beat whom.

Colonel Ma felt the kick, which hurt, but he didn't dare to fight back. He quickly dodged, shouting for the soldiers to carry the five 92 heavy machine guns and two 97 small cannons they had traded for, and hurried away as fast as he could.

Can't provoke this Fatso, but can't avoid him, right?

He still had to return to the Independent Regiment, stay overnight at Tiger Mouth Village, and plan with Fatso and his men to deal with the puppet army commander Wu the next morning.

All these cannons and heavy machine guns had to be handed over to the public, and then distributed by the division headquarters. He couldn't expect to keep the cannons, but at least he could get a couple of heavy machine guns.

He felt invigorated fighting with Fatso. How could Fatso, who never lost, let him down?

Back at the Independent Regiment's base, he immediately ordered the two battalion commanders to gather the troops. Although the division headquarters had recently supplemented him with over a hundred new recruits, and he had recruited a few dozen more, along with the original soldiers, he now had about four hundred men under his command.

It looked impressive, but many of the soldiers didn't even have a gun, only carrying large knives and red-tipped spears. How could they fight the Japanese? They would probably be mowed down as soon as they showed up.

A skilled housewife can't cook without rice, and guns became a big problem for the Independent Regiment.

So when Fatso told him that the puppet army and the Black Wind Mountain bandits together had about four hundred men and guns, Colonel Ma was tempted. Joining Fatso in this operation would solve everything.

However, just as he returned to the base, he found the division commander and the political commissar waiting for him in his office. After recounting the events at Tiger Mouth Mountain, the division commander's face turned dark, while the political commissar only shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"Division Commander, Political Commissar..." Colonel Ma didn't know what to expect from the two leaders, so he spoke first to feel them out.

"Ridiculous!" The division commander said with a dark face.

"Ma Dongming, why don't you ever learn? Look at you, you've been tricked by Liu Mang again." The political commissar smiled bitterly, knowing this subordinate well. He fought fearlessly but was too straightforward.

Fatso's "fat meat" that he couldn't handle himself, bringing in the Independent Regiment, was a good thing.

But Colonel Ma only focused on charging ahead, joining the bandits without pay, just to be used as a gun by Fatso. That was too cheap for Fatso, right?

After a scolding from the division commander and the political commissar, Colonel Ma felt wronged, lowering his head. "I'm just a soldier. Fighting the Japanese is enough for me. Do I have to haggle and waste time waiting for the country to fall?"

With this time, he could train his soldiers and fight the Japanese. Considering such matters wasn't his strong point; leading soldiers to fight the Japanese was enough.

"Say a few words to you, and you have an opinion, right?" The division commander, seeing Colonel Ma's不服 (unwillingness to accept), his face turned even darker. He slapped the table and said to Colonel Ma, "Fine, you have an opinion? This time, the weapons and ammunition allocated to our division by the Second War Zone, you can forget about it."

"Our Independent Regiment is like a stepchild. We can't even compete with the main regiments. If you don't give us guns, we don't want them. We'll capture them ourselves. Don't be jealous when we do." Colonel Ma pouted, muttering under his breath. He didn't have the nerve to really confront the division commander, but he had to vent his frustration.

"Wow, you've grown, full of confidence, huh? Fine, if you can capture them, the division won't take a single bullet from your Independent Regiment, but you won't get a single bullet from the division either." The division commander stood up, his face dark, and said to the political commissar, "Commissar, let's go."

With that, the division commander led his guards out of the room.

"You don't even know that the division commander cares for your Independent Regiment. Here's the list of supplies the division headquarters has allocated to your Independent Regiment. Take it." The political commissar handed a document to Colonel Ma and continued, "The division commander understands that your Independent Regiment is newly formed and needs time to rest, expand, and train. The main regiments' mission is to tackle the toughest enemies and fortresses. With only four hundred men, half of whom are new recruits, if you were to be the main regiment now, you'd break your teeth."

Colonel Ma still couldn't understand. He didn't know the big picture; he only knew that if he wasn't the main regiment, he'd be the reserve on the battlefield, eating scraps while others feasted. This was too frustrating, and it would make the soldiers from other regiments look down on his Independent Regiment, losing face.

Seeing that Colonel Ma was still不服 (unwilling to accept), the political commissar smiled and said, "The division commander didn't say a word about your Independent Regiment's joint operation with Liu Mang. Do you know why?"

"Why? Because our Independent Regiment is like a stepchild." Colonel Ma said in a low voice, full of frustration.

"The division commander tacitly approved your operation, but I need to give you a warning." The political commissar paused, seeing Colonel Ma's curious gaze, knowing he was paying attention, and continued, "Learn from Liu Mang's combat tactics. Learn how he uses minimal force to achieve maximum results. You just charge in, which will result in heavy casualties. Understand?"

Colonel Ma nodded, still greatly admiring Fatso. Even without the political commissar's advice, he felt he needed to learn from Fatso how to fight the Japanese.

"One more thing, you need to be careful. Liu Mang represents the Tiger Mouth Mountain bandits, who are also fighting the Japanese. If you can bring them over, do so. If not, maintain unity. Since your base is close to Liu Mang's, joint operations don't need to be reported to the division headquarters, but you must adhere to principles and not violate the Eighth Route Army's discipline." The political commissar added earnestly.

"I'm a rough man, I don't understand big principles, but I know that following the big brother in fighting the Japanese won't let me down." Colonel Ma chuckled, surprised that the political commissar approved of him working with Fatso and his bandits.

"This kid is quite slick." The political commissar also laughed, thinking about the five machine guns. Fatso had tricked him by not knowing the performance of the two types of machine guns, making him fall for it. He then educated the division commander about the basics of the Maxim and 92 machine guns, making it clear that the Maxim's performance was much better than the 92.

This made the political commissar realize he was dealing with a cunning Fatso who would never let himself lose and would take advantage of every opportunity.

Being able to trade machine guns with Fatso was also the division commander's idea. The division commander had his eye on Fatso's small cannons. Getting two would be a good haul. Without cannons, how could they deal with the Japanese machine gun positions?

"By the way, Commissar, the big brother and I are about to go to the Songhu battlefield and won't have time to clear mines. But the second-in-command, who is recovering at the division hospital, was trained by the big brother and can clear mines. Should I send a few soldiers from the regiment to learn from her?" Colonel Ma suddenly remembered this and quickly said.

"Sure, I'll talk to the division commander. We'll select soldiers from the entire division to learn from her. The capable should be the teachers." The political commissar nodded.

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