Chapter 82

"Report, Commander, Colonel Ma and his men are outside."

The commander and the political commissar, who were assigning tasks to the two main regiments, were taken aback by the guard's report. They exchanged glances, seeing the same question in each other's eyes: Could it be that the kid lost to that fat guy this morning, or how else could he have returned so quickly?

"Do you have any questions about the combat mission for your two regiments?" The commander glanced at his subordinates and asked.

"Report, Commander, no questions, but can we borrow a few artillery pieces from the division? That thing is good for knocking out the enemy's machine guns." The third regiment commander chuckled. Without air and naval support, we need at least a few artillery pieces. The two regiments have over five thousand men, but they are ambushing a Japanese battalion with only light weapons. Without artillery, the casualty rate from the Japanese machine guns would be too high.

"No artillery. The few artillery pieces we have are without shells. Do you want the soldiers to carry the artillery to the battlefield just for a walk?" The commander said with a stern face. We do have artillery: one infantry gun and eight mortars. The problem is that all the shells were used up in the last feint attack on the county town. Fortunately, the campaign was valuable, or the commander would have cursed.

It's a pity that we only managed to bring two mortars from the first warehouse, which had so many artillery pieces and ammunition.

The two regiment commanders felt a jolt. This time, there would be no artillery support at all; they could only fight to the death.

"Report, Commander, Commander, Colonel Ma and his men are carrying Czech rifles, grenade launchers, and boxes of grenades, and they are strolling outside the division headquarters!" The guard reminded the commander, we have artillery.

Grenade launchers are also artillery. Colonel Ma and his men were proudly showing off their spoils outside the division headquarters.

"Strolling?" The two leaders and the two regiment commanders were all taken aback.

"That's what Colonel Ma said," the guard replied.

"Hei, this Ma Dongming, let's go out and see!" The commander put down the military map in his hand and led the political commissar and the two regiment commanders outside.

Colonel Ma led his men with a haughty air. When the commander and the political commissar came out, Colonel Ma was surrounded by a group of division guards, division staff members, and doctors and nurses from the division hospital.

"… When I heard it, I thought something was wrong, so I immediately led the team to the village entrance. I saw my brother-in-arms leading the charge, invincible, firing at the puppet troops and bandits. The puppet troops and bandits fell like wheat being cut …"

Colonel Ma was boasting about the morning battle to the crowd. Most of it was true, but some parts were "artistically embellished." His purpose was twofold: first, to show the commander that even though they were not a main regiment, they were still capable. Second, to impress the fat guy. If he didn't boast about the spoils at the division headquarters, how could he get the news of the morning battle to Wang Yi and deepen her impression of the fat guy? When he was pursuing his wife, he used to talk to her every day, annoying her until he finally won her over.

Colonel Ma, though a bit simple, was not stupid. After spending time with the cunning fat guy, he had picked up some of his underhanded tricks. He was very thoughtful in helping the fat guy win Wang Yi's affection. At the end, he didn't forget to sing the "Guerrilla Song" he had learned from the fat guy, exaggerating the fat guy's virtues and ignoring his flaws, portraying him as a god of war, showing great loyalty.

This song had been sung by countless Eighth Route Army soldiers in this era. Although it sounded different when sung by Colonel Ma's hoarse voice, the lively melody and vivid, simple lyrics still spread quickly throughout the division headquarters.

The commander and the political commissar listened to Colonel Ma's boasting with interest. The political commissar smiled, but the commander's face was a bit dark.

"Commander, shouldn't Colonel Ma's grenade launchers and other spoils belong to our main regiment? After all, we are the ones who will be taking the lead in the assault." The third regiment commander looked at the grenade launchers and ammunition boxes in Colonel Ma's hands, his eyes gleaming with desire. Although the grenade launchers had a short range, even a small piece of meat is still meat.

"Go ask Colonel Ma yourself. If he agrees to give them to you, I have no problem." The commander thought about the promise he made to Colonel Ma not to take any spoils from the independent regiment. He couldn't lose face over five grenade launchers.

"Commander, this guy is very stingy. When has he ever lent anything to others?" The third regiment commander's face fell, looking at the commander with pleading eyes, hoping he would intervene.

"Want artillery, huh?" The commander's face darkened even more.

"Yes." The third regiment commander nodded quickly.

"No!" The commander turned and walked away, unwilling to continue the pointless conversation with these debt collectors.

"Political Commissar …" The third regiment commander looked at the political commissar, still hoping to get the five grenade launchers from Colonel Ma.

Unfortunately, the political commissar shut him down with a single sentence: "The independent regiment has just been reorganized, with only four hundred men, half of them new recruits. Your two regiments, each with over two thousand men, have the best weapons in the division. How many grenade launchers have you captured?"

The two regiment commanders immediately lowered their heads, speechless.

"Want the commander to ask the independent regiment for artillery? Don't you think that's too much? You may not care about your reputation, but the commander does. If you can't capture artillery, you shouldn't be in the main regiment. Give up the main regiment's name and let the independent regiment take it." The political commissar's face darkened as he scolded his subordinates.

The two regiment commanders felt a jolt in their hearts. The political commissar was always mild-mannered, and when he got angry, it was never a good sign.

"Report, Political Commissar." Colonel Ma saw the political commissar in the crowd, scolding the two main regiment commanders. His mood was particularly good. He suddenly remembered the spoils he had secretly taken from the battlefield, walked over, and saluted the political commissar.

"Ma Dongming, you've really grown!" The political commissar's face, which had been dark, now showed a smile.

"How could I? It's all thanks to the political commissar's guidance." Colonel Ma, in a good mood, smoothly flattered the political commissar. He quickly took out the captured Lao Dao cigarettes from his pocket, offered one to the political commissar, and put one in his own mouth.

"Lao Dao, not bad, living well!" The political commissar took out a match.

"Not bad, not bad, all captured. Our regiment is not like the main regiment, which is favored by the commander. We can only take what we need from the Japanese and puppet troops!" Colonel Ma finished, looking haughtily at the two main regiment commanders. Lao Dao cigarettes, do you have them? I'll show you another treasure that will blind your eyes.

"Wow, Old Ma, you're smoking Lao Dao now, living like a rich landlord!" The two main regiment commanders, with their thick skins, completely ignored Colonel Ma's disdain and shamelessly came over to bum cigarettes.

Colonel Ma put the cigarettes back in his pocket, refusing to share, then took out a lighter he had captured from the battlefield to light his cigarette, and finally proudly offered it to the political commissar.

The political commissar's eyes lit up when he saw the lighter.

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