Volume 1, Chapter 25: A Personal Visit from Headquarters Leadership! What an Immense Honor!
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The news that Chu Yunfei was coming was merely a minor interlude amid Zhao Family Ravine’s bustle.
At present, the entire Independent Regiment and the Spark Arsenal had only one top priority: welcoming the arrival of the headquarters commanders.
This was an honor of immense proportions!
The Eighth Route Army’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the commander of the 129th Division, and the commander of the 386th Brigade—three towering figures—were coming together to inspect a single regiment. In the history of the Eighth Route Army, this was unprecedented!
These past few days, Li Yunlong walked with a swagger, and he had scarcely stopped grinning.
He had mobilized every officer and soldier in the regiment, cleaning Zhao Family Ravine from end to end until it was spotless.
“Look sharp, every one of you!” Li Yunlong barked as he paced the training ground with his hands clasped behind his back. “The headquarters commanders are coming! Who are they here to see? Our Independent Regiment! They’re here to see our spirit and bearing!”
“If anyone disgraces me in front of the commanders, don’t blame me for stuffing him into a cannon and blasting him all the way back to his hometown!”
The soldiers stood with their backs ramrod straight, pride and excitement shining on their faces.
They knew that the Independent Regiment had become a renowned force throughout the entire Eighth Route Army.
All of it had come from the great victories they had won—and from their seemingly omnipotent Director Lin.
Security preparations had been raised to an unprecedented level.
Li Yunlong had sent out the First Battalion, the Second Battalion, and the Reconnaissance Company. Within a radius of fifty miles around Zhao Family Ravine, they had established three layers of overt checkpoints and concealed sentry posts.
As he put it, “Forget the Japanese—even a mosquito has to prove whether it’s male or female before it can be allowed in.”
That morning, the sun shone brightly.
At the entrance to Zhao Family Ravine, Li Yunlong, Lin Mo, and Zhao Gang stood waiting with the key officers of the Independent Regiment and the arsenal.
Everyone had changed into their finest uniforms. Most had been washed until the color had faded and were covered in patches, but every man was neat, tidy, and brimming with energy.
From the distance came the sound of hoofbeats.
A compact, elite cavalry escort appeared in the field of view, accompanying several commanders.
At the head was the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Route Army.
Mounted on horseback, he was powerfully built, with eyes like blazing torches and an imposing presence that needed no show of anger.
Close behind him rode the divisional commander and the brigade commander.
“Present arms!”
Li Yunlong bellowed the order.
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Whoosh!
Every officer present raised his right hand in unison, offering the highest military salute to the commanders who had come to inspect them.
“Comrades, how are you?” The Deputy Commander-in-Chief dismounted and returned the salute in a resonant voice.
“Greetings, Commander!” everyone shouted together, their voices shaking the valley.
“Li Yunlong! You’ve gotten rich lately, haven’t you? Ha ha ha!” Full of vigor, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief walked straight up to Li Yunlong and looked him over from head to toe.
“Reporting, Commander! Li Yunlong of the Independent Regiment, along with the officers and key personnel of the Independent Regiment and the arsenal, reports for duty!” Li Yunlong stood rigidly at attention and answered in a loud voice, his face flushed with excitement.
“Hmm, not bad!” The Deputy Commander-in-Chief smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “You fought well at Eagle’s Sorrow Ravine! You brought honor to the Eighth Route Army and to the 129th Division!”
“Heh, heh, heh…” Praised beyond measure, Li Yunlong beamed foolishly. “It was all thanks to the commanders’ brilliant leadership. We were just muddling through.”
The brigade commander could stand it no longer and snorted. “All right, Li Yunlong. Your tail is practically sticking up into the heavens. You still dare to play tricks in front of the commander?”
The Deputy Commander-in-Chief roared with laughter. Then he turned to Zhao Gang and nodded approvingly. “You must be Comrade Zhao Gang, yes? A top graduate of Yanjing University, equally accomplished in both letters and arms. Very good. Li Yunlong is a wild stallion—you’ll have your hands full keeping him in check!”
“Reporting, Commander, I will certainly work together with Regiment Commander Li and make a success of our partnership!” Zhao Gang replied neither servilely nor arrogantly.
At last, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief’s gaze fell upon Lin Mo.
He studied the young man before him with great care.
Lin Mo appeared refined and scholarly, even somewhat frail, yet his eyes were extraordinarily bright and composed, as though they contained the depths of a star-filled sky.
“You are Comrade Lin Mo, then?” The Deputy Commander-in-Chief’s tone unconsciously softened.
“Reporting, Commander, I am Lin Mo.”
“Good—what an extraordinary Lin Mo!” Admiration and emotion filled the Deputy Commander-in-Chief’s eyes. “For our Eighth Route Army to have a pillar of talent like you is a blessing beyond measure!”
He said no more, but the weight of those words exceeded that of any commendation.
Watching from the side, Li Yunlong felt sweeter than if he had swallowed honey.
For the commander to praise Lin Mo so lavishly in front of so many people—wasn’t that the same as praising Li Yunlong for his discerning eye and his ability to select and employ talent?
The honor was greater than the heavens themselves!
Once they entered Zhao Family Ravine, the scene before them gave the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the divisional commander, and the brigade commander quite a shock.
The valley opened out into a broad expanse. The roads were smooth, and on either side lay newly cultivated fields of flourishing crops.
In the distance, the soldiers’ barracks stood in neat rows. From the training ground came thunderous slogans. Everywhere was filled with vitality.
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This hardly looked like a regiment’s garrison. It was plainly a fully equipped, self-sufficient miniature base area!
“Li Yunlong, you rascal, you’ve done well! It hasn’t been that long since we last met, and you’ve already turned this mountain hollow into something impressive!” the brigade commander exclaimed despite himself.
Li Yunlong proudly puffed out his chest. “Brigade Commander, most of the credit goes to Brother Lin. He drew up all these plans. I, Old Li, am just a crude fellow responsible for putting in the labor and running errands.”
His words sounded modest, but they raised Lin Mo yet again.
As the Deputy Commander-in-Chief walked, he nodded repeatedly, his gaze often sweeping toward the fortress at the mouth of the valley, named Sword-Forging Pass.
He could see that the arrangement of its firing positions and the design of its loopholes were exceptionally ingenious and scientific, forming a three-dimensional defensive system combining long-, medium-, and short-range firepower.
“This defensive fortification was designed by Comrade Lin Mo as well?” the Deputy Commander-in-Chief asked.
“Yes! Commander, you have an excellent eye!” Li Yunlong hastily replied. “Brother Lin says it’s called… asymmetric defense. The idea is to make the Japanese think it’ll be easy to attack, then blow their heads off the moment they try!”
“Asymmetric defense…” The Deputy Commander-in-Chief murmured the unfamiliar term, and the admiration in his eyes deepened.
Soon, the group arrived at the Spark Arsenal, situated in the deepest part of the valley.
When they saw the rows of brand-new factory buildings and heard the roar of machinery coming from within, the three commanders were utterly stunned.
Their astonishment reached its peak when they entered the factory grounds and saw a hydroelectric generator, powered by an underground river, steadily producing electricity. Even the widely experienced Deputy Commander-in-Chief could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
“Electricity… You… you’re generating your own electricity?” the brigade commander asked incredulously, pointing at the still-spinning generator.
“Heh, it’s just a little gadget, nothing worth mentioning.” Li Yunlong began shamelessly showing off from the side. “Brother Lin and his people cobbled it together. It can barely keep the factory lights on and run a few small machines.”
The divisional commander stepped forward and touched the generator’s casing. Feeling its faint vibration, he sighed with profound emotion.
“Remarkable! Truly remarkable! The entire Eighth Route Army has dreamed of solving its power problem, and you’ve managed to solve it here in a little mountain valley!”
This was no longer a pleasant surprise. It was a miracle!
Next, Lin Mo personally served as their guide, leading the commanders through the steelmaking workshop, the forging workshop, and the machine-processing workshop.
The commanders watched as chunks of black iron ore were smelted into glowing molten steel in the crude blast furnace improved by Lin Mo.
They watched as the workers used the newly produced steel in hydraulic presses and lathes to manufacture one precision firearm component after another.
The expressions on their faces had already changed from shock to numb disbelief.
How could this be called a crude arsenal?
It was plainly a modern military factory with a complete production process and advanced technology!
“Comrade Lin Mo…” The Deputy Commander-in-Chief looked solemnly at a newly drawn gun barrel, smooth and perfectly uniform. “With your current capabilities, how many rifles and how many rounds of ammunition can you produce in a month?”
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