Wang Diren delivered on his promise, sending Li Yunlong two tons of salt, ten tons of black beans, and a thousand sets of camouflage uniforms, which were dropped off near a designated mountain cave. Wang Diren now fully understood why Li Yunlong had so readily handed over the cavalry and kept only a single platoon—maintaining cavalry was simply too expensive for ordinary people to afford. And that was before considering they now had three platoons.
This was a rare and stable period for growth. The Japanese devils should be provoked as little as possible, but the development of the salt lake needed to be put on the agenda.
To put it mildly, right in the heart of the southern Shanxi basin lay the massive Yuncheng Salt Lake. Wang Diren knew this very well, and it wasn't far from their current location.
Not only was this one of the world's three major sodium sulfate-type inland salt lakes, but it was also known as the "Dead Sea of China" due to its unique salt content—an ancient and typical inland saltwater lake.
Historically, Yuncheng Salt Lake had always been an important salt-producing base. At the same time, it "produced mirabilite in winter and salt in summer," earning the fine reputation of "a pool of snow amidst the thousand-year Zhongtiao Mountains." Later on, it was replaced by the production of sodium sulfide, industrial anhydrous sodium sulfate, and other products.
They had to take control of this place. Now that they had horses, those unsuited for combat or culled from active service could still be used as packhorses. They could also acquire a few more mules and form a pack-transport team.
The only worry was the Brigade Commander's classic greeting of "congratulations on getting rich," and he wondered if Li Yunlong could handle it.
On the third day, the Brigade Commander called Li Yunlong:
"Li Yunlong, I congratulate you on getting rich!"
Caught completely off guard by this sudden remark, Li Yunlong hurriedly and modestly replied:
"What getting rich? I'm so poor I'm practically begging, haha..."
Yet the Brigade Commander couldn't conceal the secret in his eyes. With a beaming smile, he continued:
"Could something like this escape my notice? Let me tell you, I knew about it by the second day! Confess honestly, how much of a haul did you make this time?"
Realizing he couldn't keep it hidden, Li Yunlong honestly confessed his plan:
"I got my hands on the equipment for a cavalry battalion, and I'm planning to set up a cavalry battalion for our own regiment to boost our strength."
Hearing this, the Brigade Commander said half-jokingly and half-seriously:
"Look at how cocky you've gotten. A single regiment of yours wants to pull together a cavalry battalion? Then shouldn't an entire brigade of mine form a cavalry regiment?"
Li Yunlong refused to back down:
"Naturally, naturally! Given your reputation as Brigade Commander, even a cavalry brigade wouldn't be too much."
Clearly not just joking around, the Brigade Commander decided to teach Li Yunlong a lesson and ordered:
"Keep the horses and equipment for one platoon, and send the rest straight to the brigade headquarters!"
Hearing this, Li Yunlong thought: *How can this work? Isn't this blatantly trying to snatch my spoils of war?* He hurriedly argued:
"Brigade Commander, this is highway robbery! You might as well just execute me. No way, absolutely not!"
With a meaningful tone, the Brigade Commander said: "No way? All right then! Looks like the two of us need to have a serious talk. You moved troops without authorization and without requesting permission—that's no small crime!"
"You approved it."
Anxious now, Li Yunlong tried to explain that his previous actions had a basis:
"I approved it? Who can prove that for you?"
Feigning total ignorance, the Brigade Commander put Li Yunlong on the spot.
"Headquarters has also found out about the gold you have on hand, and they've issued a strict order: you are only allowed to keep ten percent, and the other ninety percent must be turned over," the Brigade Commander said sternly.
"If you want to rob me, just say so. Why bother coming up with these excuses?"
"You know the situation in the border region as well. Money is tight everywhere, especially for our comrades on the secret front. They bleed and weep, yet struggle right on the poverty line. Just to deliver some wealth and supplies to us, many people have to pay with their lives," the Brigade Commander said, his tone turning heavy as he dropped the joking manner.
Li Yunlong gave a bitter laugh.
"Aren't we all just scared to death of poverty?"
***
At Independent Regiment Headquarters, Wang Diren was handing over the goods to Li Yunlong.
"I've delivered the cargo; send someone to pick it up later. You're strong and well-equipped now, but at this rate of spending, your meager family fortune will eat you into poverty sooner rather than later. You can't count on the little Japanese to send you money every day. Did you sort out that silver mine?"
"I've been keeping it in mind. It's just that it's now in the defense zone of that fellow Ding Wei, so I'll probably have to cut him in on the benefits. Besides, that mine is way too small—it's no fun at all," Li Yunlong said, a look of reluctance on his face.
"You've really gotten full of yourself, haven't you? Have you forgotten the days during the Red Army when you wrung saltwater out of your clothes? Though, as it happens, there is an opportunity. There's a salt lake in Yuncheng—big enough, if you can stomach it. Pity you'll need to outfit a pack team for it," Wang Diren said seriously.
"A pack team is great! They eat my food and drink my booze every day, it's about time they did some work for me. Otherwise, my heart aches," Li Yunlong said, making a gesture of clutching his chest.
"Warhorses aren't meant to be used that way. If you use them like that, you'll ruin them. Well, which one are you going to tackle first?" Wang Diren asked dismissively.
"Only children make choices. I want all of it."
"Yuncheng Salt Lake has another advantage: it produces salt in the summer and mirabilite in the winter."
"Mirabilite is good stuff. One part sulfur, two parts saltpeter, three parts charcoal—that's the formula for gunpowder. Look at your truly, Old Li, I'm a cultured man as well," Li Yunlong boasted once more.
"What's gunpowder? If you've got money, I can even get you explosives," Wang Diren recalled ammonium nitrate.
In modern times, ammonium nitrate was a type of chemical fertilizer; during the War of Resistance, ammonium nitrate explosives were ideal high-power explosives. The process of preparing ammonium nitrate explosives was relatively simple—just mixing ammonium nitrate with fuel oil, though paraffin or charcoal worked fine if oil wasn't available. Due to its high efficiency and low cost, it had been widely used in modern times for mining, building demolition, and numerous other fields.
"You said it yourself—as much explosive as you have, I'll take it. We've got money."
"It's just that the road is a bit long and unsafe, and I value my little life. I'll get you the main raw materials—they're cheap. The rest, like charcoal and so on, you guys can handle yourselves, right?"
"We should be able to manage. It's just that I'll have to ask my fellow villagers for help, and that old miser is going to make me bleed heavily again."
***
Today, Li Yunlong stepped into Zhang Wanhe's territory once more.
"Old Zhang, I need fifty boxes of hand grenades."
Squinting as he sized him up, Zhang Wanhe wore a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth:
"Great Regiment Commander Li, are you treating my place as an arms depot? You haven't even paid back the fifty boxes of hand grenades you owe me from last time."
Unfazed, Li Yunlong simply sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and said provokingly:
"I came to see you because I think highly of you. Your border-region manufacturing has rather poor quality, but I really need these hand grenades urgently."
Zhang Wanhe let out a cold snort:
"Don't pull that routine with me. Be content that your troops even have hand grenades to use. The ones I make here can only be considered medicated plasters that draw out pus."
"Draw out pus is fine. Still better than nothing."
A sharp glint flashed through Li Yunlong's eyes.
Staring at Li Yunlong as if trying to see through his thoughts, Zhang Wanhe said:
"I know what you're up to. But let me tell you, if you don't pay back the fifty boxes of hand grenades you owe me today, you won't get a single box from here ever again!"
Li Yunlong suddenly stood up, his tone resolute:
"Then you've got it wrong. Since I came here today, I never planned to return empty-handed. I have a ton of high-purity fertilizer powder, called ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make explosives. Once you've made them, send me five boxes of mortar shells in return."
"Ammonium nitrate? That stuff's hard to get. Are you bluffing me?" Zhang Wanhe asked, somewhat skeptical.
"Guard platoon, bring the stuff up," Li Yunlong said with an air of arrogance.
Shaking his head helplessly, Zhang Wanhe finally headed toward the warehouse.