Across the wide training ground, amidst flying dust, Sun Desheng's voice was as urgent and powerful as a war drum:
"Hurry! Keep up! Fast! Did you watch closely? Just like this, move faster!"
The cavalry battalion before them looked like a surge of iron ready to be unleashed, every single rider deeply focused and brimming with strength.
Standing in the distance, Li Yunlong spoke to Zhao Gang, a hint of pride radiating from his gaze:
"This is our cavalry battalion."
Sun Desheng's name was already a legend within the Independent Regiment. Not only because of his exceptional military competence, but even more for his unyielding stubbornness.
Zhao Gang smiled and remarked:
"Commander Ding is very supportive of our work! First he gives us Zhang Dabiao, and now he sends us a cavalry battalion commander."
Li Yunlong, however, was torn between laughter and tears:
"Him? Forget it! Zhang Dabiao was someone I had already negotiated for, but this Sun Desheng? I traded five machine guns for him!"
At that moment, Sun Desheng was drilling his cavalrymen in equestrian sabre techniques.
Their figures darted across the training ground like bolts of lightning, every slash of the blade fierce and precise.
Suddenly, Li Yunlong called out:
"Sun Desheng!"
"Here!"
Sun Desheng sprang forward immediately, his posture as straight as a pine.
"Step out of the ranks!"
Li Yunlong's voice admitted no argument.
Sun Desheng strode out of formation and reported to the regiment commander and the political commissar:
"Report to the Commander and the Political Commissar, the Independent Regiment Cavalry Battalion is currently conducting equestrian sabre training. Awaiting instructions from the commanders! Cavalry Battalion Commander, Sun Desheng."
"Sun Desheng, your horsemanship is quite impressive!"
Zhao Gang's praise revealed clear recognition of Sun Desheng's abilities, as well as a curiosity about his past experiences.
"He used to serve in the 69th Army's Cavalry Regiment. Previously in the New 1st Regiment, he was in the infantry, and now he's gone back to his old trade."
Li Yunlong's words seemed to drag people back into those tempestuous years.
"Shi Yousan saved my life once. Later on, Shi Yousan defected to the Japanese and puppet forces and became a traitor—I will never do that! I, Sun Desheng, don't have any grand talents, nor do I care about rising through the ranks or getting rich in this lifetime. Since I became a soldier, I should be a soldier who isn't afraid of death. The country is in danger, and if we soldiers don't step up, who will?" Sun Desheng raised his chin stubbornly.
"You are able to separate personal gratitude and grudges from the greater national righteousness. You're a politically conscious soldier, well done!"
Zhao Gang's appraisal was entirely fair.
"Within two months, the cavalry battalion will have no combat duties. You must get these troops properly trained for me! Two months from now, the cavalry battalion should be like a sharpened sword drawn from its scabbard! Well? Are you confident?" Li Yunlong arranged.
"Yes." Sun Desheng's reply was short and powerful.
"There is one thing you need to pay attention to. I've heard that during training, you have a habit of beating, cursing, and physically punishing the soldiers. Is that true?" Zhao Gang asked sternly.
"Yes... Political Commissar, but some of these soldiers are genuinely a bit thick-headed. If you don't give them a taste of something harsh..." Sun Desheng looked deeply aggrieved.
"That still won't do! The Eighth Route Army strictly forbids beating, cursing, and physically punishing soldiers—that is a principle. Since the regiment commander can treat you like a brother, why can't you treat the soldiers like brothers?" Zhao Gang interrupted him.
"Understood, Political Commissar, I will definitely pay attention!" Sun Desheng cast a resentful glance at Li Yunlong.
"Beating and physical punishment are definitely wrong. In the future, if you run into a blockhead, giving him a couple of kicks to the backside is still acceptable," Li Yunlong offered.
"Yes! Regiment Commander!" Sun Desheng replied readily.
"What 'yes, yes'? That won't do either! We cannot open that floodgate!" Zhao Gang pressed relentlessly.
"Right, right, right... Listen to the Political Commissar. Ah, we must do ideological work," Li Yunlong said placatingly.
The sun sank in the west, and the clamor on the training ground gradually subsided.
As training ended, the cavalrymen dismounted one by one. Sweat had soaked through their military uniforms, but satisfied smiles bloomed on their faces.
They knew they had taken another step closer to success.
Independent Regiment Headquarters
"Well, sipping fine wine and munching on peanuts—you've got quite a sweet life going on," Wang Diren teased Li Yunlong.
"Bah, what kind of life is this? I'm barely scraping by. Drinking with a brother is what you call drinking; drinking alone is just drowning your sorrows."
"What is it? Did your wife run off with someone? What on earth has put you in a bad mood?" Wang Diren bantered with Li Yunlong.
"Go on, get out of here. The Brigade Commander has handed me a tough problem. This fine force of mine might not be saved after all. Headquarters found out about our gold transactions and demanded that I hand over the gold. Anything else would be fine, but it looks like even the Brigade Commander can't protect me." Li Yunlong, however, was in no mood for jokes.
"Headquarters issued a strict order demanding that I hand over the gold. Especially for our comrades on the covert front—their supplies and funds are terribly scarce. They're only letting me keep ten percent of the gold; the remaining ninety percent must be turned over. I wouldn't dare keep anything back privately, nor could I bear to. I can only apologize to you, old brother."
"Actually, it's not like I must have gold. One moment you use Border Region currency, the next silver dollars, and then fiat currency—I honestly can't keep track of it all. And since you always love to bargain with me, I somehow always end up falling right into your traps." Wang Diren put away his playful attitude as well.
"Really? I promise I won't bargain this time! Aside from gold and silver, you can pick any jade, agate, and jewelry you want," Li Yunlong said solemnly.
"The crux of the matter is that gold has a fixed price, but jade is priceless. I only know that jade is valuable, but as for exactly how much it's worth, I can't even make a rough guess right now," Wang Diren sighed.
"Let's drop it then, let's drop it. Whatever you say goes. Headquarters accumulated quite a few good things from cracking down on local tyrants and evil gentry, but we can't spend them, they're of no real use to us, and we even have to station troops to guard them. You might as well take them and put them to use." Li Yunlong clearly let out a sigh of relief.
"Hmm. Really, any conditions are fine? It's just that I need to take the items away first; I won't be able to figure out their value right away, and I'll need to have someone appraise them before I can calculate their value in money. Whatever you need, just ask for it—we can square up the difference later, whether it's more or less," Wang Diren asked uncertainly, testing the waters.
"No problem at all, no problem at all. I trust you. It's wonderful if you want them! You've slaughtered heaps of Japanese and puppet soldiers; I consider you a comrade on our other front. These past two days have worried me sick anyway. Besides, it's not your own grandfather's fields you're selling, so spending other people's money doesn't hurt—those are all Headquarters' things after all," Li Yunlong promised grandly.
"Then I want a document granting me the right to freely enter and exit the designated warehouse," Wang Diren suggested.
"I know that place; it's just a general storehouse. It's under the jurisdiction of Headquarters, but it's not located at Headquarters. You could empty the place out entirely and it wouldn't matter," Li Yunlong said with certainty.
"Then it's settled. I'll give you ten tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer first, which can make fifteen tons of explosives. To show my sincerity, you get that document sorted out, and I'll deliver the goods for free." Wasn't this just a lucky coincidence? He had just been wanting to get his hands on some antiques, and right on cue, they were being delivered to his doorstep. Items from the Republic era—even a broken bowl or a salt jar—counted as antiques, not to mention the jade pieces confiscated from local tyrants by Headquarters. They were definitely top-quality goods.
"No problem at all. Come, come, fill the cups. Since we're brothers, let's drink it down in one gulp." Li Yunlong filled the cups to the brim.
Antiques in times of peace, gold in times of chaos; the gold belongs to you, the antiques belong to me, he thought to himself, dreaming of this prosperous age, while aloud he said:
"As you wish." He drained his cup in one go.
"Bottoms up!" Li Yunlong downed his cup in a single swallow as well, slamming the porcelain bowl down with heroic flair.
Wang Diren's heart ached so fiercely it gave a sharp twitch. You wasteful spendthrift, I could have at least traded you a machine gun for this!