Chapter 15: The Reunion, Shen Quan Stunned, and the Opportunity Delivered on a Silver Platter
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The results of the probe left Li Yunlong somewhat astonished.
Apart from the soldiers who had originally followed him, all of whom had reached the level of fanatical loyalty, even the newly recruited Zhang Dabiao had achieved the rank of loyal.
The other puppet troops he had absorbed were the same—they had reached the level of trustworthy.
The Loyalty Detection skill had six grades: Traitor, Fence-Sitter, Trustworthy, Loyal, Fanatically Loyal, and Martyr.
It seemed his luck was quite good!
Li Yunlong silently praised his own fortune.
With this, he no longer needed to worry about enemy spies hiding among them.
…
Elsewhere.
In the area around Huangya Cave.
After Shen Quan and the others arrived ahead of schedule, they began investigating the forces in the surrounding area.
After several days of inquiry, they had gained a general understanding of the situation.
They then went to the designated location to await the arrival of their regimental commander, Li Yunlong.
However, as time passed, the other units marching in separate groups arrived one after another, yet there was still no sign of the commander.
This inevitably made Shen Quan anxious.
“Surely nothing happened to the commander?”
Zhang Quan explained, “The commander has twenty men with him. Nothing should happen to them. Besides, with the commander’s abilities, what could possibly stop him?”
“Let’s wait a little longer.”
“True.” Shen Quan nodded slightly. “Then take everyone down and get them settled. I’ll stay here and wait for the commander.”
“All right!” Zhang Quan nodded before following a soldier down the slope.
After Shen Quan and the others communicated with them, the villagers of Chen Family Village and Li Family Village agreed to accept the New First Regiment. The two villages thus became the regiment’s temporary base.
At dusk, just as Shen Quan was preparing to retrace their route and search for Li Yunlong and the others, he finally saw a unit approaching.
But the sight before him left Shen Quan dumbfounded.
Had he not recognized Wang Gensheng and the others leading the unit, he would have thought that a bandit force was attacking.
There were at least a hundred people in sight.
What was going on?
How had so many people appeared?
Shen Quan immediately hurried forward and came before Li Yunlong. After saluting, he asked in astonishment, “Commander, who are all these people?”
Li Yunlong briefly recounted what had happened.
When he finished, Shen Quan was left utterly speechless with shock.
The commander had recruited nearly three hundred people along the way?
And seized so many weapons and supplies?
The hundred-odd men before him were merely the advance unit, split off during the march so as not to attract attention?
As expected of their commander.
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The speed at which he expanded the force was simply absurd.
The sudden addition of so many people left Shen Quan at a loss.
After all, the two villages could not possibly accommodate so many troops.
The New First Regiment had originally numbered more than three hundred men. Now, with nearly three hundred more added, its total strength had surpassed six hundred.
This was something Shen Quan had never anticipated.
“Commander, how are we supposed to accommodate so many people?”
Li Yunlong waved his hand. “If there isn’t enough room, have everyone make do for one night. We’ll make further arrangements afterward.”
“Have someone take them down to rest first.”
“Yes, sir!” Shen Quan then began issuing orders to the soldiers beside him.
Li Yunlong also instructed Wang Gensheng, Wang Xikui, and the others to lead everyone down to rest.
He remained behind to await the arrival of the other units.
Then he asked Shen Quan, who had stayed behind with him, “How did your investigation go?”
“Reporting to you, Commander, we’ve basically figured everything out.” Shen Quan spread out a map and began explaining. “The Japanese and puppet forces around Huangya Cave have mainly established strongpoints along this road. Each strongpoint has only about a squad of troops.”
“To the east lies She County, to the south is Licheng County, to the west is Wuxiang County, and to the north there is only Liao County.”
“At present, the Japanese and puppet forces simply don’t have the time to administer the Huangya Cave area. Their control is too weak to pose much of a threat.”
“The real threat to us is the banditry in this region. The Black Dragon Society is the largest of them all. According to the information we gathered, it has three hundred members and occupies Blackwind Ridge.”
“The terrain there is steep and treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack…”
“The other bandit groups have only a hundred or so men each, scattered throughout…”
As Shen Quan continued his explanation, Li Yunlong gained a comprehensive understanding of the situation.
“What do the local villagers think of the Black Dragon Society? Is its reputation good or bad?”
“How do they conduct themselves?”
In these troubled times, it was common for people to be driven into the mountains and become outlaws. So long as they were not irredeemably evil, it might still be possible to recruit them.
After all, with the nation in peril, every additional force that could be brought to their side meant another measure of strength.
At the mention of this, a trace of anger appeared on Shen Quan’s face.
“According to the nearby villagers, the Black Dragon Society oppresses the people and demands huge quantities of grain, leaving the villagers to suffer terribly.”
“But that isn’t even what they hate most. Quite a few young women have been threatened and violated. Several deaths have already resulted, yet when faced with the bandits, the villagers have nowhere to turn.”
“A few days ago, the Black Dragon Society’s chief, Black Dragon, set his sights on two girls from Chen Family Village and Li Family Village. Tomorrow is the final deadline. The villagers from both villages asked us for help, and I agreed.”
“That was also the condition under which they allowed us to stay in the villages.”
“We thought we could use this opportunity to build a good relationship with the villagers.”
After hearing this, a trace of murderous intent appeared on Li Yunlong’s face.
“Scum like that deserves to be wiped out. I was just worried that we wouldn’t find a suitable target.”
“Then we’ll use this Black Dragon Society to draw first blood!”
“Arrange for someone to find out everything we can about them.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hearing that the commander had agreed, Shen Quan let out a sigh of relief.
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He immediately went down to make the arrangements.
Before long, the remaining units arrived at the base with all their troops.
To prepare for the Black Dragon Society, Li Yunlong convened a regimental meeting that very night.
After all, the regiment now had a total strength of more than six hundred men, while the main force alone numbered one hundred and eighty.
Those were the veterans.
With the increase in numbers, they could no longer manage the regiment as they had before.
Otherwise, he would work himself to death.
Expansion was imperative!
That was why Li Yunlong had decided to establish two battalions first.
On one hand, this would make the force easier to manage. On the other, two battalions would stimulate the regiment’s development.
Thus, he appointed Zhang Dabiao as commander of the First Battalion.
…
The conference room.
A number of officers had gathered.
Following Li Yunlong’s announcement, the New First Regiment’s organizational structure was expanded.
There would be two battalions in total, each overseeing three companies and numbering three hundred men.
Zhang Dabiao was appointed commander of the First Battalion, while Shen Quan became commander of the Second.
Of course, Li Yunlong did not lower his standards. Those soldiers who had failed the assessment remained militiamen.
However, in order to accelerate the militias’ development, veterans and regular soldiers would be assigned to lead and train them.
At the same time, this was also a test for the two battalion commanders and the officers at every level.
Under Li Yunlong’s assignments and appointments, the two battalions began with roughly equal strength.
Li Yunlong swept his gaze over the assembled officers and asked, “Does anyone have an objection?”
“Commander, why does he become a battalion commander the moment he arrives?” Shen Quan looked at Li Yunlong with some dissatisfaction.
“Because he was a lieutenant and deputy company commander in the Twenty-Ninth Army. He knows how to lead troops and fight, and he took down three puppet soldiers by himself without suffering a scratch…”
“If any of you are dissatisfied, then work hard and prove yourselves. Whoever has the ability, I will certainly promote.”
When Li Yunlong finished speaking, Shen Quan immediately understood why the commander valued Zhang Dabiao so highly.
Although men like them were fierce in battle, they were all farmers by origin and had received no formal training. That was their weakness.
As someone familiar with Li Yunlong, Shen Quan also understood that the commander was using this to spur the other officers on.
Seeing the eagerness in everyone’s eyes, Li Yunlong felt satisfied.
“Have each battalion complete its reorganization as quickly as possible so that we can deal with the Black Dragon Society.”
“Meeting adjourned!”
“Yes, sir!”
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