124: What are the next steps?

Lu Fan's Security Team was moving southeast along a dirt road.

As they reached the vicinity of a railway bridge in the southern suburbs of Beijing, a situation report from Ah Fu came through the earpieces.

"Boss, there's the sound of gunfire 700 meters to the northwest. A squad of japanese is being attacked."

"Take cover!" Lu Fan gestured with his hand, and the entire team immediately scattered into the roadside bushes.

"Boss, I'll go ahead to check out the situation!" Hearing the crisp sound of broadswords slashing in the darkness, Li Zhenshan volunteered.

"Take a squad with you, don't let the japanese get away!" Lu Fan said, looking at Ah Fu.

With just a glance, the message was understood.

Li Zhenshan took a five-man squad, and Ah Fu activated information support.

Three minutes later, gunfire rang out.

Ten minutes later, the pitch-black night returned to silence.

"Old Zhang, let's go~~" Lu Fan stood up and called to Zhang Tingshu beside him: "Let's go meet Old Li's comrades from the Broadsword Unit."

The group arrived at the battlefield silently.

By the moonlight, they saw over a dozen men holding broadswords cleaning up the battlefield.

The leader was a burly man with a square face and a wide mouth, who was using the tip of his blade to pick up a devil's helmet from the ground while chatting with Old Li.

"He Jifeng~~~" Zhang Tingshu stepped forward a few paces, recognized the burly man's face, and subconsciously called out.

The burly man alertly raised his broadsword, but his eyes widened when he saw who it was: "Young... Young Master Zhang?!"

"It's me!" Zhang Tingshu stood there straight.

One feels more timid as they approach home, not daring to ask the newcomer.

He Jifeng ran forward excitedly and grabbed Zhang Tingshu's shoulders with both hands: "Good heavens! It really is the Third Young Master!

Ever since the incident with the Young Marshal, I haven't heard from you. Where have you been all these years?"

"This is Boss Lu; I'm working with him now." Zhang Tingshu turned and introduced, "Boss, this is my classmate, He Jifeng."

Lu Fan looked at He Jifeng's epaulets and extended his hand. "Hello, Brigade Commander He. I am Lu Fan."

He Jifeng shook Lu Fan's hand and asked warily, "May I ask which unit Mr. Lu belongs to?"

"Old He, to be honest, we are now part of the New Port Industrial Zone Security Brigade."

Li Zhenshan, chewing on an energy bar, patted He Jifeng's shoulder with a proud look. "We're living quite the life now.

We fight the little devils whenever we want. If we don't like the look of them, we just wipe them out.

Just now, we easily harvested two companies of devils.

Just close your eyes and it's rat-tat-tat. It's a real blast~~~"

As Li Zhenshan spoke of the recent battle, he began to describe it with great animation.

"Two companies? With just these few people?" He directly interrupted Li Zhenshan.

He sized up the members of the Security Team with deep suspicion.

Facing the doubt, Li Zhenshan said with an arrogant look, "If you don't believe it, go to Wenzi Mountain and Dragon King Temple after dawn to see for yourself."

Zhang Tingshu looked at his brother beside him and asked, "Little He, we just fought two battles, and the brothers are tired.

Can you find a place for us to rest and regroup?"

"Of course~~" He Jifeng replied readily to Li Zhenshan, "Come on, everyone follow me back to the Brigade Headquarters!

I can't offer any grand feasts, but there's plenty of food and enough beds for everyone!"

At the 110th Brigade Headquarters, after a night of rest, the Security Team had fully recovered.

At noon, Zhang Tingshu, Li Zhenshan, and He Jifeng were reminiscing and chatting.

After hearing the detailed battle report from last night, He Jifeng stood up and slammed the table in excitement. "Well fought! That's exactly how we should deal with the little devils."

He picked up a bowl of wine and drained it in one gulp. "Unlike the one above us..."

As he spoke, he spat in the direction of Beijing.

Li Zhenshan, drinking a cold cola, asked with a confused look, "Old He, what's the situation?

Why so much resentment? You're already a Brigade Commander; who could possibly give you a hard time?"

"Who else?" He Jifeng downed a large gulp of Shaodaozi and slammed the porcelain bowl heavily onto the table.

"That old fellow Song Zheyuan has a heart more selfish than a millstone! Do you know why he refuses to counterattack the little devils no matter what?"

He lowered his voice and said, "He's afraid that if war breaks out, the one in Nanjing will have an excuse to send the Central Army north for reinforcements.

He's afraid that once they arrive, they'll just sideline him.

That old fox cares more about guarding against his own people than against the devils!"

He Jifeng unbuttoned his military collar, revealing a hideous scar on his chest.

In front of his old friends, he let loose and poured out all his resentment.

"Last month, the little devils held an exercise at Lugou Bridge and deliberately crossed the line to provoke us.

I was about to lead the brothers with our broadswords to charge, but the military headquarters issued twelve 'gold medals' in a row to stop us.

Saying something about 'avoiding escalation.' Bah! Now look, the devils' bayonets are already at the gates of Wanping City."

Getting worked up, He Jifeng pulled out a newspaper and slapped it on the table.

"Brothers, look at this.

At the devil consulate's banquet last month, that old man got dead drunk and signed a 'Friendly Agreement'!

He agreed to hand over the dispatch rights of the Beining Railway to the devils and even allowed them to station troops in Tong County!"

He Jifeng was trembling with rage, his face full of indignation. "He just pretends to have amnesia once he's sober.

But it's made it so that we have to look at the devils' faces just to transport troops and grain!"

"Brother, I see you're having a miserable time as a Brigade Commander. Why don't you just come with our boss!

Fighting devils~~ you can fight whenever you want and however you want, without any constraints.

And there's plenty of weapons and ammunition. You'll never have to carry those broadswords onto the battlefield again.

Most importantly, our boss loves his soldiers like his own children, and the monthly salary starts at a hundred silver dollars..."

Li Zhenshan took out his beloved machine gun and started bragging shamelessly.

"Old Li~" Zhang Tingshu glared at Li Zhenshan. "Jifeng is a Brigade Commander now with heavy responsibilities. Don't talk nonsense."

Interrupting Li Zhenshan's bragging, Zhang Tingshu changed the subject. "Brother, keep those spoils of war outside for your own use."

While they were talking, Lu Fan organized some supplies.

The [Microwave Wireless Communication Set] rewarded from the last blind box opening had already been put into use.

And it played a crucial role in the two battles.

Among the remaining two items, the medicine card yielded something good: [Large Bottle of Primary Strengthening Potion, 1000-person dosage].

The supply card produced 200 Type 11 light machine guns and 200,000 rounds of ammunition, which were rather lackluster.

After organizing the supplies, Lu Fan got up to go talk with He Jifeng.

Arriving at the Brigade Headquarters, Zhang Tingshu stood up immediately and reported to him with a slight sense of embarrassment.

"Boss, I took it upon myself just now to give the supplies captured from the devils to Brigade Commander He."

"With just this little bit of stuff, you had the nerve to give it? How petty!"

The corners of Lu Fan's mouth curled up slightly into a smile. He patted Zhang Tingshu's shoulder and handed He Jifeng a list.

"Thanks to Brigade Commander He's warm hospitality, this is just a small token of my appreciation."

He Jifeng took the list, and after a glance, his mouth dropped open in surprise.

On the list was written: 30 crates of grenades, 50 Type 11 light machine guns, and 50,000 rounds of ammunition!

In an instant, he was stunned, unable to believe his eyes.

You see, the entire 110th Brigade didn't even have that many machine guns in total.

Yet Lu Fan was so generous that he gave them away without even blinking.

Just as He Jifeng was in shock.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

"Report~~~"

A signalman ran into the room and handed over a report. "A telegram from the military headquarters, please check it, Brigade Commander!"

He Jifeng opened the document, and his expression changed drastically.