72: Chapter 72 Righteousness Reaching the Heavens, the Backbone of the Nation!

"Righteousness reaching the heavens, the backbone of the nation!"

The Deputy Director personally wrote those eight large characters!

Immediately following that, he added a line in regular script on the left side:

"Presented to my young friend Shen Mingyuan as a memento."

Finally, he added his signature and the date.

Having finished writing, he gently set down the brush and looked at Shen Wang.

Shen Wang had already leaned in close to the table, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the calligraphy masterpiece.

Especially those eight characters, "Righteousness reaching the heavens, the backbone of the nation," made him feel a rush of hot blood to his head, and his whole body felt warm.

The corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably; it was harder to suppress than a damn AK!

It was worth it! It was all worth it!

To receive such an evaluation from this man, everything was worth it!

With this calligraphy hanging in his home, what demons or monsters, what blind fool would dare come looking for trouble?

This was practically a family heirloom-level protective charm!

"Thank you, Deputy Director! Thank you! This gift is exactly what This humble one Shen wanted! I will definitely treasure it!"

Seeing that Shen Wang was happier now than if he had received a hundred thousand silver dollars, the Deputy Director's opinion of him reached an even higher level!

This truly was... a friend with shared ideals!

With that, the transaction for the over one thousand trucks of supplies Shen Wang had brought was complete!

In total, he had exchanged them for one hundred thousand border region currency, an IOU for one million silver dollars, and a piece of the Deputy Director's calligraphy!

In terms of pure value, Shen Wang had gotten fleeced to high heaven!

The Deputy Director and the others didn't quite dare to look Shen Wang in the eye at this moment.

They were truly embarrassed!

One hundred thousand border region currency was essentially just a box of somewhat stiff paper.

One IOU and one piece of calligraphy were just two pieces of soft rice paper.

In other words, they had used a pile of paper to trade for weapons and supplies worth hundreds of millions of silver dollars!

However, the wealthy landlord across from them looked as if he had obtained some heavenly treasure, appearing even happier than they were.

The Deputy Director and the Brigade Commander exchanged a glance.

Could he be mocking them?

The Deputy Director especially knew the price he had offered was too low.

But in business, you ask for the moon and settle on the ground; that was just a starting price he had given.

But who could have imagined that Shen Wang wouldn't bargain for even a single cent!

*Cough, cough*

The Deputy Director cleared his throat and looked at Shen Wang. "Mr. Shen, if you have any other requests, please feel free to ask!"

"If it's within our power, we will do our absolute best to satisfy you!"

"If you are unsatisfied with this transaction, you are more than welcome to take your supplies and leave. Rest assured, we will not stop you, nor will we harm you!"

Hmm?

Shen Wang was stunned.

Wait, isn't the transaction already finished? Why bring this up now?

Then, Shen Wang realized what was happening!

They were worried he felt he was being coerced into a bad deal. After all, he was alone, and an entire Independent Regiment was surrounding them!

Shen Wang smiled. "Deputy Director, you worry too much. This humble one Shen is very satisfied with this transaction!"

"If This humble one Shen had any concerns, I wouldn't have come with so many supplies in the first place!"

Hearing this, the Deputy Director finally breathed a sigh of relief.

His heart was filled with warmth and gratitude!

This was the greatest form of recognition for them!

"Good, good, good! As long as Mr. Shen is satisfied! Then, I wonder if Mr. Shen has any other requests?"

Requests...

Shen Wang thought for a moment.

His military merit points were down to crumbs; it was time to restock!

"If I must have a request, it's to kill the Japs!"

At the mention of killing the Japs, everyone's expressions turned serious.

"Mr. Shen, you can rest assured about that. Even if you didn't say it, we would do it!"

Shen Wang nodded.

Suddenly—

He seemed to think of something.

"By the way, everyone, I wanted to ask... where do you plan to build that arsenal?"

Hmm?

The Deputy Director and the Brigade Commander looked at each other again.

"Of course it will be built in... built in..."

Right, where should it be built?

They had been so focused on the price that they hadn't considered this question at all.

"Does Mr. Shen have any suggestions?" the Deputy Director asked.

Since Shen Wang brought it up, he must have something in mind.

Hearing this, Shen Wang licked his lips.

"How about building it in a county town? We can't exactly build it deep in the mountains, can we?"

If the factory was built in the mountains, transportation alone would be a massive problem.

However—

"Mr. Shen, you might not be aware,"

The Deputy Director said with a bitter smile.

"We only control county towns in The Rear Area. Here in Shanxi Province... it's truly..."

The county towns here were all occupied by the Japs!

But at that moment, Li Yunlong, who understood Shen Wang best, his eyes suddenly lit up!

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "I've got it! Mr. Shen, your meaning... could it be..."

Li Yunlong's shout also made the Deputy Director and the Brigade Commander realize!

They all looked at Shen Wang in disbelief.

Shen Wang smiled and nodded.

"Then... how about we just take one down?"

As soon as he spoke—

[Ding! System Mission Triggered: Capture a County Town!]

[Mission Reward: Gold-tier 10-pull Gacha (Guaranteed SSR)]

Shen Wang was stunned, followed by sheer ecstasy!

A Gold-tier 10-pull???

Good, good, good!!!

Originally, Shen Wang had just mentioned it on a whim, but now, this county town absolutely had to be taken!

On the other hand, unlike the excited Shen Wang, the Deputy Director and the others looked solemn!

Capturing a county town wasn't as simple as just talking about it!

If it were that easy, the Eighth Route Army would have done it long ago!

And most importantly, it wasn't just about capturing it; they had to be able to hold it!

But then, the Deputy Director and the Brigade Commander froze!

In the past, they might not have been able to take it, and even if they did, they couldn't hold it!

But now...

14 invincible heavy tanks, over 2,000 machine guns, 20 Type 107 rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft guns...

They could definitely take it now!

A cold light flashed in the Brigade Commander's eyes.

With these weapons, plus Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment and the New First and New Second Regiments of Ding Wei and Kong Jie, the Brigade Commander was confident they could take a county town.

The current problem was defense!

The Brigade Commander thought about it; it seemed they could hold it too!

If nothing else, those 20 Type 107 rocket launchers alone were enough to give the Japs a massive headache!

A Japanese Division had an Artillery Regiment under its command, which included 12 105mm Howitzers.

And in the North China Army's First Army in Shanxi Province, there were only three Divisions in total!

Even counting some directly attached brigades, the total number of 105mm Howitzers in the entire Shanxi Province probably didn't exceed fifty!

In terms of heavy firepower, the Eighth Route Army had completely reversed the situation, even achieving total suppression!

As for the air force...

Those three Anti-Aircraft Battalions equipped with Proximity Fuzes might not be enough to protect the entire sky over Shanxi Province, but for the airspace of a single county town, they were more than enough!

Although the Deputy Director was in political work, his military literacy was just as strong!

Naturally, he also understood the logic here!

After a moment's thought, the two realized it was entirely feasible!

If they could truly take a county town and successfully hold it, the practical value and strategic significance would be enormous!

"Mr. Shen, I think we can give it a try!"

The Deputy Director spoke slowly after a moment of reflection.

"However, capturing a county town is no small matter; we need a thorough plan!"

Shen Wang nodded. War was no joke; you couldn't just do it on a whim.

"Well, I wanted to ask, what is the approximate strength of the garrison in the nearby county towns?"

The Brigade Commander thought for a moment and replied, "In the nearby counties, there is only one Infantry Regiment of Japs stationed in each!"

Just one regiment?

Shen Wang smiled!

Then what the hell was there to think about!

Just do it!

"Everyone, I have a plan..."