Chapter 30: The Troubles of Luxury

  In Ouyang Yun's plan, even the 29th Army would be equipped with new weapons in the near future - aren't the Japanese known for their excellent weapons, planes, artillery, and tanks? Fine, I'll plagiarize a few top-notch weapons, such as the Soviet AK-47 assault rifle, the German improved MG42 general-purpose machine gun. Once I have the money, I'll also produce an improved Soviet T-34 tank, and build dozens of planes - forget about fourth-generation aircraft, that's an impossible task, and the fire control system for third-generation aircraft doesn't seem feasible either, but at least we can copy the appearance and engine, right?

  By then, heh heh, little Japan will be waiting for a crying and screaming beating!

  One night, Ouyang Yun fell asleep with his handheld computer in a beautiful YY. From that night on, this idea unknowingly took root in his mind, making him inevitably have a special affection for machine tools and other processing machinery.

  It was a pleasant surprise to get familiar with Chang'an, 25 troops, guns and cannons were nothing, but got a punch press and several lathes, milling machines, which made Ouyang Yun feel overjoyed. These things can't be made domestically and have to rely on imports. In peacetime it's fine, but in wartime, even if you want to import, you may not find a way. So he treasured them tightly, as soon as they returned to the garrison, he immediately let the recruits disassemble them, then personally opened a barrel of machine oil, found a brush, and applied oil to all the machines.

  His actions fell into Chang Zhi'an's eyes, and the latter looked at him in a daze, wondering: Didn't he buy it as scrap iron? How could this be? He had a faint feeling of being cheated.

  Ouyang Yun didn't care how others looked at him as long as he had done his job, and asked Liu Zhe Liang to lead Chang Zhang Guan to the team office to drink tea first, then concentrated on continuing his work, until all the key parts of the machine were oiled, before wiping his hands with a rag and returning to the office.

  After sitting down and drinking a cup of tea, he finally realized that he and his brother had been outsmarted by Ouyang Yun. This kid wasn't collecting scrap iron, but rather treating them like scrap iron to be discarded. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he couldn't even finish his tea. Just as Ouyang Yun appeared at the door, he saw him slam his teacup down on the table, clearly ready to make a move.

  Ouyang Yun knew that the other party had seen through the mystery, and hurriedly smiled and stepped forward to hold his hand, saying very sincerely: "Chang Gege, little brother knows wrong, here to apologize. You know, the 29th Army is too poor, so this broken gun cannon, as long as it hasn't completely become scrap iron, we have to think of a way to repair it. Your army's machine tools are idle, selling them to us would be perfect for letting them play their remaining heat."

  Chang's anger stemmed from feeling that he was a hero, and wanted to sincerely befriend him. He thought these things shouldn't be hidden from himself. Upon hearing this, Chang responded with annoyance: "Then why didn't you tell me? It's just a few machine tools! But you, you're treating the Chang brothers like monkeys!"

  "This is too serious, Ouyang Yun hastily said: "Don't dare don't dare, Chang big brother, I'm just thinking of saving two coins for the army, you know, our 29th Army is poor!"

  At this moment, he had already said two sentences that the 29th Army was poor. Chang Zhi'an thought about it and felt that it was indeed the case. Not being a central army, they had to think of ways to equip themselves with military rations and other things. It seemed like he had heard that the 29th Army's great victory at Xifengkou was achieved by chopping with big knives. Thinking of this, his heart softened, and he almost wanted to take out the gold bar that Ouyang Yun had previously given him as a gift and return it to them. After thinking again, he realized that the 29th Army was still taking advantage of him in this deal. He suppressed this impulse and said: "Okay, okay, don't always tell me you're poor. In any case, the Second Division is going to withdraw from Hebei, and there are definitely some things they can't take with them. Do you want it? I have connections inside, so the price will definitely be negotiable." At this point, his tone was a bit strange: "I estimate it's probably just the price of scrap iron!"

  "Hmph!" Liu Zhe Liang, who had been standing straight on one side, couldn't help but smile.

  Ouyang Yun also smiled, fearing that Chang Zhi'an would misunderstand her smile, she pulled his hand tightly and said sincerely: "Then thank you very much, Brother Chang. When do you have time? If it's convenient, I'd like to go take a look now. You know, He Zhangguan has been negotiating with the Japanese for several days, and the agreement may be signed at any moment. The Second Division is stationed in Handan, which is quite far from here..."

  "It's not Handan, huh!" Chang Zhan said, as if he suddenly thought of something, and pulled his hand back, looking at him with a few more eyes. "There is news from the school that the training class is going to be disbanded, it was spread from among the students, could this person be you?!"

  Ouyang Yun was startled and quickly shook his head, saying: "How could it be me? I don't know Director He or the people around him. How would a small military officer like me know such top-secret things?"

  Chang Zhi'an thought about it and felt that it was also true. Regarding the 25th Division and all the National Army troops stationed in Hebei withdrawing, he had also heard it from his elder brother. His elder brother naturally got the news from the division headquarters. Ouyang Yun, a lieutenant colonel who had just been appointed a few days ago, shouldn't know such confidential matters. However, thinking of the other's identity and recalling this morning's conversation with his elder brother, he kindly reminded him: "Ouyang, your training brigade killed so many Japanese devils, the Japanese will definitely retaliate, you must be extra careful recently!"

  Ouyang Yun smiled and said: "Thanks for the reminder, but I think, no matter what, they wouldn't dare to come and take revenge openly?"

  "It's hard to say, the Japanese don't play by conventional rules, and who knows what kind of tricks they might be up to. You know, some people can't even handle the Japanese, but when it comes to their own kind, they're very capable. Now I'm sure there are many people thinking of ways to capture you and gain merit with the higher-ups."

  When he mentioned "one of us", Ouyang Yun suddenly remembered his wanted identity, thinking that the fact that he had come to the student army would eventually be leaked out. If some people knew about it and made a big deal out of it, it might even implicate the student army. If the student army was forced to disband because of him, the impact would be too great. If things went wrong, the 29th Army would return to its original track, and he would become a sinner for eternity - no way, absolutely not allowed to happen. So now, the first thing to do is to lead the student army to find a place to hide.

  He made up his mind and let Chang Zhi'an wait for him. After a while, he took him to the Second Division and then went to the drill ground to convene a meeting of all deputy cadres. First, he assigned two reconnaissance squads of student soldiers to immediately contact Chu Tian Ge and others in Wanping. Then, he ordered them to assemble their troops immediately, load all equipment and weapons onto vehicles, change into plain clothes, and prepare to head to Wanping in the evening. Having arranged this matter, he and Chang Zhi'an rode horses with their respective orderlies to the headquarters of the Second Division.

  The Second Division of the National Revolutionary Army, led by Huang Jie. The familiar person in charge of maintaining law and order was Zheng Dongguo, the commander of the Fourth Brigade. Under his introduction, Ouyang Yun impersonated a lieutenant colonel of the 29th Army and met with Huang Shicai, the head of the Second Division's military supplies department, under Zheng Dongguo's introduction. With the name "poor", he indeed bought three trucks, several machine tools, some damaged but still usable guns and cannons, as well as a large number of ammunition at scrap iron prices. Then, he even got a gasoline generator and a large amount of oil supplies. This made Ouyang Yun sigh with satisfaction on his way back, feeling deeply moved by the deep affection of the National Army brothers towards their local counterparts. What made him laugh and cry was that when he learned he was from the 29th Army, Huang Shicai and some military officers in the supply department generously gave away nearly 500 sets of unused military uniforms, thinking they were poor...

  But I don't know what Song Zheyuan will think after learning about this matter, will he feel that Ouyang Yun has ruined the glorious image of the 29th Army?

  Ouyang Yun and Chang Zhi'an drove back to the barracks in their newly purchased old truck loaded with scrap iron at more than 4 pm. The recruits had already loaded and tied up various materials, everyone had changed into casual clothes, most people were resting in the dormitory, and a small number of people were on duty under the leadership of Chen Shichang, carrying live ammunition and patrolling around the barracks.

  Ouyang Yun felt a great sense of comfort and pride upon seeing all this. Chang Zhi'an, on the other hand, had gained a whole new understanding of the Student Brigade and couldn't help but wonder why their superiors were willing to disband such a fine unit. What excellent soldiers they were! Their tactical training seemed even better than some veteran troops! As he looked at Ouyang Yun again, his gaze turned slightly sour, thinking that this young man was indeed very lucky. First, he had easily pulled off the infamous 426 incident in Beiping, which had left the Japanese utterly humiliated and earned him the title of "Anti-Japanese Hero"; then, he had transformed the training class established by the 25th Division into the Student Brigade of the 29th Army, with someone even providing the funds to purchase equipment...

  Ouyang Yun stopped the car in front of the fleet, got out and looked at the row of trucks. Suddenly, he thought of a serious problem - there were nine good trucks, but where did so many drivers come from? He had already asked around before going to the Second Division, and except for him, no one in the student regiment knew how to drive - this way, with more cars than drivers, they couldn't just push the cars along, could they? That would be like buying a donkey and carrying it on their backs, which was simply absurd and ridiculous.

  Chang Zhi'an got off the car and saw the scale of the motorcade, the sour taste in his heart became even stronger. He thought to himself: "This Ouyang Yun is really generous! The training brigade only has 200 people, but they have so many trucks, not to mention the artillery, machine guns, and bullets tied up on the cars. This household is almost comparable to the national army's instructional headquarters!" He recalled the recent heated discussions about the German-style division, which included the advanced concept of infantry motorization. He thought: "It seems that Ouyang Yun wants to turn the training brigade into a motorized infantry brigade." Ah, if his own battalion could also be motorized? He looked at Ouyang Yun and found himself feeling a little envious of this young man. Seeing Ouyang Yun frowning with a bitter face, he couldn't help but joke: "Ouyang younger brother, what's wrong? Is it that you think the household is too much to handle? I say, if that's really the case, then give some to your older brother!"

  Ouyang Yun smiled bitterly: "Old brother, don't make fun of me, this is not just the family heirloom of our student army corps, but also the tens of thousands of people in the 29th Army. I heard Commander Song say that many brothers are still using goods from the early days of the Republic."

  "Are you frowning because it's still not enough? If it's not enough, just buy more. My brother doesn't seem to mind that you're buying a lot, does he?"

  "I'm worried about the driver, I'm the only one in the whole school army who can drive, ah!"

  "Oh, this matter, why don't you ask Song Buzi for someone?"

  Ouyang Yun rolled her eyes and thought to herself, "You think I don't know? This isn't because I'm afraid Song Baozi will get jealous!" She thought this way, but she didn't dare say it out loud. If people found out that he bought so many military supplies for the student army, who knows what they would think? Those with simple thoughts might praise him for being selfless, but those with more complicated thoughts might think he's trying to establish his own power base. If that were true, then he'd be a perfect example of "losing the rice while trying to steal the chicken".

  Chang Zhi'an was a clever person. He observed the expression on his face and asked cautiously, "Is there something troubling you? If so, you can also go to Tianjin City to recruit people. There must be some young people in the city who know how to drive but can't find work."

  Ouyang Yun thought that was the case, but the problem is that if they go to recruit people now, will it still be in time? In that case, tonight would definitely not be able to leave. What if the Japanese really made a move and attacked - he didn't dare think about it, shaking his head and saying: "Then tonight might not be able to leave."

  "Well, it seems I'll have to help you solve this problem after all. The 25th Mechanized Infantry Division still has some tricks up its sleeve."

  "Oh, thank you so much."

  "No need to be polite among brothers, I'll help you go back and find someone. Hmm, where are you guys planning to withdraw to?"

  "Wan Ping."

  "Is it calm?"

  "Yes."

  "There doesn't seem to be many good places to hide around here, with so many of you and so many cars."

  "Never mind, let's get past it first."

  "Alright, I'll go back now."

  "Thank you, Brother Chang!"

  Chang Zhenan rode his horse, waved his hand and left with his attendants.