Chapter 1441: Suppression

Wang Yan's order was somewhat absurd, yet it was indeed a good way to let the brothers relax their weary bodies and minds.

Thus, in the time that followed, Wang Yan took charge of cleaning up after the brothers, settling matters with the county magistrate and Liu Erhu, the head of the local black-market forces, making them responsible for paying up.

Fan La truly laid his cards on the table with Xiao Zui; naturally, Xiao Zui had feelings for Fan La, so she did not refuse, and thus the two came together.

This counted as Wang Yan's greatest help to Fan La, at least ensuring Fan La wouldn't harbor regrets for a lifetime or die with eyes unable to close.

Taking advantage of these few days, Bu La found a girl from Hunan who had fled here as a refugee, Yao Ma found a girl from Sichuan, and several soldiers from the Guard Company also found local girls.

Wang Yan then had Shangguan Jieci liaise with these girls, and he also gave Shangguan Jieci an idea: to set up a factory here to produce soap and the like, giving them at least some livelihood.

He also sent someone to run to the troops' side to deliver a message, calling back a batch of wounded. Some could no longer fight, others were somewhere in between, their combat effectiveness severely reduced due to injuries and sickness. Wang Yan had these men withdraw as well, staying in Chanda to open a factory with Shangguan Jieci; they would be both workers and protectors of the women and children.

Wang Yan even left them two light machine guns, along with many submachine guns, mortars, and various types of bullets and shells, leaving them with quite formidable firepower.

He issued a simple and direct order: whoever causes trouble, deal with them. In Chanda, there is no one the Sichuan Regiment cannot provoke; let alone Chanda, even across the entire Yunnan Province, there is no one the Sichuan Regiment cannot provoke, not even big figures like Long Yun or Du Yuming.

It wasn't that the Sichuan Regiment was so strong, but under Wang Yan's leadership, the Sichuan Regiment was desperately fierce and possessed awesome combat power. If Wang Yan stopped fighting the Japanese and directly led his troops north, even Chiang Kai-shek would tremble.

This was all deterrent power forged through killing; they could not cope with Wang Yan's style of fighting.

This reinforcement of manpower was also another test of Wang Yan's strength. To create more value, to make more people fear and dread them—for Wang Yan and his brothers, this would be a huge success.

Moreover, this was merely Wang Yan's baseline; he didn't even need to exert himself much. If he were to truly exert himself, the situation would be entirely different.

Though it was said they would stay for half a month, by the time Wang Yan had properly settled all various matters here and the factory began producing some finished goods, over twenty days had already passed.

"Take care of your health, don't get too far forward in battle, lose fewer brothers; they are all capital for the future," Shangguan Jieci spoke words fitting for a bandit chieftain's Lady.

Wang Yan smiled and nodded, stroked her face, and ruffled the little brat's head...

"You must come back alive," Xiao Zui said, caressing Fan La's face, her eyes full of attachment and reluctance to part.

Fan La smiled in response: "I'm about to become a regimental commander; I won't be charging to the front in battles. Don't worry, I'll definitely survive."

On the other side, Yao Ma and Bu La were the same, both bidding farewell to their women. Although the time they had spent together was short, in this chaotic era of displacement, being able to rely on each other meant that even a short time had fostered some genuine affection.

Mi Long and the others stood in a row, heartlessly watching the commotion here, laughing and chattering, thinking of nothing...

Partings always come; the mutual attachment among everyone did not last long before Wang Yan waved his hand, signaling the brothers to board the vehicles. With the putter-put-put of the broken-down cars, the convoy soon left the county town, growing smaller and smaller until it vanished without a trace.

Tang Ji struggled to climb onto the roof, exhausted and sighing with an "Ouch": "Alright, the people are gone, stop looking."

Yu Xiaoqing stood with hands behind his back, wearing a donkey-like long face, saying not a word.

"Worthy nephew, don't struggle against yourself. That kid Wang Yan is indeed formidable in close combat; search the whole world, and he has no opponent. But now that he is a division commander, corps-level warfare is not that simple. And do you think he rests easy, able to command as effortlessly as moving his own arm? Impossible!

Let me put it this way: in the end, that kid cannot escape death! Whether killed by the Japanese or eliminated afterward. Was Zi Yue Fei not impressive? Could he withstand the Song court?

I heard that when Luo Zhuoying recruited him, he compared himself to Song Jiang, which shows some cleverness and a clear view of the situation. But since he has become a Song Jiang, do you think he can finally escape safely?

I admit, that kid is a hero. But what creates a hero? It is the times. How does that saying go? 'When fortune arrives, heaven and earth work together; when fortune departs, even heroes lack freedom.'

You are different from him; he is just a mud-legged peasant relying on his hard fate, while you proceed steadily and strike surely, naturally achieving accomplishments he will never reach in his lifetime."

"I am also human; how am I different from him? He could annihilate the Takeuchi Brigade at South Heaven Gate, yet to this day I have been unable to keep the opposing Ishii Brigade here.

He told that man surnamed Deng at the shelter station that I rely on my family without realizing it, thinking I have great ability, harming others and myself. He is right! I truly am not as good as him!

Tang Ji truly looked disdainful, yet still patiently advised: "This is your advantage; you cannot leave the big cannons unused and insist on meeting them blade-to-blade."

"I am not that foolish," Yu Xiaoqing waved his hand and climbed down from the roof, devoid of any interest in life.

One week later, Yu Xiaoqing launched an attack on South Heaven Gate... he failed to take it, suffering heavy casualties!

It was also at this time that Wang Yan and the others returned to their temporary station.

"Master Wang, have you vented your anger?" Long Wenzhang greeted him with a grin.

"I never had any anger to begin with, so how could I vent it?" Wang Yan said. "I merely slightly humiliated that man Yu; it was meaningless. After all, one cannot simply execute him; he remains a division commander, still spouting his principles, unaffected."

"Oh my, you are truly modest," Fan La chimed in, saying to Long Wenzhang, "Our master here, in front of so many people, single-handedly grabbed Yu Xiaoqing by the neck and lifted him this high, nearly choking him to death."

"Master Wang truly possesses astonishing strength, like the Martial Star descending to the mortal realm..."

"Enough, tell me how things have been recently," Wang Yan waved his hand.

Long Wenzhang turned serious: "Four thousand seven hundred and eighty-six men have been transferred in. I have already had the veterans lead these newcomers, training them according to the plan you left behind; we only started training two days ago.

News has come regarding the weapons, ammunition, food, medicine, and other supplies promised by England and America; in three days, we are to go to a location one hundred and forty kilometers away to retrieve them. There is a hidden airfield there, and we will pick up the goods nearby. It is said to be enough equipment to arm five thousand people. Additionally, when the new recruits arrived, they brought weapons and ammunition with them, allocated to us by the National Army."

Wang Yan nodded: "Anything else?"

"Quite a few officers have arrived."

"Where are they?"

"Training the troops."

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow: "Your supervision is lacking."

"Master Wang, they are very polite and do not interfere with our old units, focusing only on the new recruits. They are all high officials; I am just a small battalion commander and simply cannot get a word in."

Wang Yan pulled out his pistol and pressed it against Long Wenzhang's head: "Can you get a word in now?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Long Wenzhang nodded hurriedly. "Please be careful, don't let it misfire; I'm still waiting to become a regimental commander."

Wang Yan shook his head with amusement, then jumped back onto the vehicle: "Pass my order: Emergency assembly!"

"Yes!" Long Wenzhang saluted and responded loudly.

He then quickly ran off to have the order conveyed, organizing everyone to gather.

A force of several thousand men could not all be together; instead, they were scattered by battalion, hiding within the forests to avoid detection by Japanese reconnaissance planes.

With nearly eight thousand men across ten battalions, wanting to assemble quickly still took considerable time.

There was marching, then forming ranks, and even after standing in formation, they were not quiet, buzzing noisily.

Wang Yan looked at the soldiers filling the jungle and even the slopes behind, nodding with satisfaction, for the ranks had grown stronger, creating new glory.

"Division Commander Wang, an honor to meet you."

A man with short, slicked-back hair, thick eyebrows, and big eyes walked over and introduced himself proactively: "My name is Luo Youlun; I was transferred by higher command to cooperate with Division Commander Wang. Previously, I served as Chief of Staff for the Fifth Army."

Wang Yan glanced at the single general's star on his collar tabs and shook his head: "If we say Chiang Kai-shek is generous, he promoted me to colonel; if we say he isn't generous, he demoted a Major General Chief of Staff to be my deputy. Old Luo, tell me, is Chiang Kai-shek generous or not?"

"The Principal has his own intentions," Luo Youlun said, not engaging Wang Yan in nonsense and changing the subject. "May I ask why Division Commander Wang urgently assembled the troops?"

"It's nothing, let me take a look."

Wang Yan said with a smile, "As you know, I come from a peasant background; now that I've risen to this position, naturally I must inspect my troops."

"With time so pressing and the newly recruited soldiers in the midst of training, Commander Wang's move seems inappropriate..." Luo Youlun's words trailed off, clearly leaving many unpleasant things unsaid.

Luo Youlun was a significant figure, of the Whampoa clique, who had studied abroad, served as Chief of Staff to Du Yuming, and later rose to key positions including Commandant of the Whampoa Military Academy.

However, Wang Yan paid no heed; looking at the few men following behind Luo Youlun, he asked with feigned ignorance, "Who are these gentlemen?"

"They are regiment commanders transferred along with the army; after all, with the new army just established, combat effectiveness cannot be guaranteed, so we need these fierce generals to lead them. This is..."

"No need; I don't believe any fierce generals are fiercer than me and my brothers."

Wang Yan waved his hand directly to interrupt, paying no attention to the ugly expressions on everyone's faces, "I intend to reorganize the troops, integrating these men into the units of my old brothers; thus, with the veterans leading the newcomers, training will be faster, and in battle they won't be completely clueless, at least ensuring basic combat effectiveness."

"Commander Wang, this move is likely inappropriate. The combat effectiveness of the Division Commander's old subordinates is high and must be maintained; we need such units right now. Once broken up and mixed with new recruits, combat effectiveness will drop by more than three notches. I hope you will think twice." Luo Youlun was equally blunt, refusing directly and making it clear he would not cooperate.

This matter was non-negotiable; if reorganized to allow Wang Yan's people to infiltrate, it would be disastrous. Not only must Wang Yan be prevented from infiltrating, but new regiment commanders must also be installed over Wang Yan's old units.

"It's decided! These few will serve as deputy regiment commanders; I have several other brothers who should be promoted but lacked positions; now that there are more people, there are more positions, and everyone can be a regiment commander."

Wang Yan stood with his hands behind his back, staring straight at Luo Youlun, "I already have a plan for the reorganization; execution begins now. Old Luo, do you have any objections?"

"Wang Yan, you are bullying people too..."

With a loud bang of a gunshot, Wang Yan calmly holstered his pistol and looked at the person who had spoken.

"Without respect for hierarchy, tell me, what should you call me?"

Seeing the man make no move, Wang Yan frowned slightly and hummed in question.

Bu La stepped forward and slapped the back of the man's head: "Damn it! The Duke Wang is asking if you understand; answer! Are you mute?"

"I... I understand!"

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "What were you about to say just now? I didn't catch it; please say it again so I can hear."

"Nothing, it was nothing."

So Wang Yan turned back to stare at Luo Youlun: "Old Luo, do you still have any objections?"

Luo Youlun, his face iron-green, looked at the gun muzzles raised all around: "Wang Yan, you are breaking the rules; pointing guns at your own people, do you think you look impressive?"

"Old Luo, pretending to be confused while knowing the truth, yet speaking as if you were so righteous. Didn't you point your gun at me? Then what are you here for? All of you are cowards who dare to act but not own up to it. What are rules? Whoever holds the gun makes the rules."

"We are still at war, yet you want to strip me of power and send my brothers to their deaths. Old Luo, let me give you the bottom line, and all of you listen well: if you can't handle it, leave; if you stay, then behave yourselves. Let us focus wholeheartedly on fighting the little Japanese; don't play mind games or set traps for me here."

Wang Yan stepped forward two paces and patted Luo Youlun on the shoulder, "Old Luo, I don't understand your twists and turns, nor do I know what this bullshit about 'rules' is. I only know that the gun must remain in my own hands; whoever tries to snatch my gun wants my life."

"Whoever wants my life, I will kill first. You are new here, unfamiliar with affairs and my style, which is understandable. I'll give you this one chance; next time you try this with me, I will execute you all on the spot."

Ignoring Luo Youlun, whose face was ugly and eyes spitting fire, Wang Yan shouted loudly: "All brothers above the rank of battalion commander, come here for a meeting!"

After waiting a while for the officers to assemble, Wang Yan personally issued the reorganization order, very decisively breaking up the new recruits on the spot and integrating them into his old units.

As for all the officers, except for Wang Yan's old brothers, every newly arrived officer was demoted one rank, while Wang Yan's officers were all promoted one rank.

With this group of loyal old brothers leading them, these new recruits would soon become soldiers loyal to him; after fighting a few battles, they would all become fanatical veterans.

Thus, Wang Yan completely secured control over the troops.

He had no intention of playing mind games with Luo Youlun; it wasn't even worth wasting time on. He suppressed them directly and drew the line clearly.

If Luo Youlun were smart enough, he would not leave this place, nor would he cause trouble in the future.

Because leaving Wang Yan's troops was simple, but that would prove Luo Youlun useless, seriously affecting his career prospects. It was far better for him to stay here quietly, seek opportunities, earn merit alongside Wang Yan, and later be promoted and transferred away, which was much better than simply walking away...

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(End of Chapter)