Chapter 286: What Was Heard Entering The City
When the entire 386th Brigade stepped onto that smooth, wide concrete road and began advancing toward the heart of Wutaishan County, they finally truly understood that what they had seen at the border before was merely the tip of the iceberg.
The deeper they went, the more continuous the shocks they experienced.
On the wide, smooth road, long convoys of trucks loaded with grain, ammunition crates, and various supplies occasionally roared past them.
Those trucks were all brand new, painted with the blue sky white sun emblem of the Shanxi Militia on their bodies, and the drivers skillfully controlled the steering wheels, even having the leisure to honk twice at these “friendly forces” marching on foot and grin.
They even saw at a fork in the road more than a dozen tanks rumbling with a deep roar, their tracks crushing the concrete surface as they drove past them.
Those tanks had sleek, powerful designs, with long gun barrels angled toward the sky, exuding a murderous aura.
These were clearly not some captured nutcracker tanks, but standardized, well-maintained main battle equipment.
In the sky, several silver fighter planes swooped overhead at extremely low altitude, emitting a shrill whistle tearing through the air, circled above the convoy, performed a beautiful sideslip maneuver as if saluting them, then pulled up their noses and flew toward the distant airfield.
This integrated land-air, three-dimensional, mechanized scene gave them an illusion: they had not arrived at a barren county town in North China, but had intruded into the heartland of a legendary military powerhouse.
“Good grief… this… this damn thing is a tank…”
Li Yunlong’s eyes were fixed dead on the receding tank convoy, drool nearly dripping from his mouth, “Old Kong, Old Ding, did you see? That iron bastard is way more imposing than the little devils’ Type 97! If you gave my old Li a battalion… no… a company of those, I could poke right through Taiyuan City!”
Kong Jie was speechless, just smacking his lips repeatedly, murmuring, “This Regiment Commander Su, exactly which god’s bank did he rob… This scale, compared to Old Yan Xi, makes him look like a beggar!”
Ding Wei’s expression was the most solemn. He nudged Li Yunlong and Kong Jie beside him, lowering his voice, his eyes gleaming:
“Don’t just stare with envy. Have you thought about why, with such strong backing, he still wants to pull us in?
This means the Taiyuan bone is harder than we imagined! And it also means… this Regiment Commander Su is plotting for more than just Taiyuan!”
Amid the hushed whispers of this iron triangle, the convoy finally arrived outside Wutaishan County.
At the city gate, two rows of militia soldiers in crisp uniforms, holding submachine guns, stood ramrod straight, exuding a stern aura.
And right in the center of the gate, two men stood smiling, waiting for them.
The leader was Su Yaoyang. He wore a gray German-made 36-style regular uniform, stood tall and straight, with a confident and enthusiastic smile on his face.
Standing beside him was Bai Chongxi, also in military attire, his expression slightly complex.
Brigade Commander Chen dismounted, straightened his uniform, and strode forward.
“Brigade Commander, long journey, you’ve worked hard!”
Then, Su Yaoyang turned sideways and ordered Chief of Staff Pi Ruoyu to lead the main force of the 386th Brigade to the prepared camp outside the city, where hot meals, hot water, and brand-new barracks awaited them.
“General Chen, fellow colleagues, long journey, you’ve worked hard!
Thin wine has been prepared in the city. Please enter the city so we can welcome you and wash away the dust of the road!”
While Chief of Staff Pi Ruoyu led the main force of the 386th Brigade in majestic procession to the camp outside the city, Su Yaoyang and Bai Chongxi led Chen Geng, Li Yunlong, and other Eighth Route Army officers through the thick gate tunnel and officially entered Wutaishan County.
If the mechanized troops and modern roads outside the city had shocked them militarily, then the scenes inside the city refreshed their understanding once again from the perspectives of livelihood and economy.
Upon entering the city, the chaotic, devastated scenes of other county towns that Li Yunlong and the others usually saw were completely absent.
What met their eyes was a wide, clean main street paved with concrete.
Shops lined both sides of the street, people came and went, vendors hawking, laughter, children’s play—all sounds incessant, presenting a scene of prosperity and stability, even livelier than some pre-war big cities.
What amazed them even more were the buildings on both sides of the street.
The low, dilapidated thatched huts or traditional brick-tile houses common in other county towns had become very rare.
In their place were brand-new, sturdy two- or three-story buildings.
The main structures of these buildings were strikingly made of the cement bricks they had just been marveling at, or even poured concrete.
The walls were smooth and flat, windows large and bright, some even inlaid with glass—a luxury item in this era.
Every household’s doorway was swept clean, many with a few potted plants, full of the breath of life.
“Good grief…”
Li Yunlong’s eyes weren’t enough; he tugged at Zhao Gang’s sleeve beside him, lowering his voice, but the shock in his tone couldn’t be concealed, “Political commissar, look quick—these houses the common people live in, I reckon they’re fancier than those in big cities like Taiyuan and Datong. This isn’t a county town; it’s paradise!”
Zhao Gang adjusted his glasses, his heart equally surging.
He saw the people walking on the streets—merchants, workers, or ordinary residents—all with confident, stable expressions on their faces, something absolutely unseen in other war-torn areas.
Their clothing was plain but clean and neat, complexions ruddy, clearly with a very good standard of living.
Su Yaoyang walked along, smiling as he introduced, “Wutaishan County is strategically located, but it used to be very poor. After I came, I didn’t do anything else—just opened a few small factories, like cement plant, hardware plant, match factory, etc. Not big scale, just enough to give everyone a bite to eat and some work.”
He spoke lightly, but to Chen Geng and the others, it was no less than a thunderbolt.
In this era, setting up modern factories, especially ones that could mass-produce strategic materials like cement, was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Yet the “small factories” in Su Yaoyang’s mouth had directly transformed the face of a county town, even creating a siphon effect that attracted large numbers of refugees and idle laborers from surrounding areas to work, creating the current prosperity.
“Some time ago, we discovered a not-insignificant iron mine around Xiangyuan and Dingxiang.”
Su Yaoyang mentioned it casually like a small matter, “I’ve already had people start preparations, planning to build a steel mill.
From now on, we’ll smelt our own steel, make our own guns and cannons, and won’t have to look at the foreigners’ faces anymore.”
Build their own steel mill?
This was no longer just “having money”; this was building a complete, self-sufficient military-industrial system.
This was the ultimate goal that all Chinese people dreamed of but could never achieve!
The group followed behind Su Yaoyang through the bustling streets, their shock already beyond measure.
They finally understood that this commander of the Shanxi Militia they were about to cooperate with possessed strength and ambitions far beyond all their imaginations.
After Su Yaoyang’s casual yet earth-shattering remark about “building a steel mill,” the always silent observing political commissar Zhao Gang finally couldn’t hold back.
“Regiment Commander Su, forgive my bluntness. To establish a complete industrial system, even just the most basic light industrial factories as you mentioned, would require an enormous, systematic project in talent reserves, material allocation, technical support, and startup funds.
Given the current domestic situation, you… where did you get so many professionals, production materials, and this precision production equipment?”
This question hit the nail on the head, straight to the core. It was also the biggest puzzle in the minds of all the Eighth Route Army generals.
Hearing this, Su Yaoyang stopped, turned around, a playful smile on his face, as if he had long anticipated someone asking.
“Talent, well…”
He spread his hands, tone relaxed as if discussing buying vegetables at the market, “Naturally, just go poach them.
In big cities like Taiyuan and Datong, there are always talented engineers and technicians down on their luck. As long as the price is right, there’s no one you can’t poach.
If those places aren’t enough, you can send people to Beiping or Shanghai—plenty more talent there.”
He paused, changed tack, put on a “heartbroken” expression, and sighed.
“As for equipment… that’s even more direct, of course, and more expensive.”
He complained solemnly, “These were all entrusted to friends at foreign firms, bought set by set with real gold and silver from places like America and Britain.
Oh man, don’t even mention it—cost a fortune. Thinking back now, my heart still aches.”
Listening to Su Yaoyang’s seemingly complaining but actually ultimate Versailles show-off, Zhao Gang felt the bellyful of theories he had prepared on economic construction and base area development instantly blocked up tight.
He opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing, just silently rubbed his nose bridge.
He suddenly didn’t want to speak anymore; chatting with this guy was too infuriating—he was too good at playing innocent.
With Zhao Gang silenced, Brigade Commander Chen beside him laughed heartily and took up the conversation.
“Regiment Commander Su, I have to say, the changes in Wutaishan County have really opened our eyes, us mud-legged folks.”
Brigade Commander Chen’s smile was very hearty, his words carrying sincere admiration, “I originally thought Regiment Commander Su you were just skilled at training troops and fighting wars, a natural-born general. Who would have thought you were also so formidable in building livelihoods and developing industry! Impressive, impressive!”
Faced with praise from this future big shot who would single-handedly create Harbin Military Engineering Institute, Su Yaoyang didn’t dare accept it all. He quickly wiped the playfulness from his face, put on a sincere and modest expression, and waved his hands repeatedly:
“Brigade Commander Chen, you mustn’t say that—you’re overwhelming me! My meager skills dare not show off in front of you. I just got lucky by chance, did a bit of what I could, really can’t take such high praise from you!”
