Chapter Seventy-two Entrustment

  In the late afternoon, the training of the student army ended. The new and old soldiers were washing up with water, and some were practicing on the training ground. Ouyang Yun finally waited until Li Tieshu had time, inviting him to walk under the only locust tree on the training ground, facing the setting sun, saying: "Brother Li, the military department informed me that I will attend a meeting at Nanyuan tomorrow."

  After Song Zheyuan completed the troop deployment, he and Chiang Kai-shek's representative Xiong Bin reached a consensus. The 29th Army had the nominal control over Hebei Province and moved its headquarters from Zhangjiakou to Nanyuan, Beiping, marking the beginning of taking over Hebei officially. The military conference described by Ouyang Yun as "dividing the cake" was imminent.

  Li Tie-shu was in the military camp and news was relatively closed off. He asked: "Has General Song returned from Tianjin?"

  "Hmm, Old Chiang sent Xiong Bin to negotiate with him, and both sides have reached a consensus. The 29th Army will resolutely defend the North China region. Not only did Old Chiang publicly acknowledge our current situation, but he also fully satisfied us in terms of organization, equipment, and military pay."

  "What great news!"

  Ouyang Yun smiled wryly: "Indeed it's a good thing, our student brigade is going to be upgraded to an independent student regiment."

  Li Tieshu looked at him and said: "You don't seem very happy. Is there someone else who is the real head of this trip?"

  "No, no, I'm the one who's been estimated as the Traveler, but this Traveler isn't that easy to become, you know why I was able to become the leader of the Student Troop?"

  "It should be that Song Junlong values talents?" Li Tieshu thought for a moment and said, in his opinion, Ouyang Yun was quite skilled at fighting despite being young.

  Ouyang Yun shook his head and said: "This team leader is what I actively wanted, for this I have an agreement with General Song."

  The one who delivered the meeting notice to Ouyang Yun was Guo Biao. Guo Biao had just been promoted to deputy officer, and it so happened that this had something to do with Ouyang Yun. The chief deputy officer of Song's side had always been close to the Japanese, of course, anyone with discerning eyes knew that this was actually Song's intention. As a result, after Song fell out with the Japanese over Ouyang Yun's matter, he became the scapegoat and is now demoted to be the regiment commander of the guard team.

  With Guo Biao's current identity and status, delivering conference notices was a trivial matter that didn't require his involvement. However, due to his concern for Ouyang Yun, he specifically requested this task to sound an alarm for his younger brother. Accompanying Guo Biao on the delivery was also Song's driver - Guo Biao couldn't drive. Guo Biao didn't say much, but with a profound tone, told him: "Ouyang, your promotion is indeed swift! In the 29th Army, no one as young as you has become a brigade commander; it's unprecedented and unmatched. The military seat is treating you like a treasure, so don't disappoint them!"

  Just from Guo Biao's words, Ouyang Yun knew that the matter of running a factory could no longer be delayed. His relationship with Song Zheyuan, although seemingly very harmonious on the surface - one admiring his reputation and sincerely relying on him, the other appreciating his talent and giving him free rein to use it - but both parties knew what was actually maintaining this delicate relationship.

  It is the factory and industry promised by Ouyang Yun, so-called "the future of the 29th Army".

  Now that Song Zheyuan has fulfilled his promise, it's Ouyang Yun's turn to show off. As a result, the trip to the United States is becoming increasingly urgent. However, with the expansion of the student army into a brigade, there are naturally many pressing matters to be dealt with in the military. At this time, he came to find Li Tieshu specifically to coordinate the matters of going abroad, setting up factories and expanding the brigade.

  He truthfully recounted the scene of his first meeting with Song, and Li Tieshu listened in amazement, gaining a deeper understanding of this little official, also knowing that the other party truly regarded him as a brother, feeling a small sense of emotion.

  "After listening to his narrative, Li Tieshu asked: 'Then from now on you will be fully in charge of the factory's affairs?'"

  Ouyang Yun nodded and said: "Yes, so I need your help."

  Li Tieshu said seriously: "Ouyang, since you trust me, I will definitely not let you down. What instructions do you have, just say it."

  "I'm not worthy of the order, but in terms of leading troops, you're far superior to me. The other day I received an invitation from the President of Harvard University in the US, asking me to go there for a visit, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to buy all the equipment and instruments we need. Now that transportation is blocked, this trip will probably take several months, so domestic affairs will have to be entrusted to you entirely. As for the Training Brigade, Wolf Teeth, and Fox Glare, I'm not too worried, but what I worry about most is the Special Duty Battalion. Brother Li, if by any chance I don't return, I hope you can protect those thirty-two people well and hand them over safely to General Yu."

  Li Tie Shu furrowed his brow and said: "Departing with words of ill omen, Ouyang, this doesn't seem like your style - I believe you'll definitely return safely!"

  Ouyang Yun shook his head and smiled bitterly, this worry was something he had only recently developed. As a traverser, because of his understanding of the direction of history and the protection of his bulletproof vest, he was confident that he would not die in vain. But who knows what might happen, whether a shot might come from some corner and take him away?! He thought to himself that since he had already come here and actually held the power to change the fate of the country, if he didn't do anything and just left, wouldn't that be too unjust? Considering that after entering Renqiu there would be a lot of things to busy himself with, he hurriedly told Li Tieshu these things at this time, on one hand to prevent any unexpected events, on the other hand also to calm Li Tieshu's heart.

  If he were to die, who else in the country could protect and make good use of this force? He thought for a long time and finally decided to place his hopes on Yu Xiangzhong.

  Yu Xuezong is now leading the 51st Army in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to "suppress bandits". In history, he once served as the governor of Gansu Province and was later dismissed due to the "Xi'an Incident", after which he went on to fight against Japan in Jiangsu and Shandong. He has always had a good impression of the CCD, cooperating well with the Eighth Route Army during the Anti-Japanese War, and did not follow Chiang Kai-shek to Taiwan after the Nationalist Party's defeat in 1949. Ou Yangyun felt at ease handing over the special task force's troops to him.

  Of course, he can also hand them over to the GCD directly. Considering the current strength of the GCD and future movements, etc., he took into account the perspective of considering the future of the special troops and felt that handing them over to Yu Xuezhong would be a better way to keep them safe.

  Li Tie Shu, under his influence, now knows very well the role of civil economy in war. In the future, he will return to Yu Xiang's side and may continue his unfinished business. For him, this crossing is not in vain.

  In Ouyang Yun's mind, Hebei was a treasure land due to the presence of Renqiu oil field and large quantities of high-quality iron ore. If developed well, it would not only be enough for the 29th Army to rely on the two places and deal with the little devils for several years until the end of the war, but also make it possible to build the 29th Army into a top-notch strong army in the world.

  The oil fields in Renqiu, due to their high internal pressure, were initially developed with vertical wells, which had relatively low extraction costs and technical requirements. In contrast, the iron mines in Hebei province, such as Wing East, Chengde Daming, and Chengde Heishan, are all high-grade iron ore deposits, some of which can even be extracted through open-pit mining, making the cost of extraction and refining not too high. The only thing that makes him anxious is that the Wing East and Chengde areas currently belong to a non-military zone, which in reality means they are controlled by the little devils (Japanese). If it weren't for the fact that Chahar's Xuanhua and Chicheng areas also have significant iron ore deposits, which can fully meet the iron needs of Wing East and Chengde, with his temperament, it would be difficult to guarantee that he wouldn't let the anti-Japanese war break out prematurely due to the need for iron.

  Unfortunately, the current domestic industrial level is really too low, especially in heavy industry, so that some equipment has to be imported from Western countries. As a result, this trip to the United States is inevitable and necessary. Therefore, knowing that this trip to the United States will be fraught with danger, he still had to grit his teeth and go.

  "I hope so, but nothing is absolute—" He said to this point, he grasped Li Tieshu's hand and said emotionally: "Brother Li, do you know what I'm most grateful for since I came back this time? It's getting to know all of you brothers. I used to think that the officers in the National Army were all incompetent and corrupt, but now I realize that there are many passionate men among them. Let alone General Yu, the Tiger General of the country, just talking about our 29th Army, Generals Zhang Zizhong, Feng Zhi'an, Zhao Dengyu, and Brother Li you, which one is not a passionate man who can sacrifice for the country? ——With people like you in my China, if we can't beat those little devils, it's really unjust!"

  At this time, the sun was about to set in the west, and the evening glow shone on his young face, casting a layer of sunset glow over it. Li Tieshu listened to his heartfelt words and couldn't help but be moved: "Ouyang, your words are too good! China has never lacked hot-blooded men since ancient times, only because of the weakness of those in power, foreign enemies have repeatedly taken advantage of this, making our great China a plaything in the hands of powerful countries since the Qing dynasty. However, as you said, as long as we are still alive, China will surely become strong one day! Ouyang, promise me! You must come back safely, remember, you are the old leader of the learning brigade, no matter if it is a regimental or divisional organization, or even an army group, only you are our old leader, and only you can lead us to victory!"

  As a traverser, Lao Da is what Ouyang Yun often hangs in his mouth. After contacting him for a long time, everyone knows that privately, he likes his soldiers to call himself Lao Da the most. Now, Li Tieshu as an older brother who is several years older than him says such words, undoubtedly has truly regarded Ouyang Yun as his own superior and brothers who can live and die together.

  Ouyang Yun gave him a hug, patted his back several times and said "thank you". Then the two exchanged a solemn military salute, ending this conversation.