Soon, a clear-text telegram was sent out by the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army, broadcasting to the entire nation!
For a while, public sentiment was outraged. Annihilating an entire enemy regiment, this was a great victory unseen since the outbreak of the War of Resistance!
Although its impact on the overall war situation was negligible, it did indeed greatly boost the current low morale of the anti-Japanese forces.
From this battle alone, the popularity of the 399th Brigade, especially that of Xiao Yun, skyrocketed. He was hailed by the people as an anti-Japanese hero and a bane to the Japanese.
Many aspiring young men, upon hearing this news, silently packed their bags, eager to join the 399th Brigade and serve their country.
....................
“Chairman, good news from the Second War Zone!”
In Chongqing, the Presidential Palace, within Chiang Kai-shek's study, Dai Li, the head of the Kuomintang intelligence, walked in holding a telegram.
Chiang Kai-shek, who had been feeling overwhelmed by the recent deteriorating anti-Japanese situation nationwide, couldn't help but relax his brows slightly upon hearing this.
Day after day, he received news of defeats. Now, finally, a victory report had arrived.
“Quickly, read it to me!”
“Chairman, the Eighth Route Army's 399th Brigade in Northwest Shanxi, under the command of Brigade Commander Xiao Yun, wiped out an entire enemy regiment. In addition, they also captured two infantry companies and a small artillery unit, a great victory!”
Chiang Kai-shek’s expression was rather ambiguous upon hearing the news, a mix of joy and worry.
He was glad that a victory had been achieved, but worried that it wasn't his own Kuomintang army that had won, but the Eighth Route Army.
Although they were currently fighting the war together, he still considered the Eighth Route Army as enemies, but due to the pressing need to fight the common foe, he couldn't afford to break ties.
After his face contorted a few times, Chiang Kai-shek took a deep breath, “Yu Nong, this victory is a good thing. What do you think we should do to reward them?”
At this moment, Chiang Kai-shek was quite conflicted. If it had been the Kuomintang army that had won such a glorious battle, he wouldn't have been stingy at all.
Promotions would be given, funding would be allocated, and weapons and equipment would be readily available.
However, it was the CCP's Eighth Route Army that had won, and specifically, it was Xiao Yun, making him quite unsure how to proceed.
He was undeniably very appreciative and highly regarded Xiao Yun, who had graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy's third class, was nominally his student, possessed outstanding abilities, and had even carried him on his back through a hail of bullets during the Northern Expedition.
Even after Xiao Yun joined the CCP, he still didn't give up on him, sending out many olive branches, but all were rejected by Xiao Yun.
He couldn't gain Xiao Yun, nor could he bear to destroy him. Now that Xiao Yun had led his troops to victory, he didn't know how to reward him.
“Chairman, Yu Nong dares not overstep, please make your own decision!”
Naturally, Dai Li, being a trusted confidant of Chiang Kai-shek, possessed some degree of emotional intelligence.
If your boss asks you for your opinion, it's your boss' business. If you actually dare to wield a feather duster as a scepter and try to teach your boss how to do things, that's truly a recipe for disaster!
“Alright, Yu Nong, go draft a commendation order, and send another 10,000 silver dollars to the 399th Brigade!”
After some deliberation, Chiang Kai-shek made a decision.
“Yes, Chairman!”
..................................
The Second War Zone Headquarters, Yan Xishan received the news as well, and besides being happy, he also had the idea of recruiting this formidable general, Xiao Yun.
Thanks to his previous efforts to develop industry, the equipment of his Shanxi-Suiyuan Army was actually quite good, especially in terms of artillery and automatic firepower, surpassing the Japanese.
However, their fighting prowess was lacking. After the Japanese invaded Shanxi, they were completely routed.
If he could obtain a talented general like Xiao Yun, his Shanxi-Suiyuan Army's fighting ability would definitely be greatly enhanced.
Thinking about this, Yan Xishan also issued a commendation order through the Second War Zone Headquarters, and also gave a reward of 100,000 silver dollars and 50,000 rounds of ammunition.
Apart from the commendation order, the rest of the things had not yet been sent by the transport team.
Of course, accompanying the transport team would be Yan Xishan's emissary, tasked with trying every means possible to lure Xiao Yun to the Shanxi-Suiyuan Army.
...............................
“Old Xiao, our 399th Brigade has finally made a name for ourselves this time. Not only did the headquarters send a commendation, but both the Second War Zone Headquarters and Old Chiang in Chongqing have sent commendation orders, take a look!”
In the command room, Political Commissar Wang Yan walked in with several telegrams, smiling and saying to Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun took the telegrams and read them one by one, then set them aside.
“Old Chiang is really stingy, he only sent 10,000 silver dollars, while Yan Xishan is much more generous, giving us a whole 100,000 and also supplementing 50,000 rounds of ammunition for our 399th Brigade!”
“Old Chiang has always been like this towards our Eighth Route Army, it’s not surprising. It’s just that Yan Xishan is willing to spend heavily this time, I guess he has some ulterior motives.”
“It's just trying to win us over with sugar-coated bullets, right? We'll take the candy, but we'll fire the bullets back at him!”
Xiao Yun laughed.