sovbooks Chapter 23 Summoning Successful
Chapter 23 Summoning Successful
Yang Zheng dismissed Zhao Dahu, who was scratching his head in excitement, and exchanged a few pleasantries with Zhou Dachui and several other village elders who had gathered around, calming the enthusiastic villagers. He then instructed Chen Xiaoquan and Luo Dashan to take charge of settling the troops, inventorying the captured supplies, and caring for the wounded. He himself quickly returned to the courtyard of the ancestral hall where the company headquarters was located.
The courtyard was quiet, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle at the village entrance. The last rays of the setting sun shone through the window, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Closing the door shuts out most of the noise from outside.
Yang Zheng did not rest immediately. Instead, he stood in front of the simple wooden table, his gaze sweeping over the simple hand-drawn map on the wall, and finally landing on the terrain markings around Changning Village.
"The bases are still too small and too scattered, which is not conducive to concentrated training and defense," he muttered to himself.
The ancestral hall, along with a few borrowed houses, could accommodate the original core members of the Eighth Company, but with the continuous replenishment of soldiers and the need to store a large amount of captured weapons and ammunition, the existing space was immediately stretched thin.
More importantly, the troops need a separate camp that facilitates training and security.
He already had a plan in mind.
There was a relatively flat wasteland at the east end of the village, backed by a hillside, with a wide view in front, and neither too far nor too close to the village, making it convenient for mutual support without disturbing the villagers. It was the ideal location to establish a new campsite.
Having made up his mind, Yang Zheng immediately summoned Zhao Dahu, who had just settled the troops and whose face was still flushed with excitement.
"Big Tiger, I'm giving you an important task."
Upon hearing about the important task, Zhao Dahu straightened his back even more, his eyes shining: "Company Commander, you tell me! Get it done!"
"See that wasteland at the east end of the village?" Yang Zheng pointed out the window. "I want you to build a new barracks for our Eighth Company there. It doesn't need to be luxurious, but it needs to be sturdy and practical."
The plan outlines the locations of barracks, training grounds, warehouses, and sentry posts. The barracks will initially be built to accommodate 200 people, with the possibility of expansion later. The warehouses will be dry, concealed, and capable of storing ammunition and provisions.
Zhao Dahu looked in the direction Yang Zheng was pointing, scratched his head, and said, "The location is nice, but Company Commander, where are we going to get so many people and materials? Building a house isn't like wielding a large knife..."
Yang Zheng had already planned ahead: "For manpower, we'll use those new recruits you trained! Perfect, they can train while working, which will also help them get used to each other."
As for materials, the villagers should be able to provide some timber and thatch. We can also exchange some of the grain and salt we captured this time with the villagers. We can use local materials for bricks, stones, and soil.
Also, go talk to Grandpa Zhou Dachui and ask him to mobilize the villagers to help. Tell them that the Eighth Route Army wants to establish itself in Changning Village to fight the Japanese and protect their hometown, and they need a place to settle down and train. We will compensate the villagers for their support in the future, either by converting it to market value or by recording it in work points!
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dahu realized that although the mission was not as direct and enjoyable as charging into battle, it was still fundamental to the survival, development, and growth of the entire company, and its importance was self-evident.
He snapped to attention, his playful expression vanishing, and said solemnly, "Yes, sir! Company Commander! I understand! I'll go talk to Grandpa Zhou right away, and we'll get the new recruits up and running first thing tomorrow morning! I promise we'll build our new home as quickly as possible!"
Watching Zhao Dahu's hurried departure to accept the order, Yang Zheng nodded slightly.
Zhao Dahu is a bit impatient, but he is very efficient and straightforward when dealing with the villagers. If we entrust this matter to him for supervision, and let the more composed Chen Xiaoquan assist with the planning, there shouldn't be any major problems.
After dealing with this urgent infrastructure matter, Yang Zheng finally relaxed and sat down on the creaking old wooden chair. He closed his eyes and focused his mind on the system.
On the resource panel, the numbers [Soul Points: 1340] and [Flesh Resources: 13301] are clearly visible.
In addition, there were two captured officer's swords. Without hesitation, he took out the two swords first.
The scabbard was exquisite, but stained with blood and dust. He found a cloth, carefully wiped it clean, and then walked towards the blacksmith's shop in the courtyard.
Li Dachui and his four apprentices were pondering something around the newly built furnace, the fire yet to be lit.
Seeing Yang Zheng carrying two items that were clearly officers' swords, they all looked over curiously.
"Master Li, take a look at these two knives." Yang Zheng handed over the knives.
Li Dachui took it, drew the sword halfway from its sheath, its cold light gleaming. He flicked the blade with his finger, listened to the sound, and carefully examined the guard and blade pattern, praising it:
"Good steel! The Japanese officer's knife is definitely made of better materials and craftsmanship than that of an ordinary soldier's. Company commander, what are you going to do...?"
"It's melted." Yang Zheng said succinctly.
"It's melted?" Li Dachui and his apprentices were all taken aback.
Such a fine knife, even if it belongs to an enemy, would be considered a valuable trophy or collectible by many.
"Yes, it's been melted down. We don't lack knives right now, what we lack are raw materials to forge more weapons and tools. This steel is good; melting it down and refining it will allow us to forge even better broadswords and spearheads."
Yang Zheng's gaze was calm. "Things are inanimate, but people are alive. It's more meaningful to make them play a greater role than to just leave them there to look at."
Li Dachui paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "The company commander is right! I misunderstood. Leave it to me. This steel is good; melt it down and reforge it, and it'll definitely yield good material! It'll be a good opportunity to test our newly started furnace!"
Yang Zheng handed the knife to Li Dachui. Just as Li Dachui threw the first knife into the newly lit furnace, the system notification sounded in Yang Zheng's mind as expected:
[Gold earned: 5]
[Gold earned: 10] (Lieutenant's knife, after Li Dachui threw it into the furnace)
A total of 15 gold resources have been obtained. Adding the 5 points gained from melting the lieutenant's sword, the total gold resources now reach 20.
Although it's still quite a distance from the 50 gold resources needed to upgrade the blacksmith shop, it's accumulating rapidly.
Moreover, it also proved his conjecture that the higher the rank of the Japanese officer, the more gold resources he could obtain with his command sword.
Perhaps a Japanese major's sword would be enough to complete the upgrade.
This gave him a clear objective—to hunt down higher-value Japanese officers.
Back in his room, Yang Zheng began the summoning.
First, let's talk about the blacksmiths. Upgrading a level one blacksmith shop requires six blacksmiths. Although we're only one short, blacksmiths are invaluable, and you can never have too many. So…
"Summon 5 blacksmiths."
[Summoning successful. 100 Soul Points and 750 Flesh Resources consumed. 5 blacksmiths will arrive at the blacksmith shop within 48 hours. Please be ready to receive them.]
Then there are the soldiers. He needs to expand the core force of the Eighth Company as soon as possible, especially the veterans who have experienced the system's summoning and have their own combat experience.
"Summon 70 warriors."
[Summoning successful. 1050 Soul Points and 10500 Flesh Resources consumed. 70 warriors will arrive at the camp within 48 hours. Please prepare to receive them.]
In an instant, he had only 190 Soul Points left and 2051 Flesh Resources. But the investment was worthwhile.
With the addition of 70 experienced veterans and the massive amount of weapons captured, the Eighth Company's combat effectiveness will experience a qualitative leap.
With the addition of the original core members, veterans from the Northeast Army and Northwest Army, and new recruits trained by Zhao Dahu, the company's combat strength will easily exceed 160 men, and its equipment level will surpass that of some standard companies of the main regiments of the Eighth Route Army.
Finally, there's the stable.
Yang Zheng walked out of the house and came to the last empty side room in the courtyard of the ancestral hall, which was originally used to store miscellaneous items.
"Bound to a level one stable," he silently recited to himself.
[Bindingable building detected: Side room of Changning Village Ancestral Hall. Confirm?]
"confirm."
A familiar glimmer of light flashed by, and the side room didn't seem to have any visible changes, but Yang Zheng could feel a strange connection being established.
On the system panel, the icon for the Level 1 Stable lit up.
[Level 1 Stable successfully bound.]
【Functions: 1. Horse Breeding: Horses receive a slight daily boost (stamina, speed, affinity). 2. Warhorse Production: Invest 5 Soul Points and 500 Flesh Resources to obtain one warhorse (which will unexpectedly and autonomously arrive near the stable within 2 days; its origin can be traced). Current Horse Capacity: 0/10.】
Horses were crucial to the Eighth Route Army, greatly enhancing mobility for communication, reconnaissance, transporting supplies, and forming cavalry units. However, resources were currently limited, and maintaining too many horses at once would be unaffordable.
"Summon three warhorses," Yang Zheng decided after careful consideration.
[Summoning successful. 15 Soul Points and 1500 Flesh Resources consumed. 3 warhorses will arrive near the stable within 48 hours. Please be ready to receive them.]
With only 175 Soul Points remaining and a paltry 551 Flesh Resources left, the resources were almost completely depleted.
But Yang Zheng felt no remorse. The most valuable thing was to transform these resources into real combat power, productivity, and mobility.