Comrade, your ingredients are too complicated.

Four French 75mm field guns roared at the same time, and high-explosive grenades streaked across the night sky, exploding fireballs on the western city wall of Weixian.

Bricks and stones flew out, revealing the rammed earth inside.

Smoke and dust rose up, and the city walls could not stop shaking in the artillery fire. Facing the god of war, even a thousand-year-old city could not escape the fate of being on the verge of collapse.

Under the deliberate care of Brigade Commander Li, the first wave of artillery shells hit the city gate tower almost without any distinction between front and back.

The wooden ancient building was shattered in the explosion, and the burning rafters slid onto the battlefield like a meteor volcano. Even the smoke that drifted in the wind was mixed with a bit of burnt smell.

"Baga, the Eighth Route Army, who play tactics, are really a group of dirty and despicable villains. Pass on my order. Before closing the city gate, you must blow up the stone bridge over the moat."

"Captain Shuto, don't worry about the gains and losses of the moment. The samurai who died in battle were all necessary sacrifices."

"Weiguo cannot lose Weixian! If we lose this transportation hub, the main force of the battle on the Jiaolai Plain will become rootless. Without supplies, Operation No. 1 will fail."

Behind the buttress above Ying'en Gate, the Japanese garrison captain trembled and put down his telescope. His face was full of shock and he was obviously stunned.

Before the two sides officially opened fire, the Japanese really didn't expect that their enemy would be the 1st Marine Brigade of the Eighth Route Army.

Over the years, the troops under his command have long been accustomed to the tactics of combining cavalry with infantry, relying on mobility and firepower to bully the guerrillas in Shandong Province.

They are used to fighting low-intensity security battles and cannot adapt to high-intensity encounters in a short period of time.

Incompetent generals will exhaust the army.

Seeing that his lieutenant colonel was actually shutting himself off in the moment of crisis, the major staff officer who was on standby nearby quickly took over the command.

With the unified dispatch of their superiors, the surviving Japanese infantrymen broke up into small groups and retreated back to the city wall by relying on the terrain advantages and some fortifications and bunkers.

However, the task of blasting the stone bridge was not very smooth.

Whenever Japanese infantry approached the moat, the 1st Marine Brigade would always use just the right amount of firepower to force the enemy back.

This illusion that they could complete the mission with just one more loadout killed several Japanese troops. If it weren't for the immediate response of the major, half of the squadron might have been wiped out on the spot.

After several rounds of fighting, Captain Shuto Yoji finally recovered. Looking at the tragic battlefield, he hesitated for a moment before giving the order:
"Quick, gather the troops and order the East City garrison to come to reinforce. In addition to the soldiers of the brigade, the patrol police, military police, and even the Imperial Army must go to the battlefield for me."

"The enemy outnumbers us, and the Eighth Route Army has the advantage in firepower. We must rely on the city wall to hold out and wait for help."

After quickly completing the deployment, Shuto Yoji fell into a brief silence again. The old devil's face was full of struggle, as if he was brewing some difficult decision.

After a few seconds, he gritted his teeth, stamped his feet, and added:
"Open the armory and arm the expatriates of our brother country. Once the city wall is breached by the 1st Marine Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, we will use street fighting to delay the enemy's advance."

"Oh, right, immediately send people to plant explosives under the Big Stone Bridge, the Small Stone Bridge, the Chaoyang Bridge, and the Baoan Bridge. If the battle in the West City goes badly, blow up the bridges and retreat to the East City."

"The superiors will not give up Weixian. As long as the warriors can survive tonight, countless reinforcements will surely follow!"

Although Weixian is only a county town in terms of administrative level, its area is no smaller than that of Guojizhuang. The unique dual-city structure makes the east and west twin cities face each other across the Bailang River.

The four bridges just mentioned by Shuto Yoji are important hubs that closely connect the residents of the two places.

Upon hearing this, the Major of Staff took a deep breath.

Planning to blow up the bridge now is undoubtedly a desperate move. If the Eighth Route Army attacks fiercely and pursues closely, we may not have time to retreat and will be trapped.

However, considering the urgency of the situation, he carried out the captain's orders without hesitation.

"Hi! I'll go and arrange the relevant matters of the explosion now. Afterwards, I will lead the East City's security forces and expatriates to the Ying'en Gate to jointly defend the city."

"Shudou-kun, you have to hold on!"

······
Unlike the anxious Japanese captain, Li Yunlong, the highest commander of the attacking side, was observing the battlefield calmly at this time.

Through the previous shelling, the enemy's heavy machine gun fire points and most of the artillery have been cleared.

Now that the biggest threat is gone, it’s only a matter of time before the city wall is breached.

Just as Lao Li was about to head to the artillery position to personally count the troops' ammunition reserves, a communicator with a happy face trotted into the field command post.

"Commander, good news."

"Our political commissar led the comrades from the county brigade and the district squad and successfully ambushed a group of devils five minutes ago. The enemy troops came from the Jiaolai Plain, and the total strength was about two squadrons."

"The situation on the Chief of Staff's side is similar, but the Japanese troops from Bohai are slightly stronger."

"According to the current momentum, our plan of surrounding the enemy and attacking the reinforcements can at least wipe out one and a half infantry regiments."

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yunlong showed his big white teeth, and his laughter soon echoed in the temporary command post.

For the current Marine Brigade, one and a half infantry regiments were not even a piece of fat meat. The main reason why he was happy was because he helped the friendly forces to attract firepower.

After digesting the joy in his heart, Lao Li first looked at the map of Weixian city on the ammunition box, and then roughly calculated the flight trajectory of the helicopter.

After making up his mind, he immediately picked up the phone and issued a new round of offensive arrangements to troops at all levels.

"Pass on my order. The 1st and 2nd Artillery Battalions and the self-propelled artillery company will begin shelling again in ten minutes. This time the target is still the Weixian city wall. Your task is to make a big noise and create the feeling of artillery preparation before the general attack."

"Remember, don't be too naive and don't bombard an area too hard, otherwise you might scare the devils away."

"Sun Desheng, your fighter squadron's mission is to cover the engineers in building the pontoon bridge. Put the heavy pontoon bridge in a conspicuous position and make sure the Japanese see through your intentions."

"Comrades, now is the time to test your acting skills! Whether the commandos in the city can successfully complete their mission depends entirely on whether we can trick the enemy."

That's right, the main force of the 1st Marine Brigade is now feinting. The main purpose of Lao Li's bombardment of the city wall and the construction of the pontoon bridge is to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

Only by attracting all the Japanese defenders in the East and West Twin Cities to the Ying'en Gate can the commandos in the city complete their mission with the least casualties.

Of course, this casualty simply refers to the safety of the hostages. After all, most of the more than 2,000 Allied expatriates are ordinary civilians who are powerless.

"Yes! Got it!"

With the meticulous command of Brigade Commander Li, troops at all levels of the 1st Marine Brigade launched another vigorous siege attack like a fully wound spring.

The loader picked up the shells at the first opportunity and pushed them into the chamber as soon as the gunners adjusted the firing parameters. Several 75mm and 105mm guns were lined up, with their muzzles pointed directly at the Weixian city wall. The sound of metal collision and friction was particularly pleasant in the dark battlefield.

"put!"

After a series of deafening explosions, dazzling flames spurted out from the muzzles of the guns. High-explosive grenades streaked through the night sky, flying towards the city walls with sharp whistles.

"Reload! Quick!"

The soldiers mechanically repeated the actions of loading and firing, and shells hit the city wall one after another.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Weixian City Wall is a typical ancient Chinese city wall, mainly composed of rammed earth and bricks and stones.

This structure is relatively strong overall and does have a certain degree of resistance to medium and small high-explosive grenades, but it may still be destroyed under continuous bombardment.

If multiple 75mm and 105mm guns are concentrated to continuously strike the same section, it will eventually lead to structural instability and collapse. This is also the main reason why Lao Li urged his comrades not to be too realistic.

Of course, in order to put enough pressure on the Japanese and to facilitate subsequent attacks, several large and small gaps were blasted in the Weixian city wall.

In the largest area, brick and stone fragments were scattered all over the ground, and the rammed earth was exposed, like a hideous wound.

In the thick smoke, one could vaguely see some fearless Japanese soldiers piling up sandbags in an attempt to block the impending attack.

About half an hour later, the artillery fire gradually stopped and the battlefield was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder.

Even though the gunners of the Marine Brigade were all Chinese strong men, the two rounds of artillery fire had exhausted the comrades. They were panting heavily, and their ears were buzzing.

However, the Weixian city wall in the distance was not in a good condition either. It was shaking in the recent artillery fire, as if it would collapse at any time.

Inside the command post, Li Yunlong held up a telescope and carefully observed the gap in the city wall with the help of firelight and flares.

A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then he turned around and ordered the communicator on duty: "Notify the fighter-mobile company, you can let the tanks cover the engineers to build the bridge."

······
At the same time, there was continuous artillery fire outside the Ying'en Gate, and the entire night sky was dyed orange and red.

The two assault platoons led by Heshang and Huzi have already met in a large courtyard with four entrances and exits under the arrangement of the underground transportation station in the city.

It is located in the southern suburbs of Weixian West City, and is usually where local workers and poor people live.

When all the Japanese expatriates were sent to the battlefield, there were only a few Japanese soldiers left to maintain order.

"Comrade Wei Dayong, I have no doubt about the intentions of the headquarters' elite. It's just that you don't even have a light machine gun now. You can't just go to the concentration camp with a few Mauser pistols and Type 38 rifles."

"In my humble opinion, why don't we take a long-term view?"

"If we don't have enough weapons, I'm afraid you will lose both your wife and your troops. Not only will you not be able to rescue the prisoners, but your commando team will also suffer heavy losses."

The suggestion from the underground traffic station chief made Wei Dayong and his companions smile kindly.

They were not stupid people who could not tell good from bad, so they naturally understood the good intentions of the local comrades.

After thinking for a moment, the monk handed the hand-drawn map of the Fangzi Allied Expatriate Concentration Camp to his assistant, and then patiently explained:

"Stationmaster Lu, since our 1st Marine Brigade Commando dared to sneak into the city to rescue the prisoners, they must have made all the necessary preparations."

"What you're worried about is that you can't fight the devils without weapons. Regarding this, our brigade commander and chief of staff have already made arrangements for the relevant matters."

"According to the time, the support troops should be here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a dozen soldiers walked in from outside the courtyard. There were obvious blood stains on their clothes, and it was obvious that they had just experienced a battle.

After a while, a soldier who looked like a squad leader came to the center of the crowd.

After handing over the captured Type 38 rifle and the turtle box to his comrades, he immediately reported to Wei Dayong:
"Captain, all the patrolling devils have been killed. We also searched carefully for a long time and found no enemy sentries."

"Let's go, everything is ready."

After hearing this, Wei Dayong nodded with satisfaction.

If they had killed the Japanese soldiers openly under normal circumstances, it would most likely have caused a chain reaction. If they were not careful, they might even be killed.

But now the Japanese troops in Weixian are in chaos, and 99% of their forces are gathering near Ying'en Gate. No one will be able to notice the commandos' small movements for a while.

Seeing that the time was right, the monk immediately took out his communicator and contacted the brigade headquarters, calling:
"Brigade Commander, we are ready to act. Let's get the comrades from the helicopter reconnaissance company into the city!"

Soon, Li Yunlong's steady voice came from the communicator.

Lao Li’s answer was very simple, just one sentence: support will arrive soon.

A few minutes after the two hung up the phone, another round of artillery fire like a tsunami sounded in the west of the county.

This time the firepower was obviously more fierce than the previous two waves. The comrades could even hear the whooshing sound of the collective firing of 107mm rocket launchers.

Just when Stationmaster Lu was confused, a muffled thunder mixed with the explosion was getting closer and closer, as if something unknown was about to appear.

"Monk! Clear the area! The helicopter reconnaissance company will be in position immediately!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a violent gust of air blew up the dust in the compound. Several comrades at the traffic station who were not prepared were even blown left and right by the sudden strong wind.

After being taken to a safe area by the commandos, Stationmaster Lu saw through the gaps between his fingers a scene that he would never forget.

Twenty meters above the courtyard, ten iron crosses that looked like dragonflies but were larger than dragonflies were suspended in the low sky. They were completely black, with a metallic sheen occasionally.

It was not until now that Stationmaster Lu saw clearly that it was not a dragonfly, but a huge machine.

It had two rotating wings, like two huge fans, stirring the air and rolling up clouds of dust. There was a door in the belly of the machine, and there seemed to be a figure swaying inside the door.

"What on earth is this?" (End of this chapter)