Restarting life in Siheyuan

Chapter 455: Cannonballs Have No Blindness

"Here, I promise all the fallen comrades, I will take care of your parents, your wives and children. Your blood will not be shed in vain, and your heroic spirit will not go far. We will record your glorious life in the Martyrs' Cemetery, so that the descendants of Guo Ming will admire you for generations to come!"

Seeing that many soldiers had red eyes, Zhu Xuefeng stopped speaking and waited until everyone calmed down before continuing.

"Now you are fighting on the front line, you must not let your guard down. The enemy's temporary retreat is for the next counterattack. I will welcome the next battle with you all, right here, on this position, let them see the tenacity and perseverance of our Guoming men, let this land bear witness to our bravery and victory!"

Hundreds of soldiers were stunned. The leader was fighting alongside them? Their morale was high and they burst into warm applause.

"Disband now!"

Seeing the team's passion fade away, Song Yan, Captain Xiao and Instructor Zhang, who had been anxious for a long time, hurried over.

"Commander, it's not right for you to do this. It's very dangerous to stay on the position. The enemy has artillery, and the shells don't have eyes."

"Yes, shells don't have eyes, they can't tell you from me. On the battlefield, we are all the same. There is no difference between us and the soldiers. If there is no difference, why can the soldiers fight but I can't? Don't persuade me. What I said in front of hundreds of people can't be picked up."

Song Yan was a little confused for a moment, looking at Battalion Commander Xiao and the instructor beside him, neither of them could do anything.

"Don't make it difficult for them. Find me a sniper rifle and show you my true abilities. Although I have never been on the battlefield, there are some things you can't compare to me. Of course, commanding a battle doesn't count. I'm better than you in this."

Hearing that the leader wanted a sniper rifle, several people breathed a sigh of relief. Song Yan asked the accompanying guards to hurry back to Jie Sha to find one. Zhou Xingguo had one, Zhu Xuefeng got a few, there was one in the space, and the others were divided among these people.

"Commander Song, you go back too. You are the commander-in-chief of the operation and cannot stay here. Captain Xiao, you guys follow your original plan and don't worry about me. I will find a suitable opportunity to snipe and will not affect your tactical arrangements."

The few people had no choice but to do as they were told. Zhu Xuefeng pointed at the two guards following him and said with a smile, "I'm going to be a sniper. Are you giving me two guards because you think I can't be exposed? Take them all away."

The following afternoon and evening were very quiet. Zhu Xuefeng had a great time chatting with many soldiers. Many of them were recruited after the New Year and had only trained for five months, but when they talked about the changes in their families over the past year, they were all very grateful.

"Commander, we never dreamed that we could live like this. Our family no longer has to go hungry, and we can even buy cloth to make some new clothes for our kids. Don't laugh at me, I've gained weight in these few months in the army, haha."

"That's right. My youngest son had an emergency. He would definitely not have survived in the past. But the town's infirmary saved him in just a few days. When I left, he was still alive and kicking."

"This is all caused by you, Chief. If anyone wants to ruin our good life, I will shoot him in the head."

"With everyone's protection, Guoming will definitely get better and better in the future. The current difficulties are temporary. Once our air force is established, the south will definitely not dare to cause trouble again."

"Commander, air force? We will have an air force?"

"Well, of course there must be a navy in the future, but there is none now, so we must protect this land. We must see it become rich and powerful before our own eyes."

Not to mention the soldiers who were roaring like they were injected with chicken blood. Just after dawn, a dense attacking team appeared again at the foot of the mountain in the distance. There were at least more than a thousand people. There were several battle groups behind them, which should be the battle echelons at the back. The total number of people should be no less than three thousand, or there might be more that we haven't seen yet. More than a dozen tanks led the way, without any worry about the surprise attack by the defensive forces in the city.

"Captain, find a place to hide quickly. The enemy will bombard you soon."

Zhu Xuefeng had never been to the battlefield and didn't understand the secret, but he still listened to the advice and went into the bunker.

"More than 20 people were killed in our battalion, most of them were caused by the artillery bombardment during the first enemy attack. This group of people is very rich and powerful, and they would launch an artillery bombardment before each attack."

Just as he finished speaking, intensive artillery fire exploded on the top of the hill, and bursts of sand and rocks fell from the command post.

"This shell is very accurate. Where is our cannon?"

"Commander, our artillery is behind Jiesha City, hidden several kilometers away."

"Oh, so we can't do anything about their cannons?"

"We sent out scouts, but they haven't reported any good news in three days. We contacted them yesterday and they said the enemy blockade was very tight and they haven't been able to break through yet."

Scouts go out with walkie-talkies, which they usually turn off and only turn on when there is intelligence to report and at designated times.

"The shelling has stopped. You guys go and command. I'll find a place to snipe."

He once again rejected the suggestion of watching the battle in the command post, picked up the sniper rifle and went out of the bunker. Under the worried gazes of the two commanders, he could only choose a hidden spot behind the trench and lie in ambush. Seeing that the leader did not act rashly, the two commanders finally felt relieved and entered the position.

The sniper rifle used this time was also brought over from the Fuso base, the M14 NM. Strictly speaking, this is not a specially designed sniper rifle, and is far inferior to the sniper rifle that Russia is about to announce. However, relying on more sophisticated materials and craftsmanship, its accuracy is worse than Russia's SVD, especially in terms of ammunition. It uses the M118 NM bullet, which has far superior performance than the SVD's 7N1 bullet.

The scope is very poor, with a three-fold zoom. It is now July, and the lens is fogged up on the top of the mountain. It is far inferior to the eight-fold scope of the 98K, but this has little impact on Zhu Xuefeng's abnormal eyesight.

The tanks at the foot of the mountain were still firing from time to time to cover the infantry attack. There was a shed in front of the jeep behind the tank, which should be a temporary command post. It was too far away and the sniper rifle was powerless. The effective killing range of this sniper rifle was 800 meters, not as far as the Type 38 rifle in World War II. Its only advantage was its high accuracy in long-range shooting. For Zhu Xuefeng, this was enough.

When shooting a person, shoot the horse first; when capturing a thief, capture the leader first. Adhering to this principle, the first shot was sent to the small leader who was waving a pistol and ordering a charge at the front line. This was a living life. Looking at the figure falling in the sight, Zhu Xuefeng adjusted his mood for a while. This was the first time he had killed a life with his own hands.

Without the squad leader's command, the squad shrank back. Zhu Xuefeng changed several positions again and eliminated a dozen small leaders. Faced with the intensive firepower from high above, the soldiers who had lost their discipline began to retreat spontaneously. The small-scale retreat quickly spread like an infectious disease, and the first charge ended in a whimper.

Battalion Commander Xiao was very impressed. The commander's shooting skills were amazing. He shot one person after another. They were all team leaders hiding at the back. Under normal circumstances, he would not be able to hit them at all.

"Commander, this is a good idea. It seems that we should propose to set up a special sniper unit to target officials. You see, it will be much easier for us to deal with this charge."

"It's a good idea, but we can't get the guns. We have a team of several thousand people, but we only have four. It seems difficult to form an organization."

Domestically, we don’t have the capacity to produce them at the moment, and they are all captured, so there is no place to exchange them if we want to.

At the foot of the mountain, people were also discussing the strangeness of this charge. "There must be snipers. I saw through the telescope that the commanders behind us fell one by one..."

The second attack came, and this time the little leader hid more secretly. Zhu Xuefeng had no choice but to climb higher. Anyway, he was behind the trench, so the two commanders were not worried.

Zhu Xuefeng, who was looking down from a high place, carefully searched for the small leaders one by one. The higher the place, the better, as long as he could see their figures. The high-precision sniper rifle showed its power again. Seeing them fall one after another, Captain Xiao waved his hand excitedly, "Amazing!" Zhu Xuefeng, who was in high spirits, did not change his position at all. This place was very safe, a commanding height with a panoramic view. The rocks in front were an excellent barrier, and the enemy could not threaten him even if they rushed to the trench.

However, he didn't know that the repeated on-site shooting had already exposed him in the telescope at the foot of the mountain.

"Contact the artillery for me, and fire intensively at this coordinate, and destroy all the shells directly."

"But our people are also on the mountain, and the shells don't have eyes."

Artillery shells don't have very good accuracy. Once they cover a large area, it will definitely cover a large area. Our own people are exposed and the casualties will definitely be more serious than those of the enemy who have cover.

The commander also knew this, but if the troops were withdrawn, the sniper would definitely withdraw from the battlefield as well. He gritted his teeth and became ruthless. With this disruptive sniper around, the attack could not be organized at all. He had to be eliminated first.

"This is an order, we must execute it! Otherwise, more of us will die, and we won't be able to take down a single hill. How can I face the general's wrath when I return? Tell them to hide where they are and not to retreat!"

A sudden hail of artillery fire stunned both sides. The soldiers who heard the whistling sound quickly hid in the bunkers, while those who were attacking were stunned and had nowhere to hide.

Zhu Xuefeng also had nowhere to hide. His first reaction was to hide in the space, but it was difficult to explain in front of everyone, so he had to open the space while relying on his agility to dodge.

It is said that artillery shells will not fall in the same crater, but faced with the shells being unloaded all at once, Zhu Xuefeng did not even have time to find a crater. Relying on his superhuman perception and speed, he fled everywhere. In the eyes of the soldiers and Battalion Commander Xiao, he was dancing in the fireworks of artillery shells.

"Chief..."

Captain Xiao was anxious, but it was useless to shout because Zhu Xuefeng could not come over and could not hear him.

The shells really had no eyes. Although protected by space, within a small area and in a very short period of time, we were hit by at least five shells. The enemy's artillery really performed beyond their level.

The battlefield had calmed down and fell into deathly silence. The losses in the charge were too great, and they ignored the supervision from behind and simply collapsed. The defending soldiers had no time to pay attention to them, and just looked worriedly at their embarrassed leader on the high ground at the rear.

His military cap was gone, his face was covered in bloodstains, his uniform was torn into several pieces that were fluttering in the wind, his entire body was covered in sand and gravel, his left arm was soaked in blood and his right hand was holding a sniper rifle, his eyes were filled with rage.

"Thank God, thank God!"

Battalion Commander Xiao and the instructor, who were almost going crazy, hurried over. The soldiers did not know how important the chief was to the autonomous region, they only knew that he was the most important leader. Battalion Commander Xiao and the instructor came along together and knew clearly that without this chief, there would be nothing in the autonomous region, and without the chief's support, the autonomous region would have no future.

"I'm fine, just got bit by shrapnel in my left arm."

As he said that, Zhu Xuefeng put down his sniper rifle and directly pulled out the shrapnel that was deeply embedded in his arm with gritted teeth. He was in so much pain that sweat broke out on his forehead and his face turned pale.

"Health worker, health worker..."

In the command room, the two were very nervous. The leader was lucky today as he was only hit by a shrapnel which only pierced his arm. They didn't know that this was because Zhu Xuefeng's body was strengthened again after he reached the ninth level of Backer Skill.

After treating his wounds, Zhu Xuefeng changed into a military uniform and said, "You guys continue to command. They may take advantage of the chaos to launch an attack."

"Is your face okay?"

"What can be a serious matter? They are just scratches from small stones. There won't even be a mark left after a few days. My arm is fine too. I know what I'm doing," he said, waving his left hand a few times to indicate that there was nothing wrong.

The two were still worried, "Commander, with us here, this position will never be lost. You should not go to the battlefield. If there is any more accident, Commander Song will kill us."

Zhu Xuefeng smiled and said, "Commander Song is so cruel? Don't worry, I promise not to go to the battlefield, you can command with peace of mind."

The second troop arrived at the scene from the foot of the mountain. From the telescope, the sniper's position on the hilltop had been completely blown up, and it seemed that he had been killed.

"The second team is ready..."

The battle started again, and as expected, the annoying sniper did not appear. The commander was very satisfied. With several times the number of people attacking and the continuous cover of tank guns, they would definitely be able to take down this hill.

Looking at the densely packed attacking team that was advancing continuously, Zhu Xuefeng was so angry that he left the observation port, picked up the sniper rifle and sneaked out of the command room.

Since they had promised not to enter the battlefield, they had to keep their word. Zhu Xuefeng knew that the two would never agree to his sniping and participating in the battle. He just ran into the mountains. After suffering such a big loss, it was impossible for him not to retaliate.

Twenty minutes later, Zhu Xuefeng lurked in the woods across the road, which was less than 800 meters away from the commander. Although there were guards there, there was obviously no defense. For safety, he moved forward a few dozen meters again. Suddenly, he found several figures swaying in the dense forest on his side, coming towards his route.

Judging from their uniforms, they should be soldiers from the autonomous region, but I still kept them on guard. I shot a few people on their way. The sniper rifle with a silencer still scared a few of them, and they quickly held their guns and were on guard.

"Who are you? What's the command? Which unit are you from? Why are you here?"

Hearing the obvious suppressed shouting in standard Beijing accent, several people breathed a sigh of relief, and after receiving the command, they explained in a low voice, "We are scouts from the 122nd Battalion. Our mission failed, and our platoon leader was injured and needs urgent treatment."

It turned out that the scouts who went out to explore the enemy's artillery position had an exchange of fire with the enemy. While covering everyone's breakout, the platoon leader Zong Youzhi was seriously injured and was rescued by several people at a risk of their lives. He had to give up the mission and come back to rescue others.

"Zong Youzhi? Does he have a younger brother? What's his name?"

"Chief, it's me. My brother's name is Zong Youwei."

I don’t know when the injured platoon leader Zong woke up. He knew Zhu Xuefeng and still remembered the first mobilization meeting clearly.

"Are you the eldest son of Father Zong?"

"Well, Commander, why are you here..."

(End of this chapter)