The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 738 A Surprise Attack on Mangshan Village!!
Besides the two all-terrain vehicles, the others followed Liu Xiaotao in two "Warrior" off-road vehicles. They set off at dawn.

After a long journey of nearly ten hours, we finally arrived at the designated location in the evening.

The location is relatively flat, a hilly area with shrubs growing on the sloping hillside. Further ahead, you will enter the mountainous area, with steep mountains just ten kilometers away, and Mangshan Town is located halfway up the mountain.

The convoy stopped in an open area, where the setting sun cast a golden glow on the surrounding bushes.

Liu Xiaotao jumped out of the vehicle, dusted himself off, looked around, and said, "Everyone, take a quick rest. We'll continue in half an hour." The team members got out of the vehicle to stretch their muscles, some took out food and water to replenish their energy, and others checked their equipment to ensure everything was in order.

A few birdsongs drifted from afar, exceptionally clear in the silent mountains.

Li Ming was adjusting the communication equipment when he suddenly frowned: "Instructor, the signal here is not very stable, which may be related to the terrain." Liu Xiaotao nodded: "Make sure to prepare for communication and maintain normal contact with the first group."

Standing on high ground, Liu Xiaotao observed the area ahead through binoculars. The entrance to Mangshan Town was just around the foot of the mountain ahead. The enemy had stationed a reinforced company of troops there, controlling the roads in and out.

Liu Xiaotao put down his binoculars, his brows furrowing slightly. The afterglow of the setting sun gradually faded, and twilight began to envelop the mountains and fields.

He turned and ordered his team to drive the car into the woods and hide it. He then returned to the car, picked up the car radio, and called Zhang Jincheng to find out about their current situation.

"This is 003, calling 'Phoenix,' please respond!"

After calling the radio twice, Zhang Jincheng's voice came through, "003, this is 'Phoenix,' where are you?"

"We're lurking at the reserved location. How are things going for you?"

"We've left the mountain stronghold and should be able to meet up with you in about an hour. Over!"

Liu Xiaotao put down the communicator and glanced at the team members who were resting.

As night deepened, mist began to rise from the mountains, shrouding the hilly area in a veil of mystery.

He noticed that Yan Kan was watching Li Ming adjust the equipment with curiosity, so he walked over and whispered, "Yan, let's go to the mountain pass ahead and scout out the enemy checkpoint."

“Okay!” Yan Kan grabbed his beloved M16 assault rifle and quickly followed Liu Xiaotao, who was also fully armed.

Liu Xiaotao wanted to use the time before Zhang Jincheng and the others returned to scout out the defenses of Langkan, because their next step was to control the mountain pass.

Using the bushes as cover, the two moved silently toward the mountain pass.

The damp earth crunched softly underfoot, and the rocky path skillfully avoided the dead branches, its movements as light as a lynx.

In the distance, at the checkpoint, two sentries could be vaguely seen pacing back and forth behind the makeshift fortifications.

Liu Xiaotao raised his binoculars and saw a machine gun mounted on each side of the fortification, and several soldiers smoking behind the sandbag bunker.

“There are two more heavy weapons than the intelligence indicated,” he said in a low voice. “It seems the enemy has recently reinforced their forces.”

Yan Kan suddenly tugged at his sleeve and pointed in the direction of ten o'clock—five patrolmen were leading military dogs along the barbed wire fence.

Since he could only see the outer perimeter of the checkpoint, Liu Xiaotao decided to climb to a higher vantage point to observe it from above.

So Liu Xiaotao took the infrared telescope and climbed up the mountain next to Yan Kan. The mountain was more than 200 meters high. Once they reached the top, they could observe the checkpoint below from a high vantage point.

After reaching the top of the mountain, Liu Xiaotao and his companion found a flat rock and climbed up to observe the situation below.

Looking down the mountain, the road resembles a jade ribbon winding around the mountain. At the bend of the mountain road, there are two rows of wooden houses next to the entrance, and people come out of the houses from time to time.

There are two watchtowers on each side of the wooden house, also made of wood, and the camp is surrounded by barbed wire.

At the entrance to the mountain road, there is a horizontal bar with several soldiers sitting at one end. Near the entrance, on the side of the mountain, there are fortifications made of sandbags, and soldiers can be seen moving around inside.

Liu Xiaotao used the infrared telescope mainly to find enemy sentries. If someone was hiding in a concealed place, the infrared telescope could also be used to observe their hiding place. However, he did not find any hidden sentries around the checkpoint.

Just then, Yan Kan suddenly grabbed Liu Xiaotao's shoulder and pointed to the back of the wooden house—three military trucks were slowly driving into the camp, their headlights casting blinding beams of light in the twilight.

Through their binoculars, they could clearly see more than a dozen fully armed soldiers jumping off the vehicle, some of whom were carrying several heavy wooden crates toward the center of the camp.

"Perhaps it's an ammunition resupply." Liu Xiaotao's pupils contracted slightly. "It seems the enemy is also consciously strengthening their defenses."

After unloading their supplies, the military vehicles returned along the same route. Liu Xiaotao thought his guess was correct; they had come to resupply, and he felt relieved.

After observing for a while, Liu Xiaotao realized that Langkan had chosen a very clever location to set up the checkpoint.

It is located on the other side of a U-shaped bend. Before entering the bend from one end, it is blocked by a cliff, and the situation inside the checkpoint is not clear. When people on the road enter the U-shaped bend, they can see each other clearly because they are separated from the checkpoint by a ravine. However, it is several hundred meters away from the checkpoint to the front.

The machine gun emplacements in the checkpoint's fortifications could block the roads in front and on the opposite side, making it very difficult for attackers to rush through once they were spotted.

Judging from the choice of this checkpoint location, Langkan is not an incompetent fool; he is indeed very shrewd in military matters.

Langkan has a reinforced company holding this position, and even a regiment of the government army can't get past it.

The fortifications here are not only easy to defend but also backed by cliffs, placing them in a blind spot for artillery fire, rendering their barracks ineffective.

Liu Xiaotao put away his binoculars and quickly drew a defense map of the checkpoint in his notebook.

Yan Kan cautiously observed his surroundings. The mountain wind rustled through the bushes, and a few barks could be heard in the distance.

After a while, Liu Xiaotao put down his pen and said to Yan Kan, "Yan, besides the mountain road below, are there any other roads leading to Mangshan Town?" He asked as he observed the area.

“No, this is the only way,” Yan Kan said softly.

"Is it possible to get out by walking from other places?"

“Mangshan Town is surrounded by mountains and old forests. If you accidentally get trapped inside, it’s normal to not be able to get out for ten days or half a month. You might even die inside.”

Liu Xiaotao nodded thoughtfully, his fingers lightly tapping on his notebook. Night had completely enveloped the mountains and fields, and the distant campsites were dotted with lights, their outlines clearly defined in the darkness.

"Looks like we'll have to outsmart them," he muttered to himself, his gaze falling on the road on the east side of the camp.

Just then, Liu Xiaotao spotted an off-road vehicle driving up from the mountains through his binoculars and immediately recognized it as the car Zhang Jincheng and his group were driving.

The "Warrior Off-Road Vehicle" stopped briefly at the barrier in front of the checkpoint before quickly passing by.

Zhang Jin said that the three of them disguised themselves as merchants who collected Ying Su ointment, and when they encountered checkpoints, they would hand over a few banknotes and they were always successful.

The soldiers under Boss Lang liked these kinds of merchants very much and usually let them pass without doing any serious checks.

Liu Xiaotao immediately contacted Lu Da via radio: "Xiao Lu, I saw Captain Zhang and the others return. Go and greet them." "Understood!" Lu Da's gruff voice came through the earpiece immediately.

Then, Liu Xiaotao climbed up from the big rock and said to Yan Kan, "Let's go back too!"

When the two returned, Zhang Jin said that their car was already parked in the woods, and several team members were surrounding them asking about the situation. Zhuang Yan and Wang Tao were even chatting and laughing with their arms around each other's shoulders.

They became so affectionate after only one night apart. Liu Xiaotao walked over and joked, "I'm saying, you two haven't seen each other for more than ten hours and you're already being incredibly affectionate. What would happen if you were in love?"

"Hahaha, I missed you guys so much!" Zhuang Yan laughed as he released Wang Tao and turned to give Yan Kan a bear hug.

Yan Kan scratched his head, a shy smile appearing on his dark face.

Seeing Liu Xiaotao and Yan Kan return, Zhang Jincheng guessed that they must have gone to check out the enemy's checkpoint. He asked with a smile, "How was it? Did you find anything?"

"Damn, Langkan really knows how to pick a location. He's brilliant to station a bunch of people in this godforsaken place," Liu Xiaotao exclaimed in admiration.

"When we passed through just now, I also took a look. It is indeed a strategic location that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Do you have any thoughts?" Zhang Jin asked Liu Xiaotao in return.

After a few days, Xiao Tao smiled and said, "Tell me about your reconnaissance first. How do you plan to take action?"

Seeing everyone gathered around, Zhang Jincheng simply asked them to sit down and then discussed the action plan with his team members.

He first gave a brief overview of the situation he had investigated in Mangshan Town.

Zhang Jin pulled a hand-drawn map from his pocket, spread it on the ground, and pointed to the town center, saying, "Langkan's command post is in this three-story building at the east end of town, surrounded by..."

"The first step of our western operation was to disrupt the defensive deployment of the old city and, in order to create a sensation, to kill Langkan in Mangshan."

We arrived in Mangshan Town and checked out Langkan's accommodations and the entire route of our operation.

We disguised ourselves as Aung San's men and entered Mangshan Village, so getting close to Langkan wasn't too difficult. The key was how to kill Langkan and then withdraw.

Another point is timing. After killing Langkan tomorrow morning, we will rush to Sawenjiang at night to blow up the bridge and cut off the government army's retreat.

We must force Lang Laoda and Aung San to fight in the shortest possible time, before they can react.

Because if they keep doing this for too long, they'll become suspicious, and if they figure it out, things will get complicated.

Zhang Jin paused here, and the inspection team members looked around, meaning that everyone should share their thoughts.

Lu Da was the first to ask, "Will Langkan be in Mangshan Village tomorrow morning? If he's not there, wouldn't our efforts have been in vain?"

"I've thought about this issue. In this special period, Langkan won't leave his command post too far."

"Take a step back. Tomorrow when we pass the checkpoint ahead, have the garrison here contact Langkan. If he really isn't in Mangshan, we'll abandon the operation and wait for him to return." Zhang Jincheng said, looking thoughtful as he glanced at Liu Xiaotao.

Liu Xiaotao understood what Zhang Jincheng meant, so he got straight to the point and said, "Just now, Ayan and I went to scout out the enemy's defenses at the mountain pass. I'll draw a rough sketch for everyone to see."

As he spoke, he pulled out a small notebook and quickly drew a simple diagram on it. Pointing to the diagram, he said to everyone, "You can tell how serious tomorrow's mission is from the location of the enemy checkpoint."

To ensure the safe withdrawal of the first action group, the key to the success of the entire operation lies in the simultaneous operation at the checkpoint and in Mangshan Village.

If either side acts prematurely, the other group's efforts will be in vain.

I will only talk about how to control the checkpoint. First, I set up a sniper position on the mountain peak I control. Using the large-caliber sniper rifle equipped on the all-terrain vehicle, I can control all positions of the checkpoint from this position.

Secondly, two men disguised themselves as passing merchants, arrived at the checkpoint, and seized the enemy's defensive fortifications at that location.

Finally, the all-terrain vehicle equipped with a rapid-fire machine gun will rush here to block and eliminate the enemies in the cabin while the second group is in action. The key to success or failure lies in the seamless coordination between the latter two groups and Captain Zhang's operation..."

Zhang Jin continued, "On the way out, I calculated that it would take us forty minutes to get here from Mangshan at the fastest speed. If we can't completely control the checkpoint, we can still withdraw as long as we can hold out for forty minutes."

"Can people who go in and out come out from other places?" Ye Peng suddenly asked.

Liu Xiaotao shook his head and said, "I have already discussed this issue with Ayan. Even if there are no Langkan defense forces around, they will not be able to get out of the forest around Mangshan Village for several days."

The key is that we must proceed with the second step as soon as possible.

Zhang Jincheng pondered for a moment, then surveyed everyone with a firm gaze and said, "Now I will explain the specific action plan. Please consider it carefully, and then share your opinions."

Tomorrow I will go to Mangshan Village with Monkey, Agui, and Wang Tao. The rest of the team will be led by the instructor to control the checkpoint. You will carry out the instructions given by the instructor.

Once we enter Mangshan Village, we will notify you via radio within fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, regardless of the situation, we must act simultaneously…

As soon as Zhang Jincheng finished speaking, Zhuang Yan suddenly raised his hand and signaled: "I have a suggestion, the action team at the checkpoint can bring more smoke grenades."

"In case the situation changes, the smoke can cover the retreat." He said, pulling a red-marked smoke grenade from his tactical vest, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

Liu Xiaotao's eyes lit up. He took the smoke grenade and weighed it in his hand. "Great idea! This way, even if there's an emergency, we can buy some time." He turned to Yan Kan. "Yan, I remember you have a few stun grenades in your bag?"

Yan Kan nodded and took out three stun grenades from his pack and placed them in the middle.

Wang Tao picked up a pill and examined it carefully: "This stuff is less effective in the jungle, but in a closed space like a checkpoint, it'll definitely give them a run for their money."

After Zhang Jincheng finished speaking, the team members added a few more details, and everything was ready except for the final push.

The commando team rested in the woods overnight, and the next morning at around 8 a.m., Zhang Jincheng led the first group to set off first.

The four men were dressed in civilian clothes, but were fully armed, wearing bulletproof vests, with Beretta M.9 pistols in their leg holsters, three of them carrying Colt assault rifles equipped with grenade launchers and scopes, and only A-Gui had an M16 assault rifle slung across his shoulder.

Each of them wore black sunglasses, giving them a cold and stern look that made it impossible to tell who they were. However, judging from their weapons and equipment, these people were not to be trifled with.

Emerging from the secluded forest, the off-road vehicle bumped along the uneven mountain road, the dust kicked up by its wheels forming a hazy trail in the morning light.

Wang Tao was driving, and A Gui was sitting in the passenger seat, tapping rhythmically on the car door with his fingers, his eyes fixed on the gradually appearing outline of the checkpoint ahead.

In less than ten minutes, they arrived at the checkpoint.

Four soldiers were on duty at one end of the railing that blocked the road; three of them sat there, while only one was responsible for lifting the railing.

The tall and powerful "Warrior Off-Road Vehicle" turned from the foot of the opposite mountain, and the soldiers on duty spotted it immediately.

They felt that this car was driven differently from other cars, unusually aggressive, and did not slow down at the U-turn, showing a somewhat reckless attitude.

(End of this chapter)