Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

Chapter 243 Have you ever seen bullets falling from the sky?

"Everyone keep quiet and cross the Mu River quietly." Li Chishui whispered by the river.

Because there has not been much rainfall this year, the level of the Mu River, which is not very big to begin with, has dropped significantly.

Company 13 can wade across the river directly.

After carefully crossing the Mu River, everyone arrived at Shangniu Village.

According to the plan, the 13th Company would launch an attack on Niu Village from Shangniu Village.

"Company commander, there is a platoon of puppet troops in the village." The scout reported in a low voice.

"How many sentinels are there?" Li Chishui asked.

"There were only two sentries at the entrance of the village. The secret sentries didn't find it. Everyone else was in the village."

"The puppet army set up some shitty secret sentries." Li Chishui said disdainfully.

These puppet troops responsible for guarding the station are even worse than the traitors of the North China Security Army.

No matter what, the North China Security Army also has military training. Regardless of the effectiveness, it exists anyway.

But these garrison puppet troops are just security groups composed of ruffians and hooligans, and their combat effectiveness is second-rate.

To classify them as 'second-rate' is an insult to the word 'second-rate'.

"Sharp Knife Squad, take out the sentry."

"The rest of you, please be careful when you enter the village. Do not use your guns unless you have to."

There are only twenty or thirty puppet soldiers. It is easier to wipe them out than to wipe out a chicken coop.

Although it is not yet 8 o'clock, the two puppet soldiers standing guard at the entrance of the village have already begun to doze off.

They have to go to bed early because they still have to gamble in the second half of the night.

You can't let yourself sleep and waste your rest time.

Faced with such cooperative puppet troops, the soldiers of the spearhead squad naturally had no surprises at all.

He didn't even need to use a knife. He just strangled the neck and it was solved with a snap.

After dragging the body into the darkness, a few minutes later, two freshly-minted "puppet soldiers" stood at the door again.

When Li Chishui led the soldiers of the 13th Company to the village, he passed by the village entrance and looked at the two soldiers who were standing guard and said unhappily:
"Look at the two of you. Do you look like traitors? Why are you standing so straight?"

"Have you never seen how those puppet soldiers stand guard?"

These two people are standing here with their backs straight, and anyone can see the problem.

"Huh? Oh"

The soldier reacted immediately. Yes, he was a puppet soldier now and could not show the spirit of the Eighth Route Army.

Looking at the two people who had become a little crooked, Li Chishui nodded with satisfaction.

“That’s what it means to love what you do.”

"A puppet army must act like a puppet army."

"Hello, brothers! Six six six!"

Ma Liu, the puppet army platoon leader in charge of guarding Niutou Village, specially invited several squad leaders and deputy squad leaders under his command to drink.

The reason is very simple. Last month's salary was finally paid today, which is a good time to gamble.

If I wait until tomorrow, I don’t know which woman’s pocket the money will end up in.

When they had almost finished drinking, Ma Liu winked at the squad leader next to him.

The squad leader received the signal and immediately said, "Brothers, we've almost finished drinking. Do you want to play some cards?"

"Play cards? Great! There is a table next door, let's go next door!" Ma Liu immediately stood up and greeted.

The other puppet soldiers who were already drunk did not suspect anything and stood up to follow.

However, as soon as Ma Liu, who was in charge, opened the door, he stopped moving instantly and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Platoon leader, let's go, don't block the door."

The puppet soldiers behind who were unaware of the situation were confused and kept urging them on.

Ma Liu seemed to have received some signal and walked out with stiff steps.

After Ma Liu cleared the door's view, the people inside raised their hands in unison before they could even react.

There were guns pointed at them outside the door, and there were more people than they were.

"Don't make a sound, don't move. If you move, you will die." Li Chishui said softly while standing at the door.

Now the 13th Company has not yet taken control of the entire Niutou Village, and we can’t let them disrupt the operation.

After hearing Li Chishui's words, several people nodded desperately, fearing that if they nodded slowly they would cause misunderstanding among the Eighth Route Army.

Seeing how cooperative these puppet soldiers were, Li Chishui signaled to Ren Wuliu next to him, asking him to step forward and disarm, and then control these people.

Only after taking control of the entire Niutou Village did Li Chishui breathe a sigh of relief.

"Captain, tie up all the puppet soldiers. When will we attack the station?"

"wait for news."

According to the arrangement at the previous meeting, the regiment commander will launch the first wave of attack, and then the east and west sides will start attacking when they hear the sound.

By then, sounds will also be coming over from Niuzhuang layer by layer.

Just as Li Chishui finished speaking, he suddenly heard a "clang clang" sound.

"Company commander, there's a train! An armored train! An extra-large armored train!" the sentry ran over and reported.

"What?" Li Chishui stood up suddenly.

If it was an ordinary freight train, Li Chishui would not worry at all.

But if this armored train stopped at Niuzhuang Station, the Fourth Battalion would have no chance of taking over the station.

But after a moment's thought, Li Chishui relaxed again. He didn't think the Fourth Battalion was worth the Japanese sending out a train of armored vehicles.

This car probably has other purposes.

"Pay close attention to the movements of the armored train!"

"Everyone, don't expose yourself!" Li Chishui ordered.

When the situation is unclear, we must never act rashly, so as not to disrupt the overall strategic plan of the New Second Regiment.

Lying on the roof, Li Chishui watched the armored train rumbling eastward.

Seeing that the train showed no signs of slowing down, Li Chishui breathed a sigh of relief, but was also a little worried.

He could clearly see the thick and long gun barrel on the train even in the dark.

I hope the captain and the others are safe.

After the armored train passed, nothing unexpected happened in the following period.

It was not until around 9 o'clock that Li Chishui, who was lying idly on the roof, suddenly moved his ears.

"There's movement!" Li Chishui immediately climbed up.

The sound of explosions began to spread towards this side from far away.

"Everyone! Move forward! Launch the attack!" Li Chishui jumped down from the roof and ordered.

At the same time, the Japanese and puppet troops in Niuzhuang Station also heard the explosions coming from the east.

The Japanese squadron leader Hirosuke Takahashi immediately picked up the phone and called the artillery tower 1 kilometer to the east.

But the call was not connected at all. "Baka!" Takahashi Hirosuke hung up the phone.

It goes without saying that the Eighth Route Army has cut the telephone lines again.

"Captain, do we need to send out a signalman?" asked the deputy squadron leader.

"No, the situation is unclear now and we can't act rashly." Takahashi Hirosuke shook his head.

If he heard correctly, the explosion was not just from the east turret, but should have also occurred in places farther away, but it was just too far to be heard clearly.

Besides, it is night now, and if we attack rashly, we will most likely be ambushed.

At this time, the artillery towers and strongholds that were attacked could only organize resistance on their own.

If we can hold out until daybreak, the Eighth Route Army will probably retreat automatically.

What if it’s delayed until dawn?
The only honorable thing is to serve the locusts of heaven throughout the ages.

Just when Takahashi Hirosuke ordered Niuzhuang Station to be under martial law, the 13th Company had already reached within 150 meters of the station.

If we go further in, there will be searchlights scanning the inside, and we won't be able to hide at all.

"Set up the artillery and attack the puppet troops outside the station first."

"Also, after the war starts, the sharpshooter will shoot down the Japanese searchlights." Li Chishui ordered in a low voice.

A few minutes later, the prepared artillery platoon began firing.

"Boom!" "Boom!".
After the mortar opened fire, the sharpshooters who had already taken aim also opened fire, and the station's searchlights went out.

"Fuck! Bombard! Bombard!"
The puppet troops outside the station fell into chaos immediately after being suddenly hit by mortars.

In the past, they had only fought with militiamen armed with red tasseled spears. They had never been hit by a cannonball.

Looking at the puppet army in chaos, Li Chishui immediately gave the order to attack.

At the same time, the 14th Company also made a detour to the north side of the bunker group on the cliff and launched an attack on the bunkers.

However, unlike the smooth progress of the 13th Company, the 14th Company's attack was very unsuccessful.

The Japanese used concrete to build their bunkers.

Although it was not a permanent fortification made of pure concrete, but just a bunker with a brick-concrete structure, it still gave Luo Cheng, the company commander of the 14th Company, a headache.

These bunkers can cooperate with each other to form a dense firepower network.

Although under the cover of heavy machine guns, the soldiers of the 14th Company used the terrain to cover, approached the bunker, and successfully blew up the outermost fortress.

But the 14th Company also suffered considerable casualties.

"Communicator, communicator!" Luo Cheng shouted.

"Company commander!"

"Go find the battalion commander immediately and ask for support!" Luo Cheng ordered.

The mountain artillery company of the new second regiment had been divided up, and Luo Cheng knew that the battalion commander had two mountain cannons.

Now the only way to take down this group of bunkers is to bring up mountain artillery.

After learning about the situation of the 14th Company, Qin Sheng did not hesitate and immediately dispatched a mountain cannon.

This means that the Type 94 mountain gun can be disassembled for manual transportation.

If it was an Italian cannon, it would have killed the artillerymen, and they wouldn't have been able to move the cannon up the mountain.

Just as the soldiers of the artillery squad were struggling to carry the artillery up the mountain, the 15th Company also approached the station from the south and joined the battle.

The group of bunkers has not been destroyed yet, so it is impossible for the 13th Company alone to take over Niuzhuang Station.

With the support of the 15th Company, Li Chishui led the 13th Company to successfully attack the station.

"Use explosive packs and cluster grenades to destroy the station and model facilities!" Li Chishui ordered immediately after entering the station.

"yes!".
The soldiers immediately began to destroy.

Disrupt the barrier and then blow up the operating device to ensure that it has no use at all.

As for those signal lights, generators and the like, not a single one was left.

At this time, the Japanese had retreated to the barracks and were holding their ground.

Unlike the station which was leaky on all sides, the Japanese barracks were built very solidly. Even though the 13th and 15th companies launched several charges, there was no progress.

At around three o'clock in the morning, the soldiers of the artillery squad finally carried the mountain cannon across the Mu River, and then crossed the mountains and ridges to the north of the bunker group.

"Hurry, hurry, right here, set up the gun, set up the gun!" The gun squad leader put down the parts he was carrying and gasped.

This place is less than 200 meters away from the Japanese bunker, and there is a small earth slope in front, which can be used as a cover for mountain artillery.

After assembling the artillery, the soldiers pushed the mountain cannon upwards, causing the barrel to leak out.

"Load!"

"Today, let the Japanese know what it means to put a bayonet on a cannon!"

The gunner adjusted the shooting angle with the help of the flares fired at the bunker by the 14th Company, then turned around and said.

"Stop talking nonsense and fire!" the gunner next to him said unhappily.

"boom!"

At such a close distance, the shell will arrive immediately after leaving the gun.

A crater appeared on the bunker that was hit by a shell.

Although this shot did not directly destroy the bunker, it caused serious damage to it.

"Sergeant, I will fire my next shot at that place, do you believe it?" the gunner said with a smile.

If it was far away, he really wouldn't dare to say such a big thing, after all, sometimes the wind will affect the landing point.

But now the distance is only 300 meters, and there is a gun scope on the mountain cannon, so he can definitely hit wherever he points.

"Pull those that don't have it! Fire!"

"Just watch you."

At this time, the ammunition operator has completed loading.

The gunner slightly adjusted the elevation wheel, pulled the trigger, and the shell was immediately fired.

"boom!"

The shell hit the original gun crater.

Although the brick-concrete bunker is very strong, it cannot withstand two 2mm shells hitting the same place.

After the smoke cleared, a large hole appeared on the bunker, and the Japanese inside became silent.

Next, Shan Pao took down the bunkers one by one like cracking walnuts.

But the Japanese in the bunker had no way to deal with it.

They only had light machine guns and rifles, and although the range could reach 200 meters, they couldn't see.

The devil can only wait for death in despair
After the mountain artillery took out all the bunkers, the 14th Company immediately set up machine guns on the cliff.

Suppress the Japs with fire from high above.

No matter how solidly the Japanese barracks were built, they could not stop the bullets falling from overhead.

However, just when the Fourth Battalion was on the verge of victory, a train suddenly appeared in Qin Sheng's sight.

(PS: Thank you brothers for your reward, I will add one more chapter.)
(PPS: By the way, I’m asking for next month’s ticket.)
(End of this chapter)