Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

The reinforced Indian army company of more than 200 men withdrew from the north.

Because they had taken a big detour at the Indian artillery company and wasted some time, Zheng Xingguo and his men were unaware that the reinforced Indian company that had withdrawn from the Jiashankou direction had passed them by.

However, another delay at Xishankou and Shenge allowed the Indian army to catch up.

From a distance, Indian soldiers spotted Zheng Xingguo and his two companions jogging along the road.

This caused the Indian soldiers to reveal a ferocious look in their eyes.

If we can't beat a fully-organized unit of the Central Army, we can't beat three of you reconnaissance soldiers?
The Indian company commander was ecstatic. "Quick! Chase after them! Take them out!"

He desperately wanted revenge.

Indian soldiers immediately shouted and ran after them.

Halfway there, Indian soldiers were still firing indiscriminately.

Upon hearing the gunshot, Zheng Xingguo and his two companions immediately turned to the side and disappeared into the nearby woods.

If they continued running along the road without any cover, they would be hit by bullets sooner or later.

After partially surrounding the forest where Zheng Xingguo and his two companions were hiding, the Indian company commander waved his hand and ordered, "Machine gun suppression, 9th Platoon, advance and attack!"

Indian bullets sent tree branches flying through the forest.

Inside the forest, Zheng Dingguo and his two companions hid behind cover, occasionally firing a few bullets outwards.

These sporadic bursts of fire kept the Indian soldiers on their toes. The machine gun crews were firing furiously, but their advance was almost nonexistent.

Seeing the Indian troops' posture as if they were about to cut the forest flat with bullets, Zheng Xingguo angrily exclaimed, "Damn it! This is simply outrageous!"

"Today I'll teach these bastards what fighting is all about."

Pang Jun shouted, "Damn that son of a bitch!"

“Yes, let’s do it!” Zhou Fuyun nodded as well.

"Good! Let's beat that son of a bitch!" Zheng Xingguo said.

"I'll move to the left in a bit, making a show of force to draw enemy fire. You two can take the opportunity to flank to the right, and then we'll encircle the Indian troops."

Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun nodded. "Be careful."

Although the ratio of troops between the two sides is 3 to 200, the three men are not afraid. On the contrary, they regard the Indian army as mere chickens and dogs.

After explaining the plan, Zheng Xingguo didn't waste any words. He instantly darted out from behind a large rock and simultaneously opened fire on the Indian troops outside the woods.

Upon hearing the gunfire, the Indian company commander outside the woods repeatedly directed his troops to adjust their course.

"Over there, fire!"

"There! In that direction!"

"The enemy is trying to escape, increase firepower!"

"Everyone, aim at the enemy and suppress them with fire! Make them unable to move."

The Indian company commander paced back and forth behind the position, finally finding a sense of command and authority.

At that moment, the Indian company commander felt like a great general, commanding a major battle that would affect the survival of the nation.

He has gained a crucial advantage in this war.

While the Indian army was constantly adjusting the direction of its firepower, Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun had already sneaked out of the mountains from the side.

Once the two were in position, they didn't hesitate and immediately unleashed their full power.

"Da da da".
Several Indian soldiers were killed.

The sudden gunfire behind them startled the Indian soldiers.

The arrogant expression on the Indian company commander's face vanished instantly; he ducked his head and hid in the crowd.

"Captain! We're surrounded!" someone shouted.

"Bullshit!" the timid Indian company commander roared.

Although he was startled, he could still make a rough judgment about the situation from the sound of gunfire.

"Use your damn brains!"

"There are only a few people on the other side, how come they can surround 200 of us?!"

"Second Platoon Leader! Take your men and take care of them!"

"Yes, sir!"
At this point, the Indian troops were unaware that the two men who had circled around were the ones who had emerged from the woods.

They thought it was stragglers who had come looking for them after hearing the gunfire.

However, just five minutes later, the Indian army's 2nd platoon leader ran back in a panic.

"Captain, this is bad! The enemy is too strong; we are no match for them!"

"What? Your entire platoon couldn't beat those two?"

The Indian company commander's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with disbelief.

What kind of battle is this?

"Yes, sir," the platoon leader confirmed.

"Although there are only two people on the other side, their firepower is very strong. Seven of our men have been killed and five wounded."

Upon hearing this, the Indian company commander nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

The second platoon suffered 12 casualties, while the troops exchanging fire with the central army in the woods also suffered 8 casualties.

In just over ten minutes since the start of the battle, his casualties have reached 10%.

"Trash! You are all trash!"

"Even 40 donkeys could kick two enemies to death!"

"Captain, this is not the time to talk about these things," the 2nd Platoon Leader said urgently.

He didn't care whether it was a sheep or a donkey; the most important thing now was what to do.

At this point, Zheng Xingguo and his two companions had formed a triangle and completed the encirclement of the 200 Indian soldiers.

The three intersecting lines of fire caused the Indian army to suffer increasingly heavy losses.

The Indian army's combat effectiveness was also worrying. Faced with the attack from three people, they were somewhat at a loss and gradually became confused.

Seeing the troops becoming increasingly chaotic, the Indian company commander grew anxious.

"We can't fight anymore, we have to retreat!" After making up his mind, the Indian company commander decisively ordered, "Everyone! Launch a fierce attack to the southeast and break through!"

Although the three men formed a triangular crossfire, and Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun also formed a pincer movement on the road, the assault rifle was not a heavy machine gun after all, and the 30-round magazine would soon be empty.

Taking advantage of the lull in the fire, the Indian troops fired indiscriminately to suppress the enemy while charging along the road.

Faced with Indian troops determined to flee, Zheng Xingguo and his two companions had no chance of stopping them all.

After leaving behind more than a dozen more corpses, the Indian troops successfully broke through the encirclement.

Zheng Xingguo and his two companions chased for a while, killing several more people, before finally having no choice but to stop the pursuit.

The enemy is a whole company after all; if we pursue them rashly, something unexpected could happen.

Spitting on the ground, Pang Jun said disdainfully, "It's a good thing those bastards ran fast, otherwise they would have been in trouble."

Watching the departing Indian troops, Zheng Xingguo said, "Forget it, let them go. We don't have enough ammunition either. If we keep fighting, we can only wipe out one more batch before we have to retreat."

Then Zheng Xingguo asked, "Should we continue moving forward?"

The three men have now penetrated 7 kilometers into enemy territory, where the density of Indian troops is noticeably high.

As they venture deeper, the danger level for the three of them will continue to rise.

"Chase them!" Zhou Fuyun said confidently from the side.

"Judging from the current situation, the enemy should have already retreated completely, and their main force will catch up soon."

"We are now moving forward to pave the way for the main force."

"If there is a situation, we can retreat at any time to seek support from the main force."

“Zhou Fuyun is right.” Pang Jun nodded in agreement. “Besides, we’ve chased him this far, we can’t just give up like this.”

Zheng Xingguo pointed and said, "Alright, let's keep fighting!"

The three men quickly cleaned up the battlefield, replenished their supplies with a few grenades, and then continued their pursuit.

At this time, the number of Indian troops on the road was also increasing, including large groups and small groups of defeated soldiers of all sizes.

If the three of them encounter a large force, they will go around it; if they encounter a small force, they will ambush and eliminate it if possible, otherwise they will fight and leave.

They continued their pursuit for several more kilometers.

Suddenly, just as the three were preparing to launch another surprise attack on a group of more than a dozen Indian soldiers, a burst of intense artillery fire came from afar.

The three exchanged glances, and Zheng Xingguo waved his hand, "Let's go take a look."

The group bypassed the Indian troops, crossed the mountain ridge, and soon a large artillery position appeared before them.

"1, 2, 3"

"40 howitzers!"

"Goodness, this is an artillery regiment!"

"It's not an artillery regiment. The Indian Army doesn't have regiments. This should be the main force of the Indian Army's 4th Artillery Brigade."

"The artillery company we found outside Xishankou before should have been separated from this artillery brigade."

"Unfortunately, this fish is too big; even if the three of us were stuffed, we still couldn't finish it."

An Indian artillery brigade has more than a thousand men, and its guard positions are equipped with a number of heavy machine guns.

Such a position is not one that three people can easily attempt to stage an accident for.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the three of them dared to fight a 200-man Indian infantry company; that was because the enemy didn't have heavy weapons.

If you were to attack an artillery position defended by heavy weapons, the three men would either be riddled with bullets or blasted to pieces by the adjusted cannon muzzle.

"Go back and call someone," Zhou Fuyun said.

"It seems that there is still fighting in the north, otherwise the Indian artillery would not be providing fire support."

“Let’s go back and call more men over, and take this position. Let’s see how the Indian army defends it.”

Transporting heavy artillery through mountainous areas is not easy, especially in the Himalayas, where the terrain is indeed difficult to traverse.

The Chinese side deployed more than two divisions in total, but did not have a single 152mm heavy artillery piece.

The 122mm howitzers and 85mm cannons were all disassembled into parts and transported up for reassembly.

Moreover, even the 122mm howitzers and 85mm cannons are mainly used to counter Indian artillery and destroy fortified targets, and are not easily used for support.

Because they simply couldn't keep up with the infantry's advance.

Most of the time, the troops relied on 100mm mortars to hold the line.

Even though the Indian army's transportation conditions are several times better than the Chinese army's, they cannot replenish heavy artillery at any time.

"Let's go, let's retreat." Zheng Xingguo nodded.

The three of them quietly made their way down the mountain.

The Indian artillery, unaware that they had been completely exposed, continued to fire, attempting to suppress the Chinese offensive and create an opportunity for the frontline troops to retreat.

Zheng Xingguo and his two companions headed north against the retreating Indian troops, and it wasn't until noon that they returned to the vicinity of Shenge.

They could hear the sounds of fierce fighting from a great distance.

Following the hillside, the three quietly approached.

Lying on a hilltop more than 200 meters away from the Indian army's defensive high ground, Zheng Xingguo whispered, "Judging from the situation, the other side should be an Indian army battalion, with both light and heavy firepower."

"Our troops that are attacking, judging from the gunfire, only have one company."

"Winning shouldn't be a problem, but taking over the Indian army's positions in a short time won't be so easy."

It's unclear whether this Indian army was blocked or what, but unlike other units, they did not advance directly.

Even if the opposing force is Indian troops, it is not easy to take a position with heavy firepower.

Pang Jun pointed to a small hill in front of them, "Why don't we move a little further forward?"

"If we can get to that hilltop, we can directly attack the Indian artillery, which should be quite effective."

The Indian army's current overall defense is forward-facing, with artillery positioned at the rear, which gives them three opportunities.

"Alright, there's still an artillery brigade waiting for us. We can't let these Indian troops block our way."

The three immediately moved forward discreetly.

When the three of them approached the small hill 100 meters away from the Indian troops, Zheng Xingguo immediately saw two men in the Indian army group gesturing wildly.

"Pang Jun, those two should be officers. I'll shoot the one on the left, you shoot the one on the right."

"Zhou Fuyun, do you see the enemy's mortar positions? Fire at their artillery in sync."

"After Pang Jun and I finished off the Indian commander, we would adjust our guns and attack the Indian artillery positions together."

“No problem!” Pang Jun and Zhou Fuyun nodded and raised their rifles.

After taking aim, Zheng Xingguo pulled the trigger first.

"Puff puff." "Puff puff."

The rapid bursts of gunfire rang out one after another.

The two Indian army commanders who were just gesturing wildly suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the Indian army, the three of them took turns sniping enemy artillery positions and heavy machine gun emplacements.

On the main battlefield, the 1st Company of the 212th Regiment, which was already having some troubles, saw that the enemy was in chaos and immediately took the opportunity to launch a strong attack.

Without command, the Indian troops, already in complete disarray, were utterly unable to withstand the 1st Company's fierce attack.

In just a short time, the 1st Company had inflicted casualties on the Indian army's positions.

Zheng Xingguo, along with Pang Jun, surrounded them.

Faced with attacks from both sides, the Indian troops had no choice but to kneel on the ground in desperation.

Upon seeing the 1st Company Commander, before the latter could even express his gratitude, Zheng Xingguo spoke first.

"We have discovered the enemy's artillery brigade's position."

"Quickly, lead the way and take out the enemy's artillery positions."

"An artillery brigade?" The 1st Company Commander immediately perked up.

"The main force of the 212th Regiment was attacked by Indian artillery, resulting in the escape of over a thousand Indian soldiers. In the end, only about three hundred were captured. I was just looking for them, but they have delivered themselves to my doorstep!"

"Third Platoon Leader!"

"To!"

"You take two squads and keep an eye on these prisoners."

"The rest of you, come with me!"

Zheng Xingguo led the 1st Company southward, heading straight for the Indian army's artillery positions.

Zheng Xingguo and his two companions couldn't defeat the Indian army's more than 1,000 artillerymen, but a main force company against them was like cutting melons and vegetables.

In less than 20 minutes, an Indian artillery brigade, along with its personnel and artillery, fell into the hands of the Chinese army.

"Good! Good! A great achievement!" the 1st Company Commander exclaimed excitedly.

"Zheng Xingguo, Pang Jun, and Zhou Fuyun, I'm sure you three will definitely receive a first-class merit!"

"For now, you will join the 1st Company. Once you are reunited with your original company, you will return to your original unit."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)