Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 119 The Pillar's First Battle on the Peninsula (Part 1)

He Yuzhu followed the company commander for a short distance until they arrived at a cave that could only accommodate three or four people squatting down.

"Instructor, instructor, I'm back! Quick, where's the flashlight?" Liang Jian called out urgently.

"They're back. Did they really catch them?" the instructor's voice came, followed by a dim light.

The light shone on the company commander first. "Why are you shining it on me? The man is in Zhu Zi's hands. Zhu Zi, put him down!"

The instructor moved the flashlight in his hand to He Yuzhu, and then to the prisoner in his arms.

"Heh, how did you catch him? Why is his butt still naked?"

"Hehe, instructor, we're just afraid he'll run away."

"Wow, it really does have a big nose!" the instructor exclaimed as the flashlight beam moved.

"Then why even ask?" The company commander then realized that they had gone abroad. He had been busy running around these past few days, just waiting to get to the place where the fighting would begin.

"Um, Company Commander, I know a little foreign language, how about I give it a try?" When He Yuzhu found the prisoner's shoulder and collar with the flashlight beam, he realized that this guy seemed to be an officer. This guy was too lucky, but he couldn't say that he knew military ranks, so he could only say.

"What? You speak a foreign language?"

The instructor then remembered who the kid in front of him was and replied, "He's a vocational school student, so what if he knows a little foreign language?"

"Tell me earlier!"

Company Commander Liang Jian slapped He Yuzhu on the shoulder, making He Yuzhu wince, and then said, "But this place won't do. Gather the troops and retreat quickly. If we stay here too long, they'll come looking for us because they're short-handed."

"Yeah, that guy Zhu Zi, did you put his pants back on? He's naked, you wouldn't dare ask him, would you?" the instructor said.

"Oh, oh!" He Yuzhu squatted down and haphazardly pulled up the guy's pants, then buckled his belt.

"I'll go assemble the team. I know you guys went ahead first, so we need to hurry," the company commander said.

"it is good."

Then the entire company retreated to a mountain gully two kilometers away. This time, He Yuzhu didn't carry it, but carried it on his back. Perhaps because he had been beaten too badly, the prisoner didn't wake up even after running so far.

"Tie him up, wake him up," the company commander said when they arrived at their destination.

He Yuzhu used the prisoner's own belt to tie the prisoner's hands behind his back, then unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and began pouring it onto the prisoner's face. Fortunately, the water in the bottle hadn't frozen, but the icy water stung his face like needles.

The prisoner woke up a few seconds later and, finding himself unable to move, began to struggle desperately.

Instead of immediately removing the towel from the prisoner's mouth, He Yuzhu took the bayonet from his waist and held it to the prisoner's neck.

He whispered in English, "I'll ask you a question, and you answer it. If you shout, I'll slit your throat."

Upon hearing English, the prisoner stared wide-eyed at He Yuzhu, an Asian man, and kicked back in fright.

"Zhu Zi, what did you do with him? Why are you so scared?" the instructor asked.

"I mean, take the thing out of his mouth and make him stop shouting!" He Yuzhu said helplessly.

"Then why is he hiding?"

"I don't know either, you'll find out if you ask."

Before asking any questions, He Yuzhu repeated what he had just said. The prisoner nodded, and only then did He Yuzhu remove the towel from his mouth.

He Yuzhu only asked for names, numbers, and where this place was.

The prisoner spilled everything out like beans pouring from a bamboo tube. He Yuzhu listened and translated as he spoke, and the group realized that the person on the highway was indeed the 24th Division of the White Eagles, and that the guy's name was Kate Parker, a warrant officer.

They are still fifty miles away from Ningbian. The reason they are so afraid of them is because their division suffered a defeat in June, and in August their division commander, who had been missing for two months, surrendered to the North Korean army. This shows how badly that battle ravaged them.

He mistook He Yuzhu and the others in front of him for the Northern Army of the Peninsula.

After hearing this, not only the company commander and political instructor, but even He Yuzhu was a little stunned. Did the Bald Eagles have such a unit?

The company commander and political instructor were unaware, but He Yuzhu knew a little. It seemed that the North Korean army's combat effectiveness was not very good, otherwise they wouldn't have come to fight in a foreign land.

Kate also revealed that he had a map on him. The company commander and political instructor who got the map were overjoyed. When fighting in an unfamiliar place, what are they most afraid of? Getting lost, right?

After Kate pointed out their current location and Ningchuan's location, the company commander quickly marked them with a pencil, then found a cigarette box and drew a simple map to Ningbian based on it.

Then he called over a messenger and two soldiers, and had them deliver the prisoners and maps to the regiment.

I originally wanted He Yu to go, but I gave up the idea because I thought about how He Yuzhu had led the whole company in the run. There were still 50 kilometers to run, and the vanguard was indispensable.

After the prisoners were taken away, the company commander gathered the entire company, gave a pep talk, and then continued the forced march, heading towards Ningchuan, determined to get ahead of the 24th Division of the White Eagle Army on the highway.

Without mentioning He Yuzhu and his men continuing their frantic run, after the prisoners and the map were sent to the regiment, part of the map was traced, and then the people and the map were sent to the division.

Well, that's it. The group, which had just slowed down a bit, started running again, and this time it was a run that left their supplies behind.

Meanwhile, He Yuzhu and his platoon received new orders to seize a hill called 175.8 to block the enemy's advance and await reinforcements.

Yes, it's just an unnamed hill. It's named by its altitude because it doesn't have a name. Along with the order came a simple map, which clearly marked the high ground right next to the road. Once we get past this hill, the enemy will be out of the mountains. At that point, let alone blocking them, we might not even be able to catch up.

Even if they could run fast, how could two legs outrun a car? By the time He Yuzhu and the others reached their destination, it was already noon.

From a distance, it was discovered that the high ground had already been occupied by the enemy's vanguard.

Thus, the battle to seize the position turned into a hard-fought battle. The exhausted company commander, Liang Jian, didn't even have time to rest before starting the pre-battle mobilization.

Liang Jian shouted in a low voice, "Comrades, Hill 175.8 in front of us is crucial to whether our division can stop the enemy's 24th Division. We must take it at all costs! Do you have confidence?"

The soldiers of the company shouted in unison, "Arrival!"

Liang Jian continued, "Now let's assign tasks. First platoon, flank from the left side of the road. Second platoon, feign an attack from the north slope. Third platoon, follow me and flank from the right side of the road. Stay concealed! Second platoon, attack first. The other two platoons, once they arrive and hear the second platoon's gunfire, don't wait, launch your attack immediately. Do you all understand?"

"understand!"

"Okay, let's go."

"Yes!"

"First platoon, follow me," the platoon leader shouted.

"Second row, follow me."

"Third row, follow me."

"Old Liang, I'll go to the third row. You keep an eye on the first row. The first row is the most difficult to attack."

"Okay." As soon as Liang Jian finished answering, the instructor ran towards the third platoon.

The second company commander, along with his communications officer, followed the first platoon.

They didn't even have time to say goodbye to each other. Time was too tight because the enemy's follow-up troops were only 10 kilometers away. If the enemy hadn't been having lunch, probably half of them would have already passed by now.

As the second platoon reached its designated position, platoon leader Wang Hu gave the order, and the soldiers launched a feint attack on the high ground. Gunfire erupted from the north slope, bullets whistling as they flew towards the hill.

The Bald Eagle soldiers, who were resting on the high ground, were a little stunned by the sudden attack. However, after a brief period of panic, they were organized by their officers to start a counterattack.

Before the enemy on the mountain even used artillery (each company had 2-3 60mm mortars), the second platoon at the foot of the mountain was already pinned down and unable to raise its head. The defenders were equipped with semi-automatic weapons, with only about ten light and heavy machine guns in total (each squad had a light machine gun, and the fire support platoon usually had 2-4 heavy machine guns). Their bolt-action rifles and light machine guns were simply not enough to provide fire support.

Strictly speaking, the second platoon was a bit stunned. This was not the firepower of a company; even their entire battalion might not have such firepower.

Just before the second rank made a feint attack, the first rank also reached the attacking position.

As the elite squad, He Yuzhu's squad was naturally at the forefront.

"Is Zhuzi afraid?" Hu Sanxi, the only new recruit, was quite considerate.

"Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat." The gunfire from the mountaintop startled the two men. He Yuzhu asked with a bitter face, "Squad leader, are we just going to charge straight in like this?"

"Why are you afraid?"

"It's not that we're scared. Just listen to the gunfire on the north slope. How many machine guns are they carrying?"

"The firepower is a bit too strong, it seems you're still scared? It's okay, everyone has a first time, you won't be afraid next time, get ready to attack!" Hu Sanxi patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder.

"Was that a bit too aggressive?" He Yuzhu was speechless.

"What are you whispering about? Are you getting ready to attack?" the platoon leader asked as he came over.

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Hu Sanxi hurriedly said. He glared at He Yuzhu, telling him to shut up. He added that cowering on the battlefield was a violation of discipline; being scolded or punished was the least of it. The worst punishment was being hit with a peanut.

"What's going on?" The company commander also looked over.

"It's alright, new recruit. It's your first time on the battlefield, so I'm just giving you a few words of advice," Hu Sanxi said.

"Zhu Zi, you did a good job last night, keep up the good work today." The company commander came over and patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder.

He Yuzhu sighed inwardly. This wasn't the fighting style he wanted. But he couldn't take out the items from his spatial storage. If you dared to take them out, someone would immediately tie you up and send you back to the county for trial, and then who knows where they would be sent for research.

Since he had chosen to be a soldier of this era, he would go for it. He Yuzhu gritted his teeth and encouraged himself.

At the platoon leader's command, the squad split into three combat groups, advancing towards the mountaintop in a rear triangle formation: one group of grenadiers, one group of light machine gunners, and the remaining group of infantry.

At the front were the infantry, followed by the machine gunners, and finally the grenadiers. He Yuzhu was assigned to the machine gun group, which was done by the squad leader to protect him.

Actually, the machine gun team was the main attacking force. Everyone heard the gunfire from the mountaintop. If you fire a shot, the enemy will return fire with a whole magazine.

The enemy on the mountain quickly discovered that there was an attack on this side, and mobilized some people from the north slope. Then, a barrage of bullets rained down on the first squad.

Gunshots rang out on the mountain, and He Yuzhu immediately tackled Feng Erkui and Tian Xiaoliang to the ground.

After Feng Erkui shouted, "Why are you rushing at me, you brat?" the sound of bullets whizzing through the air overhead never stopped.

He slightly raised his head to look at the people in front of him. Two of them were already lying in pools of blood, while the squad leader, Hu Sanxi, was hiding behind a large rock, making a gesture to lie down.

"Thank you, Brother Zhu!" the assistant shooter Tian Xiaoliang said in a low voice.

Feng Erkui roared in frustration, "Damn it, do they think bullets are free? How many machine guns would that take?"

"Keep crawling forward, don't stop!" came the squad leader's voice.

Then the whole class crawled up the mountain, occasionally firing a shot or two, but no one knew where the shots went.

A few minutes later, a whistle sounded at the foot of the mountain. It was the company commander blowing the attack whistle. Tian Xiaoliang turned around, glanced at the whistle, and shouted, "Second Platoon is coming up!"

At this moment, squad leader Hu Sanxi shouted: "Hand grenade!"

The soldiers at the front threw grenades at the same time. After a few loud explosions, Hu Sanxi tried to get up and rush forward, but the weather was too cold and the ground was frozen solid. The grenades only left a puff of white smoke and did not achieve the effect of blocking the view at all. Instead, they attracted the attention of the light and heavy machine guns above to focus on Hu Sanxi and his men.

He Yuzhu realized this wouldn't do and said to Feng Erkui and Tian Xiaoliang, "I'll act alone."

Then he rolled and jumped several times to get behind a large rock.

“Come back here! The squad leader told me to take care of you!” Feng Erkui shouted.

"You should take care of yourself!" He Yuzhu replied, then began loading the three guns in his hands. He then darted up and fired a shot into the mountain before retreating back behind a rock.

The target of this shot was a heavy machine gunner, whom they had already identified.

With that shout of "Baka!", the rain of bullets coming down from the mountaintop seemed to have decreased considerably. Tian Xiaoliang had been watching He Yuzhu the whole time, and following the direction his gun was pointing, Tian Xiaoliang could see that the heavy machine gun at that spot had stopped.

"You hit it? That's incredibly accurate!"

"What hit you?" Feng Erkui asked. He was also keeping an eye on He Yuzhu, worried that something might happen to him, so he didn't look at the mountain.

"Machine gunner, the pillar took down a machine gunner."

"Huh? Where is it? Where is it? Show it to me."

Without Tian Xiaoliang pointing, the heavy machine gun had already resumed firing, its target being the large rock where He Yuzhu was hiding, a rock that he could barely crawl behind.

At this moment, with stone chips flying everywhere from the bullets of the heavy machine gun, He Yuzhu shouted: "Suppressive fire! Suppressive fire!"

Feng Erkui's attention had just been slightly diverted by He Yuzhu, so he was a beat slow to react. By the time He Yuzhu shouted, his light machine gun had already fired.

"Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat." After a few short bursts of fire, the heavy machine gun on the mountain began to focus its fire on him again, and Feng Erkui and Tian Xiaoliang quickly changed their hiding places.

At that moment, He Yuzhu fired again. Judging from the direction of Feng Erkui's shot, the heavy machine gun must have moved to a different location, so this shot was still aimed at the heavy machine gunner. After firing, he saw Tian Xiaoliang give him a thumbs up, indicating that he had hit the target.

The heavy machine gun stopped again, and the crossfire became ineffective, allowing the second squad that followed to reach the first squad's position. Hu Sanxi and the two men in front of him had already crawled forward another ten meters or so.

There were definitely casualties, but He Yuzhu didn't have time to care about that. He moved to another location, still with Feng Erkui and the others providing cover.

He Yuzhu's two shots stunned not only the soldiers in the first squad, but also the company commander and platoon leader at the foot of the mountain. Wasn't He Yuzhu's shooting performance average in the recruit company? How come he was able to skip grades on the battlefield with this level of skill?

Actually, if it weren't for the fact that this broken gun required bolt action to reload, He Yuzhu's sniping skills would have allowed him to fire two shots each time.

He was determined to get an M1 after this battle and use it openly.

The company commander was still thinking that if He Yuzhu could take out a few more people, they could advance dozens of meters, when suddenly they heard three whooshing sounds from the mountaintop. He Yuzhu shouted, "Watch out for artillery fire!"

He knew that voice all too well; he vividly remembered firing sixty shots in one go that night in 1945.

Before he could finish shouting, his voice was drowned out by the "bang, crash, bang" of explosions.

He Yuzhu ignored the people around him and scrambled away from his hiding place, because a bomb had just exploded in front of him. If it weren't for the rocks blocking it, he would be done for.

He had only run seven or eight meters when three whooshing sounds came from the mountaintop.

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(End of this chapter)