Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

At Gu Cheng's command, the entire brigade headquarters was filled with the echoes of his brothers.

He immediately mounted his horse and led his men at full speed towards the camp. The night wind howled along the way, and the flames in the distance had already dyed half of the night red. Thick smoke billowed upwards, and the pungent smell of burning could be smelled from afar.

As they drew closer, Gu Cheng felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

A large pile of neatly stacked timber on the west side was already engulfed in flames. The flames, fueled by the dry weather of the past few days, leaped wildly and quickly ignited the bamboo baskets and canvases nearby. The fire spread extremely rapidly.

The site was originally chosen for its open terrain, which was conducive to construction, but it was quite far from a river. The buckets and wooden basins that the soldiers found in their haste were insufficient to extinguish the raging flames, no matter how much water they poured on them.

Even more deadly, an unknown number of enemies outside the construction site used the fire to launch a frenzied attack on the prepared defenses.

"Wait, don't panic!"

As Gu Cheng and his reinforcements approached, they immediately sensed something was amiss:

These people were no ordinary bandits; their division of labor was so clear and their attacks so fierce that they far exceeded Gu Cheng's expectations.

The enemy in the front row, armed with homemade guns, fired in echelon formations, the gunfire dense and heavy, suppressing the Fengtian soldiers on the defensive line and preventing them from having a chance to raise their heads and fight back.

The men in the middle carried cloth bags filled with homemade bombs. Under the cover of the front line's fire, they crouched low and rushed forward. Once they reached the vicinity, they threw the bombs at each other. With a loud "boom," the homemade bombs exploded, sending rubble and wood chips flying, tearing a large hole in the defensive line!

"Hold on! Everyone hold on!" Lu Qingshan shouted as he fired back with his pistol. His arm was grazed by lead bullets, and blood soaked through his sleeves, but he did not flinch. He personally guarded the gap and cut down the enemy at the front with a single blow.

However, the enemy was too numerous and fearless. As soon as one breach was plugged, another was blown open. The soldiers were attacked from both sides. They had to resist the enemy's fierce attack while also trying to put out the ever-spreading fire. Gradually, they became exhausted.

Gu Cheng immediately ordered Mu Haisheng to provide support, and they brought all the light machine guns from the warehouse.

"Mr. Gu...you've arrived!"

Upon seeing the reinforcements arrive, Lu Qingshan, who was leading the guards, had a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "It's too dangerous! Please, please don't!"

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Cheng pulled out a pistol from his waist and roared at his men, "Yang Song, you take thirty men and circle around to the enemy's rear, cut off their retreat, and shoot the scum who throw bombs!"

Mu Haisheng, you take your men and guard the east fence. Make sure the enemy doesn't get close to the foundation and the supply depot!

Several light machine guns were quickly mounted on sandbags, their dark muzzles aimed at the enemy on the perimeter of the construction site. A dense barrage of bullets poured out like a torrential rain, instantly drowning out the chaotic sounds of the homemade guns and the roar of the bombs.

The enemies charging forward in the front row had no time to dodge and fell to the ground one after another like wheat being cut down. Screams and the muffled sound of bullets piercing flesh intertwined, and the originally fierce offensive was instantly suppressed.

Those enemies carrying homemade bombs had just crouched down to prepare to charge forward when they were locked onto by light machine gun fire. They were hit and fell to the ground after running only a few steps. The homemade bombs on their bodies were detonated by stray bullets, and with a few loud "booms", they injured the remaining comrades next to them.

Yang Song led thirty men to circle around to the enemy's rear and launched a surprise attack from a high vantage point. They targeted the leaders who threw bombs and carried homemade guns. In a short while, the enemy was thrown into disarray, losing their previous fearlessness and began to flee in all directions.

"Retreat! Retreat now!" Someone shouted, and the remaining enemies could no longer hold on. They abandoned their armor and fled into the distant woods under the cover of night, never daring to look back.

"Don't let them get away!" Mu Haisheng, rifle in hand, barked at his men, "Take men and chase them out! Clean up the battlefield, thoroughly search the remaining survivors, leave no one alive, and while you're at it, check for anything suspicious!"

"Yes!" his men responded in unison, following Mu Haisheng as they chased after the fleeing enemy, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

Gu Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, but dared not delay for a moment. He grabbed a bucket of water from a soldier beside him and shouted to the crowd, "Quick! Forget about the enemy, prioritize putting out the fire! Focus on extinguishing the fires near the foundation and armory; we absolutely cannot let the fire spread to the core area!"

The soldiers immediately laid down their weapons and picked up buckets and basins. Even though the water source was far away, they still rushed back and forth. Some even took off their outer clothes, soaked them, and put them on the spreading flames.

Meanwhile, the people in the city also mobilized, and even Jiang Yingrong came, bringing the Wang family's servants and guards to help... Men, women, and children all pitched in, carrying wet sacks and buckets of water, and worked hard to put out the fire. The pungent smell of burning made people's eyes water, but no one backed down.

As Gu Cheng splashed water, he would occasionally look up and scan the battlefield, but his brows gradually furrowed, and his doubts grew heavier.

He crouched down and picked up a piece of debris left behind by the enemy from the ground with his fingertips—it was not the wreckage of a homemade bomb commonly used by ordinary bandits. The edges of the fragment were neat, and it still had a peculiar gunpowder smell on it, indicating that it was something that no ordinary person could make.

What made him even more suspicious was that although the enemy was fierce, they retreated too hastily after being suppressed by the light machine gun, showing no determination to fight to the death.

Those truly desperate criminals intent on destroying the camp would not have crumbled so easily. Even if they fought to the last man, they would have tried to storm the core of the construction site. However, from beginning to end, they only attacked the western lumber yard and the outer perimeter. Even though they had several opportunities to break through the breach, they never approached the foundation or the armory.

That's the lifeline of the camp, the key to its destruction.

"This isn't right." Gu Cheng suddenly stood up and turned to look in the direction Mu Haisheng had chased after. The night was deep, and only sporadic gunshots could be heard in the distance. His heart skipped a beat—a feint attack!

These people are not here to destroy the camp at all; their purpose has always been to contain them!

This will tie him down and most of his forces, forcing them to focus all their energy on putting out fires and cleaning up the battlefield, while the real mastermind has already moved to a place where defenses are weak!

"Lu Qingshan!" Gu Cheng shouted sternly, stopping Lu Qingshan who was struggling to put out the fire. His tone was urgent. "This place is yours. Lead the brothers and the civilians to continue fighting the fire. Make sure to hold the foundation and the armory. No matter what happens, you are not allowed to leave the camp even a step!"

Lu Qingshan, covered in dust, turned around immediately upon hearing the shout: "Master Gu, where are you going?"

"Brigade headquarters!" Gu Cheng gritted his teeth, a barely perceptible hint of anxiety in his voice. "These people are bait. The real target is the 11th Mixed Brigade's headquarters inside the city! Only a small number of men are left there. If they are attacked, the consequences will be unimaginable!"