Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

Huddled in the trenches, the days grew thick and slow. The large-scale offensive ceased, and the artillery fire on both sides temporarily subsided, but beneath this quiet lay something even more agonizing. The battle lines, like two dead giant snakes, lay prone between the mountains, only twitching occasionally at the slightest probing.

The daytime belonged to the Americans. Their observation balloons, like arrogant eyes, floated slowly in the sky. Armored vehicles and jeeps swayed back and forth in the front lines, kicking up dust. Soldiers even dared to smoke and sunbathe outside their bunkers, pointing and gesturing in our direction—their arrogance could be smelled from a kilometer or two away. They had plenty of ammunition, their planes were always on call, and they were convinced we could only cower in our bunkers and take the beating.

Just then, the order came down from above: launch a "sniper and cannon" campaign. The meaning was clear: if you can't defeat them head-on, use piecemeal tactics to bleed them dry and wear down their arrogance.

The order reached the reconnaissance battalion, and He Yuzhu summoned several company commanders and political instructors to his command post, which was half-buried underground. The room reeked of damp earth and the smell of cheap tobacco.

"You all saw the state they were in, right?" He Yuzhu didn't sit down, but leaned against a supporting log, holding the order in his hand. "They think we're blind, like sitting ducks. Now the higher-ups want us to tell them—no."

His gaze swept over Wu Dayong's sling arm, Lao Geng's unshaven face, and the tense yet excited eyes of the newly promoted young platoon leaders. "Our battalion has been weakened in the initial defensive battle, so it's not advisable to engage in direct combat right now. But this kind of piecemeal work suits us perfectly. Lao Geng, you go and scout out the entire battalion, picking out the best marksmen, the most skilled with mortars, and the boldest and most composed. Quality over quantity. Form two groups: the elite marksman group and the mobile artillery group. Wu Dayong, your arm isn't fully healed, so don't go to the front lines. You'll be responsible for coordinating the positions and logistics."

"Battalion Commander, we have some good marksmen, but their range..." a company commander hesitated. "Our guns only go up to four or five hundred meters. Any further and we can't see them clearly or hit them accurately. But those bastards are always loitering more than a kilometer away."

He Yuzhu nodded. His consciousness sank into the system:

Points: 5,138,398.

【兑换：莫辛-纳甘M1891/30狙击步枪 x 20支（附PU型3.5倍瞄準镜），-15,000积分。】

[Exchange: 5000 rounds of 7.62×54mm R sniper ammunition (long-range accuracy enhanced), -5,000 points.]

[Exchange: Sniper Training Manual (Basic to Intermediate), for selective knowledge instruction to no more than 10 key personnel, -5,000 points.]

Total deduction: 25,000 points.

Current points: 5,113,398.

He raised his head, his face expressionless: "I'll figure out the equipment. The division might allocate some, and we can pick through the captured weapons. The key issue is personnel. I'll personally lead the elite marksman team for the first few days."

A few days later, a batch of "water-type" bullets with scopes and special bullets were delivered to the reconnaissance battalion under the guise of "reinforcement by the division headquarters" and "modification of captured weapons." Also delivered were several tattered foreign language manuals, said to have been found on the corpses of enemy officers, which contained diagrams and data on long-range shooting.

No one bothered to investigate its origins. Having a gun, a scope, and bullets was a huge advantage. The twenty selected shooters touched the cool gun barrels and precious scopes, their eyes lighting up.

The training was secretly conducted in a valley with similar terrain in the rear. He Yuzhu didn't talk much about theory and went straight to the practical essentials: how to use reticles to measure distance, how to adjust the aiming point according to the target distance, how to judge wind speed from the dust on the grass tips, how to choose a firing position that can be both concealed and withdrawn, how to camouflage oneself with torn net strips and mud... That knowledge seemed to have been imprinted in his mind before, and at this moment it flowed out smoothly.

He lay prone to demonstrate, adjusted his breathing, and pulled the trigger. A white dot appeared on the chest of the human-shaped target 600 meters away. The soldiers watched, whispering amongst themselves, their eyes gradually shifting from curiosity to conviction.

"Remember, you're not ordinary infantry. Every shot you fire, you have to move. Killing one isn't a big deal; but keeping an entire squad or platoon on the other side from showing their faces all day is a huge achievement." He Yuzhu's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a hammer blow. "What we want is to make them suffer, to keep them on edge, and to wear down their daytime advantage."

After seven or eight days of basic training, He Yuzhu led the team back to the front lines and dispersed them to several ambush points with good visibility. He didn't let the new recruits get started immediately, but decided to set an example first—both to dampen the enemy's arrogance and to build confidence among his own men.

He chose a natural crevice above an abandoned mine shaft, which offered a view of the observation post where the other party frequently operated and a section of trench. At three in the morning, he and his observer Tie Niu sneaked in, draped in homemade camouflage nets, covered in dust similar in color to the rocks, and lay motionless as stone.

As dawn broke, mist drifted through the valley. Figures began to move on the opposite position. Through binoculars, several American soldiers were washing up outside their fortifications; an officer pointed in their direction with binoculars, while another soldier nearby took notes.

Distance: approximately 950 meters. Wind speed: light breeze coming from the left. Humidity: slightly higher than usual; bullets will drop slightly more than normal.

He Yuzhu adjusted his breathing, his heartbeat seemingly slowing down as he focused. The crosshairs in his scope steadily aligned with the officer's chest, slightly to the left—correcting wind drift. At this moment, he cleared his mind of all distractions, seeing only the officer as a target that had to be eliminated, a symbol that would damage morale.

Press the trigger with your index finger to feel the slight resistance, and then apply pressure smoothly.

"Bang!"

The gunshots rang out sharply in the valley at dawn, their echoes lingering long. In the footage, the officer appeared to be shoved head-on, falling backward violently, his binoculars flying into the air. The soldiers beside him froze for a moment, then scrambled into cover, instantly plunging the once peaceful position into chaos.

Tie Niu, his voice trembling with excitement, whispered, "He hit the battalion commander! In the chest, he's definitely gone!"

He Yuzhu didn't answer, quickly holstering his gun: "Withdraw."

The two men quietly retreated back to their positions along the planned route. Less than ten minutes later, retaliatory artillery fire rained down, but all of it missed its mark, futilely raising clouds of dust in the distance.

News of the initial victory spread like wildfire throughout the reconnaissance battalion. The battalion commander himself had taken action, killing an enemy officer with a single shot from over 900 meters away. This was more effective than any mobilization effort. The elite marksmen were eager to try their skills, their eyes burning with anticipation.

Sniper fire and artillery attacks spread silently.

In the days that followed, the "leisurely" atmosphere of the opposing positions during the day was gone. Top marksmen, working in pairs, lurked like ghosts across the front lines. They were incredibly patient, sometimes lying in wait all day for a single valuable target—someone coming out to relieve themselves, someone repairing lines, someone bringing food, or even just peeking out for a quick look. The mortar and recoilless rifle teams were equally busy; after figuring out the patterns of the enemy's fixed firing positions, they would fire a few rounds at random before moving on.

Daily reports on battle results. Day 1: The entire battalion killed or wounded 37 enemy soldiers and destroyed two machine gun nests. Day 2: 25. Day 3: The enemy had clearly learned their lesson, reducing their daytime activity, but still managed to take down about ten by sniper fire. The forward observation post reported: Enemy soldiers now crouch and run quickly when entering or leaving cover; their previous swaggering behavior is gone.

Of course, not everything went smoothly. A new gunner, nervous, missed his first shot, revealing his position and narrowly escaping machine gun fire. He survived and remained pale for several days. A mobile artillery group was slightly slow to move and was hit by indirect fire, resulting in one death and two wounded. The costs were always there.

Besides checking the battle results every day, He Yuzhu also summarized lessons learned, adjusted deployments, and provided guidance to shooters who experienced psychological fluctuations. He found that the knowledge of sniping and counter-sniping became clearer and more systematic in his mind during the process of teaching and practicing it—this was perhaps the mutual refinement of "teaching" and "learning".

Late at night, he leaned alone against the earthen wall of his bunker, listening to the sporadic sounds of gunfire outside. A system notification appeared:

[Successfully organized and demonstrated "sniper and artillery" tactics, effectively killing and suppressing the enemy's forward momentum.]

[Sniper expertise is validated and solidified through dissemination and practice.]

Based on recent individual and trained key personnel's direct achievements, the estimated points earned are: +200,000.

Current battlefield score: 5,313,398 points.

The points total climbed back to over 5.3 million. But He Yuzhu understood that this piecemeal accumulation was far less efficient than a hard-fought battle. Right now, however, this was the most suitable tactic for this newly recovered unit: it could strike the enemy, hone the troops, and build up resources.

He pulled out the map, its edges worn and frayed, and examined it closely by the light of the oil lamp. The front line was temporarily stable, but this stability was as fragile as paper. Sniper fire and artillery could only inflict pain on the enemy, not damage their core. Commander Ellis on the other side had suffered a setback and would not give up. When and how would the next large-scale clash arrive?

On the map, the two curves representing the two sides stand in silent confrontation. The blank area in the middle is now filled with unseen killing intent.