Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

Autumn of 1948, September 16th, night.

The city of Jinan was under a blackout, with only occasional beams of searchlight piercing the night sky and revealing the imposing and menacing outline of the city walls.

Wang Yaowu, the city's defense commander, stood in front of the map at the inner city command post, his brow furrowed.

News of the massive gathering of the East China Field Army had already spread. Confident in his well-preserved city defenses built over many years, his 100,000-strong garrison, ample food and ammunition reserves, and limited air support from Xuzhou, he was determined to turn this "impregnable" provincial capital into a blood-soaked millstone for the Communist army.

He anticipated an unprecedentedly fierce bombardment and ordered his troops to reinforce their fortifications and prepare to withstand it.

He anticipated that the infantry would surge in like a tide and ordered all firing positions to be on high alert.

He even considered that the enemy might use a small number of captured Japanese tanks and deployed anti-tank teams and anti-tank guns.

But what happened next completely overturned his understanding and shattered all his defense plans.

September 17th, before dawn.

A somber atmosphere prevailed at the pre-arranged artillery positions located several kilometers from the city walls in the southeast, west, and north directions of Jinan.

260 heavy artillery pieces, 122mm and 152mm in diameter, raised their dark muzzles and pointed at their designated targets.

The gunners were no longer relying on experience and rough firing tables for estimations; after nearly a month of preparation,

Beside them were detailed maps provided by Zhao Ping'an, artillery telescope observation data, and firing data tables quickly calculated by a mechanical calculator.

Each artillery position maintained contact with the forward observation post and command center via a makeshift wired telephone or a newly issued individual radio.

At Zhao Ping'an's suggestion, the training methods used by the 100,000-strong German Wehrmacht were adopted. Although there are not many people at each gun position, they are set up as artillery platoons. Each gun is assigned a fire calculation officer and three to four gun commanders. When expansion is needed, this group can be easily expanded into an artillery platoon with four guns. As long as the gun commanders train the gunners a little, they can quickly form combat capability.

At Zhao Ping'an's suggestion, the advance reconnaissance troops, already equipped with high-powered telescopes, artillery scopes, and simple battlefield radar and thermal imaging equipment, infiltrated to the outer perimeter of the city walls and even closer hiding places.

Like the most patient hunters, they carefully marked each key target with their instruments:

Heavy machine gun bunkers on the bulge of the city wall, artillery observation posts next to the city gate tower, the location of a suspected command post antenna, a supply depot, a reserve passage...

Under thermal imaging, the people behind these concealed key targets are clearly revealed, without even the most sophisticated reconnaissance techniques required. This is the overwhelming power of technology!

It was exactly 5:00 AM.

At the forward command post, 502 calmly uttered only two words into the communicator: "Begin."

The next second, the world changed color!

There was no conventional artillery preparation that lasted for hours, covered several square kilometers, and was designed to destroy surface fortifications and demoralize the troops.

Instead, a meticulously calculated, targeted, and rhythmic "surgical" bombardment was launched.

"Target A1, southeast corner permanent machine gun bunker, elevation XX, distance XXXX, three rapid fire, fire!"

"Target B3, suspected ammunition transfer point inside the west gate, infrared observation confirms heat source, fire one round!"

"Target: Sector C, enemy communication antenna cluster in the middle section of the city wall. Based on the guidance, fire support, fire!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!

A tremendous roar erupted almost simultaneously from different directions, instantly shattering the tranquility of dawn. But what terrified the defenders on the city walls even more was the precision and lethality of the cannonballs' impact.

The heavy machine gun bunker in the southeast corner, reinforced with reinforced concrete and considered foolproof, was reduced to dust like an eggshell struck by a giant hammer, along with the machine gun and gunner inside, in a towering column of fire and smoke, after being precisely hit by three 152mm shells weighing 50 kilograms each, which fell almost vertically.

A busy supply area inside the western city wall was suddenly and accurately covered by a barrage of artillery fire. The piled-up ammunition exploded, and the continuous explosions and flashes of fire illuminated half the sky. The passage leading to the area was destroyed, and the movement route of the garrison's reserve force was cut off.

The wired telephone lines and exposed radio antennas on many parts of the city wall were targeted and cleared by artillery fire, and command and communication in many areas were paralyzed immediately.

Wang Yaowu felt the ground beneath his feet tremble violently in the command post. The explosions were more frequent, closer, and more "tricky" than ever before.

Reports poured in, but their contents sent chills down his spine: "Our heavy machine gun bunker was destroyed by direct-fire artillery!"

"The ammunition depot inside the west gate has been hit, caught fire, and exploded!"

"Telephone communication with the garrison at the east city wall has been lost, and radio communication is under severe interference!"

"The observation post has been destroyed, making it impossible to direct our artillery units to retaliate!"

"How could their artillery... hit so accurately?!" Wang Yaowu's face turned pale, and for the first time, a strong sense of unease welled up in his heart.

This was completely unlike the PLA's artillery firing pattern he was familiar with!

Before the first round of precise artillery fire had completely ceased, breaches or severe damage had been blasted into many parts of the city wall.

Just as the defenders were still in shock and trying to rush out of the bunker to repair the fortifications and fill the gaps, an even more terrifying scene unfolded before their eyes.

In the hazy morning mist mixed with gunpowder smoke, a deep and unfamiliar roar came from the open ground.

Immediately afterwards, dozens of steel figures broke through the smoke screen and appeared on the opposite bank of the moat!

These were not the small, bean-shaped Japanese tanks of memory, but massive, angular, and long-barreled steel behemoths!

"Tanks...tanks! So many tanks!" The remaining defenders on the city wall screamed in despair.

Eighteen "modified Type 59" tanks, divided into several assault groups, roared towards the breach in the city wall torn open by artillery fire at a speed of more than 30 kilometers per hour, accompanied by the roar of their improved diesel engines.

The camouflage temporarily painted on the vehicle was faintly visible in the smoke, and the 100mm gun barrel was slightly lowered, pointing straight ahead.

What made the defenders even more desperate was that these tanks were not alone. Each tank was followed closely by squads of East China Field Army infantry.

They no longer crouched low and cautiously advanced, but instead used the tank hull as mobile cover, running quickly in small steps with agile movements.

The coaxial machine guns on the tank turrets and the submachine guns and light machine guns in the hands of the infantry formed a network of fire that was both long and short, suppressing any anti-tank soldiers or machine gun positions that tried to peek out and fire.