Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 121 Pillar, Coordinates for Three Rapid Fires
"Platoon leader, why don't you go and talk to the company commander and tell the comrades to put on their cotton-padded coats?" He Yuzhu said, pulling the platoon leader aside.

"A cotton-padded coat? Where did you get a cotton-padded coat?"

“Look, aren’t there plenty?” He Yuzhu said, pointing to the enemy’s corpses.

"Is this alright?"

“We’re all freezing to death.” He Yuzhu pointed to the platoon leader himself, who was shivering from the cold.

"Okay, I'll go and tell them right away." The platoon leader gritted his teeth, but he went to the political instructor. This kind of thing couldn't be done just by the company commander's approval.

A short while later, the company commander ordered a change of clothes. This involved wearing the enemy's clothes underneath our own uniforms. As for helmets, they could be used, but the insignia had to be ground off.

The order was given when there was a cheer on the mountaintop. Then everyone started looking for their clothes. It wasn't that they hadn't thought of it, but no one dared to say it.

The soldiers put on their clothes, each one bulging out, because they had been wearing autumn clothes before, and it's easy to imagine how much they had to stuff in a cotton-padded coat.

He Yuzhu pretended to strip off his clothes, found a quiet place, and then the clothes in his hands turned into new clothes from his spatial storage. It wasn't that he disliked the dirt, but it was difficult to find clothes that fit, and he had to exchange them with other people.

Then he shouted, "Who doesn't have a down jacket? I have an extra one here."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone ran over and took the clothes away. As for the Bald Eagle military boots, those that fit were naturally picked up by the soldiers. The rest were too big to wear. Even if a soldier tried to force himself to wear them, he would be scolded because the troops often marched at a rapid pace, covering at least dozens of miles. How could they run with ill-fitting shoes?

He Yuzhu took out a pair of military boots he used to wear from his spatial storage. He couldn't take out new ones. Fortunately, the equipment in the warehouse he harvested in Tianjin was all from Bald Eagle, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to pass it off as genuine.

After changing his clothes and shoes, He Yuzhu found the company commander. Their temporary artillery squad needed an observer to help them report coordinates, otherwise they couldn't fire the artillery.

He Yuzhu didn't understand flag signals, so he came for help. The observer that the company commander found left He Yuzhu speechless.

"Instructor, it's you!"

“Comrade He Yuzhu, why can’t it be me? I’ve attended a training course for grassroots armed forces cadres, and I’ve learned a little about artillery.”

As he spoke, the instructor pointed to a spot at the front of the position and gave the coordinates.

"Um, does the instructor know semaphore? Just shouting definitely won't work!"

"I know a few, the simple ones." As he spoke, the instructor took out two small flags with different colored strips of cloth tied to them from his back and made a gesture.

But when he saw He Yuzhu's strange expression, he asked anxiously, "What did I do wrong?"

"Um, Company Commander, Political Instructor, could you find someone who knows flag signals to be my ammunition handler?"

Upon hearing this, the company commander and political instructor burst into laughter. So this guy didn't even know how to do something? They had thought he was an all-rounder.

“Your deputy squad leader understands; if he weren’t needed as a gunner, he would be the best observer,” the instructor said.

"Instructor, do you know how to use a mortar?"

"Yes, but I'm not very good at it. What's wrong?"

"Why don't you switch with our vice squad leader?"

Unexpectedly, the instructor's expression immediately changed, and he said with a serious face.

“Comrade He Yuzhu, I must seriously criticize you. Your thinking is unacceptable. I know what you are thinking. You know that it is dangerous for artillery observers, and you don’t want me, the political instructor, to do it. We are all revolutionary comrades. Should I give the dangerous place to other comrades and go to the safe place myself?”

"Did you hear what the instructor said? Hurry up and admit your mistake!" The company commander kicked He Yuzhu.

"Yes, instructor, I know I was wrong."

"Where did you go wrong?" the instructor pressed.

Before He Yuzhu could answer, the soldiers on guard duty on the position shouted, "Company commander, the enemy is coming! Lots of them!"

"The situation is urgent. I'll talk to you about your ideological issues after the battle," the instructor said to He Yuzhu.

"Yes, instructor."

"Alright, go to your gun position. Tell Zheng Shuanzi to keep an eye on my flag. I'll also criticize you if you don't fire the cannons accurately."

"Yes, instructor." He Yuzhu fled in panic.

When he reached the running position, Zheng Shuanzi shouted, "Zhuzi, what are you panicking for? Did someone step on your tail?"

"The enemy is coming up, squad leader. The political instructor said you can read flag signals. The flag signals on the hilltop will help us pinpoint the artillery coordinates. You'd better keep an eye on them."

"Who's the spotter? Can they spot anything accurately? Should I go?"

"Instructor, I don't know if it's allowed or not, but I do know that you'll definitely get scolded if you go up there."

"So you got a lecture from the instructor, huh? No wonder you ran away in such a panic. You weren't flustered at all during the intense fighting on the battlefield."

"Alright, just watch out for things up the mountain," He Yuzhu said irritably.

"it is good."

"Watch out for artillery fire!" someone shouted from the mountaintop.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish"

"Boom boom boom, boom boom boom"

Buzzes of earth and rocks were blasted up from the mountaintop.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish"

"Boom boom boom, boom boom boom"

He Yuzhu saw his comrades who had been blown up on the mountaintop, along with their guns.

The shelling lasted for five rounds, and then sporadic gunfire, "ba-gou, ba-gou" and "rat-a-tat-tat," could be heard from the mountaintop. It was clearly the Type 38 rifle and the "Guai Ba Zi" (a type of machine gun). It wasn't that the company commander wouldn't let the soldiers use the M1 and the enemy's machine guns, but rather that it was a type of gun they had never used before, and the soldiers simply couldn't aim accurately.

The enemy did not give the 1st Company any time to familiarize themselves with the weapons.

"Second platoon, follow me!" the second platoon leader shouted. The gunfire from the mountain told him that most of his squad was gone.

There were a total of 9 people left on the mountaintop. There were only 4 gunshots, which means that even if the other 5 people were not dead, they should have lost their fighting ability.

The dozen or so men in the second platoon on the north slope roared and charged up the mountain with their platoon leader, whereupon fierce gunfire erupted.

"Bagou, bagou, bagou" "Da da da, da da da".

He Yuzhu also saw a figure carrying a small flag rushing up the mountain; it was the instructor.

"The instructor has gone up; prepare for artillery fire."

Even after the gunfire stopped, Zheng Shuanzi's gaze never left his instructor.

"Yes."

"Zhu Zi, 10 meters to the right of the center of Zone 3, 800 meters away, execute a precision strike." Zheng Shuanzi reported the first coordinate.

"Yes." He Yuzhu quickly adjusted the mortar, then loaded and fired.

"Whoosh."

"Pillar, in the middle of Zone 2, 750 meters away, execute a precision strike."

"Whoosh."

"Pillar, Red Zone 10, 600 meters away, two cannons firing three rounds at a time." Zheng Shuanzi shouted and then ran over to adjust the other cannon.

"Whoosh, whoosh"

"Whoosh, whoosh" "Whoosh, whoosh"

"The instructor praised us for our accuracy," Zheng Shuanzi shouted as he looked at the flag signals again.

"Next coordinates," He Yuzhu called out.

"The instructor told us to conserve our shells and suspend the shelling."

"If only we had enough shells," a soldier said dejectedly.

"Yes."

"Don't just stand around, everyone. I'm going to teach you how to use the M1 Garand rifle. Squad leader, you keep an eye on the instructor." He Yuzhu said.

"Ah, you can use a big-nosed gun?" a soldier asked skeptically.

“Watch closely, there are too many enemies, and we’ll run out of bullets very quickly, so we must know how to use the enemy’s weapons,” He Yuzhu said without hesitation.

As he spoke, He Yuzhu picked up an M1, pulled the bolt, and loaded a bullet. He had picked up several before, but this one was one he had specifically chosen to empty the magazine.

"Have you checked it out yet?"

“It’s not that difficult,” said the same soldier who had questioned it earlier.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Didn’t you see that bolt? If you don’t hold it in place, you’re as good as dead,” another soldier said.

“Wang Erniu, if you don’t want to learn, then get out of here. I’ll talk to the platoon leader.”

"No, no, I'll learn, I'll learn. Comrade He Yuzhu, could you teach me again?" Wang Erniu hurriedly said.

He Yuzhu looked around and found another gun to reload. After reloading, he said, "This gun may hold more bullets than ours and fire faster, but it has a problem: you can't reload mid-fire. You can only reload after all eight bullets in the gun have been fired."

"Remember this well, it's a lifesaver on the battlefield, you know?" Zheng Shuanzi said, keeping an eye on He Yuzhu's side while looking at the mountaintop.

"Yes, Deputy Squad Leader Zheng."

"This is the sight, this is the rear sight, the rest is similar to the Type 38 rifle we use, and this is the safety catch to prevent accidental discharge."

"Did you remember everything? Why don't you say it again, Zhuzi?" Zheng Shuanzi said.

"Okay, then I'll say it again." He Yuzhu repeated himself, then picked up an M1911A1 and began explaining how to use the pistol.

The soldiers beside him were still puzzled as to why he mentioned pistols. He Yuzhu explained, "Pistols are the enemy's artillery's second weapon, and in this battle, they are also the second weapon of our temporary artillery squad."

"Yes." This time, Zheng Shuanzi didn't need to speak. Everyone wants to learn more about things that can save their lives, and He Yuzhu had already gained a bit of the authority of a class monitor.

"Do you know how to use those light machine guns, Zhu Zi? And the heavy machine guns too?" Zheng Shuanzi suddenly asked.

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "It should be fine. The guns are all compatible. We can figure it out after a little research."

"Wang Erniu, go and call the platoon leader and the squad leader, and also bring the platoon's machine gunner and the enemy's light and heavy machine guns."

"Yes." Wang Erniu took off running towards the row.

Before long, a platoon leader came running over with about ten men carrying two machine guns. It turned out that the company commander had ordered the machine gunners of the third platoon to come over as well after hearing the news.

After He Yuzhu's men arrived, he fiddled with the machine gun for a bit and then began explaining how to load the M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) and the M1919A4 heavy machine gun, how to change the barrel, how to cool them, the safety, the bipod, and so on. The gunners were used to it, and the machine gunners looked at He Yuzhu as if they had never seen him before.

However, no one asked why He Yuzhu knew how to use it. After He Yuzhu finished speaking, the platoon leader patted him on the shoulder and said, "Good lad, you've done another good deed!"

"This is what I should do."

"Comrades, it's time to let the enemy taste the weapons they made themselves." The platoon leader waved and led the machine gunner away.

Squad leader Hu Sanxi slowed down a step and whispered to Zheng Shuanzi as he passed by, "You keep a close eye on this kid. If anything happens to you, nothing can happen to him!"

"Yes!" Zheng Shuanzi nodded solemnly.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh, bang bang bang." After a while, the gunfire on the mountaintop subsided, followed by the enemy's second artillery barrage.

After the artillery fire subsided, the third platoon was pulled up. However, this time there were two more gunshots: "rat-a-tat-tat" and "rat-a-tat-tat," which were the BAR and M1 heavy machine guns that He Yuzhu had just taught them about.

The company didn't have any heavy firepower to begin with. The three machine guns on the mountaintop were only enough because one of them was taken from the first platoon. The first platoon's machine gunners were upset about this, not because of the guns, but because they were not allowed to go up there because the guns were there for them.

Right now, the machine gunner is happily fiddling with his BAR. Feng Erkui hasn't changed his gun yet, but he's already eyeing the M1 heavy machine gun, thinking that after this battle, he'll upgrade from a slingshot to a cannon.

Meanwhile, the artillery platoon received new orders to fire artillery fire along a line 500 meters south of the slope.

Zheng Shuanzi didn't dare let He Yuzhu fire more. He fired ten rounds, bringing the total to fifty shells. In two rounds, he had already fired nearly half of them.

After the enemy's second wave of attacks and retreat, only seven or eight people came down from the mountaintop. Including those who stayed behind as observation posts, half of the third platoon remained on the mountaintop.

When the third round of shelling began, He Yuzhu immediately sensed something was wrong; the sharp whistling sound of the shells cutting through the air grew even louder.

He Yuzhu shouted, "Heavy artillery, beware of artillery fire!"

"Boom boom boom, boom boom boom," his voice was drowned out by the explosions.

When two shells exploded only twenty or thirty meters away from them, He Yuzhu knew that the artillery's temporary position had been targeted. Not only did he realize this, but Zheng Shuanzi also realized it.

"Take the cannon and shells, and retreat down the mountain!" the two shouted at the same time.

The ammunition handlers hurriedly slung their guns over their shoulders and ran with their ammunition boxes. He Yuzhu carried two cannons and ran wildly down the mountain, while Zheng Shuanzi followed behind, taking the gun that He Yuzhu had left behind.

The artillery platoon ran as fast as it could, as if it were being chased by dogs. Some soldiers even fell and slid down the hillside.

They had only run about thirty meters when "boom boom boom boom boom" – the spot where they had just been was hit by no less than five shells.

It was fortunate that it was downhill, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to go that far.

The company commander and political instructor on the slope looked down at the artillery position below, which had been blasted into several large craters, and their faces showed sorrow.

This small artillery squad may only have two cannons, but that's their strength. Their shells are incredibly accurate; otherwise, the enemy would have already stormed the mountaintop during the second attack.

When the smoke cleared, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief and smiled as they watched the artillery platoon still fleeing in disarray. These guys were incredibly lucky; if they had been hit by those cannons, they would have been dead for sure.

"Huff, huff, Zhu Zi, you can really run!" Zheng Shuanzi said, panting heavily, as the enemy's shelling stopped.

"If you want to stay and get bombed, you can run slower."

"Go away, you're the one who wants to get blown up. But you're really strong, these two iron things are like nothing to you."

"Hehe, I've practiced martial arts," He Yuzhu laughed.

"Really? What sect are you from? Let's have a match after the war is over?" Zheng Shuanzi immediately became interested.

"Huh? A martial arts sect? What era are we living in? Family tradition, Monkey Tongbei Fist, and you also know a bit of Bajiquan? How come you, vice class monitor, have practiced it too?"

“I’m from Cangzhou, I know a little bit,” Zheng Shuanzi said with a smile.

"Let's wait until we have time. We need to find a new base now," He Yuzhu said.

"Have you chosen a location?"

"Yes, that place is close to Dongpo, it can last at least two rounds." He Yuzhu pointed to a spot.

"Let's go, hurry, the enemy is about to attack."

"Okay." He Yuzhu strode towards the new position, followed by the artillery crew, who were still catching their breath.

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(End of this chapter)