Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 128 You are temporarily under the command of Vice Squad Leader He
"It's a heavy machine gun, you should have seen it before, but it's bigger than the ones used by infantry, four-barreled, and vehicle-mounted."

"Goodness, four-barreled! If you used that to shoot someone, tsk tsk! You can drive? You're not an artilleryman, are you?"

"Yes, but I've never tried hitting anyone. I'm an infantryman, just like you guys!"

"Your army's battlefield is 200 kilometers away, how did you end up here?"

"I'm lost!"

"Can you run 200 kilometers if you get lost?"

He Yuzhu had no choice but to recount how he got lost, then mentioned that he encountered the 6th Company, and briefly described his attack on the enemy supply depot, otherwise how could he have captured supplies?

The soldiers of the Seventh Company were all captivated. Their Seventh Company was already quite formidable, but compared to this 'deputy squad leader,' they felt as if they weren't so good at fighting.

Even Wu Qianli felt the same way. He had the same urge as the 6th Company Commander to keep the kid. With Old Man Lei gone, the company was short of gunners.

So he asked, "Um, Deputy Squad Leader He, are you in a hurry to go back?"

"What's wrong, Company Commander Wu?"

“This.” Wu Qianli rubbed his hands together.

"Old Wu, this isn't like you at all," Mei Sheng joked.

"Then I'll be blunt. You can't go back now, there's fighting going on all over here. Even if you get to the military headquarters, you'll just be stuck there. Our company is on a mission and we're short an artillery squad leader. I'm telling you in advance, the mission is very dangerous, what do you think?"

"Is this all of you? Because of this mission?"

"Yes, we've already done it once. We blew up the bridge, but we didn't use enough explosives, and the enemy was able to repair it quickly."

Do you still have cannons?

"60mm mortar, 3 shells left."

"Where's the explosives?"

"Gone!"

"Can you still move around? I've hidden a batch of weapons, ammunition, clothes, food, and explosives."

"Really? How much?" Wu Qianli grabbed He Yuzhu's hand.

"We have more than enough equipment for this number of people. I didn't check the explosives closely, but there must be at least ten kilograms." He Yuzhu looked at the remaining men of the 7th Company, which was less than a platoon. He thought of his own company and wondered how many men were left after the previous battle. They should have been taken away for rest after the battle.

As they drew closer to the battlefield, He Yuzhu began sending Ao Teng's items out of his spatial storage. He didn't want to end up like when he encountered the Sixth Company, where it took him two whole days and nights to return to the original route after delivering those items.

So he hid some equipment in several nearby mountain valleys, not much in each place, about a platoon's worth, just in case.

"Where is it? Take us there quickly," Wu Qianli said.

"Aren't you going to wait for your firepower platoon leader?"

"The instructor will stay behind with the wounded. Yu Congrong will come back and join you."

"How about we find a campsite? I'll treat your wounds first. By the way, do you even have a first-aid kit?"

"No! You know battlefield first aid? Can you check the instructor's eyes first?" Wu Qianli said urgently.

The rest of the Seventh Company were also shocked; everyone in their company was now injured.

"I can't treat the eye, but I can give you an anti-inflammatory injection first!"

"You have it?" Wu Qianli grabbed He Yuzhu's arm.

“There are places where supplies are hidden.” He Yuzhu nodded.

"Come on, lead the way. Forget everything else, let's get the medicine first."

He Yuzhu looked at their weapons and said, "Ten people, I see you're all using M1s. Take some bullets, some shells, and if you can carry anything else, see what else you need."

“Go and take fifteen, and try to bring them all back. Don’t worry about me here,” Mei Sheng said.

"Okay, but we need to leave this area as soon as possible. I'm afraid enemy planes will come back to burn it again." He Yuzhu was still shaken by the power of the incendiary bombs dropped by the enemy planes.

Wu Qianli and Mei Sheng quickly discussed a meeting point, and then the group split into two teams and left quickly.

When they arrived at the nearest place where He Yuzhu had mentioned hiding supplies, Wu Qianli saw that the car couldn't move at all and asked, "How did you manage to get the stuff here?"

With a man pulling, He Yuzhu cleared away the snow beside him to reveal a makeshift sled.

"You dragged this all by yourself?" Wu Qianli still didn't believe it. Thirty-odd guns, bullets, and other supplies must have been incredibly heavy.

"It was done in several sessions, mostly at night."

"You're the best! Hurry up and pack it up. If it's not big enough, make another sled. Why didn't I think of making one of these?" Wu Qianli gave a thumbs up.

"Yes, sir." The soldiers happily loaded their sleds with supplies, now they wouldn't have to worry about running out of bullets and shells.

In fact, He Yuzhu made more than one sled. This place was very close to the battlefield, so He Yuzhu hid one of the sleds here to make it easier to transport things.

Wu Qianli took the two first-aid kits in the room like treasures and immediately slung them over his shoulder.

The soldiers didn't need a second sled because they already had some guns and ammunition on their backs; they knew all too well what it was like to be short of weapons and ammunition.

Back at the meeting point, Yu Congrong ran over first and tightly grasped He Yuzhu's hand with his large hands.

"He Yuzhu, comrade, right? Thank you for saving me and our whole company."

When Yu Congrong said this, the rest of the Seventh Company felt a little embarrassed, because they hadn't expressed their gratitude in the rush!

Wu Qianli shouted: "Stand up!"

Everyone stood up.

"salute!"

Even Yu Congrong loosened his grip on her hand and gave her a solemn military salute, which He Yuzhu quickly returned.

"You're too kind, everyone. I just did what I was supposed to do."

“There are many things we should do, but you saved our entire Seventh Company, how can we not do something in return?” Wu Qianli said with a smile.

"Everyone should take cover, enemy planes will still come to scout." They had just encountered a reconnaissance plane, and only returned safely.

Perhaps the enemy lost 7 planes and couldn't send more immediately, so they sent a reconnaissance plane to investigate the valley where He Yuzhu had shot down the plane.

"Yes, yes, everyone disperse. Stay hidden. Hey Xiao He, is it convenient for you to treat the wounded now?"

“It’s convenient. Let’s start with the seriously wounded.” He Yuzhu nodded.

“Then let’s start with the instructors,” Wu Qianli said.

“I’ll be the last one, it’s not that serious for me,” Mei Sheng said.

"You're almost blind, aren't you?" He Yuzhu suddenly asked.

"How come I can see you?" Mei Sheng only said half of the sentence before realizing something was wrong and quickly changed his words.

"I'll give you an injection first. There's nothing else I can do. You should rest well; maybe that will help. By the way, Company Commander Wu, the operation isn't during the day, is it?"

"No, we have to wait until it gets dark."

"Instructor Mei, I'll give you the injection the fastest; you'll be the first one," He Yuzhu said.

"I don't need it," Mei said, refusing because she was worried about running out of medicine.

"Company Commander Wu, please check the medicine for the political instructor," He Yuzhu could only say.

Actually, Wu Qianli didn't know what was in the first aid kits, so he quickly took off the two first aid kits and opened them.

Mei Sheng fell silent after looking at them. These were two large first-aid kits, or even first-aid boxes. They were filled to the brim with syringes, gauze, alcohol, and instruments, more than enough for the wounded to use.

It should be said that it is basically sufficient given that everyone is injured.

After a moment, Mei Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "Then let's fight."

His eyesight was already affecting his combat ability, and he actually hoped to get some treatment, but he didn't have any gauze to wrap his previous wounds, let alone anti-inflammatory drugs.

He Yuzhu took out a syringe, quickly disinfected and injected Mei Sheng, and then asked Wu Wanli to help him rest. After all, this kid had been following him the whole time, so who else would he order around if not him?

Wu Wanli had no complaints and happily helped Mei Sheng to rest. Then He Yuzhu got busy. He had practiced his skills by dealing with the case, and Wu Qianli and Yu Congrong led their men to scout ahead, with Wu Wanli following like a guard.

After He Yuzhu finished treating the last wounded soldier, he turned around and asked, "Are you injured?"

"It's nothing, just scratches," Wu Wanli said.

"Then let's apply some medicine too."

“Don’t waste it, leave it for those who need it more,” Wu Wanli said.

Seeing his determination, He Yuzhu did not press the matter.

It was nearly noon, and He Yuzhu rested briefly before waiting for lunch.

After Wu Qianli and Yu Congrong returned with their men, the Seventh Company began their lunch.

This lunch was the best the 7th Company had eaten recently; it consisted of compressed biscuits and canned food, and the soldiers all said it was like the New Year.

He Yuzhu felt a pang in his heart: "Isn't this also a death sentence? Who knows how many people will come back from tonight's battle?"

After dinner, a combat meeting was held to assign attack teams and personnel, as well as the tasks for each team that night.

Wu Qianli first mentioned Yu Congrong's contact with his superiors. The superiors said they would send reinforcements, but the number and timing were uncertain because the battle was currently intense. They only said they would arrive as quickly as possible.

No one said anything. This wasn't the first time their 7th Company had encountered something like this. Their infiltration was too aggressive, and the follow-up troops couldn't keep up. Fighting alone had become commonplace for them.

Then Wu Qianli drew a sketch of the water gate bridge, marked the enemy's firing points, engine room, and other locations, and then explained how to fight.

Mei Sheng still suggested going to the mountaintop to use that broken car for a suicide attack, but He Yuzhu rejected it, knowing that it wouldn't be very effective and would only lead to death.

Mei Sheng would naturally ask why, and He Yuzhu said that there was no shortage of guns and cannons now. Even if your eyesight was bad, you could still load bullets and deliver shells for us. Why send yourself to your death for no reason?

Surprisingly, no one objected to He Yuzhu's speech, given that he was not even ranked in the top positions and was an outsider. All eyes turned to Wu Qianli.

“Comrade Xiao He is right. Now that we have replenished our equipment, we really can’t fight like we used to. So it’s settled then. The instructor will follow Xiao He,” Wu Qianli said.

“Old Wu, I’m the instructor, I can’t be in the back,” Mei Sheng said in a deep voice.

“You’re an artilleryman now,” Wu Qianli retorted, losing his temper.

“He can’t command me; I’m the instructor,” Mei Sheng said stubbornly.

“As for me, we’ve agreed that during wartime, I’ll be in charge,” Wu Qianli said.

"The situation is different now; having one more person increases our chances of success."

Wu Qianli didn't reply, but instead turned his gaze to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu said, "When the shells are all used up, I charge forward and he follows."

Wu Qianli nodded and said, "I'll leave the instructor to you, and also that kid Wanli."

He Yuzhu nodded in agreement. The next step was to arrange how to get onto the bridge and how to take out the enemy's firing positions.

Thanks to He Yuzhu's presence, the Seventh Company was spared from enemy bombing and strafing, and had relatively more manpower. In addition, with the replenishment of explosives and weapons and ammunition, the mission assigned by Wu Qianli was not a suicidal one.

He Yuzhu did not speak again, but listened attentively. He knew in his heart that the role of artillery in this battle was very limited, mainly for offensive and defensive cover.

He was in charge of the first attack, but once the fighting started, he wouldn't wait for the front to call for artillery support. There simply wasn't the communication capability for that, and besides, the situation up there was complicated, so support might not even be useful.

He might have to rush in before the shells run out.

Mei Sheng had always looked rather pale, and with his injured face, he looked almost like a dead man.

After the meeting, Wu Qianli told everyone to go and make their preparations.

He Yuzhu then started fiddling with the cannon. He also had two ammunition handlers, one was Wu Wanli, and the other was Mei Sheng.

Wu Wanli himself said that he used to be Lei Die's ammunition handler, and He Yuzhu didn't ask who Lei Die was. This is probably a sad story for the 7th Company.

Actually, Wu Wanli also wanted to go with his brother; he could throw grenades. But after he mentioned it, He Yuzhu threw a stone and he lost his nerve.

How far can he throw? Others throw twice as far as him, and they're very accurate.

After watching, Mei Sheng silently observed He Yuzhu setting up the cannons, and he also thought that working with this kid would definitely not just be about firing cannons from the back.

Because He Yuzhu never took off his M1 rifle, Mei Sheng also noticed that his ammunition belt and grenade pouch were always full.

What does this show? They only know how to fire artillery, but in the end, they are still infantrymen. It's just that people haven't seen their infantry's abilities.

Nobody asked. It was because the people in the 7th Company had seen how to shoot down airplanes that they thought he should be an artilleryman.

What happened next proved his idea correct.

The supplies were quite complete this time. Yu Congrong's men gained an extra bazooka, an M1 heavy machine gun, and a BAR light machine gun, which made him extremely happy.

Some people do know how to use a bazooka, like Pinghe, but He Yuzhu didn't see Pinghe, which means that the 7th Company had already blown up the bridge once.

However, the 7th Company was not very proficient in using the M1 heavy machine gun. They had some Japanese soldiers and some had used Maxim guns before, but they had never used the American ones. The key reason was that this thing was too heavy, and the 7th Company was an infiltration company, so it was inconvenient to carry it on the march. Therefore, they usually switched to other types of guns.

Then Yu Congrong came over. He had heard that people used quadruple heavy machine guns to shoot down airplanes, so he figured they should know how to use this.

He Yuzhu skillfully loaded, changed, and disassembled the gun mount while explaining, and then he also explained the BRA and M1, which were not very familiar to the soldiers during the war, making Yu Congrong's eyes light up.

“Zhu Zi, come to our fire support platoon, no, come to our Seventh Company. I’ll have my company commander give you a platoon leader position, or I can give you my fire support platoon leader position.”

"Yu Congrong, when did you learn to make promises of official positions?" Wu Qianli came over and kicked Yu Congrong in the butt.

"Heh heh, company commander, are you really willing to let a soldier like this go?"

"So what if we're reluctant? They belong to the 6th Army."

"After this battle is over, why don't you go talk to your superiors?"

"Fine, we'll talk about it when I get back alive."

"Who are you? Wu Qianli? You'll definitely be able to go back. Don't forget when you do, Company Commander."

"Alright, hurry up and get the soldiers familiar with their weapons, or they'll become a laughing stock," Wu Qianli said irritably.

However, when He Yuzhu returned to the temporary artillery unit, Wu Qianli followed him.

"Comrade Xiao He, is there anything you can't do?"

"Have a baby!" He Yuzhu joked.

"Hahahaha." Wu Wanli covered his mouth and laughed.

“I’m not joking with you,” Wu Qianli said seriously.

“I’m serious,” He Yuzhu said.

"You can drive airplanes and tanks too?" Wu Qianli thought He Yuzhu was fooling him, and his stubbornness flared up.

"We'll only know if we try out airplanes; tanks are pretty much the same as cars."

"How was the shooting?" Wu Qianli then remembered that the other person could drive a car, but he didn't know much about airplanes, so he figured it probably wouldn't be too different.

"Hard to say."

"What do you mean it's hard to say?"

"Shooting people and shooting targets are different."

"Let's talk about target practice."

"Shoot precisely where you point at it from 200 meters away."

“Nonsense, even Pinghe wouldn’t dare say that,” Wu Wanli said from the side, then fell silent.

“Pinghe was our company’s former sharpshooter,” Mei Sheng added in a low voice.

He Yuzhu silently mourned this, but he was not a god, and even in a parallel universe, he could not save everyone.

He simply replied, "You'll know once you've fought it."

Then Wu Qianli winked at Mei Sheng, who nodded helplessly. Wu Qianli had entrusted him with the task of recruiting.

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(End of this chapter)