Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 129 Battle of Shuimen Bridge
In the afternoon, Wu Qianli ordered the entire company to rest and recuperate, eat early, and prepare for the big battle that night.

With their new cotton-padded coats, the soldiers were able to get a good night's sleep, a sleep that wasn't so cold.

After waking up, the entire company had another hearty meal, then checked their equipment and waited for nightfall.

At night, 7 a.m., they sneaked into the designated location. He Yuzhu and his two companions set up their cannons 500 meters away and waited for the attack time, which was agreed to be 9 p.m. He Yuzhu did not take out his watch because Mei Sheng had one.

Without Mei Sheng's suicide car, the first round of firepower was handed over to the two mortars of the makeshift artillery crew.

He Yuzhu had already adjusted the firing parameters, and the lights on the bridge provided excellent guidance for him.

Last time the bridge was blown up, the 7th Company attacked quite fiercely, and the time was short, so the enemy's defenses were not repaired, but only reinforced based on the existing fortifications.

In addition, the 7th Company had been severely damaged last time and lost all its heavy firepower. The enemy did not believe that the 7th Company still had the ability to blow up the bridge, so they were a little careless.

Time ticked by, and Wu Wanli asked the time several times in between. Finally, at 8:55, Mei Sheng said, "Zhu Zi, get ready."

He Yuzhu quickly stood up, looked at the situation on the bridge again through his binoculars, and whispered, "Prepare to load ammunition."

"Yes." Mei Sheng and Wu Wanli responded in unison. At this time, there were no instructors or grenadiers, only two artillery ammunition handlers.

"Release!" He Yuzhu waved his hand.

"Thump, thump" "Whoosh, whoosh" "Bang, bang"

He Yuzhu quickly adjusted the cannon, firing at each target one by one, and then gave the order: "Fire!"

"Thump, thump" "Whoosh, whoosh" "Bang, bang"

Then came the third round, followed by a burst of gunfire from under the bridge, with the M1 heavy machine gun firing first.

The muzzle flashes and glowing bullets seemed to guide the soldiers of the 7th Company in their attack direction.

Through his binoculars, He Yuzhu could vaguely see figures moving swiftly through the darkness, and the bright red bullets they were firing.

Then the enemy started firing tracer rounds, targeting their artillery position.

He Yuzhu shouldered two cannons and shouted, "Change positions!"

Mei Sheng and Wu Wanli carried the ammunition boxes and ran after him. Mei Sheng's eyesight had improved slightly, but his vision was still blurry. He Yuzhu had detected this, so when they reached the gun position, He Yuzhu had Wu Wanli find a rope and tie it around their waists.

Before he had run thirty meters, He Yuzhu heard two explosions behind him. Judging from the sound, they were neither mortars nor howitzers, but rather smoothbore cannons, which meant they could only be tanks.

The backup position was about fifty meters away. After arriving, He Yuzhu quickly set up the gun, adjusted the muzzle again, and said to Mei Sheng, "Instructor, you stay here. When we retreat, wait for my signal and then fire to cover us."

“You can’t go, Wanli and I will go,” Meisheng said.

"This is not the time to be reckless. Can you even see the road?"

Mei Sheng remained silent. If he hadn't been running along the rope, he wouldn't have made it this far.

However, he still said, "Then I can't see where the shelling is going to happen."

"You just need to load the shells. I've already set the firing positions. I'll bring the company commander and the others back. You just need to watch the flashlight beams then," He Yuzhu said.

What if you can't see it?

"You can keep the binoculars. Can the company commander's whistle carry that far?" He Yuzhu took off the binoculars and handed them to him.

“It should be possible!” Mei Sheng said.

"Then listen to the whistle. Whether we can retreat depends on you, instructor." He Yuzhu had set a trap, leaving Mei Sheng with no choice but to agree.

"Alright, you must come back alive." Mei Sheng gritted his teeth.

"Wanli, let's go." He Yuzhu waved to Wu Wanli.

"Yes." Wu Wanli had just witnessed He Yuzhu's marksmanship, which was even more accurate than his father Lei's. Now he wanted to see if the deputy squad leader in front of him, who was even younger than him, was really exaggerating his marksmanship.

Not long after they set off, He Yuzhu saw two things trailing long flames strike a spot on the bridge. One exploded violently, while the other only flashed with fire before fading into darkness.

By the light of the explosion, He Yuzhu could vaguely make out what looked like a tank.

He Yuzhu ran very fast, and Wu Wanli soon couldn't keep up. He Yuzhu had to slow down a bit and wait for him.

Then tell him not to fire indiscriminately, and to use grenades if possible; he will guide the target.

The reason for this explanation is the broken carbine in Wu Wanli's hand. This thing has a small caliber, short range, and mediocre accuracy. Its only advantage is its high rate of fire, which is somewhat useful for close-range suppression, but it is difficult to use for accurate killing.

He did want the 7th Company to use these old, beat-up guns; there were plenty of new ones. But some soldiers just preferred these.

At a distance of 200 meters, He Yuzhu suddenly stopped, half-squatted, raised his gun, aimed, and fired three shots in quick succession. He then put away his gun and ran faster.

Wu Wanli didn't even see what was being shot at. On the other hand, Wu Qianli and Yu Congrong, who were fighting the enemy on the bridge, were stunned. Where did the gun come from? The enemy in front of them was blown off in the head.

He continued charging forward for another 30 meters, then fired again, this time emptying the magazine in one go. He quickly reloaded and charged again.

While reloading, Wu Wanli spoke up: "Deputy squad leader, what are you firing?"

"Can the enemy keep up?" He Yuzhu simply replied with two words.

“Yes,” Wu Wanli said.

After entering the 100-meter range, He Yuzhu began free-firing mode, firing while moving instead of stopping.

He even gave Wu Wanli an order not to fire, but he didn't know how good Wu Wanli's marksmanship was. What if he missed and hit one of his own men?

Wu Wanli could vaguely see someone fall in the direction the bullet came from, and thought to himself, "So accurate?"

Meanwhile, Yu Congrong, who was loading explosives, was unaware that He Yuzhu had saved his life again. Just now, a three-man White Eagle squad had been sniped by He Yuzhu.

When they were fifty meters apart, He Yuzhu allowed Wu Wanli to fire, but Wu Wanli did not fire. Instead, he raised his gun to keep watch for He Yuzhu.

At 30 meters, they could see the people fighting above clearly with the help of the lights. He Yuzhu shouted, "3 o'clock, 30 meters away, throw the bomb."

Wu Wanli carried a gun, took out a bullet, and threw it.

"Boom."

"At 11 o'clock, 25 meters away, drop the bomb."

"Bang, bang." He Yuzhu also threw a grenade, but it hit a target that went much farther.

He Yuzhu admired the 7th Company's fighting strength, which was far superior to their 1st Company. As expected of an infiltration company, with sufficient guns and ammunition, this platoon's fighting ability was comparable to that of an ordinary company.

As expected of Wu Qianli, He Yuzhu was able to see clearly and witnessed Wu Qianli taking down more than five enemies.

He Yuzhu had previously used the reflection of helmets to identify enemies when sniping. Before setting off, He Yuzhu suggested that the helmets of the 7th Company be covered with cloth to distinguish friend from foe.

Wu Qianli adopted the order immediately, and after it was given, some soldiers even gave up wearing helmets.

Once on the bridge, He Yuzhu had an M1911 in one hand and a grenade in the other. Wu Wanli followed closely behind him, not firing a single shot, not because he didn't want to, but because he had no opportunity.

He is now throwing grenades based on the coordinates reported by He Yuzhu.

When Wu Qianli saw the two of them, he was being surrounded and attacked, not with guns but with hand-to-hand combat. The enemy came up too fast and there was no time to reload, so he could only fight hand-to-hand.

Of course, he also shot down the enemy's guns, or he was the target of concentrated fire.

"Ten thousand miles of alert!" He Yuzhu shouted, then drew his bayonet and charged forward.

"Why are you two up here? Where's the instructor?" "We'll talk about it after we slaughter these white pigs."

He Yuzhu replied quickly and his feet were not slow either. When he saw the enemy rushing towards him, he was about to pick up the gun on the ground when Wu Qianli tried to stop him.

He Yuzhu's gun fired "bang" "bang" "bang". After a few shots, not only Wu Qianli was speechless, but Wu Wanli was also speechless. If you want to shoot, just shoot. Why did you draw your bayonet and charge forward?

"Aren't we supposed to fight?" Wu Qianli asked.

"Distract the enemy, grab your guns quickly," He Yuzhu said.

Without wasting any words, Wu Qianli picked up a gun, reloaded, and casually grabbed an enemy's ammunition belt, which he then attached to his body.

The three of them, in a three-person team formation, began to clear out the enemies in front of them. He Yuzhu, who was slightly further away, was basically the one to deal with them, while Wu Qianli and Wu Wanli, who were at mid-range, became the grenade throwers. After they had thrown all the grenades, they took over all of Wu Qianli's grenades.

After cleaning the engine room and getting onto the bridge, they saw Yu Congrong leading his men rushing towards them, shouting, "Company commander, retreat, retreat! The explosives are ready!"

Wu Qianli blew his whistle loudly, and all the soldiers of the 7th Company on the bridge quickly moved towards the whistle, while He Yuzhu began to clear out the pursuing and bomb-defusing enemies.

Wu Qianli and his men provided covering fire. Wu Qianli and Wu Wanli were already a bit numb. This guy was better than Pinghe. At this distance, he didn't need to be quick to kill. He would just glance at the distance, judge the distance, raise his gun, and fire. His hit rate was 100%. Of course, it was impossible for every shot to be a headshot.

When most of the people had returned, Wu Qianli shouted, "He Yuzhu, lead the team to retreat. Yu Congrong and I will lead the fire support platoon to provide cover."

"Signal for the instructor." He Yuzhu ignored the order and threw a flashlight to Wu Wanli, a high-powered flashlight that he had stolen.

After Wu Wanli took it, he ran off to give the signal.

A minute later, two sharp, piercing sounds of artillery shells echoed.

He Yuzhu shouted, "Company commander, lead your men to retreat! Yu Congrong and I will cover you!"

"Boom, boom."

The enemy rushing towards the bridge was driven back by artillery fire.

"I am the company commander, and I obey orders."

"Precisely because you are the company commander, you must lead the troops," He Yuzhu shouted.

"Company commander, there's no time, you retreat first!" Yu Congrong shouted after him.

"Don't you know what kind of skills Deputy Squad Leader He has?" Wu Wanli returned after giving the signal.

"Whoosh, whoosh," "Bang, bang," the shells that Mei Sheng was covering came again.

"Withdraw. Remember not to linger. Come back alive." Wu Qianli knew there was no time to waste. He punched He Yuzhu and Yu Congrong on the shoulder, then waved his hand and led everyone except the fire support platoon out of the water pipe.

"How should we fight?" Yu Congrong asked.

How is the explosive charge detonated?

"There is a detonator."

"Where is it located? Is it safe to bury the wire? How do we issue the command?"

"The heavy machine gun under the bridge, wait for the signal flare."

"Let's send a volley of grenades down, then we'll go down to the other side of the bridge." He Yuzhu looked at the firepower platoon that still had less than ten men left.

"Okay." Yu Congrong wasn't one to dawdle.

After the smoke from the artillery shells cleared, a dozen or so long-handled, melon-shaped grenades blasted the enemy back.

He Yuzhu and his men fought and ran until they reached the point where the bridge pier met the mountain. He Yuzhu shouted, "Send the signal! Everyone go down the bridge pier! I'll cover you!"

"I'll cover you."

"You're an assault soldier, not as reliable as me."

"Bang, bang, bang." He Yuzhu fired his gun as he spoke.
"Down!" Yu Congrong gave the order, and a signal flare was launched into the sky.

Then He Yuzhu tackled him to the ground, and bullets flew wildly overhead.

"Boom, boom." Two loud noises made He Yuzhu and Yu Congrong feel nauseous.

The pursuing enemy was no better off; they lost their footing and fell one after another, causing the bridge to collapse. This time the bombing was more thorough than the last one, even destroying two of the bridge piers.

"Withdraw." He Yuzhu lifted Yu Congrong and, upon reaching the bridge, put him down on the bridge with one hand.

He emptied another magazine, took down the closest wave of enemies, and rolled off the bridge.

Holding onto the bridge pier, they slid down about four meters to reach the mountainside, and the soldiers quickly slid down the mountain.

Yu Congrong hadn't left; he was still aiming his Situ Deng sword at the bridge when He Yuzhu kicked him, sending him sliding down the slope. He yelled, "You're not being fair!"

He Yuzhu himself slid backwards on his stomach; he didn't want to hand his head over to the enemy as a target.

As He Yuzhu was descending the slope, he felt his foot being grabbed, and his descent accelerated. Then, Yu Congrong's voice came: "You little brat, just you wait, you dare to kick me."

"Is everyone here?"

"Two are missing," Yu Congrong said in a low voice.

"Hurry up and go meet up with the company commander, or he'll be getting impatient," He Yuzhu said.

"Yes, yes, gather together, let's go."

It wasn't until after 3 a.m. that the two groups finally met up. Because they had almost been bombed by planes the day before, the meeting point was 10 kilometers away from the Watergate Bridge.

After counting the number of people, there were 28 left, 12 fewer than before the war.

Yu Congrong took his men to rest, while He Yuzhu was summoned by Wu Qianli and Mei Sheng.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, I must give you a serious reprimand," Mei Sheng said angrily.

"Instructor, what mistake did I make?"

"You abandoned your gun position without authorization. Also, you said you were going to provide support, but how did you end up being the one providing cover?"

"Is there any difference?"

"Company Commander, you speak?"

"It doesn't seem to make much difference," Wu Qianli said, covering for He Yuzhu.

“Wu Qianli, I’m talking about a serious issue. Comrade He Yuzhu is not a soldier in our company.”

“We still have soldiers from the 9th Company,” Wu Qianli said.

“That’s different,” Mei Sheng said.

"Why is it different?"

"The 9th Company's mission was also to blow up the bridge, which is essentially the same as ours. Comrade He Yuzhu just got lost and ended up here."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Don't do this again next time." Mei Sheng sighed. He knew all too well that with great power comes great responsibility. If He Yuzhu didn't have the ability, Wu Qianli wouldn't have let him cover the rear.

(End of this chapter)