Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 134 Desperate Standoff
The first round of attacks didn't require artillery; all eight bazookas were deployed to the position to destroy more tanks, armored vehicles, and cars as quickly as possible, thus blocking the roads.

As for the bazooka rockets, He Yuzhu secretly fired twenty of them when he was collecting the last batch of supplies, even though the ammunition hadn't been counted accurately at the time.

When they returned to the temporary camp, Yu Congrong and his men were overjoyed as they lightly checked their ammunition; the key was that this thing was really useful.

Around 10 p.m., scouts reported that a large convoy of vehicles had arrived in the direction of Changjin Lake, the exact number of which was too many to count, but it was at least the size of a regiment.

Wu Qianli ordered the 7th Company on the position to prepare to fight the enemy, and all 8 bazookas were set up.

The enemy convoy was led by two tanks. After the convoy had passed the right-angle bend, about 12 or 3 tanks had passed, Wu Qianli shouted: "Fire!"

Eight rockets, trailing plumes of flame, shot out, causing a series of explosions on the highway. The tanks and armored vehicles in the convoy were destroyed first, followed by the vehicles full of soldiers, and the entire convoy came to a stop.

Then, light and heavy machine guns on the position opened fire simultaneously, "rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat," and the enemy troops on the road were swept away, with those who were not killed scrambling to find places to hide.

The enemy commander in the rear could not see what was happening ahead, but only heard the sounds of explosions and gunfire. Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he received a call from the front for artillery support (walkie-talkie).

A large contingent of Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers, at least a battalion, was discovered on a mountain ridge beside the highway.

This was estimated based on the firepower configuration of the enemy forces at the forefront.

The enemy commander first ordered his troops to hold off the enemy's attack and push the damaged vehicles off the cliff. After a long silence, the enemy commander replied, "General, we can push trucks and armored vehicles, but how can we push tanks?"

Upon hearing this, the commander angrily retorted, "Find a way to push it out, or are you just going to stay there and wait to die?"

He hung up the phone, and then the commander ordered the artillery to assemble immediately and set up temporary artillery positions.

They also called the tank commander and ordered him to send tanks to clear the roadblocks ahead. The enemy tanks also had their tricks; they could use a large shovel as a bulldozer after crashing into it. This was all due to the road conditions on the peninsula, which were all mountainous terrain. In many places, they had to build roads through mountains and bridges over rivers.

Meanwhile, the observation post left by the Seventh Company on the east side observed the enemy artillery loading their cannons and quickly signaled to He Yuzhu's side.

He Yuzhu immediately sent someone to inform the 7th Company, and then he made a quick decision: "Instructor Mei, continue to command the artillery. Two ammunition handlers, come with me."

As he spoke, he picked up two mortars and ran eastward, with two soldiers from the 6th Company each carrying a box of shells and chasing after him.

Before Mei Sheng could even react and was about to say anything, He Yuzhu was already ten meters away.

He was truly helpless with this soldier. Every time he was put in command, some unexpected situation would arise, and then Mei Sheng would have to step in to cover for him.

Wu Qianli had already sent six bazookas to the rear of the 7th Company's position, leaving only two on the position. Who knows how long this battle will last? The enemy's artillery fire will destroy all their equipment.

After the exhilarating seven-kill streak, the next three companies got restless and came to ask Wu Qianli if he needed reinforcements. Wu Qianli told them that there were plenty of enemies behind them, so there was no need to worry about not having enough to fight.

Then the artillerymen informed him that enemy artillery fire was coming. Wu Qianli shouted, "Leave two light machine guns to block the right-angle bend, the rest of you retreat."

There were only five men left on the position: two groups of machine gunners and an artillery observer.

Wu Qianli and his men hadn't even run halfway when they heard an explosion behind them. He turned around and saw debris flying everywhere in the firelight. The two light machine guns paused for a moment, and then only one of them continued firing.

"Company Commander!" Yu Congrong shouted. Both machine gunners were from his platoon and were the only remaining machine gunners in the fire support platoon.

"Withdraw!" Wu Qianli roared.

This scenario was anticipated before the war even began. Although the place was strategically important, facing artillery fire meant risking one's life.

"Yes." Yu Congrong glanced deeply at the position of the machine gunner and quickly followed.

Hearing the whistling of shells, He Yuzhu quickened his pace. After two rounds of enemy artillery fire, He Yuzhu finally reached a position where he could fire upon the enemy.

After putting down the cannon, he began to calibrate the coordinates. Only one soldier carrying the shells followed behind. When He Yuzhu adjusted the muzzle, the soldier was still about ten meters away from He Yuzhu. He Yuzhu quickly went over and took the shell.

"What about the other one?" He knew there was another one.

"He sprained his ankle, but he's still running."

"Then what are you standing there for? Go catch the shells!" He Yuzhu shouted as he saw a staggering figure reflected in the snow.

"Yes."

He Yuzhu turned around and returned to the gun position, opened the shell box, took out the shell, adjusted the fuse, and began loading the shell.

"Thump, thump."

'Whoosh, whoosh.'

Two shells flew out, followed by two muffled thuds in the distance.

Then He Yu received a signal from the observation post: "Hit! Continue firing for another round, extend the artillery fire by twenty meters."

He Yuzhu quickly loaded the ammunition. Thump, thump, whoosh, whoosh.

Adjust the cannon muzzle and continue firing, "thump, thump" and "whoosh, whoosh."

The ammunition boxes are empty.

"Hurry, hurry!" He Yuzhu shouted to the ammunition handler who was running wildly.

"Huff, huff," the ammunition handler arrived, panting heavily. He Yuzhu took the ammunition box, deftly adjusted the fuse, and loaded the ammunition.

Reports from the forward observation post indicate that the enemy artillery position has been temporarily neutralized, and a suspected enemy command vehicle has been spotted at coordinates "***".

He Yuzhu delivered two shells to that coordinate, then shouted to the ammunition handler to bring two more boxes of shells, while he himself had already run towards the observation post.

If you spot an important target, you definitely need to use a sniper rifle. Enemies are usually inside armored vehicles, making them difficult to take down with artillery shells.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the location, he took the binoculars from the observation post and first glanced at the enemy's artillery position. He was very satisfied with the results of the shelling; the cannons were all blown up, and he didn't know if they were damaged, but the people were all killed. It seemed that a box of shells was hit and exploded. Several vehicles nearby were also unlucky.

Then, following the lookout's hand, he saw through his binoculars an overturned armored vehicle, with a group of Bald Eagle soldiers struggling to open the door and pull someone out.

The target was at least 400 meters away. He Yuzhu took off the Springfield 1903 rifle from his back and began searching for the target through the scope. A few dozen seconds later, an officer was pulled out of the armored vehicle. He Yuzhu couldn't see the rank, but the man was wearing an officer's hat.

The gun was chambered with a "bang," the officer's cap flew off, and the man fell directly into the hands of a group of soldiers.

Then a few soldiers from that group carried people away, while the rest started firing in all directions.

He Yuzhu pulled the observation post back a bit. The stray bullets fired in this volley were more terrifying than those that were aimed. Not everyone could hit someone at 400 meters, but whether you could avoid being hit by stray bullets was a matter of luck.

He Yuzhu peeked out from a different spot and saw that the armored vehicle was no longer pulling people out. He didn't know if they were all dead or if they were just too afraid to pull them out.

Then tracer rounds lit up the sky, and the enemy's heavy machine guns opened fire on the surrounding hills. There was even bazooka fire, and anything that looked like a human was targeted.

As a result, the gunfire from the blocking position intensified again, with occasional explosions. The enemy's artillery had temporarily fallen silent, but the bazookas were still usable. Those things could fire over 200 meters, and even though it was a direct shot, hitting from below could still cause damage.

He Yuzhu found a blind spot for the enemy's fire, where he couldn't see the enemies behind him, but he could see the bend in the road.

Two tanks equipped with shovels were pushing forward. The bald eagle's army was desperate to escape, pushing intact trucks off the cliff on the bend so that the tanks behind could get up.

The commanders of both tanks leaned out halfway to get a better view, and He Yuzhu wasn't about to let such a good target slip by.

After two shots, He Yuzhu moved away.

The two tanks drove a short distance and then stopped. Infantrymen went up and dragged the tank commander away.

A tracer round struck the area above He Yuzhu's location, and various bullets followed. He Yuzhu also heard the whistling of artillery shells, not from the previous artillery position, but from mortars.

However, the whistling sound was still some distance away from him. He Yuzhu judged the location of the cannon based on the sound and then disappeared on the ridge.

The enemy tanks continued to advance even without their commanders, but at a slower pace. Just as they rounded a bend and shoveled open a broken-down armored vehicle, they were hit by a bazooka.

The tank following behind could only push the one in front aside first, but this tank was much more careful, always keeping close to the cliff face and slowly pushing forward.

This deprived the people on the mountain of their firing angles; if they wanted to shoot, they could, but they had to brave the hail of bullets from below.

However, this clever trick couldn't solve the final problem. He could push one tank, but two, three? Then he got stuck. The roar of the engine had changed, and black smoke billowed from behind the tank. With no other option, the driver risked pushing the stalled tank towards the cliff. The tank had barely emerged halfway when it was hit by a bazooka, leaving a large hole in the turret, from which thick smoke billowed.

Wu Qianli and Xiong Jie, who were holding the line, were not so happy. The enemy would not let it go so easily; they knew the enemy too well.

Sure enough, not long after the tank was destroyed, a huge whooshing sound came from the sky: "Watch out for artillery fire! Watch out for artillery fire!"

Wu Qianli and Xiong Jie shouted at the top of their lungs that it was too late to retreat this time. The enemy's artillery fire was too sudden. The 105mm howitzer had a long enough range that the enemy could not even see the guns.

"Boom, boom, boom"

"Boom, boom, boom"

"Boom, boom, boom"

They ran around in five or six lanes, and it took three rounds before they stopped.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Wu Qianli spat out the dirt in his mouth, then shouted, "Are there any survivors?"

"Yes," came the scattered voices from the front lines.

"Old Bear, Old Bear."

There was no response, but Wu Qianli saw a hand reaching out. He rushed forward and saw that Xiong Jie's leg had been hit by a stone the size of a basketball, and his head had been split open. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet, his head would probably have been cut in half.

That old guy is really lucky.

After Wu Qianli helped him remove the stones and helped him lean against a rock, Xiong Jie, who had recovered a little, hurriedly asked, "Where is my instructor?"

Wu Qianli shook his head, and Xiong Jie closed his eyes.

"He's here, he's not dead, he's just stunned." Yu Congrong's voice came, though it wasn't as strong as before.

"Someone, take the 6th Company Commander to the back and have the 2nd Company send a squad up."

"Yes." Wu Qianli gave the order. The 6th and 7th companies suffered heavy casualties in this shelling and needed to be replenished.

"I can still fight, I just have a leg injury," Xiong Jie shouted.

"Get down, bandage him up first, then we'll talk. You've got plenty of time to fight, it's only been a short while." Wu Qianli waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to carry him away.

"Let me go see the instructor."

"Take it away."

"Yes."

When Wu Qianli arrived, Yu Congrong and Huang Liwen found that the situation was not as simple as Yu Congrong had described.

Huang Liwen was indeed unconscious, but he was missing an arm. Yu Congrong wasn't in much better shape; he had a gash in his stomach. He was now clutching his own stomach with one hand and Huang Liwen's wound with the other, his face deathly pale.

"Someone, someone carry Instructor Huang and Platoon Leader Yu away, be gentle."

"Yes."

“Wu Wanli, Wu Wanli!” Wu Qianli shouted.

"Here." A weak voice came from the side.

"Where are you hurt? Where are you hurt?" Wu Qianli asked anxiously as he ran towards the sound.

"Brother, I see stars everywhere I look, so many, ugh!"

Seeing his reaction, Wu Qianli knew he was still shaken by the cannon fire and would probably need some time to recover, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

He took the water bottle and poured some water for Wu Wanli, then helped him lean against a rock.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Still confused. I see you have several, which one is real?" Wu Wanli touched his face, but couldn't find anything.

"I told you to help me down, you can't fight like this."

"Brother, am I alright?"

"It's alright, a night's rest will make you a hero again." Wu Qianli patted him on the shoulder.

At this moment, the Second Company came up, but not a squad, but a platoon. They had heard about the situation on the front line, and the Second Company Commander sent up a platoon directly.

"The platoon leader of the 2nd Company has come on orders. Company commander of the 7th Company, please assign us tasks."

"First, find the bodies of our comrades, then see if there's anyone else we can save."

"Yes."

The bombing here was devastating, and He Yuzhu was also extremely busy, as the enemy was sneaking up on them.

That's right, they've made their way up the mountain. The enemy's communication is much better than the Volunteer Army's; a phone call is all it takes to cover just a few kilometers. Those at the back received orders and began looking for a way up the mountain.

They happened to run into He Yuzhu, who was carrying a mortar and searching for the enemy's howitzer position. Without saying a word, He Yuzhu rewarded them with a few mortar shells.

He put away the cannon, switched to a sniper rifle, and started firing. He came alone.

He was carrying a cannon and a box of ammunition, running ahead of the others. The two men behind him, one carrying the cannon and the other carrying the ammunition, couldn't keep up with his speed after a while, so He Yuzhu told them to go back.

Their presence hinders He Yuzhu's performance, but without them, the items in the space can't be used freely.

The enemy saw that he was alone. Although his marksmanship was very accurate, he was still just one person with a cannon and a sniper rifle. Could he possibly stop their entire company?

Then He Yuzhu showed them that one person's firepower could be very strong. He unleashed an M1 heavy machine gun, attached an extra-long ammunition belt, and started firing in rapid succession.

The enemy didn't bring heavy machine guns because they were too heavy. Light machine guns simply couldn't suppress the firepower of the M1 heavy machine guns, and the bazookas' range was insufficient. The enemy was directly routed.

After the heavy machine gun ran out of ammunition, the enemy commander shouted, "Go go go, he's changing his ammunition belt."

But before the enemy could even get up and run, a second round of gunfire came. The guns hadn't changed, but the firing positions had, catching the enemy off guard and killing about ten of them.

This made the enemy begin to wonder how many people were on the other side and why they hadn't used crossfire earlier.

When the enemy started firing tracer rounds, He Yuzhu disappeared. The mountain was full of rocks, and no one could be seen at all. The enemy also checked the heavy machine gun firing point, but there was no heavy machine gun there.

Tracer rounds in the air are visible not only to the enemy but also to He Yuzhu, and the team commander became his target.

"boom"

"Captain, Captain."

"Bang bang bang, rat-a-tat-tat." The spot where He Yuzhu fired was now under concentrated enemy fire.

"Lieutenant, should we call for fire support?" The telegraph operator found the highest-ranking officer in the unit.

“Bombard someone with cannons? I don’t want to be treated like a madman and then sent to a military court.”

"Yes, sir."

"With a dispersed attack, I don't believe he can defend against a single fan-shaped area."

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)