Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 176 Seoul Liberated! Tens of thousands of guns seized!!!
"Reporting to the company commander, the Seventh Steel Company has completed its assembly!"

Yu Congrong stood in front of the crowd and reported loudly.

At this moment, all the soldiers of the Seventh Steel Company stood tall and looked at Wu Wanli with firm eyes.

"Comrades, the final battle of Seoul is about to begin."

"In the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894, the Japanese army landed at Incheon, defeated our troops stationed at Asan near Seoul, occupied Seoul, and then drove us out of the Korean Peninsula."

"After that, China completely fell from its pedestal as the hegemon of East Asia, and even Japan could ride roughshod over us!"

"Now, we have returned as the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, and we are determined to win this battle and completely liberate Seoul!!"

"One hour from now, only one flag can fly at the highest point in Seoul, and that will be the red flag of our Chinese army!!!"

Wu Wanli clenched his right fist and roared.

The soldiers of the Seventh Steel Company gripped their guns tightly, looking at Wu Wanli with intense emotions and high morale.

"Comrades, what are we?"

Seeing that morale was rising, Liu Hanqing seized the opportunity and shouted.

"Steel! Steel! Steel!!!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers of the Seventh Steel Company waved their guns and responded loudly.

"Wukaka, the artillery regiment's 36 howitzers are ready and can fire at any time!"

"My three regiments have already surrounded Ridgway's forces and are ready to launch an attack at any time!"

At this moment, Quan Douguang personally ran to Wu Wanli's side, bowed slightly, and reported.

"Open fire on him twice immediately, and then launch an attack right after!"

Wu Wanli turned to look at Quan Douguang and waved his hand domineeringly.

"Yes!"

Quan Douguang immediately agreed.

....................................

Seoul Airport, near the fighter jet runway

"Sir, our fighter jets are back! There's hope of holding Seoul Airport!!"

At that moment, the US Chief of Staff, watching the fighter jets land, hurriedly spoke.

"Reinforcements haven't arrived yet... Where is the 25th Division now, and how long will it take to reach Seoul?"

Ridgway showed little joy, but instead frowned and looked at his watch before asking a question.

"Sir, the 25th Division is rushing to reinforce us and is expected to arrive in about ten hours."

"If we can hold out for these ten hours, then we will be able to counter-encircle the enemy."

"What Wu Wanli Steel Seventh Company, and that traitor Quan Douguang, we must send them to the gallows!"

The U.S. Chief of Staff said with a hint of anger.

"Send him to the gallows?"

"Do you really think that with our garrison of just over a thousand men, we can withstand an attack from tens of thousands of them for ten hours?"

"Damn it, how come I didn't expect Quan Douguang and the First Division of the Capital to suddenly rebel..."

"I knew it! How could he escape from the Steel Seventh Company at the Water Gate Bridge and even rescue American prisoners? It turns out it was all a Chinese conspiracy!"

Li Qiwei clenched his fists, looking outside, his heart filled with anger.

“Sir, it’s not your fault, he just hid it too well.”

"General, rest assured, although it is said to hold out for ten hours, the situation will be different once we wait for the fighter jets to refuel and replenish their bombs."

"Their main strength for attacking is their artillery regiment. As long as our air force destroys their artillery..."

The US military chief of staff coughed twice, having only finished offering his consolation.

"call out--"

"call out--"

At that moment, a series of explosions, like the whooshing of shells, suddenly rang out.

"General, be careful!"

The U.S. Chief of Staff quickly tackled Ridgway to the ground.

"Your Excellency..."

Upon hearing the whistling of the shells, Sun Ming's first reaction was to instinctively shield Chu Yunfei.

"The shells are all landing on the front lines, so there's no need to worry."

Chu Yunfei pressed down slightly with his right hand, smiled calmly, and then reached out to pull Li Qiwei up.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."

Soon, a series of explosions erupted at various positions on the front line, with orange-red flames shooting straight into the sky.

"General, I just..."

The US Chief of Staff got up, looking disheveled. Seeing Chu Yunfei's composure in the face of danger, he suddenly felt like a clown and hesitated to speak.

"It's alright, you were only doing this for my safety."

"Mr. Chu, in your opinion, can Seoul Airport still be defended by these thousand-odd soldiers?"

Li Qiwei sighed and asked.

"General Ridgway, at this stage of the war, I have no choice but to speak frankly."

"In my opinion, if the Seventh Steel Company launches an attack now, it can directly tear through our defenses."

"Stay for another ten hours? Probably only ten minutes at most."

Chu Yunfei hesitated for two seconds, then, in order to avoid being caught by Wu Wanli and forced to eat fried noodles at Gongdelin, he said with a wry smile.

"What? Ten minutes?"

"Advisor Chu, even if you want to warn the general, isn't what you're saying a bit of an exaggeration?"

Upon hearing this, the US Chief of Staff was the first to stand up and retort.

Why does Mr. Chu feel that it has only been ten minutes?

Ridgway was not angry, but humbly asked.

"The thousand or so soldiers that General Ridgway mentioned, when divided among the four positions, amounted to only about four hundred on each side."

"Your Chief of Staff said that the air force would take off to bomb the enemy's artillery after replenishing its fuel and ammunition. But have you ever thought about why the enemy doesn't destroy the fighter jets or runways in advance?"

Chu Yunfei sighed and pointed it out.

"You mean, this Chinese Iron Seventh Company is trying to repeat the trick they used at Kasugali, capturing the airfield and seizing the warplanes at the same time?"

"No, General, there are dozens of warplanes here, equivalent to one-tenth of our Korean War Air Force. We absolutely cannot leave them to the Chinese army!"

The U.S. military chief of staff said.

"Mr. Chu, do you mean we should blow up these fighter jets and then break through?"

"But now we are surrounded by heavy troops on three sides, making it difficult to break through. And the remaining southern side is probably also ambushed by Chinese troops, isn't it?"

Li Qi frowned slightly as he spoke.

"General, there is no need to worry. We can take a fighter jet and retreat in advance."

"Even if they attack quickly, and we can't refuel all our fighter jets before they take off, we can still expedite the refueling of one fighter jet ahead of schedule."

"At worst, we can just ignore the ammunition and focus on taking off and retreating. We'll definitely make it in time."

"Destroy the fighter jets and ammunition before they take off, leaving absolutely nothing for the Chinese military!"

Upon hearing this, the U.S. Chief of Staff immediately made a suggestion.

As soon as he said this, the eyes of more than a dozen guards nearby all focused on him.

The U.S. Chief of Staff was slightly taken aback, but immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing.

"During our War of Resistance Against Japan, there was a general named Tang Shengzhi who blew up all the ships, saying that he would live and die with Nanjing."

"In the end, he escaped in a small boat, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of civilians and tens of thousands of soldiers."

"By the way, he blew up the ship before the battle started and fled after the battle began."

"If he had blown up the main force's ships after the fighting started, and then escaped with the only small boat, the Nationalist soldiers guarding the area might have shot him in anger."

Chu Yunfei coughed twice and said tactfully.

The logic is clear: if Ridgway stays behind to hold out, the American troops might be encouraged and actually fight to the death.

If you want to leave, that's fine, it's only natural. Take as many as you can, after all, there are so many fighter jets.

But if he runs away and blows up the escape route for his men, anyone would be furious.

And think about who was tasked with bombing the fighter jets?

Are you going to let American soldiers watch you fly far away in the sky, then blow up your own escape route with explosives, and then happily go to fight to the death against an enemy force ten times your size?

"Mr. Chu has considered this very thoroughly. If the fighter jets are destroyed and I try to escape alone, the soldiers will probably collapse immediately."

"Alright, President Li, Mr. Chu, and I will take off in fighter jets to the 25th Division to command and supervise the battle."

"You only need to stay here for a few minutes, and then you can do whatever you want after we take off."

"Now, you are their supreme commander."

Ridgway coughed a few times, patted the US Chief of Staff on the shoulder, and said righteously.

"General, if I stay behind to command, can Advisor Chu come with you?"

Upon hearing this, the US Chief of Staff paused for a few seconds, then asked.

"What do you mean by Advisor Chu being capable? He is a military talent who understands China extremely well, and the UN forces cannot afford to lose him."

"Besides, do you really want a Chinese man to command the US military to defend against the enemy's attack?" "After holding out for a few minutes, it's up to you whether you want to break out or take off. I will not pursue the matter afterward."

Li Qiwei sighed and leaned closer to say.

"Sir, I don't ask for much. When I break out to the south, I need a round of air strikes to deal with possible ambushes."

Upon hearing this, the US Chief of Staff hesitated for two seconds before trying to persuade him.

"Okay, we should be able to get more fighter jets."

Li Qiwei looked at him and reluctantly agreed.

…………

Soon, the three fighter jets that had replenished their fuel and ammunition took off and flew towards the north, east, and south respectively.

This was actually Ridgway's idea, the purpose of which was to prevent the other side from knowing his exact whereabouts, thus ensuring his safety and strategic secrecy.

However, upon seeing the fighter jets take off, the American troops at the front instantly realized what was happening, and the already crumbling American positions completely collapsed, forcing them to retreat to the rear.

However, at this time, the US Army Major General Chief of Staff had already arrived at the southern position and led the last intact company to retreat to the south.

"Guys, let's break out of here and get out of this damn encirclement!"

The U.S. Chief of Staff drew his pistol and shouted.

The American soldiers below remained silent, looking ahead with a hint of dejection, as they tried their best to accelerate forward.

When they reached the last, relatively narrow street, a glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes.

However, at this moment, the soldiers of the Seventh Steel Company had already laid an ambush in the houses and alleys on both sides, ready to attack at any time.

In a small alley
"Time's almost up. Have the entire artillery regiment open fire immediately and blow up half of the American soldiers' rear!"

Looking at the map of Hearts of Steel in his mind, Wu Wanli saw the American troops enter their positions and quickly spoke.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hanqing immediately sent a telegram.

……

"call out--"

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."

Before long, fierce artillery fire erupted behind the American troops, and a series of flashes instantly engulfed the last hundred or so American soldiers.

At the same time, windows on the second floors of houses in the middle section were opened, revealing machine gun barrels aimed at the American soldiers below.

"Fire!!!"

Yu Congrong personally mounted a Browning heavy machine gun and began firing at the American soldiers below.

"Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump..."

A series of muffled bullet sounds rang out, and the heavy bullets directly "blasted" some American soldiers' bodies in two.

"Da da da da da da..."

"Dong dong dong..."

Soon, gunfire erupted as more than twenty light and heavy machine guns opened fire simultaneously, instantly suppressing the American soldiers.

"Charge! Crawl if you have to! The longer we stay, the less likely we are to escape. We still have fighter jets!"

The U.S. Chief of Staff raised his pistol and encouraged the troops.

In the sky, the fighter jet did indeed dive down as he wished, dropping bombs on the houses where the Seventh Steel Company was located.

"Boom! Boom!"

With the sound of two explosions, the firepower blockade by the Seventh Steel Company eased slightly.

Seeing this, the US Chief of Staff gritted his teeth and took the lead, rushing off into the distance.

The remaining hundred or so American soldiers quickly followed his lead, gritting their teeth as they tried to break through this barrier between life and death.

However, at this moment, Wu Wanli had already stepped out of the alley, raised his light machine gun, aimed it at the fighter jet above, and pulled the trigger sharply.

The American pilot in the fighter jet immediately thought of the "Soldier of God" from the Seventh Steel Company and quickly pulled the control stick upwards, trying to gain altitude.

"Da da da da da da..."

A burst of bullets shot rapidly into the air, like a yellow bullet net, arriving above the fighter jet with a lead time.

The fighter jet, which had been pulling up, crashed precisely into the bullet net, instantly billowing black smoke and plummeting out of control.

"Fuck!!!"

The US military chief of staff below roared and ran with all his might to a safe position.

"Bam—"

"boom!"

The next second, the fighter jet slammed him and two American soldiers down beneath it and exploded violently.

Even worse, the burning wreckage of the warplanes blocked the escape route for the remaining American troops, trapping them like turtles in a jar.

"Surrender, we surrender!!!"

An American soldier, looking at the wreckage in front of him, the artillery fire behind him, and the machine guns on both sides, collapsed to his knees, raised his hands, and shouted.

"Pat! Pat..."

The sound of guns hitting the ground rang out, and the remaining American soldiers all dropped their weapons and surrendered.

…………

Blue House, Steel Seventh Company Command Post
"Wukaka, the remaining enemy forces have all been wiped out, and Seoul is now firmly under our control!"

Quan Douguang stood up straight and reported respectfully.

"Not only that, what we got was an almost complete Han city, with all the city defenses intact."

"Even the ammunition depot was preserved, not to mention those dozens of fighter jets!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hanqing said excitedly.

How many weapons and ammunition are there?

"And what about American warplanes? How many have been captured?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli felt a surge of excitement and stood up to ask.

"The count is not yet complete, but there are already 3576 Garand rifles, 226 Browning light machine guns, 53 Browning heavy machine guns, 24 mortars, and countless bullets and grenades."

"We captured 45 warplanes, including dozens of American pilots."

Pinghe said.

"Screech—"

"They've only been doing the statistics for a short time. If they counted everything, wouldn't that be tens of thousands of rifles and hundreds of machine guns?"

Upon hearing this, the prehistoric creature gasped in surprise and exclaimed in astonishment.

"No, no, platoon leader, I have a feeling that the American devils will send air force to bomb these supplies and weapons."

"Let's scatter and hide these weapons and ammunition, or distribute them in larger quantities, so that we don't suffer the loss if they get bombed."

"After all, these weapons and ammunition could supply enough to form a reinforced regiment equipped with American weapons."

"It's not our regiment, it's a large regiment of several thousand people organized by the US military!"

Wu Siyi couldn't help but sigh.

"More than that, those South Korean soldiers actually listen to our company commander so much. If this were before, our company commander would be the king of Seoul, ruling over a region!"

Yu Congrong lowered his voice and joked.

"Nonsense!"

"Is this the kind of joke you can just make so casually?!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli glared at Yu Congrong and reprimanded him.

"Company Commander, I was just saying it casually to get my kicks, sorry, sorry..."

Yu Congrong realized that the joke had gone too far and quickly apologized.

"Comrade Yu Congrong, we all know you here and know you're joking, but if other places heard this, they'd think our Steel Seventh Company was forming a faction."

"The Party commands the gun, that's an ironclad rule. Go back and write a self-criticism to remember this lesson."

Liu Hanqing sighed and said seriously.

"what?"

"No, instructor, we still need to write...Yes!"

Yu Congrong originally wanted to plead for leniency, but seeing Wu Wanli's eyes, he immediately agreed.

"The capture of Seoul is just the beginning, comrades, we cannot let our guard down..."

"The US military will not give up easily. We must stand firm here like a nail, withstand the counterattack of the large US forces rushing back to reinforce the front lines, and hold Seoul to the death!"

"If they hold on, the US military will suffer a defeat ten times worse than the one at Chosin Reservoir!"

"Furthermore, this complete Seoul and ammunition and supplies are enough to allow our main force of the Volunteer Army to quickly replenish itself and continue the offensive towards the 37th parallel!"

"If we fail to hold this position, all our efforts will be in vain. The Seventh Steel Company and the First Capital Division will be wiped out, the US military will regain the strategic initiative, and our army may suffer heavy casualties due to insufficient supplies, making it temporarily unable to continue the bitter struggle..."

"Wu Wanli's battle map," he said.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions couldn't help but show a hint of solemnity, as well as a sense of honor bearing a heavy burden.

"Of course, these are just my judgments, but they should be pretty close to the truth. We'll see what the higher-ups decide on the specific actions."

"Send the Power Division to say that Seoul has fallen into the hands of the Seventh Steel Company and is awaiting further orders."

Wu Wanli took a deep breath and said.

(End of this chapter)