Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 181 Airborne Troops' Surprise Attack!

Provisional Command of the 27th Army of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army
"Old Li, just as we were taking a break, Wanli sent us an urgent telegram requesting help!"

"He said he hoped we would immediately dispatch a battalion of elite troops, without them carrying guns, and that the air force formation would soon land at the temporary airfield to pick them up."

Kong Jie, holding the telegram, strode over and said.

"Hahahaha... Wu Wanli, that kid, since he became the commander-in-chief of the Seoul garrison, his telegrams sound like orders!"

"Okay! No matter how high he rises in the future, we will always be his family!"

"It just so happens that we're close to the temporary airport..."

"Old Zhao, notify the guard battalion to prepare for an airborne landing in Seoul!"

Li Yunlong jokingly cursed, but in his heart he thought proudly.

He originally thought that Zhang Dabiao was the most capable under his command, but he didn't expect that Wu Wanli would be added to the list.

When he heard that Wu Wanli had led his army to capture Seoul, he insisted on having a drink with Kong Jie, along with potatoes and canned food, to celebrate.

Now that Wu Wanli has spoken, they are even more determined to give up the guard battalion.

"Old Li, there are quite a few old hands in that guard battalion who came from northwestern Shanxi. Are you really going to give them away like that?"

Upon hearing this, Kong Jie was slightly taken aback and said in disbelief.

"Damn it, if I weren't the army commander, I'd want to cramm myself onto a plane and experience being a paratrooper!"

"Besides, who am I, your father?"

"Back in the battle of Cangyun Ridge, I led the main force of the New First Regiment to break through the encirclement, but when I saw Zhang Dabiao and the others fall behind, I led my troops back without saying a word!"

"Wanli hasn't been in the army for long, so he doesn't have any old units or superiors, but he's not an unwanted stepchild!"

"Don't even mention a battalion, even if he wanted a whole regiment, I'd send his handpicked elites onto the fighter jet!"

Li Yunlong waved his hand, speaking protectively of his own.

"Hey! What do you mean you don't have any old superiors? Aren't I one?"

"I don't need my guards anymore; they can all come with me onto the fighter jet!"

"Back then, I rode a horse, carried a Mauser pistol, and had only one bodyguard by my side. I still emerged unscathed from a pursuit by ten times the number of enemies. I didn't need any bodyguards!"

Upon hearing this, Kong Jie also became competitive and said...

"Alright, alright, Lao Li and Lao Kong, you're both military-level officers now, why are you acting like children?"

"In my opinion, the most suitable unit to go is actually the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Assault Regiment of the 80th Division."

"Based on them, we can expand with some elite troops and send over six hundred soldiers."

"After all, they are familiar with each other, which makes it easy to quickly form cohesion and fighting power."

Zhao Gang thought about it for a while and finally came to a conclusion.

"This arrangement is fine, but... isn't Wu Qianli, the battalion commander of the Third Battalion, Wanli's brother?"

"It seems that there were only three children in their family. One of them died on the Huaihai battlefield, and the other two went to the Korean battlefield."

"If we continue to station them all in Seoul, and the battle turns against us... we can't let our heroes shed blood and sweat without leaving any descendants, can we?!"

Upon hearing this, Kong Jie immediately gave a serious reminder.

“Old Li, Wu Qianli made great contributions in the battle to annihilate the British 29th Brigade. I was just saying that I wanted to meet him in person to commend him.”

"He should be arriving soon, so why don't we see what he has to say first?"

Zhao Gang said.

"report!"

"Wu Qianli, 3rd Battalion, 1st Assault Regiment, 80th Division, requests to participate in the airborne mission to Seoul!"

Wu Qianli, who had been waiting for a long time, shouted loudly.

"When did you get here, kid? Did you hear everything?"

Li Yunlong asked.

"We arrived a long time ago. The leaders have loud voices, especially you, the army commander, who is the most majestic. I heard you very clearly."

"Actually, the leaders don't need to worry. When I go to Seoul, I will lead the elite troops to rely on the terrain and the city's defenses to hold the line. It's much better than attacking."

"Moreover, I've also heard that Seoul has a lot of American equipment, and mortars might even be assigned to platoons."

Wu Qianli smiled and said in a casual tone.

"The force attacking Seoul is the U.S. 25th Division, a main force division with nearly 20,000 elite U.S. troops!"

"You also participated in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. How many troops did we use against the US 1st Marine Division?"

Kong Jie looked at Wu Qianli and asked with a hint of reluctance.

"An entire legion, with approximately 150,000 troops..."

Wu Qianli said.

"Then tell me, including your airborne troops, how many volunteer soldiers are there in Seoul?"

Kong Jie stood up and reminded him with a hint of reluctance.

"More than a thousand Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers, plus about ten thousand South Korean troops who revolted."

Wu Wanli spoke with a slightly solemn expression, but the determination in his eyes remained unchanged.

“You brat, don’t try to be a hero. Your parents and I are just looking out for you. They’re waiting for you and Wanli to come home.”

"The logistics department is short-staffed, you can go there temporarily..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong felt a pang of pain in his heart and spoke directly.

"Commander!"

"I am a proud member of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, a proud proletarian revolutionary fighter. Resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea is a glorious mission entrusted to me by the motherland and the people!"

"Faced with such a critical and dangerous moment, it is precisely the moment when I am needed to rush to the front line!"

"If I take a step back, what am I?!"

Wu Qianli mustered his courage, his eyes slightly moist, and looked at Li Yunlong, speaking loudly.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong was slightly taken aback, staring blankly at Wu Qianli for a few seconds before finally standing up slowly.

"You damn stubborn mule, you and Wanli are both stubborn mules!"

"He's a stubborn mule, but he's also a good man..."

Li Yunlong also stood up, and after speaking, he slowly saluted Wu Qianli.

In those few seconds of confusion, he saw the figures of many, many people.

There was Sun Desheng, who led a cavalry charge; there was a monk who was fearless in the face of death; there was Wang Chengzhu, who bombarded the Sakata command post; there was Wang Xikui, a master marksman; and there were many, many other unnamed soldiers who fell...

"Go! I don't care about that damn Seoul. If we lose it, we can just get it back. But you and Wanli must come back alive, you hear me?!"

Li Yunlong adjusted his hat, which he usually wore askew, and gave the order.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Qianli responded loudly and then walked outside.

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

Gao Yang, the new UN Command

"Sir, the 25th Division's marching route has been blocked by at least tens of thousands of Koreans fleeing from Seoul."

"They are now surrounded, and it is expected that they will waste a day as a result."

"Major General William sent a telegram requesting permission to shoot and kill these Korean civilians in order to buy time for the troops to attack Seoul."

With a playful smile, Van Fleet handed the telegram to Ridgway.

"Shit! We killed tens of thousands of unarmed North Koreans today, and tomorrow the headlines will all be about us!"

"That damned William, what does he mean by sending me a telegram asking for instructions? Does he want me to take the blame for him?"

"Tell him that he should handle these kinds of tactical problems himself in the future, otherwise I seriously doubt whether he has the ability to command a division!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiwei said with a hint of annoyance.

He's not stupid. If he really did that, not only would the American public not forgive him, but the members of Congress would probably not let him off the hook either.

Moreover, at such a critical moment in the war, committing such an outrageous act would certainly make one a scapegoat and lead to a military court.

"If I'm not mistaken, Major General William already knew about your reaction."

"He urgently dispatched more than a thousand elite troops to Suwon by vehicle, preparing to parachute into Seoul."

VanVleet said.

"You already knew my reaction, why did you still need to ask for instructions?" Li Qiwei was still angry and hadn't figured out the reason for his reaction.

"General, I'll just offer a guess, it's just a guess..."

"These Korean civilians will, after all, delay the 25th Division by a day. If the siege of Seoul fails and there isn't enough time to take it..."

"General, could the 25th Division possibly have an excuse to say that you gave them an order that gave them one less day?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yunfei couldn't help but step forward and stir things up.

"Fuck you!"

"I told him during the power generation process that he had full authority to make the decision, and I wouldn't interfere!"

"Furthermore, if we fail to take Seoul, I will hold him responsible!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qiwei felt nauseous and cursed loudly.

"General Ridgway, a truly excellent commander takes all kinds of situations into account."

"If things don't go well in Seoul, where should we retreat to?"

Van Fleet reminded him.

What is the General Staff's opinion?

Ridgway had intended to say something encouraging, but considering the current state of the battle, he changed his mind and asked a different question.

"If we can't take Seoul, if we want to take the land route, we'll have to abandon our tanks and large-caliber artillery and take a detour to Suwon. Otherwise, there's a risk of being persuaded to surrender and retreating."

"If we want to retain the tanks and large-caliber artillery for the retreat, then we can only go through Incheon Port and evacuate by the navy."

"But if that happens, the battlefront will look very bad. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army could reach Suwon in a single day."

"At that time, our main force was still at sea and we couldn't hold the line at all."

"From the outside, it looks like we lost cities and territories and suffered a crushing defeat."

Van Fleet looked at the battle map and said very clearly.

Let's go to Incheon Port.

Upon hearing this, Li Qiwei replied without hesitation.

“I actually preferred Incheon Port as well, but I didn’t expect you to make such a decisive decision.”

"Actually, if we want to save face, we can send the main force to withdraw through Incheon Port, and send a detachment to retreat by land, starting from Suwon City and resisting step by step. That would look much better."

Van Fleet looked at Ridgway with a hint of surprise and offered his advice.

“Van Fleet, your considerations are comprehensive, but this is not the best strategy.”

"Don't they want to show off their power on the world stage? As an emerging nation, they're eager to prove themselves, so I'll give them that opportunity!"

"The faster they advance, the higher they are praised by the media, the faster they will die!"

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Li Qiwei's eyes as he spoke.

"Sir, your strategic thinking is indeed mature."

"You want the Chinese army to become a deep-penetrating force, to keep them penetrating deeper and stretching their supply lines."

"Once they reach their limit, it will be our turn for a major counterattack!"

Van Fleet thought for a moment, then instantly realized what he meant and said with shining eyes.

"Yes, I wish they would attack Daejeon and Daegu, and even better, head straight for Busan."

"If we launch another Inchon Landing, more than 200,000 Chinese troops will be trapped in a desperate situation, and China, as a newly emerging nation, will be severely weakened and will not be able to recover for 20 years!"

"But that's all in the future. The best thing to do is to retake Seoul now. Since they haven't received supplies from Seoul, we won't have to wait until then to launch a counterattack."

Li Qiwei snorted coldly and said.

"Yes!"

Van Fleet said, accepting the offer wholeheartedly.

Only Chu Yunfei felt a pang of pain in his heart upon hearing that he couldn't recover in twenty years, and a trace of sorrow flashed quickly in his eyes.

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

Seoul, Garrison Command
"Battalion Commander, wasn't our Steel Seventh Battalion supposed to ambush the American forces in Anshan? Why were we suddenly recalled halfway there?"

Yu Congrong asked.

"I've compiled some new intelligence from my superiors, prisoners, and intercepted telegrams. It's not appropriate to transfer me now..."

Wu Wanli looked at the macroscopic map of the Sky Eye in his mind, and said.

On the Sky Eye map, an airplane icon was prominently displayed, with an arrow pointing directly to the south gate of Seoul.

Next to the icon is a bracket that reads (more than 1,000 US airborne troops).

Most importantly, there's not much time left before a successful airdrop.

"report!"

"Our air force formation has successfully landed. Now, more than 600 soldiers from the 3rd Battalion are undergoing American equipment conversion at Seoul Airport, to the same standard as the 7th Steel Battalion."

At this moment, Liu Hanqing walked in and said.

"The Third Battalion?"

"My brother is here too?"

Wu Wanli was slightly taken aback and said with some surprise.

“Not only your brother, but also the Third Battalion Political Instructor Mei Sheng was not injured in the previous battles, so he came along as well.”

Liu Hanqing said.

"Okay!"

"Now everyone from our Seventh Company is here!"

"That's going to be a real headache for those American devils!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Daxing said excitedly.

"Commander Wu, not long ago those American Air Force bombed a lot of propaganda posters, all of them were trying to persuade people to surrender."

"I'm worried it will affect the morale of the First Division in the capital. Should I send someone to confiscate all those propaganda newspapers?"

After thinking for a moment, Quan Douguang made the suggestion again.

"I've said it before, any soldier who is sober knows that there is no turning back after they did this."

"Besides, a resounding victory would be more encouraging than forcibly confiscating propaganda posters."

Wu Wanli said with a smile.

A resounding victory?

"Battalion Commander, are you planning to assemble two battalions to support Anshan in the west and launch a major ambush?"

"But why bring us back?"

Pinghe asked.

"Based on intelligence from superiors, the confessions of prisoners, and intercepted telegrams, it is highly likely that the U.S. military will send airborne troops to drop in."

"And I suspect the drop zone is located at the south gate, which is most advantageous for the army's advance!"

After thinking for a moment, Wu Wanli simply revealed the truth directly.

"Airborne troops?"

"Yes, Ridgway was originally from the airborne troops, so it's not surprising that he did this kind of thing."

"Furthermore, with the main force of the US military trapped outside, they cannot do nothing; an airborne raid is particularly reasonable."

After a moment's thought, Liu Hanqing was slightly startled and immediately agreed.

“I have long heard of Wanli’s battlefield judgment. If that is the case, the US Air Force will definitely launch a bombing raid immediately to cover their airborne troops.”

Wang Wei thought for a moment and then said.

“That’s right, and judging by the time it takes, it’s almost time. The US military has been blocked by North Koreans for so long, they can’t possibly have the patience to wait any longer…”

"All fighter jets scramble immediately to prepare for a U.S. Air Force surprise attack."

"Also, tell the artillery units not to bring large-caliber cannons for this battle, but to bring more M2 machine guns for air defense!"

"After changing clothes, leave sentries at each city gate, and the main force will immediately follow me to ambush at the south gate."

Wu Wanli glanced at his watch and gave the order decisively.

(End of this chapter)