Courtyard House: Home Alone

"We want nobody to go."

Lin Yifan pushed the map towards him. "The depression is surrounded by earthen slopes on three sides and a wild forest on the other. Gunfire won't be heard for more than two miles. Tell the brothers to dress warmly. Once they're familiar with the weapons, we'll blow up the Japanese pillboxes tonight."

"Blow up the pillbox?" Stone gasped, then his eyes blazed with fury. "Young master, you have a plan?"

"Train the people first, then we'll talk about plans." Lin Yifan put away the map. "Of the one hundred men, I need those who can follow orders, are willing to fight, and won't wet their pants in a critical moment. You'll see this afternoon; anyone who doesn't meet the requirements will be eliminated on the spot, no mercy."

"Understood!" Stone stood up abruptly, took a couple of steps, then turned back, rubbing his hands together with a forced smile. "Young master, what...what kind of weapon is it? Although the brothers have handled guns, most of them are the Type 38 rifles, Mauser pistols, and Type 99s you captured. The accuracy..."

Lin Yifan looked up at him: "It's a 40mm rocket launcher, also known as the 40mm rocket launcher. This weapon is specifically designed to blow up Japanese pillboxes and tanks."

"Go take care of your business," Lin Yifan waved his hand. "I'll be there at one o'clock sharp this afternoon."

Shi Tou bowed heavily to the ground, then turned and strode away, the curtain fluttering like a flag as he did so.

One o'clock in the afternoon, outside Xizhimen, at the mass grave.

Shi Tou and his men were already waiting at the edge of the depression. A hundred men stood in three rows, their breath condensing into a thin mist in the cold air. When Lin Yifan approached, all eyes turned to him, some with curiosity, some with suspicion, but mostly with the burning desire of hungry wolves eyeing their prey.

"Young Master!" Stone greeted him, his voice extremely low. "Everyone's here. As you instructed, they're all without family ties or worries. The weapons... the weapons are all behind the earthen mound. I counted them myself—thirty crates, not a single one missing."

Lin Yifan nodded, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. These people were of varying ages, the youngest looking no more than seventeen or eighteen, while the oldest had graying temples, but without exception, they all stood ramrod straight, like a gun poised to fire.

"I know what you're thinking," he said, his voice not loud, but clear enough to reach everyone's ears. "What right does a mere kid have to lead you in fighting the Japanese?"

A slight commotion arose in the crowd.

"With this." Lin Yifan suddenly raised his hand, and a silver light shot out from his sleeve, embedding itself in a dead tree fifty meters away—it was a dagger, embedded without its hilt, the tassel still trembling slightly.

"I can ensure you leave alive and return alive."

He walked slowly towards the tree, drew his dagger, twirled it between his fingers, and said, "I know which eye of the Japanese soldier is blind, and which leg is lame. I—" He paused, turned back to look directly at the crowd, "and want them dead more than any of you."

Stone was the first to clap, and the applause started sparsely but gradually grew into a continuous chorus.

"Now, divide into ten groups." Lin Yifan sheathed his dagger. "Ten people per group, choose your own group leader. In fifteen minutes, I want to see you all clearly state your names and group numbers—if you can't, go home and take care of your kids."

The crowd dispersed with a bang, yet remained orderly, clearly indicating that Shi Tou had done his homework beforehand. Lin Yifan retreated behind the earthen mound, watching the crowd scramble for the group leader position, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Young master," Stone leaned closer and handed over a list, "These were chosen according to the criteria you mentioned. Twelve of them are literate, and one is skilled with artillery; he used to serve in the Northwest Army."

"Using cannons?" Lin Yifan took the list. "What kind of cannons?"

"A mortar, 82mm." Stone lowered his voice. "His name is Sun Dazhu, from Hebei. His unit was scattered around the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, and he ended up in Beiping."

"Call him here."

A short while later, a dark-skinned, thin man in his thirties was brought before him. He was missing two fingers on his right hand, but his left hand was unusually thick and calloused.

"Young Master." He bowed respectfully, his voice hoarse.

"Can you calculate ballistics?"

Sun Dazhu was taken aback, then nodded: "I can calculate the rough parts, like wind speed, angle of elevation, and drug temperature... I haven't learned the more precise ones."

"That's enough."

Lin Yifan turned to look at Shi Tou: "Shi Tou, call the people on the list over here. I'll explain the structure and usage of the 40-fire weapon to you."

Shi Tou responded and quickly selected more than ten people from the crowd, leading them, along with Sun Dazhu, to a sheltered spot on the earthen slope.

Lin Yifan took out a 40mm rocket launcher from the box; the dark tube gleamed with a cold metallic luster in the winter sun.

"This is called an RPG-7, a Russian thing. We call it the 40mm gun."

He held the rocket launcher horizontally in the crook of his arm, his fingers tracing the firing mechanism, sight, and handguard one by one. "It's 950 millimeters long, weighs 7 kilograms in combat, has an effective range of 300 meters, and can penetrate 300 millimeters of armor—no matter how thick the walls of the Japanese pillboxes are, one shot will cut right through them."

Sun Dazhu's eyes widened in disbelief, and his right hand, missing a finger, twitched involuntarily. He had seen battalion-level mortars in the Northwest Army, but those things were so heavy that even two people had to lift them. He had never seen such a lightweight weapon that could penetrate steel plates.

"Young master, this... this can be carried by a single soldier?" His voice trembled.

"Run with your back on your back, shoot while prone, shoot while crouching—it's up to you."

Lin Yifan handed him the rocket launcher, "Try it out."

Sun Dazhu took it with both hands, supporting the tube with his left arm and bracing his right shoulder against the tailpipe guard, habitually squinting his left eye to aim. Although his posture was clumsy, it exuded the composure of a veteran.

"The center of gravity is slightly rearward, so you need to grip it a bit forward." Lin Yifan pointed to the handguard. "The exhaust plume can reach fifteen meters during launch, so no one can stand behind it, or they'll be burned to a crisp."

He turned to look at the crowd gathered around him and took out simulation rounds from the box—training rounds with the warheads removed; these were all redeemed from the system shop this morning.

"Teach us to disassemble and assemble the equipment and aim first; live ammunition will be taught later. Each person will get two shots; those who can't shoot well shouldn't even think about going to the battlefield."

Everyone fell silent.

Lin Yifan disassembled the rocket launcher into more than ten parts, explaining the firing principle and troubleshooting step by step. Sun Dazhu learned the fastest, and could assemble it with his eyes closed after only three repetitions.

Three other young men also showed talent; their fingers were rough but nimble, clearly indicating they had worked as carpenters or blacksmiths.

"You are now in ten groups, with ten people in each group, and you ten people are the archers."

In addition, each of your groups should select four people specifically to carry ammunition. Each rocket weighs two kilograms, and each person will carry four rockets, for a total load of sixteen kilograms. The self-defense weapon is a submachine gun.

Five more men will provide cover, armed with two light machine guns. You'll all be familiar with both submachine guns and light machine guns; now, get used to these 40mm guns as quickly as possible.

Lin Yifan glanced at his watch; it was already 2 PM. "You have four more hours to familiarize yourselves with the weapons. We'll officially set off at 6 PM."

"I'll work with you on the first few targets, but we'll split up after that. Tonight, we'll start a competition to see which of your ten groups takes down the most Japanese pillboxes. I'll give you a big reward."

"Young master," Sun Dazhu suddenly spoke up, "can this thing... be used to shoot moving targets?"

"Yes," Lin Yifan said with a slight smile, "but you'll need to learn how to kill them first. The Japanese pillboxes don't move, and their tanks are as slow as turtles in urban warfare."

"Alright, Stone, give them the rocket launchers."