Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

Ping'an County, an ancient city that has stood for countless years on the loess plateau of northwestern Shanxi, now resembles a startled, restless behemoth. Its four gates are tightly shut, and figures throng the city walls, the Japanese flag and the puppet army flags trembling nervously in the biting wind. Outside the city, in the wilderness, fortifications are layered upon layered: barbed wire, trenches, visible and concealed bunkers, minefields… protecting the city walls like an iron barrel. Yamamoto Ichiki stands with his hands behind his back in the command post on the city tower, his face ashen, observing through binoculars the increasingly clear, surging gray waves of people outside the city. He underestimated Li Yunlong's madness, and even more so, the terrifying cohesion this local Eighth Route Army could unleash in such a short time. But he remains confident in his defenses and the reinforcements from Taiyuan—at least until reinforcements arrive, holding this fortified city should not be a problem.

However, he did not know, or rather, even if he did know, he could not fully comprehend, what kind of storm, which transcended conventional military logic, he was about to face.

Li Yunlong had no intention of giving Ping'an County any chance to catch its breath or wait for reinforcements. After his army of more than 12,000 men completed the initial encirclement and attack deployment outside the city, he didn't even bother to launch a proper probing attack.

"Messenger!" In the temporary command post at Black Cloud Ridge, Li Yunlong's voice was hoarse and resolute, like two pieces of raw iron rubbing together. "Notify all attack groups! General offensive! Give me a general offensive right now! All artillery, whether it's infantry guns, mortars, or the mountain guns I just got! Aim at the city walls, the gate towers, and those turtle-shell bunkers, and BOOM! BOOM! When the shells are all used up, use explosives! Infantry, as soon as the artillery fire extends, charge! No reserves! All of you, push forward! I only have one request—before sunset today, I want to be standing on the city wall of Ping'an County drinking!"

"Yes!" the messenger replied hoarsely, his eyes red-rimmed, and rushed out.

Almost at the same time the order was given, a deafening roar, like the earth splitting apart, suddenly erupted around Ping'an County!

"Boom! Boom boom boom—!!"

First came the newly assembled, yet surprisingly numerous, artillery positions of the Independent Regiment. Captured artillery, artillery supplied by other units, and even artillery operated by soldiers who had just learned how to use them—all roared simultaneously! Shells rained down on the city walls like hail, exploding into huge clouds of smoke and fire. The rammed earth walls trembled, and bricks and stones rained down. Next came an even denser barrage of mortar shells, tracing high arcs over the walls and landing on the Japanese troops' assembly points, command posts, and key transportation routes within the city.

The shelling lasted less than ten minutes, but in those ten minutes, Ping'an County seemed to have experienced a mini-earthquake. Just as the artillery fire began to extend into the town, deafening shouts of battle erupted from all directions!

"Charge! Storm into Heian Castle! Capture Yamamoto Ichiki alive!"

"Avenge the people of Zhao Jia Yu! Avenge the political commissar! Rescue my sister-in-law!"

"Comrades! Charge—!!"

The gray throng, like a flood bursting its banks, leaped from the pre-dug starting positions, charging relentlessly towards the city walls amidst the hastily organized, chaotic, and terrified gunfire from the ramparts! The charging troops were disorganized, their numbers varied, and their weapons a motley crew: some carried brand-new Type 38 rifles, some wielded old-fashioned Hanyang rifles, some brandished broadswords and spears, and some even carried shovels and hoes… but in their eyes burned the same flame—the flame of revenge, the flame of certain death!

There were no complex tactical coordinations, no sophisticated infantry-artillery cooperation, only the most primitive and brutal human wave charge, using flesh and blood to breach the death line built of steel and concrete! Those in front fell, and those behind continued to charge forward over the bodies of their comrades! When the bullets ran out, they charged forward with bayonets! One after another, the explosive charge carriers carried cluster grenades or explosive charges, rushing towards the firing ports of the bunkers, using their lives to clear a path for the following troops!

Ping'an County was instantly transformed into a massive, frantically operating meat grinder. Gunfire, artillery fire, explosions, shouts, screams, and the clanging of metal... all the sounds blended together, forming a terrifying sonic wave capable of tearing the heavens apart, echoing and reverberating throughout northwestern Shanxi!

Just as Li Yunlong launched a desperate all-out attack on Ping'an County, the entire Japanese nervous system in northwestern Shanxi exploded like an anthill that had been stomped on!

The closest Japanese strongholds to Ping'an County, the railway garrison, and even the field battalion carrying out a sweeping operation almost simultaneously received a flurry of distress telegrams from Yamamoto Ichiki and the garrison in Ping'an County, along with a strict order from their superiors to rush to the rescue. In an instant, numerous Japanese units hastily set off along the roads, railways, and even mountain trails leading to Ping'an County. They varied in size, some being a company, some a battalion, and some even just mixed units of several squads, but their goal was the same—to rush to Ping'an and defeat the main force of the Eighth Route Army besieging the county.

However, they soon discovered that the road to Ping'an County had become extremely difficult, and every step was soaked in blood.

Baijia Village direction.

A reinforced Japanese company, traveling by car and on foot, hurriedly made their way to Ping'an along the highway. Just as they entered a narrow section of road flanked by steep earthen cliffs, a loud shout suddenly rang out overhead: "Fire!"

In an instant, gunfire erupted atop the earthen cliff, and grenades rained down like dumplings being dropped into a pot! Leading this blocking force was a company commander from a unit of the Eighth Route Army, with fewer than two platoons under his command, poorly equipped. They hadn't received explicit orders from above, but they heard the deafening artillery fire from the direction of Ping'an and saw the panicked movements of Japanese reinforcements. The company commander only said one sentence to his soldiers: "Comrades, we don't know which unit is attacking Ping'an, but fighting the Japanese is no question! We'll hold them off for as long as we can! Let's ease the pressure on our brothers attacking the city!"

Lacking fortifications, they relied on the natural terrain; running low on ammunition, they waited for the Japanese to get close before firing. The battle raged from noon until dusk, and almost all the soldiers of this company fell on the battlefield, their blood staining the loess cliffs red. In the final moments, the company commander detonated the last bundle of grenades beside him, sacrificing himself to take down the Japanese soldiers who had charged to the top of the cliff. This unnamed company, at the cost of its entire members, held this reinforced Japanese company captive in Baijia Village for six hours.

Woniugang.

A Japanese cavalry battalion attempted to use their mobility to bypass the frontal attack and approach Ping'an from the flank. They charged into a seemingly peaceful mountain hollow. Suddenly, a barrage of gunfire erupted from the surrounding hillsides, bullets flying from all directions. Hidden there was a reinforced battalion of Chu Yunfei's Jin-Sui Army.

Chu Yunfei stood on a distant high ground, coldly watching through his binoculars the Japanese cavalrymen trapped in the encirclement, their men and horses falling in disarray. Chief of Staff Fang Ligong said with some concern, "Regimental Commander, we haven't received any orders for coordination from the Second War Zone or the Eighth Route Army. To engage the Japanese in a large-scale firefight without authorization... I'm afraid..."

Chu Yunfei lowered his binoculars, his tone calm yet resolute: "Opportunities are fleeting. At the gates of Ping'an City, whoever is fighting the Japanese is fighting for China. As a Chinese army unit, how can my 358th Regiment sit idly by and watch Japanese reinforcements arrive? Attack! Give them a good beating! Annihilate this entire Japanese cavalry force here!"

Under the superior strength and terrain of Chu Yunfei's troops, the Japanese cavalry battalion suffered heavy losses and had to retreat hastily, completely ruining their outflanking maneuver.

Fengling Ferry Crossing.

A Japanese troop attempting to reinforce their troops along the river in motorboats and wooden boats had just reached the shore when they were met with a fierce attack from a local guerrilla force dressed in a motley collection of clothes and armed with a mixed bag of weapons. The guerrillas were small in number, but familiar with the terrain and employing flexible tactics, specifically targeting Japanese commanders and machine gunners. The guerrilla leader, a burly man with a dark complexion, wiped the gunpowder from his face and roared to his men, "Brothers! It doesn't matter whether it's Commander Li or Commander Zhang fighting in the city! Our mission is to prevent a single Japanese soldier from getting past here! Even if we all perish here, we'll knock a few of their teeth out!"

Similar defensive battles unfolded almost simultaneously in more than a dozen locations within a radius of hundreds of miles around Ping'an County! Some units received vague orders to "coordinate" or "block the enemy," while others spontaneously joined the fray upon hearing gunfire or observing unusual Japanese movements. The Eighth Route Army, the Jin-Sui Army, certain units of the Kuomintang Central Army (though they mostly observed or symbolically blocked the enemy), local guerrillas, county militias, district militias, and even some civilian self-defense groups connected to the anti-Japanese armed forces… armed forces from different systems, with different beliefs, and even those that had previously clashed, all joined this chaotic and tragic chorus at this moment, united by the simplest and most primal common goal of "fighting the Japanese." With their blood and lives, they constructed invisible lines of defense forged from flesh and blood around Ping'an County!

The source of all this—the Eighth Route Army headquarters—was now plunged into a state of immense confusion and unease.

Inside the headquarters command post, telephones and telegrams rang incessantly, and the staff officers all wore solemn expressions and hurried along.

"Report! The 386th Brigade reports that fierce fighting has broken out in the Baijia Village area to the northeast of its defense zone. A reinforced Japanese company is engaged in a fierce battle with a unit of our army (unit unknown). The fighting is extremely brutal!"

"Report! Chu Yunfei's 358th Regiment of the Jin-Sui Army has engaged in a firefight with a Japanese cavalry battalion in the Woniugang area. It's a fairly large-scale engagement!"

"Report! Multiple outposts along the Zhengtai Railway have reported being attacked by unidentified armed forces, causing traffic disruptions!"

"Report! The Japanese radio station in Taiyuan is unusually active, frequently calling from the directions of Ping'an, Lu'an, and Yangquan!"

The commander, holding the newly compiled battle report riddled with contradictions, frowned deeply. He paced back and forth in front of the map, tapping his finger on the location of Ping'an County: "Chaos! Utter chaos! What on earth is going on? Where did this commotion come from? Who's firing? Where are they firing? Why are there shots coming from all directions? Investigate! Find out the truth immediately!"

The deputy commander stared thoughtfully at the battle markers on the map, which radiated outwards from Ping'an County like ripples. Suddenly, he said, "Have you noticed? All these battles seem to... be pointing to one place—Ping'an County."

"Ping'an County?" The commander was taken aback. "That's a heavily fortified stronghold of the Japanese, with a large garrison and remnants of Yamamoto's special forces. Who would dare to provoke that tough enemy? And cause such a commotion?"

"Li Yunlong!" The deputy commander-in-chief and the chief of staff exclaimed almost in unison.

"Li Yunlong?" The commander was first taken aback, then flew into a rage. "That hothead! He... he just suffered a loss at Zhao Jia Yu, his wife was arrested, and Zhao Gang was injured... Knowing his temperament, he's perfectly capable of doing it! Where did he get so many troops? Wait... didn't Chen Geng report a while ago that Li Yunlong had inexplicably acquired a large number of weapons, and even traded antiques for arms with a mysterious merchant? Could it be...?"

The command post was silent, save for the ticking of the radio and the distant, muffled thunderous sounds of artillery fire, seemingly coming from all directions.

"This Li Yunlong..." The commander finally let out a long sigh, his tone complex, a mixture of anger, worry, and a barely perceptible hint of admiration. "He's really stirring up trouble! Order all units you can contact to closely monitor movements in the Ping'an direction! Be ready at any time... to provide support, or to clean up his mess!"

Beneath Ping'an City, the siege had reached its climax. After paying a heavy price, the Eighth Route Army soldiers finally managed to blast several breaches in the city walls with their own flesh and blood and countless explosive charges. A tidal wave of soldiers poured in, engaging in brutal street fighting with the Japanese invaders. Every street and every house was the scene of fierce struggle.

Li Yunlong personally carried a machine gun and charged into the city. He was covered in gunpowder smoke and his face was smeared with blood, making it impossible to tell whether it was his own or the enemy's. Only his eyes still burned with a terrifying flame, fixedly staring in the direction of the Japanese command post in the city.

Knowing the situation was hopeless, Yamamoto Ichiki made one last, insane, and cruel decision. He took the captured Xiuqin to the tallest bell tower in the city center, bound her with ropes, and hung her on the outside of the crenellations. Then, using a megaphone, he screamed in broken Chinese at the fierce battle below:

"Li Yunlong! Look who this is! Cease the attack immediately! Otherwise, I'll push her down right now!"

The sounds of fighting seemed to pause for half a second at that moment.

Li Yunlong suddenly looked up at the tall clock tower. A biting wind howled, and Xiuqin's figure, bound to the ramparts, swayed in the wind like a red leaf about to wither. She saw Li Yunlong; her face was pale, but she didn't cry. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Hidden behind the battlements, Yamamoto Ichiki revealed half of his cold face. His voice, coming through the loudspeaker, carried a hint of hysterical triumph: "Li Yunlong! Tell your troops to lay down their weapons! Withdraw from the city! Otherwise, your newlywed wife will be smashed to pieces!"

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

All the Eighth Route Army soldiers who stormed into the city involuntarily stopped what they were doing and looked at their commander, at the frail yet strong figure on the clock tower.

Li Yunlong's hand gripping the machine gun was so tight that his knuckles turned white and made a cracking sound. His eyes were fixed on Xiuqin, then slowly moved to the location where Yamamoto Ichiki was hiding, his chest heaving violently as if a storm was brewing within him.

"Commander..." Tiger, the bodyguard beside him, said in a trembling voice.

Li Yunlong did not answer. Slowly, very slowly, he raised the machine gun in his hand, but the muzzle was not pointed at the crenellation where Yamamoto Ichiki was hiding, but... aimed at the direction of the clock tower.

His lips moved, and in a hoarse voice, audible only to those around him, he commanded, word by word:

"Artillery... aim at the clock tower... fire the guns..."

These words, as light as a sigh, yet as heavy as a thunderbolt, struck the hearts of everyone who heard them.

Tiger was stunned, and so were the soldiers around him.

Li Yunlong suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes wide like copper bells, and with all his might, he let out a deafening roar, like that of a wounded wild beast:

"Fire! Fire the cannons!!"

This roar pierced through the smoke and the sounds of battle, echoing long afterward over Ping'an County. It was not merely an order, but a husband's most agonizing choice, a soldier's most resolute commitment, and the clarion call for the bloody storm sweeping across northwestern Shanxi to reach its most devastating climax.

The sky over northwestern Shanxi was completely stained red by the flames of war. And the true aftershocks and effects of this thunderclap, ignited by the rage of one man, were only just beginning to emerge.