When they arrived at the courtyard house and the celestial bridal chamber, they discovered it was a

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A dozen shells exploded near the trenches. The moment they hit the ground, flames shot into the sky, and the immense impact sent surrounding earth and rocks flying.

The edges of the trenches were riddled with craters, and many sections collapsed.

The blasted rocks flew everywhere like projectiles, some striking the sandbags beside Zhou Zheng'an with dull thuds. Thick smoke billowed up, filling the air and making it hard to breathe.

Zhou Zheng'an immediately ordered most of the platoon that had been on guard duty to go to the tunnel entrance. Only he and four other soldiers remained on the entire position.

Five men in total, holding their position in a trench about a hundred meters long. The artillery bombardment hadn't even ended yet.

The artillery bombardment lasted for more than ten minutes, and then the sound of airplanes came from the sky again.

This time, six bombers arrived. They circled at low altitude and bombarded positions one, two, and three on Hill 7.

The sounds of bombing planes and artillery fire mingled together, turning positions one, two, and three into a landscape of rocks and dust.

A few more of the remaining trees were hit by the blast and began to burn.

Sparks flickered, and thick smoke billowed.

This continued for half an hour before the American ground forces finally began their attack.

They crawled forward, and when they were 500 meters from the trench, they dared not go any further. Then they set up machine guns and began to fire wildly.

However, the lower-ranking commanders were shouting orders for them to keep charging forward.

So the American soldiers had no choice but to continue crawling forward.

Clearly, they were reluctant to move too fast, since the soldiers at the very front would almost certainly be wiped out.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army was truly amazing.

Ten minutes later, these American soldiers finally reached a position 300 meters away from the trench, but then dared not charge forward.

They were surprised to find that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had not yet retaliated, and had not fired a single shot.

This made them even more afraid, wondering what kind of conspiracy the Chinese People's Volunteer Army was plotting.

Five minutes later, the American soldiers finally reached a position 180 meters from the trench.

At this moment, Zhou Zheng'an shouted, "Fire!" After saying that, he immediately started throwing grenades like crazy.

The other four soldiers fired continuously with carbines and submachine guns.

The two sides quickly engaged in combat. Zhou Zheng'an took a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it high and far.

The grenades exploded about a meter above the heads of these American soldiers, causing great damage.

Zhou Zheng'an threw grenades like this because the surface positions in various parts of Shangganling had been bombarded by various artillery shells, and the ground was covered with a layer of ash. The explosive power of grenades would be greatly reduced if they were thrown on the ground.

Throwing it this way maximizes the power of the grenade.

The American attack force hadn't expected Zhou Zheng'an to be so skilled, throwing the object so far and so expertly. More than ten men were killed before they could react. They stared at Zhou Zheng'an in terror, as if he were the Grim Reaper himself.

Then, the heavy machine guns of the American attack force opened fire on Zhou Zheng'an's position, and mortars began to bombard him.

This is a classic case of "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down."

That's how it is on the battlefield, so whenever there's fighting, machine gunners are always the first targets.

Because the threat posed by machine guns was simply too great.

Zhou Zheng'an immediately moved to another location and continued his counterattack.

Meanwhile, other volunteer soldiers were also wounded or killed. But new soldiers immediately rushed out of the tunnel entrance to fill the gap left by the fallen soldier.

This is the piecemeal tactic.

Throughout the Battle of Shangganling, the strategy of "sprinkling oil" was used on all positions. This tactic was also employed in specific positional battles.

This is currently the most suitable tactic for the Chinese People's Volunteer Army.

The two sides clashed fiercely from the very beginning, reaching a fever pitch.

Half an hour later, only about 30 of the more than 120 American attack troops remained, and they immediately retreated. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army also suffered seven casualties and three wounded.

As soon as the American attacking forces withdrew, the artillery units at the foot of the mountain began a frenzied bombardment.

Then, a second attacking force, still a company in size, rushed up.

They practically gave the Chinese People's Volunteer Army no chance to clean up the battlefield.

This attacking force was even more ferocious than before. They had learned from their mistakes and no longer charged blindly. Instead, they used their superior firepower to launch a fierce attack on the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's positions.

Machine guns, mortars, rocket launchers and other weapons were used in turn, and artillery bombardment occurred from time to time, leaving the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's positions riddled with holes.

Looking at the enemy before him, Zhou Zheng'an felt a surge of fighting spirit.

At the same time, they began instructing the soldiers on how to throw grenades.

"Comrades, wait until the enemy gets close before throwing the grenades. It's best if the grenades explode in the air!" Zhou Zheng'an shouted, taking out a grenade from his backpack and holding it tightly in his hand.

The other soldiers responded in kind, taking out grenades from their backpacks and preparing to throw them.

His eyes were filled with determination and resolve, as if he were ready to make a sacrifice.

Under the cover of fire, the American attack force gradually approached the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's positions. They advanced cautiously, fearing another surprise attack from the Volunteer Army.

When they reached a position 100 meters from the trench, Zhou Zheng'an shouted, "Fire!" The volunteer soldiers then opened fire wildly—rifles, submachine guns, and machine guns all fired simultaneously.

Five minutes later, when the American attack force was only fifty or sixty meters away from the position, they began to shout, "Throw!"

Instantly, five grenades flew out from the Volunteer Army's position, drawing graceful arcs in the air before landing precisely in the middle of the enemy.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Explosions rang out one after another, and flames shot into the sky.

The American attack force was caught off guard and fell to the ground one after another. They looked around in terror, not knowing where to hide.

Then Zhou Zheng'an threw grenades at them, killing many more people.

This completely shattered the American attack force, which immediately retreated.

Zhou Zheng'an shouted, signaling the soldiers at the tunnel entrance to come out as well. Then, a platoon of volunteers rushed out, carrying various firearms, and opened fire on the enemy.

Bullets rained down, felling enemies one after another.

The American attacking forces collapsed instantly, lamenting that even with two legs, they couldn't outrun the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Many more were quickly killed.

"Comrades, stop the pursuit!" Zhou Zheng'an suddenly raised his hand, his voice piercing through the thick smoke, "Clean up the battlefield immediately and collect the ammunition!"

Everyone reacted instantly and scattered to different parts of the position.

Their movements were swift and urgent. They squatted down beside the bodies, ripped open the ammunition pouches of the fallen American soldiers, and stuffed the bullets and grenades into their own arms.

Someone picked up a carbine magazine, quickly wiping the blood off it with their fingers, and stuffed it into their belt. Someone else grabbed a can of beef and stuffed it into their backpack.

"Hurry up! Don't dawdle!" Wang Fuguo, the company commander of the 214th Company who came with Zhou Zheng'an, shouted. He had just straightened up next to the corpse of an American soldier. His waist was already full of magazines, and he was also holding a lot of grenades in his arms.

"Artillery and planes could come again at any time, don't leave them anything!"

In less than five minutes, the battlefield was cleared. The soldiers, carrying heavy loads of ammunition, quickly retreated back to their trenches.

Soon, everyone's eyes fell on Zhou Zheng'an, filled with undisguised admiration.