The Courtyard House: The Little Red Devil Returning from the Peninsula

Liushugou is located five li south of Ping'an County.

The willows in the ditch had long since lost all their leaves, and their trunks, grayish-white in the moonlight, looked like a row of bones. At the bottom of the ditch was a frozen stream, its ice cracked.

Zhao Weiguo squatted on the edge of the ditch.

Before him lay an open map. It was a Japanese military map that Zhao Gang had seized from the county government office, marking the terrain and roads surrounding Ping'an County. The Japanese map was more detailed than the Eighth Route Army's, with contour lines drawn down to five meters in increments.

Zhao Gang squatted down next to him, holding a red and blue pencil he had taken from the Japanese regimental commander's desk. The pencil was new, and the tip was sharpened to a fine point.

Where are the reinforcements?

"East of Shibalipu. Ding Wei's messenger said that the Japanese advance was bombed when it crossed the stone bridge, and the bridge collapsed."

"The Japanese army built a pontoon bridge on the other side of the river, which delayed them by an hour. Now the main force has crossed the river and is stationed east of Shibalipu."

How many people?

"The messenger said he saw more than a dozen vehicles. There was at least one battalion of infantry, perhaps a thousand men."

Zhao Weiguo measured the distance on the map with his finger. It was five li from Shibalipu to Yangshuling. It was ten li from Yangshuling to the west gate of Ping'an County. Kong Jie was in the middle.

"How much ammunition does Kong Jie have left?"

"The messenger said each man had about ten rifle rounds left. Hand grenades were almost gone."

Zhao Weiguo took the red and blue pencils and drew three points on the map.

The first point is east of Shibalipu. That's the Japanese army's position.

The second point is at Yangshuling. That's Kong Jie's location.

The third point is west of Shibalipu. That's the position he planned to use.

"Start from here."

His pencil mark is on the third dot.

"Attack his convoy from behind."

Zhao Gang glanced at the map.

"Is his convoy behind?"

"A dozen or so vehicles. When an infantry battalion goes out to fight, the vehicles won't rush in. They'll stay behind as supply trains."

Zhao Gang didn't ask any more questions. He put the red and blue pencils away.

The troops set off from Liushugou.

Two battalions of the Independent Regiment led the way, followed by Li Yunlong's New First Regiment. The two regiments together numbered about 2,500 men.

It was dark, and the mountain path was difficult to traverse, so the column stretched out very long. Zhao Weiguo instructed the communications soldier to insert people into the middle of the column, relaying commands every so often.

The password is "hammer". The response is "anvil".

We walked for half an hour.

Zhao Weiguo stopped ahead.

"Monk."

The monk ran back from the front of the line. His machete was tucked behind his waist, and his pistol was tucked into his belt.

"There's a ditch ahead. Beyond the ditch is a small hill west of Shibalipu. There are Japanese sentries on the hill."

"several?"

"two."

"Touch it off."

The monk led two or three people forward.

I'll be back in five minutes.

"It's cleared."

The troops crossed the ditch.

Zhao Weiguo lay on the high ground and looked through binoculars.

Below the hill was a flat area. A dozen or so trucks were parked on the flat area. The trucks were lined up in two rows, their front ends facing the road. Japanese soldiers were moving between the trucks. There weren't many Japanese soldiers moving; most were in the tents behind the trucks. The tents were gray, and there were four in total.

There was a firelight at the entrance of a tent. Someone was cooking something.

"Mortar."

Zhao Weiguo turned around and said.

The mortar crew carried them up from behind. Two mortars. The barrels were wrapped in straw to prevent glare.

"Attack the convoy first. The middle row. Start with the fifth car from the left."

The mortar crewman lay prone on the ground, adjusting his angle.

"put."

The first shell landed in the open space between the two rows of trucks. The flash of the explosion illuminated the entire convoy. The trucks were outlined in the firelight, and their windshields reflected the light.

Second shot.

It hit the front of the fifth truck from the left. The front of the truck was blown off, and the hood flew off and landed on a truck next to it.

Third shot. Fourth shot. Fifth shot.

Shells rained down on the middle of the convoy. One truck's fuel tank was hit. Flames erupted from the fuel tank, engulfing the entire truck. The fire illuminated several other vehicles nearby.

An uproar broke out in the Japanese army's tent.

People ran out of the tents. Some were wearing military boots, some were wearing socks. Most of them weren't carrying guns. The guns were propped up on wooden frames outside the tents, about ten paces away.

"beat."

Zhao Weiguo's order was very short.

The two mortars continued firing. Each shot was fired five seconds apart. Shells landed between the convoy and the tents.

Rifles opened fire. Independent Regiment riflemen lay prone on the high ground, firing down. Bullets clattered against the truck's metal. Some were hit and fell at the tent entrance.

The Japanese army reacted quickly.

Some men ran to the back of the truck, trying to organize a resistance. But their guns were on the wooden frames. The wooden frames were outside the tents. The Independent Regiment's fire blocked the open space between the tents and the wooden frames.

Someone tried to rush to the wooden frame to grab a gun. He was shot down by a rifle.

Two trucks were on fire. The torches illuminated the surroundings brightly. In the firelight, the figures of Japanese soldiers running were clearly visible.

Li Yunlong's New First Regiment flanked from the right flank.

Li Yunlong's men did not take the high ground. Instead, they bypassed it by going around the bottom of the ditch on the right side and flanked the convoy from the west.

The light machine gun of the new regiment fired a fan-shaped barrage at the tent. Bullets struck the tent's canvas, leaving more than a dozen holes in it. The people inside lay prone on the ground, too afraid to move.

The mortar fired ten more rounds.

The convoy was wrecked. Seven of the twelve trucks were on fire. The flames turned the sky red.

The Japanese resistance essentially ceased after three minutes.

The remaining men ran eastward, towards Shibalipu, the direction of the main reinforcement force. Zhao Weiguo did not order anyone to pursue them.

"stop."

The gunfire stopped.

The fire is still burning.

Zhao Weiguo walked down from the high ground.

The truck was still burning. The heat of the fire could be felt even from a dozen steps away. The air was thick with the mixed smells of diesel fuel, burnt canvas, and roasted meat.

He walked to the nearest truck. The truck bed was filled with ammunition boxes. The ammunition boxes were on fire; some had exploded, scattering shrapnel everywhere. But most of the ammunition boxes were only charred on the outside; the bullets and shells inside hadn't exploded.

"move."

The monk led his men up to move the ammunition boxes.

The ammunition boxes were heavy. A box of Type 38 rifle bullets weighed forty pounds. The monk carried two boxes at a time, walking from the truck to the high ground to put them down, then going back to carry them again.

The inventory of the spoils was conducted by firelight. There was enough ammunition for one round, enough food for three days, and two boxes of medicine were an unexpected bonus.

There was also a box of military-grade biscuits.

The monk pried open the box of cookies, took one, and took a bite.

"hard."

He handed one to Zhao Weiguo.

Zhao Weiguo took a bite. The biscuit was hard and dry, making a crunching sound when chewed. It did have a strong grain flavor, though.

"Take this to Kong Jie."

The monk closed the biscuit box again.

East of Shibalipu.

The main force of the reinforcements heard the explosions coming from behind them, east of Shibalipu.

The explosion lasted for five minutes.

The reinforcement commander sent a small team back to investigate. When the team arrived at the convoy's location, it was still burning. The trucks were reduced to skeletons. All the supplies were lost.

The reinforcement commander remained silent for a minute after receiving the news.

His convoy was gone, and he only had enough ammunition and food for two days. They couldn't break through his defenses.

He ordered a retreat.

Ding Wei saw the Japanese army move from the high ground.

He sent a messenger to inform Zhao Weiguo.

The messenger ran back and forth.

"The Japanese troops have retreated, heading towards Taiyuan. Regiment Commander Ding said not to pursue them; ammunition consumption is too high."

Zhao Weiguo hummed in agreement.

"Tell Ding Wei to hold Shibalipu. Don't retreat tonight. We'll see what happens tomorrow at dawn."

"Yes."

Zhao Weiguo turned to Zhao Gang.

"Let's do some statistics."

Zhao Gang took the paper out of his pocket.

"On the convoy's side, approximately forty enemy soldiers were killed, twelve trucks were burned, and eight thousand rounds of rifle ammunition, three hundred hand grenades, and forty grenade launcher rounds were captured."

"Our side suffered three dead and seven seriously wounded."

"What about Kong Jie?"

"It hasn't been reported yet. But the gunfire at Yangshuling has stopped. It must be over."

Zhao Weiguo ordered his troops to rest in Liushugou.

He rode a mule back to the city.

Ping'an County.

Old Zhou was standing on the north gate city wall.

Old Zhou waited on the city wall all night. The sandbag fortifications on the wall were still there, but there were more than a dozen bullet holes in the sandbags. The breach in the north gate that had been blown open had been half-blocked with the wreckage of Japanese trucks.

Zhao Weiguo entered the city from the south gate and walked along the main street to the north gate.

Old Zhou came down from the city wall.

"The reinforcements have withdrawn?"

"They've withdrawn."

Where is Kong Jie?

"The gunfire at Yangshuling has stopped. We'll pick him up tomorrow."

Zhao Weiguo stood on the city wall for a while.

Dawn was breaking. A grayish-white light shone along the eastern ridgeline. The same light as the one at dawn on the day of the siege. But today, the city belonged to them.

He descended from the city wall.

"How's the cleanup going?"

"More than 300 Japanese corpses were recovered from inside the city. Seventy-eight were captured. The regimental headquarters' documents were packed into two boxes and locked in the county government office. Half of the ammunition depot's contents were moved to the north gate."

"Where's the casualty list?"

"Political Commissar Zhao Gang is organizing it. Almost done."

Zhao Weiguo responded and headed west of the city.

West of the city. Towards the prison.

Two sentries from the Independent Regiment stood guard at the prison gate. The civilians and imprisoned Eighth Route Army soldiers had all been released. The prison was empty.

He walked past the prison gate and turned south for fifty steps.

The medical team's tent was pitched in an open area in front of some civilian houses. The tent was salvaged from captured Japanese supplies; it was made of gray canvas and bore the markings of the Japanese army. A kerosene lamp was lit inside the tent.

He lifted the tent flap.

There were four makeshift stretchers in the tent. Three were empty. One had someone lying on it.

Yang Xiuqin.

She lay on a stretcher. Her military uniform had been removed, and a gray military blanket covered her. Underneath the blanket, bandages could be seen wrapped around her waist. The bandages were white, and no fresh blood had seeped into them. Her complexion was slightly better than in prison, but still pale.

The sanitation captain stood up from the corner of the tent.

"Commander."

"How is it?"

"The bayonet went in under his left rib, about an inch off. It didn't hit his liver. His intestines didn't rupture. We've stopped the bleeding and stitched him up. His fever has gone down a bit. He's out of danger."

Zhao Weiguo's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything. He walked over and stood beside the stretcher.

Yang Xiuqin's eyes were closed. Her breathing was very light, and the rise and fall of her chest was barely noticeable.

He stood there for a minute.

Yang Xiuqin's eyes twitched. She opened them.

She saw Zhao Weiguo.

"Commander."

"Um."

"Is the war over?"

"It's over."

Yang Xiuqin's eyes twitched. She wanted to laugh. But the pain from the bandages interrupted her laughter halfway through, and her face twitched.

Where's the first-aid kit?

Zhao Weiguo looked at her.

"I found it. I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

"Don't lose the surgical forceps inside; there's only one handy one."

Zhao Weiguo nodded. He stood beside the stretcher for a while longer.

Yang Xiuqin closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again.

"good."

She closed her eyes.

Zhao Weiguo stood there for a while. Then he lifted the curtain and went out.

The wind outside the tent was cold. Dawn was approaching.

Then he turned and walked towards the county government office.

There's still work to do. The casualty list needs to be reviewed. Prisoners need to be dealt with. Ammunition needs to be distributed. The breach in the city wall needs to be repaired. We need to pick up Kong Jie tomorrow. And I need to send a battle report to the old brigade commander.

He took two steps and then stopped.

He pulled the military-issue biscuit from his pocket. He took a bite. The biscuit was hard and dry.

He chewed on a biscuit as he walked toward the county government office.