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

Old Xu turned around and rushed outside.

Zhao Weiguo had only taken two steps when He Yuzhu suddenly caught up from behind, still clutching the potato-peeling knife in his hand.

"Brother Weiguo, I'm going too!"

He Daqing rushed out of the house and grabbed him by the back of the neck.

"Go to hell! Do you think the shells know who you are?"

He Yuzhu's face turned red from being strangled, and he still stuck out his neck.

"I can operate a grinding wheel!"

Zhao Weiguo stopped at the gate of the courtyard and glanced back at him.

"No need for the grinding wheel tonight."

He Yuzhu's lips moved slightly.

"Then what should we use?"

Zhao Weiguo buttoned up his cotton-padded jacket, the pistol at his waist casting a hard shadow.

"Use your life."

He Yuzhu's face turned pale instantly.

Jia Zhangshi hid behind the window, her voice trembling shrilly.

"Young man Zhao, don't you dare bring the Japanese back! Our compound is full of old and young people—"

Old Xu suddenly turned around, his eyes bloodshot.

"If you howl again, I'll sew your mouth shut."

The window slammed shut.

Yan Bugui stood by the front gate, holding an abacus in his hand, the beads clicking as he squeezed them.

"Weiguo, things are chaotic outside, and your room..."

Zhao Weiguo looked at him.

"Anyone who enters my house will be treated as a thief of arms."

Yan Bugui immediately hid the abacus in his sleeve.

"I'm just here to watch the door for you, just watch the door."

Yi Zhonghai walked out of the Intermediate People's Court, his face ashen, but his eyes were fixed on Zhao Weiguo's waist.

"Is a real war breaking out? Can Beiping be defended?"

Another series of cannon shots rolled over from afar, and dust fell from the courtyard wall like a handful of old flour being sprinkled on everyone's shoulders.

Zhao Weiguo did not answer.

Old Xu pulled open the courtyard gate.

"Hurry up, the company commander is waiting for you to look at the map."

The two rushed into the alley.

The night in Nanluoguxiang was torn open by the sound of cannons. Light peeked out from the cracks in the doors of each house. Women stood behind their doorsteps holding their children, while men carried bundles and peered into the street. Someone shouted, "The city gates are closed!" Someone cursed, "Another drill!" Others were carrying their chicken coops onto carts, the chickens flapping their wings, their feathers flying into the coal dust.

Old Xu was panting as he ran.

"Company Commander Zhou is at the arsenal. The phone lines in Wanping are intermittent, and the news is a complete mess. Some say the Japanese have lost a soldier and are going into the city to search for him; others say they've already opened fire."

Zhao Weiguo stepped into a puddle of dirty water, splashing water onto his trouser legs.

"Our casualties?"

"We don't know yet. The base has already issued emergency ammunition, and the knife squad has assembled."

A military truck was parked at the street corner, its headlights covered with a black cloth, revealing only two thin yellow beams. Li Shuanzi was sitting on the side of the truck bed. When he saw them coming, he reached out and pulled them along.

"Get on the bus!"

Zhao Weiguo grabbed the truck bed and climbed on, followed by Lao Xu. Seven or eight soldiers from the 29th Army sat in the truck bed, their broadswords resting on their knees, their rifles pointing skyward. No one was laughing or joking. Some had wrapped strips of cloth around their wrists, others had stuffed a letter from home into their pockets, and a young soldier was gnawing on a cold cornbread, taking two bites before he couldn't swallow, his voice choked with nervousness.

Li Shuanzi handed a magazine to Zhao Weiguo.

"This is what Company Commander Zhou left for you. Twenty rounds."

Zhao Weiguo took it and pressed it into his arms.

"Which way should the car go?"

"Go back to base first. Company Commander Zhou wants you to confirm the armory relocation route."

The truck jolted violently and veered out of the alley.

The streets of Beiping were in chaos.

Mule carts, porters, patrolmen, and fleeing civilians were all crammed together. In front of the carts, a woman holding a child fell in the middle of the road; the child's cries were muffled by the sound of gunfire. The driver slammed on the brakes, and Old Xu cursed as he jumped out and pulled the woman to the side of the road.

"Go home! Don't run southwest!"

The woman knelt on the ground, holding her child, her lips trembling.

"Sir, has Wanping been attacked?"

Old Xu didn't answer. He climbed back into the car and tapped the roof with the butt of his gun.

"Walk!"

The truck continued forward.

The system's red light flickered before Zhao Weiguo's eyes.

[Tactical simulation scope expanded: temporary radius of 500 meters]

[Enemy noise level: High]

[Civilian density: High]

[Recommendation: Avoid congested areas on the main street]

Blue lines overlapped on the streets and alleys, the main road to the south was blocked into a tangled mess of red and yellow, and a narrow alley to the east was empty, leading to the back gate of the barracks.

Zhao Weiguo patted the rear window of the driver's cab.

"Don't go through Gulou Street, turn right and go into the narrow alley next to Yandai Xiejie."

The driver yelled back.

"Cars can't get through that alley!"

"The back wall is half collapsed, but you can still pass through."

Old Xu leaned against the window.

"Listen to him!"

The driver swerved, and the truck's wheels scraped against the stone pillars as it plunged into the narrow alley. The walls on both sides were torn apart by the truck bed, and the soldiers inside bumped shoulders together, but no one cursed.

Sure enough, half of the wall had collapsed at the end of the alley.

The driver gritted his teeth and stepped on the gas.

boom!

The truck crashed through the broken bricks and into the open space behind the barracks.

At the entrance of the arsenal, rows of torches were stuck in the air. Zhou Shichang stood in front of the gate, his military uniform draped over his shoulders, his face silhouetted against the torchlight.

"Zhao Weiguo!"

Zhao Weiguo jumped out of the car.

"I am here."

Zhou Shichang spread a rough map of the southwestern defense deployment of Beiping on the ammunition box, pressing his finger towards the direction of Lugou Bridge.

"Wanping needs ammunition. The main road might be under Japanese fire. What do you think we should do to deliver it?"