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

A map of the mining area was laid out on a table made up of four tables put together.

The picture was too big, and the edges were drooping, so Zhao Gang used four books to weigh it down.

The Independent Regiment has 15,500 officially in-service personnel. 9,500 are undergoing training and replenishment. 5,500 are local armed forces. 4,500 are friendly and cooperative units. The total for all four categories is 35,000.

This number covered over fifty miles of roads, mountains, villages, stations, and rear support. The troops actually heading towards the mining area had already been split up according to their missions. The 358th Regiment remained under its own unit designation, with casualties and orders recorded separately; local armed forces guarding the trails were not included in the Independent Regiment's roster.

"East Ridge, First Battalion," Zhao Weiguo pointed to the map. "North Mountain Road, Second Battalion. Third Battalion, clear the pillboxes, then guard the fortifications on the north side of the mining area. Old Zhou's two cannons, only fire at the firing ports and the road, don't touch the houses to the south."

Old Zhou tapped the row of houses on the south side of the map with his pipe.

"It was the right thing to not touch it. If we had, we wouldn't be able to explain it to Chu Yunfei."

"Explanation is secondary," Zhao Weiguo said, moving the pencil to the mine tracks. "The houses are for miners' families. Shells don't discriminate."

Old Zhou put his pipe away and didn't say anything more.

The pencil was moved to the mine track.

"Duan Peng, the station. We need the switches, the locomotive, and the escape route. The bridge must not be blown up."

Duan Peng asked, "Where are the railway tracks?"

"Tear down a section of the bridgehead, but leave it so it can be rejoined."

"Understood." Duan Peng picked up the straw and asked again, "What if there's minerals in the car?"

"Note down the vehicle number first. Weigh the vehicle later to check the tonnage."

"Weighing is such a hassle."

"Without weighing, the accounts are false." Zhao Weiguo put down his pen. "False accounts put into the furnace, the furnace won't make up for it."

Duan Peng fell silent.

Before dawn, the first battalion had already entered the coal mining trench.

The bottom of the ditch was full of black mud; a swipe of the trouser leg would leave a patch of coal dust. The sapper in front lay prone under the barbed wire, trying to cut the wire twice, but it only flattened without breaking. He changed his position, wrapped the wire in a cloth before cutting again to prevent the end from snapping open.

The men behind remained motionless. A mountain breeze swept in from the mouth of the gully, making some people's noses itch, which they stubbornly covered with their sleeves. The Dongling observation post was just above them, and Japanese flashlights occasionally swept across the slope, the beams only a few feet from the edge of the gully.

The third time, the wire broke.

The engineers braced the opening, and the vanguard of the 1st Battalion climbed over one by one. By the time the observation post spotted people below the slope, a burst of fire had already reached the ridge. The battle didn't last long; the telephones and binoculars on the eastern ridge fell into the hands of the 1st Battalion.

Beishan Road was not bombed.

The Second Battalion had a broken-down vehicle lying across the narrow pass, with loose soil piled behind it, making it look like a hastily blocked block. Further in, there were wooden stakes that could be pulled out. Only behind the innermost ridge were there reverse firing ports. If the enemy actually came, they would slow down the front, force them to push through the middle, and only open fire on the last section.

This road is also used for carrying the wounded and transporting machinery. It's easy to destroy it, but if we have to repair it later, we'll have to carry it by hand.

The telephone lines to the outer watchtowers were cut before dawn.

There were more than ten Japanese soldiers and mine police guarding the tower. The first round of machine gun fire came from the firing port, pinning down the Third Battalion. Old Zhou lay down next to the gun emplacement, looked through binoculars for a while, and then told the gunner to move the gun half a foot to the left.

"The workers' shed is on the right. Don't hit it at an angle."

The gunner asked, "Where should we fire?"

"A firing hole. The thinnest section of the brick wall."

The first shot hit the outer wall of the pillbox, shards of brick blocking the two firing ports. The second shot penetrated the lower level, cutting off the gunfire inside. Engineers, using the smoke as cover, breached the wall from the side. By the time the Third Battalion rushed in, the rest had already fled towards the abandoned mine shaft through the back door.

No one chased into the landslide area.

Old Zhou put away his binoculars and cursed, "Running into the landslide area and chasing after them is just suicide."

The battalion commander of the third battalion asked, "So we're not going to pursue them?"

"Don't chase them." Old Zhou put his pipe in his mouth. "Landslides are more effective than our bullets. If they go in, they'll either crawl out and surrender, or suffocate in there. What the hell are you in such a hurry for? Let them come out on their own."

The battalion commander of the third battalion thought for a moment and put down his gun. He squatted in the trench, a blade of grass between his teeth, his eyes never leaving the firing port.

"Damn it, they're neither coming out nor fighting, just going to drag this out?"

"Hold them off," Zhao Weiguo's voice came through the phone. "Some of them want to surrender, and some don't. If you break in, even those who don't want to surrender will have to fight to the death. If you hold them off, those who want to surrender will make their move first."

"How long will this drag on?"

"Wait until they open the door themselves."

Another half hour passed. Then, a white cloth emerged from the firing hole.

The puppet army company commander came out first, throwing his belt and gun separately on the ground. The men behind him lined up their weapons, with light machine guns, rifles, and grenade launchers piled up separately. When the mine keys were handed to the battalion commander of the third battalion, Zhao Gang did not let them be put into the spoils account first.

"Distribute the people first."

Those who wish to return home will register their addresses and be issued certificates and travel expenses. Those who wish to stay and work in the mining area will be placed under local management. Those involved in arrests, looting of grain, or murder will be investigated separately.

The battalion commander of the third battalion weighed the key in his hand.

"Does this key count as spoils of war?"

"No," Zhao Gang said. "The key is proof of takeover, not spoils of war. The spoils are guns, cannons, and prisoners. The key is responsibility."

The battalion commander of the third battalion put the key away and didn't ask any more questions.

The mine railway station is located more than ten miles east of the mining area.

Duan Peng divided the men into three groups. The first group checked the switches, the second group monitored the locomotive, and the third group went around to the garrison's retreat route. Two rail spikes were removed from the bridgehead rails, and a section of fishplate was also removed. The rails could be laid back, but the train could not cross the bridge.

As dawn broke, sixteen ore cars and two flatbed cars emerged from the bend in the road.

The truck was belching white steam and moving slowly. Duan Peng didn't fire his gun prematurely; he waited until the truck had passed the first switch and the police car behind it had entered the short line before waving his hand.

The switch is locked.

The tracks ahead were cut, and the rear was blocked. The guards fired wildly at the station building, bullets shattering window frames. The assault company approached close to the coal pile, and the driver of the locomotive scrambled down first, covering his head and lying prone on the ground.

Seven Japanese soldiers hid in the warehouse, fired a volley of bullets, and then came out with their hands raised.

Duan Peng ordered his men to put away their guns first, then search them. The seven men were taken away separately, not mixed up with the station janitors.

"How much ore is in the truck?" someone asked.

Duan Peng kicked away a piece of ore that had fallen down.

"Note down the vehicle registration number first. Anyone who dares to report the tonnage now, I'll make them carry it back to be weighed."

Only after the train was stopped did the Japanese garrison on the south side of the mining area react.

About a company of soldiers rode along the road towards the station. Zhao Weiguo did not send a large force there, but only ordered the First Battalion to press forward from the east ridge, the Second Battalion to guard the North Mountain Road, and Duanpeng to guard the station. Old Zhou's two cannons turned towards the front of the road.

The first shot landed at the bridgehead. The second shot hit the back of the convoy.

Before all the vehicles were destroyed, their formation was broken. The Japanese soldiers got out of their vehicles and scattered up the slope. The machine guns of the First Battalion pressed in from the side, forcing them to change course to the North Mountain Road. The broken vehicle at the front of the Second Battalion looked easy to push, but as soon as the first two trucks squeezed into the narrow opening, the wooden stakes behind were pulled out, the mound of earth collapsed, and the road was immediately blocked.

The Japanese troops rushed towards the ridge. Only then did they open fire from the reverse firing port.

Duan Peng led his men to attack from one side of the station, forcing the garrison to retreat along the southern ditch. Warning flags of the 358th Regiment appeared on the southern road. Chu Yunfei's men guarded the agreed boundary, neither rushing into the core of the mining area nor allowing the retreating troops to pass through the villages and towns.

The Japanese soldiers abandoned two vehicles and fled into the ditch.

Duan Peng stood on the station platform, looking at the two abandoned trucks.

"Two cars, can we drive them?"

The mechanic crawled under the car to take a look, then climbed out.

"One car is drivable, the other has a leaking radiator."

"Keep the ones that are still drivable. For the leaking one, remove the radiator."

Duan Peng spat out the straw.

"Damn it, the Japanese escaped, but the truck was left behind. That's a good deal."

The Japanese army left explosives in the main well before retreating.

The miner first noticed a fuse winding out from behind the drainage pump. He was too afraid to pull it, so he ran to find the sapper, his teeth chattering as he spoke. The sapper cut off the power and went inside, finding two bags of explosives. After dismantling the first site, several miners led them to the old hoisting room, where they unearthed a second set of detonators from under the coal ash.

The main well was saved. The drainage pump didn't explode either.

When Zhao Tieshan arrived at the main shaft, his hair was quickly covered in coal dust. He first ordered the power to be cut off, the air to be vented, and the pressure to be checked, and then checked the remaining explosives.

"Who the hell told me to close the valve?" he yelled at the wellhead. "Has the gas been released? Has the pressure been checked?"

No one answered.

"No testing, no construction!" Zhao Tieshan slammed his safety helmet on the ground. "If the main shaft explodes, what will you use to compensate? Your lives?"

A young combat engineer shrank back and withdrew his hand that was already reaching for the guillotine.

The battle lasted a full eleven hours, from dawn to sunset.

The Independent Regiment and its local forces suffered seven dead and nineteen wounded. The casualties on the southern flank of the 358th Regiment were reported separately by Chu Yunfei and were not included in this report.

The Japanese army and mine police confirmed 34 deaths and 7 prisoners. The 120 puppet soldiers were listed separately in the surrender column, and no one was allowed to use them to make up the prisoner count.

Seven stretchers first traveled along the mine tracks.

The bag containing the deceased's belongings, a list of their work unit, and the time of death were placed at the foot of the stretcher. Someone wanted to hang the two empty flatbed carts to haul coal first, but Zhao Gang stopped them.

"Send them away first."

The locomotive made a sound and slowly pulled the stretcher away. Not a single ore on the platform was missing.

The nineteen wounded were divided into three groups. Those who could walk were helped onto the vehicles, while those who couldn't were strapped tightly to stretchers. The Second Battalion on the North Mountain Road left a narrow opening for each stretcher. Only then did someone from the miners' families open the door and bring two jugs of hot water. No one shouted slogans; the woman who brought the water only asked if her husband was on the vehicle. The registrar flipped through the register twice before telling her that he was still at the drainage pump, alive.

After hearing this, the woman shoved the kettle into the registrar's hand and turned to run towards the drain pump. The registrar called after her, "It's not venting over there yet!"

The woman did not stop.

The registrar took two steps but couldn't catch up. He handed the water bottle to the person next to him and followed after them.

The coking coal weighed approximately two thousand tons.

The iron ore was repeatedly checked against the railcars, storage yards, and sampling records. After deducting duplicate entries and stone powder, the amount was approximately five thousand tons. This was less than the initial visual estimate, so Zhao Tieshan crossed out the original number without giving anyone any face.

"Who reported 6,000 tons?" Zhao Tieshan slammed the ledger on the table.

A clerk shrank back: "The storage yard looks like it has..."

"Looks like it?" Zhao Tieshan pulled out the sampling records. "Stone powder accounts for 20%, moisture for 10%, and duplicate entries for 10%. After deducting all 6,000 tons, even 5,000 is uncertain. You put 6,000 tons into the furnace, and the furnace is going to smelt 6,000 tons of iron for you?"

The document was silent.

On the evening of the third day, the operations department delivered a new map.

A red line has been added between the mining area, the Zhengtai Railway, and the military production site. Only the first batch of coking coal has been transported away, most of the iron ore is still in the storage yard, and the ambulance carrying wounded soldiers on the Beishan Road has just completed its second trip.

"Commander, the enemy is making a move."

Zhao Weiguo looked up: "Which route?"

"From the direction of the Zhengtai line. Advance intelligence says it's an elite regiment."

Duan Peng took the straw out of his mouth.

"An elite squadron? How many people are there?"

"The initial number was about three thousand, but the subsequent numbers are unknown."

Duan Peng picked up the straw again.

"Three thousand. How many can our mining area produce?"

Zhao Weiguo didn't answer. He looked at the red line on the map and tapped the location of the mining area twice with his finger.

Outside, the screening table had just resumed turning, and the coal chunks fell into the iron trough with a dense and hard sound.

The mine keys on the table were barely warm.

Zhao Weiguo folded the new diagram and placed it under the key. The key was the proof of takeover, and the red thread was a death warrant. The two items, stacked together, were heavier than the other.

Duan Peng looked at the red thread and spat out the straw.

"Three thousand men," he said. "At most, we have one and a half battalions at our disposal."

"One and a half battalions are enough." Zhao Weiguo put down his pencil. "Three thousand men will travel along the Zhengtai Railway, crossing two bridges and three mountain passes. Don't blow up the bridges, don't block the passes; let them go. Close the gate when they reach the mine area."

"Closed?" Duan Peng's eyes lit up. "Fishing again?"

"Fishing." Zhao Weiguo pulled the key from under the new map and clenched it in his hand. "This time, the fish are bigger than last time."

Duan Peng picked up the straw again and grinned.

"Then I'll go prepare the fishing rod."

"Go ahead." Zhao Weiguo looked out the window at the fishing line. "Remember, no one is allowed to move until the fish bites."

Duan Peng turned and left. But at the door, he turned back: "Those three thousand men, can they really be caught?"

Zhao Weiguo did not answer. He put the key back on the table, and the key made a crisp sound as it hit the surface.

A detachment of 3,000 elite soldiers was rushing towards them on the Zhengtai Railway. Unbeknownst to them, someone was already waiting at the mine entrance.

What awaited them was a battalion and a half, and a gate that hadn't been closed yet. There were 35,000 men behind them, but only this battalion and a half at the gate.