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

The gunner looked at the third shell at his feet, but didn't reach out.

"Mr. Zhao, the white flag is still up."

Zhao Weiguo pushed the shell half an inch closer to his knee.

"The cannon muzzle is still there."

The battalion deputy lie down behind the barricade, his eyes scanning from the white cloth to the dilapidated house east of the bridge. The translator was holding up the cloth, his knees shaking so much that the cloth swayed with it; but behind him, two Japanese soldiers were bending over, dragging ammunition boxes, the corners of the boxes carving two new furrows in the mud.

"That bastard is using people as curtains."

The major peeked out from behind the stone lion at the bridgehead and gestured towards the city wall.

"Wanping! Don't fire first! Negotiations are still ongoing in Beiping!"

The garrison soldier surnamed Meng punched a brick in the city wall, causing a blood blister to burst and blood to smudge with ash.

"Talk about their mother! Last night, they used the excuse that a soldier had gone missing to insist on searching Wanping. This morning at dawn, they found the soldier, and they're still blasting cannons right over our heads. Is this what you call talking?"

The deputy battalion commander gritted his teeth and did not give the order.

The telephone operator rushed up the steps, his ribs thumping as he slammed the junction box in his hand.

"Battalion Deputy! A telegram from Beiping! The Hebei-Chahar authorities are still negotiating with the Japanese. Commander Song has ordered that the positions must not be lost, and no action should be taken to escalate the fighting without orders!"

The deputy battalion commander grabbed the receiver, his voice hoarse from holding it in.

"Tell the higher-ups that the Japanese are dragging artillery shells behind their white flags, and they're still setting up machine guns east of the bridge. The Wanping defenders didn't fire the first shot, but if the Japanese fire again, we'll return fire."

The telephone operator was stunned.

The deputy battalion commander glared at him.

"As you would say!"

Zhao Weiguo looked down at the system panel.

[Historical Node Verification: July 8, 1937, morning]

[Event chain: Japanese army, under the pretext of missing soldiers, demanded entry into Wanping for search, which was refused, and then shelled Wanping and Lugou Bridge, resulting in several rounds of negotiations and intermittent exchanges of fire between the two sides]

[Current Restriction: Ceasefire negotiations must not be undermined beforehand]

[Tactical Simulation: 87% probability that the enemy will use negotiation as cover to reposition their artillery]

[System Phase Review Begins]

The pale blue handwriting looked like it had been carved into the smoke of gunpowder.

[The Great Power Military Industry and Survival System Wartime 1.0 Form, currently unlocked functions include: scrap metal recycling, military rations exchange, basic smelting, tactical sandbox, system space, crisis early warning, and kill-based physical enhancement.]

[Subsequent advancement requirements: Stabilize military production sites, lead teams to complete regional combat missions, and establish logistics dispatch chains]

Zhao Weiguo blinked. The system, which had only been active when recycling scrap steel for over a year, had suddenly brought him such a big surprise.

This gave him a strong sense of security in this war-torn era, and it was the foundation upon which he stood.

He broke the charcoal in half and redraw lines on the city bricks: white flag, dilapidated house, artillery position, ammunition box, stone lion at the bridgehead, and the ditch of the 219th Regiment.

"Battalion Deputy, we won't surrender."

The deputy battalion commander squatted down next to him.

"Where to hit?"

"Take his second breath after he opens fire."

The garrison soldier surnamed Meng came over.

What is meant by "second breath"?

Zhao Weiguo pointed to the cannon behind the dilapidated house.

"When the first shot is fired, smoke comes out of the muzzle, and the gunner will duck to eject the spent cartridge case. The assistant will carry the second shot forward; at that time, the man, the shell, and the gun are all crammed together. We'll fire the third mortar shot here."

The gunner stared at the charred embers, his Adam's apple bobbing.

What if I go astray?

Zhao Weiguo looked at his blood-stained hands.

"They went astray, and those two brothers at the bridgehead made a wasted trip."

The gunner cursed under his breath and picked up the shell.

"Then it won't be biased."

The translator outside the city was still shouting.

"The Japanese representative demands that your troops cease provocations! Cease firing! Both sides withdraw to their original positions!"

The major spat behind the stone lion.

"Let them drag the cannon back to Fengtai first!"

The translator turned to look at the Japanese officer, whose face turned even paler.

The Japanese officer didn't reply. He raised his white glove and gently pressed it down.

The red line in Zhao Weiguo's eyes suddenly taut.

"Lie down."

boom!

A flash of fire appeared behind the white flag as a shell struck the roadside, overturning an ammunition cart belonging to the 219th Regiment. The wheels flew up and crashed next to a stone lion, sending the major tumbling into a ditch.

Everyone on the city wall had bloodshot eyes.

The deputy battalion commander roared.

"fight back!"

The gunner had already pushed the third shot into the muzzle.

Zhao Weiguo's palm was cut off.

"put!"

thump.

The mortar shells flew over the city wall, past the white cloth, and into the back of the dilapidated house.

Take a breath.

boom!

The shell landed right next to the infantry gun. The Japanese deputy holding the shell was blasted into the gun shield, and the shell rolled away and landed near the fire. A nearby gunner rushed to grab it, but the Meng-surname garrison opened fire.

Snapped.

The gunner fell, his fingers just an inch away from the shell.

The major crawled out of the ditch, blood streaming from half his ear, but raised his gun and roared.

"Second platoon! Push forward! They fired first! Push forward!"

The light machine guns of the 219th Regiment immediately tore through the smoke.

Da da da!

Behind the stone lions at the bridgehead, two soldiers dragged ammunition boxes and continued rushing towards the city gate. One of them was shot in the shoulder, the box tilted, and half of the magazines inside spilled out. He bit the strap of the box with his teeth, his knees scraping against the bridge surface until they bled.

"Don't worry about me! Send the boxes to town!"

Li Shuanzi rushed out of the doorway, with two empty bullet belts hanging on his back.

"I'm in charge of the boxes, and I'm in charge of the people!"

He lunged at the bridge, grabbed the soldier by the back of the collar, and dragged him back. Bullets struck the stone railings, shaving off half of a stone lion's ear, and shards of stone hit his face.

Zhao Weiguo grabbed the Type 38 rifle and put his eyes on the sights.

[Crisis Warning: Li Shuanzi Exposed]

[Enemy archer's location: Crack in the broken wall east of the bridge]

Zhao Weiguo pulled the trigger.

Snapped.

Behind the crack in the crumbling wall, a steel helmet suddenly tilted backward.

The Meng-surnamed garrison followed up with additional shots.

"Mr. Zhao, there's one more on the left!"

Snapped.

The second shooter fell into the smoke.

Li Shuanzi dragged the wounded soldier through the city gate. The ammunition box hit the threshold with a thud, like a heartbeat for the entire city.

The deputy battalion commander rushed over and pried open the crate.

"Bullets! Grenades! Send them all to the city walls!"

The young soldier picked up a bundle of grenades and laughed so hard his teeth were shaking.

"Now we have food!"

Old Xu leaned against the sandbag, took a row of bullets, and loaded them into the gun.

"Don't laugh, showing too many teeth will attract bullets."

Zhao Weiguo didn't look at them.

He stared at the red dot in the system sandbox. The Japanese troops east of the bridge did not retreat; instead, they split into two groups, one pressing down on the 219th Regiment, and the other sneaking along the river ditch toward the hidden gate of Wanping.

He broke the last piece of charcoal.

"Deputy Battalion Commander, they've split up their forces."

The deputy battalion commander looked up.

Which way?

Zhao Weiguo pointed to the gray ditch at the foot of the city wall, which was obscured by smoke.

"A hidden door. Same old method, blow up the base of the wall."

The garrison soldier surnamed Meng shoved the new magazine into his gun.

"Again?"

Zhao Weiguo grabbed two hand grenades and stuffed them into his arms.

"Let them come closer this time."